The dedication of a new memorial at the Museum of Jewish Heritage honoring non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. (L to R): Museum Trustee Peter S. Kalikow, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Museum Chairman Robert M. Morgenthau, and His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan. Also shown is Bishop Robert Rimbo. Kalikow donated funds for the memorial. (Photo: Museum of Jewish Heritage/Melanie Einzig)

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan took time from their busy schedules to spend an hour at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City on March 6. The occasion was the dedication of a memorial honoring non-Jews who risked, and often gave their lives, to save Jews during the Holocaust.  

 

The memorial was funded by Peter S. Kalikow, a founding trustee of the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

 

Kalikow, a former MTA chairman, a former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and owner of the New York Post from 1988 to 1994, is president of H. J. Kalikow & Co., LLC, a real estate firm founded by his grandfather - an immigrant from Russia.   

 

Cuomo's visit to Battery Park City may have been motivated by more than appreciation for Kalikow's philanthropy. 

 

The New York Post noted on July 27, 2009, that Kalikow, "a major Republican fund-raiser and activist," had endorsed Cuomo for governor. ArtVoice said in its Jan. 17, 2014 issue that H. J. Kalikow & Co. and Peter Kalikow had given $150,000 to Cuomo's current campaign warchest, making them among the governor's top 10 donors. 

 

Cuomo has, thus far, amassed $33.3 million for his re-election campaign. In second place in the gubernatorial funding sweepstakes, Gov. Jerry Brown of California has $10 million.

 

As for Kalikow's gift to the museum, a spokesperson commented, "Mr. Kalikow was simply inspired by non-Jews who helped Jews during the Holocaust and thought the Museum should recognize those that risked their lives for others in a meaningful way."

Around 100 people attended the dedication ceremony including religious leaders, Museum Chairman-Elect Bruce Ratner and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. Holocaust survivors who were hidden as children also attended.
 

Bits & Bytes  

BREWER BUDGET SURVEY; WATER STREET RALLY; WOOLWORTH BUILDING TOURS; RECORD PRICE FOR LOWER MANHATTAN LOT

The astonishing lobby of the Woolworth Building, usually off limits to the public, is currently accessible with guided tours. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

 

Survey on budget priorities for Manhattan: Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer has launched a survey to solicit public input on budget priorities for Manhattan. As required by the New York City Charter, she will generate a report that reflects the recommendations of Manhattan community boards, borough residents, and others with substantial interests in the borough on the proposals contained in the preliminary budget, and on the capital and service needs of the borough. Survey responses will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Monday, March 17, 2014.
For more information, contact William Colegrove, Director of Budget & Transparency, at wcolegrove@manhattanbp.nyc.gov. To see and fill out the survey, click here.
 
Rally on Water Street: Shortly after 1 p.m. on March 7, Community Board 1 received word from the NYPD that a rally was planned for March 9 on Water Street between Fulton and Broad Streets beginning at 2 p.m. at which there could be around 25,000 people. Usually, the Community Board has to approve plans for a rally, and this was the first it had heard about it. No further information was available, except that the NYPD might have to close some streets to pedestrians. After the fact, the New York Daily News reported what this was about. The estimated attendance at the rally was way off. More than 50,000 people showed up. "Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews flock to lower Manhattan to protest Israel's proposed draft of religious citizens to its army," NY Daily News, 3/9/14."The gathering took up a stretch of 10 blocks, with dark-clothed demonstrators standing behind police barricades amid tight security," said the Daily News. Organizers kept to tradition, with men and women in separate groups as they are at religious events. Sunday's prayer event brought together a community of New York's most Orthodox Jews, based in Brooklyn and in the village of Kiryas Joel in Orange County, north of the city." For the complete article, click here.

"Go Deeper into the Woolworth Building," Tribeca Citizen, 3/7/14.  Tribeca Citizen reports that Chuck Post of Woolworth Tours has "just negotiated the ability to continue to offer 30-, 60- or 90-minute tours of the lobby, mezzanine, and bank vault in the basement." This is a rare and exciting opportunity to see the interior of one of New York City's most magnificent skyscrapers. Pre-registration is required. "All tours are led by architectural historians," says Tribeca Citizen. Photographs are permitted, but no flash or videos are allowed. The 30-minute tours and 60-minute tour both explore the lobby. The 90-minute tours also include the bank vault. For the complete article, click here.

"Downtown lot hits market at a princely $260M," Crain's New York Business, 3/10/14. "A father and son team that purchased an empty parking garage just south of the World Trade Center has put the site on the market for $260 million, five times what they paid for it just three years ago," says Crain's New York Business. "Fred Ohebshalom and his son Richard acquired 111 Washington St., three blocks south of the WTC site, three years ago by buying the distressed mortgage on the property from lender New York Community Bank. The price was a figure close to the $50 million loan's face amount, according to reports. Eventually, the pair took control of the property when it was in foreclosure. The pair then spent an undisclosed amount snapping up nearly 200,000 square feet of air rights from several surrounding properties, 102-104, 106 and 108 Greenwich Street and 105 and 109 Washington Street. All together with those extra air rights, about 362,000 square feet of residential or mixed use space can now be built on the site, which is at the corner of Washington and Carlisle streets." For the complete article, click here.