Civic Center

Civic Center is an interesting and somewhat unknown area of Manhattan. Like many of the neighborhoods in proximity to the site of the former World Trade Center, it is a closely knit community of people who were brought together after the September 11th attacks. A Civic Center Residents Coalition works tirelessly on behalf of the people who live here and can be a good resource if you are considering moving to the area.

The boundaries of Civic Center are well-defined. Its northern border is Chinatown; its southern is the Financial Center. The East River (appropriately) is its eastern border and Broadway, an exciting area for nightlife, is its west.

Civic Center was once a sleepy nabe that came alive during the day when the area was packed with people heading to City Hall and the court buildings, or to get to South Street Seaport and Wall Street area. At night, it was a ghost town, with the only people on the street being folks who parked in Civic Center because it was too hard to find a spot in Chinatown...as well as the occasional homeless person and/or drug dealer.

That’s changed over the last few years. There has been a fair amount of development and in response to the arrival of new residents, more businesses, restaurants, and nightspots are opening up. If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a converted office tower, you’ll love Civic Center. Most of the development has centered on renovations of existing properties, rather than construction of new buildings.

The vibe can be a little cold, so if you’re looking for warm and home-y digs, you may want to look elsewhere.

The Civic Center of Manhattan is not what pops out to me when I think of NYC. But it's there! We all have to go there as residents sometime if we have to serve our time on a jury. It's a named street area so it's confusing. And the buildings are huge and well, ugly. You may be able to take a nice tourist picture of one of the court buildings with its many stairs but that's about it. If nothing else it is located in an area that is close to other areas, like the South Street Seaport which houses the old Fulton Fish Market.

The Civic Center offers a great place to be employed. If you are lucky enough to work there you may want to live nearby so that your commute is a dream. This area is DEAD on the weekend, so if you don't mind that and having little shopping around then this may be the area for you. Many New Yorkers don't consider this a great place to go and it can get hairy with all the traffic and people on foot rushing off to court, so try to avoid this area if possible and go somewhere more fun like Times Square!

Of course law students and visiting lawyers might find this area exciting! :-) City Hall is also here so if you're looking to get hitched get in line to get your license!

The Civic Center covers City Hall, The South Street Seaport, One Police Plaza, and the court buildings of lower Manhattan. This is also the home of city government offices and where the mayor conducts most business. It also is the location of the New York City offices of the federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.

Pace University is also in this area and offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in many business areas and often holds conferences and seminars that are worth attending even if you are not a student. There is also City Hall Park a great spot for people watching. Many who work in the area or attend Pace make this park their lunchtime hang out. Because of the many civil marriage ceremonies at Worth Street a bit north, newlyweds can often be seen having their picture taken by the fountain.

Of interest to tourists is that the South Street Seaport is a quick walk away featuring a mall, food court, the Seaport Museum, as well as boat rides around Manhattan. While the Seaport can be crowded, you cna always sit outside on the one of three decks and watch the boats pass by.
The Brooklyn Bridge is also here and allows people to walk across to Brooklyn Heights. There you can walk the promenade with magnificent views of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan.

Aside from the South Street Seaport, the area does not offer much entertainment. Most people venture to the area for court appointments or other government-related activity. The Civic Center neighborhood really isn't a neighborhood in the sense of offering much in the way of residential buildings. It is more of a defined district housing various courts and government agencies. The buildings offer some nice architectural detail and the view of the Brooklyn Bridge at night is truly beautiful. The area also borders the Financial District and it is a quick walk to Wall Street, the center of commerce.

Aside from what everyone already knows about the Civic Center – that it is full of government buildings with interesting architectural features, and that it's an area you would typically visit if you have something official to take care of – the area also has a few strange secrets. One of them is the African Burial Ground Memorial at Duane & Elk Streets. The burial ground was discovered in 1991 during the construction of a federal building, and the small portion now preserved used to be part of an estimated five acres of burial site dating back to Colonial times. Another strange feature of this area is the Tombs, aka Men's House of Detention at 100 Centre Street, which was infamous for decades as a prime example of the deplorable conditions of correctional institutions. You can still see prisoners shipped in and out of the place via heavily grated buses, and I have heard them calling out to people on the sidewalk from behind the metal grilles. If you want to see the really gritty workings of the penal system up close, you can also go to night court at the Criminal Courts Building at 100 Centre Street. It's open to the public, and the accused – from petty thieves to murderers – are arraigned around the clock. On a lighter note, my favorite piece of architecture in the area is the Surrogate's Court & Hall of Records at 31 Chambers Street. If you go during regular business hours, you can see not only the gorgeous lobby, but also the courtrooms upstairs made of mahogany and oak.

Manhattan’s Civic Center is just east of TriBeCa and houses the New York City Hall. In fact, the locals refer to Civic Center as the City Hall. The area is also home to many municipal buildings and government offices. The area is famous for its architectural attractions, such as the Woolworth Building, the Park Row Building, and St. Paul’s Chapel. Civic Center is also home to the Brooklyn Bridge. Prime real estate within the neighborhood is all within view of these famous landmarks. There are an escalating number of new residential buildings that are being converted from many of the older structures.

For your dining out, Forlini’s Restaurant is on Baxter Street, while the local supermarket is located on St. James Place. Nightlife is limited but some local bars can be found throughout the area. For more urban chic clubs, head into the City.

The Shrine Bar Restaurant on 7th Avenue is a fun place to hang out in the late weekend evenings. The restaurant is much more than that, it is a world music venue featuring live music performances, djs, comedy, poetry, theater, and even karaoke.