The landscaped plaza completes a key link between the rivers downtown

The new South Ferry subway terminal opened to the public in March 2009, and now the new pedestrian plaza above it is open to the public. Known as Peter Minuit Plaza, a namesake for the Dutchman who first colonized Nieuw Amsterdam, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) rebuilt the plaza as a welcoming open space outside the subway station and Whitehall Ferry Terminal. The landscaped plaza completes a key link between the Hudson and East River bikeways, which ties into the bikeway through Battery Park.

Remaining work on the MTA’s new bus-loop canopy will continue for a few more weeks, with crews outfitting the bus waiting area for Select Bus Service use starting October 10, 2010. The plaza already is home to Dutch architect Ben van Berkel’s windmill-inspired art installation “New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion,” which was given to the city in 2009 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Dutch's settling of Manhattan.