Innovative Programs And Incentives Have Created A More Diversified Downtown Manhattan.
This past decade, Lower Manhattan has evolved from being known almost exclusively as the heart of finance to its present incarnation as home to a diverse suite of industries, all thriving alongside New York’s financial center.
Today, thousands of companies have set up shop Downtown, drawn to the unique spaces and opportunities in the neighborhood and alleviating the significant losses of capital, personnel and real estate investment the area experienced in the aftermath of 9/11, and the economic downturn of 2008.
In the media and tech industries alone, more than 600 companies are bustling south of Chambers Street. The diversity of these companies includes the likes of Booker, which provides cloudbased service management platforms; Control Group, which partners with innovative companies to optimize their products, spaces and technology for the digital age; and even Delivery.com, which you may have used recently to order food online.
And that’s only part of the momentum. In addition to the rebuilding and highly-anticipated opening of the World Trade Center, more than $30 billion in public and private investment has revitalized the area, helping to transform the waterfront and creating the essential infrastructure and capacity to support new legions of workers and residents.
The City’s investments in infrastructure include the ongoing work on the East River Waterfront Esplanade, which has created new active recreation opportuni- ties for New Yorkers, while connecting them to the waterfront. In addition, the East River Ferry service has created a sustainable and convenient transportation option that connects Lower Manhattan with neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, attracting more than three mil- lion passengers since its launch. Programs such as ConnectNYC Fiber Access and WiredNYC have bolstered the region’s development by helping businesses and New Yorkers access more affordable broadband opportunities.
To capitalize on this progress and further encourage the neighborhood’s economic diversification and resurgence, the City launched a competition called Take the HELM (Hire and Expand in Lower Manhattan). This initiative, which has completed two rounds so far, offers innovative companies $250,000 for moving to, or expanding in, the neighborhood, garnering more than 600 applications between two rounds. As a result, several companies such as Paperless Post, SiSense and the Flatiron School have also made the move to Lower Manhattan. [Continues…]
By Eric Gertler Executive Vice President, New York City Economic Development Corporation
Southern Hospitality is the Innovation article of DOWNTOWN’s Summer 2014 edition. If you would like to continue reading the entire article, you can find our latest issue on newsstands now! Or you can subscribe to DOWNTOWN Magazine for home delivery by clicking here.
