Cocktails & Conversations: Tom Balsley and Matt Shaw

“Public seating is critical to the success of our public spaces. In the ‘70s, NYC parks andplazas were in crisis—to the point of demands for the removal of seating! We’ve comea long way. The new culture of recreation demands that we design public furniture thatmoves, swivels, and fosters socializing—a fresh alternative to the path-lined, sole-purposebenches of the 19th-century parks. My next book will be titledBeyond the Bench. WithGantry Plaza State Park, Hunter’s Point South, and Riverside Park South, we have beenat the forefront of resiliency strategies in New York. Superstorm Sandy came...and went,leaving these parks unscathed and models for future designers." - Tom Balsley