How the Alliance Advocates for Downtown

It’s our 30th anniversary, and we’re self-celebrating. Over the next few months, we’ll be rolling out 30 stories about 30 of our biggest accomplishments, including everything from our daily public safety and sanitation work, to our small business outreach, to how we helped the neighborhood navigate challenges and even tragedies. You’ll be able to find these stories on our website, as well as in our weekly newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. 

The Alliance works to be a responsible and energetic steward of Lower Manhattan’s present and future in a whole host of ways. This mission takes form every day in our most visible work keeping Manhattan safe, clean and inviting. It also takes place with a longer view in mind through advocacy, policy development and through advancing the neighborhood’s interests by convening forums that inform and coalesce stakeholders around common concerns.

Over its three decades, the Alliance and its sister organization the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association (D-LMA) have worked this way to impact both policy and investment in Lower Manhattan 

In the organization’s first days in the 1990s, the D-LMA and Alliance developed and advanced a comprehensive blueprint for Lower Manhattan’s future, including the 421-G incentive legislation that helped give rise to the first wave of commercial to residential conversions that changed the trajectory of the district. Our work in coalition to help raise federal state and local funds to support reconstruction after 9/11 was an important part of the herculean rebuilding efforts. Our multi-million dollar ad campaign at the time, featuring Robert DeNiro, brought focus to the need to support Lower Manhattan businesses and encouragement to New Yorkers wrestling with unspeakable tragedy.

More recently, our efforts to secure funding for resilience projects in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, initiating transformative streetscape efforts along Water Street and pioneering public composting by working hand in hand with the Department of Sanitation on a pilot project have all borne fruit. Just this month, by joining forces with a wide variety of local stakeholders, elected officials and the NYPD, our advocacy has helped usher in a multi-pronged effort to push back against predatory ticket sellers at the Battery. 

On an ongoing basis, the D-LMA convenes meetings with city and state officials, MTA executives, the Manhattan DA and our Borough President as well as Mayoral and federal and state candidates and gets reports from key city Commissioners. These gatherings offer Lower Manhattan stakeholders an opportunity for up close and personal interactions with leaders and networking amongst themselves. 

Additionally Alliance staff themselves lead regular briefing meetings among commercial real estate professionals, marketing leads at major downtown institutions as well as a “Tourism Exchange” which brings together a significant number of downtown hospitality professionals.

As an advocate, the Alliance has used many tools and has been a constructive partner and effective change agent in Lower Manhattan.