Searching for an unusual community with public art, new schools with great reputations, and spectacular views of the Hudson River both from apartments and the waterfront parks? It's Battery Park City, the ever-growing downtown development built on 23 acres of land created by the more than one million cubic yards of earth excavated during the construction of the World Trade Center. From Rockefeller Park in the north to Rector Park in the south, Battery Park City has a terrific waterfront strip of green that at times feels dwarfed in the shadows of the office buildings surrounding it. Little wonder that property values here have soared in recent years and that young professional families actively seek out this pleasant oasis. At times, the area can seem eerily suburban during the weekdays, but numerous monthly events and attractions at the nearby Esplanade and World Financial Center give it that urban edge.

Sadly, the destruction of the World Trade Center has cast a literal and figurative cloud over this neighborhood. Many resident were displaced in the disaster, and it will be some time before the area regains its sense of normalcy. For up-to-date information on the Battery Park City area, visit their official website by clicking on the link below.