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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 1, No. 148 Dec. 5, 2014
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Quote of the day:
"We're in this 100 percent. There's no plan B for us."
- Michael Fortenbaugh, commodore of North Cove Marina, awaiting the Battery Park City Authority's recommendation on whether he, or another bidder, will get the contract to operate the marina for the next 10 years.
* BPCA's announcement of North Cove Marina contract delayed * Battle for South Street Seaport heats up * Bits & Bytes: Attempted rape; HRPT estuarium; $27M Tribeca penthouse; Fed funds for tunnels * Letters to the editor: Defenders of the Brooklyn Bridge * Downtown Bulletin Board: Stockings With Care; Coat drive; Photography contest; Hanukkah * Community Board 1 meetings: Week of Dec. 8 * Calendar NOTICE: In light of the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and the subsequent grand jury decisions not to indict, the Parish of Trinity Wall Street is holding a prayer service at St. Paul's Chapel, Broadway and Fulton Streets, on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. It will be followed at 8 p.m. by Compline, a peaceful candlelit service of music to end the day. All are welcome. For more information, click here.
For breaking news, go to www.DowntownPostNYC.comAll ads in Downtown Post NYC have clickable links. Click on an ad for more information. Luis Gutierrez of Nica Ceramic Art showing some of his vases at the National Museum of the American Indian's annual Native Art Market. Dec. 5, 2014 (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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BPCA'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF NORTH COVE MARINA CONTRACT DELAYED | Michael Fortenbaugh (left) outside of the Battery Park City Authority board room on Dec. 4 after learning the BPCA board of directors would not vote that day on whether Fortenbaugh or someone else would get the 10-year contract to run the North Cove Marina. The vote was delayed because the BPCA board didn't have a quorum.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Michael Fortenbaugh, commodore of the North Cove Marina in Battery Park City, stood outside the Battery Park City Authority board room on Dec. 4 not knowing what to do next. "I'm scratching my head," he said. He had come to the BPCA's December board meeting expecting to learn whether he, or another bidder, had been awarded the contract to manage the marina for the next 10 years. Instead, he learned that chairman Dennis Mehiel was out of the country on business and that board member Martha Gallo had recused herself from voting on the contract award, so the board lacked a quorum. Gallo, the only board member who lives in Battery Park City, said that she needed to recuse herself because she is a member of Fortenbaugh's Manhattan Sailing Club, has a boat that she keeps in the marina and has children who have taken sailing lessons there. She said that she had a conflict of interest. With only three board members able to vote on the recommendation of the next manager, no vote was deemed possible until the January board meeting, which ordinarily takes place toward the end of the month. Meanwhile, Fortenbaugh's contract as marina operator expires at midnight on Dec. 31. "The people who are working for me are all anxious," Fortenbaugh said. "Their whole livelihood is in the balance. It's been so stressful for the last few months getting up to this point. To continue it all the way through January is going to be the worst holiday present you could get."
In addition to the stress of uncertainty, huge practical issues loom. Fortenbaugh has a floating clubhouse called the William Wall in North Cove Marina. He has equipment and boats. His sailboat, Arabella, will go to the Caribbean for the winter season, but he has no place to put the rest of his fleet and his gear.
"We're in this 100 percent," he said. "There's no plan B for us."
Ten years ago, when Fortenbaugh won a contract from the Battery Park City Authority to manage the marina for the next decade, it was not the thriving and busy place that it is today.
"Because we've made North Cove successful, it's a double-edged sword," he said. "Now, everyone wants to take it over."
The bidders apparently include Brookfield Properties, the owner of Brookfield Place, which borders the marina, and Andrew Farkas, a friend of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and a major donor to Cuomo's campaigns.
Fortenbaugh employs around 40 people, some of them, seasonal and part-time workers. This would be the time of year when he should be hiring summer staff, but he can't do that without knowing if he will be at the marina come summer. Some of his current staff will hang on, he believes, awaiting the outcome, but some won't be able to wait.
"This keeps you up at night - all these people who work for me," he said. "They've got families to support."
Fortenbaugh said that he believed that the BPCA had already reached a decision on the next marina operator. "I'm just going to sit here hoping someone will come talk to me so that I can say, hey, there's a real human cost to all this," he said as he stood outside the BPCA board room on Thursday.
But eventually, he gave up and left. As of Sunday, Dec. 7, he said there was still no news as to what would happen next.
