Formed in July 2009 by property owners, businesses and others with a stake in the community, the Hudson Square Connection, a Business Improvement District or BID, was created to improve the neighborhood where we work, play and live. Read more

In an effort to get the conversation started about defining and creating a sustainable community, Hudson Square Connection hosted its inaugural event, Launching a Sustainable Community, Read more

On Tuesday, October 27th Hudson Square Connection hosted its first open house. As we unveiled our new logo, we took the opportunity to introduce our staff to the neighborhood, and our neighbors to each other...Read more

The upcoming holiday season presents us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate as a community. As you may know, Hudson Square is home to a number of not-for-profits as well as to individuals who truly want to make a difference. With this in mind, Hudson Square Connection launched a program called, “Hudson Square Connects: Helping for the Holidays.” This inaugural program began November 13 and runs throughout the holiday season, and will match up business community volunteers with Hudson Square Not-for-profits.To volunteer or learn more about this program click here.  Along the way, we hope to build new relationships and foster new connections. The program will culminate in a holiday party for all participating volunteers and organizations.

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Letter from the President

Formed in July 2009 by property owners, businesses and others with a stake in the community, the Hudson Square Connection, a Business Improvement District or BID, was created to improve the neighborhood where we work, play and live. Bounded by Canal Street to the south, West Houston Street to the north, Sixth Avenue to the east and Greenwich Street to the west, Hudson Square has emerged as a 21st century enclave for artists and innovators and has the potential to be a premier New York City neighborhood.
Our Goal
Our mission is to put Hudson Square on the map by capturing the spirit of innovation that is thriving in the commercial spaces and bringing that energy to our public spaces. To do this, we will address the neighborhood’s most pressing issues — traffic congestion and the need to enhance the retail offerings — by beautifying and enlivening the streets, and creating a connected and environmentally sustainable community. 

We recently held our inaugural event, “Launching a Sustainable Community,” hosted by Saatchi & Saatchi at their flagship agency on Hudson Street. Our panel of guests featured Liz Neumark, CEO Great Performances, Commissioner of New York City’s DOT, Janette Sadik-Kahn, NRDC’s Director of Air and Energy Program, Ashok Gupta, and was moderated by none other than Brian Lehrer of WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show.  
Our Team
Inside our Varick Street office we’re a lean, mean operating machine of four full-time staff members. We welcome any and all comments and ideas you may have and urge you to write, call or stop by our office to share your thoughts. Here’s how to find us:
Hudson Square Connection
180 Varick Street, Suite 422
212-463-9160

• Ellen Baer, President
  212-463-9160 x223
• Renee Schoonbeek, Director of Streetscape and Sustainability
  212-463-9160 x224
• Suzy Changar, Director of Marketing
  212-463-9160 x227 ­­
• Ben Jervis, Special Assistant to the President
  212-463-9160 x228

Our Virtual Community
Be on the lookout for our upcoming launch of the Hudson Square Connection website, hudsonsquarebid.org, the place where our community lives online. From listings and reviews of restaurants, bars, shops and cultural venues, everything you need to know about working in Hudson Square will be right at your fingertips. And with our continuously updated calendar of local events, you will be in the know before things happen so you can partake in all the wonderful happenings in Hudson Square and vicinity.   
To further our goal to enhance our public space, there will be a section online for news about public improvements and planning. In an effort to truly make this a collective operation, we are creating online forums to facilitate discussions on topics of great interest within the community.    
Wishng you all a healthy, happy and prosperous holiday season.

Best,

Ellen Baer
President, Hudson Square BID

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Launching a Sustainable Community

In an effort to get the conversation started about defining and creating a sustainable community, Hudson Square Connection hosted its inaugural event, Launching a Sustainable Community, on September 23, 2009 at Saatchi & Saatchi headquarters on Hudson Street.

A star-studded panel of local talent drew a crowd of more than 100 neighbors. Moderated by Brian Lehrer, host of WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show, the panel featured: Adam Werbach, global CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S; Janette Sadik-Kahn, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT); Ashok Gupta, senior economist of National Resources Defense Council (NRDC); and Liz Neumark, CEO of Great Performances.

Opening remarks from Laura Walker, president and CEO of WNYC and chair of Hudson Square Connection, included the airing of humorous commercials for “Address the Mess,” an environmental campaign on Comedy Central that encourages people to recycle their electronics. Created by Viacom, a Hudson Square district business, the ads can be found at http://addressthemess.com.

