Lower Manhattan’s Local Newspaper

Marte Wants a Refund

What Happened to Half a Million Dollars Allocated for FiDi Study that the DOT Never Got Around To?

A rendering of how Bowling Green Park could be expanded if part of Broadway were given over to pedestrians.

City Council member Christopher Marte is pushing the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) either to complete a long overdue pedestrian study of the Financial District, or else return the $500,000 in funding that his predecessor earmarked for this project.

The issue is rooted in a 2016 move by then-City Council member Margaret Chin, who allocated half a million in discretionary funds to DOT to study mobility and pedestrian safety solutions (such as shared streets) for an increasingly congested Lower Manhattan. (This followed similar studies conducted by the agency in 1997 and 2010 that were completed but never implemented.)

In 2019, DOT announced that it was about to begin the study funded in 2016, but did nothing further. Three years later, Community Board 1 (CB1) enacted a resolution calling upon the agency to “account for the $500,000 mobility study promised in 2019,” and “develop a vision for a Financial District streetscape that prioritizes pedestrian mobility and safety.”

The DOT did not reply to this resolution, although a representative did assure CB1 in January of this year that the study would begin before the end of 2025. (A spokesman for the agency declined a request to comment for this story.)

In an August 28 letter to DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Mr. Marte (who began representing Lower Manhattan in the City Council in 2022), says, “since taking office, I have been assured almost every season that the study will start the next season. When it has been Winter, I was told the study would start that Spring. When Spring came, I was told the study would start in Summer, and so on.”

“The time for excuses is over,” Mr. Marte continues. “The Department of Transportation must begin the study this Fall, or else all trust with the community will be gone, and I will expect the $500,000 allocated to this study to be returned to my Council office’s discretionary budget.”

In the intervening years, multiple local organizations have commissioned and completed their own studies, including one by the Downtown Alliance and another by the Financial District Neighborhood Association (FDNA).

The FDNA proposal, entitled “Make Way for Lower Manhattan,” seeks to reclaim large swaths of Lower Manhattan’s streetscape for pedestrians under a program that would widen sidewalks, take down construction scaffolds, decrease traffic, exile parking (especially by official vehicles), and create new public plazas. With the ultimate aim of creating new pedestrian and cycling arteries throughout the Financial District, the Association wants to start by creating a “slow-street district” – between Broadway and Water Street, from City Hall to the Battery – within which vehicular traffic would be subject to a ten mile-per-hour speed limit.

The Alliance’s plan, “A More Welcoming Wall & Broad: A Vision for Improving the Stock Exchange District,” envisions transforming the area through innovations such curbless “shared” streets surfaced with historical contextual paving materials. The plan also seeks to create a distinct sense of place by erecting “gateway” structures at entrances to the zone. These interactive sculptural installations would serve purposes both aesthetic and informative, displaying text to give visitors way-finding directions and historical background. Elsewhere, the Alliance proposes installing street furniture that would act as bollards and security barriers, and double as benches and planters. The Alliance plan also contains logistical improvements, such as a centralized drop-off point for delivery trucks, from which parcels could be distributed using hand trucks or small vehicles.

This map from the Financial District Neighborhood Association (FDNA) shows streets on which it wants to restrict traffic speed and parking. FDNA president Patrick Kennell: “Even more than an answer to the question of what happened to our fully-funded study, we need solutions, even if they’re temporary pilot programs to prove the concept.”

Patrick Kennell (right), president of the FDNA, says, “I’m very happy to see Council member Marte prioritizing this important issue. It’s about time someone presses the DOT for answers. Yet, more than an answer to the question of what happened to our fully funded study, we need solutions, even if they’re temporary pilot programs to prove the concept. If the DOT does not give clear and direct answers to the Council Member’s questions, with definitive milestones, then Mayor Adams should pick up the mantle on this initiate and prove he cares about FiDi pedestrians’ safety and promoting innovative ideas that benefit New Yorkers.”

Mr. Marte adds, “It has been almost ten years since DOT was given the money to do this study, and if they had delivered when promised, this plan could already be in place. Instead, the agency has delayed and delayed, betraying the trust of the residents who live here. With tens of thousands more people now calling the Financial District home, we cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Matthew Fenton

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DOWNTOWN CALENDAR

Monday, September 15

9am

Fall Birdwatching

South Cove Park

During fall migration, explore the parks of BPC with an expert. Binoculars and field guides provided, or bring your own. Free.

