Duffy Square Renovation Begins; TKTS Booth Temporarily Moves to West 46th Street

A ground-breaking ceremony was held on May 2 to begin the revitalization of Duffy Square (47th Street and Seventh Avenue), the former and future home of the TKTS ticket booth. Work on the two-block-long plaza, which has been designated a New York City park, is expected to be completed in December.

The project is expected to cost $12.7 million, with New York City and the City Council providng $9.5 million in funding, and the rest of the money being raised by the Times Square Alliance, TDF, and the Coalition for Father Duffy. It will include a new, state-of-the-arts TKTS booth created by Choi Roipha and developed by the architecture firm of Perkins Eastman. The new plaza is being designed by William Fellows Architects.

The ceremony was attended by a host of luminaries, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jeffrey Gural, chairman of the Times Square Alliance, David D. Holbrook, chariman of TDF, Bruce Myerson, chariman of the Coalition for Father Duffy, Jed Bernstein, president of the League of American Theatres and Producers, Gerald Schoenfeld, the chairman of the Mayor’s Midtown Committee, and actress S. Epatha Merkerson.

On Monday, the TKTS booth moved from Duffy Square to a temporary location outside the New York Marriott Marquis hotel on West 46th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. The hours of operation for the temporary TKTS Booth will be the same as they were in Duffy Square: Monday-Saturday from 3pm-8pm for evening performances; Wednesday and Saturday from 10am-2pm for matinee performances; and Sundays from 11am-3pm for matinee performances and 3pm-closing for Sunday evening performances.