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Rosa Trumpeter, growing in Battery Park City's "hot garden." June 18, 2014.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

The New Amsterdam Market returns to South Street on Saturday, June 21 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Beginning on Thursday evening, June 19, there will be a parade of outdoor food markets on Water Street and on South Street. First out of the gate is a Night Market sponsored by the Alliance for Downtown New York and GrowNYC to be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 19 at Coenties Slip (on Water Street between Broad Street and Old Slip). This market will be a sort of family festival, with some grocery shopping opportunities, and pizza, sandwiches, beer, wine and hard cider for sale accompanied by live music from The Jazz Foundation.

Six Greenmarket farmers will be there: Migliorelli Farm, with vegetables and fruit from Dutchess County, N.Y.; Toigo Farm, with fruit from Cumberland County, Pa.; honey and bee products from the Apple State Hilltop Family Farm in Sullivan County, N.Y.; hard cider from Bad Seed Hard Cider in Ulster County, N.Y.; wine from Cayuga County's King Ferry Winery; and baked goods and breads from Francesca's Bakery in Middlesex County, N.J.

The prepared food will come from Ulysses and Adrienne's Pizza Bar, two of the restaurants on nearby Stone Street.

The Downtown Alliance is co-sponsoring this market as a way to enliven Water Street. "Summer evenings are for fun, food, friends and festivity," said Jessica Lappin, Downtown Alliance president. "We're so excited to be partnering with GrowNYC to bring excitement, music and locally sourced food and drink to Water Street."

Two days later, on Saturday, June 21, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the New Amsterdam Market will bring around 60 vendors to South Street between Beekman Street and Peck Slip. There will be wild-gathered foods from the woodlands and open spaces of Vermont, sustainably caught wild fish from eastern Long Island, organic produce and fruit from Lancaster, Pa. and from Vermont, produce, syrup, honey, and preserves from the Catskills, regional specialty and heirloom grains, die-cut pasta made from organic flour, cheeses from Vermont and from the Hudson Valley, traditional Lebanese-style strained yogurt, small-batch charcuterie using sustainable, regional meats, pasture-raised pork and beef, olive oil, coffee, tea, nuts, sweets and more.

On May 31, at the first New Amsterdam Market of the season, around 5,000 people showed up. Some vendors had sold out by 3 p.m., so get there early!

The Andaz Wall Street Farmers' Market.

On Thursday, June 26, there will be two markets. The Andaz Wall Street Farmers' Market will open for the season on the hotel's plaza near Wall and Water Streets. It will be open every Thursday through mid-November from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., supplying both the general public and the hotel's restaurants.

For the 2014 season, the hotel's principle farmer will be David Zaback from Z Food Farm in Lawrence Township, N.J. Community supported agriculture (CSA) shares will be available. Members will pay a fee upfront to receive a weekly credit toward their purchases or a weekly allotment of seasonal food. Walk-up customers will also be accommodated.

On the evening of June 26, the New Amsterdam Market will stage its own Night Market as a fundraiser. The celebration will run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a focus on local fisheries and with more than a dozen acclaimed chefs and purveyors serving small plates of seafood-inspired dishes. Chef April Bloomfield will lead the field. Anyone who tasted her oyster pan roast at the New Amsterdam Market a few years ago knows how skilled she is and how memorable her creations. Craft beers will be served as will chef-made sodas from P&H Soda.

To kick off the evening, author Paul Greenberg will introduce his new book, American Catch, which discusses the potential for reviving New York's local fisheries.

The New Amsterdam Market's fisheries Night Market will be held in the covered forecourt of the Old Fulton Market Tin Building, which was constructed in 1907. For guests between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., tickets are $125 in advance (the price includes a signed copy of American Catch) or $150 at the door. At 8 p.m., a second wave of admissions begins with tickets priced at $75 or $100 at the door.

For more information about these markets:
June 19: Night Market on Water Street at Coenties Slip, click here.
June 21: New Amsterdam Market on South Street, click here.
June 26: Andaz Wall Street Farmers' Market, click here.
June 26: New Amsterdam Market fisheries, American Catch, and fundraiser, click here.

The partners in Pier A are the Poulakakos restaurant and development group, HPH; The Dermot Company; Danny McDonald and Michael Jewell.

They are installing a "Long Room" on the first floor, where they will sell oysters and other seafood, craft beers and coffee. On the second floor, there will be a sit-down restaurant with six dining rooms and two bars. The third floor will be used for exhibits, musical events and special events such as weddings.

The partners took possession of the pier in early September 2013. Originally, they had hoped to open by Memorial Day. Then July 4 was the target.

"Manhattan judge gives Airbnb good news,"New York Business Journal, 6/18/14. "On Monday, a New York judge sided with a resident who used the popular travel rentals website [Airbnb] to rent her Financial District apartment in explicit violation of her lease, and in the process advanced an Airbnb-friendly interpretation of a disputed state law," says the New York Business Journal. "According to the New York Post, Manhattan Housing Court Justice Jack Stoller ruled that 2010's Multiple Dwelling Law preventing short-term sublets is 'generally aimed at the conduct of owners of property, not tenants.' As a result, former Airbnb host Kimberly Freeman can stay in her apartment at 33 Gold Street in the Financial District." For the complete article, click here.

Richard Falkenrath and then-NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly in 2008 at a Community Board 1 presentation about security issues in Lower Manhattan. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

On June 26, the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association will present a lifetime achievement award to former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. The presentation will take place on the sailboat Arabella in North Cove Marina, followed by a reception with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

"Nobody has done more to protect New York City than Ray Kelly," said GPTA President Glenn Plaskin. "When our neighborhood was decimated after 9/11, Mr. Kelly, having already served once as Police Commissioner, stepped up once again and served us for 12 years, making him the longest-serving Police Commissioner in New York City history. He revamped the NYPD into a world-class counter-terrorism operation, creating a post-9/11 initiative that averted 16 potential attacks on New York."

In addition to Commissioner and Mrs. Kelly, other invited guests include New York State Senator Daniel Squadron, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Councilmember Margaret Chin, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Battery Park City Authority CEO and Chairman Dennis Mehiel, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Community Board 1 Chair Catherine McVay Hughes, and other elected officials and dignitaries.

The cocktail reception and award will take place between 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. followed by a community discussion and election at the nearby St. Joseph's Church.

The reception is open to all Gateway Plaza residents, who must RSVP to attend by June 23. Email GPlazaTA@gmail.com. 

(Re: "Come to the South Street Seaport for lawn chairs, food truck dining, souvenirs and free movies," DPNYC, 6/16/14.) Thank you for exposing all the disgraceful ways the Howard Hughes Corporation has blighted the landmark South Street Seaport...not to mention the ways their mindless greed has damaged local businesses. Your words and photos tell the story eloquently.

Jared Brown

We welcome letters to the editor. Email them to editor@downtownpostnyc.com. We reserve the right to edit them for clarity and length.

Tour buses are flooding Lower Manhattan.  (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Community Board 1 meetings are held at 49-51 Chambers St., Room 709, starting at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Bring photo ID to enter the building. All are welcome. 

June 19: Quality of Life Committee

            Location: Charlotte's Place, 107 Greenwich St. at 6 p.m.

* Tour bus management at the World Trade Center - Update by Luis Sanchez, Lower Manhattan Commissioner, NYC Department of Transportation

* Impact of 9/11 Memorial Plaza opening on pedestrian and vehicular flow - Discussion with government agencies and community members

The annual Swedish Midsummer Festival takes place on June 20 in Battery Park City's Wagner Park. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)