Spanning W. 12th Street in front of the Lang building, students gathered for free food, music, crafts and carnival festivities at the 25th Annual Block Party on May 5.

The New School hosted an in-person block party on May 5 for the first time since 2019.

Following The New School’s first ever prom, the latest in-person event was the university’s 25th Annual Block Party. The last block party was in September 2021, and was hosted virtually due to COVID-19.

The event is a New School street party featuring carnival rides, arcade games and booths filled with an assortment of food. This year, the Block Party was hosted on W. 12th Street outside the Lang building, and spanned the street. The event began at 4:30 p.m. on a deceivingly summer-y day.

The street was lined with balloons with the biggest attraction, a large rock wall, towering over the festivities below. A red and yellow bounce house was filled with students and kids of all ages, while the scent of tacos and fries wafted through the air. Clusters of friends laughed together and stood in line for henna tattoos, caricature drawings, t-shirt designing and mask decorating.

Chloe Dulac, a first-year studying Integrated Design at Parsons School of Design, attended the event with her friends.

“The school block party was a great way to make The New School community feel more connected,” she said. “It was great to see my classmates and meet new people while celebrating the end of the year.”

The school block party was a great way to make The New School community feel more connected.

— Chloe Dulac, first-year Integrated Design student at Parsons School of Design

Ian Schoenfield, a first-year Screen Studies student at Lang enjoyed the sense of community at the event. 

“I liked, mostly, that there was a block party for New School students,” Schoenfield said. “It often feels like the school doesn’t do much for its students, and it was a really great community building thing. I really like events where I get to see a bunch of people I know tentatively. It was nice to be that social.”

Schoenfield added that the event would have been more enjoyable if there had been enough food for all guests and if the lines for activities had been shorter, though they were still glad they attended.

Dohreen Dessalines, a first-year studying Strategic Design and Management at Parsons, agreed that the sense of community the Block Party fostered was a draw for her, especially during finals. 

“I thought it was super fun and great to see everyone as a community come together,” Dessalines said. “It was also nice to have the Block Party because with finals being so stressful this was a nice break from everything.”

Despite the difficulties brought on by COVID-19 this year, some students felt events like the Block Party and prom were spaces for connection and community within The New School.