| A new report from State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli documents how far Lower Manhattan has come in recovering from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and also how far the area has yet to go. The report, “The Transformation of Lower Manhattan’s Economy” adds detail and context to some insights that are already evident, but also contains a few surprises.
While it has long been known that the residential population of Lower Manhattan has more than doubled in the past 15 years, and that Downtown schools are bursting, Mr. DiNapoli’s report documents that the number of families with children has tripled during the same period (with the number of children also tripling), and that more than three quarters of the local population is now younger than age 45.
If your neighbors seem both smarter and richer than they were before, you’re not imagining things. The report notes that more than one third of local families now have household incomes of more than $200,000 (compared to just seven percent for the City as a whole), while 40 percent of residents hold a graduate degree or higher (compared to about 14 percent of residents City-wide).
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| State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli at the Downtown Alliance’s LMHQ, where he discussed his new report, “The Transformation of Lower Manhattan’s Economy.” |
The local jobs pictures is encouraging, but more nuanced. By the end of 2015, there were some 228,300 private-sector jobs in Lower Manhattan. This is the highest since the local economy imploded in the fall of 2001, and lost 58,600 jobs. In the years since, Mr. DiNapoli notes, the area has clawed back more than private-sector 16,600 jobs, which leaves Lower Manhattan with a lingering deficit of some 42,000 jobs. On a more encouraging note, fully one in ten private-sector jobs in all of Manhattan is now based Downtown.
The finance industry was once the elephant in Lower Manhattan’s living room, but has been reduced to a goat. Although it is still the single largest jobs sector Downtown, it now employs some 78,000 people, which is slightly more than half of its headcount in 2000. During the intervening period, it has slimmed down from representing more than 56 percent of all local jobs, to just one-third.
As the same time, however, other sectors have grown aggressively: the numbers for people working in tourism have doubled, those in healthcare have almost quadrupled, while the headcount for business services is up by more than 25 percent, and personal services (meaning business, like dry cleaners, that cater to the growing residential population) have more than doubled their complement of workers. All of which makes for a local economy that is not only growing faster than the City-wide average, but is also much more diversified than was historically the case.
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| State Senator Daniel Squadron: “Lower Manhattan’s residential and commercial resiliency, recovery, and growth has come from the partnerships that make this community so strong.” |
“It would have been impossible, in the midst of the unspeakable tragedy suffered 15 years ago, to imagine Lower Manhattan as we know it today,” Mr. DiNapoli said at a September 6 press conference announcing his report. “The terror attacks forged determined partnerships — between the local community, government, and the private and not-for-profit sectors — that made Lower Manhattan’s renaissance possible. The Downtown Manhattan area enjoys a diversified employment base and strong annual job growth. Lower Manhattan is doing more than rebuilding, it is transforming and moving forward with resilience and hope.”
“We’ve witnessed a remarkable transformation of Lower Manhattan over the past 15 years,” said Jessica Lappin, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, which supplied much of the research and data for Mr. DiNapoli’s report. “In the wake of one of the country’s most tragic events, the neighborhood has rallied to rebuild itself as one of the most desirable places in the city to live, work and visit.”
“Lower Manhattan’s residential and commercial resiliency, recovery, and growth has come from the partnerships that make this community so strong,” reflected State Senator Daniel Squadron, at the September 6 event.
“We continue to make great strides in diversifying our economy, creating good jobs, and building up neighborhoods that continue to attract more and more residents. Today, Lower Manhattan is proof of what is possible when all levels of government work together to create a brighter, more vibrant future,” observed City Council member Margaret Chin.
“Lower Manhattan is the core of our city, and its strengths of density and increasing economic diversity are a microcosm of New York’s strengths,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “Fifteen years after September 11 and four years after Hurricane Sandy, it is crucial that we continue investing in Downtown infrastructure and resiliency, but no one can doubt that Lower Manhattan is back as one of the world’s great urban centers.” |