The main message of the event was perhaps best summed up by NRDC Senior Economist Ashok Gupta who said, “Sustainability is not about self-sufficiency. It’s about interconnectedness.” He called for partnerships and people working together with the goal of making it easier for communities like Hudson Square “to do the right thing.”

Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan of NYC’s DOT echoed Mr. Gupta’s statement when she said, “While New York City is a leader in urban sustainability, we’ve shifted focus of our streets as utilitarian to corridors and places of social exchange,” referring to PlaNYC, a program that has produced many viable programs that create inviting public spaces.

Saatchi & Saatchi S Global CEO Adam Werbach, perhaps best known as the youngest-ever national president of the Sierra Club, says that sustainability is about more than saving the earth. It’s about personal accountability. His company-wide program, Do One Thing, (DOT, not to be confused with the Department of Transportation’s DOT), asks employees to make personal commitments to meet global challenges.

Leading by example, Liz Neumark’s Great Performances catering company is the embodiment of what Hudson Square aims to be: an interconnected community (in her case, business) that reaches both out and within using sustainable methods where and whenever possible. Several years ago Ms. Neumark purchased 60 acres of never-before-farmed property in upstate New York to create an organic farm in which her company derives all of its produce. Five percent of the harvest is earmarked for hunger organizations.

Christine Quinn, speaker of the New York City Council, noted in her closing comments that the fact that everyone in the audience was there, sent a strong message about how committed the community is to finding a sustainable solution. And, as Ellen Baer, president of Hudson Square Connection said in her closing comments, the best way to keep the momentum going is though ongoing communication. Please be part of the conversation, and thus part of the solution, by posting your ideas, questions, concerns and any other thoughts on our blog http://hudsonsquare.wordpress.com.

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Open House

On Tuesday, October 27th Hudson Square Connection hosted its first open house; as we unveiled our new logo, we took the opportunity to introduce our staff to the neighborhood, and our neighbors to each other. We also had a moment to thank some of the people and organizations that helped Hudson Square Connection to open its doors, including Hudson Square’s own Architecture Research Associates (ARO) which designed our office space pro bono and the folks at Olmstead Properties who are the owners and workers in our building.

The event was a big hit. Over 100 people attended, including several Board members: Chair Laura Walker of WNYC, Dick Maltz from Greiner Maltz (the owners of 150 Varick), Phil Mouquinho from P.J. Charlton, Dale Fitzgerald from the Jazz Gallery,  and Steve Marvin and Sam Rosenbaltt from Olmstead (the owners of 180 Varick).  Out in full force were staff from the neighborhood's media, architecture and printing companies, representatives from local restaurants, and Hudson Square residents. Many, many business cards were exchanged. We expect that the connections made on the 27th will assist the Hudson Square Connection in achieving its mission in the months to come, and will help make a difference for those we're here to serve- the neighborhood's businesses.

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Holidays in Hudson Square  

The upcoming holiday season presents us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate as a community. As you may know, Hudson Square is home to both a number of not-for-profits and to individuals who truly want to make a difference. With this in mind, Hudson Square Connection launched a program called, “Hudson Square Connects: Helping for the Holidays.” This inaugural program began November 13 and runs throughout the holiday season, matching up business community volunteers with Hudson Square Not-for-profits. To learn more about this program click here. To sign-up to volunteer click here. Along the way, we hope to build new relationships and foster new connections. The program will culminate in a holiday party for all participating volunteers and organizations.

In case you haven’t noticed, the streets of Hudson Square are decked out with holiday banners. It’s a simple gesture that goes a little way towards beautifying our streets while also announcing to everyone that Hudson Square is a thriving community with big things on the horizon.

Finally, many of our neighborhood restaurants and bars have special holiday catering packages available. Visit our website for more details.

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Don't Block the Box!

Early October the Hudson Square Connection met with the NYPD Manhattan Traffic Task Force to discuss traffic control and enforcement. We discussed the issue of cars blocking the box - which at certain times makes it difficult for pedestrians to cross, especially on Varick Street during the afternoon rush hours. Since our meeting, NYPD has stepped up to the plate. Over 700 summons were issued for blocking the box violations in the last month. It has had an immediate effect and the situation has noticeably improved. NYPD has promised to keep it up.