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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC 
 
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
 
 
Volume 1, No. 126  Oct. 3, 2014
IN THIS ISSUE
* In the farmers' markets
* Plan now for Open House New York weekend: Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 
* Bits & Bytes: Spike in Downtown office rents; 1 World Trade Center opening nears
* Downtown Bulletin Board: Public hearing for CB1's capital budget; Free senior swim
* Community Board 1 meetings: Week of Oct. 6
* Calendar

For breaking news, go to www.DowntownPostNYC.com

Detail of 19th-century architecture on Hudson Street in Tribeca. Sept. 26, 2014.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) 


 

IN THE FARMERS' MARKETS: WINTER SQUASH, THE LAST CORN
Pumpkins and other winter squash from Z Food Farm at the Andaz Wall Street Farmers' Market. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

























Peaches are gone from the Tribeca Greenmarket on Greenwich Street, just north of Chambers, says market manager Jay Ledoux, "but we have more apples and a few varieties of pears. There are also tatsoi, bok choy, cabbage, sweet potatoes, winter squash and broccoli. The Wednesday market still has heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn, but not for much longer."

On Saturdays, Ledoux says to look for "lots of varieties of pears, apples, grapes and winter squash as well as gourds, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and yams. Grass-fed lamb has also returned with a wide variety of different cuts."

The Tribeca Greenmarket is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is one of six Greenmarkets in Lower Manhattan. For a complete list, including locations and hours, click here.

At the Andaz Wall Street Farmers' Market, David Zaback of Z Food Farm from Lambertville, N.J., is carrying several varieties of winter squash. Zaback, 32, is the farmer. On his small organic farm, which he runs with the help of his parents, he is raising heirloom vegetables that he will talk about (when asked), with information about their history, their scientific names and how to cook them.

Among his current offerings is a tan pumpkin called "Long Island Cheese." The name comes from its appearance, but there, the connection ends. It is an heirloom pumpkin with smooth, sweet flesh that lacks the stringiness of commonly available pumpkins. It is excellent for making pies and soup.

Zaback is also growing kabocha, sometimes called "Japanese pumpkin." It belongs to the species Cucurbita maxima. It has a hard, deep-green skin but is bright yellow-orange on the inside.

Although it belongs to the same family as butternut squash, it is even sweeter. It is a nutritional powerhouse, supplying beta carotene, iron, vitamin C and potassium plus traces of calcium, folic acid and B vitamins.

Like other forms of domesticated squash, kabocha originated in Mesoamerica between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago. Portuguese sailors brought kabocha to Japan in 1541.

Kabocha can be roasted, served with curry, and made into pies and soup.

The Andaz Wall Street Farmers' Market is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays.

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer



 

PLAN NOW FOR OPEN HOUSE NEW YORK WEEKEND: Oct. 11 and Oct. 12

New York City's Municipal Building and Gehry's apartment tower at 8 Spruce St. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office in the Municipal Building will be open during Open House New York to show off some historic maps of Manhattan.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)


When Open House New York opened its registration portals at 11 a.m. on Oct. 1, there was the usual rush to grab reservations to see behind some of the most intriguing closed doors in New York City.

On Oct. 11 and Oct. 12, Open House New York has arranged for more than 300 venues in all five boroughs to welcome the public. Many of these places are usually accessible only on a limited basis if they are open to the public at all. Open House New York staff expects that around 50,000 people will visit its sites this year - the 12th season for the event.

Not all of the Open House New York sites require reservations. The entire list, including addresses and hours, can be seen by clicking here.

Among the Open House New York sites in Lower Manhattan are the African Burial Ground National Monument, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, the Blue School in the South Street Seaport, Federal Hall and the lighthouse tender, Lilac. None of these require reservations.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is opening her office to the public on Oct. 11 to show off some of the 203-year-old maps that charted the streetscape of Manhattan Island that we know today.

They resulted from the New York State Legislature's decision in 1807 to appoint a three-member commission to create a comprehensive plan for Manhattan. The impetus was the desire to improve public health and facilitate the city's increasingly rapid development.

