The city on Thursday unveiled details about its plan to reshape an iconic section of Fifth Avenue into a more pedestrian-centered boulevard.
The proposed redesign, first announced in December 2022, would span more than a dozen blocks along Fifth Avenue — from Bryant Park at 42nd Street to Central Park at 59th Street.
The plan includes expanding the width of the sidewalks along the stretch, shortening crosswalks, cutting the number of traffic lanes from five to three and adding more than 230 new trees, 20,000 square feet of planters, new seating and improved lighting, City Hall said in a press release.
“New Yorkers deserve an iconic boulevard that will rival the rest of the world — and together with the Future of Fifth Partnership, we’re going to deliver just that,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “Right now, 70% of the people on Fifth Avenue are pedestrians, but they can only utilize less than half the space. On the holidays, that’s 23,000 people every hour — 4,000 more than a packed MSG — cramming like sardines into constrained sidewalks. That makes no sense — so we’re going to flip the script.”
Currently, the 100-foot-wide avenue has two 23-foot sidewalks. The redesign would expand each sidewalk to 33.5 feet — including 25 feet of “unobstructed walking space” and an 8.5-foot swath for trees — reducing crossing lengths in the process, according to the release.
“The design draws inspiration from Fifth Avenue’s historic landmarks and art deco influences, heightening the iconic architectural features integral to the avenue’s visual identity,” the release said. “It is also inspired by other iconic shopping street redesigns, including the Champs Elysees in Paris; Calle Serrano in Madrid; Bond, Oxford and Regent Streets in London; and Ginza in Tokyo.”
“Once complete, this project — the first major redesign in the avenue’s 200-year history — is projected to pay for itself in less than five years through increased property and sales tax revenue,” the release added.
The plan, however, has drawn criticism from advocates who say it puts bus riders at a disadvantage.
"Mayor Adams' proposal is a step backwards for 110,000 bus riders, who were promised a busway,” Riders Alliance policy and communications director Danny Pearlstein said in a statement. “An exclusive process produced an incomplete plan that caters to luxury boutiques but ignores how their workers get to work. Fifth Avenue should be a busway, prioritizing safety and connectivity for public transit riders, emergency vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists."