Washington Square Park has been a gathering place for New Yorkers for generations — a space for artists, students, activists, families, and anyone who needs a place to simply exist in the city. Now, there is a push to install locked gates that would bar the public from entering during overnight hours.

The park already closes between midnight and 6 a.m. The current system, however imperfect, does not require permanent infrastructure that physically locks New Yorkers out of public space. Gates do.

This idea was proposed before. In 2005, the community rejected it. The reasons then are just as valid now: public parks belong to the public. Locking the gates on a park does not solve the underlying issues that bring people there at night — it simply makes those people invisible, pushing them elsewhere without addressing their needs.

Residents who spoke at this week's community meeting said it best: Washington Square Park is a gathering place. It should remain open to the public. Younger New Yorkers in particular — Millennials and Gen Z — will live with this decision for decades. Many pointed to parks across Europe that remain open at all hours without incident.

The answer to challenges in Washington Square Park is investment in outreach, services, and community programming — not a lock and a gate.

Sign this petition to tell the NYC Parks Department and the Mayor's office: keep Washington Square Park open, and find solutions that serve all New Yorkers rather than shutting them out.