Hudson Yards opens to large crowds — and strong wireless coverage

The Hudson Yards neighborhood recently had its official opening in New York City, it announced in a release.
New York natives and tourists alike took in all that the $25 billion development had to offer, including The Public Square and Gardens, a new five-acre public space featuring public plazas, gardens and groves. Visitors also experienced Vessel, the centerpiece of Hudson Yards, which comprises 154 interconnecting flights of stairs, 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings, and offers unique views of Manhattan’s West Side. Lastly, those in attendance got to enjoy The Shops & Restaurants, a one million square foot retail center that comprises more than 100 retail locations and eateries.

Real estate firms Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group developed Hudson Yards, while a vast collection of architects and designers collaborated on the neighborhood, including Diller Scofidio + Renfro; Elkus Manfredi Architects; Foster + Partners; Heatherwick Studio; Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates; Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects; Rockwell Group; and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Hudson Yards plans to house industry leaders from almost every business sector. Companies such as Guardian Life Insurance Co., L’Oréal USA, Tapestry Inc., The Boston Consulting Group, SAP, VaynerMedia, Intersection and Sidewalk Labs will occupy 10 Hudson Yards, while Boies, Schiller & Flexner; Engineers Gate; HealthCor Management; Milbank LLP; Point72 Asset Management; Silver Lake; Third Point LLC; MarketAxess; and Mount Sinai Health System will call 55 Hudson Yards home. Related Companies and Oxford Properties will be among the businesses occupying 30 Hudson Yards and Equinox’s headquarters will be located at 35 Hudson Yards.
“In New York City, we make the impossible reality—including building new neighborhoods over old rail yards,” New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.  “Hudson Yards is bringing thousands of jobs, new green space, and expanded transportation to the West Side. The project is an example of the ingenuity that helps make New York the greatest city in the world.”
With an estimated 125,000 people gracing Hudson Yards daily whether it’s to work, live or enjoy, it was critical the neighborhood could provide adequate wireless coverage for all of the mobile devices that would most likely be used. Hudson Yards uses a fiber loop to support communications—the loop was designed to optimize data speed and service continuity for rooftop communications along with mobile, cellular and two-way radio communications. The fiber loop will allow for continuous access through wired and wireless broadband performance from any device and any on-site location, the neighborhood said in its press kit. “We’re as good as future-proofed.”
“Hudson Yards was designed with a communications backbone from Day One,” Fifth Gen Media publisher and CEO Rich Berliner said. “The opportunity for tenants, landlords and owners to tap into this well-designed network backbone was the cornerstone behind the design.”
The neighborhood will be a mix of buildings, parks, utilities and public spaces that will combine to form a connected, responsive, clean, reliable and efficient neighborhood, according to Hudson Yards’ statement. Hudson Yards is planned to be the first LEED-certified neighborhood as it will house a mirco-grid and two co-generation plants that will decrease the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted every year by generating electricity and hot and cold water for the neighborhood—more than twice as efficiently as conventional energy sources. Additionally, approximately 10 million gallons of storm water will be collected from building roofs and public plazas, filtered and reused in mechanical and irrigation systems. The Hudson Yards development will also provide more than 1,300 new or permanently preserved affordable onsite units in the neighborhood, 14 acres of public space and a new kindergarten through eighth grade public school.

In the coming months, Hudson Yards will add The Shed (April 5), Equinox Hotel (June) and Edge, the highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere is expected to open by early 2020.
“From the first weekend, so far the network appears to be working well,” Berliner said. “Great communication and technology will allow people to enjoy living, working and playing at Hudson Yards. It’s a tremendous property and a lot of thought and development went into making sure it wasn’t just a commercial real estate showcase, but also a communications and technology showcase.”