The mission of the Hudson Square Connection is simple; the Business Improvement District wants to make Hudson Square a cleaner, safer and more fun neighborhood in which to work and live.
To that end, last July they released a Request for Proposals looking for a team to redesign the area’s streets and traffic flow. In late November the B.I.D. announced the winning team lead by Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects and including five other firms focusing on urban and industrial design as well as transportation planning.
“This is a project we were set up to do,” said Ellen Baer, president of the Hudson Square Connection.
Twenty-three different teams comprised of more than 100 firms applied to the R.F.P.
Baer noted that prior to issuing the R.F.P., discussions were held with various stakeholders in the district as well as the Connection’s board members and amongst task forces focused solely on streetscape and traffic issues.
According to Baer, “first and foremost” they were looking for a team with a great design sensibility. Second, they wanted firms with a proven track record of “getting things done in New York City,” something Baer described as “in itself hard and unique.”
The team will focus on increasing the “workability” of the neighborhood’s streets by “recapturing sidewalks for pedestrians,” creating green spaces and coordinating the needs of a regional transportation facility, the Holland Tunnel, with the “important needs of a growing business district.”
“We’re extremely excited and more so by the day,” said Baer. “We want to emphasize that we intend to really work with and hear from the stake holders. This isn’t something that will be done and then presented. We’ll be out there talking to people.”
Baer said the first task for the team would be an analysis phase where the team would go from door to door in the district, talking to business owners as well as gather as much information as possible. She said the analysis phase would begin in early January and by next summer there should be a comprehensive vision and framework for the district.
— John Bayles
