About DOT

Park Avenue Vision Plan

NYC DOT is leading a visioning effort to create a cohesive community-informed redesign for the streetscape of Park Avenue between 46th Street and 57th Street in Manhattan's Midtown East neighborhood. The City aims to transform the avenue into a greener, safer, and more pedestrian-friendly corridor. Key elements of the new design include a wider median, pedestrian enhancements, seating, landscaping, and innovative streetscape amenities.

Take our survey to share your thoughts on Park Avenue

In Manhattan, cars, yellow taxis and vans travel along Park Avenue. A raised median planted with colorful mums divides the two directions of vehicular traffic.

About the Project

NYC DOT has engaged a multidisciplinary design team led by Starr Whitehouse, together with Thornton Tomasetti and TYLin, to work in close collaboration with stakeholders to develop the overall vision plan for Park Avenue. The design team will conduct extensive surveys of existing conditions along the corridor, including utilities and other unique needs, to help unlock the range of design possibilities available.

The Park Avenue visioning process will happen in parallel with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s Metro-North Railroad major capital rehabilitation project. MTA's project will replace and waterproof the Grand Central Terminal's train shed structure directly below this segment of Park Avenue. Learn more about MTA's Grand Central Train Shed Roof Replacement Project on YouTube.

Developing the Vision

Building upon the outreach undertaken by NYC DOT in 2020, which shaped the call for proposals for this design effort, NYC DOT will rely on community input to shape the Park Avenue vision. Starting in late 2025, NYC DOT and the design team will begin collecting feedback through surveys, events, and other engagement strategies. Discussions with New Yorkers, local businesses, commuters, elected officials, and other stakeholders will provide valuable information to the project team as conceptual proposals are developed and refined through 2026.

Survey & Feedback Map

Share your thoughts about Park Avenue by taking our Park Avenue Vision Public Survey.

Resources

Find previous workshop materials, community board presentations, and other resources online at: nycdotprojects.info/project/park-avenue.

The Greater East Midtown Plan (2017) established the East Midtown Public Realm Improvement Fund Governing Group, creating a framework by which new commercial developments and the transfer of development rights contribute to public realm improvements across the district, including this section of Park Avenue.

History

1831: Park Avenue built and named Fourth Avenue.
1888: Planters installed on the medians of 34th Street to 40th Street and the street is renamed Park Avenue. More planters installed over the course of the 19th century.
1927: Grand Central built and medians are narrowed to accommodate more traffic.
2007: NYC DOT and Metro North reach an agreement to install pedestrian traffic signals (walk/don't walk) along a 10-block stretch that did not previously include the signals.
2021: Construction on 270 Park Avenue begins, continuing previous repair and construction efforts to rehabilitate the Grand Central Train Shed led by MTA.
2025: NYC DOT began community engagement with the Park Avenue community through multiple surveys, tabling sessions, and workshops. Landscape architecture firm Starr Whitehouse selected to develop an overall vision for the redesign of Park Avenue.

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