For 135 years, New York Law School (NYLS) has stood as an iconic institution in Lower Manhattan—rooted in public service, connected to New York City’s civic life, and committed to preparing leaders who shape the communities they serve. Steps from the courts, government agencies, and a lively network of businesses big and small, NYLS occupies a unique role as both a neighbor and an anchor.
Dean and President Anthony W. Crowell has an especially meaningful connection to Tribeca, as his entire legal career has unfolded within a six-block radius in the neighborhood. A longtime New York City public servant, he began his legal career as an Assistant Corporation Counsel at the New York City Law Department, then served at City Hall as Counselor to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. He joined the NYLS adjunct faculty in 2003 and has led the Law School as Dean and President since 2012.
“I’ve seen the neighborhood grow. I’ve seen its power, its promise,” Dean Crowell reflects. “Tribeca is a community that adapts, reinvents, and welcomes. The people are tremendous, and our future is great. Law is about promise, and this neighborhood reminds us every day of what that truly means. It’s where history meets possibility, where challenges spark innovation, and where NYLS has the privilege of helping to create a stronger, fairer city.”
A Brief History of Our Home
In 1891, NYLS founder Theodore Dwight and his fellow trailblazers founded NYLS in Lower Manhattan, planting roots in the heart of the city’s legal, financial, and government headquarters. The Law School’s first campus was in the Equitable Building at 120 Broadway, followed by moves to Nassau, Fulton, and William Streets, and briefly, the New York World Building. In a defining moment, the NYLS campus was condemned through eminent domain to make way for 1 Police Plaza, inciting the Law School to transform nearby industrial buildings into academic hubs. It was during this time that NYLS settled into Tribeca (then called Washington Market) at the corner of Church and Worth Streets. The building—which NYLS still occupies, along with two others—was dedicated on September 21, 1962, with remarks from Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan II, Class of 1924, and New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr., whose father, Senator Robert F. Wagner, graduated from NYLS in 1900.
NYLS’s then-new neighborhood was one of few residents and no true cachet. Yet the Law School’s arrival coincided with somewhat of a renaissance. Since its early history, Tribeca has been a merchant powerhouse. It was first called Washington Market after the famed market that became the city’s major source of produce and goods throughout the 1800s. By the 1960s, however, the neighborhood’s industrial base was fading as trucking entered the trade industry and the Washington Market relocated. Thus came a wave of young artists drawn to the abandoned lofts and warehouses that offered vast space and seclusion. These artists became pioneers, organizing a block association called the Triangle Below Canal (TriBeCa) when zoning restrictions threatened their housing. NYLS had a front-row seat as this pivotal history unfolded, watching as Tribeca was born right before its eyes.
Throughout the rest of the 20th Century, Tribeca’s identity as a place-to-be began to cement. Restaurants like the Odeon became cultural landmarks, and sites such as the Hook & Ladder Company 8 firehouse, immortalized in Ghostbusters, along with art galleries and film culture, helped define it as a place where creativity and community intersect. Meanwhile, the Law School remained a constant presence and deepened its role as a civic anchor in Tribeca, educating generations of lawyers who would go on to serve the city, state, and nation. By the turn of the millennium, Tribeca was well on its way to becoming a global icon, until the September 11 attacks abruptly froze its ascent and altered the community forever.
A Community Tested
No moment tested the neighborhood’s or the Law School’s strength more than the morning of September 11, 2001. Just blocks from the World Trade Center, NYLS found itself at the epicenter of a tragedy that shook the entire globe. When the towers fell, students, faculty, staff, and alumni were thrust into the arms of terror, many running for their lives through smoke-filled streets. The Law School lost power, water, and communications, and had to shut down for two weeks. Simultaneously, the community mourned four alumni who worked in the towers—Craig Lilore ’98, Weirong Lin ’98, Joseph Lostrangio ’78, and Richard Madden ’92. Yet, in the face of tragedy, the community did not fracture. What emerged instead was a renewed sense of purpose and a drive to serve.
