Union Square Park to gain 2 acres in $100M plan

Project requires public funding and approval

Union Square Park to gain 2 acres in $100M plan (Getty_
Union Square Park to gain 2 acres in $100M plan (Getty)

Union Square Partnership has unveiled unfunded plans to make over Union Square Park, including adding two acres to its footprint.

Although the plan to grow the park to a total of 8.85 acres has been in the works for more than two years, it has become more relevant since the pandemic began pushing activities outside, according to the Wall Street Journal. The plan would cost $100 million and have to go through the city’s public review process.

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Though the partnership — a business improvement district funded by a tax surcharge on property in the area — has said that it would kick in millions of dollars through fundraising, the city would have to pay the bulk of the cost and carry out the project. The de Blasio administration supports the plan but is in its final year.

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“This vision will enhance Union Square Park with a more seamless, equitable and accessible design,” Mitchell J. Silver, the city’s parks commissioner, told the Journal in a statement.

The plan is broken into several projects, with separate budgets and timelines. Overall, the project could take a decade to complete.

[WSJ] — Sasha Jones