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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC 
 
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
 
 
Volume 1, No. 95  July 23, 2014
IN THIS ISSUE

Quote of the day:
"It's remarkable how much talent there is in New York, or passing through New York." - Abby Ehrlich, director of parks programming for the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, commenting on the performers she books for the BPC Parks Conservancy's extensive summer concerts

* Where to get farm fresh food in Lower Manhattan
* Bits & Bytes: Downtown real estate is hot; Brooklyn Bridge caper; Tribeca Racines
* Downtown Little League girls prepare for championship games
* River & Blues series continues with the Heritage Blues Quintet
* Calendar

For breaking news, go to www.DowntownPostNYC.com

Tomatoes for sale at the Tribeca Greenmarket. July 23, 2014. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)


 

WHERE TO GET FARM FRESH FOOD IN LOWER MANHATTAN

A vendor at the Tribeca Greenmarket, open Wednesdays and Saturdays at Greenwich and Chambers Streets. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Robert LaValva's sudden decision to close the New Amsterdam Market, which he founded in 2005, is a significant loss for Lower Manhattan. The market, held for years on South Street between Beekman Street and Peck Slip, was downtown's largest farmers' market, with 45 to 60 vendors. None of the other downtown farmers' markets even came close. Typically, 5,000 to 7,000 people from all over the city would visit the New Amsterdam Market during the five to six hours that it was open on a Saturday or Sunday - a preamble, LaValva hoped at one time, to creating an even larger daily market in the Seaport's historic Tin and New Market Buildings.

But the New Amsterdam Market was not downtown's only farmers' market or source of farm-fresh produce. Greenmarkets run by GrowNYC survive in several locations south of Canal Street. These markets have two to around 20 vendors each, depending on the time of year. Some of the Greenmarkets operate year round.

All of the other Lower Manhattan farmers' markets are seasonal.

From summer to fall, the Andaz Wall Street hotel runs a market on Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Wall and Water Streets. Z Food Farm of Princeton, N.J., which used to sell its organic produce at the New Amsterdam Market, is offering Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares at the Andaz market this season. It also sells to walk-up customers.

A few blocks away on Fulton Street in the South Street Seaport, a Youthmarket affiliated with the Greenmarkets but consisting of just one stall, operates on Thursdays from noon to 5 p.m. 
Amy Baer, with garlic from El Poblano farm's CSA.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

In addition, El Poblano farm, based on Staten Island, started a CSA program this year. Its members buy shares in the produce that El Poblano raises, and in Lower Manhattan, pick up their food weekly at Made Fresh Daily at 226 Front St. in the Seaport.

Finally, the Urban Farm in Historic Battery Park allows people to sign up to pick their own vegetables on Thursdays between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. This program has proven so popular that it is sold out for July, but shares will be available in August. (Sign-up for Thursday, Aug. 7, starts at 10 a.m. on July 25. The suggested fee of $25 for a full share goes to support the urban farm.)

Greenmarkets
The first Greenmarket in New York City opened in 1976 with 12 farmers in a parking lot on 59th Street and 2nd Avenue. There are now 54 Greenmarkets selling food from 230 family farms and fisheries - the largest and most diverse outdoor urban farmers' market network in the country. Five of the Greenmarkets are in Lower Manhattan.

Tribeca Greenmarket: On Greenwich Street between Chambers and Duane, the Tribeca market is open Saturdays year round and on Wednesdays from March to Dec. 24.,  8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Saturday market has more vendors than the Wednesday market and is the largest downtown Greenmarket. It participates in GrowNYC's textile recycling program and in compost collection.

City Hall Greenmarket: At Broadway and Chambers Street, this small market is open Tuesdays and Fridays, from March through Dec. 23, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. One of the vendors, Bakers Bounty based in Union County, N.J. and selling breads and pastries, was one of the first Greenmarket vendors.

PATH Greenmarket: On West Broadway between Barclay Street and Park Place, the market is open Tuesdays year round from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It offers cooking demonstrations and seasonal celebrations.

Bowling Green Greenmarket: On the plaza in front of the National Museum of the American Indian at Broadway and Battery Place, this small market is open Tuesdays and Thursdays, year round from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., it participates in GrowNYC's compost collection program.