In the weeks after the attacks, NYLS launched the Distressed Small Business Project to support local businesses struggling in an economically ravaged Lower Manhattan. Under the supervision of Professor Anthony Q. Fletcher, students offered free legal services to local small business owners and entrepreneurs—assisting with incorporations, renegotiating leases, crafting long-term business plans, and advising on corporate compliance.
NYLS also honored the extraordinary contributions of its own. In the spring of 2002, the Law School held a tribute to the student heroes who had stepped up in the aftermath of 9/11 by volunteering in rescue and recovery efforts, supporting police investigations, providing legal assistance to displaced residents and businesses, and answering the call to duty as the country prepared for war. In December 2002, the New York County Lawyers’ Association honored NYLS for providing the resilience and leadership that helped guide Tribeca and its neighbors through their darkest chapter.
Paul M. Kay receiving the Student Hero Award at the 2002 Spring Benefit Gala.
NYLS students at "Remember, Rebuild: In Observance of the Anniversary of 9/11," a remembrance ceremony held one year after the attacks.
The Remaking of the Community
In the years following 9/11, Lower Manhattan became the focus of public and private investment aimed at reimagining and rebuilding. Improvements in infrastructure, public space restorations, and new housing reshaped the neighborhood into modern Tribeca. During this process of collective healing, NYLS looked ever upward. In 2006, the Law School broke ground on the now iconic, glass-enclosed, 235,000-square-foot building at 185 West Broadway. The development provided a high-tech, state-of-the-art facility to embrace new pedagogy, strengthen community service, and support an unparalleled legal education. The result is a campus that reflects NYLS’s past and future and mirrors the growth and renewal of Tribeca and Lower Manhattan.
The building—now named Abbey Hall in honor of Arthur (’59) and Diane Abbey—opened officially in the fall of 2009, but was earlier warmed with an Open House Celebration in April of that year. Ross Moskowitz ’84, Vice Chair of the NYLS Board of Trustees, captured the community’s excitement: “My favorite part of the building: taking the 1 train and seeing the School as soon as I walk out of the Franklin Street subway station—that captures everything about the School. As people walk out of the subway, they’ll see a building that says ‘Come to me.’”
Abbey Hall in its final construction stage in 2009.
Architects working on the construction of Abbey Hall in 2008.
Tribeca: A Living Classroom
In the last decade and a half, Tribeca has earned a reputation as one of the country’s most sought-after zip codes. For NYLS students, that status goes beyond a point of pride—it’s an educational advantage. The NYLS campus sits at a rare crossroads, bound by the headquarters of Citibank and Goldman Sachs to the west; by the Civic Center, including City Hall and an array of federal, state, and city courts and offices to the east; and by the World Trade Center and the Financial District to the south. This enables students to have an immersive experience fully integrating the study of law into the civic fabric of the city. It’s where public service, public interest advocacy, global finance, and community life converge, offering students daily exposure to a full spectrum of people, institutions, and challenges that shape the legal profession.
NYLS Board Chair John Estes ’95 understands this deeply, both as an alumnus and a champion of the Law School’s mission. “We have a modern, world-class facility located in a highly desirable area in Lower Manhattan, near courthouses, the financial district, government, and other channels of public service and public interest,” he notes. “Taking advantage of our location can significantly improve the student experience, further enhance our presence in the legal community, and enable us to better differentiate our program offerings.”
Students feel this connection daily, as classroom lessons extend seamlessly into the outside world. Local courtrooms, government agencies, and law firms can offer a real-time look at practical applications of the law. Through internships, externships, and hands-on clinical work, Tribeca becomes the first place NYLS students practice what they’re learning and see how law, policy, and community building intersect.
