There is a place in Lower Manhattan, where the "spicy onion rings at 1 a.m." are spicier, where wine can sell "north of $10,000," where the polos just feel piqué-er. Why, that's Goldman Alley, the quaint path of businesses lined with frankincense and Shake Shack nestled between Goldman Sach's $2.1 billion headquarters and the freaking hotel they bought just because. But the first rule of Goldman Alley is that you not speak ill of its magic. Pastry chef François Payard says his sales have been 30% below expectations, "But I can't say bad things, because they will kill me." Ha, that's François being François—here, have some sushi!
Nearly three years after Goldman used $1.65 billion in tax-exempt bonds and $115 million in tax incentives to create their own sterile village in Battery Park City, the Times spoke to the merchants who were hand-selected by the company and the area's neighbors and finds that Goldman Alley comes up as a draw.
Some locals love the movie theater, but others complain about the worsening traffic, despite Goldman building their own private driveway. (You know, the one you bike over on the West Side Highway that lights up once you cross over it, if you have a soul). Battery Park “doesn’t feel like a neighborhood anymore. It feels more like Fifth Avenue," community leader Rosalie Joseph says. “I believe they took away more than they gave.”
“The sense I have is there’s a buzz," Elizabeth Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance says. "Certainly it’s good for local baby sitters, because more people are going out at night.” WOOOO! Welcome to Battery Park City, baby. You're gonna DIEEEEE (for Blue Smoke's delicious $25 takeout specials that fall in line with Goldman's meal voucher limit).
