Starting tonight and continuing every night until Lower Manhattan is submerged in water, there will be a dazzling free light show at midnight down at the new Peter Minuit Plaza by the Staten Island ferry terminal. The groovy nightly show is brought to you by a $2.3 million gift from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which today opened the space age-looking New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion to the public. Designed by Ben van Berkel of UNStudio, it's intended to serve as an "'outdoor living room' for spontaneous and scheduled activities, information, public markets, seating and shade."
Van Berkel describes his creation as "a flower opening to its surroundings... a landscaped intermodal transportation hub of the 21st century, where bicycles, buses, the subway and water transportation intersect with cultural offerings in a singular expression of daring but lyrical design." As you can see from Katie Sokoler's photos, there's an interactive map on the pavilion with touch screens that enable visitors to find restaurants and events going on in the area. But why do we have to wait until 12 a.m. for the light show? We're told that's because Minuit's name translates to 'midnight.' So now you have a fun conversation starter while you're waiting for the show to start.
