A park transformed

City tales: New York's Bryant Park is not what it used to be–a haven for drugs and crime | Kiley Humphries

Diane Bondareff/AP

NEW YORK CITY— On a warm spring day more people meander through New York City's Bryant Park than any other park in the world, on a per acre basis. The change since 1988, when few not looking for drugs or heading for a mugging set foot in what was called "Needle Park," is extraordinary. New Yorkers may be accustomed to it, but lessons in transformation can be learned for other urban parks. How did it happen?

Now, the nine-acre park—located just east of Times Square and adjacent to the New York Public Library's historic central branch—sports 2,000 chairs and 500 tables scattered in clusters lining the stone and dirt walkways. Six kiosks selling flowers, sandwiches, and cappuccino sit by a fountain that's lit at night. The park has broad entryways, clean restrooms, free wireless internet, 24-hour security, and impeccably kept flower gardens.