Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida  'Goldsturm'), blooming on Rector Place. July 7, 2014. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Technology

City Hall. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

New York City may have an early 19th-century City Hall, but it is firmly planted in the 21st century when it comes to technology. Massive amounts of data are currently being collected about all aspects of New York City government and are being made publicly available via an Open Data portal (https://data.cityofnewyork.us).

City Comptroller Scott Stringer made news yesterday when he announced that he was using some of this data to look at the cost of settlements and judgments against various city agencies. The analysis tool, developed by his office, is called "ClaimStat."

"By taking a closer look at the thousands of legal claims made against New York every year, ClaimStat will serve as an early warning system to help agencies improve services and make our City safer," he said.

The Comptroller's Bureau of Law and Adjustment (BLA) developed the software and the methodology for ClaimStat. BLA has the authority to investigate and negotiate settlements for all claims filed against the City. It investigates thousands of them annually. Using ClaimStat, BLA is analyzing those claims to identify problem areas that have been leading to costly settlements and judgments.

The Comptroller will publish these findings on a periodic basis and will work with City agencies and the Law Department to identify potential solutions.

On the morning of July 11, it will have been 210 years since Alexander Hamilton got into a rowboat in Lower Manhattan and was rowed across the Hudson River to a rocky ledge in Weehawken, N.J., where U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded him in a duel. Hamilton died the next day at his friend, William Bayard's farm in Greenwich Village.

He was either 47 or 49 years old at the time - the year of his birth is uncertain - but in his short life, he left an indelible impression on the shape and future of the United States of America.

He was a genius, born to unwed parents on the small Caribbean island of Nevis, deserted by his father, orphaned by his mother's early death, entirely self made.

Among his many accomplishments, he helped to create and promote the U.S. Constitution. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, he created a national financial system. He founded the predecessor of the U.S. Coast Guard to collect tariffs on shipping, thus funding the U.S. government for the next century. He founded the Bank of New York and the New York Post. He was a founder of the Federalist Party, which advocated a strong, national government empowered, when necessary, to override the states. He served repeatedly and brilliantly in the military, including several years as Gen. George Washington's senior aide-de-camp.

He continues to be mourned.

Beginning on July 11 and continuing through July 14, the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society (AHAS) has scheduled a series of events in New York and northern New Jersey that trace Hamilton's life from the time he arrived in the colonies from St. Croix in the Caribbean to his death.

On July 11, AHAS has arranged visits to some of the places where the teenaged Hamilton lived and studied in Elizabeth and Union, N.J. The day's events will end between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. with a commemoration in Weehawken next to the Alexander Hamilton bust on Hamilton Avenue, the site of the duel.

The Grange. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

On July 12, AHAS goes to upper Manhattan to visit the Hamilton family's country home, the Grange, now located at 414 W. 141st Street. Between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., there will be tours, film showings and special presentations.

At 3 p.m., the group will walk one mile from Hamilton's home to the Morris-Jumel Mansion at 65 Jumel Terrace, where Aaron Burr lived with his second wife, the wealthy widow, Eliza Jumel. The Morris-Jumel Mansion dates from 1765 and is the oldest house in Manhattan.

On July 13, AHAS returns to New Jersey to visit Paterson, which Hamilton founded in 1792 next to the Great Falls - the second highest waterfall east of the Mississippi River (the highest is Niagara) - as the first planned industrial city in the United States. The day's events conclude in Morristown, N.J. with presentations on Hamilton's courtship of Elizabeth Schuyler at the Schuyler-Hamilton House and on Hamilton as "America's Indispensable Founder" at the Washington's Headquarters Museum.

Hamilton's grave in Trinity churchyard. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Hamilton's funeral took place on July 14, 1804. Thousands of people lined the streets of Lower Manhattan to see his casket carried from 25 Park Place, the home of his in-laws, John and Angelica Church, to Trinity Church where he was buried. Starting at noon, AHAS will retrace that walk, culminating at 1 p.m. with a graveside remembrance in Trinity churchyard. Then there will be a talk on "Alexander Hamilton: Man of Honor" followed by a "meet and greet" at the Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., where the Alexander Hamilton room will be specially opened to view original Hamilton documents. At 3:30 p.m., Michael E. Newton will talk about "New Discoveries in the Life of Alexander Hamilton."

All of these events are open to the public and are free, unless otherwise noted. For more information, click here.

The newly opened Battery Park path. (Photo: Battery Conservancy)

The Waterfront Museum Barge, recently glimpsed in Lower Manhattan at the North River Historic Ship Festival, is back in its usual berth in Red Hook, Brooklyn but those who were captivated by its funky charm (plus those who missed it) can take a New York Water Taxi from Lower Manhattan to Red Hook and get another dose of maritime history spiced with music and vaudeville-style entertainment.

The barge is 100 years old this year. It was built as Lehigh Valley No. 79 for the Lehigh Valley Railroad to carry goods between the railroad terminus in New Jersey and Manhattan. It is the only surviving all-wooden example of the Hudson River Railroad Barge from the Lighterage Age (1860-1960) that remains afloat and accessible to the general public. Before the shift to containerization, heavy cargo was shifted to barges like this one for short-distance transport.

Ships' bells on the Waterfront Museum Barge.

David Sharps, the owner of the Waterfront Museum, has outfitted the barge with maritime memorabilia, paintings and photographs. A former juggler himself, he brings a variety of performers to the barge.

This Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13, and next Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and 20, Sharps will present "Out of the Box," a show that uses maps, historic images and puppets to tell the story of the working harbor over the last 100 years as seen through the eyes of a barge captain's daughter.

Maritime scholars and almost a dozen old-timers contributed oral histories and historical accuracy to the project. The leaders of "Out of the Box" are Deborah Kauffman, a physical actor and puppeteer, Stephen Kaplin director and puppeteer, Alma Sheppard-Matsuo, puppeteer, and David Sharps himself.
 
"Out of the Box" was funded in part by the NY Council for the Humanities and the Brooklyn Arts Council NYSCA Regrant Program.

Place: The Waterfront Museum Barge is docked at Pier 44 in Red Hook, near Conover Street and the Fairway Market. Show time: 3 p.m. Advance Tickets: Adults $13, kids $10. Tickets at door: Adults $15, kids $12.

For more information about this and other upcoming shows on the Waterfront Museum Barge, click here. 
 
New York Water Taxi's "Destination Red Hook" ferry is free every Saturday and Sunday through Labor Day weekend. It runs between Pier 11, Slip A, at the foot of Wall Street, and the Fairway and IKEA docks in Red Hook. For information about the ferry, click here. 

Winners of a math competition at the Lab School. Ivan Lacroix is in the center, his sister, Aixa, on the right. (Photo: The Lab School)

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 to attend.

July 10: Landmarks Committee

* 33 Peck Slip, application for storefront renovation - Resolution

* 233 Water St., application for façade alternation - Resolution

* Governors Island Bldg 301 facade alteration - Resolution

* 319 Broadway, application to amend previous LPC approval of awning - Resolution
* 62 Beach St., application for penthouse alteration - Resolution
* 35 Walker St., application for facade renovation - Resolution

Betsy Lewin, a visitor to the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's exhibit on Governors Island about choreographer Trisha Brown's early career, was inspired by videos of Brown to imitate some of her motions. The exhibit will be up through Sept. 28. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)