Iconic Lincoln Center Plaza Is About To Get Turned Into A Lawn

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The Lincoln Center Plaza on the Upper West Side is about to get a green makeover as the performing arts institution announced Tuesday a new transformational project in coordination with its "Restart Stages" initiative.

The project, "The GREEN," will transform the approximately 14,000 square feet of open, concrete space on the Josie Robertson Plaza around the iconic Revson Fountain into a grassy, park-like area for Upper West Siders and New Yorkers alike to enjoy this summer.

The lawn transformation will be constructed out of recyclable, biobased SYNLawn, which is a grass-like material with a high soy content and fully sourced from U.S. farmers.

"The Green" will be created by the celebrated set designer and MacArthur Genius grantee Mimi Lien.

It will open on May 10.

“When invited to consider how the physical space of Josie Robertson Plaza could be reenvisioned to be a more inclusive and inviting environment, I immediately thought that by changing the ground surface from hard paving stones with no seating to a material like grass, suddenly anyone would be able to sit anywhere,” Lien said in a news release.

The project will also be the center point of Lincoln Center's "Restart Stages" initiative, which opened recently as a major outdoor performing arts center featuring 10 performance and rehearsal spaces between West 62nd and 65th Streets.

Read More: Lincoln Center To Launch Huge Outdoor Performing Arts Space

"The arts can be the centerpiece of New York's economic, social, and spiritual revival—a powerful vehicle to reconnect as we enter the spring season,” said Henry Timms, President & CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in a news release. “We’re thrilled to launch ‘The GREEN,’ a space for New Yorkers to re-energize, and find inspiration and uplift."

"The GREEN" will open from May 10 through Sept. 2021, from 9 a.m. to midnight each day.

A collection of safety protocols will be in place adhering to whatever the current recommended health guidelines are the time, currently including required facemasks, social distancing, and regular cleaning of the space.