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T-SHIRT WARS: BATTLE FOR THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT HEATS UP
 | | Chris Curry, senior executive vice president of The Howard Hughes Corp. at the Friends of the Seaport forum on Dec. 1. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
At a Dec. 1 public forum sponsored by a group called "Friends of the Seaport" to present the Howard Hughes Corporation's plans for the South Street Seaport, HHC senior executive vice president Chris Curry peered into his crystal ball. Curry is Howard Hughes' executive in charge of the South Street Seaport and its future development. "When will there be an Environmental Impact Study [for the proposed new waterfront construction]?" he was asked. Curry replied that there will be a Community Board 1 Landmarks Committee meeting on Dec. 10 followed by another CB1 Landmarks Committee meeting in early January. Then, said Curry, "CB1 will have a resolution to send to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. They will hear it, we hope, in January. Once we get what's called a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project you just saw, which would not include the building on the New Market site - once we receive that, there will be a scoping hearing for an environmental review. An environmental review will take a few months to complete and it should take a few months for the Office of the Mayor to complete their analysis, so it will be six months, plus or minus." Though Curry was talking as though everything that Howard Hughes has proposed is a done deal, that is not the case. In fact, the battle over the future of the South Street Seaport rages on. Howard Hughes is attempting to muster evidence that the majority of the public backs its Seaport proposals. Within the past few days, it has launched an ad campaign in some downtown publications (Downtown Post NYC is not among them) that says "Lower Manhattan families are getting excited: Support a Seaport with benefits for our families." Clicking on the ad brings up an invitation to sign on to the ad as a supporter of Howard Hughes and to "show your support for a stronger South Street Seaport by attending the Community Board 1 Joint Landmarks and Seaport Committee Hearing on Wednesday, December 10th @ 6PM at St. Paul's Chapel, 209 Broadway between Fulton and Vesey Street." Save Our Seaport, a group that has been working for around four years to preserve the historic Seaport and its maritime heritage and is opposed to the Hughes plans, is also rallying its supporters to attend that meeting. It sounds the alarm by referencing the Hughes plans as it asks, "South Street Seaport Museum threatened with eviction?" (Hughes wants to turn the museum's landmarked Fulton Street galleries into affordable housing) and "Where is the middle school that was promised in 2008?" - a reference to a school that Howard Hughes' predecessor in the Seaport, General Growth Properties, said it would build. "New Amsterdam Market displaced by glass boxes under the FDR?" the Save Our Seaport flyer asks. It goes on to exhort, "Just say No to a Seaport tower." Both groups who hope to pack the room on Dec. 10 have said they will wear their respective
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The blue Howard Hughes T-shirt.
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T-shirts. The Friends of the Seaport will come decked out in blue, with the Hughes Seaport logo, "See/Change" emblazoned on their shirts. As an added enticement to show up for the hearing wearing a Howard Hughes T-shirt, the Friends of the Seaport says that "All are welcome to a skating party at the South Street Seaport Rink after the meeting. Complimentary skating, drinks, and bites (at Ambrose Hall)-if you wear your shirt!" The Save Our Seaport group has white T-shirts that show the proposed tower next to the Brooklyn
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Save Our Seaport T-shirts opposing a Seaport tower.
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Bridge with a line drawn through it. In the end game of a struggle that has been going on for years, Howard Hughes has a lot going for it. It has huge amounts of money at its disposal to spend for marketing, advertising, lobbying and strategically supporting community events that will likely win it friends. In its third quarter report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, it said that it has spent $2.4 million so far on "development-related marketing costs" in the South Street Seaport. Even more importantly, it has an ally in the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the city agency that is landlord for much of the Seaport. On Thursday, Crain's New York Business reported that Kyle Kimball, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, "dismissed the idea of relocating the [waterfront] building, as opponents suggest." According to an article in Crain's (12/4/14), "'Moving it to the south is a red herring,'" Mr. Kimball said during a Crain's editorial board meeting." Crain's opines that "The comments by the head of the city's primary economic-development agency reflect Mayor Bill de Blasio's desire to see the City Council and developer reach a deal on the $1.5 billion proposal at hand, which checks off all the boxes on the mayor's wish list for the project, beginning with affordable housing." City Councilmember Margaret Chin plays a key role in getting City Council backing for the
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City Councilmember Margaret Chin speaking at the Friends of the Seaport meeting on Dec. 1.
