Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Plazas

Eyes on the Street: Pedestrians Get Room to Breathe at Astor Place

4:59 PM EDT on June 28, 2016

The new “Alamo Plaza” awaits the return of the “The Cube” and the installation of new planted trees. Photo: David Meyer

The redesign of Astor Place and Cooper Square, first unveiled in 2008, is nearly complete. The new layout greatly expands pedestrian space in an area with lots of foot traffic.

While some construction work is still in progress around the subway entrance between Lafayette Street and Fourth Avenue, the rest of the sidewalk expansions are all but finished -- missing only final landscaping touches.

The capstone will be the reinstallation of Alamo, the sculpture famously known as "The Cube," which previously stood on a traffic island between Astor Place and 8th Street. When it returns in August, the sculpture won't be surrounded by traffic on all sides, instead sitting squarely in "Alamo Plaza" thanks to the pedestrianization of one block of Astor Place.

South of Cooper Union, the sidewalk by Cooper Triangle is much wider and the roadbed much narrower. Outside the offices of the Village Voice there's an expanded pedestrian zone called "Village Plaza." Tree beds in the area await plantings, and the park in Cooper Triangle has yet to reopen.

Like most capital projects built by the Department of Design and Construction, these changes have taken a long time to complete. The project was first floated in 2008. The community board voted for it in January of 2011. The groundbreaking happened two and half years later. Earlier this year, when Streetsblog inquired about the still-unfinished project, DDC said the "delays [are] due to utility interference and additional work from our client agency," referring to NYC DOT.

The city's online database of projects says the Astor Place project will wrap up Aug. 5.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024

SEE IT: Hit-and-Run Driver With Fake Plate Seriously Injures Cyclist

The 5 p.m. crash occurred at Flushing and Waverly avenue near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

March 28, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines: Shakira Shakira Edition

Pop superstar Shakira performed for a crowd of 40,000 packed into the Times Square pedestrian plazas. Plus congestion pricing news and more.

March 28, 2024
See all posts