Freeman Plaza West

THE DESTINATION
Hudson Square (in my case, a tour with the president of the Hudson Square Business Improvement District, Samara Karasyk)

THE JOURNEY
Just cross Canal Street, but stay west of Sixth Ave.

THE DETAILS
Hudson Square is defined by the BID as the former Printing District between Canal and and Clarkson, Sixth Avenue and West Street. The BID estimates there are 60,000 workers at 1000 businesses and 3000 residents, plus several thousand students. There are more than 30 bars and restaurants, plus another 35 grab-and-go or coffee shops, like Maman, Shake Shack, Jerrell’s BTR Burger, etc. The BID is also home to Downtown’s only Trader Joe’s, the Jackie Robinson Museum, New York City Fire Museum and The Greene Space.

THE BACKGROUND
I’ve been meaning to take stock of Hudson Square for a while, and an email chat with Ned Baldwin at Houseman led to an introduction which led to a fun stroll around the area’s blocks with Samara, who became president/CEO in fall 2021. I rarely wander that far up — well, I do for Houseman for sure — but for you Pier 40 mavens, this post should be a good resource.

The tour made me realize a few important things: 1) there are a lot more places to eat and hang out in Hudson Square now than there were even a couple years ago. And 2) having a BID makes a big difference for the little forgotten spaces around a neighborhood. They have made lemonade out of a bunch of streetscape lemons: the leftover corners of the Holland Tunnel, traffic triangles, curbside patches. It made me think of both Finn Square, which needs new sidewalks and new fences to help it come to life, and the totally ignored Barnett Newman Triangle just south of the Roxy. Who knows when they will get any real attention, despite the efforts of local residents.

Freeman Plaza East

“You can do so much in unexpected places,” Samara said. “People can use them and they will. They want something close by.”

I think their most inspirational streetscape addition is the seating and planting area along Hudson, just north of Canal. It completely transforms the pedestrian experience. And there are hidden treasures: the Noguchi sculpture on loan in Freeman Plaza; a mural of the Lincoln sparrow from the Audubon Society.

Of course things are really going to change around there with the Disney folks move in — that building should house up to 5000 workers.

The BID was founded as a not-for-profit in 2009, one of 76 business improvement districts in the city. The BID is funded primarily through an annual assessment on commercial property and has an annual budget of $3.2 million.

Port Sa’id

PITSTOP
We didn’t stop! But I noted a few places that are definitely on my return list: Port Sa’id, the new Israeli restaurant, for the Burning Potato and the turntable; Maki Maki for sushi; Altro Paradiso for outdoor dining (it’s not on a through-street); Adora Lei for pizza making events; and of course Houseman for creative and casual fine dining. See the full list of restaurants here. Also: there’s a rooftop at the Arlo but I did not realize there’s also one at the Hotel Hugo, open daily at 5p with a happy hour till 8p.

Spring Street park

Disney HQ