Investing in Culture Is Key to Lower Manhattan’s Future

The arts are key to any thriving neighborhood. Cultural touchstones enrich, delight and entertain us. They make a neighborhood come alive. More than that, they can serve as a significant—and sustainable—economic engine for an entire region.

The recent additions of the Perelman Performing Arts Center, Emursive’s upcoming theatrical production Life and Trust and Mercer Labs will have a real impact on Lower Manhattan. By joining the ranks of established downtown institutions like the concert venue at Pier 17, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Jewish Heritage Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, LMCC and Brookfield Arts, these new additions are creating an energetic cluster of cultural gravity.

In a landmark 1998 article in the Harvard Business Review, renowned economist Michael Porter outlined the importance of the cluster economy. Clusters, according to Porter, are “critical masses—in one place—of unusual competitive success in particular fields.” (Think Silicon Valley and Hollywood, for example.)

Creative hubs are a great example. They create demand, provide jobs, encourage innovation through healthy competition and drive tourism. And in uncertain economic times, they are historically remarkably resistant to crises. Back in 2010, the Center for an Urban Future (CUF) urged policymakers to invest in artists and cultural institutions to capitalize on a down cycle in the real estate market, encouraging the city to focus on creative industries as the financial sector took a hit. Then, in a 2021 report by CUF, arts and cultural institutions proved “strikingly resilient” even amid the immense struggle during the Covid-19 shutdowns. People turn to the arts in good times and in bad ones—especially in New York.

Lower Manhattan, the city’s longtime historic and modern financial center, has experienced unprecedented upheaval since the pandemic. For decades, our district has thrived on the economic engine primarily revved by office workers and the businesses that served them. But as the nature and cadence of office work shifts, we can no longer rely on that revenue stream as heavily as we once had. More cultural destinations basing their homes in Lower Manhattan will continue to create a broader ecosystem, attracting similar tenants and allied industries.

It is up to us to support the growth of these creative industries. The city could, for instance, double down on its work with developers to transform vacant commercial space into incubators for working artists, providing much-needed studio space. The WSA building (“the most appealing office building in the city,” which now is said to have a waitlist) is a great example of how government can spur the creative reuse of outdated office space through financial incentives.

The more we invest in culture and cultural spaces, the more our city will thrive, even amid turbulent times. The arrival of these new cultural institutions is providing us with a major opportunity to change the face of Lower Manhattan, and help the city as a whole. Let’s continue to invest in New York City by investing in the arts.

Jessica Lappin, is the President of the Alliance for Downtown New York.