Some Pluses Registered in the Streets Surrounding Ground Zero

Liz Finn’s new one-bedroom apartment has granite counter tops and a walk-in closet, and the rent is $1,850 a month--a bargain by Manhattan standards.

It is also three blocks from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, where workers are still recovering human remains.

But six months-plus after the attack, a combination of reduced rents and condo prices, proposed government incentives and a public-spirited desire to participate in the rebirth of downtown is luring new residents to replace the thousands who left.

Finn, an account executive with Calvin Klein jeans who formerly lived on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, is part of the influx of people into lower Manhattan. She said she wanted to do “something to help the community rebuild from 9/11.”

Analysts say they have seen a particular surge in the past month, since federally funded incentives were proposed.

“Given how scarce housing is in New York City, it’s almost inevitable that an area as desirable as downtown New York would be resettled,” said Steven Cohen, director of a public administration master’s program at Columbia University.

Officials at Battery Park City, the single largest downtown neighborhood, say the occupancy rate at the rental and condo community has climbed to 76%. Clark Whelton, spokesman for the Battery Park City Authority, said occupancy had dropped to 60% last fall.

In fact, Battery Park City was a ghost town after the Sept. 11 attack. Residents of all 6,345 apartments were evacuated, and up to a third of rental tenants chose not to return. Stores and restaurants closed, and for weeks the area was off-limits to everyone except emergency workers.

Price is drawing people back. At Gateway Plaza, a 1,700-unit rental complex within Battery Park City, apartments are being advertised as low as $1,480 for studios and $2,570 for two-bedrooms--20% to 25% less than before Sept. 11.

The LeFrak Organization, which owns the complex, said it has signed 300 new leases in recent weeks.

The condo market has picked up as well.

Pamela Liebman, chief executive of the Corcoran Group real estate firm, said she is seeing a surge in buyers “who think that this is a great opportunity to buy something much cheaper than you would normally be able to buy.”

Corcoran’s Battery Park City listings include a two-bedroom apartment for $750,000 and a one-bedroom for $329,000--tens of thousands of dollars lower than before the attack.

The proposed government incentives have boosted interest too. The plan would award grants of up to $12,000 to people who sign leases or buy apartments in lower Manhattan and remain there for two years.

The amount of each grant would depend on the proximity of a residence to the trade center.

Real estate ads already trumpet the grants, even though the program must still be approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and it could be months before any checks are cut.

But Finn, who is not eligible because she signed only a one-year lease, said she was motivated by a desire to help--and by an attractive neighborhood along the Hudson River.

“It seems like a very friendly, very warm neighborhood,” she said as the movers hauled in her sofa and bookshelves.

“I’m excited to spread my wings a little bit.”