Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York, is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough of New York City. Lower Manhattan is the core area for business, culture, and municipal government administration. The neighborhood is the historical birthplace of New York City[2] and for its first 225 years was the entirety of the city. It serves as the seat of government of the entire City of New York itself.[2] Because there are no municipally defined boundaries for the neighborhood, a precise population cannot be quoted, but several sources have suggested that it was one of the fastest-growing locations in New York City between 2010 and 2020, related to the influx of young adults and significant development of new housing units.[3][4]
Lower Manhattan
Downtown Manhattan, Downtown New York City
1626
382,654
212, 332, 646, and 917
$201,953
Despite various definitions of Lower Manhattan, they generally include all of Manhattan Island south of 14th Street. Anchored by Wall Street and the Financial District in Lower Manhattan, New York City is the world-leading global center for finance, and fintech.[1] The Financial District houses Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and other major financial institutions. Lower Manhattan is home to many of New York City's most iconic buildings, including New York City Hall, the Woolworth Building, and One World Trade Center, the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.
Geography[edit]
Lower Manhattan is delineated on the north by 14th Street, on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by the East River, and on the south by New York Harbor. Its northern border is designated by thoroughfares about a mile-and-a-half south of 14th Street and a mile north of Manhattan's southern tip around Chambers Street near the Hudson River east of the entrances and overpass to the Brooklyn Bridge.[5] Two other major arteries to Lower Manhattan are Canal Street, roughly half a mile north of Chambers Street, and 23rd Street, roughly half a mile north of 14th Street.
Lower Manhattan's central business district forms the core of the area below Chambers Street and includes the Financial District, commonly known as Wall Street after the name of its primary artery, and the World Trade Center site. At the island's southern tip is Battery Park; City Hall is north of the Financial District. South of Chambers Street are Battery Park City and South Street Seaport. TriBeCa straddles Chambers Street on the west side; at the street's east end is the giant Manhattan Municipal Building. North of Chambers Street and the Brooklyn Bridge and south of Canal Street is the Chinatown neighborhood, home to the largest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere.[6][7] Many court buildings and other government offices are located in this area.
The Lower East Side neighborhood straddles Canal Street. North of Canal Street and south of 14th Street are SoHo, the Meatpacking District, the West Village, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Nolita, and the East Village. Between 14th and 23rd Streets are lower Chelsea, Union Square, the Flatiron District, Gramercy, and Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village.
Lower Manhattan is the third-largest business district in the United States, after Midtown Manhattan and the Chicago Loop.[76] Anchored by Wall Street, New York City functions as the financial and fintech capital of the world and has been called the world's most economically powerful city.[77][78][79][80] Lower Manhattan is home to the New York Stock Exchange, at 11 Wall Street, and the corporate headquarters of NASDAQ, at 165 Broadway, representing the world's largest and second largest stock exchanges, respectively, when measured both by overall average daily trading volume and by total market capitalization of their listed companies in 2013.[81] Wall Street investment banking fees in 2012 totaled approximately US$40 billion.[82][83]
Other large companies with headquarters in Lower Manhattan include (in alphabetical order):
Prior to the September 11 attacks, One World Trade Center served as the headquarters of Cantor Fitzgerald.[99] Prior to its dissolution, the headquarters of US Helicopter were in Lower Manhattan.[100] When Hi Tech Expressions existed, its headquarters were in Lower Manhattan.[101][102]
Government and infrastructure[edit]
Subway[edit]
The headquarters of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is located in 4 World Trade Center of the World Trade Center complex.[103]
The city hall and related government infrastructure of the City of New York are located in Lower Manhattan, next to City Hall Park. The Jacob K. Javits Federal Building is located in Civic Center. It includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation New York field office.[104]
Many New York City Subway routes converge downtown. The largest hub, Fulton Center, was completed in 2014 after a $1.4 billion reconstruction project necessitated by the September 11, 2001, attacks, and involves six separate stations. This transit hub was expected to serve 300,000 daily riders as of late 2014.[105] The World Trade Center Transportation Hub and PATH station opened in 2016.[106] Ferry services are also concentrated downtown, including the Staten Island Ferry at the Whitehall Terminal, NYC Ferry at Pier 11/Wall Street (and Battery Park City Ferry Terminal starting in 2020), and service to Governors Island at the Battery Maritime Building.
Vehicles[edit]
Lower Manhattan is accessible by vehicle through several major thoroughfares. From New Jersey, Lower Manhattan is accessible through the Holland Tunnel from Interstate 78. From Queens, Long Island, and points east, it is accessible through the Queens–Midtown Tunnel from the Long Island Expressway. From Midtown and Upper Manhattan, it is accessible from the West Side Highway.