pussy willows at new york union square greenmarket

Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.

It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the Federal union of the United States nor labor unions but rather denotes that "here was the union of the two principal thoroughfares of the island".

Today, it is bounded by 14th Street to the south, Union Square West on the west side, 17th Street on the north, and on the east Union Square East, which links together Broadway and Park Avenue South to Fourth Avenue and the continuation of Broadway.

Union Square Park is under the aegis of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

The neighborhoods around the square are the Flatiron District to the north, Chelsea to the west, Greenwich Village to the south, and Gramercy to the east. Many buildings of The New School are near the square, as are several dormitories of New York University.