Circus coming to City Hall Plaza

After 20 years of playing in various locations, mostly in the Fan Pier area, New York's Big Apple Circus will set up its enormous white tent on City Hall Plaza this spring, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said at a news conference yesterday.

It will be the first time a major performing arts organization will occupy the plaza.

The move to the central location, Menino said, will make the circus more accessible for families that use public transportation and will enliven what he jokingly called ''the ugliest location in the world." He says it will also draw circusgoers to area restaurants and shops. ''It will make it the most alive place since 1968," when the plaza was completed, he said.

The circus has played numerous lots around Fan Pier as the Big Dig has progressed, except for the last two years, when it was at the Bayside Exposition Center. The more urban location, says Paul Binder, circus founder and ringmaster, is similar to the circus's home in Lincoln Center Plaza.

The circus will present ''Grandma Goes to Hollywood" April 1-May 7. Tickets go on sale Sunday through Ticketmaster.com or 617-931-2787.