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WHEN CORA CAHAN STARTED HER CURRENT JOB on West 42nd Street a decade ago, she had to pass drug dealers, porn shops and X-rated theaters every day to get to work.
"The street wasn't just unpleasant; it was scary," she says.
Even more daunting than the journey was the job. At 47, Ms. Cahan had just been tapped to become president of The New 42nd Street Inc. Her task: to transform a cluster of more than So sex-related businesses in the street's seven theaters and adjacent spaces into a thriving extension of the theater district.
"If I had stopped to think about how overwhelming the problem was, I wouldn't have had the courage to take the first step," says Ms. Cahan. "We were becoming real estate developers and cultural developers at the same time."