Spring Street Park Reopens With $5.5M Makeover

HUDSON SQUARE, NY — Local leaders unveiled a $5.5 million facelift to Hudson Square's Spring Street Park after decades of neglect.

The city's Parks Department partnered with the Hudson Square Business Improvement District (BID) to revitalized the 21-year-old triangle of green space, bounded by Spring and Broome street on Sixth Avenue. After gradually falling into disrepair, local leaders stepped in to give the plaza some much needed love.

"The park hadn’t been updated since the 1970s and it was really deteriorating," said Ellen Baer, the president and CEO of the Hudson Square BID.

"There’s nothing more important than open space in our city and certainly in our community when you have a lot of people who are creating things. There’s nothing like open space to cleanse your mind and your soul, and so we wanted the community to have this space."

The Hudson Square BID and the city split the bill for the renovation, which will be maintained by the BID.

The green space boasts 42 trees and plenty of new seating, including under-lit benches, seasonal moveable furniture and swivel chairs that are found nowhere else in the U.S.

A statue of Jose Artigas, a national hero of Uruguay sometimes referred to as "the father of Uruguayan nationhood," was moved from elsewhere in the plaza to the heart of the park. The Consulate General of Uruguay has kicked in $25,000 to maintain the statue in the years to come.

Spring Street Park also features an overhaul of the plaza's "storm water capture ability" and includes additional permeable surfaces to allow the space to withstand extreme weather with less damage.

Photo courtesy of Caroline Spivack/Patch