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Howard Hughes plan. The South Street Seaport is in District 1, which she represents, and traditionally City Council has followed the lead of the Councilmember in whose district a given project falls when it comes to a vote to approve or disapprove it. Though it was reported that Chin had encouraged the formation of the pro-Hughes Friends of the Seaport group, her spokesperson, Sam Spokony, says that her encouragement took the form of telling the leaders of the group that if they felt that their voice was not being heard in the Seaport discussion, they should speak up. Spokony said that she did not endorse the group. Moreover, he said, she remains opposed to the tower and feels that "There's still a lot of work to be done to make sure this plan truly serves the Seaport community."
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Bits & BytesATTEMPTED RAPE; HRPT ESTUARIUM; $27M TRIBECA PENTHOUSE;
FEDS FUND TUNNEL SANDY REPAIRS; REPRIEVE FOR SECTION 8 TENANTS
 | | The Hugh L Carey Tunnel on West Street, the night that Superstorm Sandy came ashore. Oct. 29, 2012. The tunnel, which took on 60 million gallons of water, has just received money from the federal government for repairs. (Photo: Jay Fine) |
"Man attempts to rape 81-year-old woman," New York Post, 12/5/14. The New York Post reports that, "A man sexually assaulted and tried to rape an 81-year-old woman in the stairwell of her Tribeca apartment building Thursday afternoon, cops said. The thug followed her into the elevator of the Beekman Street building shortly before 1 p.m." For the complete article, click here. "Hudson River Park Trust Plans Research and Education Center at Pier 26," New York Times, 12/4/14."The Hudson River Park Trust has selected Clarkson University to oversee a new estuarium - a research and education center with a focus on river ecology - that is planned for Pier 26 in TriBeCa," says The New York Times. "Clarkson, based in Potsdam, N.Y., already runs the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, some 50 miles up the Hudson River from the park. And the university will lead a consortium that includes the New York Hall of Science and the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater to devise and run programs at the future estuarium." The Times says that construction on the estuarium is expected to begin in 2017. For the complete article, click here. "NYC's taxi king lists apartment for $27M," The Real Deal, 12/5/14. "Symon Garber, the taxi king of New York, is listing his Tribeca penthouse for $27 million," says The Real Deal. "Garber, who owns Yellow Cab SLS Jet Management Corp. and operates roughly 275 taxis in the city, combined two units on the 32nd floor of the building at 101 Warren Street into one penthouse, according to Forbes. Garber is also the founder of the polo club of Colts Neck, N.J. and owns roughly 850 taxi medallions in Chicago." For the complete article, click here. "2 tunnels awarded fed funding for Sandy repair," Crain's New York Business, 12/4/14. "The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and the Queens Midtown Tunnel have been awarded a total of $336 million in federal funding to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy," says Crain's New York Business. "Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand say the funding is being provided in a lump sum payment through FEMA's Alternative Procedures program. About 60 million gallons of water flooded the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel during the October 2012 storm. The Midtown Tunnel was inundated with about 20 million gallons of water." For the complete article, click here. "New York City Housing Dept. Eases Rule Forcing Low-Income Tenants to Downsize," New York Times, 12/4/14. "New York City housing officials have partly reversed a policy that would have forced thousands of low-income tenants to move to smaller apartments," says The New York Times. "The Department of Housing Preservation and Development said that participants in the federal Section 8 voucher program who live alone no longer have to downsize to studio apartments if they live in a one-bedroom unit. The change, effective Dec. 1, affects about 3,325 tenants, officials said. The agency had sought the moves to smaller, less expensive apartments last year, saying that federal budget cuts under sequestration had left the program $37 million short. To save money, it decided to cut the subsidy of households it considered 'overhoused,' leaving tenants with the option of staying put if they paid a higher share of their rent." For the complete article, click here. Some of the tenants in Independence Plaza North on Greenwich Street in Tribeca were among those affected by the initial ruling and will be among those affected by its reversal. "Landmarks Panel Drops Proposal to Trim List," New York Times, 12/4/14."Facing opposition from local politicians and advocacy groups, New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission has withdrawn its proposal to remove more than 100 buildings and structures from its oversight," says The New York Times. "On the eve of Thanksgiving, the commission released a list of 94 individual properties and two historic districts scattered across the city that it would remove from its calendar. 