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Ever tried to cross Chatham Square and prayed for your own safety? Turns out, the city has been listening.
Under a sweeping new proposal, New York is planning to completely rework the chaotic intersection where seven streets collide at the foot of the Bowery, transforming it into a safer, greener and more welcoming gateway to Chinatown.
The redesign is part of Chinatown Connections, a nearly $56 million public-realm overhaul led by the NYC Economic Development Corporation and Department of Transportation. The project merges $11.5 million in state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding with nearly $44 million in city capital to reimagine the area around Kimlau Square, home to the Kimlau War Memorial Arch and Lin Ze Xu statue, into what planners call “a safe and vibrant space that celebrates the community’s Chinese heritage.”
At the heart of the plan: simplifying what’s now a notoriously confusing five- to six-point intersection into a four-way cross, widening sidewalks and expanding public plazas for pedestrians. Renderings show new trees, benches and event space that could host cultural gatherings like Lunar New Year performances and Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations.
“This redesign is not just about improving traffic flow—it’s about honoring the cultural legacy of this neighborhood,” Mayor Eric Adams said in an official statement.
And the long-discussed Chinatown Welcome Gateway is also now one step closer to reality, with an artist officially tapped to lead the project. Back in August, the city announced that Jennifer Wen Ma had been selected through a community-driven Percent for Art process to design the new Gateway—“a project for the community, by the community,” as Ma put it in a statement. The artist, who has lived and worked in Chinatown for more than two decades, will collaborate with Marvel Architects to create an entry monument that “captures our history, the resiliency, vitality, creativity and beauty that define the streets of New York Chinatown.”
Meanwhile, the DOT’s companion Reimagining Canal Street initiative will tackle the neighborhood’s other major headache. From Hudson Street to the Bowery, the plan calls for shorter crossings, protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks to relieve crowding. Canal Street East recorded 190 injuries—including six severe or fatal pedestrian incidents—between 2020 and 2024.
Construction on Chatham Square is expected to begin in 2027, with Canal Street work starting as early as mid-2026. If both proceed, Chinatown could gain not just calmer traffic and safer crossings, but a long-awaited landmark that finally gives one of New York’s most storied neighborhoods the grand entrance it deserves.