“Tribeca is home to a vibrant community and studying law in a neighborhood like this adds a meaningful connection to my law school experience. Being surrounded by small business owners and long-time residents makes the study of law feel grounded in real people and real impact. NYLS’s investment in the surrounding community signals that the school sees itself as part of something larger than the classroom. To me, it reflects a commitment to engagement with the city, mutual growth, and preparing future lawyers who understand the importance of serving and strengthening the communities they are part of.”
Marcos Izquierdo ’27
“As a New York City resident for my entire life, there was no other choice that made sense to me than to establish my practice in Tribeca once I passed the bar exam. Being able to ride my bike to and from my office in Tribeca makes my quality of life that much better. I wouldn't change a thing!”
Frank Rothman ’83, Founding Partner, Rothman, Schneider, Soloway & Stern, LLP
The Path to Recovery
Behind Tribeca’s charm lies a community still navigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fluctuations in foot traffic, devastating business closures, and the resulting retail vacancies revealed the hard truth that Tribeca had no formal, sustained economic development strategy.
In March 2021, NYLS convened the Tribeca Pandemic Recovery Task Force to identify and address the neighborhood’s pressing needs. Its creation was prompted by Dean and President Anthony W. Crowell, who published an open letter in Tribeca Citizen pledging support for the community’s recovery. Soon after, the Law School hosted a virtual community meeting with Tribeca residents, business owners, and local organizations to discuss the neighborhood’s future. Several key priorities emerged, including the need for a cohesive, community-driven neighborhood vision.
An Alliance is Reborn
The work of the Task Force, coordinated by then NYLS Senior Fellow Chris Bruno ’12, laid the groundwork for present-day efforts to revitalize and support Tribeca’s business community. Specifically, it helped catalyze the official launch of the Tribeca Alliance, the neighborhood’s very own merchant association. Begun in 2016 as an informal gathering of concerned merchants, the group struggled to maintain momentum while also growing their own small businesses. The NYLS-led relaunch arrives alongside a $100,000 merchant organizing grant from the New York City Department of Small Business Services to support commercial revitalization in Tribeca. Bruno’s work will focus directly on fulfilling the goals envisioned by the grant in his new full-time role as NYLS’s inaugural Chief of Economic Development Programs and Strategies.
“During the pandemic, we immediately recognized a glaring discrepancy between the level of available resources for businesses and specific attention to small business issues in Tribeca,” Bruno recalls. “There’s no supporting framework for the community of entrepreneurs and small businesses. When it came to relaunching the Alliance, we turned back to the infrastructure that NYLS, along with business owners in the community, built five years ago and thought, ‘Let’s activate that network and build on that foundation.’”
In September 2025, the Alliance hosted its first Merchant Meet and Greet in years, bringing together nearly 30 local businesses to share ideas and begin charting Tribeca’s economic future. The merchant organizing grant—awarded in partnership with Friends of Bogardus Plaza—will help the Alliance formalize its operations, ensure nonprofit compliance, and explore forming a business improvement district (BID).
“Tribeca Alliance has become one of the most meaningful parts of my overall law school experience. Working directly with Tribeca Alliance and its small-business directors has shown me the real needs of the surrounding community and reminded me why this work matters. It means a great deal that NYLS intentionally invests in its neighborhood; it shows students that community engagement isn’t an extracurricular — it’s part of what it means to be a lawyer.”
Emily Dillman ’26
Chris Bruno ’12 at the Tribeca Alliance Merchant Meet and Greet.
Joe J. Plumeri ’15 (Hon.) speaking with NYLS students.
The Plumeri Center: Powering Tribeca’s Small Business Ecosystem
The foundation set by the Pandemic Recovery Task Force also inspired the development of The Plumeri Center for Small Business Empowerment. Through the generosity of Joseph J. Plumeri (H’15), the Law School has been able to deepen its focus on supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs, including veterans and individuals from underserved communities. If the Alliance represents Tribeca’s organizing force, The Plumeri Center, under the leadership of Professor Jae Hyung Ryu, the Center's Director, provides a central support system.
