EPA press release on WTC cleaning hotline launch, June 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Introduction Prior to September 11, 2001, more than 85% of workers arriving daily in Lower Manhattan trav­ eled by public transportation, making New York's downtown the most transit-dependent central business district in the United States. Unfortunately, investment in Lower Manhattan's 19th and 20th century infrastructure has not kept pace with its 21st century needs. Due in part to the inadequacies of its increasingly overburdened and outmoded transportation infrastructure. Lower Manhattan's position in the region, nation, and the world has been slipping. In one of the most prosperous economic periods in New York City history — the years between 1991 and 2000 — the share of office employment in Lower Manhattan as a percentage of total employment south of 59th Street fell from 39% to 33%, while Midtown's share increased from 42% to 45%.‘

The events of September 11th have exacerbated this trend. The attacks led to the temporary dis­ placement of approximately 138,000 downtown jobs.’ To date, 60,000 jobs — beyond the 16,000 drop already experienced in the 1990's — have not returned to Lower Manhattan and many have relocated to other nearby areas, including Midtown, Jersey City, and Stamford, leaving the cur­ rent employee population of Lower Manhattan at approximately 325,000.’ The decision of employers to relocate their businesses outside of Lower Manhattan has been due in significant ( part to September llth's disastrous impact on downtown's infrastructure and the severe worsen­ ing of its trarisportation problems — including the temporary paralysis of the downtown 1/9 I line, the closure of important city streets, and the destruction of the World Trade Center PATH I

terminal with the resultant loss of PATH service. I

In the aftermath of September 11th, Governor George E. Pataki has enumerated a set of priority projects to restore Lower Manhattan's transportation infrastructure and lay the foundation for the area's future growth. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has articulated New York City’s Vision for Lower Manhattan, offering a broad set of strategies for revitalizing Lower Manhattan through transportation upgrades and innovative land-use improvements. Taken together, the Governor's and Mayor's strategies lay the groundwork for the revitalization of Lower Manhattan.

The Search for Solutions

While looking to the future, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and the revitalization of Lower Manhattan have also occasioned a fresh look at the half-century of studies that have pro­ posed solutions to Lower Manhattan's long-standing infrastructure problems. Generations of I

transportation experts and advocates have devoted thousands of pages to the topic. The reports f range from a series of studies issued by the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association (DLMA),

6 Lower Manhattan Transportation Strategies

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