The World Financial Center Plaza is a 3.5 acre landscaped park surrounding the North Cove yacht harbor. It is the first major public waterfront plaza built on the Hudson River, a landmark in public space design resulting from a collaboration among architect Cesar Pelli, landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg and artists Siah Armajani and Scott Burton. The plaza was commissioned by the Battery Park City Authority as part of its public art program, and is the center of Battery Park City. It was conceived not as an independent entity, but as a unique episode along the 1.5-mile waterfront esplanade. The Plaza's design is characterized by its visual imaginativeness and by a social intention, an attempt to work not for "viewers" but for "users".

The plaza was conceived as a multi-purpose space, providing the pleasure of variety via a range of open spaces for individuals and intimate groups, as well as for large public gatherings. To accomplish this objective, the team divided the site into zones.

Starting from the north, there is the wide-open space of the court outside the Winter Garden, with plenty of room for outdoor concerts, lunchtime gatherings, jogging, rollerblading and other activities. Along the eastern edge of North Cove is seating designed by Scott Burton. Here you can watch the sunset, and read passages from Walt Whitman and Frank O'Hara celebrating the exhilarating spirit of New York City, which Siah Armajani designed into the railings along the water.