Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces Initial $150 Million+ Investment in Transformation of Fifth Avenue Into World-Class, Pedestrian-Centered Boulevard

December 8, 2024

Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, Operations: Good afternoon, everyone, and happy holidays. For the third year in a row, we, the Adams administration, have closed Fifth Avenue for the holidays, and every year the crowds come. They come for the stores, they come for the lights, the music, the windows, New Yorkers, over 300,000 people who work on Fifth Avenue, everybody comes to this incredible street. 

And it makes sense. Long ago, Fifth Avenue was built for pedestrians. It was built for people. But as cars increased, pedestrian space gave way to car space. And ever since then, many mayors have been thinking, how do we close Fifth Avenue again for people? In the 1970s, it was tried, but it just didn't stick. And now, our 110th mayor, Mayor Eric Adams, is making it happen in a big and permanent way.

He's giving New Yorkers the space they deserve, an excellent place to shop, to window watch, to linger, and to feel the excitement that is New York City in full holiday swing. This year, we have a lot to celebrate. It's the 200th birthday of this fine, world-renowned avenue. It's been a good year. It's been a good 200 years. And we think the boulevard deserves a big gift. As we look forward to the future of Fifth, I give you the 110th mayor of New York City.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much, DM, for just really having the vision of what we need to do on Fifth Avenue. For those of you who are tourists, we're going to do our job to make sure you're safe, and the streets are open. Now, I need you to do your job. Spend money. Spend a lot of money, as much as possible, here on Fifth Avenue. 

We're really excited about this, and our partners who have joined us to make this happen. 200 years. When you think about it, this is the 200th birthday of Fifth Avenue and what it represents and what it means. It's more than just the shops. This is a place where you look for the wedding ring that you were going to buy for your loved one. It was a place where you had to retire and watch for those who dedicate their life and times in the corporations and companies in the city. It was a place where a young person would look for their wedding dress or the tuxedo you're going to wear at some ceremonial event.  

There's so many memories here on Fifth Avenue. It's the cornerstone of our luxury. It's the cornerstone of our everyday shopping. It's the cornerstone of our employees that are here, and the businesses that see how important it is to be in this area. And it's an economic powerhouse, when you think about it. 300,000 jobs and $44 million in wages. 300,000 jobs, $44 million in wages. At peak times, more than 23,000 people walk this corridor in an hour during those peak times. And so when you put it into perspective, that's a full Madison Square Garden plus 4,000. And anyone who has been on Fifth Avenue recently knows that our sidewalks just can't keep pace with the number of people who are walking up and down and looking at the beautiful shops and businesses that are here. And we're doing something about it, as Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi indicated. 

From Bryant Park to Central Park, we're going to double the sidewalk space, shorten crosswalks so that the avenue is safer to cross, and adding lighting and 20 more blocks of trees and planters. We know this is a beautiful place to scroll and walk. We want to make sure you enjoy it and take your time and appreciate what Fifth Avenue has to offer. And today, we're excited. Not only am I telling you to spend money, we're going to spend money, $150 million investment in the future of Fifth Avenue. It will cover the entire design and the start, construction, including underground sewer work. And we're committed to seeing this project through to the end, especially because once it's finished, it will pay for itself in five years through increased tax revenues. 

So win-win, great symbiotic relationship that we're going to accomplish in the process. And our transformation of Fifth Avenue will boost its status as an economic engine and job creator for all five boroughs. It will help put money into working New Yorkers' pockets and make this city more affordable for all. Because Fifth Avenue isn't just a place of great shops and great dining. It is a place that ensures working-class people can be part of the prosperity of this city. And this investment will ensure it continues. That's what we're doing in this administration. We're clear on our North Star. 

Just this week, we announced our plan to slash personal income tax for those who are at 150 percent below or at federal poverty lines. And when you look at the fact over close to 600,000 New Yorkers would benefit from this, put it in proper perspective, a mother making $31,000 a year and has a child, she would no longer have to pay personal income tax. That's a real win for working-class New Yorkers. And Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer and Dan Garodnick, successful City of Yes proposal, 80,000 new jobs of new housing in our city to move it in the right direction. So I want to thank all our partners here, because you can't do it alone. It's the partnership. 

