Times Square Billboards Repurposed For Coronavirus PSAs

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Billboards in Times Sqaure that once hawked products, hyped up new movies and television series and drew crowds of tourists to Broadway shows are being repurposed to display messages of support for New Yorkers dealing with the city's massive outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Posters showcasing uplifting messages, thanking healthcare workers and first responders and reminding New Yorkers to wash their hands and stay indoors were projected onto the massive screens Friday, the Times Square Alliance announced. The initiative is a partnership between the alliance's public arts organization Times Square Arts and New York's Poster House museum.

"As it has so often in the past during moments of crisis or celebration, Times Square will channel the spirit of the city to the country and to the world," Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins said in a statement.

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Poster House and the publication Print Magazine connected graphic designers with Times Square Arts.

"With people all over New York banding together to combat this disease and support those on the front lines, it was only natural for New York organizations to partner in that same spirit, bringing together the power of mass communication and public art, then magnifying it with our gratitude," Poster House Director Julia Knight said.

Times Square has been largely empty since city and state officials implemented social distancing measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus throughout the city. Only essential workers in fields such as healthcare, public transit, city agencies and first responders should be leaving the home to go to work, according to an executive order passed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The city's tourism agency, Times Square's main draw, has come to a complete standstill.

Designs will also be displayed on Link NYC kiosks throughout New York City and on the billboards above the Lincoln Tunnel. The billboard companies donated the space to the arts organizations, according to the Times Square Alliance.

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