By Patrick Hedlund
Trinity plaza coming soon
Villager photo by Patrick Hedlund
Some of the art at the new plaza/sculpture garden in the works at Sixth Ave. and Canal Sts.
A planned public plaza/sculpture garden for the vacant lot at the intersection of Canal and Varick Sts. and Sixth Ave. in Hudson Square has started taking shape more than a year after property owner Trinity Real Estate announced the project.
The half-acre triangular plot will serve as multiuse public space, featuring large artworks, open seating and a tree nursery, according to project architect Interboro Partners. The Brooklyn-based design team was selected for the project, called Lent Space, by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, which partnered with Trinity to develop an interim plan for the site over the next few years while Trinity decides what to do there.
In response to a request that a fence surround the park, the architects will construct a “moveable sculpture fence facing Duarte Square [on the Sixth Ave. side] that can enclose or open the site to different degrees and also serve as a public amenity in the form of park benches and wall panels for exhibitions,” according to Interboro’s Web site.
The park also includes a collection of trees and assorted greenery in planters, which will eventually move to nearby streets for the emerging Hudson Square Business Improvement District. The space is slated for a Sept. 18 opening, said Erin Roeder, Trinity’s director of strategic neighborhood development, with a full program of exhibitions and events to be announced in the coming weeks.
Postal predicament
The U.S. Postal Service is considering closing nearly 700 post office branches across the country due to financial constraints, including 14 in the city and a pair Downtown.
After initially releasing a list identifying 53 possible closures in the city, the U.S.P.S. trimmed that number to 14 locations last week, including the West Village Post Office on Hudson St.
The branch, located between Charles and W. 10th Sts., was renovated in 2007. The other Downtown location marked for possible closure is the Lower East Side’s Pitt St. station on Clinton St.; the branch, between Grand St. and East Broadway, is next to the Seward Park Co-op, which owns the property and leases it to the Postal Service.
U.S.P.S. is facing a $7 billion shortfall from fiscal year 2008, including a 4.5 percent drop in total volume nationwide, or 9.5 billion pieces of mail.
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