For Professor Ryu, the seeds of his passion for small business empowerment were planted in law school, when experiencing the thrill of hands-on clinical work. It was nurtured through years of pro bono service throughout his legal career, where he felt energized by his interactions with small business owners. But perhaps the most pivotal moment—when his passion fully bloomed—was when he witnessed COVID-19’s devastating impact on his neighborhood. Professor Ryu describes that moment as a call to action—one that propelled him toward clinical teaching and, ultimately, to NYLS.
Earlier this year, Professor Ryu was appointed as the Plumeri Center’s inaugural Director. Under his guidance, the Center is building a multi-layered support model for small businesses that spans legal and regulatory assistance, community participation, economic development, and strategic development. This includes:
- Coordinating services among NYLS’s Nonprofit and Small Business Clinic, Patent Law Clinic, and Trademark Clinic to provide small business owners and entrepreneurs with integrated guidance tailored to their needs
- Partnering with merchant associations and community organizations, including the Tribeca Alliance, to broaden impact and ensure that local businesses have access to the technical infrastructure and advisory support needed to realize their visions
- Leading the Gig Economy Project, a pioneering initiative addressing the legal and policy challenges facing the City’s gig and freelance workforce and the small business ecosystem that relies on it
- Bringing together small business owners, policymakers, residents, and students for practical and forward-thinking discussions about New York City’s economic future through special programming, workshops, research, and public forums
“It made natural sense for me to be part of the neighborhood’s efforts to find its identity and voice,” says Professor Ryu. “When Tribeca flourishes, it enriches the student experience at NYLS. I would love for the Plumeri Center to be seen as a community hub for Tribeca and beyond—a go-to resource that connects all the spokes of the community. By pooling our legal resources with other types of resources from key partners, we can provide a platform where people feel supported. A lot of small business owners say, ‘I don’t know what I’m missing.’ Our role is to help them think about the risks they are—or should be—worried about.” Last year, The Plumeri Center hosted a forum featuring a panel of experts providing key insights for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Panelists included Plumeri Center Advisory Board member Joam Alisme ’14 of Alisme Law LLC, as well as Natasha Joseph, Assistant Commissioner for Government Navigation and Regulatory Reform at NYCSBS.
For Professor Ryu, community building is also about rethinking how law students learn to engage with the world around them. As Director of the Nonprofit and Small Business Clinic, his pedagogy emphasizes observation, reflection, and leadership not just in students’ clinical and classroom work but also in their everyday lives. He encourages them to walk the streets of Tribeca and their own neighborhoods, to study public spaces and small businesses occupying them, assess their own experiences, and consider how visible and invisible frameworks shape the physical and social environments they move through every day. Ultimately, Professor Ryu’s vision for the Plumeri Center is as much about supporting Tribeca as it is about shaping the kind of lawyers NYLS sends into the world: thoughtful, curious, attentive to community needs, and capable of creating solutions that foster community prosperity.
“Small businesses are core to a healthy economy. Providing law students the opportunity to serve these clients also helps us to build in the next generation of lawyers the skills and values needed for modern practice.”
Joe Plumeri (H'15), NYLS Trustee
“Small businesses are the heartbeat of every community because they create opportunity, promote commerce, and turn neighborhoods into thriving ecosystems. My passion for small business empowerment comes from seeing how quickly those dreams can unravel when legal challenges hit. That’s why I built a practice devoted to helping entrepreneurs resolve complex disputes and get back to growing what they’ve built. For law students who share that passion, my advice is simple: learn the language of business, not just the language of law. The most effective advocates understand both the legal strategy and the human story behind every deal, every dispute, and every decision.”
Joam Alisme ’14, Plumeri Center Advisory Board Member and Founder and Managing Attorney, Alisme Law LLC
Building Community, Cup by Cup
David Steingard ’04 at Laughing Man Cafe.
The New York Law School episode of The Tribeca Tapes, featuring NYLS Dean and President Anthony W. Crowell.
