{"id":285024,"date":"2026-07-02T16:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/285024\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T16:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:54:12","slug":"new-pedestrian-plaza-opens-on-fifth-avenue-offering-concessions-and-public-seating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/285024\/","title":{"rendered":"New pedestrian plaza opens on Fifth Avenue, offering concessions and public seating"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new pedestrian plaza featuring public seating and concession stands will open on Fifth Avenue<\/a> near Central Park this Friday, in a bid to bring more public space to an area that has historically provided little pedestrian-friendly amenities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Fifth Avenue Association<\/a>, the Business Improvement District representing businesses between 46th Street and 61st Street on the avenue, has activated a space on the east side of Grand Army Plaza between 58th and 59th Street and on the north side of w58th Street near the Pulitzer Fountain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ed Pincar, president of the Fifth Avenue Association, said the DOT installed painted pedestrian zones in the area during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 but said the spaces were \u201coverrun\u201d by petty cabs and unlicensed street vendors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto via Fifth Avenue Association.<\/p>\n

He said the BID approached the DOT about activating the space after the Central Park Conservancy set about renovating Grand Army Plaza and the Pulitzer Fountain two years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The BID installed custom tables and chairs in the area capable of seating 64 people as well as installing planters with the option for seasonal plantings.\n<\/p>\n

Pedestrians have already been trying out the new street furniture, which is available seven days a week, but the plaza will officially open on July 3, when Parisian tea room and bakery Angelina opens a concession stand in the location.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Angelina will operate a concession stand at the plaza every weekend during summer through Sept. 7, Pincar said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0not only beautified the space and made\u00a0it more inviting. We\u2019re also now working with Angelina Paris to give a real opportunity to enjoy concessions, beautiful pastries, ice cream, coffee within the space,\u201d Pincar said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pincar said the thoroughfare sees a \u201ctremendous amount of foot traffic\u201d from shoppers and visitors alike but said there had been precious little spaces to slow down and take a break.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was never an opportunity for real respite,\u201d Pincar said. \u201cWe\u2019re encouraging New Yorkers and visitors from around the world to take a moment to pause, reflect, and really enjoy one of the most beautiful spots in New York City in a completely new way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pincar further noted that the new pedestrian plaza precedes the Future of Fifth redevelopment plan, a public-private partnership aiming to transform the Fifth Avenue corridor from Bryant Park to Central Park through street and public realm improvements that prioritize pedestrians by widening sidewalks and incorporating seating, trees, plantings and spaces for commmunity gathering and interaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFifth Avenue itself has not always matched the in-store opportunities,\u201d Pincar said. \u201cThe Association is focused on elevating the\u00a0pedestrian experience up and down Fifth Avenue and here at\u00a0Grand Army Plaza to something much more special than it was before.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pincar believes that the new plaza has already been a \u201cgrand slam\u201d with pedestrians on Fifth Avenue, stating that the BID had taken an underutilized roadway and converted it into a pedestrianized zone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city had reserved the painted pedestrian spaces a couple of years ago without any plan to activate it, and the Association saw the\u00a0opportunity to layer on something new.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto via Fifth Avenue Association.<\/p>\n

The BID will continue to work with the city to continue to run activations and concession stands at the space after the summer, but said the seating and seasonal plantings will be a year-round fixture for pedestrians to enjoy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is certainly\u00a0to have appropriate and exciting activations throughout the year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new pedestrian plaza featuring public seating and concession stands will open on Fifth Avenue near Central Park…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[109274,106752,8001,75,84,83,9,24,63,109275,109276],"class_list":["post-285024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-angelina-paris","tag-fifth-avenue-association","tag-grand-army-plaza","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-pedestrian-plaza","tag-public-seating"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}