Montefiore Square

"In 1994, the Montefiore Park Neighborhood Association (MPNA) was founded as a volunteer group with the vision of revitalizing the park and its surrounding area. According to the MPNA, the area housed "illicit activity," as well as garbage dumps and graffiti which volunteers from the organization helped to clean. Alongside this physical maintenance, the MPNA (in tandem with the New York City Department of Transportation Plaza Program) drafted an expansion and redesign of the park. In October 2019, the renovation of Montefiore Square was announced. In 2020, traffic through the portion of Hamilton Place between West 138th Street and Broadway was permanently shut down and renovation began on the park. The renovations, which cost $18.4 million, were completed in January 2022. It consisted of three main features: a paved plaza for markets and live events, a garden, and a grassy field with stone seating. The closed roadway was repurposed as a pedestrian walkway, and a small triangle of land to the old roadway's east was also acquired making for the park's current 0.34-acre (0.14 ha) area."

"There's a certain charm to the park when I get to go uptown. Despite its modest size, it’s a haven for community gatherings, offering a cozy spot to unwind and soak in the tranquility. The park’s dimensions have recently expanded, thanks to the closure of an adjacent street. While this may pose a slight detour for motorists, the added space has only enhanced the park’s allure. The park’s layout is thoughtfully designed, with benches strategically placed under the shade of mature trees, inviting visitors to pause and enjoy a moment of repose."

"There's always street vendors selling everything from shoes to clothing to OTC items."

"Beautifully rebuilt and looks lovely when it is clean. Also has weekend flea market that can be interesting. But sadly, it is also turned into the biggest rubbish dump in New York City by some thoughtless people who use this park. I had no idea that a community could be so oblivious to managing rubbish. It has always seemed that some people in the neighborhood are incapable of understanding the use of rubbish but this place tops it. I’m not sure why the city is not imposing fines for littering as it should. They’d make a fortune here. Sad that the city has made the square so beautiful and it is treated so badly. I’ll give it 4 stars because it had been done so nicely and is a lovely place to sit back and get some sun and watch the world, when you are lucky to not be disgusted by a ton of rubbish and the stench of urine."