Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Times Square

Turn Times Square Back Into Traffic Hell? Tell Bratton and de Blasio: No Way

By Stephen Miller | Aug 28, 2015 | 1 Comment

Since Mayor Bill de Blasio won’t rule out the threat of removing the Times Square plazas, first raised by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, it’s time to take action. Two petitions are circulating to urge the mayor not to give Times Square back to cars. One petition organized by the Design Trust for Public Space and backed by the Municipal […]

Times Square Flashback: Revisit the Bad Old Days With Streetfilms

By Stephen Miller | Aug 21, 2015 | 34 Comments

New Yorkers might have forgotten just how bad the bad old days were in Times Square. Gridlock blocked crosswalks. Pedestrians were relegated to crush levels on the sidewalks. It wasn’t a pleasant place to be. Relive the nightmare with this Streetfilm from 2006, in which Streetsblog publisher Mark Gorton interviews Danish architect and public space expert […]

Memo to Chris Quinn: New York Voters Like Livable Streets

By Brad Aaron | Mar 20, 2012 | 6 Comments

Christine Quinn is not known as a politician who shies away from shying away, but it might be time to ditch her public indifference toward NYC DOT’s street safety and public space program. Monday evening, the Times reported on a Times Square Alliance study that, Great Recession notwithstanding, shows booming growth since 2007. Currently, the […]

Design For Permanent Times Square Plazas Released

By Noah Kazis | Sep 27, 2011 | 20 Comments

By taking out a troublesome diagonal from the Manhattan grid, the Green Light for Midtown program improved street safety and retail business while creating new public space at one of New York City’s most iconic locations. Pedestrian injuries are down 35 percent and injuries to motorists are down 63 percent, even while traffic is flowing […]

Times Square: Livable Streets Mecca, Retail Sensation

By Brad Aaron | Sep 2, 2011 | 7 Comments

Two years after Mayor Bloomberg and NYC DOT remade Times Square, the city’s premiere public space is one of the world’s leading shopping destinations. Crain’s reports that annual rankings from international real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield place Times Square among the ten most desirable retail locations on the planet, topped in New York only […]

Eyes on the Street: Times Square, May 2, 2011

By Ben Fried | May 2, 2011 | 6 Comments

Ten years ago, after the attacks of September 11, New Yorkers came together in places like Union Square, holding candlelight vigils and creating impromptu memorials to the victims. Following the news late last night that American forces had killed Osama bin Laden, people again flocked to New York’s iconic public spaces. This time the mood […]

Show More Stories