Good morning, my name is Moses Gates and I am the Vice-President for Housing & Neighborhood Planning at Regional Plan Association. RPA is a 100-year old nonprofit civic association focused on research, planning and advocacy in the New York Metropolitan area. We support the proposed mixed-use 5 World Trade Center development under consideration today and urge its approval. RPA is headquartered in and has been an active civic contributor to Lower Manhattan for decades. We have long been advocates for a thriving and diverse downtown New York City. This includes being a leader in the visioning of a rebuilt World Trade Center site through our “listening to the city” workshops in 2002.
What emerged from these workshops was a remarkable consensus that in order to transform Lower Manhattan into the world’s first great 21st century urban space, a balance must be struck—between residential and office construction; between strengthening the financial sector and building a broader economic base; between restoring real estate and attending to social and cultural needs; and between the urgency to rebuild and the need for deliberative planning.
Participants expressed a common vision for a powerful memorial integrated into the fabric of downtown. This memorial would honor the“everyday people” who were lost, as well as the heroism, sacrifice and resiliency that were—and continue to be—demonstrated throughout the city, region, nation and world.
22 years since the destruction of the old World Trade Center New York has largely accomplished this vision. The new complex and surrounding area is now a vital part of Lower Manhattan with houses of worship, museums, offices, hotels, retail establishments, an observation deck, improved transit connections and a powerful memorial. Yet there is one piece still in short supply - residents. Residents who will be able to walk to jobs and support local businesses and contribute to the vibrancy of the neighborhood.
Downtown New York is the oldest neighborhood in New York City and has gone through countless changes over the centuries. In the past two decades, downtown has transitioned to a mixed-use neighborhood, with a residential community complementing its traditional office environment. This has made for a unique and dynamic neighborhood - a hub of tourism, culture and business, all coexisting with people living their everyday lives. In many ways, it is a model of what we hope for in many other Manhattan neighborhoods post-covid.
Completing 5 World Trade Center would complete that transition, adding a proven use to a part of downtown still without a significant residential building, as well as activating the ground floors with community uses, further contributing to its neighborhood-building aspect.
And we need residences, especially in locations near jobs, transit and so much of what New York has to offer. This is an ideal site for the type of large mixed-use building with enough residences to impact our housing crisis that 5 WTC would be. And with 360 permanently affordable residences, this would represent the single largest addition of affordable housing to downtown since the 1970s.
It’s vitally important for the city to take this opportunity to both further complete the vision for a new World Trade Center and add much needed affordable housing. As the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site has shown us, when opportunities are missed it can take years, or even decades, to get back on track. We cannot miss this opportunity, and we urge you to approve this needed development.
