Community discusses installing locked gates at NYC’s Washington Square Park

Could one of New York City’s most iconic parks soon be surrounded by gates?

At a Wednesday night meeting of the local Community Board’s Parks Committee, tensions ran high over whether or not to install locked gates at Washington Square Park.

The historic Washington Square Arch welcomes visitors from near and far to the park, but when the clock strikes midnight, the police and Parks Department put up French barricades, cross-chained together, until 6 a.m.

Some residents, however, said the barricades aren’t aesthetically pleasing.

“Now it’s time to replace the unattractive police barricades with appropriate gates that really represent the history of that park,” landscape architect George Vellonakis said.

Others said the barricades aren’t effective at keeping people out. One resident shared a photo of a person sleeping overnight on a mattress in the park.

Opponents, however, argued gates aren’t the answer to that issue, and some longtime residents said they hoped the park would be open 24/7.

“I think that the barricades have to go. I think they’re really, really ugly,” one person said. “They’re really hard for the Parks Department and the police to handle, and they don’t work.”

“Particularly Millennials and Gen Z will have these changes for the rest of their lives,” another person said. “I enjoy traveling other similar parks in Europe where you can walk at all hours of the night.”

Back in 2005, the Parks Department considered installing gates but canceled the plan after fierce opposition from the community. A Community Board member said the idea to install gates resurfaced during COVID when overnight gatherings in the park got out of hand.

“We are not anti-gate. We do believe that they should find more effective ways to support the NYPD,” Washington Square Association President Erica Sumner said.

The committee voted on a resolution to formally ask the Parks Department for its recommendations.