'Calendaring' a property is the first step in the process to designate landmarks, through which the commission deems a property worthy of consideration. This is followed by research, hearings and a vote. But a calendared property cannot be altered without the commission's approval. All of the properties had been on the calendar at least five years without any action, and 80 had been there for at least two decades. The action was meant to clear the commission's backlog so it could focus on new priorities. The development community had been lobbying for this for some time. The commission had planned a formal vote on the proposal on Tuesday." For the complete article, click here. There were several properties in and near Lower Manhattan that would have been decalendared, had the decision to do so not been reversed. |
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Letters to the Editor
DEFENDERS OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE | | The Brooklyn Bridge. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
To the editor:(Re: " Howard Hughes execs present Seaport development plans at public forum sponsored by 'Friends of the Seaport,'" DPNYC, 12/3/2014. In that article, it was reported that one of the organizers of Friends of the Seaport referred to the Brooklyn Bridge as "monstrous" and also said, ""Since we can't take down the bridge, let's build one. Let's figure out how to better connect our neighbors to each other and to the water.'") In my opinion, anyone who lives in the Seaport area and dismisses the Brooklyn Bridge as "monstrous" and wants to see New York City lose its Seaport, has two huge strikes against them. Are they kidding? Lisa Minuta Gorke, Joy Martini and Maria Ho-Burge, the "trio organizers" of the Dec. 1 meeting, were asked if they were on the Howard Hughes payroll and said no. If they are not, they should be.
The question that should have been asked, however -- and wasn't -- was whether Howard Hughes helped to fund the Friends of the Seaport, paying some part of that evening's costs, perhaps, or helping to pay for the Friends of the Seaport website?
Karen PearlTo the editor: How can anyone who calls the Brooklyn Bridge "monstrous" be taken seriously?
Margaret Cooney
To the editor:
While, undoubtedly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there is a general consensus among the general public and engineers that the Brooklyn Bridge holds a unique position in the history of New York. Ms. Martini's joyless remark in describing the bridge is perhaps out of proportion to those details that make the structure less than perfect.
It is conceded that a more graceful profile could have been achieved had the main cables not intersected the upper chords of the trusses. This was an early design change to raise the span and provide more clearance for passing ships.
Or it might be the stone towers that appear far too overbuilt to hold up the airy span. Then there are all the wires hurrying every which way that appear to be the work of a silly string addict run amok.
There is fault to find, to be sure, but the intrinsic beauty is in the undaunted engineering and workmanship. Take up Master Mechanic E.F Farrington's description of the bridge, presented at the Cooper Union in 1880, to grasp something of what history exists right on our doorstep. And we have that for free.
Had Ms. Martini applied some inventive insight, she may have presented her audience with a meaningful expression of her distaste for the bridge. She may have even agreed and expanded upon the statements above. But, simply calling it monstrous?
And, anyway, why pick on the bridge?
Charles Deroko
From the editor:We welcome letters to the editor. Email them to editor@downtownpostnyc.com
. We reserve the right to edit them for clarity and length.
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Downtown bulletin board
STOCKINGS WITH CARE; COAT DRIVE; PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST; HANUKKAH SALE; CRAFT FAIR; 9/11 HEALTH SURVEY; STORIES & SONGS
 | | At the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy's annual tree-lighting ceremony, presents were collected for Stockings With Care, a charity that provides gifts for homeless children. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Stockings With Care: Stockings With Care, the charity co-founded by Battery Park City resident Rosalie Joseph to provide holiday gifts for homeless children, is entering the home stretch of its 23rd annual drive. Stockings with Care is a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization run by volunteers, who shop for gifts and wrap them, a massive undertaking that involves several days of work. Stockings With Care gets wish lists from around 1,500 children and provides at least one thing that the child has requested. Volunteers who sign up to be "Santas" shop for specific children. In addition, donations are gratefully accepted. Stockings with Care drives have benefited over 40,000 children since 1992. For information on how to donate and/or how to volunteer to wrap gifts, click here.
