By Ellis Rubinstein
It has been just over a year since the New York Academy of Sciences left its stately long-time headquarters, the former Woolworth mansion on the Upper East Side, for what has turned out to be an extraordinary adventure 40 stories above ground zero at 7 World Trade Center.
When we made plans to move the nearly two-century-old Academy from its historic home to a new state-of-the-art facility in the first building to rise from the ashes of the World Trade Center site, we saw it as a bold move to embrace the future — our own, and that of Downtown Manhattan.
The symbolism of rebirth was extraordinary. Seven World Trade Center rises on the site of the last building to fall on Sept. 11, 2001. When we began contemplating our move, the Academy itself was in the middle of a much-needed rebirth, initiating a series of exciting new programs and projects to become a more relevant resource for the global scientific enterprise.
Our move also was a distinct acknowledgement of the past, since 7 W.T.C. sits just a few blocks from the spot on Barclay St. where the Academy was founded in 1817.
But it wasn’t all about philosophy; there were plenty of practicalities involved. We had badly outgrown our beautiful but aging home, which could no longer accommodate the level of popular scientific programming we were producing. We couldn’t host events with more than 100 attendees, nor did we have access to the increasingly sophisticated audio/visual and computer technology our global audiences — and our staff — had come to require.
When we announced our plans to move, however, we faced a lot of questions. Would the building truly be the first step in the revitalization of a devastated neighborhood, or a lonely outpost amid halting efforts at redevelopment? Would N.Y.A.S. members, used to decades in our comfortable and historic Uptown headquarters, be willing to move with us? Was our new location truly safe?
What a difference a year makes, for us and our new neighborhood.
It’s become clear that moving to 7 W.T.C. was nothing short of an inspired choice. Our new headquarters finally provides the Academy with the facility it has needed to match the cutting-edge scientific programming that our staff produces with the insight and support of world-class program committees, faculty and advisors. Our members, who always recognized the quality of the work we do, now enjoy those initiatives even more thanks to what can only be described as breathtaking surroundings.
But it’s not just N.Y.A.S. members who have found our new headquarters so welcoming and the views so magnificent. Thousands of additional visitors and guests, scientists and non-scientists alike, have happily made the journey Downtown to experience the more than 100 events we put on annually, whether the subject is nanobiotechnology, the science of wine, or the latest books by best-selling authors like Oliver Sacks, Steven Pinker and Richard Dawkins. In all, we welcomed over 16,000 leading scientists, corporate heads of research and exciting young scientists to our spectacular conference space — about 40 percent more than we could have managed in our Midtown mansion. A score of great Downtown companies, organizations and local community groups like the Skyscraper Museum and the Tribeca Hebrew School used our home as well. We even attracted events sponsored by the Finance Minister of Japan, the Swedish Consul General and the mayor of Mexico City.
It hasn’t hurt that 7 W.T.C. is conveniently located within two blocks of essentially every subway line and will be across the street from a spectacular new transportation hub. But it’s not just the ease of transportation. These visitors regularly comment on what those of us who call 7 W.T.C. home experience on a daily basis — the fast-progressing redevelopment efforts that have sparked a sense of excitement and optimism. It’s impossible to visit or work at 7 W.T.C. and not be swept up by the realization that the long-hoped-for promise of Downtown redevelopment and rebirth, commercial, residential and cultural, is real, and happening right outside. Academy employees have enjoyed the added pleasure of exploring a neighborhood teeming with a seemingly endless array of shops and restaurants, a selection that only seems to grow as time goes on.
Could we have predicted such success when we first started considering returning to our Downtown roots? Probably not. But it has been a privilege to watch 7 W.T.C. become a focal point for the excitement we see all around us, and to see our new home further our efforts to turn our Academy into not only a scientific and cultural resource for the city we call home but a fulcrum for a global contribution to science and society.
New York is one of the greatest cities in the world, and we are proud to be a part of the rebirth of Lower Manhattan. How far can we go together? The sky’s the limit.
Ellis Rubinstein is president of the New York Academy of Sciences.
