Manhattan, NY Vornado Realty Trust celebrated the complete transformation of a portion of West 33rd St. into the new Plaza33, a permanent pedestrian plaza in the Penn district with a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 24.
Developed through a public-private partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation, the 1/3-acre promenade features trees, lush landscaping, circular stone benches, and colorful chairs and tables. Plaza33 is an oasis for the surrounding neighborhood and a new connection to transit, nearby amenities and office buildings, sitting directly above Penn Station’s new LIRR Concourse.
Vornado Realty Trust CEO Steven Roth, Manhattan borough president Mark Levine, assembly member Tony Simone, and council member Erik Bottcher, civic organizations, were present at the ribbon cutting
Plaza33 is the centerpiece of a $65 million project by Vornado to make the streetscape around Penn Station safer, greener, more accessible and more pedestrian-friendly. In addition to the plaza, Vornado has partnered with the NYC Department of Transportation to replace one-half mile of concrete sidewalks across the Penn district with Petit Granit stone pavers, and to double the width of the 7th Ave. sidewalks that border Penn Station.
The new Plaza33 highlights:
• 16,000 s/f of reclaimed public space for pedestrians
• Five mature October Glory maple trees
• Seamless connection to the newly renovated East Plaza at Penn 1; the recently completed grand entrance to Penn Station’s all-new LIRR Concourse, with ADA-accessible elevators, new escalators and a glass canopy; and the new ADA-compliant Amtrak entrance at 32nd St. — including three new elevators from the street into Penn Station
• Special programming provided through the 34th St. partnership, which already brings programming to nearby Herald and Greeley Squares
• New food and beverage offerings in adjacent retail space curated by Vornado that serve a wide range of budgets and tastes, including soon to open Roberta’s Pizza, Los Tacos No. 1 and Anita Gelato.
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