THE NEW DOWNTOWN? THE NEW WEST SIDE? ATLANTIC YARDS?
FORGET IT.
Dan Doctoroff
deputy mayor of economic development and rebuilding

Many of the big projects that are under way today would not be where they are had it not been for 9/11. The transformation of lower Manhattan, the expansion the West Side, the extension of the 7 line, the Atlantic Yards, the list goes on and on. Much of it would not have been doable but for 9/11. People had this very romantic notion about lower Manhattan before 9/11, but the reality was it was in long-term decline; from 1970 to 2001, the number of jobs there declined by 64,000. We never would have had the resources or the will to invest the way we’re investing in lower Manhattan. Back in 2001, if you had walked one block in any direction from the World Trade Center, it was blighted. That is changing right now, as we speak.

Related:

• Archive: “Cover Story”
• Articles by John Heilemann
• Table of Contents: Aug 21, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!