LOWER EAST SIDE — The Lowline is looking for local teens interested in playing a role in the design and construction of the innovative underground park, as it prepares to launch a six-month program that will put a handful of high schoolers at the forefront of the project’s community engagement process.
The Lowline team is now accepting applications for its first-ever Young Ambassadors Program, which will immerse 16 high school juniors in the creation of the subterranean space while also allowing them to act as ambassadors to the Lower East Side community during the initial visioning process — hands-on tasks the project’s founder says will allow the youth to play a vital role in the creation of the community space.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity to throw the young ambassadors into those design conversations, and make it clear they have — as young people and leaders from the local community — a very clear opportunity to make a lasting impact on the design and planning process,” said Co-Founder Dan Barasch.
The team is accepting applications for the program through Sept. 16, said Barasch, with hopes of selecting the winners by the end of the month in preparation for an October launch.
The role of the young ambassador will be multilayered, Barasch said. First, the students will play an active role in interacting with locals at community visioning sessions, gathering feedback from neighbors, and even engaging in peer-level discussions with fellow youth in order to generate fresh ideas for the underground parkland.
“It really is about connecting and interacting with the communities of which they are a part, their families, their peer groups and their schools,” said Barasch. “People continually ask, ‘What is the youth perspective on this project?’ I think these 16 young people are going to have a really clear and strong voice, and will bring in other voices.”
Second, the ambassadors will be invited into conversations with the project’s architects, designers, engineers and other Lowline team members, providing the students with a hands-on learning experience and insight into careers in technology, engineering, arts, math and nonprofit management.
The teens would also play a role in the operation of the Lowline Lab at 140 Essex St., said Barasch, including giving tours and answering questions visitors' questions.
Throughout the process, the students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the science and technology behind the Lowline concept, said Barasch.
Following the completion of the six-month program, the teens will receive $1,000 scholarships.
The inaugural program — which builds on the legacy of the like-minded Lowline Young Designers Program — will wrap up in March 2017, when the lab shutters to make way for an Essex Crossing development. But Barasch hopes the young people will stay involved in the project, even serving as mentors for the next class of ambassadors.
As the team reviews candidates for the 16 slots, it will consider applicants from across the city but will heavily favor those with ties to the Lower East Side, which Barasch explained will include those attending school in the neighborhood or those with connections to a local community organization.
The Lowline in July received the city's initial stamp of approval to transform an abandoned trolley terminal below Delancey Street near Essex Street into a subterranean oasis using solar technology — with the conditional thumbs-up from the Economic Development Corporation, the team behind the project must now make it through the city's checklist for the next year, including an extensive community engagement process and proof it can secure the necessary funding.
For more information about the program and for instructions on submitting an online application, click here.
