125th street community plaza
Since the summer of 2015, Uptown Grand Central has worked in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) to transform the space underneath the Metro-North station at East 125th Street & Park Avenue into an active community space that is part of the official NYC DOT Plaza Program.
In the summer of 2015, Creative Art Works and teaching artist Gera Lozano kicked us off by brightening the space with the "Harlem Sunrise" mural on the northern wall the former comfort station, and Uptown Grand Central staff then began cleaning and programming the plaza daily with activities including a GrowNYC Fresh Food Box, NYC Zero Waste compost collection, free Zumba classes, live concerts and a pop-up snack shop powered by our local small businesses.
In 2019, the plaza received renovations thanks to the NYC DOT and NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Harlem Station / Park Avenue & 125th Street Project. The project improved the safety and circulation of pedestrians and vehicles around Park Avenue from 124th to 126th streets, plus created a new-and-improved plaza space, expanded sidewalks, additional lighting and a new mega-crosswalk across 125th Street.
Here’s a sampling of programming:
Wednesdays, 2-7 p.m.
Take home your own big bag of local, in-season GrowNYC vegetables and fruit for just $14! Get all the details on our Fresh Food Box page.
past programming:
Make sure to stop by our pop-up snack shop -- where you can try the best from our local small businesses! See our sunshine doors open? We also have tastings, where you can cast your vote on which items you'd like to see more of. On Fridays, we are also joined by comic book pop-up Dare2Draw.
Get moving with free Zumba with Leo Zumba! Grab your sneakers and get ready to shake your thing.
Join us to read with the UNI Project mobile library and do science with the street scientists from HYPOTHEkids.
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Take a walk. Join a movement: Join our GirlTrek walking group led by the Harlem Sole Divas that explores local resources and small businesses that support wellness and self-care.
Get grooving with live performances from local artists.