Public Spaces
Park Plazas
For over a decade, Herald and Greeley Squares have anchored the 34th Street district. In 2009, NYC’s “Broadway Boulevard” project closed Broadway to vehicle traffic between 35th and 32nd Streets, creating a pedestrian zone that more than doubled the passive space provided by the Squares. 34SP immediately began to program the newly pedestrianized space, installing chairs, tables, planters, and umbrellas and providing activities and entertainment.
What had once been one of the most congested streets in the city quickly became a place of relaxation, rendezvous, and recreation. 34SP provides, free to the public, a ping pong area, fitness classes,dance classes, poetry open mic nights, financial literacy seminars, pop-up food markets, and more. These are dynamic spaces, featuring new classes and programs every summer in the public plazas that surround Herald and Greeley Square Parks.
Herald and Greeley Square Parks
The restoration of Herald and Greeley Squares, completed in 1999, was 34SP’s most dramatic capital project. Transforming what had been concrete wastelands into gorgeous oases in the heart of the district, the project created a much-needed space that serves workers, shoppers, and tourists alike.
Each Square offers chairs, tables and umbrellas, immaculate free restrooms, and food kiosks operated by Wafels & Dinges and Perros y Vainas. Herald and Greeley Squares have also served as sets for TV and film projects, as sites for product openings, and as quintessentially “New York” backdrops for photo shoots. And for over fifty years the image of Herald Square as the terminus for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has beamed into millions of American homes.
Plaza33 is the perfect spot to take a rest after your morning commute, people-watch before a show at Madison Square Garden, or catch some rays during a workday lunchbreak. Plaza33 also has a small "grove" of maples, umbrellas for shade, and movable chairs and tables.
As part of a pilot program in 2016, 34th Street Partnership partnered with Vornado and NYC DOT on a temporary street closure, the first iteration of Plaza33. Over three summers, Plaza33 hosted dozens of events and thousands of visitors, and was deemed a success. The plaza was made permanent and reopened to the public in spring 2024.
Plaza33 is located on the west side of 7th Avenue and 33rd Street, next to the Penn Station Gateway entrance and with easy access to numerous subway and regional train lines.
Find Wafels & Dinges at the northern tip of Herald Square Park, and Perros y Vainas at the southern tip of Greeley Square Park!
Wafels: open daily 9am-midnight
Perros: open daily 7am-9pm
