Throughout the 19th century and early 20th century the area adjoining today's Battery Park City was known as the Greek quarter; a long-standing reminder of the ethnic past was the former St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church which was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
By the late 1950s, the once prosperous port area of downtown Manhattan was occupied by a number of dilapidated shipping piers, casualties of the rise of container shipping which drove sea traffic to Port Elizabeth, New Jersey. The initial proposal to reclaim this area through landfill was offered in the early 1960s by private firms and supported by the Mayor. This plan became complicated when Governor Nelson Rockefeller announced his desire to redevelop a part of the area as a separate project. The various groups reached a compromise, and in 1966 the governor unveiled the proposal for what would become Battery Park City. The creation of architect Wallace K. Harrison, the proposal called for a 'comprehensive community' consisting of housing, social infrastructure and light industry. The landscaping of the parkspace and later the Winter Garden was designed by M. Paul Friedberg.
In 1968, the New York State Legislature created the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) to oversee development. The New York State Urban Development Corporation and ten other public agencies were also involved in the development project. For the next several years, the BPCA made slow progress. In 1969, it unveiled a master plan for the area, and in 1972 issued $200 million in bonds to fund construction efforts. Landfill material from construction of the World Trade Center was used to add land. Cellular cofferdams were constructed to retain the material. By 1976 the landfill was completed; in many cases, the pre-existing piers were simply buried. Construction efforts ground to a halt for nearly two years beginning in 1977, as a result of city-wide financial hardships. In 1979, the title to the landfill was transferred from the city to the Battery Park City Authority, which financially restructured itself and created a new, more viable master plan, designed by Alex Cooper and Stanton Eckstut. The design of BPC to some degree reflects the values of vibrant city neighborhoods championed by Jane Jacobs. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) awarded the Battery Park City Master Plan its 2010 Heritage Award, for having "facilitated the private development of 9.3 million square feet of commercial space, 7.2 million square feet of residential space, and nearly 36 acres of open space in lower Manhattan, becoming a model for successful large-scale planning efforts and marking a positive shift away from the urban renewal mindset of the time."
During the late 1970s and early 1980s the site hosted Creative Time's landmark Art on the Beach sculpture exhibitions. On September 23, 1979, the landfill was the site of an anti-nuclear rally attended by 200,000 people.
Construction began on the first residential building in 1980, followed in 1981 with the start of construction on the World Financial Center. Olympia and York, of Toronto, was named as the developer for the World Financial Center in 1981, who then hired Cesar Pelli as the lead architect. By 1985, construction was completed and the World Financial Center saw its first tenants.
Throughout the 1980s, the Battery Park City Authority oversaw a great deal of construction, including the entire Rector Place neighborhood and the river Esplanade. It was during this period that current City Planning Department Director Amanda Burden worked on Battery Park City. During the 1980s a total of 13 buildings were constructed. In the early 1990s, Battery Park City became the new home of the Stuyvesant High School. During the 1990s an additional 6 buildings were added to the neighborhood. By the turn of the 21st century, Battery Park City was mostly completed, with the exception of some ongoing construction on West Street.
Current residential neighborhoods of Battery Park City are divided into a north and south section, separated by the World Financial Center Complex. The southern section, extending down from the Winter Garden, is the more densely populated region, containing Gateway Plaza, and Rector Place apartment buildings. The northern section, although still under very large construction, consists entirely of large, 20-45 story buildings which are all various shades of orange brick.
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks had a major impact on Battery Park City. The residents of lower Manhattan and particularly of Battery Park City were displaced for ten days . Parts of the community were an official crime-scene and therefore a few residents were unable to return to live or even collect property for a longer period of time. When they were finally allowed to return to Battery Park City, some residents of the Gateway Plaza complex reported their homes had been looted. Upon return the air in the area was still filled with toxic smoke from the World Trade Center fires that persisted until January 2002.
Gateway Plaza's 600 building, Hudson View East and, the then Parc Place, now Rector Square were punctured by airplane parts and severely contaminated. The Winter Garden and other portions of the World Financial Center were severely damaged. Environmental concerns regarding dust from the Trade Center were a source of concern for many residents, scientists, and elected officials. Since the attacks, the damage has been repaired. While a substantial portion of the area's residents moved away permanently, temporarily reduced rents and government subsidies helped restore residential occupancy in the years following the attacks.
Since then, real estate development in the area has continued robustly. Commercial development includes the 2,100,000-square-foot (200,000 m2) Goldman Sachs Group World Headquarters scheduled for occupancy in 2009. Goldman Sachs is seeking gold-level certification under the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program by incorporating various water and energy conservation features. Several residential projects are underway, including LEED buildings which cater to the environmentally conscious.
Construction history:
- 1980s: 13 buildings, 9 residential and 4 commercial
- 1990s: 6 buildings, 5 residential and 1 commercial
- 2000s: 10 buildings, 6 residential, 3 mixed use and 1 commercial
- 2010s: 3 buildings, 1 commercial(completed) and 2 residential(under construction).
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