The result was the most influential map in New York City's history: the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. Commissioners Gouverneur Morris, John Rutherfurd, and Simeon De Witt proposed that the entire island north of the city's edge at Houston Street be re-organized into an orderly rectangular grid at a time when most of Manhattan was a rambling patchwork of farms, forests, and family estates.

The Commissioners' Plan is stored in the Manhattan Municipal Building, the massive McKim, Mead, & White structure that is celebrating its centennial this year.

Visitors to Borough President Brewer's office on Oct. 11 will be able to see nine individual 20" x 30" panels of the original 1811 Commissioner's Plan, covering the East Side from downtown to approximately 59th Street; a copy of the overall Randal grid plan, measuring approximately 30" x 96"; a 48" x 48" original of the rarely-seen 1860 Blackwell Farm maps, which surveyed the area north of 155th Street (where the Commissioners' Plan terminated), along with dozens of field notes for that map; and the original 1801 Lower Manhattan Survey Map (36" x 36"), featuring the "Collect Pond" located where the Javits Federal Building stands today.

To make reservations to see the maps, click here.

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer





Bits & Bytes
SPIKE IN DOWNTOWN OFFICE RENTS; TRIBECA JAZZ PIANIST AT CARNEGIE HALL; 1WTC OPENING NEARS; HELICOPTER STRIKES BIRD      
 
A helicopter taking off from the Downtown Heliport. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)



























"Downtown reports highest office asking rents in six years," The Real Deal, 10/3/14. "The Manhattan office market continued along an upward trajectory in the third quarter of 2014, as rising employment increased the number of office users in the borough," The Real Deal reports.  "Manhattan Class A office space went for an average ask of $75.76 in the third quarter, up 8.2 percent from $69.97 during the same period last year, according to commercial brokerage Cassidy Turley's latest Manhattan Office Market report." The Real Deal goes on to say that, "Downtown remains a relative bargain on the office front, despite recording the highest average asking rents the neighborhood has seen in more than six years. Class A asking rents rose to $54.94 per square foot, up 4.5 percent during the same period last year. Hudson's Bay Company, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, is consolidating multiple Midtown locations to a 233,000-square-foot space at 225 Liberty Street Downtown, and will also open a 400,000-square-foot department store inside Brookfield Place." For the complete article, click here.

"Jazz Pianist Vincent Lyn Plays Carnegie Hall in a Double Bill With Flutist Wouter Kellerman," Wall Street Journal, 10/3/14. Vincent Lyn, a Tribeca resident, runs a security company, says the Wall Street Journal. But that is not the most interesting thing about him. "The 55-year-old is, among other things, a jazz pianist, a onetime martial-arts actor and a former model. He helps pay the bills by teaching self-defense, and with three albums under his belt, he will play Carnegie Hall on Saturday, in a double bill with the South African flutist Wouter Kellerman." The Journal says that Lyn was born to a Chinese father and British mother and educated in England and in the United States. "His grandfather was a drummer, while his mother and aunt-musical prodigies who played 10 instruments between them-had a BBC radio show in the U.K." For the complete article, click here.

"Sources: 1 World Trade Center to open within weeks," Capital New York, 10/3/14. "One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the crowning achievement of the Lower Manhattan rebuilding effort, is expected to open within the next month," Capital New York reporats. "Two sources said officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Durst Organization, the building's owners, are looking at October 27 as a target date, but they have not finalized their plans. A spokesman for Durst, without elaborating, said an exact day has not been solidified. But the timeframe is far more specific than previous ones, which put the opening at any point within the fourth quarter. The skyscraper's anchor tenant, Cond� Nast Publications, has said it will move its employees into its new 24 floors of space in November." For the complete article, click here.

"Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing in Manhattan After Striking Bird," NY1.com, 10/4/14. "A sightseeing helicopter made an emergency landing in Manhattan Friday after striking a bird," says NY1. "The Federal Aviation Administration said the helicopter was forced to land at the West 30th Street Heliport." For the complete article, click here.

The sightseeing helicopters take off from the Downtown Heliport on Wall Street. For a long time, residents in the helicopter flight paths have complained about the noise that these helicopters make and the dangers they present. Elected officials have tried to get the sightseeing helicopters banned, but so far, have been unsuccessful.


