Near Ground Zero, a Resurgence

By Julie Norwell

Stefan Pryor knows what a neighborhood back from the brink looks like. Five years ago, taking a Sunday stroll from his home near the World Trade Center meant jostling among the tourists. Today, he says, he bumps into neighbors. "There are many more residents now and a sense of community," says Pryor, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. "We even have a new coffee shop."

Spared the political turf war at ground zero, the surrounding areas--Wall Street, Battery Park City, Tribeca and Chinatown--have forged ahead. After 9/11, hazardous air quality and broken infrastructure pushed people out of the area in droves, especially from the blocks nearest ground zero, displacing 100,000 jobs and sending residential occupancy rates plunging to 60%. Since 2003, jobs are up 11%, and residential occupancy is above 95%. Lower Manhattan also has more than a dozen new or refurbished parks and open spaces, with six more on the way.

The biggest success story is the booming residential population. Early on, officials were worried that no one would want to live in the shadow of ground zero, so the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which coordinates the rebuilding of the area, dedicated $300 million to housing grants: rent or mortgage subsidies of as much as $12,000 for people who committed to living downtown for two years, as well as one-time payments of up to $1,000 for existing residents who stayed put. The sweeteners brought in new residents, who revitalized big apartment complexes like Battery Park City and pushed developers to convert old office buildings in the financial district into apartments, a trend already under way before 9/11. More than 36,000 people now live in lower Manhattan, up 58% from 2000. Those young, affluent newcomers have attracted posh new stores like Sephora and Hermes and new restaurants like Bobby Van's Steakhouse, lighting up streets that once went dark at 5 p.m.

It is perhaps a testimony to the success of lower Manhattan's rebuilding that the city is scrambling to provide infrastructure to match the huge growth. The area needs more retail stores and relief for crowded schools, and an overhaul of the subway and commuter-rail systems is moving slowly. "We have only one full-service hospital below 12th Street, and it has serious financial challenges," says Alan Gerson, a lower Manhattan city councilman. Of all the neighborhoods, Chinatown has shown the least improvement. The garment industry there never fully recovered, existing zoning laws inhibit residential development, and the area is struggling to make the most of the hundreds of small businesses that dominate the area. But Chinatown has a new leader for its business district: Wellington Chen, who promises to boost tourism and marketing and clean up the streets.

While lower Manhattan has further to go, Pryor and his new neighbors have already done the hardest work. They turned what was once just a massive center of commerce into something that, for now, seems much more precious--a neighborhood.