Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 562017: The Many Places We Might Yet Become Fifteen years ago, Lower Manhattan faced an “either/or” choice. Would the community sur- vive as a residential enclave after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? In retrospect, answering “no” seems inconceivable, but there were many plausible alternatives. Downtown could have reverted to its historical identity as a business district. The World Trade Center complex might never have been rebuilt, its land instead given over to a large memorial park without buildings. But that isn’t what happened. Instead, we (the community, and the na- tion) answered “yes,” and now the tally of people who call the square mile below Chambers Street home has more than doubled. But this raises more complicated questions: If we are to remain a community, exactly what kind of community are we becoming? This is more vexing than the first question, because it has many possible answers—and none of them are clearly right or wrong. Which people should live here and how many? How many schools and parks do these people need? Is a community more successful (or less) if it has room for mid- dle class or poor residents? More puzzling than what we will decide (or will be decided for us) is how this decision will be made, and when. Le Corbusier once said, “a hundred times have I thought New York is a catastrophe and 50 times: It is a beautiful catastrophe.” Those sound like pretty good odds to us. Here’s hoping the catastrophe we build is beautiful. Editor & Publisher: Robert Simko • Writers/Editors: Matthew Fenton (Chapter Intros), John Simko (Here and There, Then and Now), Marti Ann Cohen-Wolf (Lists) • Map: Giorgio Rossovich • Advertising: Kris Frederick • Photography: © Robert Simko All rights reserved 2017 • The Broadsheet Inc. The Doorman’s Guide to Lower Manhattan 2017 may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written consent from the publisher. 917-319-8375 • eBroadsheet.com robert@ebroadsheet.com The Doorman’s Guide to Lower Manhattan 2017