A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on October 13th to celebrate the official opening of the highly anticipated Clivner=Field Pedestrian Plaza at Baruch College, in Manhattan. EnTech, as a prime consultant, provided resident engineering services for this award-winning project, and several EnTech staff were among those in attendance. Also present were representatives of Baruch College, CUNY, the NYCDDC, NYCDOT, and NYCDEP, as well as donors, community leaders, and students.
The new plaza–which is named for donors and Baruch alumni Daniel Clivner and Larry Field–is the result of a public-private partnership between New York City and Baruch College. Funded by DOT, DEP, the New York City Council, CUNY, and private donors, the project converted a once-crowded city street on East 25th Street between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue into a beautiful plaza. The space includes 27,000 SF of green space and acts as a walkway for students traveling between campus buildings.
The groundbreaking for this $12.4M project occurred in 2017. Work included the replacement of underground infrastructure such as distribution water mains and hydrants, catch basins, electrical conduits, plaza lighting traffic signals, and gas and steam main improvements.
Other key aspects of the project included:
- 750+ feet of water main infrastructure replacements to improve water supply reliability, and the installation of catch basins to more effectively capture and direct stormwater
- Electrical work, including the installation of new lamp posts throughout the plaza, and the relocation of traffic and street lights at the intersections of East 25th Street with 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue
- Reconstruction of roadways along the intersections of East 25th Street with 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue
- Installation of 25,000 SF of 4” and 7” concrete sidewalks with custom design patterns, as well as the installation of 250 SY of concrete pavers, more than half of which are engraved with donor names and quotes
- Strengthening of the Baruch College Vault structural beams to build monumental granite steps
- Construction of freestanding granite seats, monumental steps, and seat walls throughout the plaza with skateboard deterrents, accompanied by 21 new stainless-steel benches
