World Hunger Action Center To Be Built In Battery Park City

The noted international relief and development organization Mercy Corps today signed a 30-year lease agreement with the Battery Park City Authority to operate an innovative World Hunger Action Center in lower Manhattan, across from the Irish Hunger Memorial and next to Rockefeller Park. Designed by Edwin Schlossberg and ESI Design, the Center will open in the spring of 2008 as a learning space devoted to informing, inspiring and engaging visitors of all ages.

“Mercy Corps understands hunger as a symptom of interrelated, complex problems such as poverty, poor governance and oppression,” said Neal Keny-Guyer, the organization’s CEO. “It is possible to eradicate hunger if people have the knowledge, the tools and the commitment to do so. The World Hunger Center is truly innovative in that it will provide visitors with experiences that enable them to act in partnership with people throughout the world in the struggle against hunger and poverty.”

The Battery Park City Authority selected Mercy Corps to receive a $1.25 million grant from among a group of competing organizations. James F. Gill, chairman of the Authority, commented, “We are proud to partner with Mercy Corps in the World Hunger Center and anticipate welcoming 100,000 visitors each year. The Center will engage visitors so they are not just bystanders, but can become part of the solution to world hunger. That is highly inspiring.”

Mr. Gill’s enthusiasm was echoed by Jim Cavanaugh, president and CEO of Battery Park City Authority, who said, “The design created by Edwin Schlossberg and his colleagues features 4,000 square feet of interactive learning space. Especially intriguing is the flexibility of the exhibit space. It can become an open work area for relief efforts during major national and international crises.”

Following the lease signing ceremony at the Authority’s offices in One World Financial Center, supporters joined members of the Mercy Corps’ board of directors for a tour of the Center site, conducted by LandAir Project Resources.

Mercy Corps plans to raise $5 million for construction and $5 million for operation of the new center, whose staff will include seasoned aid workers.