ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the impact of the Community Reinvestment Act and the concept of Business Improvement Districts. It deals with the activities of intermediary agencies as brokers between public and private interests. After a slight recovery in the 1980s, 1987 brought another manifestation of the New York economy's perilous dependency on the financial markets. The position of New York in relation to other North American cities has worsened owing to a relatively slow growth of employment and relatively little diversification in economic growth. The short-term impact of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre has been tremendous. The terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre raises the question to what extent the private sector can help the city towards recovery and the rearrangement of Downtown Manhattan, and Ground Zero in particular. The consequences were serious, such as a drop in employment opportunities and diminishing revenues for the municipality.
