Transcript: Mayor Adams Announces New Investments, Totaling Over $400 Million, to Fully Fund Transformation of Fifth Avenue Into World-Class, Pedestrian Centered Boulevard as Part of “Best Budget Ever”

May 21, 2025

First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Randy Mastro, and it's my honor today to emcee this great event. Days when you can announce a transformative public works project like this one are the days that make it all worthwhile. 

Today, we're here to announce and celebrate a project that will transform our Street of Dreams into a boulevard that will be the envy of the world. And to live in the greatest city of the world, we should have a boulevard of dreams, one to rival the Champs-Élysées. And that's what we will have when this project is fully realized. 

So many people to thank, so many people in government and outside of government who are involved in this public-private partnership. Ya-Ting Liu, Andrew Kimball, Rohit T. Aggarwala, Ydanis Rodriguez, Deputy Mayor Jeff Roth from our administration, thank you, and your teams. Madelyn Wils, who you'll hear from later, Fred Cerullo from the Grand Central Partnership, Dan Biederman from Bryant Park, Betsy Smith, who's here with us from Central Park Conservancy, Jen Hensley here from ConEd, all partners in this great project. 

But the man of the hour, the one whose vision and leadership has made this all possible, our mayor, Eric Adams. Thank you.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thanks so much, first deputy mayor. Also hats off to former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer and Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, those two deputy mayors saw this vision as well. I don't know if it came from all the shopping on Fifth Avenue or just understanding how important this piece of real estate is for all of us. 

It's not only used for many of our major parades, but a parade of tourists who come here and spend money that helps cascade throughout our entire city. This is a huge, huge economic stimulus for this entire city. The first deputy mayor, when he came on board, he was zero focus on getting this over the finish line and doing what's right for our economy and for Fifth Avenue. Fifth Avenue has been a mainstay for this city during all of the difficult times. 

If you look at the closures during COVID, they held on. If you looked at times during the 80s, when we were struggling with criminality in the city, they held on. During times when we were trying to focus on the rebuilding of our city, when many people were fleeing, Fifth Avenue held on, continuing to be the magnet that allowed people to be attracted to this beautiful place we call New York. Their success really allowed their gravitational pull of tourists and other visitors to allow our entire solar system to benefit, every borough benefited. 

The countless number of people who travel to Fifth Avenue and work and then go back home to have a productive life in their community. So this is not a Fifth Avenue just for Manhattan. It's a Fifth Avenue for all of the five boroughs, and we cannot thank them enough. 

This place was once known as America's Street of Dreams, and those dreams have often remained silent. Well, today we're seeing the alarm clock going off, we're waking up, and we're going to wake up the economic stability of this great community in this great area. 

Two centuries ago, Fifth Avenue was just a dirt road. It's hard to even imagine and believe that. But it has turned and transformed itself, and today it’s a busting boulevard of shopping, restaurants, businesses, and tourism. It's also home to five lanes of traffic congestion, pollution, and high foot traffic. More people walk down Fifth Avenue in one hour than would fill Madison Square Garden tonight when the Knicks beat the Pacers and head their way to the finals. Got to get that in. 

So this current design is not working. It's not modernized enough. It's not fitting the process. It has not evolved with the time. So part of our Best Budget Ever, we are injecting an additional $250 million to fully fund the city and the future of Fifth Avenue's partnerships plan to transform Fifth Avenue’s entire stretch of real estate from Bryant Park to Central Park. 

And we cannot thank this team here. When they met with me over a year ago, they were clear. We're not going to ask you to do this alone, Eric. We're going to be partners with you, and we knew we could land the plane, and today we're landing that plane with a total sum of $400 million to fully fund this project. This is in addition to the $250 million that we're doing now and $152 million we committed to previously. 

