The Lay Of The Land
Civic Center is where the city governs itself: City Hall, the Municipal Building, the state and federal courthouses on Centre Street, and the plazas that connect them. On a weekday the streets fill with jurors, clerks and lawyers; after six the same blocks are among the quietest in Manhattan. The Brooklyn Bridge walkway begins at Park Row, and City Hall Park is the neighborhood's green.
Apartments here are the exception rather than the rule, which is part of the appeal. Along Reade, Duane and Chambers Streets, cast-iron and masonry loft buildings shared with Tribeca hold converted lofts with tall windows and open floor plates. To the east, near Park Row and Chatham Square, a few large postwar apartment complexes offer elevator buildings with layouts that run bigger than downtown lofts, and the blocks toward Canal Street shade into Chinatown.
Transit is dense. The 4, 5 and 6 stop at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall, the J and Z at Chambers Street, the R and W at City Hall, the 2 and 3 at Park Place, and the A and C at Chambers on the west side. Fulton Center and the World Trade Center are a short walk south, which adds nearly every remaining line and the PATH.
Living here means trading neighborhood retail for proximity. Groceries and restaurants sit a few blocks away in Tribeca, Chinatown and the Seaport, while the immediate streets offer courthouse-hour delis and long, empty sidewalks at night. For a renter who works downtown and wants the shortest commute in the city, it is hard to beat.
Nearby restaurants
A taste of where to eat around Civic Center.
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