When I came into office January 1, 2022, I made it clear. This is the empire state. We will build empires. And the way to do that is to have good, strong relationships with our business community. And we have steadfastly moved in the direction to make that happen. So the Fifth Avenue Association, Grand Central Partnership, Central Park Conservancy, and Bryant Park Corporation, as well as my local elected officials, a big thank you for the people of this city and for the Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue has and will always be the economic engine of our city for the past 200 years. And today, we're putting high-octane fuel in that engine to take us the next 200 years. Congratulations to all that participated. Thank you. 

Deputy Mayor Joshi: Thank you so much, mayor. And as the mayor said, it does take all of us. I want to take a moment to thank the government agencies that help bring together projects like these, the daily tasks that they do, the details that they're attentive to. It is actually the work that makes all of this happen. So a huge thanks to the commissioner of DOT, Ydanis Rodriguez, and the commissioner of EDC, Andrew Kimball, and their amazing, intelligent staff. I also want to thank our chief public realm officer, Ya-Ting Liu, who is dogged. Don't mess with her. She will get it done. And she will get this done, too.  

And I also want to thank our partners at DEP, because as well as the facelift that everyone will see above ground, there's a truly important facelift that's going to happen underground with our water system that is actually extremely important for all New Yorkers. So as the mayor mentioned, Fifth Avenue Association has been with us from the beginning, not just financially, but also bringing their creative insight. And leading that is Madelyn Wils. Thank you.

Madelyn Wils, Interim President, Fifth Avenue Association: Thank you, deputy mayor. First of all, what a fabulous day, isn't it? What a warm, fabulous day. But I first want to thank Princess Bakeries, because we had a six-foot cake here that melted in the sun. So what can I say? It is a fabulous day, and there's got to be tens and God knows how many thousands of people here enjoying it. In 1811, the New York City Commissioner's Plan introduced the street grid system for Manhattan, renaming the existing Middle Road Fifth Avenue. 

And 13 years later, in 1824, construction commenced. Fast forward to 1907, the recently formed Fifth Avenue Association, together with the City of New York, determined that Fifth Avenue should become the first driveway in the United States. Cars were all the rage, and New York had to be the first to widen the roadbeds and reduce sidewalk space to accommodate this new feat of engineering. 

Now, nearly 120 years later, we are returning Fifth Avenue back to serve its number one mode of transportation, pedestrians. For too long, pedestrians in this great walking city have been pushed aside for competing uses. But thanks to Mayor Adams and his administration, this overcrowded yet iconic avenue, filled with the most number of historic landmarks in the United States, has a bright future. By increasing sidewalk space and beautifying this incredibly important economic engine, Fifth Avenue will return to its place as the number one shopping street in the world and the crown jewel of New York City. 

Fifth Avenue is home to some of the highest paying working class jobs in the city. And these public realm improvements will attract more people to the Central Business District, which will increase opportunity for all New Yorkers. I want to again thank, in my heart, Mayor Adams, thank you so much, and his administration for their vision and support. And I want to give a special shout out to Deputy Mayor Joshi for her belief and her doggedness in her support for this project. And Ya-Ting Liu, who's been a tremendous booster and partner on this project. And thanks to all our great city agency project team, led by EDC, DOT, Parks, and DEP.  

And I also want to thank our Fifth Avenue Association Board of Directors for their consistent passion for this project. And special kudos to our chair, Ed Hogan, who was his finger on the pulse of Fifth Avenue and knew years ago that re-envisioning this landmark corridor would solidify Fifth Avenue's position as the worldwide premier city for shopping and business. And thanks to all of our steering committee partners, Grand Central Partnership, Bryant Park Corporation, and Central Park Conservancy, and to all our members who are here today. And again, again, I cannot thank enough Mayor Adams for his steadfast support. And thank you for my throat that managed to get through this.

Deputy Mayor Joshi: We have the honor of being joined today by two elected officials who are consistently looking for ways to make our streets better for people, the people who walk on them. I know they both fight the scourge of scaffolding and they do everything to support more open space and this is a perfect example of that. So first we'll hear from our Borough President for Manhattan, Mark Levine.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine: Yeah well, Keith and I really hate scaffolding, except for this incredible box here that looks like a luxury travel trunk. That's scaffolding I can live with. Thank you so much, Deputy Mayor Joshi. Thank you, Mayor Adams, for this investment. This is big. If you love Fifth Avenue, will you make some noise? If this is your favorite shopping street in the world, will you make some noise? That's what I like to hear. 

