CAROLYN SALAZAR and SAMUEL GOLDSMITH
May 16, 2008
The Meatpacking District has gotten a face lift that'll stop traffic - literally.
The former traffic hotspot where six streets converge at Little West 12th Street has been transformed into a public piazza to be christened today.
The new Gansevoort Plaza is now lined with planters, art installations and plenty of public seating and bike parking.
Residents and business owners around the plaza say the artistic street furniture along the old cobblestone road gives the area a "more social feel."
Annie Washburn, who runs the Meatpacking District Initiative, said her community group has been working with the city for the past three years to build the pedestrian plaza.
The next step is to work on the aesthetics, she said, which means fine-tuning the street furniture and art.
The Department of Transportation will host a grand opening for the plaza this afternoon and discuss many of the upcoming events coming to the site.
This first event is this weekend, when the plaza hosts the third annual Meatpacking District Design Event, where 30 local shops set up temporary design exhibitions for the public.
