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Mayor Eric Adams wants $402M of public money to upgrade 5th Avenue shopping district
By
Stephen Nessen
Published May 21, 2025
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Courtesy NYC Mayor's Office
By
Stephen Nessen
Published May 21, 2025
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Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday pitched a $422 million makeover to Midtown’s Fifth Avenue shopping district that would be almost entirely funded by city taxpayers.
The changes would be implemented on a 0.9-mile stretch between Bryant Park and Central Park, reducing the number of traffic lanes on the street from five to three. The plan would also expand the sidewalks on either side of Fifth Avenue from 15 feet to a roomy 25 and add 230 new trees to the corridor.
Adams said the reconstruction of the street would not begin until 2028. He nonetheless wanted to fund the work through the city’s upcoming annual budget that’s due at the end of June. The spend would require the City Council's approval.
Officials from the mayor’s office said public money would be used to cover $402 million, while business groups with the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District would kick in an additional $20 million.
City officials said they hoped the changes would turn the portion of Fifth Avenue — which houses luxury shops like Saks and Tiffany’s flagship stores — into an international shopping destination like Paris’ Champs-Élysées.
“ No more crammed sidewalks,” Adams said during a news conference. “No more dodging traffic. We're making Fifth Avenue more walkable, greener and safer.”
The stretch targeted for the redesign includes Trump Tower.
The plan drew the ire of transit and cycling advocates, who complained the changes would eliminate one of the street’s two bus lanes while failing to give cyclists any dedicated space.
Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Pearlstein said the mayor was “throwing riders under the bus to favor luxury boutiques.”
"Just like Gov. Cuomo's notorious Buffalo Billion, Mayor Adams' Fifth Avenue Half Billion is a huge corporate giveaway at New Yorkers' expense,” Pearlstein said.
More space for pedestrians and trees on Fifth Avenue is slated to cost a whopping $422 million.
Courtesy Future of Fifth
Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas said he worried the changes would push cyclists onto the sidewalks, putting pedestrians at risk.
“This shortsighted ‘vision’ snubs bus riders, pedestrians and people on bikes alike,” Furnas said in a statement.
The mayor’s office reached a deal with Fifth Avenue merchants to overhaul the street last fall, but it was not clear at the time how much of the work would be paid for by private merchants. Previously, the price tag for the work was estimated at $350 million — but has since ballooned to $422 million. Wednesday’s announcement showed the private business groups would pay for less than 5% of that cost.
City officials noted the bulk of the money was to be spent on relocating and upgrading underground infrastructure, like sewer lines, water mains and other utilities. Officials said that work is long overdue, and that the costly relocation of the utilities was necessary in order to plant new trees on the street.
The utility work would require the city to rip up Fifth Avenue during construction, officials said.
The work can’t begin until 2028 because the project is still being designed. The city also needs to coordinate with Consolidated Edison and the city Department of Environmental Protection, according to Madelyn Wils, the CEO of the Fifth Avenue Association.
Adams argued Fifth Avenue generates valuable tax dollars for the city, making it a worthwhile investment for public money. Commerce on that stretch creates $111.5 billion in “total economic output each year,” the mayor said.
Tagged
new york city
manhattan
transportation
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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