On October 20th, the New York City government held a press conference at City Hall to announce the latest progress of the “Chinatown Connections Project” and officially unveil the new design scheme for the “Liu Guoliang Plaza.” The project, with a total investment of up to $56 million, is led by the city government and partially funded by the state government’s “Downtown Revitalization Initiative,” aiming to create a safer and more culturally vibrant urban gateway for Chinatown.
The press conference was chaired by Ya-Ting Liu, Chief Public Realm Officer of the “Chinatown Connections” project, and attended by Gigi Li, Vice President of Government and Community Relations of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and Emily Weidenhof, Assistant Commissioner of Public Realm at the Department of Transportation. Liu emphasized the need for a comprehensive improvement of the complex traffic, narrow pedestrian spaces, and overall experience around the existing Liu Guoliang Plaza, stating the goal is to completely change the user experience of this space to reflect care and thoughtful design by the city.
The new design focuses on three major transformation directions: first, redesigning the plaza and intersections to streamline traffic flow, shorten pedestrian crossing distances, and expand public rest areas; second, installing art installations at the “Chinatown Gateway” as a new landmark showcasing the inheritance of Chinese culture and urban identity; and finally, refurbishing the “Liu Guoliang Memorial Arch”, integrating modern landscape design while preserving historical symbolism.
The design renderings presented during the meeting show that the original five-way intersection will be simplified into a four-way intersection, with added greenery and an open activity area, effectively increasing the overall plaza space by approximately 2.5 times, providing residents and visitors with a more comfortable environment for interaction.
Responding to concerns about the design scope and community input, the Department of Transportation stated that the renovation will start from Doyers Street, covering the entire plaza area as part of the overall neighborhood connectivity project. Addressing residents’ doubts about the similarity to the 2008 plan, Gigi Li emphasized that all alternative designs and discussions are publicly available on the project’s website (link: ChinatownConnections.nyc), highlighting that “transparent participation” is a key principle of this project.
The renovation of “Liu Guoliang Plaza” is currently in the conceptual design stage and will continue to optimize details, with construction scheduled to commence in 2027. By then, this traffic hub that carries the historical memories of Chinatown will greet the future with a new appearance, becoming a cultural gateway that bridges tradition and modernity.