The Doorman’s Guide to Lower Manhattan 2018 2018: The New Normal If we were to imagine a cinematic treatment of Lower Manhattan’s life story, the last 17 years are likely to be the chapter that a screenwriter would choose to encapsulate in a montage, set to fast-paced music: After the devastation of September 11, 2001, many people moved away, then many come back, accompanied by many more who’ve come to live here for the first time. Successive generations of kids are born in a place that very few people had ever called home. The old economy pulls up stakes, while a suite of new industries puts down roots. A thick forest of gleaming towers reaches skyward, while an effervescent jumble of parks, schools, libraries, restaurants, and a bustling street life all blossom in their shadows. So far, so good. But after the montage comes a movie’s third act, usually beginning with a tem- porary (surprise) setback for the heroes—in this case, all of us who live or work here—fol- lowed by the inevitable resolution and obligatory happy ending. Forgive us, but we can’t shake the nagging suspicion that Downtown’s third act will be more complicated than that. Movies need the action to halt before the credits roll, but cities are different. They need action that continues to build, ceaselessly. So maybe our third act will be a perpetual work in progress, embodying the ancient Greek wisdom that “nothing is constant, except change.” Perhaps everything being different, all the time, is our new normal. Editor & Publisher: Robert Simko • Writers/Editors: Matthew Fenton (Chapter Intros), John Simko (Here and There, Then and Now), Marti Ann Cohen-Wolf (Listings) • Map: Giorgio Rossovich • Advertising: Kris Frederick • Photography: © Robert Simko All rights reserved 2018 • The Broadsheet Inc. The Doorman’s Guide to Lower Manhattan 2018 may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written consent from the publisher. 212-912-1106 • eBroadsheet.com robert@ebroadsheet.com