I have used the thread timeout to consider and research the specific criticism of my assessment of shade and seating, and I regret to inform you all that I am doubling-down on it and in fact will assert that the situation is worse than before the renovation.
This Street View image taken in 2016 shows the pre-renovation conditions of the area of City Hall Plaza along the former Hanover ROW, adjacent to the JFK building. I have panned and zoomed to an image showing in excess of 30 or so mature trees of about 20 feet height, which in better seasons would clearly blanket a large seating area with shade. This is the specific tree canopy area denoted in the BPDA's (outdated) shadow map. There were in the original Plaza design in excess of 20 concrete benches (with backs), each of which could accommodate up to 3-4 seated occupants comfortably. Please note the rectangular entrance "trench" near the center of the photo, lined by distinctive round bollards.
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This image taken by dhawkins shows the post-billion-dollar renovation conditions from a vantage point of just past the "trench entrance" area, looking back towards the earlier perspective.
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While the trees MAY have been replaced 1:1 (I am unsure as to the exact number), the large mature trees have been removed entirely and substituted with younger ones not even half their height, providing no canopy layer at all for this area - less of an umbrella, and more of a lollipop. Furthermore, the 20+ concrete benches have been removed, replacing them with fern and shrub planters, and perhaps 3 back-to-back bench units, which DO have wood paneling but unlike the concrete ones cannot be used in this layout to socialize face-to-face as they are twice the distance from each other.
More plants is nice - I agree that the plaza as-was was unacceptably bad. This is different, but not better. Except for the hilarious slide, which I encourage them to leave unchanged but perhaps install a webcam. St. Patrick's is gonna be lit.
