Along the waterfront on a sparkling day, languid groups linger over low-cal drinks, sun themselves by the fountains, read and daydream on shaded benches and fantasize about the grand boats tied up at their feet.
This is New York City? Right. Lower Manhattan. Battery Park City. At lunchtime, when the famous New York pace slows to idle, the "suits" from the World Financial Center loosen their ties and go down to the river to join couples, amazed tourists and mothers with strollers. On a sun-splashed October day, this new way-downtown nook hints of the Mediterranean.
"You'd never believe you're in New...