Frommer's Review
Here's a delightful place to spend an afternoon. Reclaimed from drug dealers and abject ruin in the late 1980s, Union Square Park is now one of the city's best assets and home of the New York's most famous greenmarket. The seemingly endless subway work should no longer be disturbing the peace by the time you're here. This patch of green remains, with or without the construction, the focal point of the newly fashionable Flatiron and Gramercy Park neighborhoods. Don't miss the grand equestrian statue of George Washington at the south end or the bronze statue (by Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty) of the Marquis de Lafayette at the east end, gracefully glancing toward France. A cafe is open at the north end of the park in warm weather.
The Greening of New York -- Whenever I travel to a city anywhere around the world, I make it a priority to visit that city's greenmarket, or farmers' market. I've been to some great ones, and I might be a bit prejudiced, but I haven't been to many better than the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. New York has greenmarkets throughout the city on different days of the week, but the biggest and best is at Union Square every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. You'll find pickings from upstate and New Jersey farms, fresh fish from Long Island, homemade cheese and other dairy products, baked goods, plants, and organic herbs and spices. It's a true New York scene with everyone from models to celebrated chefs poring over the bounty. The Union Square Greenmarket is open year-round but is at its peak August through October when the local harvest -- tomatoes, corn, greens, grapes, peppers, and apples -- flourishes. If you are lucky enough to be in the city during this period, don't miss the bonanza, and pick up some apples or grapes for your travels around the city -- but check it out no matter what the season. For more information and locations and schedules, see the Council on the Environment of New York City website at www.cenyc.org, or call tel. 212/788-7900.
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