Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Manhattan's Park Avenue would look more like a park under plan pushed by Mamdani
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 29, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Courtesy NYC Department of Transportation
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 29, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A busy section of Manhattan’s Park Avenue would look more like its namesake under a plan floated by Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday.
The city transportation department released new designs for an overhaul of the street north of the MetLife building up to East 57th Street that would widen its pedestrian medians by removing a traffic lane in each direction.
The department released two visions for the street: One would focus on making pedestrian promenades, while another would add a winding bike path in the middle of the street, similar to the Allen Malls on the Lower East Side.
“With this new redesign, we are putting the ‘Park’ back into Park Avenue and upgrading Midtown Manhattan by providing residents and visitors alike with more usable public space,” Mamdani wrote in a statement.
A century ago, Park Avenue's medians were 56 feet wide and had walking paths and rows of greenery. That changed in 1927, when they were narrowed to accommodate more car traffic. Now, the medians are just 20 feet wide — and the redesign would more than double their space.
City officials said the project would coincide with the MTA’s $1.7 billion rehabilitation of its crumbling Grand Central Terminal train shed, which sits beneath Park Avenue.
The MTA is preparing to rip up the street to repair the shed, and transportation officials said that since the current medians will be removed, it’s a once-in-a-century chance to build a modern street from scratch.
Jamie Torres-Springer, the head of construction at the MTA, said that the city is cooperating with the MTA’s timeline.
“We are thrilled to incorporate these public realm improvements as we rebuild the train shed, but our agreement is very specific: the city’s work cannot slow down our infrastructure repairs,” Torres-Springer said.
Tagged
manhattan
new york city
parks
transportation
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .