Brooklyn Park Gets Creative, Paints Circles On Grass To Promote Social Distancing

The coronavirus pandemic necessitated the need for many changes and among these is observing social distancing even in leisure areas like Brooklyn’s Domino Park. With the lifting of some restrictions that were put in place at the height of the outbreak, more people are expected to spend time outdoors. Because of this, the park’s staff decided to paint circles onto the grass of parks to encourage visitors to observe social distancing.

A Little Different

As the weather gradually warms and stay-at-home orders are relaxed, parks and other public places may soon be teeming with people again. Frequent visitors of Domino Park, however, will be greeted with some changes, chief among them being 30 circles on the ground, six feet apart, each with a diameter of eight feet.

Located in the Williamsburg neighborhood, the waterfront leisure square is among the firsts in the city to develop a way that will encourage visitors to observe social distancing. The painting was done Friday and consists of an array of white circles made of chalk paint applied on AstroTurf or artificial grass. Visitors can sit or exercise comfortably inside the circle.

Delighted Visitors

Far from being disappointed, the circles delighted visitors who frequented the park before stay-at-home orders were imposed, the New York Post reports. The circles immediately earned the nickname “human parking spots,” a moniker that quickly caught the interest of social media users.

Jennifer Lee, a Twitter user, uploaded a video of the circles and captioned it: “They’ve made little round human parking spots in Domino Park in Brooklyn! (This park is often the poster child for social distancing fácil).” Hundreds of other Twitter users immediately started talking about the post with many of them sharing the video.

Generally Respectful

Ms. Lee also made a comment on her post saying that Domino Park’s circular human parking spaces make her think of some future Hollywood television show. She said that if one were to take video footage from the world at present and show it to people from 2019, they would think it’s not real. Ms. Lee also clarified that the park is owned by a private firm and operated by New York City.

The New York Post reported that park visitors appear to be generally respectful of the “human parking spots.” Newcomers would even wait for a circle to become vacant before entering the park. Most of the spots are occupied by people who would often perform some physical exercises there, while some were reportedly used by more than two individuals at the same time.