Editing Battery Park City (section)

=== Site and formation ===
[[File:CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON THE BATTERY PARK DEVELOPMENT ACROSS FROM THE WORLD TRADE BUILDINGS ON THE HUDSON RIVER - NARA - 549309.jpg|thumb|Construction in May 1973]]
Throughout the 19th century and early-20th century, the area adjoining today's Battery Park City was known as [[Little Syria]] with Lebanese, Greeks, Armenians, and other ethnic groups. In 1929, the land was the proposed site of a $50&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|50|1929|fmt=c|r=-1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) residential development that would have served workers in the Wall Street area.<ref name=unit>{{cite web | title=Housing Unit Named Battery Tower. | website=The New York Times | date=May 25, 1929 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/05/25/archives/housing-unit-named-battery-tower.html | access-date=March 23, 2017 | archive-date=July 26, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726010208/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/05/25/archives/housing-unit-named-battery-tower.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Battery Tower (Manhattan)|Battery Tower]] project was left unfinished after workers digging the foundation ran into forty feet of old [[bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]], sunken docks, and ships.<ref>{{cite web | title=EXCAVATIONS BEGUN.; Steel Sheeting Is Being Used for Battery Tower Work. | website=The New York Times | date=December 8, 1929 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/08/archives/excavations-begun-steel-sheeting-is-being-used-for-battery-tower.html | access-date=March 23, 2017 | archive-date=July 25, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725215020/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/08/archives/excavations-begun-steel-sheeting-is-being-used-for-battery-tower.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

By the late-1950s, the once-prosperous port area of downtown Manhattan was occupied by a number of dilapidated shipping piers, casualties of the rise of [[container shipping]] which drove sea traffic to [[Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal|Port Elizabeth, New Jersey]].<ref name="hidden">{{cite web |url=https://www.eagletransfer.com/the-hidden-history-of-battery-park-city/ |title=The Hidden History of Battery Park City |date=June 21, 2017 |website=Eagle Transfer |access-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701145250/https://www.eagletransfer.com/the-hidden-history-of-battery-park-city/ |archive-date=July 1, 2017}}</ref> The initial proposal to reclaim this area through [[Land reclamation|landfill]] was offered in the early-1960s by private firms and supported by the mayor, part of a long history of [[Lower Manhattan expansion]].<ref name="surprisingly" /><ref name="hidden" /> That plan became complicated when Governor [[Nelson Rockefeller]] announced his desire to redevelop a part of the area as a separate project. The various groups reached a compromise, and in 1966 the governor unveiled the proposal for what would become Battery Park City. The creation of architect [[Wallace K. Harrison]], the proposal called for a 'comprehensive community' consisting of housing, social infrastructure and light industry.<ref name="hidden" />

