Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC plans to untangle chaotic Chinatown intersection, build new plaza
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 21, 2025
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 .
Ramsey Khalifeh
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 21, 2025
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 Chinatown intersection where seven different streets meet would be overhauled to ease traffic and add pedestrian space under a proposal rolled out by the city transportation department Tuesday.
Currently, the pedestrians, cyclists and drivers are all forced to navigate a maze of turns at Chatham Square near the foot of the Bowery. The intersection is so confusing that the city regularly deploys traffic cops to keep cars flowing.
The DOT said it aims to reconfigure the square, which houses the Kimlau War Memorial and Lin Ze Xu Monument at the western end of East Broadway, and expand the plaza into the middle of Bowery. The redesign would convert the square from a five-point to a four-point intersection.
“I was just walking here and there’s a car coming super fast trying to turn right and I honestly felt like he was going to clip me,” said 27-year-old Mitchell Gunter, who works in Chinatown. “It doesn’t feel super safe.”
A rendering of a proposed street redesign for Chatham Square, which would simplify the chaotic intersection.
Courtesy NYC Department of Transportation
The DOT said the project is being funded by a $55 million program designed to redevelop Lower Manhattan following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This redesign is not just about improving traffic flow — it’s about honoring the cultural legacy of this neighborhood, creating more green and public space for residents and visitors, and strengthening the economic vitality of the community,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.
DOT officials said they hope to begin work on the overhaul in 2027. But with Adams leaving office at the end of this year, it’ll be up to the next mayor to decide whether to proceed with the project.
Renderings of the redesign show a wide plaza filled with trees and other greenery. The city said it intends to use the square as a community meeting ground for public events like Lunar New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Data shared by the transportation department shows nearly 10,000 pedestrians passed through the intersection during peak afternoon and evening hours. DOT officials said the existing intersection requires pedestrians to walk long distances to cross the street while cars turn into the road.
Tagged
manhattan
new york city
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. 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 .