Editor’s note: Times Square on track to be a ‘more balanced live, work and play community’

Times Square has been called the “Crossroads of the World.” But some New Yorkers also call it home. Despite the crowds, trash, noise and buskers – including street performers dressed as superhero characters, scantily dressed women and the Naked Cowboy – Times Square has still attracted New Yorkers in search of housing. Census data from 2020 found about 8,000 people living in residential buildings tucked away amid the theaters, restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels and souvenir shops. Several older buildings have survived the wrecking ball, while new construction has replaced once-famous venues like the Roseland Ballroom. The 52nd Street venue closed in 2014, and now there’s a 62-story residential building on the site.

Office-to-residential conversions are happening in the neighborhood as well. Leading the way is 5 Times Square. Completed in 2002, the 38-story tower along Seventh Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets was once home to former Mayor Rudy Guiliani’s consulting firm (which he set up after he left office) and was the former Ernst & Young headquarters. Mostly vacant since the firm left in 2022, the glass-clad skyscraper, with help from a partnership between New York City and Empire State Development, is now being converted into a residential building with up to 1,250 units, including about 300 affordable units. When asked about the conversion, Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, said in an email: “The next evolution for Midtown and Times Square is an increase in residential units by both new development and conversions creating a more balanced live, work, and play community.” That would be a long overdue balance for an iconic neighborhood that could emerge as one of New York’s hottest new addresses. After all, it is Times Square.