The 8.5-ton, 108-square-foot kiosk was carried by forklift to its spot on the southeast end of Bogardus Plaza. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib
A 10-foot-tall stainless steel box arrived on the West Broadway side of Bogardus Plaza on Sunday morning, Feb. 13. While it may not have looked like much, what lay beneath the white plastic wrappings was a first: the prototype of a newly designed line of multi-purpose concession stands for plazas and other public spaces around the city.
It also will be the first street food outpost for Tribeca mainstay Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish and, most importantly, a wellspring of funding for the popular, high maintenance plaza. Once outfitted, Z Eatz, as it is called, will begin serving in the spring.
Now unwrapped, the $130,000, 6.5-ton kiosk shell stands over a section of the plaza north of Chambers Street where it will eventually be hooked up to below-ground utilities.
While Friends of Bogardus Plaza paid for the structure (and, through a private loan, the $30,000 installation), the city will own it, said Victoria Weil, the group’s founder and president. Rent from the concession, plus a percentage of its revenue, will pay for a large chunk of the plaza’s $90,000 a year upkeep. That cost has doubled over the years, Weil said.
“It’s hard to keep asking the same people for money,” noted Weil, who has spearheaded the reimagining and development of the plaza for more than a decade. “So just to have padding, year after year, is critical for us to keep on operating.”
Four eateries (three from Tribeca, one from Brooklyn) responded to a request for proposals to operate the concession. Zucker’s won out based largely on quality, affordability, and its long history in the neighborhood, Weil said. She called the eatery’s offerings “elevated street food” and “a lot of bang for your buck.”
“The people who use the plaza are not necessarily the people who live here so it has to be affordable,” she said.
“It’s been wonderful to see the park change over time, and now to be a part of it, and working with the great people at Friends of Bogardus feels like the natural next step,” Zucker’s founder and co-owner Matt Pomerantz, a Tribeca resident, told the Trib in an email. “Being around the corner from our Chambers St. shop will be a complimentary experience,” he added, noting that there will be new menu items such as pizza, hot dogs, soft serve ice cream and sliders, along with a few that are offered in the store, including bagels and cream cheese, egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwiches, and avocado toast.
Development of the new kiosk was overseen by the Department of Transportation and is meant to fit in with the look of the city’s other street furniture. Because Bogardus Plaza is in a landmark district, it needed—and was granted—approval from the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. Community Board 1’s Landmarks Committee was less impressed when its members saw a presentation in October 2020. “It’s from outer space, that’s my immediate reaction,” said committee chair Bruce Ehrmann.
As the structure was being positioned into place, Weil acknowledged that it looked bigger in the plaza than she’d imagined. “But you know what,” she said, “it’s going to be great.”
“It feels right for the neighborhood. It’s a Tribeca thing, a local business,” she said later in a phone interview. “For Zucker’s, it’s a fun project. And for us, it's a way of keeping the plaza operating.”