Staten Island Ferry: The market at 4 South St., is inside the ferry terminal building, a boon especially during the frigid days of winter. It is open Tuesdays and Fridays, year round, from 8 .m. to 7 p.m. with honey, maple syrup, orchard fruit, live plants, seasonal vegetables, pies and pastries available from the market's two vendors.

Youthmarkets, modeled after Greenmarkets, are run by neighborhood youth and supplied by local farmers. The purpose is to increase access to farm fresh food in under-served neighborhoods while helping the young people who man the stands to earn some money and learn business skills. The Youthmarket at 19 Fulton St. will be open through Nov. 21.
 

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer



 The Paris Cafe | 119 South Street | 212.240.9797 | thepariscafeNYC.com | @theparisnyc

Bits & Bytes
DOWNTOWN REAL ESTATE IS HOT; BROOKLYN BRIDGE CAPER;
TRIBECA RACINES; NEW APARTMENT BUILDING FOR FRANKLIN STREET

The U.S. flag flying above the Brooklyn Bridge. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
 
"Top property sales shift downtown,"Crain's New York Business, 7/22/14. "Nearly $9.8 billion changed hands in New York City's largest real estate transactions in the first half of 2014, according to a list of the top 25 deals compiled by Real Capital Analytics for Crain's. That figure was up nearly 9% from the same period a year ago. Office buildings dominated the list, accounting for more than 11 million square feet of space and 17 of the top 25 deals by value, compared to about half of the sales last year. The geographic distribution of properties changing hands followed a recent trend whereby the action has increasingly shifted away from midtown in favor of downtown, where leasing activity has jumped 30% since the beginning of the year. Eight of the top 25 purchases were downtown, compared to only three in the first six months of 2013. The surge in downtown deals has been spurred by rising rents in the area, which have inspired confidence in the market and an influx in capital, said Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics." For the complete article, click here.
 
"Permits Filed: 59 Franklin Street," New York YIMBY, 7/21/14. "Bonjour Capital has filed applications to construct a new 18-story building at 59 Franklin Street, in Tribeca, between Church and Broadway," says New York YIMBY. "The architect of record is Goldner. Permits reveal a total scope of 89,080 square feet, and the building will be entirely residential, divided between 89 apartments. The surrounding neighborhood is booming, with two projects underway on adjacent blocks; work is progressing at Cast Iron House, at 67 Franklin Street, and the ODA-designed 5 Franklin Place is also rising. Tribeca real estate is becoming increasingly prime." For the complete article, click here.

"Skateboarder, friends sought by cops in Brooklyn Bridge flag switch: source," Daily News, 7/23/14. "A skateboarder and four young pals emerged Wednesday as the unlikely suspects who eluded around-the-clock NYPD security to scale the venerable Brooklyn Bridge and raise two white flags," says the Daily News. "While cops had no real leads in the second day of their probe, the five youths wanted for questioning were described as in their late teens or early 20s, a source told the Daily News. There's still no explanation for the removal of two U.S. flags or the bizarre substitution of two bleached-white American flags left flying above the bridge's two towers Tuesday. New Yorkers on the bridge amid ramped-up security Wednesday were still wondering how anyone could reach the top of the two towers on the 131-year-old landmark without detection." For the complete article, click here.

Coins for campers: In order to provide scholarships for kids unable to afford summer day camp, children in Asphalt Green's Upper East Side and Battery Park City day camps helped raise more than $18,800 during the annual Coins for Campers coin drive. The campers, ages 4 to 13, competed in groups to collect the most coins. The public also participated by donating coins in Coins for Campers buckets located at each Asphalt Green location. Over 650 campers participate in Asphalt Green's camps, including 29 this year who are on scholarship.

"Rudin buys development rights from FiDi hotel," The Real Deal, 7/22/14. "Rudin Management, which was reportedly eyeing a residential conversion for its Superstorm Sandy-damaged office building at 110 Wall Street, purchased nearly 36,000 square feet of development rights from a neighboring FiDi hotel earlier this month," The Real Deal reports. "William Rudin's firm paid $7.76 million - or about $217 per square foot - to acquire 35,815 square feet of development rights from the Eurostar Hotel at 129 Front Street, property records show." For the complete article, click here.

