New initiatives make life brighter for Lower Manhattan

Real Estate Weekly, August 27, 2003 by Sabina Mollotov

Several new initiatives to improve quality of life in Lower Manhattan are being planned by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

One project includes a $1 million tourism campaign to bring visitors back to Chinatown, an area that has been battered financially since September 11th.

The neighborhood was dealt a further blow by the SARS epidemic.

That project, partially funded by the September 11th fund, and many other initiatives, were announced at an LMDC board meeting on August 14th.

The LMDC said it is now looking to hire a Chinatown-based firm to launch an aggressive marketing campaign to sell the neighborhood's assets.

The other downtown initiatives included:

a traffic study performed jointly with the city;

renovations on all the downtown parks,

new cultural facilities, such as museums and performing arts spaces;

and daily support of the multi-language website www.lowermanhattan.info.

One project already in the works is the public Millennium High School, which is under construction at 75 Broad Street.

So far, feedback to the LMDC's ideas, exchanged through community workshops it has been holding, has been "very positive," according to LMDC president Kevin Rampe.

Another one of the LMDC's endeavors is the new World Trade Center, a project held dear by many New Yorkers.

Concerns by the public over Daniel Liebskind's design of the Freedom Towers were brought up. Some people objected to it standing on the footrpints of the former World Trade Center towers.

However, LMDC chairman John C. Whitehead left little doubt about the plans: the design stays.

"The rationale for leaving the tower where it is, is because it's a key element of Liebskind's plan," said Whitehead.

"The reasons for moving it were not strong enough to overcome that."

Another WTC project, the design for the memorial, has yet to be chosen from the 5,200 proposals.

However, $937,300 in funds were granted for phase two of the competition, which will provide the semi-finalists with the means to recreate their designs more elaborately for further judging.

Another morale-boosting project, a mural on the side of Deutsche Bank building, may or may not actually happen.

Several LMDC board members said they didn't feel that a mural on a building that may be knocked down in a month (if the bank has its way in court) is a practical use for public money.

Currently, Deutsche Bank is in litigation for permission to destroy the building, which it said would be less costly than attempting to repair and maintain the property, located at 130 Liberty Street.

The building now stands covered in a black shroud.

Three million dollars was also approved for hiring construction consultants for work on the AirTrain, a transportation system being built for easier access from Manhattan to JFK Airport.

The consultants were selected by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the Economic Development Corporation.

The LMDC also announced that $500,000 had been granted for the construction and running of three kiosks/information centers to be built throughout Lower Manhattan, including one at the World Trade Center site.

The tourism initiative also includes a commitment to make sure important information about New York's infrastructure is available to Manhattan residents.