Lower Manhattan: Preparing for the Future

Afternoon 2:00pm (EDT) / 8:00pm (CEST)

LOWER MANHATTAN: PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

Moderator:
Catherine McVay Hughes, Community Activist & Board of Directors, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation

People First in Lower Manhattan

Alice Shay, Principal, Buro Happold
John Massengale, AIA CNU, Architect, Urbanist, Massengale & Co LLC
Ben Furnas, Executive Director, Transportation Alternatives
Emily Weidenhof, Assistant Commissioner, NYC DOT

At Waters Edge: Resiliency for Lower Manhattan

Matthijs Bouw, Founder & President, One Architecture
Alexis Taylor, Vice President of Climate Resilience, NYC Economic Development Corporation
Kimberlae Saul, AIA, Vice President Planning & Design, Battery Park City Authority
Jonathan Marvel, FAIA, Founding Principal, Marvel Architects

Panel Discussion, Questions and Answers

People First in Lower Manhattan focuses on the streets and public spaces of New York’s oldest and most historic neighborhood, the Financial District. Several of the FiDi’s streets, dating from the 17th century, have been recognized as Historic Districts on the National Register of Historic Places. Though through most of the 20th century the neighborhood was seen as solely a commercial area and hub of world finance, Lower Manhattan is now home to 75,000 residents, sees over 300,000 workers daily, and attracts more than 9 million tourists annually.

Leaders in urban planning and government affairs will discuss the neighborhood’s complex urban challenges and how to enhance pedestrian mobility over the cars and trucks that currently congest its historic streets. The goal is to make all movement safer, easier, and cleaner towards a more enjoyable experience that can transform the area into one of the world’s most attractive places to live, work and visit.

At the Water’s Edge: Resiliency for Lower Manhattan focuses on the vulnerability and management of the city’s coastline. New York City’s identity as a global capital of finance and culture is rooted in its origins as a seaport. At the epicenter of over 520 miles of waterfront is Lower Manhattan, where it started 400 years ago with the arrival of the Dutch. Since then, even the boundary of where land meets the water has changed – in some cases dramatically. Learn from experts what is at risk and what is being done to protect Lower Manhattan from tidal flooding and coastal storms, and to ensure that all New Yorkers continue to have access to the jobs, subways, and infrastructure that thrive in this central hub. 

With 19 of 28 subway lines, 512,000 riders per day and 10% of all jobs in NYC, resulting in $74 billion in annual GDP (8% of the City’s total), downtown is indispensable to New York’s future. A range of current resiliency initiatives will be reviewed, including East Side Coastal Resiliency, Lower Manhattan Coastal Protection, and Battery Park City flood protection and water management systems. Discussions will also include how changes at NOAA, FEMA and the insurance sector may impact response and recovery to the next climate event, and its impact on the real estate and financial markets.