"Battery Park City and the Authority are not just about the buildings – it’s about the character of the community that has developed over time. Public space has had a new renaissance in New York City, but here in Battery Park City is where it started."
The earliest ideas for Battery Park City were precipitated by the collapsing status of 20 piers in the Hudson River, which, through the 1950s, had handled produce for the Washington Market in the area now known as Tribeca. Many plans for Battery Park City were proposed at the time, all with three common goals: to expand the area of Lower Manhattan, attract residents to live Downtown, and to develop additional parks & open spaces.