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Summer Swap Fridays at Barton Avenue Open Streets

This Summer 2023, come on down to Barton Avenue Open Streets in Flushing, New York, for Summer Swap Fridays!

This summer community event is co-sponsored together by Asian American Federation (아시안 아메리칸 연맹), New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Open Streets, Korean American Civic Empowerment (시민참여센터), and Murray Hill Merchants Association (먹자골목상인번영회).

Check out the schedule below to see what exciting events will be happening alongside the Summer Swap.

SCHEDULE
1PM – 5PM on the following Summer Fridays:
July 7, 2023: NRB Challenge
July 21, 2023: Poetry Slam / Spoken Word Challenge
July 28, 2023: Shakespeare Reading Challenge
August 4, 2023: Lip-Sync Challenge
August 11, 2023: KACE Grassroots Internship Program Presents – “Alice in Chinatown: Chol Soo Lee and His Fight for Freedom”
August 18, 2023: Live Music Jam Session
*the above schedule is subject to change due to weather, availability, etc.

Basic Rules of Participation:

  1. All participants wishing to partake in Summer Swap Fridays at Barton Avenue Open Streets (“Summer Swap”) must sign-in on the date and location of the Summer Swap Friday (Barton Avenue, Flushing, NY) between the time frame of 1PM to 5PM (Eastern Time) in order to receive a sticker to place on an item the participant wishes to take home with them. There will be a table booth where you can sign-in to receive your sticker.
  2. A limited number of people will be allowed to place a sticker at a time out of fairness for everyone participating and to ensure there are enough media items for everyone. If it is your turn to place a sticker, please be mindful of the people behind you in queue.
  3. The sticker system is how we are going to call dibs. No sticker, no dibs. Please only examine one media item at a time. Please also do not intentionally damage the media items. I know accidents happen sometimes, so please be careful.
  4. An additional sticker can be received through the following:
    • A wholesome social media post about the Summer Swap on the day of the event (limit one per person). It can be something like a fun selfie at the event. The post will need to be verified by one of our workers at the event.
    • Donating an item of qualifying media at the Summer Swap; one item for one sticker. Unfortunately the donated item cannot be an item that was already taken from the Summer Swap. The donated item must also adhere to our guidelines for donated media. Remember, once donated, it is fair game for someone else to take home for keeps.
    • Participating in that day’s “Challenge”, which will be explained in advance as well as on the day of that day’s Summer Swap.
  5. Be courteous and respectful at all times. We’re all here for a good time, so let’s help create a fun and safe environment for everyone.
  6. The entire event will be outdoors in public. There is no mask requirement, but people are free to wear one if they choose for whatever reason (health, fashion, forgot to put on make-up, spinach stuck between teeth, just because they feel like it, etc.).

Media Item Donation Guidelines:

  1. If you wish to donate a media item to our office, we are collecting media items on the following dates:
    • All of the Summer Swap Fridays listed in the schedule above (except for the final day, for obvious reasons).
  2. The media item must be at least in a “good” condition. The nature of this event is to swap used media items for the enjoyment of the media item by more people. In that spirit, the media item needs to be in a condition in which the next person will have a reasonable ability to actually enjoy the media item. Whether something is in “good” condition will be at the discretion of KACE.
  3. The following types of media items can be accepted at this time:
    • Books (it’s okay if the book sleeve is missing, as long as the rest of the book is in “good” condition.
    • Movie/TV/Video: VHS, CD’s, DVD’s, Blue-Ray Discs (although we do not require original cases, please have the media item in a case so that the item does not get damaged in transport).
    • Music: CD’s, Vinyl, Tape (although we do not require original cases, please have the media item in a case so that the item does not get damaged in transport).
    • Video Games: Game Cartridges, CD’s, Handheld Devices in working order (again, although we do not require original cases, please have the disc items in a case or sleeve so that the item does not get damaged in transport).
    • Paintings: Not exceeding 30 inches width or height
  4. All media items donated are just that: donations. There is no financial compensation expected for the donation of any media items.
  5. We cannot accept any obscene media items. Obscenity is defined here as defined in the United States Supreme Court decision in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973), and up to the final discretion of KACE.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Hold up. So what exactly is a Summer Swap Friday?
Good Question! It’s like a book swap meet, a book exchange fair, or however you’re familiar with the concept. Except it’s not just books. There’s all different types of media, such as movies, music albums, and even video games!

Where did you get all of these different types of media?
From the community of course! These are all donations collected from people like you and me. Kind of like a library, but you can keep what you’d like.

Do I have to pay for anything?
Nope. There is no purchase necessary to participate in the Summer Swap Fridays. Anyone is free to participate and take home with them anything from the selection as long as they follow the rules.

I have a book or CD I think someone else would enjoy. Can I make a donation of media items?
Absolutely! If you have something you think someone else would enjoy, we welcome donations as well as they follow our guidelines. Just remember, once it is donated, it becomes fair game for someone else to take for keeps.

Cool! Do I register anywhere for this or can I just show up on the day of the Summer Swap Friday?
Another excellent question (you’re really good at this)! You do not have to register in advance to participate in the Summer Swap Fridays. However, you do need to sign-in once here so that they can get your sticker to call dibs on your media item!

Last question. Do I have to live in Flushing to participate in the Summer Swap Fridays?
Not at all. We welcome people from all over.

Okay, last question for real. What are these “challenges” I see next to the dates of the Summer Swap Fridays? What’s “NRB”?
Oh, you’ll have to come on the day of the Summer Swap Fridays to learn the specific rules for each of the challenges (we’ll also be posting them online prior to the Summer Swap Friday). These are simple fun ways to earn additional stickers. “NRB” stands for “노래방” (“Noh-Rae-Bahng”, or “singing room”; it’s the Korean word for karaoke). That particular challenge involves earning an extra sticker by singing a song for us.

For any other awesome questions, you may contact us at info@kace.org.

Google Maps for Barton Avenue, Flushing, NY (link):

About Asian American Federation (“AAF” – https://www.aafederation.org/): Established in 1989, the Asian American Federation (AAF) is the strongest leadership organization in New York serving 1.5 million Asian New Yorkers with the mission to raise the influence and well-being of the pan-Asian American community through research, policy advocacy, public awareness, and nonprofit support. We do this work in collaboration with 70 member agencies. In partnership with our 70 member and partner organizations, we represent the collective interests of 1.5 million Asian New Yorkers, across critical issue areas such as immigrant integration, mental health, economic development, and civic engagement. We are working to make sure the pan-Asian community remains visible, our needs are addressed, our contributions are valued, and our stories are told. And we do this by providing expert research, strong advocacy, and training pan-Asian nonprofits to be better at serving their communities.

About the NYC Department of Transportation: To learn more about the NYC Department of Transportation, please visit the official website here: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/

About Open Streets: To learn more about Open Streets, please visit the official website here: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/openstreets.shtml

About Korean American Civic Empowerment (“KACE” – https://www.kace.org/): KACE is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to empowering the Korean American community through community education and active civic engagement since 1996. KACE hosts several workshops and events every year to empower Korean Americans of all ages in fostering this community of a shared heritage and history. Events such as this are hosted with the mission of empowering our communities with exposure to books, music, art, and all sorts of resources alongside organic community building.