10 Years Later, New Challenges Persist in Downtown NYC

NEW YORK CITY-Approaching the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, government authorities and developers are debating how to balance security in Lower Manhattan while maintaining the connectivity of Downtown’s four main neighborhoods. During “The New Downtown” conference sponsored by NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate and Silverstein Properties, panelists from the university, the real estate community and public officials discussed that despite Lower Manhattan’s re-emergence as a live/work community, new challenges remain, such as adding new retail, housing and other infrastructure improvements to support the growing population here.

“This is a very emotional issue, and to see how far we’ve come in 10 years, I think the redevelopment been very fast as far as mega, complex public projects go,” said panelist Carl Weisbrod, clinical professor and academic chair of global development at NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. Weisbrod--the founding president of the Alliance for Downtown New York--was at the forefront of redevelopment after the Twin Towers fell. “When you think about Times Square, Metrotech, Battery Park City or major projects across the country, ten years is short for a major urban redevelopment, and that went right.”

Following 9/11, the efforts of the Downtown Alliance and Community Board 1 helped generate funds and relief efforts for the 16-acre site and the area at-large. With the help of local elected officials, Congress passed the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, which allocated tax benefits for the area of Lower Manhattan damaged by the terrorist attack. Designated as the “New York Liberty Zone,” residents and businesses were encouraged to stay. Now, the neighborhood is transforming into a destination once again. “I believe that the reason Lower Manhattan recovered is not so much about the businesses, but in terms of residency, the residents really provided the anchor and the enthusiasm and the advocacy over the last 10 years,” Weisbrod said. “It has been remarkable.”

One of the factors driving the recovery here is the strength of Battery Park City’s booming residential market, caused by a heavy influx of young families and single men. And where the old World Trade Center was once seen as a separator between Battery Park City and the Financial District, office space and residential life now coincide, said Gayle M. Horowitz, president and CEO of the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority. “I think the spaces are complementary and it explains why Lower Manhattan has become such a destination to be a 24/7 live/work community,” Horowitz said. “The great thing about Battery Park City in particular is that we can walk right over to the waterfront and experience and all that Lower Manhattan has to offer, and then you can walk a few blocks and be at work. It has the best of everything.”

With 3,000 units of new housing and a new community center in the works, Horowitz said the latest challenge for the authority is “re-attaching” Battery Park City to the street grid, which will be facilitated by the development of new mass transit connections like MTA’s Fulton Street Transit Center and PATH station redevelopment.

Overall, the panel agreed Lower Manhattan is “high income and under-retailed” despite its proximity to the financial services sector and various creative industries. But luxury is coming back Downtown, explained MaryAnne Gilmartin, EVP and director of commercial and residential development at Forest City Ratner Companies, developer of New York’s tallest residential structure, the 76-story Beekman Tower designed by Frank Gehry at 8 Spruce Street. Located between William and Nassau Streets, the 930-unit building features retail at the base, as well as 100,000 square feet devoted to a public school and medical office space for New York Downtown Hospital.

When asked “Why build east of City Hall?” by moderator and NYU professor Mitchell Moss, she said: two words: Frank Gehry. “In putting together this Rubik’s cube, it became clear that without height restrictions Downtown, we could climb into the heavens and do something extraordinary,” Gilmartin said. The building also features public plazas on the east and west sides after addressing concerns from local residents. “You can’t really declare a building an icon,” she said. “It really has to become one on its own, and it has to be said so by others. When you have the architecture critic for the New York Times claiming it to be one of the greatest buildings ever built, if not the best building built in half a century in New York City, means you’ve done something special.”

At the World Trade Center itself, Julie Menin, chairperson of Community Board 1, said the planning of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum “absolutely went right,” but the heavy involvement of various public agencies and private interests caused too many delays for the redevelopment of the site. “There are so many players involved,” Menin said, including Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, two states, the city and various others, describing it as an “alphabet soup” of agencies. “That can sometimes mean there could be fractious debate and there can be delays,” she said. “Could we have a better system in place? Absolutely. Would it have been better to put one entity in charge? Absolutely.”

But moving forward, Menin is optimistic about new Conde Nast deal at One World Trade, as well as the memorial launch in four months. She also called for more action on the Lower Manhattan Performing Arts Center, which she said would bring jobs, businesses and a steady stream of visitors to the area. “We have a lot to be excited about,” she said.

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