Downtown bulletin board
PUBLIC COMMENTS SOLICITED FOR CB1'S FY2016 BUDGET;
FREE SENIOR SWIM; VCF ENROLLMENT DEADLINE APPROACHING

Public hearing for Community Board 1's capital and expense budget priorities for FY2016: A public hearing on Oct. 28 provides an opportunity for members of the Lower Manhattan community to let Community Board 1 know what their budget priorities are for the district. The board will finalize its priorities during the business session of the meeting following the hearing. Anyone in the community may attend and speak. This is a link to the budget priorities for FY 2015. For more information call (212) 442-5050 or email [email protected]. Place: National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, Diker Pavilion, 1st floor. Time: 6 p.m.

Free senior swim:
Seniors can swim for free at the Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren St. from Monday through Thursday, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. The Community Center offers aerobic water classes for seniors on Mondays and Thursdays at 12:45 p.m. To register, click here or call Lily at (212) 766-1104, ext. 221.

Deadline near to enroll in Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund:
If you were diagnosed with a 9/11-related eligible cancer before Oct. 12, 2012, you may be entitled to compensation from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Registration preserves your right to file a claim in the future (before the VCF ends on Oct. 3, 2016). Registration is not the same as filing a claim and you are not required to file a claim even if you have registered. Register online at vcf.gov by Oct. 12, 2014. For more information click here or call VCF's toll-free helpline at (855)-885-1555 (or 855-885-1558 for the hearing impaired).


COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETINGS: Week of Oct. 6

Kevin Burke, former chairman and C.E.O. of Con Edison, at the East 13th Street substation, which was flooded by Superstorm Sandy on Oct. 29, 2012, causing most of Lower Manhattan to lose electricity. Con Ed's infrastructure resiliency measures will be discussed by CB1's Planning Committee on Oct. 6. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) 
 
Community Board 1 meetings take place at 49-51 Chambers St., Room 709, and start at 6 p.m., unless otherwise noted. All are welcome to attend. Bring photo ID to enter the building.

Oct. 6: Planning Committee
* 346 Broadway/108 Leonard St. - Update by El Ad Corp. on behalf of Peebles Corp. and possible resolution
* Lower Manhattan Resiliency Initiatives - Update by Dan Zarrilli, Director, Mayor's Office of Recovery and Resiliency
* NY Rising Resiliency Initiatives in Lower Manhattan - Presentation by Alex T. Zablocki, NYC Regional Lead
* Con Edison Infrastructure Resiliency - Update by Pat Richardi, Manager, Manhattan Public Affairs, Con Edison
* 456-460 Washington St., 421-a application for Preliminary Certificate of Eligibility - Report
* Rent Protection Laws - Discussion and possible resolution

Oct. 7: Battery Park City Committee
            Location: Battery Park City Library, 175 North End Ave. at 6 p.m.
*  Inflatable Storm Barrier - Presentation by Cheryl Witmer, US Flood Control Corp.
* The North Cove Marina - Update by Commodore Michael Fortenbaugh
* Battery Park City Authority - Update
* Two World Financial Center, Application for liquor license for The Institute of Culinary Education Inc. (relocation) - Resolution
 
The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses or sidewalk cafe permits:
* 30 West Street, application for renewal of restaurant liquor license for Osteria Casano LLC d/b/a Inattesco Pizzabar Casano
* 102 North End Avenue, application for renewal of unenclosed sidewalk cafe for Signature 102 North End Ave. LLC d/b/a North End Grill
* 345 South End Avenue, application for renewal of restaurant liquor license for 301 South LLC d/b/a SouthWest NY/Black Hound

Oct. 8: Tribeca Committee
* Schematic Geometric and Landscape Design for NYC Department of Design and Construction, Bogardus Plaza Project HWPLZ012M - Presentation by Signe Nielsen from Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, PC - Resolution
* 67 Murray St., application for liquor license for Kinjo Inc. d/b/a Gunbae - Resolution
* 349 Greenwich Street, application for restaurant liquor license for Greenwich Rest. LLC - Resolution
* Application for newsstand at S/E/C Canal & Watts Streets - Resolution
* 56 Reade St., application for restaurant liquor license for Grazin' Tribeca LLC - Resolution
* 33 Leonard St., application for renewal of sidewalk caf� license for TK Rest. Corp. - Resolution
* 329 Greenwich St., application for sidewalk cafe license for 329 Greenwich Street, LLC d/b/a Telepan Local - Resolution
 
