Off Limits No More: Hudson Sq. Adds Public Plaza

NEW YORK CITY-Creating a public space out of real estate previously closed to the public,  Hudson Square's BID and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Thursday unveiled Freeman Plaza West, near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel. It's part of the five-year master plan for pedestrian-focused improvements unveiled this past October by the Hudson Square Connection, the BID launched in July 2009 to serve one of Midtown South's tightest office markets.

The BID put approximately $200,000 toward converting the space, at the intersection of Hudson, Broome and Watts streets at the district's southern end, into a seating area replete with bistro-style tables and chairs. Four trees were planted in honor of the four Port Authority Police Department Holland Tunnel Command members who were killed responding to the 9/11 attacks, while a fifth tree was dedicated to all who lost their lives on 9/11 and in the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The Port Authority owns and operates the space, which is now open to the public between 8 a.m. and dusk on weekdays.

“We have more than 50,000 people working in and visiting the Hudson Square neighborhood every day,” Ellen Baer, president of the Hudson Square Connection, says in a release. “ Our creative community needs and deserves open spaces where the imagination can run free. The activation of Freeman Plaza West is the result of collaboration with the Port Authority to take a previously inaccessible open space and convert it into an opportunity for public enjoyment.”

Once a predominantly industrial area, Hudson Square today is home to more than 1,000 creative companies working in architecture, design, communications, media and technology. Generally bounded by West Houston Street on the north, Canal Street on the south, Avenue of the Americas on the east and Greenwich Street on the west, the district boasts an office vacancy rate of less than 3%.