Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams Unveils new Improvements to Hudson Street

July 12, 2022

Samara Karasyk, President & CEO, Hudson Square BID: …So many people contributed to the success of this project. It was a true partnership. The renovations to Hudson Street between Houston and Canal create a reimagined boulevard with lush plantings, unique park-like spaces, more Hudson Square standard trees, modern benches, sidewalk cafe space, and wider sidewalks for strolling. This project was one of the first to use the design build process, and it was completed on time and on budget, and during a pandemic, no less. No easy feat. The improvements you see today showcase our ongoing efforts to create a people focused neighborhood for all who work, visit, and live here. When our BID was formed in 2009, Hudson Square was a concrete jungle known for its car congestion heading into the Holland Tunnel. Now Hudson Square is known for scenic streetscapes and unexpected green spaces. Even though we still have some traffic. We're working on that.

Karasyk: Today you see the culmination of the ambitious 10 year master plan that transformed Hudson Square. We planted or retrofitted more than 500 trees with the Hudson Square standard, a hundred of which are right here in Hudson Street. We renovated Spring Street Park, created Freeman Plaza East and West at the entrance of the Holland Tunnel from unused Port Authority spaces, and turned Varick Street into an outdoor art gallery. But our work doesn't stop here. Today marks the completion of our first 10 year plan, and the beginning of our second one, which builds on what we've accomplished and focuses on seamlessly connecting Hudson square into our surrounding neighborhoods in Hudson River Park. Private public partnerships like this one matter. We hope that the changes we are making here can serve as a model for other neighborhoods across this city and beyond. And now it is my great honor to introduce Mayor Eric L. Adams. Thank you so much for coming today. I have some swag for you.

Mayor Eric Adams: Careful how you use that word swag. There's a way you wear your hat. You have to bend like that so it could give you that nice look. You going to open that up again. This was my district when I was a transit police officer and this community has always been impacted by the traffic from the tunnel and the movement. And as you try to expand here, you see the constant flow of just congestion and to utilize existing landscape, as we see our amazing borough president from Manhattan walk in, Mark Levine, and you don't get a hat. To utilize our existing landscape and take partnership. So we want to really thank the BID, Madame President, for a job well done in coordination, New York City Economic Development Corporation and the New York City Department of Transportation, Ydanis Rodriguez who's here, the commissioner. $13 million well spent with the good coordination, and how do we figure out, how do we beautify our communities and make them safe at the same time?

Mayor Adams: We want to really enhance the pedestrian experience. For far too long our cities have been just basically vehicle-focused, but now as we transform to bikers, as we transform to those who utilize our streets and want to utilize them in a safe way, this redesign features a new protected bike lane from Houston to Canal Street, as well as 70 new bike parking spaces. We hear it all the time. I know, commissioner, you hear it. People want to be able to park their bikes as they commute to and from their place of employment. But we're also doing something else, like wider sidewalks so that people can walk in a safe place. More seating, expanded space for outdoor dining, something I'm a big believer in as we continue to enhance our economy. More trees, green spaces. This is what outdoor living is about.

Mayor Adams: And we saw that during the peak of COVID, if we did not have those green spaces, many people would have found it difficult just to move about from day to day. So we are taking the dream of a livable, sustainable, and beautiful city and turning into a reality block by block. And with the partnerships that we are developing, this is a big investment for a safer, cleaner, more moveable city in a real way. So we want to really thank our partners for doing so, and madame president, thank you so much. This was an easy task with the coordination of your team, and it's really a symbol of what we have done around MWBEs, what we have done around coordinating with all the entities involved, and it was a joy to work with you and your team. Let's get it done. Thank you.

Karasyk: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. And now I'd like to call up DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Department of Transportation: Well, after the mayor speaks, there's no much that commissioner will say. I'm going to say it in Spanish. But exactly what the mayor say. Overall I thank you to the Hudson BID for this great public/private partnership. This is what this administration is all about under the leadership of Mayor Eric Adams, inviting private sector to continue working with the city, the opportunities here. We will continue transforming our street. We are reimagining how to continue using more space and the seating area that we see here happen because the great private sector committed. And you also create better condition for the business sector to do good here. So under this administration, this is the future in New York City. Weeks after weeks, months after months, years after year, we will see how we will transform our street in order to make more space for bike, for cyclists, for pedestrian, for the business community. Also to the world. [Speaks in Spanish]. Thank you.

Karasyk: Thank you, commissioner. And now I'd like to call EDC Executive Vice President Liz Arnaiz.

Elizabeth Arnaiz, Executive Vice President of Capital, Economic Development Corporation: Thank you. Good morning. I'm Elizabeth Arnaiz. I head up the capital team at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. For those of you who may not know us, EDC works on behalf of the city of New York to shape economic development across the five boroughs with a focus of empowering communities like this one here. And today, it is amazing to witness this transformation of this streetscape and to honor it and the community that it will serve. When we started this project nearly five years ago, it was a different world. We now, more than ever, cherish the places where we can gather, the places where we can walk, the streets where we can ride safely, connecting us back to this city. Our close collaboration with the DOT and with the BID have ensured that this vision was made possible.

Arnaiz: Interestingly, five years ago, the city wasn't delivering projects using a design build model, but thanks to the tenacity of my team and to the support we needed from the city, from DOT, and the Hudson Square, this was the first design build project for the city of New York. We proudly partnered with Prima Paving Construction and Sam Schwartz Engineers to pilot this alternate project delivery. It proved to be an efficient process, a success for this project, and it is now common practice across the city. I'm also proud that this project has a nearly 90% MWBE rate, meaning that nearly 90% of the project cost has been performed and delivered by minority or women owned businesses. That is impressive.

Arnaiz: And of course, a huge round of thank yous to the Hudson Square BID, who envisioned this radical transformation and has always been its strongest advocate. To DOT, for pushing us, the city, to do more to provide safe access to the city's streets. To our design build partners, Prima Paving, Sam Schwartz, and the rest of your team, we're proud to stand with you as partners in this success. To my team, EDC, for always pushing for what's right, and never letting back. To elected officials for your continuous support and advocacy. And lastly to the community. You've been with us for every step of the way. This is for you. So thank you.

Karasyk: Thank you, Liz. And now I'd like to call Borough President Mark Levine. I'm so glad your here.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine: Oh, pleasure. Pleasure. Thank you, Samara. I'm a little upset I didn't get a purple hat. We're going to have to work on that. Will I? Okay, just checking. I need my swag, too, Mr. Mayor. Right on cue. That's some good staffing right there. Thank you. This is without a doubt one of the most important neighborhood transformations in New York City today, all over New York City, all over the five boroughs, we are fighting to reenvision public space and street scapes after decades when the only priority was cars. And we are finally rebalancing this in favor of people, of pedestrians, of people on bicycles, and you're showing that you can do this in the neighborhood that used to be the entry for the Holland Tunnel. If you can do it here, one of the most car-saturated neighborhoods in New York City, you can do it anywhere.

Borough President Levine: And just to sit out here today, you feel it. You feel what this transformation means to this community. You see the life. And I want the rest of the city to understand that this is possible. It wasn't easy. It took an incredible collaboration. Thank you to the BID. Thank you to EDC. Thank you to DOT. And we know it took money. This was not cheap. But it is worth every penny. This is the model of what we can do and what we must do all over New York city. So thank you so much for making this a reality and for bringing us together, and thank you for my purple hat. Congratulations.

Karasyk: There are more purple hats if you're jealous. We can give some to you. That's it for our program. Thank you so much for coming today. Oh, now we have to cut the ribbon. That's why you're actually all here today.

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