A new outdoor space is coming to Hudson Square!
Hudson Square Business Improvement District, in partnership with NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) and NYC Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP), is designing a new outdoor space at the corner of Hudson & West Houston Streets. The space has held varied roles from farmland in the 1800s to supporting critical infrastructure in the 1990s. In 2018, NYC’s largest mural, “Ellis Island” by Eduardo Kobra, was unveiled on City-As-School’s building wall facing the site. Celebrating NYC’s storied history of street art and robust cultural heritage, the mural brought much-needed life and excitement to this corner lot and set the stage for the design and development of public open space here.

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As part of the project initiation, the Community Input Session is where you can share your visions and thoughts for Hudson-Houston Plaza with us so that we can create a thriving open space for you and your neighborhood! Before starting to design Hudson-Houston Plaza, we ask for feedback from stakeholders in the community to understand how our project can help better serve Hudson Square and fit the needs of the neighborhood.
We held Community Input Sessions:
In-person: Tuesday, January 30th, 5:30–7pm
Virtual: Wednesday, January 31st, 6:30–8pm
And via our community input survey which was open through February 9, 2024.
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After the Community Input phase, we take all your feedback, ideas, and thoughts to guide the new site design for the open space. The community input we receive becomes the baseline for the design of the site. We pair your feedback and ideas with the site opportunities, constraints, the site survey, site analysis, and existing site operations in order to develop a creative and viable design.
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Feedback received during the Community Input phase is advanced to schematic design. This design is presented to the Community Board and the Public Design Commission (PDC) for review. PDC review and approval is required because Hudson-Houston Plaza is City-owned land.
Upon Community Board review and PDC approval, we begin to develop construction documents and obtain required permits. The construction documents will provide the contractor with the information needed to successfully build the project.
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Our procurement process will follow NYC Parks guidelines, New York City’s Procurement Policy Board rules, as well as policies and procedures implemented by the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, which ensures that we competitively bid and award our projects to qualified contractors.
The project is then advertised for bidding, bids are submitted, and we review the bids received. When the bids are received, we work with city agencies to conduct due diligence. The project is awarded the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
The contractor awarded the contract provides additional information to Parks and we submit a package to the New York City Comptroller’s Office for registration of the contract. At this time, we also set up a pre-construction meeting with the contractor to discuss the construction process, determine a start date (Order to Work), and order long-lead items needed to build the project.
Once a contract is registered with the Comptroller’s Office, the procurement process is complete. The average time to complete the procurement phase in NYC is 9-12 months.
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Since the majority of open space construction work is weather dependent, project construction typically starts in the spring, summer, or fall, when the weather is warmer and clearer. The Order to Work date established at the pre-construction meeting is the official start date for construction.
During construction, the contractor builds the project according to the contract documents developed during the design phase of the process. When the project is in construction, it can be tracked via NYC Parks’ capital tracker.
The average time to complete construction for NYC Parks is 12-18 months.
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When the project construction is completed, we will officially open the plaza to the community!
Located at the northeast corner of the Hudson Street and West Houston Street intersection, the project site is a .26 acre City-owned lot, home to NYC DEP’s below ground infrastructure. In partnership, NYC DEP and NYC Parks are committed to transforming this space into a public plaza. This project builds on the success of other plazas in Manhattan created under this partnership: Rapkin-Gayle Plaza at 142 Grand Street, Manuel Plaza at 35 East 4th Street, and the forthcoming Lorraine Hansberry Plaza at 705 10th Avenue.
This is a key opportunity to provide new public open space in the neighborhood. While there are some limits on the design of this open space to protect the infrastructure on site and allow for continued maintenance and operations access, there are opportunities for creative design and placemaking, and we are excited to design this open space with you.
Hudson Houston Plaza sits at the intersection of two major pedestrian and transportation corridors – Hudson Street and West Houston Street – linking Hudson Square directly to multiple active recreation hubs (including the Hudson River Greenway and Pier 40) and connecting it with other neighborhoods.
HSBID is partnering with NYC Parks and NYC DEP to lead the design of an exciting, new open space for the neighborhood. Our goals for the site include:
- Increase the ecological benefits of the site, continuing the greening of Hudson Street north.
- Reflect the creative spirit of Hudson Square, announcing to those entering from the north the character they will find in our neighborhood.
- Offer new amenities to enjoy in your neighborhood!
HSBID has a strong track record of partnering with public agencies to bring exciting new outdoor spaces to Hudson Square that reflect the creativity abundant in our neighborhood. HSBID has previously partnered with NYC Parks on both Spring Street Park and the Hudson Square Standard Tree Program, as well as NYC Department of Transportation on the Hudson Street Redesign, and with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Freeman Plazas East and West. In all of their projects, HSBID prioritizes place-making and the neighborhood’s pedestrian experience.
HSBID will serve as the lead for the design, community engagement, maintenance, and programming of the open space once it is completed, with the goal of integrating the site into the existing and growing network of open spaces and capital improvements in the neighborhood.
Parks will lead the construction of the site and provide oversight of the BID’s maintenance and programming in the new open space.
Pop-up on Site
Wednesday 1/24/24 – 11:30-1:30
Northeast corner of Hudson & West Houston Streets
Grab a hot chocolate and tell us what you would do if you were designing this site.
Community Input Session (in person)
Tuesday 1/30/24 – 5:30-7
New York City Fire Museum
278 Spring Street
Join us for an in-person session, where we will discuss the site, goals of the project, and solicit feedback from the public. All are welcome, RSVP here to attend.
Community Input Session (virtual)
Wednesday 1/31/24 – 6:30-8
Zoom Webinar
Join us for a virtual session, where we will discuss the site, goals of the project, and solicit feedback from the public. All are welcome, RSVP here to access the meeting.
Pop-up on Site
Tuesday 2/6/24 – 11:30-1:30
Northeast corner of Hudson & West Houston Streets
Grab a hot chocolate and tell us what you would do if you were designing this site.
Community Board 2 Presentation
Wednesday, June 5 6:30-9
Community Engagement Summary
Download a PDF summary of Phase 1 – Community Input.
Contact us for more information
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