Donate winter coats at Poets House: Poets House at 10 River Terrace in Battery Park City is a donation site for the New York Cares Coat Drive. Donated coats go to New Yorkers in need. Bring your coats to Poets House during regular library hours (Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or when you attend an event. For more information about the coat drive, click here. For more information about Poets House, click here. Lower Manhattan photography contest: The Downtown Alliance is sponsoring a contest of photos depicting the holidays in Lower Manhattan. The grand prize winner will receive a two-night weekend stay for two at the W New York with a retail value of up to $800, a $50 gift card to Century 21 Department Stores, and two $50 gift cards totaling $100 to Delmonico's Restaurant. The contest began on Nov. 24 and will end at 11:59 p.m.on Jan. 4, 2015. It is open to legal residents age 18 and older of the United States, its territories and possessions. Employees of the Downtown Alliance and members of their immediate families are not eligible. The winner will be selected by the Downtown Alliance staff on or about Jan. 5, 2015. To enter, email your holiday photos of Lower Manhattan to Holiday@DowntownNY.com. For more information, click here.
Museum of Jewish Heritage Hanukkah sale: Through Dec. 31, the Pickman Museum Shop of the Museum of Jewish Heritage at 36 Battery Place is holding its annual Hanukkah sale. Museum members receive 25 percent off all purchases. The shop carries a wide variety of Judaica, jewelry, books, music, DVDs and toys for children. Proceeds support the museum's educational programs. For more information, click here. Reforming Albany: New York State Sen. Daniel Squadron is hosting a Town Hall in downtown Brooklyn on Dec. 11. Called "Reforming the State: Making Albany Work for Our Neighborhoods," it will focus on how to make state government more responsive and transparent. Squadron will discuss ways to improve the system such as reining in unlimited campaign contributions, closing gaps in ethics laws and making it easier to vote. Place: Forchelli Conference Center at Brooklyn Law School, 205 State St., 22nd floor. Time: 6:30 p.m. To RSVP, call (212) 298-5565.
Study under way of how 9/11 exposure affected childrens' health: Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer published this notice on her Facebook page: "We know that the 9/11 attacks affected the health of thousands of New Yorkers - but how has exposure impacted children who lived or went to school near Ground Zero? Dr. Leonardo Trasande, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Environmental Health at NYU Langone Medical Center, is conducting a federally funded clinical study to compare the health of those who lived near the World Trade Center site to those who did not. This study needs volunteers for both groups, so if your children (or those you know) are between the ages of 13-21 and live in New York City, please contact Jenny Lee, research coordinator, at (646) 501-9166." Tribeca Holiday Craft Fair: A holiday craft fair on Dec. 12 and Dec. 13 at the Downtown Community Center promotes the talents and resources within our community. Twenty three vendors -- including Manhattan Youth teaching artists, parents, members and supporters -- will be showcasing jewelry, ceramics, leather bags, home goods, art, holiday ornaments, baby items, pet gifts and more. Visitors can come to shop, hear music and eat, all while supporting a good cause. 30% of all sales will be donated to Save The Children's emergency efforts in West Africa. The event is free to attend. Place: Manhattan Youth Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren St. in Tribeca. Time: Dec. 12, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Dec. 13: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Stories & Songs: The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy's popular program for infants, toddlers and preschoolers introduces and integrates musical performance into their lives. BPCPC's Stories & Songs is a 14-week program of participatory music and stories for young children accompanied by an adult. Through musical performances by a rotating roster of professional musicians, Stories & Songs develops active listening, socializing, and cultural literacy. When: Tuesdays, Jan. 6 - April 7, 2015; Wednesdays, Jan. 7 - April 8, 2015 SESSIONS: Session 1: 9:40 a.m. - 10:20 a.m. (6 months - 3.5 years) Session 2: 10:30 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. (13 months - 3.5 years) Session 3: 11:20 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (13 months - 3.5 years) Place: 6 River Terrace in Battery Park City. Cost: $335 for 14 sessions, siblings: $315. Space is limited and advance registration is required. For more information or to pre-register, call (212) 267-9700 ext. 363, or email registration@bpcparks.org. Payment can be made by check to BPCPC, or by Visa or Master Card. Battery Park City Parks Conservancy offers a 5% discount to siblings enrolled in Stories & Songs. For more information about the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, click here.
