Take a Seat on Water Street!

09/26/2011
Take a Seat on Water Street!

Just in time for office workers, residents and tourists to enjoy the Autumn breeze, the Downtown Alliance and the Andaz Wall Street are proud to announce the first series of public arcade seating along Water Street, a key recommendation of the Downtown Alliance’s Water Street revitalization plan.

Funded by the Downtown Alliance and managed by Andaz Wall Street, 75 Wall Street’s plaza and arcade will be home to 17 outdoor tables and 68 chairs, some of which will be designated café seating for the hotel’s restaurant and bar named Bar Seven Five Terrace.

 Andaz Wall Street’s 75 Wall Street location is the first site to introduce arcade seating as a result of the Department of City Planning’s Lower Manhattan Arcades Text Amendment. This zoning change, approved in May by the City Council, allows tables and chairs to be located year-round in arcades along and around Water Street to enliven its streetscape and make it a more economically vibrant corridor. The new zoning gives these arcades a new purpose and provides an amenity to Lower Manhattan employees, residents and visitors.

 “Another fantastic public realm innovation provided by the Andaz Wall Street, these tables and chairs will welcome workers, residents, and tourists to bask in the bustling energy of Lower Manhattan,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, President of the Alliance for Downtown New York. “We are delighted that Andaz Wall Street – the first hotel to open its doors after the economic downturn and the only hotel in New York City to run its own outdoor farmers’ market – is going the extra mile to help revitalize Water Street as pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use community.”

 “I am thrilled that Andaz Wall Street has set up tables and chairs in its arcade and plaza,” said City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden. “How New York City looks and feels at the street-level affects how we all experience the city. These tables and chairs will help Water Street reach its potential as a dynamic corridor where office workers, residents and visitors will be able to have their lunches, or simply rest and linger, under the shelter of public arcades. Together with the new East River Waterfront Esplanade, Lower Manhattan now offers even more opportunities to enjoy the urban outdoors. These initiatives further the goals of the Mayor’s Vision for Lower Manhattan to make it an even more vibrant live-work community.”

 ”Andaz Wall Street has always aimed to be a part of the neighborhood and a part of the community. This is one more way that we are able to offer our hospitality and service to the residents of lower Manhattan and those that choose to visit us from NYC and beyond,” states Toni Hinterstoisser, General Manager of Andaz Wall Street. “We’re looking forward to seeing familiar faces and new faces at our Bar Seven Five Terrace, where they can enjoy great food and drink in a beautiful outside space.”