Green Oasis of Trees and Fountains to Open Next to Frank Gehry’s Beekman Tower Updated June 9, 2010 3:25pm

The plaza will be open to the public 24 hours a day. ()

By Julie Shapiro

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

FINANCIAL DISTRICT — A burbling oasis of trees and fountains will open beside the new 76-story Beekman Tower as early as next year.

The 13,000-square-foot plaza will sit just west of the Frank Gehry-designed skyscraper, spanning the length of the building from Beekman Street to Spruce Street.

The project also includes a smaller 2,500-square-foot landscaped walkway just east of the building at William Street.

Forest City Ratner, the tower developer, unveiled new designs for the plazas, by landscape architect Field Operations, at Community Board 1’s Seaport/Civic Center Committee Tuesday night.

The plaza includes fountains and landscaped sitting areas. ()

“I hate the tower, but the plaza is beautiful,” said John Fratta, chairman of the committee.

The skyscraper is controversial in the community because of its height and lack of affordable housing.

Residents will begin moving into Beekman Tower's 903 market-rate apartments next year, and the K-8 Spruce Street School is slated to move into the tower’s base in September.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Fratta and other board members expressed worry that Ratner’s new plazas could fill with homeless people and drunken Pace University students at night. The committee passed a resolution urging Ratner to provide 24-hour security.

Forest City Ratner is building a 13,000-square-foot plaza just west of the tower and a 2,500-square-foot walkway to the east. ()

Susi Yu, a senior vice president at Forest City Ratner, said the plaza would have security cameras and “appropriate oversight.”

“We will do everything we need to do to protect our investment,” she said.

By Julie Shapiro, DNAinfo.com

Follow Julie on Twitter @JulieShapiro