This little stretch of street, only about a dozen blocks, hard to imagine 200 years ago when they laid it out, what it would become. But right here on this stretch of street we have tens of thousands of jobs that are supported, billions of dollars in economic activity, a huge source of revenue, and more. This is our image to the world. There are some streets in this borough that have an outsized place in the public's imagination. When you say Broadway, you think theater. When you say Wall Street, you think finance. And when you say Fifth Avenue, you think the best shopping on earth. You can applaud for that. Amen. 

But this incredible street is still laid out according to cutting-edge, state-of-the-art urban planning from the 1950s. It needs an update because we're competing now. We're competing with Champs-Élysées and Paris. We have got to do better here. We've got to prioritize the pedestrians that give this street its lifeblood, that shop in these stores that make Fifth Avenue the center of the world. Look what we can do when we make room for pedestrians. Don't you love this? 

And we have an incredible plan that will do that with the visionary leadership of the Fifth Avenue

Association. Thank you, Ed, for your leadership here. And I've got to say about Madelyn Wils, oh my God, force of nature, urban patriot. She could have retired if she wanted, but she's back in service to transform this incredible avenue. Give it up for my friend, Madelyn Wils, and your great local councilmember, Keith Powers, dream team out here today. As long as we're shouting out, I've got to shout out Ya-Ting Liu, because she rocks too. Thank you again for this investment, Mr. Mayor, for this vision to Fifth Avenue. Let's transform this for pedestrians and the world. Thank you so much, everybody.

Deputy Mayor Joshi: And with this transformation, we join all those global cities that are also pedestrianizing major shopping strips like Oxford Street in London. But that takes support from local council members. So we're privileged that Keith Powers is with us today in his show of support.

City Councilmember Keith Powers: Thank you. And happy holidays, everyone. I got to say, Madelyn Wils getting called an urban patriot. Probably is the best possible nickname you could get, I believe. I [inaudible] name tag. Look, first of all, I just want to say one thing before we talk about where we're here today. I want to just say something that was noted earlier. This week, the City Council passed a plan to bring 80,000 new homes to New York City and to lower the cost of rent here in the city. I'm so excited about that, but I want to note the mayor and his team worked diligently to put that plan on the table and to bring it to the council. And I'm glad we supported and we did it. What a great accomplishment.  

But now to be here in my district on Fifth Avenue to make a new announcement, $100 million dollars, $100 million dollars, I don't want to make the numbers wrong, $100 million dollars to invest. $150 million dollars.

That's why I looked at you, $150 million dollars to invest right in the heartbeat here of New York City. That is incredible.

Years ago, when I first got in the City Council, myself and the borough president and colleagues started asking the city to do more around this area in the holiday season because we would see, as you see here today, the crowds that would show up to want to shop and celebrate the city, but it was crowded and it was a mess. And so we started taking different blocks and closing them off and giving more space to people. Enter this administration who said to us, let's do more than just close off a few blocks at a time. Let's give people who want to be here on Fifth Avenue, who want to celebrate this city during the holiday season, more investment, we'll close the streets down and we'll offer something to the people who want to be here. 

And with the vision of people like Madelyn and people like in this administration, they came forward and said, what if we did something even bigger? And we actually invested a very big amount of resources and time and political will in making sure we are competitive with all those global cities. And so a few years ago we announced the vision and the plan and the idea of it. But like everything we do in this city, people doubt us and they ask questions whether that's really ever going to happen. And I've heard people say, yeah, okay. 

So this is a really good day because now we're putting our money where our mouths were. We're actually

saying we're moving forward and we're doing it and we're giving people in Manhattan, but also people who come all over the world, the Fifth Avenue that deserves. So first of all, kudos on a great week. This is a big week for, and certainly my district, let's, we can give, we can applause that. But what we're seeing is big thinking, big visions, and that's what New York City deserves. I'm so grateful to be a part of it. Thanks everyone. 

I have a proclamation. Like all good politicians, I show up with a proclamation, but I want to give it to the Fifth Avenue Association to celebrate this one, me and Mark Levine. I want to give for the 200th anniversary, a proclamation from the City Council. Give it to you, give it to Madelyn, I'll give it to you. We guys will give it to you. So… but congratulations. Happy 200. All right.

Deputy Mayor Joshi: Now, enough of our speaking, because we get to hear from Sing Harlem, which is coming right up. Okay. Thank you.