Proposal would create car-free zone around Union Square

NEW YORK - The Union Square Partnership has proposed a plan that would use the success of the 14th Street busway to close down the street to cars in order to create 33% more public space.

"Union Square Park is one of the great public spaces in New York City," said Ed Janoff, Deputy Director of the Union Square Partnership. "Our proposal here is to make Union Square bigger and better for everybody who uses it."

According to Janoff, the streets around all sides of Union Square Park will be brought up to pedestrian grade to provide accessibility for all, with the ultimate goal of creating a unified town square feel.

"We came up with a plan to expand Union Square Park to its surrounding edges. So bring some of the park paving all the way out into the neighborhood, so that you'll really have this feel that all of the neighborhood is connected to Union Square Park in a way that it isn't today," said Janoff.

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While the plan has been in the works for some time, it's one that could find a lot of favor in a post-pandemic city landscape.

According to Janoff, it will take 10 to 20 years to complete all 5 of the key projects in the plan and will cost $100M, which includes the reconstruction of roughly a mile worth of streets and almost three acres of parkland.