May 11, 1987 Enlightenment Press publishes first monthly issue of Battery News for the Battery Park City Authority.
1988 Authority relinquishes control to Robert Trentlyon of Enlightenment, which makes the paper biweekly.
1989 Clay Felker buys the paper from Trentlyon’s group.
Feb. 19, 1990 Battery News changes it’s name to Downtown News. It publishes two issues until it discovers there is a paper in Brooklyn with the same name. The paper’s message to readers: “We are adopting – for good – the title: Downtown Express. The new name reflects our increased coverage of downtown and our commitment to be THE newspaper of Lower Manhattan.”
Oct. 25, 1993 Downtown Express stops publishing for financial reasons.
Feb. 23, 1994 Elizabeth and Tom Butson, a former New York Times editor, take over the paper and resume publication.
Oct. 19, 1999 John W. Sutter buys the paper from the Butsons.
Oct. 3, 2001 In an effort to give displaced Downtowners ever-changing information connected to the aftermath of 9/11, Downtown Express publishes its first combination issue with The Villager, also owned by Sutter.
Nov. 20, 2001 Sutter makes the expansion to weekly permanent.
