Battery Park City is a 92 acre (0.4 km²) planned community at the southwestern tip of lower Manhattan in New York City, United States. The land upon which it stands was created from the Hudson River using 1.2 million cubic yards (917,000 m³) of dirt and rocks excavated during the construction of the World Trade Center and certain other construction projects. The neighborhood, which is the site of the World Financial Center along with numerous housing, commercial and retail buildings, is named for adjacent Battery Park.
Battery Park City is owned and managed by the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA), a public-benefit corporation created by New York State. Excess revenue from the area was to be contributed to other housing efforts, typically low-income projects in the Bronx and Harlem. The last time any substantial housing was funded was in 1987.
Under the 1989 agreement between the BPCA and the City of New York, $600 million was transferred by the BPCA to the city. Mr. Charles J. Urstat, the first Chairman and CEO of the BPCA, noted in an August 19, 2007 New York Post op-ed piece that the aggregate figure of funds transferred to the City of New York is above $1.4 billion with the BPCA continuing to contribute $200 million a year. According to the New York City Independent Budget Office IBO little, if any, of those funds were directed toward any housing projects. Under section 3.d of the 1989 agreement, the City of New York has used the funds for general expenses.
