DOWNTOWN Doctoroff's view.(Briefs)(Daniel Doctoroff)(Brief article)

Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff says New York is halfway to creating a vibrant new downtown, but he acknowledges that retailers and other small businesses are getting squeezed in the meantime.

Speaking at a Crain's New York Business breakfast at Pace University last week, Mr. Doctoroff painted a rosy picture of lower Manhattan. By 2011--a decade after the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center--builders will have added 17,000 housing units and completed or nearly finished 12.5 million square feet of office space.

"There