The rebuilding of Lower Manhattan since the September 11, 2001, attacks has shown the steady progress that is made when city, state, federal, and private organizations join efforts. To highlight some of the good work that's been done over the past year, LowerManhattan.info has compiled these rebuilding milestones, along with links to feature articles. For a full timeline of the progress made downtown over the past four years, please click here.

SEPTEMBER 2004

• Milestones

  September- Broadway Streetscape project was completed

  October- The 52-story 7 World Trade Center tower was topped out

  December- The WTC Memorial designs are revised

  December- Work began on the South Ferry subway terminal

  February- The Whitehall Ferry Terminal opened

  May - Schematic designs for the WTC Cultural Center were released

  May- Revised designs for the East River Waterfront were released

  June- The Freedom Tower was redesigned to address security concerns

  July- The StoryCorps oral-history recording booth   opened at the WTC PATH station

  July- The MTA released revised design plans for the Fulton Street Transit Center

  September- A groundbreaking ceremony marked the official start of construction of the WTC Transportation Hub

  The city Department of Transportation began collaborations with downtown stakeholders and other agencies to make Lower Manhattan streets more efficient through the Street Management Project.
• The Alliance for Downtown New York completed its Broadway Streetscape, commemorating all 200 ticker-tape parades that have passed through downtown's Canyon of Heroes since 1886 with black granite markers imbedded in the sidewalks of lower Broadway.

OCTOBER 2004

• Architectural firms Gehry Partners and Snøhetta were selected to design the performing-arts and cultural complexes at the redeveloped World Trade Center (WTC).
• On October 21, the 52-story 7 World Trade Center tower was topped out.

NOVEMBER 2004

• Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued executive orders on November 22 to create the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center (LMCCC), which will coordinate downtown's rebuilding projects.

DECEMBER 2004

• Work began on the state Department of Transportation's $70 million Promenade South project, which will involve reconfiguring the pedestrian area at Battery Place and renovating the Battery Park Underpass.
• The mayor and governor announced the 30 distinguished members of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation board of directors on December 1.
• Refined designs for the WTC memorial, "Reflecting Absence," were released on December 16.
• A new visitor kiosk in Chinatown opened on December 17 at Canal, Baxter, and Walker Streets.
• Work began on the $400 million renovation of the South Ferry subway terminal and is expected to wrap up by 2007.

JANUARY 2005

• The Alliance for Downtown New York and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council announced a new Cultural Capital Grant Program to encourage arts organizations to relocate or expand in Lower Manhattan.
• The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) answered questions about the deconstruction of the 130 Liberty Street building (formerly the Deutsche Bank Building) at a public information session held on January 24.

FEBRUARY 2005

• Work began on the $755 million Fulton Street Transit Center, which will link 11 subway lines with the WTC Transportation Hub.
• Officials cut the ceremonial ribbon on the renovated Whitehall Ferry Terminal on February 8. The terminal accommodates more than 65,000 travelers to and from Staten Island every day.
• The mayor and governor appointed former J.P. Morgan Chase executive Charles Maikish to head the LMCCC. (Click here to read LowerManhattan.info's Q&A with Maikish.)

MARCH 2005

• LowerManhattan.info launched a new construction web channel to serve as the official face of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center. The site, www.LowerManhattan.info/construction, went live on March 7 and includes regular work updates on downtown rebuilding projects as well as detailed plans for the future.
• The city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene releases World Trade Center Health Registry findings, based on feedback from nearly 15,000 residents living south of Canal on 9/11.

APRIL 2005

• The fourth annual Tribeca Film Festival kicked off on April 19. Created in 2002 to draw New Yorkers and out-of-town visitors to Lower Manhattan, the festival has generated an estimated $125 million for downtown businesses each year.

MAY 2005

• President Kevin Rampe resigned from the LMDC on May 9, after three years seeing through various WTC redevelopment projects.
• Work on the British Memorial Garden began on May 10 at Hanover Square, to commemorate the lives of 67 Britons who died on 9/11.
• The governor addressed the Association for a Better New York on May 12, reviewing rebuilding progress and announcing the appointment of Stefan Pryor to head the LMDC.
• WTC Cultural Center schematic designs were revealed on May 19 by the mayor, governor, and other rebuilding officials.
• Allocation plans for more than $800 million of remaining LMDC funds were announced, with funds earmarked to create more affordable housing; improve streets, parks, and waterfront spaces; and build a new East Side elementary school.
• Revised design plans the redevelopment of the East River waterfront were released, calling for improvements to the slips and pedestrian areas and creation of new cultural and retail spaces.

JUNE 2005

• The final plantings and road work at Wall Street Triangle Park were completed, bringing new greenery, benches, and a rebuilt roadway to Wall Street between South and Water Streets.
• The redesigned Freedom Tower was unveiled on June 29, revealing similarities to the twin towers and bolstered street-level security. The tower is expected to welcome its first tenants in 2010.
• The LMCCC announced plans to begin collecting background data for a long-term air-monitoring program that will help ensure environmental safety throughout the downtown rebuilding effort.
• The governor approved legislation that makes qualifying for disability pensions easier for 9/11 public rescue, recovery, and cleanup workers.

JULY 2005

• The StoryCorps oral-history recording booth opened at the WTC PATH station on July 12. It will serve as the first 9/11 interim memorial.
• The park at Old Slip, just west of the Police Museum in the Financial District, was officially reopened by city Parks Department Commissioner Adrian Benepe and other city officials on July 18.
• To reduce the budget and help accommodate existing utility infrastructure, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released revised design plans for the Fulton Street Transit Center.
• Brookfield Properties' $8 million reconstruction of Liberty Plaza Park began on July 18. By summer 2006, it will bring public art, benches, and 55 new trees and other plantings to the plot just southeast of the WTC site.

AUGUST 2005

• Goldman Sachs, downtown's largest employer, announced plans to build a new, 43-story "green" tower that will house all 9,000 of its employees by 2009.
• The governor and mayor approved new tax incentives that provide downtown companies rent- and sales-tax exemptions, reduced rents for WTC buildings, and incentives for employers who bring more staff downtown from outside the city.
• A series of workshops to gather public input for the WTC Memorial Museum were announced by the LMDC and partner organizations for September and October 2005. (Click here to learn more.)
• Officials announced the start of construction on the Fulton Street Transit Center's underground concourse -- which by 2008 will link 11 subway lines and the World Trade Center (WTC) Transportation Hub. Initial work on the Fulton Street Transit Center kicked off in February 2005 at Broadway and Cortlandt Street/Maiden Lane, where MTA crews are now building entrances for the south end of the 4/5 platforms. The new transit center will improve upon the narrow, congested, and hard-to-find Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau station.

SEPTEMBER 2005

• A groundbreaking ceremony marked the official start of construction on a new, permanent World Trade Center Transportation Hub. The $2.2 billion project, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, will connect PATH trains, all downtown subways, and ferries and is expected to be completed by 2009.
• Gov. George Pataki, joined by Lower Manattan Construction Command Center Director Charles Maikish, announced the start of deconstruction of 130 Liberty Street, the former Deutsche Bank building. The deconstruction will be carried out in two phases and is expected to be complete by the end of 2006.

Related Links