In 1968, the [[New York State Legislature]] created the [[Battery Park City Authority]] (BPCA) to oversee development.<ref name="hidden" /><ref name="landfill" /> Rockefeller named [[Charles J. Urstadt]] as the first chairman of the authority's board that year. He then served as the chief executive officer from 1973 to 1978. Urstadt later served as the authority's vice chair from 1996 to 2010.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.downtownexpress.com/2012/06/06/battery-park-city-creators-reminisce-about/|title=Battery Park City creators reminisce about neighborhood's past|last=Kreuzer|first=Terese Loeb|date=June 6, 2012|work=Downtown Express|access-date=October 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019001543/http://www.downtownexpress.com/2012/06/06/battery-park-city-creators-reminisce-about/|archive-date=October 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Empire State Development Corporation|New York State Urban Development Corporation]] and ten other public agencies were also involved in the development project.<ref name="enr-1983">{{cite news |title=Megajob takes foothold in fill, New York City's $1-billion river development survives snags |publisher=Engineering News-Record |date=April 14, 1983}}</ref> For the next several years, the BPCA made slow progress. In April 1969, it unveiled a master plan for the area,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/04/17/archives/battery-park-plan-is-shown.html|title=Battery Park Plan Is Shown|last=Shipler|first=David K.|date=April 17, 1969|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726011419/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/04/17/archives/battery-park-plan-is-shown.html|url-status=live}}</ref> which was approved in October.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/10/10/archives/battery-park-city-is-given-approval-lower-west-side-complex-to-be.html|title=Battery Park City Is Given Approval; Lower West Side Complex to Be Built on Landfill|date=October 10, 1969|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726014050/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/10/10/archives/battery-park-city-is-given-approval-lower-west-side-complex-to-be.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In early-1972, the BPCA issued $200 million in bonds to fund construction efforts,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/10/archives/planned-battery-park-city.html|title=Letters to the Editor: Planned Battery Park City|last=Urstadt|first=Charles J.|date=June 10, 1972|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726013609/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/10/archives/planned-battery-park-city.html|url-status=live}}</ref> with [[Harry Helmsley|Harry B. Helmsley]] designated as the developer.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/02/archives/developer-named-for-battery-city-helmsley-will-plan-three-office.html|title=DEVELOPER NAMED FOR BATTERY CITY|last=Oser|first=Alan S.|date=February 2, 1972|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726011431/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/02/archives/developer-named-for-battery-city-helmsley-will-plan-three-office.html|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, the city approved plans to alter the number of apartments designated for lower, middle and upper income renters. Urstadt said the changes were needed to make the financing for the project viable. In addition to the change in the mix of units, the city approved adding nine acres, which extended the northern boundary from Reade Street to Duane Street.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/13/archives/planners-cut-lowincome-units-in-battery-park-city-proposal.html|title=Planners Cut Low‐Income Units In Battery Park City Proposal|last=Seigel|first=Max H.|date=July 13, 1972|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726014300/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/13/archives/planners-cut-lowincome-units-in-battery-park-city-proposal.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Landfill material from [[Building of the World Trade Center|construction]] of the [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]] and other buildings in Lower Manhattan was used to add fill for the southern portion.<ref name="hidden" /><ref name="landfill" /><ref name="great" /> Cellular [[cofferdam]]s were constructed to retain the material.<ref name="iglauer">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/articles/010924fr_archive02 |title=The Biggest Foundation |author=Iglauer, Edith |date=November 4, 1972 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=January 10, 2007 |archive-date=January 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104030528/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/articles/010924fr_archive02 |url-status=live }}</ref> After removal of the piers, wooden piles and overburden of silt, the northern portion (north of, and including the marina) was filled with sand dredged from areas adjacent to [[Ambrose Channel]] in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as stone from the construction of [[New York City Water Tunnel No. 3|Water Tunnel #3]].<ref name="iglauer" /> By 1976, the landfill was completed. Seating stands for viewing the American Bicentennial "Operation Sail" flotilla parade were set up on the completed landfill in July 1976.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/25/archives/seats-at-25-apiece-offered-of-battery-to-watch-big-ships.html|title=Seats at $25 Apiece Offered at Battery To Watch Big Ships|date=May 25, 1976|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019001925/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/25/archives/seats-at-25-apiece-offered-of-battery-to-watch-big-ships.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Construction efforts ground to a halt in 1977, as a result of the city's fiscal crisis.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/30/archives/will-battery-park-city-ever-rise-will-battery-park-city-ever-rise.html|title=Will Battery Park City Ever Rise?|last=Fried|first=Joseph P.|date=October 30, 1977|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019001907/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/30/archives/will-battery-park-city-ever-rise-will-battery-park-city-ever-rise.html|url-status=live}}</ref> That year, the [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|presidential administration of Jimmy Carter]] approved mortgage insurance for 1,600 of the development's proposed units.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/07/29/archives/preliminary-federal-backing-given-on-longdelayed-battery-park-city.html|title=Preliminary Federal Backing Given On Long‐Dilayed Battery Park City|last=Fried|first=Joseph P.|date=July 29, 1977|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019040932/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/07/29/archives/preliminary-federal-backing-given-on-longdelayed-battery-park-city.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1979, the title to the landfill was transferred from the city to the Battery Park City Authority, which financially restructured itself and created a new, more viable master plan, designed by [[Alex Cooper (architect)|Alex Cooper]] of [[Cooper, Robertson & Partners]] and Stanton Eckstut.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/09/archives/carey-and-koch-accept-new-battery-park-city-plan-part-of-a.html|title=Carey and Koch Accept New Battery Park City Plan|last=Schumacher|first=Edward|date=November 9, 1979|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309142023/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/09/archives/carey-and-koch-accept-new-battery-park-city-plan-part-of-a.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By that time, only two of the proposed development's buildings had been built, and the $200 million bond issue was supposed to have been paid off the next year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/26/archives/13-years-later-battery-park-citys-an-empty-dream-first-repayment-is.html|title=13 Years Later, Battery Park City's an Empty Dream|last=Schumacher|first=Edward|date=October 26, 1979|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019001842/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/26/archives/13-years-later-battery-park-citys-an-empty-dream-first-repayment-is.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The design of BPC to some degree reflects the values of vibrant city neighborhoods championed by [[Jane Jacobs]]. The [[Urban Land Institute]] (ULI) awarded the Battery Park City Master Plan its 2010 Heritage Award, for having "facilitated the private development of {{Convert|9.3|e6sqft|e3m2|sp=us|abbr=off}} of commercial space, {{Convert|7.2|e6sqft|e3m2|sp=us|abbr=off}} of residential space, and nearly {{Convert|36|acres}} of open space in lower Manhattan, becoming a model for successful large-scale planning efforts and marking a positive shift away from the urban renewal mindset of the time."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uli.org/News/MediaCenter/PressReleases/2010%20archives/Content/AwardsforExcellenceAmericas2010Winners.aspx |title=Press Room |access-date=December 27, 2017 |archive-date=December 27, 2017 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20171227031554/http://www.uli.org/News/MediaCenter/PressReleases/2010%20archives/Content/AwardsforExcellenceAmericas2010Winners.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Battery Park City 003.JPG|thumb|The esplanade]]