From the Advisory Board Chair

LOWER MANHATTAN is one of the greenest neighborhoods in the country. Not just because it’s home to sustainable, energy efficient buildings, but because nearly everyone who works Downtown either walks or takes mass transit to work. Twenty-seven percent of the people who live here, work here. That’s the highest live/work ratio in the country.

And over the past 10 years, the educated professional workforce has moved to areas around Downtown, including Brooklyn and the New Jersey waterfront. We have vastly improved the transportation experience with ferries, bike lanes, the Oculus, and Fulton Center, making it easy to get to work.

At the same time, Downtown Manhattan has pioneered some of the most sustainable buildings in the country: 7 World Trade Center was the City’s first LEED-certified office building when it opened in 2006, and every other new office building here has followed its example. These groundbreaking towers are powered by renewable energy, and feature high-efficiency air filtration systems that condition, filter and supply fresh air to workers inside. Rainwater is captured on the roofs and used to cool the buildings and irrigate the parks next door.

The Visionaire was the greenest residential condominium in the United States when it opened in Battery Park City in 2008, and the first LEED Platinum condominium on the East Coast. It features integrated solar panels that harvest a portion of the building’s electric load, and a central heating and cooling system powered by natural gas, which contributes to a substantially lower peak electric grid demand. A water treatment system recycles water and provides make-up water for the HVAC system cooling tower.

Environmentally-conscious companies have moved Downtown to be in high tech, green buildings. And these companies want to be right next to the best mass transit, and surrounded by dynamic residential neighborhoods filled with brilliant young minds. That’s why we’ve managed to lease 9 million square feet of office space in our new World Trade Center towers to some of the most advanced companies including Spotify, Uber, Casper, Diageo, and GroupM.

Lower Manhattan also has over 84 acres of parks and some of the best waterfront views in the city. Our parks range from quiet contemplative spaces to waterfront walkways and major recreational facilities such as The Battery. It doesn’t get any greener that that!

DARA MCQUILLAN Chairman of the Advisory Board Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Silverstein Properties, Inc.

SAUL SCHERL Saul Scherl is President of the New York Tri-State Region at The Howard Hughes Corporation. Mr. Scherl has more than twenty years of experience in the realms of retail, residential, hospitality, and mixed-use real estate.

CATHERINE MCVAY HUGHES Member of CB1 for 19 years, eight of those years its Chair, and for 13 years the Chair of CB1 World Trade Center Redevelopment Committee. Hughes has worked with agencies at the city, state, and federal levels.

DOUG SMITH Doug Smith is the principal owner of World Trade Gallery, a Financial District art and framing studio since 1981. His vision is to see the arts flourish in Lower Manhattan where he lives and works.

RORY MCCREESH Rory McCreesh founded Duce Construction Corporation, specializing in designing and constructing high-end homes and apartments in Manhattan, Westchester, Connecticut and New Jersey.

DREW NIEPORENT A renowned restaurateur, “The Mayor of Wall Street” opened his first downtown restaurant in the ’80s. Nieporent's Myriad Res- taurant Group includes the TriBeCa Grill and Nobu.

MARINA PEREDO A board-certified derma- tologist with over 25 years of experience, she has been labeled a “super-doctor” by The New York Times and a Top Doctor by Castle Connolly. Her practice, Skinfluence, is located in Manhattan.

SAMANTHA COX Samantha Cox is Vice President, Creative, New York, at Broadcast Music, Inc. She also provides advice and supports myriad projects at the Center for Performing Arts at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

LAURA FORESE Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NewYork-Presbyterian, as well as an orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Forese oversees a leading system in quality, safety, efficiency, and service.

FRANK CELENZA Dual-certified in Orthodontics and Periodontics, Celenza teaches post-graduate studies at institutions such as New York University and Rutgers. He has offices in New York City, Scarsdale, and New Jersey.

KIRK MYERS Founder and CEO of Dogpound, Myers recently brought his fitness franchise to Los Angeles. He has become a top trainer to celebrities, athletes, and professionals.

JEFF SIMMONS Executive Vice President of Anat Gerstein, Simmons has spent three decades in private and public sector communications, previously serving at the Alliance for Downtown New York.