New Yorkers embrace this fresh air program
By Meghan Barr
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The first sign that something strange is happening on Ludlow Street is the fence, which is long and green and decidedly out of place amid a cluster of city buildings. Peer through its holes and things get even more confusing: Is that a backyard? In the middle of Manhattan?
Yes, yes it is. And it's yours to rent for just $100 an hour.
Wedged between two buildings in the East Village, the "Timeshare Backyard" is back for the second summer in a row — and New Yorkers desperate for some fresh air are taking full advantage of it. Aside from the taxis honking their horns just beyond the fence — not to mention the graffiti-covered brick walls — the place actually bears some resemblance to a real backyard, albeit a very hip one.
It's more like a backyard with an ironic smirk on its face.
Jessica Resler and her business partner, Jacqui Kavanagh, dreamed up the Timeshare Backyard last year. The idea was rooted in nostalgia for the backyards they left behind upon becoming New Yorkers.
What they really wanted, Resler said, was a green refuge from sweltering summers in the city.
"When we first launched it, we thought, 'oh maybe this will be interesting to about 30 people,'" Resler said. "And one day we walked into our office and we had 1,000 emails come in from people that wanted to rent the space or were curious about it."
