The lights are on inside Pier A - the last 19th century pier in New York City - but the restaurants on the pier at the southern end of Battery Park City are still not open.

 "I don't have an exact day for the opening, but I will have one soon," said Peter Poulakakos, whose company, HPH, is one of the developers of the pier. "It will probably open within weeks," he told Community Board 1's Battery Park City Committee on Nov. 3.

In the meantime, he lifted the curtain slightly on what's going to happen inside Pier A.

Immediately inside the front entrance, there will be a 1,000-square-foot visitors' center that will be operated by the Alliance for Downtown New York. It will be open seven days a week, eight hours a day, with the exception of major holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

The Downtown Alliance currently operates kiosks in the South Street Seaport, at Bowling Green and at 7 World Trade Center. Last year, according to Taina Prado, director of government and community relations for the Downtown Alliance, these kiosks served 1.2 million visitors and distributed nearly 500 pieces of collateral on behalf of Lower Manhattan attractions and museums.

"They've had many kiosks in the area but they never really had a home," said Poulakakos. "Now they have one and I think it's well deserved for all the work that they've done since 1995."

The vistors' center will be equipped with three iPads that will be programmed with information about Lower Manhattan. There will be a large TV screen with updated information. Staff from the Downtown Alliance will circulate among visitors to answer questions.

One side of the visitors' center will house a coffee bar, as an additional amenity for visitors.

Jeff Mihok, a member of Community Board 1, asked Poulakakos whether there would

be curated historical displays in the visitors' center. He had been under the impression that there would be.

George Calderaro, another CB1 member, said that he had arranged several meetings with the South Street Seaport Museum to see if some of the museum's collection could be installed in the visitors' center.  

 

"Apparently that didn't come to pass," Calderaro said.  

 

Poulakakos said that this might still happen. His partner, Danny McDonald, is working on this aspect of the visitors' center.  

 

"He's very committed to that and wants to make sure that that happens," said Poulakakos. "At the same time, we have to start somewhere."  

 

Although the opening of Pier A is apparently imminent, there was still no word from Poulakakos or from the public relations firm that represents Pier A about exactly what would be on the menu, how much it would cost, and who would be in charge of the kitchens.

 

Nor was anything said, though the question was asked, about whether the entire 28,000-square-foot pier would open at once, or whether it would open in stages.

 

Prado said that the Downtown Alliance hoped to open the visitors' center by Dec. 1.

 

Did that mean that the visitors' center might open before the rest of the pier?

 

"Probably not," Poulakakos said.  

 

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer 

 

 

Ariel Ron, a junior at the New York Harbor School, on Pier 15 in the South Street Seaport holding an oyster shell with spats (young oysters) clinging to it. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

The smell of oysters permeated the air on Pier 15 in the South Street Seaport. The odor was pungent, briny and distinctive. "That's nothing," said Charles Guillot-Marquet, a junior at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School. "You should smell it when we have hundreds of oyster shells from restaurants!"

The students from the New York Harbor School collect these shells, clean them and use them as foundation reefs in the harbor, giving other oysters something to which they can attach as they breed.

In pre-Colonial times, trillions of oysters lived in New York Harbor, filtering the water and ridding it of pollutants. One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day. Oyster reefs provided habitat for hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates and helped to protect the salt marshes that ringed the harbor from the fierce onslaught of ocean waves. But New York Harbor's oysters were destroyed by over-harvesting and disease.

Peter Malinowski, director of the Billion Oyster Project, Sam Janis, schools project manager under the NSF grant, and Murray Fisher, founder of the New York Harbor School and president of the New York Harbor Foundation, at a press conference announcing the NSF grant. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

The Billion Oyster Project, launched by the New York Harbor School, is beginning to bring them back.

The New York Harbor School students and some of their oysters were on Pier 15 as part of a press conference on Oct. 30 announcing a $5 million, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to create a hands-on, marine science and stewardship curriculum for New York City middle school students. The goal is to have a billion oysters living in New York Harbor by 2034 and to enlist middle school and high school students and their teachers in the process of oyster restoration. This will provide numerous opportunities for scientific inquiry and learning.

New York Harbor is "the best possible place for teaching and learning in the entire world," said Murray Fisher at the press conference. Fisher founded the New York Harbor School and is currently president of the New York Harbor Foundation. "The way that we restore New York Harbor and make it the best place for teaching and learning in the city is by developing curriculum and pushing it into the schools," he said.

A consortium of institutions will be engaged in this work under the National Science Foundation grant. Some of them have already embarked on it, even without the substantial funding that the NSF grant now provides.

Peter Malinowski addressing the press conference announcing the NSF grant. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

The partners include Pace University, the New York City Department of Education, Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School and the New York Harbor Foundation, the University of Maryland, the New York Aquarium, the River Project, Smart Start E.C.S. and Good Shepherd Services.

Dr. Lauren Birney, an assistant professor at Pace University, is the lead principal investigator with responsibility for managing the grant, supervising the partners, overseeing the research and maintaining a common vision and progression toward the project's goals.

Twelve middle schools are already participating in the Billion Oyster Project. Teachers volunteered their time to be part of the program, in addition to their other teaching responsibilities. Now, says Birney, training will be more systematic and "robust." It will take place at Pace and in the field, with a stipend and course credit for those who participate. Up to 60 middle schools can be accommodated during the three years of the NSF grant. Like those already in the program, all will be Title 1 schools, meaning that they serve at-risk and low-income students.

Schools will be chosen to participate in the Billion Oyster Project based on teacher interest and capacity, and a supportive administration.