No more crammed sidewalks. No more dodging traffic. We're making Fifth Avenue more walkable, greener, and safer. The stretch of real estate that we enjoy walking all the time from Bryant Park to Central Park, we're going to double the sidewalk space, shorten the crosswalks so that the avenue is safer to cross, green the avenue with more than 230 tree planters, and add in new seating and better lighting. 

We don't have to travel to Paris or London to experience the world-class shopping restaurants and green pedestrian-friendly streets. We're going to have that right here to add to all of the other attractions we have. Right in our backyard, we're going to have the beautiful boulevard that we all expect and we all deserve to have in this premier city called New York. 

And we're going to cement Fifth Avenue's status as an economic engine and job creator for all five boroughs. We know that people spend more money when they shop on open, green streets, which puts money back into the pockets of working-class New Yorkers who work in this business district. We have seen what happens when we open space to the public. 

Thousands of New Yorkers and tourists reveled in our open streets here on Fifth Avenue during the holiday season. It is a major boost in our economy during our holiday season when we do our Open Streets Initiative. Green open spaces fire up our economy and lead to safer streets for all. 

So this [inaudible] reimagine means more room to walk, to bike, to shop, and do what I like to tell tourists all the time, to spend money, spend a lot of money in New York. And we're excited about the more room for opportunity and it means less traffic and less noise. 

What's more is that this investment we are making today will pay for itself within five years of completion thanks to increased tax revenues along the avenue. Looking down Fifth Avenue, you see the past, the present, and we're going to see the future. This avenue moves New Yorkers and visitors alike and powers our economy. 

And I just really want to thank all the partners who have been part of this initiative. This is a living example of private and public sector coming together to improve our city, to make it more livable, more affordable, and more workable for healthy children and families. I thank everyone that's involved, and let's shop on Fifth Avenue. Thank you.

First Deputy Mayor Mastro: I hope my wife isn't watching this press conference because she shops on Fifth Avenue. Next up, our partner in government, City Council, the representative from this district. We're going to hear from Councilman Keith Powers.

City Councilmember Keith Powers: Good morning. I want to start with the most important thing to say today, let's go Knicks. Thank you for acknowledging that they are going to win tonight. 

This is exciting news because Fifth Avenue is the heartbeat of Manhattan and it's certainly the heartbeat of our city. It is a corridor that is so essential to New York City's economy. When you walk up and down here, whether it's on a regular day like today or when you are certainly here during the holidays or on a parade or any other day, you can feel the congestion of the sidewalks and you can aspire, while you walk down here, for something that does look like those other cities that we see all across the world, where you have beautiful pedestrian space and we make it a place that is welcoming and inviting for you every single day. 

This corridor, whether it is the amazing fashion and retail that is here or the major engine of economic activity and a major transportation hub for so many New Yorkers, it is a place where we should be thinking big. And I recall not long ago, with Madelyn Wils and the mayor's team and others, thinking and talking about even the possibility that we would do something transformative here on Fifth Avenue. 

And I give them a lot of credit because it's easy to say yes. It's a lot harder to actually go forward and invest money into it because we do that so much in the city. We talk about things, we don't get here, and we actually invest in them and do them. 

This is going to be a transformative experience for people that are New Yorkers and use this every day or just even routinely to get around the city. Transformative for people that come to visit the city to be a welcoming space and a much more inviting space and hopefully something that when they go home, they'll talk about and tell people about the transformation of Fifth Avenue. So thank you to everyone who made this a possibility today. 

This is a really big day, and I look forward to seeing it. I think, what, one year it's going to be done? But I do look forward to moving forward and seeing this really come to life. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you to everyone who's a part of this.

First Deputy Mayor Mastro: Now another representative of our administration, our DOT commissioner, Ydanis Rodriguez.

Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Department of Transportation: Well, DOT is the agency that manages and oversees 26 percent of the land of New York City. So all the sidewalks and roadways are under the leadership of this agency, and it's an honor to be here, recognizing that we have the mayor that has made the largest investment on transportation in our history. 

