Avoiding the Windchill? Here’s How to Navigate Lower Manhattan Underground

Thanks to an unusually sweltering autumn, this year we seem to have skipped right over the 50 to 60-degree pre-winter adjustment period, and now it’s cold. So cold, in fact, that your walk from the train to the office is starting to feel like an Arctic excursion instead of a three-block stroll. Fortunately, Lower Manhattan is blessed with a vast network of commercially heated underground shopping concourses where you can complete all your daily errands without coming in contact with the winter air. Here are three of our favorites:

The Shops at One New York Plaza

With everything from ceviche to optometrists (separate storefronts, thankfully), the Shops at One New York Plaza is truly a one-stop spot. You can find lunch options from the likes of INDAY, Playa Bowls, Brasa Peruvian Kitchen and NAYA Middle Eastern Counter and Grill; there’s also a shoe cobbler, an optometry practice, a chiropractor and a gym. If you’re lucky enough to work right in the building, there’s really no reason to leave.

MarketPlace 28 at 28 Liberty St.

At MarketPlace 28, you can work hard and play hard without going outside. Catch a film while sipping a cocktail at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, hit a few pickleballs at Court 16 and hang out or get some work done in the indoor seating area (free Downtown Alliance Wi-Fi included). There are direct underground connections to the 2, 3, 4, 5, J and Z trains, and to offices in 28 Liberty St. and 120 Broadway.

Fulton Center/the Oculus/Brookfield Place

This is where to spend your entire day if your winter coat isn’t doing it for you. With 10 train stations, two office complexes and countless shops connected by a labyrinth of underground passageways spanning almost river to river, these three retail concourses collectively form an underground cathedral of warmth. Down here, you can access pharmacies, cafes, clothing stores, public seating areas and scores of quick eats and sit-down restaurants; not to mention the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, E, J, Z, R, W and PATH trains, and almost all World Trade Center and Brookfield Place office buildings without stepping outdoors (but you’ll definitely get your steps in).

Next time the temperature drops below freezing, reroute your commute through one of these underground concourses — especially if you’re one of the lucky ones with a direct connection to your workplace.

photo: Mark Weinberg