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COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETINGS: Week of Dec. 8
 | South Street at Fulton Street. On Dec. 8, the New York City Economic Development Corporation will talk to CB1's Planning Committee about the reconstruction of
South Street. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Community Board 1 meetings take place at 49-51 Chambers St., Room 709, starting at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. All are welcome to attend. Bring photo ID to enter the building. Dec. 8: Planning Committee * World Trade Center Quarterly Update - Glenn Guzzi, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey * Silverstein Properties - Update by Malcolm Williams, Construction Manager * State Legislature Bill A5355/S3076, concerning electric substation placement - Presentation by representative of Assemblymember Gottfried & resolution * Passive House - Presentation by Ken Levenson, President of NY Passive House and Company - President of the North American Passive House Network & possible resolution * Stairwells Zoning text Amendment for Non-residential Buildings - Presentation by Richard Suarez, Department of City Planning & possible resolution * Reconstruction of South Street South - Presentation by NYC EDC * Affordable housing in Lower Manhattan - Discussion & possible resolution Dec. 9: Youth & Education Committee * Art Connects New York - Presentation by Krista Saunders, Director of Programs & Communications and Will Rogers, Community Liaison * Institute for Career Development (ICD) - Presentation by Les Halpert, Ph.D., President & CEO Dec. 10: Tribeca Committee * 443 Greenwich St., application for authorization pursuant to section 13-442 of the Zoning Resolution to allow an attended accessory parking facility with a maximum capacity of 15 spaces on the ground floor and cellar of an existing building - Resolution * 67 Reade St., application for restaurant wine and beer license for New Sun Caf� Japanese Cuisine Inc. - Resolution * Proposal for a bus stop for Lily Travel Services LLC on Lafayette Street between Walker and White Streets - Discussion * 50 Hudson Street a/k/a 88 Thomas Street, application for alteration of liquor license to permit extended hours and all night service on New Year's Eve for Emporio 50 LLC d/b/a Bar Cyrk NYC - Resolution * 305 Church St., application for alteration of liquor license to permit live music for Mexma LLC - Resolution * Application by Downtown Independent Democrats for street activity permit for Lafayette Street between Canal Street and Leonard Street, Sunday, July 12, 2015 - Resolution * Application for restaurant wine and beer license for DBTG Chambers LLC d/b/a Dirty Bird to Go - Resolution The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer, liquor or sidewalk cafe licenses : * 141 Duane St., application for renewal of wine and beer license for RSJ Group Corporation, d/b/a Rosanjin * 295 Greenwich St., application for renewal of SLA license for Tribeca Baked Foods Corp. d/b/a Gee Whiz * 205 Hudson St., application for renewal of restaurant liquor license for AFNYC LLC d/b/a American Flatbread NYC - Resolution * 255 Vesey St., application for renewal of unenclosed sidewalk cafe for Blue Smoke 102 North End Ave LLC d/b/a Blue Smoke Dec. 10: Special Landmarks Committee at 6 p.m. Location: St. Paul's Chapel, 209 Broadway* South Street Seaport, The Howard Hughes Corporation's application for alterations to Tin Building, Schermerhorn Row, Pier 17 and East River Esplanade, demolition of the Link Building, construction of pavilions under FDR Drive and new building on Pier - Presentation and possible resolution Dec. 11: Landmarks Committee * Special Landmarks Committee meeting - Update * 1 White St., application for storefront renovation, handicapped access ramp and bulkhead and rooftop garden - Resolution * 26 Broadway, application for signage and flagpole - Resolution Dec. 15: Seaport/Civic Center Committee * Brooklyn Bridge Rehabilitation Project - Update by Hasan Ahmed, NYC DOT Director of East River Bridges * South Street Seaport Museum - Update by Capt. Jonathan Boulware, Interim President * Brooklyn Bridge improvements - Discussion & possible resolution a. Rebuilding active recreation space underneath the bridge b. Repairs to the Frankfort Street staircase * South Street Seaport development - Update * Context of future Seaport development - Presentation by City Club of New York * 25 Bridge St., application for a new tavern liquor license for Emmconn Rest. Corp. d/b/a Whitehorse Tavern - Resolution * 22 Peck Slip/251 Water Street, application for a liquor license alteration for Hedgie LLC d/b/a The Hideaway Seaport - Resolution * 22 Peck Slip/251 Water Street, application for a new unenclosed sidewalk caf� license for Hedgie LLC d/b/a The Hideaway Seaport * 21-23 Peck Slip, application for renewal of an unenclosed sidewalk caf� license for IDG Seaport Corp d/b/a Acqua - Resolution
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CALENDAR: Week of Dec. 1
 | | Santa Claus was in Battery Park City on Dec. 4 for the annual tree-lighting at the South End Avenue cul-de-sac. He will be back in Battery Park City on Dec. 7 at the Winter Garden. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Just opened: An exhibit at Poets House called "Winter Wedding: Holiday Cards by Poets" is a compendium of imaginative and sometimes touching holiday greetings. The exhibit has been drawn from the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University and was curated by Kevin Young and Lisa Chinn. See "Happy Holidays" greetings from Langston Hughes, "Seasons Greetings" from Seamus and Marie Heaney and handmade valentines exchanged by Alice Notley and Ted Berrigan. This exhibition explores the vibrant, often funny, and always fascinating portraits of time, affection and ties of love and friendship. The exhibition is on view during library hours through March 21, 2015. Place: 10 River Terrace. Free. For more information, click here.