I'm proud to be here today to represent the New York City DOT, the lead agency in spearheading the transformation of Fifth Avenue into a world-class pedestrian-first boulevard. We are joined by our partners, especially EDC, Andrew, who is here. It is through EDC that we're going to be putting all the money, every single dollar, but thanks to EDC, DEP, Parks and Mayor's Office, and community stakeholders to celebrate a major milestone in this historic project. 

Fifth Avenue, as you heard from Mayor Eric Adams, has always been a symbol of New York City's global identity. But for too long, its design has prioritized vehicles over the millions of people who walk it every year. With this historic $550 million investment, we are finally bringing the design of Fifth Avenue in line with how it's actually used by making it a pedestrian-first corridor, redesigning for 2075, not for 1975. 

This project builds on years of momentum from the city's successful holiday open streets on Fifth Avenue. When we turned the streets over pedestrians during the holidays, the funding and the data show that there was an increase of sales those days when we were mainly focused on pedestrians. Those events show just how much people love walking Fifth Avenue and how we help the local businesses, too, with big boosts in foot traffic and sales. 

It also builds on the long-term success of New York City DOT's pedestrianization of Times Square, which used to be a storyful car in the 80s, but Mayor Bloomberg and Janette worked on Times Square, and they changed it from a storyful car to a playful concert where Shakira held a concert with 44,000 people. 

From Broadway Plaza to Neighborhood Open Street, DOT has been leading the charge in reclaiming space for people, and Fifth Avenue is the next major step in that transformation. This redesign will significantly widen sidewalks, reduce traffic lanes by still keeping three lanes for vehicles, and add trees, planters, and seating to create a greener, more walkable public space. 

As the agency's responsibility to manage and maintain the city's streets and sidewalks, DOT is proud of playing a role in implementing this vision alongside our agency and civic partners, especially the Fifth Avenue Beat. Unfortunately, they took our Manhattan Borough Commissioner, Ed Pincar, but I know that he will continue making great contributions. 

By building public space that reflects how New Yorkers move through and use their city, we are not only improving daily life, we are strengthening our economy and making the city more resilient. I want to thank, as I said before, Mayor Eric Adams. In ‘22, he increased our budget DOT by 18 percent. In ‘23, he added almost $400 million. And in ‘24, he kept adding millions and millions. This is the administration that has invested more dollars in our New York City Department of Transportation.

Estamos aquí con el alcalde Eric Adams, agradeciendo el dinero con él está poniendo en este lugar, rediseñado la Quinta Avenida para ser la más para peatones para que los que vengan a comprar a la tiendas tengan más espacio para caminar. Thank you.

Translation: We're here with Mayor Eric Adams, thanking him for the money he's putting into this place, redesigning Fifth Avenue to be more pedestrian-friendly so that those who come to shop have more space to walk. Thank you.

First Deputy Mayor Mastro: Thank you. And now, on behalf of Fifth Avenue, someone who's been a dear friend for many years, did transformative work, the Hudson Park, now doing transformative work on Fifth Avenue, Madelyn Wils.

Madelyn Wils, Interim President, Fifth Avenue Association: Good morning, everyone, on this beautiful spring day. Thank you, First Deputy Mayor Mastro. It's an honor and a pleasure to work with you to forward Mayor Adams' agenda, in warp speed, I might add. 

The city began building Fifth Avenue in 1824, starting at Washington Square Park. Over 100 years ago, in 1907, the Fifth Avenue Association was founded by local residents, including the titans of industry, the Carnegies, the Vanderbilts, and the Astors, with the purpose of keeping Fifth Avenue safe and preserving commerce, art, and architecture. 

Today, although those families are no longer with us, the Fifth Avenue Association continues to pursue those basic goals. A few years ago, at the beginning of COVID, the board of the Fifth Avenue Association, under the leadership of Chair Ed Hogan, determined that Upper Fifth Avenue, that's what we call this, after serving for over 100 years as the world's most iconic street, needed to be revitalized in order to compete in a global economy. 

