LOWER MANHATTAN — Sidewalk overcrowding tops the list of problems in Lower Manhattan, but many people in Battery Park City wouldn't want to change a thing about their neighborhood, according to a survey conducted by Community Board 1.
Nearly 1,200 people who live and work Downtown, as well as tourists and students, were asked what they considered Lower Manhattan's most serious issues, along with one thing they would improve, if they could.
The survey, organized by Michael Levine, CB1's planning consultant, and a professor of Urban Planning at Pace University, was primarily conducted by Levine's fall and spring semester students, from the 2014-2015 school year.
The students were spread across the Downtown neighborhoods — TriBeCa, Seaport/Civic Center, Financial District and Battery Park City — and stopped random passersby at designated locations.
One surprising find, Levine said, was that a lack of seats for school children in Lower Manhattan's well regarded and perpetually crowded schools didn't make it into the top complaints for Downtowners.
While crowded sidewalks, often influenced by the combination of narrow streets and construction, was a top issue across Downtown, each neighborhood had separate top complaints.
In TriBeCa, for instance, affordable housing was cited as the biggest problem.
In Battery Park City, affordable housing was also the top issue, but when asked, what would you change, the most popular answer, was "not one thing: it's nice here!."
People surveyed in the Seaport said too much construction was the most serious problem in their neighborhood, and 21.8 percent of people questioned said if they could, they'd change the amount of garbage in the community.
As for the Financial District, the amount of construction was also considered the biggest issue.
For the full survey, click here.
