"Flatiron Cheer" Underway with Holiday Programming, Public Art

The Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership's tenth annual “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer” season is underway, featuring digital deals and giveaways from local businesses, holiday meal-kit roundups from local restaurants, holiday-themed neighborhood walking tours, a Winter Solstice Celebration with MoMath, holiday carolers, and more.

Anchoring the festivities and serving as the neighborhood's holiday centerpiece is a public art installation – Interwoven, by Atelier Cho Thompson – now on view on the Flatiron North Public Plaza. The installation was selected through the Partnership and Van Alen Institute's eighth annual Flatiron Holiday Design Competition and is presented in partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation’s Temporary Art Program. "Flatiron Cheer" programming runs through December 23 and Interwoven will remain up through January 2, 2022.

“As we celebrate our tenth year of ‘23 Days of Flatiron Cheer,’ we are proud to shine a spotlight on Flatiron and NoMad’s plethora of quintessential New York City holiday experiences, from shopping and dining to culture and history,” said James Mettham, Executive Director of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership. “Our neighborhood businesses are proving their resilience and helping to spur our city’s economic recovery. We urge New Yorkers to do their part by shopping local this holiday season.”

This year’s roster of "Flatiron Cheer" programming—which can be viewed at FlatironDistrict.nyc/holiday2021 —includes:

• Holiday District Deals. Take advantage of discounts on holiday gifts, meals, and activities at neighborhood businesses. Great for gift inspiration! Use these deals to spend with your heart at all of your local favorites this season. See the full list of Holiday District Deals here.
  
• Holiday Meal Kits. Celebrate the season by kicking your feet up and letting someone else cook. The Flatiron Partnership has rounded up Holiday Meal Kits all over the district, including new takes on conventional offerings from local favorites like Bar Benno, COTE Steakhouse, ilili, and Scampi. Pre-order before they sell out!
• Holiday Themed Flatiron History Tours. On three Sundays – December 5, 12, and 19 – at 11:00 AM, meet at the tip of the Flatiron Building, on 23rd Street just east of Fifth Avenue for a 90-minute journey with a holiday twist. Professional guides lead a walking tour highlighting the neighborhood’s holiday history, including the Star of Hope, the first public Christmas tree, the international toy and gift center, and Dr. Clement Clarke Moore’s country home where he wrote his famous 1822 Christmas poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”). On December 12, Ming Thompson and Christina Cho Yoo, Co-Founders of Atelier Cho Thompson, will join the tour to discuss their holiday public art installation, Interwoven.
  
  
• Holiday Caroler Performances. Get in the holiday spirit and join us for one of four acapella performances in the Flatiron North Public Plaza alongside the Interwoven public art installation. Performances take place on Friday, December 10 and Friday, December 17, from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM; and Saturday, December 11 and Saturday, December 18, from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM.
  
• Winter Solstice Celebration with MoMath. On Tuesday, December 21 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, join the Flatiron Partnership and the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) to experience the joyful reflection of a life-sized kaleidoscope. Snap your own unique holiday selfie next to the Flatiron Building and Interwoven.
  
  
• Digital Giveaways. Win prizes from popular district stores and restaurants. Follow the Flatiron Partnership @FlatironNY and subscribe to the Flatiron Partnership's newsletter at bit.ly/FlatironNews for your chance to win. Every Monday, enter to win a new prize via Instagram. Every Wednesday, answer the trivia question in the email newsletter and you could be the next winner.

“23 Days of Flatiron Cheer” is made possible by generous sponsors from Presenting SponsorMeringoff Properties and Supporting Sponsors 212 Fifth Avenue and Stand With Asian Americans (SWAA).

Interwoven, designed by Atelier Cho Thompson and inspired by New York's tapestry of cultures and people, celebrates the joys of reconnecting in public space. Its interactive archways are activated by color-coded sensors; when two or more people pass through sensors of the same color, Interwoven responds with corresponding lights and musical compositions by local artists inspired by the installation’s themes.

The installation's interactive story wall, made of backlit papers hung on a grid, invites visitors to share responses to the prompt: “I dream of a world where together we can…” The resulting narratives will become a patchwork of voices documenting this challenging yet hopeful moment. The prompt was selected by Youth Fellows from the People’s Bus NYC, a community-led, intergenerational initiative focused on engaging people in New York City’s civic life through beauty and joy.

"One of our key tenets as a firm is that we can build community around design,” said Ming Thompson and Christina Cho Yoo, Co-Founders of Atelier Cho Thompson. “Interwoven highlights our fundamental desires to connect with each other through shared experiences and to celebrate our differences. Interwoven offers a platform for stories and dreams of our future.”

“Located at one of New York City’s most iconic intersections, the Flatiron North Plaza is the perfect setting for Interwoven, an installation that provides a powerful, yet playful reminder that human interaction is essential,” said James Mettham, Executive Director of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership. “As we welcome New Yorkers and visitors to explore Interwoven this holiday season, we are proud to once again collaborate with Van Alen Institute on our tradition of presenting thought-provoking public art in Flatiron.”

“Interwoven's playful design unites us through joy,” said Deborah Marton, Executive Director of Van Alen Institute. "As part of Van Alen's Public Realm R&D initiative — which celebrates the serendipity of connection and power of shared stories — we’re honored to collaborate again with the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership to test new ways to bring people together in one of NYC's most iconic public spaces."

Inspired by the dynamic geometry of intersections that form the Flatiron Building, Interwoven’s archways, hammock, and benches are constructed with a steel framing, netting, resin panels, and high-density cork. As a firm committed to sustainable design, Atelier Cho Thompson carefully selected Interwoven’s materials including its rapidly renewable cork and steel, a material made of mostly recycled content.

The project team includes in-kind sponsors MHA Engineering, Lam Partners, Indistinguishable from Magic, Hunter Douglas and 3form, LLI Architectural Lighting, EcoSupply, Fusion Optix, and Cadwell Signs. Grant funding was made possible by Stand with Asian Americans / Asian Pacific Fund and an anonymous donor. Fabrication and site installation will be completed by Smart Department Fabrication, Inc. After debuting Interwoven on the Flatiron North Public Plaza, the firm will partner with community organizations in New Haven, CT to bring the installation to a local public park.

Since its inception, the Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition has been a platform for the Partnership and Van Alen Institute to deepen their connections with emerging designers, bring people together, and support inventive visions for an iconic urban plaza. Atelier Cho Thompson was selected by the Partnership and Van Alen Institute from a shortlist of three firms, each recommended by design experts in Van Alen’s network. The other shortlisted firms were AD-WO and Isometric Studio.

Nominations for the shortlisted firms were provided by Nina Cooke John, Founder and Principal of Studio Cooke John; Justin Garrett Moore, Program Officer, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mark Gardner, Principal, Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects; and Ashley Mendelsohn, Architecture Curator and Educator.

The installation will be open to the public daily, weather permitting. The Partnership is encouraging visitors to use #InterwovenFlatiron on Twitter and Instagram to share images of the installation.