Water Street in Lower Manhattan

In the 1960s, New York City drew up a plan that converted Water Street in Lower Manhattan  into a wide thoroughfare lined by sleek modern office towers. Now, recognizing that hardly anyone enjoys this broad thoroughfare, the Alliance for Downtown New York, representing businesses in Lower Manhattan, is pressing to give the corridor a more pedestrian-friendly character.

The aim, says the alliance, is to “redefine Water Street as an engaging commercial boulevard” with narrowed roadways, a planted median, and redesigned public plazas.

“The alliance’s Water Street Study Project found that almost nobody walks along the corridor for more than two consecutive blocks, in part because so many of the buildings present blank walls to pedestrians and their ground floors contain stores that cater primarily to commuting office workers,” The New York Times reported June 21.

Water Street has become “a difficult setting” to lure large tenants to, said Stephen Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. The alliance says owners would be willing to invest in street-level improvements to buildings if there’s an overall plan that has government approval and financing.