"Opened in 1839 and redesigned in 1872 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to accommodate mass congregations of New Yorkers, Union Square Park has served as home base for countless community events and festivals-from the first Labor Day parade in 1882 to workers' rallies in the 1930s to the first Earth Day in 1970 to the current, wildly popular Greenmarket." Buy directly from local farmers every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at the city's biggest farmers market, enjoy kiddies playground and the dog run, then relax in a great people watching spot that's been designated a National Historic Landmark. There's always something going on! Union Square Partnership: http://unionsquarenyc.org