11am-1pm, 3pm-7pm

Protecting FiDi, Building the Future

South Street Seaport Museum, 14 Fulton Street

Pop-up exhibit. Find out how the FiDi and Seaport area will be impacted by flooding and the City’s solution to protect the neighborhood, build new public open spaces, and preserve what New Yorkers love most about the waterfront. The exhibit features self-guided content and opportunities to talk with members of the project team. Through September 28.

2pm-3:30pm

Creative Writing

BPC Library, 175 North End Ave.

Walk and writing session led by poet Jon Curley. Participants will be encouraged to use observations as a way to enhance their writing styles in any preferred mode. ,

6pm

Community Board One’s Environmental Protection Committee

Livestreamed

Agenda:

• NY-NJ Harbor and Tributaries Study update - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• North/West Battery Park City Resiliency project update

6:30pm

Flood Sensor Aunty

Pier 16

A play that explores climate resilience and disaster preparedness through a performance that blends funny theater and community disaster prevention. Free.

7pm

I Am Not Your Enemy

McNally Jackson, 4 Fulton Street

Reality Winner presents I Am Not Your Enemy, with Ira Glass. Reality Winner was a twenty-five-year-old translator for the NSA when she read a classified document revealing what she assumed would make headlines during a time of unprecedented leaking: After blatant lies by the Trump administration and public silence by the NSA, there had in fact been foreign interference in the 2016 US election. In a breach of NSA protocol, she impulsively printed it, smuggled it out of the building, and mailed it to The Intercept, which published it and then promptly informed the NSA. For her crime, she received the longest prison sentence ever imposed on a government-affiliated employee convicted of a single count of leaking classified information and spent more than four years in federal prison. $5-$30.

Tuesday, September 16

1pm

BPC Book Club

200 Rector Place

Join fellow readers for lively discussion. Today’s book is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

2pm-4pm

Mah Jongg & More

200 Rector Place

Join a dedicated group of adult American Mah Jongg enthusiasts for friendly and informal games, or try your hand at other card and board games.

3:30pm-5pm

Drop-In Chess

Rockefeller Park

Play the game while getting pointers from an expert. For ages 5 and up. Free.

5:30pm

Zumba at Gotham Park

Under the Brooklyn Bridge

Open to all—no experience needed, just come ready to dance. Free.

5:30pm-7:30pm

Sunset Salsa

Wagner Park

Whether you’re a seasoned dancer or just starting out, enjoy the vibrant sounds of Quateto Guataca. The evening starts with a dance lesson from Lilka Mimbella followed by a musical performance.

6pm

Community Board One’s Waterfront, Parks & Cultural Committee

Livestreamed

Agenda:

• The Estuarium in Hudson River Park update
• PhysFestNYC, annual cultural festival

6pm

Art, Ambition and Scandal in the Gilded Age

The Down Town Association, 60 Pine Street

New York’s Gilded Age was a time of towering ambition, lavish artistry and unbelievable wealth. From the first offices of McKim, Mead & White at 57 Broadway, architect Stanford White and his partners designed the Beaux-Arts buildings and monuments that still define the city’s skyline. Creative collaboration thrived during this period, with sculptors like Augustus Saint-Gaudens adorning these new structures with statues honoring the titans of industry who were their patrons. Beneath this picture-perfect “gilded” exterior, however, lay a world of intrigue, gossip and scandal. Free.

6pm

Albert Kahn Inc.: Architecture, Labor, and Industry, 1905–1961

Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place

Author Claire Zimmerman’s case study of the architecture firm most closely associated with the major auto companies in Detroit explores how industrial capitalism fueled campuses of the auto industry and helped catalyze the militarization of industry. Free.

7pm

The Mountain Knows the Mountain

McNally Jackson, 4 Fulton Street

Writer Philip Connors had been a fire watcher in the Gila Wilderness for 14 summers when he was forced to miss a year. When he returned, he resolved to see the mountain with fresh eyes and to keep a detailed notebook. $5-$25.

7pm

Soundtrack of the Jewish People

Livestreamed by the Museum of Jewish Heritage

First installment of the Soundtrack of the Jewish People—an ongoing series exploring the history of Jewish contributions to the world of music. $10 donation.

7pm-9pm

New Works: A Quartet of Poets

Poets House, 10 River Terrace

What do poetry, film, sound, and comedy have in common? Readings by Kimberly Alidio, Courtney Bush, Natalie Shapero, and Emily Skillings followed by a discussion and Q/A. Free.

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