City, Baruch College and Elected Officials Celebrate the Opening of the Clivner=Field Plaza
October 13, 2021
The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) joined Baruch College, Lieutenant Governor Brian A. Benjamin, State Senator Liz Krueger, Council Member Carlina Rivera and Manhattan Community Board 6 Chair Kyle Athayde today to celebrate the opening of the newly redesigned Clivner=Field Plaza at Baruch College in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan. The Plaza, which was created as part of a $12.4 million capital project received funding from DOT and DEP along with funding from the City Council with support from Council Member Carlina Rivera with additional funding from The City University of New York and Baruch College donors. The project, which began construction in June 2018 was managed by DDC.
“We’re continuing to reclaim space from cars on our streets, creating innovative spaces that are welcoming to all New Yorkers,” said DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman. “Working closely with our partner agencies, we were able to create this permanent, beautiful new space that will be enjoyed for generations to come.”
“This beautiful and smart use of public space will ensure that the Clivner=Field Plaza is a prominent feature of both the Baruch College campus and the neighborhood for decades to come,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “Just as important are the investments we have made to upgrade the essential infrastructure that we all rely on every single day, including new water mains to reliably deliver our award-winning tap water and catch basins to ensure stormwater can be drained from the Plaza and roadways.”
“The completion of the beautiful Clivner=Field Plaza brings 3,000 square yards of permanent public space to Community Board 6, which has one of the lowest rates of public space in the City,” said DDC Commissioner Jamie Torres-Springer. “We work with the City’s Plaza Program to build out new pedestrian spaces in every borough, and they are transformational for communities.”
“The Clivner=Field Plaza is both an important and transformative space for Baruch students, faculty, and staff to connect and socialize with each other, and an exciting opportunity for us to deepen our relationship with the surrounding community,” said Baruch College President S. David Wu. “We look forward to welcoming our neighbors and New Yorkers from around the City to enjoy this open, green space, and I want to thank our partners at DOT, DEP, DDC, and Council Member Rivera, as well as our generous donors, for their commitment to bringing this Plaza to life. The Clivner=Field Plaza will certainly add to the vibrancy of New York City.”
“I’m excited to hear that the renovation of the Clivner=Field Plaza is complete,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “Now, members of the Baruch College community and East Siders have access to permanent public space in a neighborhood that needs it.”
“Accessible open space is desperately needed in Manhattan, and so are pedestrian-friendly streetscapes,” State Senator Liz Krueger. “The newly redesigned Clivner=Field Plaza delivers both in a beautiful setting that will be enjoyed by students and residents for generations. Thank you to Baruch College, Council Member Rivera, the City agencies, and all their partners for making this project a reality.”
“I am thrilled to celebrate the official completion of the Baruch College Clivner=Field Pedestrian Plaza on 25th Street, a project ten years in the making,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera. “This new and permanent open space has already made a world of difference for residents, and I look forward to continued enjoyment of this and our many other improved open spaces throughout District 2 for years to come.”
“The Clivner=Field Plaza is an attractive and inviting amenity for the Baruch College, Flatiron, and Kips Bay communities,” said Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried. “I congratulate the College and the City for providing an oasis of car-free, pedestrian-friendly passive open space in a densely populated part of lower Manhattan that starved for it.”
“Public space is what regenerates our communities through and through,” said Assembly Member Harvey Epstein. “I am thrilled to celebrate the completion of the Clivner=Field Plaza for Baruch College and members of the school community. I know that with this Plaza students will be able to focus and cherish the beauty of open space.”
“A project almost a decade in the making, Manhattan Community Board Six is happy that Baruch College’s Clivner=Field Plaza is now open for the public to enjoy,” said Manhattan Community Board 6 Chair Kyle Athayde. “We offer congratulations to Baruch College, the New York City Department of Design and Construction, and the New York City Department of Transportation for bringing this project to fruition. In a district like ours that has the least amount of open space in the borough, Clivner=Field Plaza will offer Baruch College students and community members a wonderful place to sit and enjoy being outside. And if we’ve learned nothing else from living through a pandemic, it’s that our open spaces are of vital importance to our community and to communities everywhere.”
“Clivner=Field Plaza offers valuable public open space for the community and Baruch College alike,” said MNLA Associate Alexis Gagné. “The design provides flexible outdoor space with integral safety improvements, opportunities for seating and gathering, and 15 new trees to help shade the adjacent hardscape areas. We are pleased to have been a part of an amazing team that helped transform a City street into a welcoming pedestrian plaza accessible to all.”
The project makes permanent the 27,000-square-foot Clivner=Field Plaza in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan on East 25th Street between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue. The area, which once saw upwards of 20,000 mid-block crossings daily and 300 vehicles hourly, was closed to traffic in 2012 to increase safety and create a welcoming atmosphere for students, faculty, staff and pedestrians.
The entire Plaza was repaved with patterned concrete and 1,442 engraved pavers were installed in the front entrance of the College’s Newman Vertical Campus, which were purchased by Baruch College alumni and friends to help fund the project. Seating was placed throughout the Plaza, including 21 new benches, 15 free-standing granite seats and 583 feet of granite seating seat walls and steps. Structural beams of the main building were strengthened to uphold the granite seating that’s attached to the façade. To improve pedestrian safety throughout the Plaza, 12 lights were newly installed and five new bollards were installed in front of the entrance of the main building to improve safety from emergency vehicles.
Nearly 180 square yards of plantings including 12 green areas throughout the Plaza were installed to absorb storm water runoff. The green areas feature more than 600 species of plants along with six new trees and nine trees that were replaced. A three-dimensional trellis with evergreen and flowering vines was installed behind the monumental steps, adding to the Plaza’s greenery. More than 3,000 bulbs will be planted during October, which will bloom next spring.
Beneath the Plaza, water main infrastructure reliability was improved with the replacement of 700 feet of water mains. To capture storm water and direct it to the storm sewers, seven catch basins were newly installed and two old ones were replaced. Two new fire hydrants were installed and five old fire hydrants were replaced to ensure firefighters have ready access to the City’s water supply during emergencies.
About the NYC Department of Design and Construction
The Department of Design and Construction is the City’s primary capital construction project manager. In supporting Mayor de Blasio’s long-term vision of growth, sustainability, resiliency, equity and healthy living, DDC provides communities with new or renovated public buildings such as such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, and new or upgraded roads, sewers and water mains in all five boroughs. To manage this $15.5 billion portfolio, DDC partners with other City agencies, architects and consultants, whose experience bring efficient, innovative and environmentally-conscious design and construction strategies to City projects. For more information, please visit nyc.gov/ddc.
About the NYC Department of Transportation
NYC DOT’s mission is to provide for the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods, and to maintain and enhance the transportation infrastructure crucial to the economic vitality and quality of life of New York City residents. More than 5,000 DOT employees oversee one of the most complex urban transportation networks in the world, managing 6,000 miles of streets and highways, 12,000 miles of sidewalk, and 794 bridges and tunnels, including the iconic East River bridges. Our staff also installs and maintains more than one million street signs, 12,000 signalized intersections, 315,000 street lights, and 200 million linear feet of street markings. DOT promotes the use of sustainable modes of transportation, designing bicycle facilities, bus lanes, and public plazas. DOT also operates the Staten Island Ferry, which serves over 22 million people annually.
About New York City DEP
DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water each day to nearly 10 million residents, including 8.8 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $20.1 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.