In the first installment of what promises to be a yearly
commitment to New York City’s downtown area, the
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) kicked
off Digital Downtown for press and analysts. Digital
Downtown was conceived as a three-day showcase of consumer
technology, open and free to the general public.
The first day of the event, June 12, was warm and sunny. I
took a subway to the general area and then had to walk quite
a few blocks. As I continued to my destination, all seemed
otherwise normal until I got to Church Street, which borders
historic St. Paul’s Chapel in downtown Manhattan.
I had to make a right onto Church since going straight would
have brought me to the barrier erected around the periphery of
Ground Zero. It’s amazing that almost seven years later, there
is still a gaping hole where the Twin Towers used to be.
I turned left onto a street named Vesey and headed to the
hotel, but the walk was different than the usual stroll down a
city block. At the end of the street I encountered a pedestrian
bridge over the West Side ( Joe DiMaggio) Drive. The view
from the bridge was sobering, with multiple cranes hard at
work in the cavern where the Twin Towers once stood.
The building I was heading for, the World Financial Center,
was in front of me as I got off the bridge. I went through
revolving doors and in short order encountered security. I
might just as well have been going through security at an airport,
except I didn’t have to take off my shoes. A dutiful officer
waved a wand all over the guy in front of me, but I was allowed
to pass by without this further check.
I found it interesting later in the day that not only was it
difficult to get into the building, security wise, but also difficult
to get out. I had to produce a card that had been given to
me and punched with a hole when I first walked in. Someday,
hopefully, technology will keep us safe without the rigmarole
of checking out every bag with an x-ray machine and waving a
magic wand over random individuals.
KEYNOTE RECALLS THE TRAGEDY OF SEPT. 11
The keynote speaker at the conference was Rachelle Friedman,
president and founder (and the R) of J&R Music & Computer
World, a megastore that encompasses an entire city block in
the downtown area. She gave a rousing account through words,
videos, and photos of her experience on Sept. 11, 2001, and the
days immediately following, since her store is just two blocks
from the World Trade Center site.
Founded in 1971 to sell vinyl records, the store barely survived
the attack. The storefront was demolished, merchandise
was ruined, and customers were afraid to come back. Some
business owners would have packed it in, but not Friedman and
her husband, Joe. The store, which is considered the anchor of
lower Manhattan, reopened just six weeks later.
When asked if she considered moving to another location,
possibly midtown, she answered, “No, never, absolutely not. We
love lower Manhattan. We’ve been through down cycles before,
through the crash and other things, and we’ve always done well.
We have terrific customers, sophisticated ones that really know
electronics and want the new gadgets.”
Commenting on Digital Downtown, Friedman said, “Now
that you know something about me and about our business,
you can understand how excited I am to inaugurate this show.”
She noted that in 1971, J&R was a mom and pop business
encompassing all of 300 square feet. Now the store barely
fits into 300,000 square feet. Always the businesswoman, she
emphasized, “Midtown may be the heart of New York, but
downtown is New York’s soul and brain and pocketbook.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Entrepreneurs and artists alike have always gravitated to where
New York began and where it is expected to grow the fastest in
the next few years. “We will all be transformed by the renewal
of Ground Zero and the creation of a transportation hub for
downtown that will bring thousands here directly,” Friedman
said. “The renewal is the symbol of a New York that will never
quit nor be intimidated by those who would harm us.”
She also noted that on some days with so many tourists, it
seems like the United Nations is convening a session on Park
Row, where the store is located. “We want more than anything
to see that Freedom Tower built. It will give us the lift we need
to heal the wounds inflicted on New York and on America and
restore the vitality that was downtown,” she said.
“We embrace change and don’t try to fight it; iPod sales may
mean lower CD sales, but if we anticipate and embrace change,
we will all benefit in the long run,” she said. “The dream of having
all media available to all people at all times and in all places
will make us all richer, and businesses will find their niche.”
If you haven’t had a chance to visit J&R Music & Computer
World, you may want to check it out the next time you’re in
New York. And if you visit at the right time, you can also take
in a free concert at the yearly J&R Summer Fest & Tech Expo,
which ran in conjunction with Digital Downtown this year.
Led by president and CEO Gary Shapiro, the CEA comprises
2300 consumer electronics companies. “Our mission is a
simple one—to grow the industry. That’s why we’re happy to
partner in this inaugural downtown technology showcase,” he
said. He also said that despite the challenging economy, the
CEA still expects consumer electronics to grow by 6% percent—
and the industry can be proud of that number.