Management and Budget.
Walk another block; at Park Place is a big reddish-brown building with the silver letters BMCC and CUNY affixed to it. This is Fiterman Hall, part of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, a well-regarded school in the City University of New York system. (The rest of the campus lies farther up Greenwich Street between Chambers and Harrison Streets; you’ll pass it later on.)
Walk to Barclay Street to see Silverstein Family Park, a more-or-less triangle that is both somber and frivolous—the inscription THIS PARK IS DEDICATED TO THOSE WHO SURVIVED SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 rings a fountain, in the middle of which is a bulbous red statue by Jeff Koons. The park is in the footprint of the 7 World Trade Center building, destroyed on 9/11; a new 7 WTC was built a block away. Real estate magnate Larry Silverstein is a native son who founded Silverstein Properties, which had acquired the World Trade Center shortly before the terrorist attacks.
Go right on Barclay to #101, the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation building—glass, glass, and steel for 25 stories. It was closed for several months after 9/11. Then check out the big sign for District Council 37, a city-employee union whose headquarters are located here at 125 Barclay.
At West Street you have a futuristic and almost shocking sight: the huge, modern skyscrapers of Battery Park City, seemingly piled on top of each other. Don’t cross over yet, but ogle 200 West St., the Goldman Sachs tower that was opened in 2010. On your left, the older skyscraper is 140 West St., long known as the Verizon Building but constructed in 1920 for the New York Telephone Company. This Art Deco structure has some creative details, especially at the main entrance (delicate foliage and a bell for “Ma Bell”). The 9/11 attacks caused major damage, but the structure has been restored. Look to the left, past the Verizon Building, to see the new 1 World Trade Center—from here, the view is dizzying.
Go left and, at Vesey Street, turn right, crossing West Street carefully. As you walk, you’ll see a few eateries and the Regal movie theater. Vesey ends at North End Avenue, a street solely within the boundaries of Battery Park City. Cross North End to see something drastically different from all the high-rises around here: the Irish Hunger Memorial.Resembling an overgrown ruin, this open-air museum is meant to raise awareness of the Great Irish Famine, which spurred much immigration to the United States and especially to New York City. The remnants of an authentic stone cottage were brought over to be part of the installation; the cottage was donated by the descendants of the family who originally lived in it. Stones bear the names of Irish counties; the landscaping comprises both soil and native plants imported from Ireland. A figure-eight walkway runs among the exhibits, and a walled entranceway is replete with quotes. Standing at the top of the memorial, which was finished in 2002, affords you prime views of the neighborhood as well as the Hudson River and even New Jersey (to be specific, Jersey City).
Walk out of the memorial to see the New York Mercantile Exchange. Use either the path or the River Terrace sidewalk to enter Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, which has an innovative playground and well-thought-out landscaping. The outer edge is buffeted by waves. Walk for about two or three blocks and then double back.
Go left and pass the World Financial Center ferry terminal and then the North Cove Yacht Harbor, along with an inviting plaza area with seating and tables, some modernist sculptures, and animals scurrying about. Go right, up to the fence at the water’s edge of the promenade, and gaze upon the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. It can be quite peaceful here, in jarring contrast to the bustling streets and highway just a few minutes’ walk away.
A dazzling view of 1 World Trade Center
Admire the boats, then walk toward the large, glass-vaulted building. This is the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden Pavilion—go inside. Completed in 1988, this Cesar Pelli–designed structure was extensively damaged on 9/11 but has been restored with great care. It hosts art exhibits and concerts. The Winter Garden is a fun stroll, what with its excellent views and trees in the main area. You can walk into Brookfield Place, which has luxury shops (including Saks Fifth Avenue) and casual-to-high-end restaurants.
Within the World Financial Center, ask to be directed outside to the Hudson River Greenway. Take the greenway right (south) two blocks to Albany Street and cross to the east side of West Street. Turn left (north) on West.
Note the imposing mansard-roofed skyscraper at 90 West. Completed in 1907, the Gothic building was designed by Cass Gilbert, who also designed the Woolworth Building and the former Custom House in lower Manhattan. Continuing down West, past the two entrances for the 9/11 Memorial (see next walk), at Liberty Street and then Fulton Street, you’ll see the American Express Tower (formerly 3 World Financial Center) to your left; you also get another great view of 1 World Trade Center at the corner of West and Vesey.
Keep walking along West Street until you reach Chambers Street, and take the Tribeca Bridge, a pedestrian overpass that crosses West Street/NY 9A. On the other side of the highway is Stuyvesant High School, one of the most prestigious and selective public high schools in the United States. Since the 1992–93 school year, “Stuy” has occupied this 10-story building, featuring an elegant recessed entrance and many windows that afford a lot of natural light.
Take the Tribeca Bridge (for nice views) or carefully cross West Street (less physical effort) to walk on Chambers Street. Notice the murals painted in bright colors along the curbs of the sports courts—they were painted by children under the auspices of the organization CITYarts. To your left after the murals, a wide path with a checkerboard design leads to the main campus of BMCC.
Walk farther on Chambers to see Washington Market Park, which has a cute gazebo in its center as well as a colorful playground.
After crossing Greenwich Street, make a left on Hudson Street. Bogardus Garden is a small, pretty green space on the triangle between Hudson and West Broadway.
Cross Reade Street and make a left at Duane Street. There are some charming buildings here: #168 has a pretty roofline design that includes two circular windows; #172, an early-1870s building with semielliptical cast-iron arches in front, is unusually elaborate. Duane Park, an attractive triangle of benches and plantings, was the first open space that the City of New York acquired specifically for use as a public park, so it’s older than both Central Park and Union Square.
At the far west edge of the park, Duane Street splits to form a Y—make a hard right at the fork to walk on the upper part of Duane.
Make a left onto Staple Street, a narrow, two-block-long road with an overhead walkway connecting the buildings on either side. Years ago this was a hospital complex, but now it’s residential.
Walk north to Harrison Street, where Staple ends, and go right to Hudson Street. At #6 Harrison is the original New York Mercantile Exchange, from 1884. Made of brick and granite, this red building with white accents looks like a schoolhouse and bears its name over the main entrance.
Turn left on Hudson and walk one block to Franklin Street. Look at the building on the left that’s white for the two lowest floors and then tan, with columns and pilasters to spare. This 1892 creation is the Powell Building; one of its tenants is the pricey Japanese restaurant Nobu.
Make a right onto Franklin, a cobblestoned street that has several historic cast-iron buildings to ogle. At the corner of Varick Street, cast a side glance rightward to the New York Law School, a glass building one block over at Leonard Street.
From here you can take the 1 train at Franklin Street.
