Bryant Park’s restoration

In the 1970s, New York’s Bryant Park in Midtown was called “needle park” for the enormous drug trade in the park. Residents and tourists steered clear. Today, it is a jewel of an urban park, packed with people eating lunch on every nice weekday, jammed for Monday night summer movies, and a pleasant and safe place year round. What changed? Architecture and private investment, both central to a 1992 renovation that replaced Robert Moses’ isolating layout with an “eyes on the street” open, welcoming, and well maintained public space.