Neighborhood Watch

When the world changed on Sept. 11, Battery Park City responded without hesitation.

By Mark A. Newman

When the World Trade Center fell, many predicted that it would mark the end of the vibrant Battery Park City.

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But two years later, with residential occupancy at 98 percent, Battery Park City is not just surviving-it's thriving.

On that fateful day in September, Battery Park City found itself at the epicenter of history. The World Financial Center was in ruins, and virtually all of the buildings in the neighborhood were coated with dust and soot.

And Battery Park City became a literal oasis in a nightmarish downtown.

Reaching Out

Like any good neighbor, the first order of business was to lend a helping hand, said Timothy S. Carey, Battery Park City Authority president and CEO.

"We evacuated 30,000 people off our Esplanade via police boats, fire boats, pleasure boats, ferries, anything that could float," he added.

The evacuation went smoothly largely due to an updated emergency plan created after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The updated plan enabled the BPCA to effectively shepherd people safely from 7 million sq. ft. of office space, 27 residential buildings, three schools, two hotels and a museum.

Aside from the help from the BPCA staff, the assets of Battery Park City itself were a much-needed component to get the rescue and recovery efforts under way. "We turned over large parts of our property to help in the search and rescue and search and recovery effort," Carey said.

What had once been a ball field was converted into a truck depot where debris was loaded. A parking lot was reborn as the Environmental Protection Agency's headquarters. The streets, emptied of traffic, became grim storage areas for portions of the collapsed buildings until they could be inspected and later removed.

Teamwork in a Crisis

One aspect of Battery Park City that sets it apart from other Manhattan neighborhoods is the BPCA, which "manages" the various properties.

"We were very fortunate in that we had a single property owner that oversaw 92 acres downtown, not to mention the World Financial Center's 6 million sq. ft. of office space," Carey said. "The reason I say that is because we could all speak with a single voice. I could speak to the individual building owners and managers, then I could meet with Mayor (Rudolph) Giuliani and the commissioners and let them know what Battery Park City's needs were."

It was also important to get life back to some semblance of normalcy. To that end, the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy worked with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency to start the cleanup process three days after the attacks.

The day of the attacks, the BPCA set up a Web site to keep residents informed of the cleanup and other procedures, as well as stay in contact with each other.

"We were working day and night to assess the damage to the residential and commercial properties with Brookfield, Gateway and the LeFrak organizations, which all hold leases on substantial pieces of real estate," Carey said. "We worked with the Mercantile Exchange-which was undamaged-to get them up and running the following Monday."

Carey, along with Giuliani and Gov. George Pataki rang the Mercantile's start bell together that day.

The BPCA also worked closely with residential managers and owners to get people back into buildings. Immediately after the attacks, the residential occupancy rate in Battery Park City plummeted to 44 percent. Residency was 97 percent before the attacks.

Carey said people started moving back downtown because of the quick cleanup. "By Sept. 19 the streets were fully cleaned," he added. "By the 22nd residents could move back into some of the buildings when we had 2,800 units reopened. We knew it was important to get things up and running as quickly as possible."

He added that the closer to Ground Zero, the longer it took for the units to get back to normal.

By October Merrill Lynch returned to the World Financial Center and the Jewish Heritage Museum reopened. In January 2002 the BPCA returned to its headquarters in One World Financial Center, and the Ritz Carlton Hotel opened, making it the first new downtown business to open after the attacks.

By the time West Street opened in April 2002 most of Battery Park City's residents had returned home. Also in April the BPCA broke ground on Teardrop Park and new ball fields in the north neighborhood. The Irish Hunger Memorial was completed in July 2002.

The World Financial Center's Winter Garden reopened on Sept. 11, 2002. Its majestic palm trees and soaring open spaces had been dealt several deadly blows and was virtually demolished when the towers fell and debris came crashing through the glass-enclosed structure.

Carey praised everyone involved in the rebirth of the neighborhood. "If we did not have the full cooperation of our managers and owners, there is no way would be where we are today," he said. "Today every single building has been rehabilitated, residency is at 98 percent, and we've settled every outstanding issue from repaving the streets to settling rent strikes."

Carey added that the concerts in Battery Park City's many parks are oversubscribed and the parks themselves are filled to capacity on weekends. The local restaurants are doing well and the hotels are full.

He said he could only ask for one more thing: "We sure do miss those buildings across the street."

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