"A Parisian 'Neo-Bistro' Comes to Town," New York Times, 7/22/14. The "neo-bistro" in question is Racines at 94 Chambers St. in Tribeca. "Racines NY come as close as anything in Manhattan to the flavors of Paris today," says The Times. It has an extensive wine list, "and although wine will be the main event for many people, Racines NY is not a wine bar. It's a restaurant." For the complete article (with photos), click here.





DOWNTOWN LITTLE LEAGUE GIRLS PREPARE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

The Downtown Little League 11's team: Maddie Boyce, Harriett Albright, Grace Kirwin, Emma Whitman, Jamie Morrison, Isabella Palaez, Ava Whitman, Brighid Albright, Anabella Palaez. (Photo: Scott Morrison)

The air was dense with humidity as the Downtown Little League All Star 11s and Juniors teams raced onto the Battery Park City ball fields at 7:30 p.m. on July 23 for their final practice before going to Albany to play in the New York State Little League Softball Championships. There wasn't much time. The girls had to wait for the adult softball leagues to leave the fields and a thunderstorm was impending.  

 

Less than an hour later, the rain poured down and the practice was cut short. The girls were as ready as they were going to be.   

 

There are six Little League sections in the State of New York. One team from each section goes to the State Championships to contend with the other sections for the New York State title in each age group.  Downtown Little League 11s and 14s girls are the Section 5 champions, having triumphed over teams in all of New York City and half of Long Island.  

 

The 11s will start their games on Friday at 5 p.m. The Juniors will begin their tournament on Saturday.  Both tournaments should end, and a New York State champion determined, on Monday, July 28.  

 

For the 11s, the road ends there even if they win. If the Juniors win, they could continue on to the Eastern Regional competition in Connecticut, and then on to the World Series in Kirkland, Wash., which is televised on ESPN2.

 

Win or lose, the playoffs in Albany will be fun. The New York State Little League Tournament hosts a sumptuous picnic for the teams and their parents. Girls from across New York State get the chance to know each other, trade Section Championship pins and enjoy other activities.

 

The New York State Championship game pictures and results will be posted on the softball Facebook site, www.facebook.com/dllsoftball/   

 

 




Battery Park City
RIVER & BLUES SERIES CONTINUES WITH HERITAGE BLUES QUINTET
Members of the Heritage Blues Quintet.

"I'm going home on the morning train," Chaney and Bill Sims and Junior Mack of the Heritage Blues Orchestra sing in "Get Right Church." The guitar and harmonica wail, the Grammy-awarding winning blues drummer, Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith, propels the tune forward like a train going down the tracks and the horn players pipe in with the whistle and clank of the wheels.

This is a sample of what the Heritage Blues Quintet delivers - a mix of old African-American musical traditions, modern jazz and Western European harmonies.

As the sun sets behind them over the Hudson River, the Heritage Blues Quintet will be on the stage at Wagner Park in Battery Park City on July 24 for the third concert in the annual River & Blues series.

"Three of the five musicians have performed here before," said Abby Ehrlich, director of parks programming for the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, and producer of the series.

Ehrlich says that she "strives to include a balance of emerging and experienced musicians" in the programming. The bookings are preceded by months of scouting. "It's remarkable how much talent there is in New York, or passing through New York," she says, "and we do our very best to be as receptive and energetic as possible."

The free concert begins at 7 p.m.

 

CALENDAR: Week of July 21
Cormorants and gulls roosting on Swinburne Island. A New York Water Taxi/New York City Audubon Society ecocruise goes to the island on July 27.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
July 24: Arts Brookfield partners with Rooftop Films to present three nights of films, each preceded by a live musical performance. The series starts with "Animation Block Party," the premier animation festival on the East Coast. The Dominican pop band Franny & Zooey will open. Place: Brookfield Place's waterfront plaza in Battery Park City. Time: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Screening: 7:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

July 24: On the third night of the five-part River & Blues series, the Heritage Blues Quintet honors old African-American musical traditions. Place: Wagner Park in Battery Park City. Time: 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Free.

