One element of contention not related to the restaurant concession is the inclusion of a single line of street trees , spaced apart , along the north side of the plaza . Despite rumors to the contrary , the inclusion of trees was made possible without reducing the usable gathering space of the plaza by the simultaneous decision to remove a painted median strip , that had separated eastbound and westbound traffic along 17th Street , thus increasing the northern limits of the plaza by several feet . Some critics feel that this line of trees will make the space less useful for large rallies although no barriers to free movement across 17th Street are being introduced and the " temporary " metal rails , welded together to make a continuous fence along the north side of the site , will be removed as part of the renovation of the plaza . A double line of trees along 17th Street had been planted years earlier as a monument to victims of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Union Square, Manhattan