NYC Partnership economic impact analysis update, February 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

To truly revitalize Lower Manhattan, business leaders should address, over the long term, the area’s long-standing infrastructure and access problems. Some short-term steps could send a strong signal to businesses that New York is committed to revitalization.

Business, labor and civic leaders need to support the efforts of government to:

> Develop a Long-Term Plan by mld-2002: The private sector needs to work with New York City and the State of New York to set an overall vision to develop a well-defined plan for Lower Manhattan. Urban recovery efforts after several major earthquakes provide an invaluable lesson: those cities that quickly agree on a recovery plan, even though it may take years to implement, maintain their economic strength. A plan helps to create new business and stimulate investor confidence.

The plan should address Lower Manhattan’s long-standing problems of access and infrastructure. Those involved in creating the plan will fail miserably if all they manage to do is recreate the status quo ante in terms of the infiastructure for transportation, telecommunications and energy. The plan that emerges should enable Lower Manhattan to become a world class, high tech community - a 24-hour, mixed use neighborhood. It should be full of high-performance buildings, nodes of housing and retail stores, commercial space for industries such as biotech, enterprise software and international business. Lower Manhattan should be made more attractive than ever, with cultural amenities and, of course, a memorial to those who lost their lives on September 11th. This region of New York should become the envy of its global competitors. By setting a planning process in motion, with a fixed end date, the private sector and other stakeholders will help New York develop the best possible program quickly, avoiding the danger posed by years of debate and paralysis about what to do about downtown.

> Work with the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation: In order to maximize the effectiveness of the effort to revitalize downtown and gain the confidence of all key stakeholders, the private sector supports the decision of the Governor and the Mayor to establish a reconstruction authority for Lower Manhattan. It should oversee investment of federal fimds, coordinate expedited infrastructure developments and manage the incentives required to attract and retain businesses and residents in the area.

(2) Take Steps to Overcome Infrastructure Challenges

> Accelerate efforts to Improve access to Lower Manhattan: The Partnership supports an expansion of temporary measures to improve transportation. Possible steps include the continuation of single occupancy vehicle restrictions, the addition of high-speed bus lanes and increased land and ferry service to the

16 New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce

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