NEW YORK CITY — The Alliance for Downtown New York has unveiled a plan to transform Water Street in Lower Manhattan into a 24/7 pedestrian destination. The street already contains more than 20 percent of Downtown's commercial real estate, including more than 19 million square feet of office space. The new plans calls for the creation of a pedestrian-friendly commercial district that will appeal to office workers, residents and tourists alike. Proposals set forth include extending sidewalks to allow for café seating for restaurants, benches, bike racks and additional landscaping. Central spaces, including Wall Street Park, would be expanded to allow for event programming. Private building owners would also be encouraged to participate in the revitalization and plans include incentives to convert ground-floor lobby space to retail and other uses that would appeal to pedestrians. The study team for the project is led by Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects, with assistance from FXFOWLE Architects and Sam Schwartz Engineering. For more information about the project, visit the project's site.
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