As Tribeca continues to evolve with support from NYLS, a new vision for the neighborhood is taking shape—one grounded in collaboration and shared purpose. One of the most passionate drivers of this work is David Steingard ’04, who holds a unique perspective as an NYLS alumnus, a lifelong Tribeca resident, and the co-founder and CEO of Laughing Man Café, one of the neighborhood’s most beloved hotspots. Steingard also hosts The Tribeca Tapes, a video series that highlights Tribeca’s storied history through conversations with neighborhood locals and historians.
Growing up in Tribeca, Steingard recalls seeing it transform “from a real industrial, non-residential area to the tight-knit, family-oriented community it is now.” He’s witnessed firsthand how the neighborhood has preserved its artistic edge, intimacy, and quirkiness even as it’s grown into a globally recognized destination for dining, culture, and commerce.
For Steingard, law and business have always been rooted in the same things: public service and community building. His legal training at NYLS continues to influence his leadership at Laughing Man, where contracts, negotiations, strategy, and critical analysis remain part of his toolkit. His philosophy extends beyond coffee; it is a worldview, shaped as much by his NYLS experience as by his years growing up in a neighborhood built by artists, rebels, and close-knit entrepreneurs. Today, he hopes Laughing Man’s legacy is synonymous with Tribeca itself. He envisions the café as a true third space where neighbors can rest, reset, and connect across differences. This belief in meaningful connection also drives his service on the Tribeca Alliance Board, where he champions efforts to preserve the neighborhood’s creative energy and support the small businesses that help it thrive.
Turning the Page, Together
Tribeca and New York Law School have grown up together. From the days of Washington Market to the rebuilding after 9/11 to the recovery challenges of the pandemic, the neighborhood has continually reimagined itself. NYLS’s role is not to define Tribeca’s next chapter, but to write it together with those who also call it home. The Law School’s mission to train lawyers of integrity, creativity, and public purpose aligns with Tribeca’s own identity as a neighborhood that values innovation, independence, and community connection.
The inaugural Tribeca Neighborhood Arts Initiative exhibition, featuring work from environmental surrealist artist Anastasia (Tasha) Natrella.
NYLS recently launched the Tribeca Neighborhood Arts Initiative, a series of rotating art exhibitions that bring creative expression into the Law School’s campus and celebrate the cultural richness of the neighborhood. The inaugural exhibition features the work of environmental surrealist artist Anastasia (Tasha) Natrella, a longtime resident of Tribeca. Learn more.
“Studying law in a place like Tribeca helps me put into perspective every day what I am striving towards. Just walking through an area so saturated in arts and culture in a city that has always been a hub for arts and culture is something that I will always cherish. Seeing the art, hearing the music, and being enraptured by the architecture and culture of such a historic part of New York keeps me grounded and helps me remember that law doesn't exist in a vacuum. Everything we do and everything we are working towards as law students is going to influence the world someday, and it's our duty to make sure that the choices we make are ones we are proud of.”
Conor Gallagher ’27 Evening
“Legal professionals play a vital role in shaping neighborhoods like Tribeca because we operate at the intersection of business, community, and policy. Our work ensures that growth is not only economically viable but also aligned with the neighborhood’s character and values. In Tribeca, that means negotiating complex leases and structuring deals that respect its historic identity while enabling innovation and progress. Looking ahead, the neighborhood offers opportunities to create dynamic mixed-use spaces and to reimagine existing buildings for modern use—attracting talent, fostering creativity, and supporting sustainable development. By guiding these transitions thoughtfully, legal professionals help strengthen the economic and social fabric that makes Tribeca unique.”
Na’Asia Cobb ’19, Senior Counsel and Director, Real Estate Law, The Gap Inc.
As Dean Crowell states, “Law is about promise.” In Tribeca, that promise is visible on every block—in the small businesses rebuilding, in the civic leaders emerging, in the students learning by doing, and in the locals shaping the neighborhood’s future with resilience.
