2023-11-17 17:18:08
New York’s iconic Fifth Avenue will be transformed into a commercial corridor for three Sundays in December as part of the special “Gift of Fifth” initiative. The Fifth Avenue Association announced the campaign that will close the historic artery from 49th Street to 59th Street to turn it into a festive destination with holiday decorations, culinary delights, photo opportunities, store gifts and more.
Last week, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled plans to completely pedestrianize Fifth Avenue from 48th to 59th streets, expanding the pedestrian zone by three blocks to reach Central Park. Additionally, certain streets around Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall will remain closed to traffic throughout the holiday season, ensuring a safe experience for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who flock to the lively holiday area.
The pedestrianized Fifth Avenue will be open on December 3, 10 and 17, from 12 pm to 6 pm There will be 11 blocks of curated programming, 19 food and beverage partners, eight performance areas, 15 participating retail brands and around 500,000 visitors .
“Fifth Avenue is always iconic, but during this holiday season everything will be even more exceptional and beautiful,” said Marie Boster, president of the Fifth Avenue Association in a statement. “Gift of Fifth gives all New Yorkers and visitors more beauty, more music, more creative seasonal food and, for the first three Sundays in December, more space beyond the sidewalks to enjoy it all. We are grateful to our partners for sharing our vision to transform our urban landscape into a winter wonderland for everyone.
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There will be 11 blocks of curated programming, 19 food and beverage partners and eight stages.
Attractions and activities on Fifth Avenue for the holiday season
Starting November 20, upper Fifth Avenue will become a winter wonderland with new sidewalk decorations, including an installation of 150 live Fraser and Noble fir trees, illuminated with warm white lights, placed on 50 custom silver platforms. Visitors will also be able to take photos under a double arch made of Christmas foliage in front of GM Plaza at 767 Fifth Avenue.
On December 17, the Doris Duke Foundation will present Grammy-winning jazz singers in tribute to Fifth Avenue’s intricate role in the history of jazz. The avenue was known as “Swing Street” during the early 20th century due to its role as host to legendary jazz musicians such as Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.
Other performers will include Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra, a jazz ensemble provided by Hire Juilliard Performers, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art, Metropolitan Klezmer, Brooklyn Youth Choir and the Frank Sinatra School of Performing Arts . Food lovers will be able to enjoy blackcurrant donuts and non-alcoholic eggnog from Modern, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art, hot chocolate at Longchamp’s famous pop-up cafe, and bao buns and bubble tea from local vendors Mao’s Bao and Tea and Milk.
In October, it was revealed that last year’s Open Streets program on Fifth Avenue generated an additional $3,000,000 in business sales on the pedestrian streets. According to a study by Mastercard, merchants on pedestrian streets saw an average of US$90,000 in additional income per day.
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