CooperKatz helped the Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York attract participants to—and publicize deliberations/results of—its 21st century town hall meeting of nearly 5,000 tri-state area residents. The purpose of the July 20, 2002 event, entitled "Listening to the City," was to provide a representative group of people with the opportunity to react to plans prepared by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation for the World Trade Center site, as well as to discuss the creation of a memorial to the victims of 9/11 and other public priorities for the rebuilding process. "Listening to the City" utilized a unique model, created by the non-profit organization AmericaSpeaks, that combined small, face-to-face discussions with high-technology, wireless polling/data capture.

Guided by the region’s demographic breakdown, CooperKatz reached out to hundreds of local media outlets, including borough, neighborhood and ethnic publications and radio stations, with the goal of encouraging people of all walks of life to register for "Listening to the City." Techniques included one-on-one pitching, press releases, newsletter articles, letters-to-the-editor, mini-press conferences, public service announcements and—ultimately— advertising. CooperKatz also designed all collateral materials— logo, flyers, leaflets, posters—used by "Listening to the City’s" community outreach team.

Once 5,000 participants were pre-registered, CooperKatz turned its attention to encouraging media attendance at the event. Invitations and needs assessment forms were distributed to a huge list of local and national news outlets. Some 250 members of the media, including over 30 broadcast crews, attended "Listening to the City," and CooperKatz worked with each to provide tailored on-site access to participants, facilitators, spokespeople, live and recorded TV feeds and polling results – without disrupting the proceedings.

The event generated thousands of newspaper stories—many front-page with photos—plus over 650 television reports by broadcast network, cable and local TV outlets. It also received several highly favorable editorials, including ones in The New York Times and Newsday. Most importantly, "Listening to the City" provided strong public input to decision-makers – input that has already dramatically changed the course of the rebuilding process for Lower Manhattan.