The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses:
* 45 Murray St., application for renewal of restaurant liquor license for Tribeca Restaurant LLC d/b/a Benares
* 65 West Broadway, application for renewal of restaurant liquor license for 65 West Broadway Restaurant LLC d/b/a Saleya

Oct. 9: Landmarks Committee
* 346 Broadway/108 Leonard St., application for rooftop penthouses, mechanical equipment, alterations to designated interior spaces and restoration of marble facades - Resolution
* 56 Warren St., application for replacement of bluestone pavers - Resolution
* Bogardus Plaza, application for design approval - Resolution
* Governors Island Building 109, application for demolition of structurally unsound building - Resolution
* 195 Broadway, application for installation of ADA-compliant ramp on Dey Street - Resolution
* 211 West Broadway, application for new entrance platform and repairs to existing platform - Resolution
* 60 Collister St./157 Hudson St., application for  rooftop addition - Resolution

 


CALENDAR: Week of Sept. 29
Ali Osborn, resident printer at Bowne Printers, part of the South Street Seaport Museum, watching Marisa Ohara pull a print from the Vandercook press at a block printing workshop. The next block printing workshop is on Oct. 5 (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
























 
 
Oct. 5: Compline by Candlelight featuring Byrd's Cantiones Sacrae performed by the Choir of Trinity Wall Street. A meditative musical service in historic St. Paul's Chapel (built in 1766) on Broadway at Fulton Street. Time: 8 p.m. Free.

Oct. 5: The NYC Marine Science Festival in Hudson River Park will have research stations, a science lounge with talks by notable experts, a River Rangers Kids' Tent, sustainable seafood, live music, catch-and-release fishing and kayaking. Place: Pier 26 at North Moore Street. Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

Oct. 5: The 12-member Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar, a Serbian Gypsy brass band, plays at Pace University's Schimmel Center. Their music moves between Turkish Gypsy rhythms and ballistic Balkan and funk grooves - all solidly based in the old traditions of the Roma. Place: Michael Schimmel Center, 3 Spruce St. Time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $39. For more information, click here.

Oct. 5: In a three-hour workshop, Ali Osborn of Bowne Printers (part of the South Street Seaport Museum) teaches the basics of carving and printing linoleum blocks. Bring some ideas to the workshop, and Osborn will show how to transfer them to linoleum, carve the blocks and print them by hand. At the end of the class Osborn pulls some prints of everyone's blocks locked up together on Bowne Printers' vintage Vandercook press. Each student goes home with his or her own block, individual prints, and one limited edition poster of everyone's prints together. All materials supplied. Registration required. Suitable for ages 12 and up. Place: Bowne Printers, 209 Water St. Time: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $50; $40 (South Street Seaport Museum members). For more information or to register, click here.  
   
Ongoing: Go for a walking tour of the historic South Street Seaport with an educator from the South Street Seaport Museum. Place: Meet on Pier 16 at the Visitors Services kiosk. Tickets: $12; $8 (students and seniors); $5 (children); free (members). Oct. 5 and other dates at varying times. For more information and to buy tickets, click here. The ticket price includes admission to the museum's historic ships, Peking and Ambrose.   

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, Nov. 15, 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.

Ongoing: "Give Me Liberty," a solo exhibition of new works by Brooklyn-based artist Sylvanus Shaw, is at the Fraunces Tavern Museum. In this site-specific exhibition, Shaw utilizes images from the Museum's permanent collection, invoking imagery of early American statehood in media ranging from oil on panel to collaged holograms, security envelopes, and other mediums.
Through March 16, 2015. Place: Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St. Museum hours: Mon.-Sat., noon to 5 p.m. Admission: $7; $4 (seniors, students, children 6-8); free (children under 5 and active duty military). For more information, click here



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Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer

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