Madison Square - Madison Square Now

Madison Square Now

Having fallen into disrepair, Madison Square Park underwent a total renovation which was completed in June 2001. To recapture the park's magnificence, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation asked the City Parks Foundation to organize a revitalization campaign. Their "Campaign for the New Madison Square Park" was a precursor to the current Madison Square Park Conservancy, a public-private partnership formed to watch over the park.

One amenity added to the park in July 2004 is the Shake Shack, a popular permanent stand that serves hamburgers, hot dogs, shakes and other similar food, as well as wine. Its distinctive building, which was designed by Sculpture in the Environment, an architectural and environmental design firm based in Lower Manhattan, sits near the southeast entrance to the park.

The neighborhoods around Madison Square have changed frequently, and continue to do so. Around the park and to the south is the Flatiron District, an area that, since the 1980s, has changed from a primarily commercial district with many photographer's studios – which located there because of the relatively cheap rents – into a prime residential area.

In 1989, the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission created the Ladies' Mile Historic District to protect and preserve the area, and also, in 2001, the Madison Square North Historic District for the area north and west of the park, in the neighborhood that since 1999 has been referred to as NoMad ("NOrth of MADison Square Park "). Rose Hill is the neighborhood north and east of the park.

Madison Avenue continues to be primarily a business district, while Broadway just north of the square holds many small "wholesale" and import shops. The area west of the square remains mostly commercial, but with many residential structures being built.