Dag Hammarskjold Plaza

I love to come here to see the art work. I like to visit the Katherine Hepburn Garden. They have the green market sometimes too.
I like to sit and rest for a while. Unfortunately it is close to a lot of traffic. The fountain is beautiful.
You have to see the photo display of Hepburn’s movies. I had visited this plaza several times before I noticed them. I wanted to go out and rent the movies I haven’t seen!
If you visit the United Nations take a side trip to this area. It’s worth the brief amount of time it takes to look at everything. It’s a good way to absorb the atmosphere of this neighborhood.

Located in the middle of midtown east, this little plaza is a hidden gem. It’s lined on either side with bench after bench so you can sit under the trees with a friend or a date or a book. They always have an art exhibition going on, currently it’s an enormous Hello Kitty, but there is always something interesting to look at and great people watching.
Every Wednesday, there is a charming farmers market where you can get fresh fruits and veggies and occasionally pastries (two different bakeries). They also sell locally made cheeses and wild-​caught fish but I don’t pay attention to those.
Several years ago they added the Katherine Hepburn Garden which is an oasis in the middle of the city. Tons of greenery. Stones etched with quotes uttered by Ms. Hepburn, a beautiful fountain and the very bench she owned and relaxed on. It’s a very special place and a wonderful addition to this park.
At Christmastime there is a large Christmas tree on the 2^nd Ave side and year-​round there is a little café on the 1^st Ave side. Year round there is also a lot of dog-​walking so if you’re the type of person who likes to say hello to other people’s dogs, (and I most certainly am) this place has dogs a-​plenty. (All on leash.)
The café has burgers and salads and surprisingly they had a delicious veggie burger made with edamame, so that is an absolute bonus.
You’ll get your crazies here too, and a plethora of pigeons (which I don’t mind), but all-​in-​all this spot is a delight.

This is one of my favorite spots in the city to get away and relax on the weekends, when it’s mostly empty.
In the summers there’s usually a slightly cool breeze blowing through, and it has plenty of shade from the tall buildings to the south. I like to bring a book and a chilled Thermos of green tea and while away a few hours before walking back home to my sauna-​like apartment.
There’s a semi-​hidden public restroom just a couple of blocks away on the east end of 49^th Street at MacArthur Park.

Stumbled on this sweet little urban oasis randomly and found it a nice place for a snack break. Recommended in this wasteland.

I love this park. It’s in the shade, it’s in an area that should just be a sidewalk but isn’t, it’s great for people watching, and it’s relaxing. I love coming here after a long walk or a meal and just sitting on a bench and relaxing. You never know who you’ll run into here. I usually come to people watch. A lot of friendly dogs also pass through with their owners. There is a small food stand closer to 1^st but you can come here and just sit and be at ease. Definitely one of my favorite «:hidden treasures» in the concrete jungle.

Great place to come and relax. There are seatings, UN, fountain, and many times protestors. It is worth visiting.

Great public place to hang out and enjoy your lunch when the weather is nice.

Nice plaza area close to the UN building, perfect place to come and contemplate and reflect. It’s very calm and peaceful here. Cool to find an area named after one of my Swedish countrymen, not very often I find that in New York.

Okay, so it’s not much of a park, but this little diddy has added some flavor to our neighborhood. It boasts a sparkling Christmas tree in the winter, has a Farmer’s Market every Wednesday, and even hosts Holi in March. The benches are also great for sitting out in the sun or on a crisp, cool night.

When I was in college, I read a book by Dag Hammarskjöld. It wasn’t part of any assignment, but it was on my parents’ bookshelf, and both my dad and my spiritual director/​favorite nun recommended it, so I tried it. And it was a ‘70s kind of book even though I think he wrote it in the ‘60s. I don’t remember very much of it, but I do remember thinking a lot about the fact that he had died in a plane crash.
That was almost twenty years ago, so when my friend and I walked through Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza near the UN, I was surprised by how much it affected me. I follow international news relatively closely and have for many years now. It’s depressing and complex, and I’m constantly reading in between the lines to figure out what’s really going on because the information we get in the United States is so skewed and simplistic. And sometimes, I just want to sit down in a park and not think about what I can’t stop thinking about.
That’s where Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza comes in. I could do that. Amid a bustling farmers market. And when I did, I still had guys sitting next to me, guys who didn’t care that I didn’t say a word to them or hugged them or ignored them or didn’t notice at first that they weren’t living beings.
Thanks, Dag Hammarskjöld. And thank you, little sculpture guys. You made me feel not short and all right and everything else I wanted to feel so close to the UN so long after its founding. We have a lot of work to do.

The
People
Watching is
Great and good for
Lunch breaks. Loving the sculpture exhibit.

A small little plaza near the UN area that is also across the street from Japan Society. This plaza is located in Midtown East. Recent visit was for the Asian-​Pacific American Heritage Festival with three friends/​classmates from my Cantonese classes. It is not filled with sufficient seats/​benchs.