Movies, Book Talks, Politics, Careers and More: LM Live Brings Downtown Together

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. 

In March 2022, we closed the doors at LMHQ, our collaborative workspace at 150 Broadway. But though the physical site no longer exists, LMHQ’s community events live on as LM Live. 

LM Live is a programming initiative created by the Downtown Alliance to bring the Lower Manhattan community together around events that highlight the neighborhood’s talent, innovation, history and culture.

Since its establishment, LM Live has hosted cultural conversations that bring together thought leaders and innovators to discuss current issues affecting New Yorkers. Leveraging the rich talent and expertise in Lower Manhattan, these events offer the downtown community a chance to connect and build relationships around important topics. These conversations include panel discussions on topics ranging from state and city politics to climate solutions to “Roe v. Wade” as well as events focused on current events and hot topics including art and architecture, public service law, climate solutions and child care policies.

In June 2022, LM Live established its popular New York on Film series, which features special screenings of quintessentially “New York” films that shine a spotlight on the moments and cultural touchpoints that have defined the city and Lower Manhattan over the past century. These frequently sold-out screenings are followed by conversations with filmmakers, historians and activists. Notable speakers include Ken Burns, Philippe Petite, New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman, film critics Molly Haskell, Imogen Sara Smith and Neil Rosen and production designer Wynn Thomas.

In September 2024, LM Live launched a new series of literary conversations that offer the downtown community a chance to engage in thought-provoking discussion with local writers about Lower Manhattan themes. In September 2024, writers Robert Kolker and Jessica Pressler discussed “Investigative Journalism in the Age of Streaming with Robert Kolker and Jessica Pressler.” In November 2024, author Paulina Bren discussed her book “She-Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street” alongside four of the pioneering women in finance featured in its pages. In early 2025, authors Dan Slater and Richard Price discussed “Crime, Corruption and the Evolution of NYC’s Underworld.” All events were held in the compelling confines of Down Town Association, a former old world, men’s-only private club located at 60 Pine St.

LM Live also collaborates with Lower Manhattan cultural institutions to host events that shine a spotlight on the rich cultural landscape of the neighborhood. In February 2025, we hosted a post-Valentine’s day mixer with Bowne & Co. Stationers at South Street Seaport Museum where participants made their own Victorian-era flirtation cards.

All these events brought in thousands of Lower Manhattan community members, helping to further establish Lower Manhattan as one of NYC’s cultural hubs.