Is Union Square’s “Beautification” a Facade?

An ambulance siren blinked and blared as paramedics closely followed a tall man. They held a bright orange stretcher shadowing him as he led the way.

A woman sat with her body folded forward and eyes closed. She appeared to be unconscious just before she was swiftly pulled up straight by the tall man. Her eyes opened up wide, mostly revealing white. A hollow expression formed on her face.

The paramedics stood still for a moment looking at the woman’s eyes. She may have overdosed.

Children danced, jumped, and ran in a small field of grass just footsteps away from the helpless woman. It was Thursday in Union Square Park.

Thursdays, Union Square hosts a daylong event called Summer in the Square. The non-profit Union Square partnership offers a range of free community activities to children and adults. The events have been held since June 16 and end August 11.

Summer in the Square has been hosted by the park for 14 years, said staff. They said the event has gotten bigger and bigger each year. The program has a large range of sponsors.

According to Summer in the Square’s website, the park hosts the event “to ensure… Union Square district’s continued growth and success by providing… sanitation, public safety, economic development, marketing and events like Summer in the Square.” The site claims it is focused on “investing in the beautification of Union Square Park.”

Union Square hasn’t exactly provided the “sanitation, public safety and economic development” it insists it offers.

In a short walk around the square, you can smell the stench of rancid trash. On the east side of the park piles of garbage bags sit, left to be picked through by homeless looking for recyclables and food.

Drug addicts, who are often also homeless, populate the entirety of the park. Some are spaced out or incapable of motion.

Cop cars are usually parked along the east side of the park, yet these occurrences persist.

The growth and success Union Square claims to ensure has not been felt by all its community. While many enjoy the services the park provides, those who generally need it most don’t take advantage of those opportunities. Because they aren’t offered significant attention, they’re bound to decline.

The tents with big names plastered across them, and the big stage that holds up performers can’t hide the reality of the deterioration of Union Square’s smaller community.