By the end of the three-year grant if not before, Pace expects to have a program in place that will be suitable for roll-out to other New York City schools and to schools outside of New York City.

The New York Harbor School, which was founded 12 years ago in Bushwick, Brooklyn and is now domiciled on Governors Island, has led the way in this work. Students at the school have been restoring oyster reefs for more than four years.

The school offers six career and technical education programs in marine-related fields of which Aquaculture is one. All prepare students for entry-level jobs as well as for admission to college.

"Ever since I was little, I wanted to help make a difference in the world," said Ariel Ron, a junior at the New York Harbor School. Speaking confidently in front of the audience at the press conference, which included New York Schools Chancellor Carmen Fari�a, Ron went on to say, "When I discovered the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, I knew it would give me the opportunity to make that dream a reality."

She said that her work in the Aquaculture program had taught her how to "properly care for reef organisms and to value the role that they play in the New York Harbor ecosystem."

After the formal part of the press conference, as she stood on Pier 15, with an oyster in one hand and measurement calipers in the other, she said that she lives in Jackson Heights, Queens, and that she spends two hours a day commuting to and from school. "That's not so bad!" she said.

She hopes to go to college and to continue studies that revolve around animals and organisms in a marine environment.

"At the Billion Oyster Project, we know that authentic, place-based, inquiry-rich learning opportunities do not come at the expense of teaching standards, preparing students for exams or success in college," Pete Malinowski, director of the Billion Oyster Project had said at the press conference. "Rather, it is through these authentic and empowering learning opportunities that we activate young minds and generate curiosity in the classroom. The goal is to create students that are striving to understand difficult concepts, rather than going through the motions of school."

For more information about the Billion Oyster Project, click here.

Buoyed by voters from upstate New York, Republicans gained control of the New York State Senate, but otherwise, Democrats prevailed in Lower Manhattan and in state-wide offices. There were three proposals on the ballot (described in Downtown Post NYC, Issue No. 136.) All three of them passed.

Among the candidates for which Lower Manhattan residents could vote, here are the winners:

Governor and Lieutenant Governor:
Andrew M. Cuomo/Kathy C. Hochul (Democratic, Working Families, Independence and Women's Equality parties)

New York State Comptroller:
Thomas P. DiNapoli (Democratic, Working Families, Independence, Women's Equality parties)

New York State Attorney General:
Eric T. Schneiderman (Democratic, Working Families, Independence and Women's Equality parties)

Representative in Congress - 10th Congressional District:
Jerrold L. Nadler (Democratic and Working Families parties)

State Senator - 26th Senatorial District:
Daniel Squadron (Democratic and Working Families parties)

Member of the Assembly - 65th Assembly District:
Sheldon Silver (Democratic and Working Families parties)

Member of the Assembly - 66th Assembly District:
 Deborah J. Glick (Democratic party)

Justice of the Supreme Court - 1st Judicial District (Vote for 2)
Milton A. Tingling (Democratic party)
Kathryn E. Freed (Democratic party)

Judge of the Civil Court - County, New York (Vote for 2)
Louis L. Nock (Democratic party)
Arlene P. Bluth (Democratic party)

For a complete listing of New York City election returns from NY1.com, including the numbers of votes cast for each candidate and the percentage breakdown for winners and losers, click here.

The landmarked lighthouse tender, Lilac, berthed at Pier 25 in Hudson River Park. A fundraiser for the historic ship will take place on Nov. 12. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Copies of "Rebuilding a Dream" will be available for purchase at the event. The book can also be purchased by contacting Carol Fung, carol@p4sc.org or by calling (415)-453-2100, ext. 302.

Community Board 1 meetings take place at 49-51 Chambers St., Room 709 starting at 6 p.m. unless otherwise indicated. Photo ID is required to enter the building. All are welcome to attend.

* Governors Island - Update by Leslie Koch, President of the Trust for Governors Island

* 68-74 Trinity Place/103-109 Greenwich St., application pursuant to section 72-21 of the Zoning Resolution for a Board of Standards and Appeals variance to facilitate the development of a Parish House - Resolution

* 55 Broadway, application for renewal of a special permit that facilitated certain public space improvements at 55 Broadway - Resolution

* World Trade Center Campus Security Plan - Update by Deputy Inspector Kevin Burke, Commanding Officer, NYPD World Trade Center Command

* Manhattan By Sail - Update by Thomas Berton, President, regarding Slip 2 in Battery Park

* 90 Washington St., application for a liquor license for NY Hospitality LLC - Resolution

* 26 Murray St., application for a wine and beer license for Emma 57 LLC, d/b/a Famous Famiglia Pizza - Resolution

* 4 South St., alteration application for a liquor license for HE MGMT at Staten Island Ferry Inc., d/b/a Brass Tap Beer - Resolution

The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses or sidewalk cafe permits:

* 25 Cedar St., renewal application for a liquor license for Gerasimos Enterprises

* School Zone Maps - Presentation by Jeff Sun, Community Planning Fellow, CB1

* Speaker Silver's School Overcrowding Task Force Meeting - Report

* Peck Slip School classroom dividers - Report

In the fall during a special event called "Release of the Fishes," the fish are returned to the Hudson River. Each visitor may release a cupful of fish. There will be refreshments and a chance to observe The River Project's permanent residents: an oyster reef and some seahorses.

Release of the Fishes takes place on Nov. 6. Place: South walkway of Pier 40 at Houston and West Streets. Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

Audrey Hailes performing "Death Made Love to My Feet" at Gibney Dance, a newly opened teaching and performance facility at 280 Broadway. A six-week series called "DoublePlus" inaugurates Gibney Dance's performance schedule. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)