Private-Sector Jobs In Lower Manhattan Pass Pre-9/11 Levels

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — The number of private-sector jobs in Lower Manhattan passed pre-9/11 levels this year, according to a new analysis released by the Alliance for Downtown New York.

Private-sector jobs reached 251,334 — the highest since before the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 for the first time.

"This milestone is important for both practical and symbolic reasons," said Jessica Lappin, the president of Lower Manhattan's business improvement district. "Practically, it proves that the rebuilding effort has diversified our city's economy in a meaningful way while generating thousands of jobs in growth industries. Symbolically, it shows that our determination and spirit can never be broken."

Some two million square feet of office space was leased in the first quarter of 2019, the second highest in more than seven years, according to the Alliance.

The report details the top leases in the first quarter of 2019, which included NYC Health + Hospitals, WeWork, Convene, Scor, Knotel, among others ion the neighborhood.

The report comes as Lower Manhattan's residential and commercial growth has continued. Recently, an Airbnb-backed start-up, Lyric Hospitality, announced it will lease four floors of 70 Pine St. Shakespeare & Co. is opening a new shop at Brookfield Place. Luxury condos recently hit the market at a Financial District landmark re-purposed into residences. A new restaurant, Crown Shy, opened at 70 Pine, led by the chef behind Eleven Madison Park and the managing director of Del Posto.

The new report, released Friday, illuminates the neighborhood's revitalization in the years after the 9/11 attacks.

"We responded [to 9/11] the only way we knew how. We're not giving up. We're going to rebuild these buildings as commercial buildings," Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said during a press conference Friday. "I'm always mindful of the fact that our factories in New York are our office towers. Just as auto workers flock to factories in Detroit, New Yorkers flock to buildings. ... And now these buildings are burgeoning down here."

For the full report, see here.