July 25: The second program in the Arts Brookfield film series offers short films preceded by electronic hop-hop band Pool Cosby. No city in the world produces more independent films than New York City, with more being made each year. Place: Brookfield Place's waterfront plaza in Battery Park City. Time: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Performance: 7:30 p.m. Screening: 8:45 p.m.-10 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

July 26: A documentary feature film, "The Case of the Three Sided Dream," closes the three-night film festival on Brookfield Place's waterfront plaza. It will be preceded by the Aukua Dixon Quartet. "The Case of the Three Sided Dream" revolves around musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who, despite being blind, becoming paralyzed, and facing America's racial injustices, did not relent. Adam Kahan's artful and poignant documentary features spectacular performance footage of this dynamic artist. Place: Brookfield Place's waterfront plaza in Battery Park City. Time: Doors
open at 6:30 p.m. Performance: 7:30 p.m. Screening: 8:45 p.m.-10 p.m. Free. For more information, click here. 
    
July 26: Poets House, a free, 60-000-volume poetry library based in Battery Park City, will have an outpost on Governors Island for two more weekends in July and August. Visitors will be able to settle into one of the historic houses on Colonels' Row and make drawings and write poetry, filling in the outline of a gigantic mural cityscape created by artist Felipe Galindo. The idea is to make a city of poems. There will be writing prompts for those who want them, including a Haiku station where visitors can play with the ancient form via social media applications. Drawings will also be welcome as contributions to the cityscape. When: Saturdays and Sundays, July 26 and 27 and August 2 and 3; Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Where: 406A Colonels' Row, Governors Island; How to get there: Ferries go to Governors Island from South Street in Manhattan and from Brooklyn. Ferries are free on weekend mornings. For the ferry schedule and fare information, click here. 

July 27: Aboard a New York Water Taxi, Gabriel Willow, a naturalist with the New York City Audubon Society, will lead a two-hour ecocruise, "Bridges and Birds," to Hoffman and Swinburne Islands, nesting place for egrets, cormorants and gulls.  (Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. leaving from Pier 16 in the South Street Seaport.) On Sunday, Aug. 3, he leads a two-hour cruise to the Brothers Islands in the East River. The next New York Water Taxi/New York City Audubon Society ecocruise to Jamaica Bay takes place on Sunday, Aug. 10, followed by one on Aug. 17. The cruise is three hours long (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.).  For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

July 27: The Friends of the Lower West Side will lead a walking tour of the neighborhood that was sometimes called "Little Syria" because so many immigrants from the Middle East settled there in the 19th century. The tour will take in the former St. George Melkite Church, the Downtown
Community House, some Federal-style town homes, and the few remaining tenements. Leaders Joe Svehlak, an urban historian whose family lived on the Lower West Side in the early 1900s, and Esther Regelson, community activist and current resident, will tell stories of the diverse people who lived together in one of New York's great neighborhood melting pots. They will also talk about the problems facing current residents as they fight to preserve the last significant remaining buildings. A donation of $10 to $20 will help with preservation efforts. Place: Meet inside the Staten Island Ferry Building (South Ferry) at the bottom of the escalators, left side. Time: 10:30 a.m. For more information, call Joe at (718) 855-7354 or Esther at (212) 349-4396 or email estjack@earthlink.net.

Ongoing: Mackenzie Scott, a singer/songwriter from Nashville who performs under the name "Torres" and High Highs (Jack Milas and Oli Chang from Sydney, Australia) play at the Seaport Music Festival on July 25. The Festival is produced and partially sponsored by The Howard Hughes Corp. Place: Fulton Street at Water Street. Time: 7 p.m. Free. The Festival continues on Friday nights through Aug. 29. For more information, click here.  

Ongoing: Every Friday through Aug. 22, join a master drummer in Battery Park City's Wagner Park for Sunset Jams on the Hudson. Improvise on African, Caribbean and Latin rhythms. Drums provided, or bring your own. Place: Wagner Park. Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free. For more information, click here. 

Ongoing: "Tugboats: Workhorses of New York Harbor," photographs by John Skelson, are on exhibit aboard the Lilac, a historic lighthouse tender docked at Pier 25, through July 31. Skelson's photographs document the powerful and colorful array of tugs that keep our harbor working. The Lilac is open 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about the Lilac, click here.

