Lower Manhattan leads the way to becoming the world’s first 21st-century neighborhood where affordable housing mixes with luxury, high-tech merges with history, and people of all kinds come together in harmony.

Celebrity Appeal In Lower Manhattan

Leo DiCaprio likes it. So doesTyra Banks. They live in the Riverhouse, an eco-friendly building in Battery Park City. Russell Simmons owns a loft in a building on Liberty Street. Super chef Thomas Keller and supermodel Melyssa Ford call 20 Pine home. The Brangelina crew would look mighty good in a 73rd-floor New York by Gehry penthouse, when they’re finished this fall. Brad Pitt and architect Frank Gehry are old pals.The rebuilding of Lower Manhattan could be the most successful example of urban planning and public and private investment in the world. The result is a neighborhood that defines mixed-use with residential buildings, office space, retail, nine million tourists per year, and as many public plazas as anywhere in New York City.

Stone Street

There might not be a more quaint, boisterous and fun adult playground in all of the city than Stone St. One block long with outdoor drinking and dining, the street is home to four pubs, a steakhouse, pizza joint, wine bar and patisserie. Cobblestones below historic loft buildings give this hidden corner of New York nightlife an edge over crowded Williamsburg and the touristy Meatpacking District. Ulysses Folk House (58 Stone St.) is the late-night anchor. Harry’s Steak and Café (One Hanover Square) is the culinary center. Vintry Wine & Whiskey (57 Stone St.) is the relative newcomer. Hit them all. If you’re single, this might be the best street in New York to meet people.

East River Waterfront Esplanade

The latest downtown park, the East River Waterfront Esplanade, was championed by NYC City Planning director Amanda Burden and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The first few blocks of the park opened in July. Designed by downtown-based SHoP Architects, the park has steel bar stools leaning against a wooden rail overlooking the East River. The design uses the FDR Drive as shelter and work of art. Wooden seats, some reclining, and steps leading down to the splashing river are just two unique features that give this park world-class status among urban park watchers. For daytime workers it’s a lunch getaway. For residents, it’s a 24-hour heaven. Located at South St. and Maiden Lane.

World-Class Architecture

Blessed with some of the most important Gilded Age skyscrapers and the city’s most ornate buildings, the Financial District has become a tourist destination for design lovers. The Woolworth Building by Cass Gilbert; McKim, Mead & White’s Manhattan Municipal Building, and Trinity Church are some of the finest historic buildings in the nation. (At right, the Freedom Tower, Getty). New buildings will wow us forever − such as the rental tower now known as New York by Gehry, the $3.8 billion World Trade Tower Center Transportation hub by Santiago Calatrava, and the $3.1 billion 105-story Freedom Tower by David Childs at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. For progress on all downtown construction, go to lowermanhattan.info, a site that consistently updates the public.

Wall Street

Wall St. is still Wall St., the most well-known and powerfully branded road in the world. On any given day, the street, most of which is closed to vehicle traffic, experiences smiling tourists taking photographs of the Stock Exchange, New Yorkers running from work and home, and crowded luxury retail such as Tiffany & Co., Hermes, Canali, Thomas Pink and True Religion. For fine dining, SHO at the Setai is the area’s first Michelin-starred restaurant; Cipriani’s holds world-class events and has a dining terrace with massive columns invoking Italy’s oldest structures.

The Water
Nowhere in New York City with the exception of stretches of upper Manhattan, is the island so thin. That means water is within a five-minute walk no matter where you work or live. The Staten Island Ferry is free, and weekend ferries to Governors Island provide great respite and views of the lower Manhattan skyline. From almost anywhere, the waterfront facing east, west, and south is available for public enjoyment.

Downtown Alliance
Solely in place to further the growth of Lower Manhattan, the Downtown Alliance is the strongest “business improvement district” in the United States. Its promotion of the neighborhood as a commercial, residential and cultural destination has helped turn this once quiet part of Manhattan into a 24-hour wonderland. In operation since the mid-1990s, the Alliance placed 13 wireless hot spots in public plazas all over the neighborhood. They provide comprehensive maps of the latest restaurants, shops and bars. They pushed for outdoor tables at Stone St. They also provide security and run the Downtown Connection, a free bus chaperoning people around the neighborhood. Researching key demographic data (such as many of the figures cited in this story), the Alliance has become a force in neighborhood growth.

Transportation
There isn’t a greater concentration of subway stops and merging subway lines anywhere else in New York. Almost no matter where you are in the city, Lower Manhattan is accessible within an hour. In Manhattan, you can get there within 25 minutes from anywhere. Below Chambers St., we count 17 subway stops connecting 12 different lines. That doesn’t include the PATH or Staten Island Ferry. According to real estate agents, their clients work in other city areas but live here because its so accessible.

source: the daily news