Hudson Yards Vies To Become A New York Holiday Destination
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The holiday season in New York is a feast for the eyes and ears and all the senses with lights and displays and activities that seem to get bigger bolder and better every year.
As we celebrate, there's no better place to start than Hudson Yards. The city's newest neighborhood has already established itself as a go-to destination for shopping, dining and living. And now it's transformed itself into a must-explore holiday destination.
From the moment the landmark Vessel structure was formally revealed last March, Hudson Yards on the far west side of Manhattan welcomed businesses, residents and tourists and never looked back.
Chief Marketing Officer Stacey Feder says Hudson Yards is on track to see about 20 million visitors annually. By the looks of their very first holiday season, they are more than ready.
"The idea of doing something that is great and bold and really fun for people, we knew that was the right thing to do and so we're excited to celebrate the season with everyone," Feder said.
The centerpiece for their inaugural holiday celebration is called "Shine On," an ambitious installation of light and music designed for public interaction. There are three massive structures on the plaza with more than 12,000 lights. There is a nightly call to celebrate as the lights and music come to life.
"Rather than having trees ornaments and snowman they chose our project because they wanted to have an artistic take on the holidays and I think that's lovely," Christopher Schardt, the artist who conceived the project, told us. "If this is fun for somebody, if this gives them moments of wow this is really cool, that's what I want them to have."
In addition to "Shine On" outside, there is the requisite shopping, holiday style, in the indoor mall. There are more than 100 shops and restaurants in here. Neiman Marcus is the retail anchor.
"We started with a campaign all about the extraordinary and the extraordinary playground and we wanted to continue that for the holiday season for an extraordinary holiday," said Kerri Larkin of Neiman Marcus.
But it's the overall over the top lifestyle that's really the marquee experience here. There will be 4,000 luxury residences in these buildings, some stunning amenities like a 12-month outdoor terrace and pool at Equinox to celebrate the season, or just about anything.
Hudson Yards is hoping it becomes a holiday destination as well.
"New York is so full of incredible experiences at holiday. I think that adding the day to their itinerary is an incredible experience and we hope to embrace the future holiday and having technology and light and song and live celebration come together here," Feder said.