Ongoing: An exhibit in the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's arts center on Governors Island examines a pivotal time in Trisha Brown's early career as an artist and choreographer, as well as a particularly fertile moment for artistic production in New York City. With videos, photographs and installations, "Trisha Brown: Embodied Practice and Site-Specificity" highlights Brown's community of performers and artists, and the Lower Manhattan in which they lived and created. The exhibit shows Brown's investigation of simple movements such as walking or dressing, and the built environment, specifically through performances that took place on buildings inside and out, museum walls, parks, cobblestone streets, and other non-traditional performance spaces. 
The exhibition also bridges the transition in Brown's practice from site- and gallery-based work to proscenium stage work, for which she became well-known throughout the 1980s and beyond. Through Sept. 28. Times: Fridays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

Ongoing: Poets House presents its 22nd annual showcase, a free exhibit featuring all of the new poetry books and poetry-related texts published in the United States in a single year from over 650 commercial, university, and independent presses. Through Aug. 16. Place: 10 River Terrace. Free. For more information, click here.

Ongoing: "From Drills to Drums: Civil War Life on Governors Island." A program for kids, who will see first hand the lives of soldiers, civilians and prisoners on the island in the 19th century. No tickets or reservations required, but large school or day camp groups should call (212) 825-3045. Every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Place: Governors Island. Time: 10:20 a.m. Also at 11:20 a.m. Free.

Ongoing: Hike Through History. The most comprehensive tour of Governors Island National Monument takes in nearly every highlight in the historic district. No tickets or reservations required. Visitors should be prepared to stand for a full 90 minutes and walk a distance of about 1.5 miles. Wednesdays to Sundays. Place: Governors Island. Meet at Soissons Dock. Time: 2 p.m. For more information, click here.
 
Ongoing: "A Town Known as Auschwitz" is an exhibit of photographs at the Museum of Jewish Heritage tracing the history of a town called "Oswiecim" in what is now Poland, where Jews and non-Jews lived side by side for centuries. When German forces occupied the town in September 1939, they renamed it "Auschwitz" and established a concentration and death camp there. More than 1 million people died at Auschwitz, including 90 percent of the town's Jews. The museum is at 36 Battery Place. For information the exhibit, click here. For information on the museum's hours and admission fees, click here.
 
Ongoing: Poets House in Battery Park City presents "A Painter and His Poets," the first major retrospective show of George Schneeman's collaborative paintings, collages, prints, and books, with portraits of his poet friends, spanning 40 years. "A sort of utopia in the visual field filled with pleasure, quickness and wit" is how Schneeman himself described his collaborative work with poets. Exhibition on view through Saturday, Sept. 20, during regular Poets House hours. Place: 10 River Terrace. Free. For information about Poets House, click here.

Ongoing: The South Street Seaport Museum's lightship Ambrose and its barque Peking welcome visitors Wednesdays to Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Pier 16 (on the East River at Fulton Street). The Ambrose, launched in 1908,  once guided large ships through the Ambrose Channel into New York harbor. Peking was launched in Hamburg, Germany in 1911, one of the last commercial sailing ships ever built. She was used to carry goods from Europe to South America and to return to Europe with nitrate. The museum's Visitors Services associates explain all of the fascinating details of the ships and their relevance to the history of New York as a port city. Cost: $12 (adults); $8 (students, 12-24 and seniors); $5 (children 2-11); under 2, free. To buy tickets, click here.

Ongoing: "Defining Lines: Maps from the 1700s and early 1800s" at the Fraunces Tavern
Museum. Twenty-seven maps provide a perspective on the evolving nation's place in history. A map from 1804, never before exhibited, shows the U.S. postal routes. Place: 54 Pearl St. Time: Noon to 5 p.m., daily. Admission fees: $7; $4 (seniors, students with ID, children, 6 to 8 years old. Children, 5 and under, free. Active military with ID, free. For more information, click here.
  
Ongoing: The National Museum of the American Indian is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free admission. It offers free films, docent-led tours of its exhibitions and tours of its premises, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, designed by Cass Gilbert. The building, which was completed in 1907, is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One Bowling Green. Phone: (212) 514-3700. For the museum's calendar, click here.
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Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer

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