Update 08/14/06: The rails surrounding the map sculture/marble block have been skatestopped.

This is the premier stair spot you'll find downtown. There is a twelve, a seven, and an infinite amount of sixes throughout the plaza set up so that you may hit one after the other. The surface of the plaza is smooth for skating, although it is made out of a rocky material that will kill the tail of your board after a while, or scrape up your hands if you land on them to stop a fall. All the steps generally have ample runway and landing, so you wouldn't have much trouble skating them. Otherwise, there's a couple marble benches scurried throughout the plaza, several higher concrete ledges, a marble block with skateable rails around its edges and a long four stair which probably measures around eight feet of a gap.

If you head down one block south on South Street, you'll find the now close-to-obsolete Whitehall Spot. The ledges and rails are all skatestopped, but a few things remain. First off, there's the ten set, which has perfect runway, but a ten foot long sidewalk as a landing into South Street, which is typically pretty busy during the day. Towards the front of the building, there's a nine set, which you'll get kicked out of a lot quicker because it's closer to the security window. Finally, there's the "Whitehall Gap," which entails getting on top of a two-foot high ledge, riding on it for about fifteen feet, and clearing four feet of a handicap ramp below it, another two-foot wide ledge next to it, and an eight-foot drop into the sidewalk.

There are usually security guards walking around during the day, so the only way of potentially skating it is just trying your luck and seeing whether or not he's around. There's a lot less prominent at nighttime, so that would be the best time to go.

It's the biggest plaza on Water Street. It's between Old Slip and Whitehall Streets. Take the N or R to Whitehall, or the 1 or 9 to South Ferry and skate north on Water Street for about 3 blocks. Then you shall see it.