For the sake of keeping New York's title as the shopping capital of the world, as well as its good-paying jobs, after 100 years with no public investment, the time had come to reinvest in the public realm of Fifth Avenue and return it to its former glory. 

And I am joined today by leaders of international brands and owners of some of the most beautiful landmark buildings in New York. And together, we are here to thank Mayor Adams for his pro-economic agenda and for understanding the inherent value of Fifth Avenue, not just to the Midtown Business District or New York, but to the world. 

For years, Fifth Avenue has been an economic engine and has produced billions of dollars of revenue annually for the city, creating tens of thousands of high-paying, working-class jobs. And with the investment the mayor is announcing today, Fifth Avenue will continue to be the powerhouse it has for the last 100 years. 

This is an enormously complicated project with many partners who have come together to help realize this once-in-a-century opportunity. I would like to thank some of them today, although some of them have been thanked. First, Andrew Kimball, president of EDC, and Leonard Greco and Joshua Kraus, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, our partners from the Department of Parks and Recreation, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, Anastasios Georgelis, Jen Hensley, and Robert Brantley from Con Edison, and I'm sure I missed a few. 

In addition, I'd like to thank our partners, Betsy Smith, president of Central Park Conservancy, Fred Cerullo, president of Grand Central Partnership, Dan Biederman, president of Bryan Park Corporation, and last but not least, rock star Ya-Ting Liu, chief public realm officer. And of course, our board of directors and members, many, again, who are here today, who have been completely committed to this project. 

And finally, again, we owe our gratitude to Mayor Adams, who recognizes the value and importance of this project. Paris, London, Madrid, Tokyo, and Miami are watching as this project comes to life over the next several years. Thank you.

Question: I was going to ask, when is this project going to start and when is it going to end? And what does it mean, the redesign, what does it mean for the traffic here? Because I'm seeing a lot of cars. I read a little bit in the release, but can you go over those details?

Commissioner Rodriguez: 2028 is when we are going to be starting the work. But as I said before, this avenue will keep three lanes for vehicles, as we also double the space for pedestrians.

Question: I'm just curious. I know sometimes capital projects, or whatever this is, doesn't start late, but 2028 does feel a little late. Can you explain some of that, what might seem like a delay, or the process of why it's starting in three years?

Wils: Well, two and a half years. And the reason for that is that we're still in design, but more importantly, when we open up the street, we're going to have all of our partners together, Department of Environmental Protection, Con Edison. We're going to make the effort of doing all the construction, including the infrastructure, all at once. And that takes a little time, a little extra time, to coordinate all the agencies. 

You know how it is, sometimes you see a street that get open, and then it closes, and then it gets open again. We're going to open those streets, and we're going to do all the work at once, so that when Fifth Avenue opens, it's not going to be open again for a very long time.

Question: I know I spoke to you previously about the containerization program. There was some concern about where the big bins for trash would go. I don't know if there was an update for some of the partners here on Fifth Avenue and the other side streets on the containerization project.

Wils: We're still working on the containers. They'll go on the side streets, not on Fifth Avenue.

Question: And Mayor Adams, I don't know if you wanted to comment on the DOJ investigation into Andrew Cuomo.

[Crosstalk.]

Mayor Adams: So, listen, I have made it extremely clear my disappointment on what happened during COVID, the disproportionate amount of resources that went to, particularly, communities of color. I made it clear how I felt about those who were in nursing homes. My heart goes out when you lose a loved one in a nursing home. 

But investigations must take their course. And I'm not going to do to him what others did to me. I'm going to allow the investigation to take its course. I'm focusing on revitalizing Fifth Avenue and opening up this amazing city and continuing to put wins on the board for a city that I love and let the other agencies do what they do. I'm going to do what I do because I've been doing a darn good job. Thank you.

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