Dec. 7: Santa's Winter Garden comes to the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place headlined by Santa, who will be there with his reindeer and elves for photo ops. Photo packages start at $20 for 14 photos. A digital file with any photo package can be purchased for an additional $20. Proceeds benefit Dancing Classrooms. At 2 p.m. the experts from Dancing Classrooms will lead free family dance lessons. Get a free skate rental at The Rink at Brookfield Place (a $5 value) with any photo package purchase. Skating costs $15. Place: Winter Garden, 220 Vesey St. Time: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Santa takes a break between 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.) Free to attend.
Dec. 7: Once a year, the National Museum of the American Indian at Bowling Green sponsors an art market that brings some of the country's best Native American craftspeople to the museum to sell their wares. For more information about the art market, including bios of the exhibitors and photographs of their work, click here. Place: 1 Bowling Green. Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free to attend. For more information, click here.
Dec. 7: Genealogy expert Bennett Greenspan will discuss "The DNA of the Jewish People" at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Among other things, he says that the Ashkenazim and Sephardim - two groups that were historically isolated from each other geographically - are genetically similar. Place: 36 Battery Place. Time: 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $10; $7 (students and seniors); $5 (members). For more information and to buy tickets, click here.
Dec. 7: In a three-hour workshop, Ali Osborn, the resident printer at Bowne Printers, teaches the basics of carving and printing linoleum blocks. He begins by showing how to sketch out an idea and then transfer it to a linoleum block, where his students gauge away the backgrounds, leaving lines and desired dark places in high relief. Then Osborn brings out ink and rollers so that students can print their blocks by hand. The final step is to arrange everyone's work on the bed of Bowne's vintage Vandercook press and make a poster. Each student goes home with his or her own block, individual prints and one poster of the combined effort. All materials are supplied. There are a maximum of six people in each class. For ages 12 and up. Time: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets: $50; $40 (South Street Seaport Museum members). To register, click here.
Through Dec. 31: After the success of artist Anne Militello's 2013 installation "Light Cycles" in the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, Arts Brookfield commissioned a new design called "Metamorphosis" featuring a unique palette of colors and light patterns to honor the holiday season. Each night, the installation illuminates the plaza through a harmonious interplay of colors, starting with a gentle flicker of candlelight and transforming into a brighter, more colorful display throughout December. Place: 220 Vesey St. on the facade of the Winter Garden facing North Cove Marina. Time: 7 p.m. to midnight.
Ongoing: "Glittering World: Navajo Jewelry of the Yazzie Family" opened on Nov. 14 and continues through Jan. 10, 2016. The exhibit includes more than 300 examples of beautifully crafted jewelery, most of it made by the Yazzie family, with some from the National Museum of the American Indian's collection. Through a video, photographs and a handsome catalog, the exhibit shows how the jewelry expresses Navajo cultural values and way of life inspired by a majestic landscape of buttes, mesas and desert. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and on Thursdays until 8 p.m.; closed December 25. Admission is free.
Ongoing: The Skyscraper Museum presents "Times Square, 1984: The Postmodern Movement," on view through Jan. 18, 2015. Times Square today is bright and crowded - a tourist mecca, entertainment district, retail powerhouse and pedestrianized precinct that matches in vitality, both economic and populist, any decade of its storied past. But 30 years ago, the future of Times Square was in limbo - caught between a series of false starts at clean-slate urban renewal by New York City and New York State and an emerging philosophy of urbanism that favored history, preservationist values, electric signs and semiotics, and delirious diversity. Place: 39 Battery Place. Open, Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. Admission: $5; $2.50 (students and seniors). 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: 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
All articles and photographs in Downtown Post NYC are copyrighted and
may not be reprinted or republished without written permission.
� 2014
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