Foley Square
Coordinates: 40°42′53″N 74°00′10″W / 40.7147°N 74.0028°W
Foley Square is a street intersection and green space in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City and – by extension – the surrounding area, which is dominated by civic buildings. The space is bordered by Worth Street, Centre Street and Lafayette Street and lies between City Hall and Canal Street, near Manhattan's Chinatown and east of TriBeCa. It was named after a prominent Tammany Hall district leader and local saloon owner, Thomas F. "Big Tom" Foley (1852–1925).
Foley Square sits on part of the former site of the Collect Pond, specifically the smaller portion known as "Little Collect Pond" which used to lie to the south of Collect Pond proper. This was one of the original fresh water sources for the city, but in 1811 was drained and filled in because it had become severely polluted and implicated in typhus and cholera outbreaks. The neighborhood around the pond was the notorious Five Points neighborhood, home of many gangs.
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