July 9, 2026
Vox Pop: Washington Square Park – Gated After Midnight?
By John Myers
By Nazeeha Ahmed, Emily Batista, Sanaii Cokes, DJ Dehaney, Amanda Hungria, Brianna Sylvain, Alisa Uchaykina, Vera Vislocky, and Jeffrey Wang
The Fellows for the Future of Journalism recently fanned out in Washington Square Park to survey New Yorkers. The journalistic term “vox pop” comes from the Latin phrase vox populi (voice of the people). Their topic was the debate surrounding the proposed gating of the park from midnight to 6 a.m.
Cordelia, 22, works at a nonprofit
“I think that gating the park will make it less accessible for people, which is crazy because it’s a public space.”
Shashi, 25, medical student
“I don’t see what the purpose is, maybe extra surveillance to make sure nothing chaotic happens? I feel like it makes zero difference to gate it. I think gating the park would exclude people who don’t have anywhere to house themselves at night.”
Xavier, 21, occasional dog walker
“That’s messed up, I mean, I understand there’s people that live close to here and it gets loud at night, but the whole culture of this park is for people to come together no matter the hour of the day. It’s a place where people create community, and come together and meet each other, like we are right now. The park helps to be able to make these long, lasting connections.”
Abhi, 25, works at an investment bank
“For me, gating the park depends on if it’s because of a safety concern.They shouldn’t be doing it just because. They should have a good reason, like because of crime. I know there’s a lot of NYU students that come here so maybe the stuff that happens at midnight affects them on their morning runs.”
Jackson, 19, camp counselor / Chic Fil-A worker
“Look at how beautiful this environment is. To put boundaries on it would be a really disgusting thing. A lot of people build communities over here and interacting is a good way for people to come together. If I were to play devil’s advocate, I’d say it would probably be safer at night, but the fact that it’s open to everyone means that everyone can actually come here. This is probably one of the hearts of New York City.”
Ben, 29, student
“I feel like Washington Square Park has had a history of people freely expressing themselves here. So putting gates around the park is sort of a signal that our freedom is under attack. I don’t really support the idea, The park should be open to the community.”
Ashna, 22, health technician
“Nightlife will probably be affected, I mean, I’ve had great moments walking through the park. To gate it at night is probably gonna restrict people commuting through this area.”
