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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC 
 
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
 
 
Volume 1, No. 149  Dec. 10, 2014
IN THIS ISSUE
* BPCA will take control of North Cove Marina on Dec. 31
 * Bits & Bytes: 32 Old Slip; 5 Franklin Place; South Ferry subway station contract; Eataly and Kors
* Downtown Bulletin Board: Stockings With Care; Coat drive; Photography contest
* Community Board 1 meetings: Week of Dec. 8
* Calendar

For breaking news, go to www.DowntownPostNYC.com
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Journals for sale at Bowne & Co. Stationers in the South Street Seaport. Nov. 30, 2014
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) 


 


BPCA WILL TAKE CONTROL OF NORTH COVE MARINA ON DEC. 31
North Cove Marina. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Michael Fortenbaugh, commodore of the North Cove Marina
in Battery Park City, met with representatives of the Battery Park City Authority on Dec. 9 and was told that the BPCA will take control of the marina on Dec. 31.

That's the day when Fortenbaugh's 10-year contract to manage the marina expires. The BPCA said that he could keep one boat in the marina but should remove everything else.

The Willie Wall, the Manhattan Sailing Club's floating clubhouse, will remain in the marina. This would be the time of year in any case when the boats used by the sailing school and for other activities would come out of the water.

It appears that the BPCA is about to name a new operator for the marina, but if so, that would first have to be approved by the Authority's Board of Directors. At its Dec. 4 meeting, the board was unable to vote on the recommendation of its search committee because it didn't have a quorum. Chairman Dennis Mehiel was out of the country on business, and board member Martha Gallo recused herself. She has had several long-standing relationships with the marina under Fortenbaugh's stewardship and said that she had a conflict of interest.

The BPCA's board of directors will not meet again until January, at which time it will presumably confirm an operator for the marina. There is still a chance that it might be Fortenbaugh, but that seems increasingly unlikely.

During the 10 years that Fortenbaugh was in charge of the marina, he developed it into a thriving place that served both the community and visiting boats that ranged from historic vessels to enormous yachts. Fortenbaugh received  hundreds of letters from members of the Battery Park City community commending his activities on behalf of the community and his extensive education programs to teach people of all ages to sail.

Bids to manage the marina apparently came in from Brookfield Office Properties, owner of Brookfield Place, which borders the marina, and from Andrew Farkas, chairman of Island Global Yachting and a benefactor of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Farkas contributed substantially to Cuomo's campaigns and once gave him a job paying more than $2 million.

The Battery Park City Authority is a State agency and ultimately reports to Cuomo.

The Manhattan Sailing School is the largest adult sailing school in the country. If it is, in fact, displaced by the Battery Park City Authority, it would not be able to open elsewhere.

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer





 


Bits & Bytes
32 OLD SLIP; 5 FRANKLIN PLACE; SOUTH FERRY SUBWAY STATION CONTRACT AWARD; EATALY, KORS COMING TO WORLD TRADE CENTER
With an asking price of $118.5 million, the penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton in Battery Park City tops the list of New York City's priciest real estate.  (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)







"RXR in contract to buy Downtown office building for $675M,"
The Real Deal, 12/8/14. "RXR Realty is slated to buy a Downtown commercial building from Beacon Capital Partners for $675 million. Beacon Capital bought the property in 2007 - at the height of the property boom - for $751 million, the New York Observer reported. "The 36-story building at 32 Old Slip has 1.2 million square feet of Class A office space, according to the paper. The building's biggest tenant is insurer American International Group, whose lease is set to expire at the end of 2017. Other tenants include Daiwa Capital Markets America, Crystal & Company and the U.S. Department of Education." For the complete article, click here.

"ODA-designed 5 Franklin Place shaping up in Tribeca," The Real Deal, 12/7/14. "Tribeca's 5 Franklin Place officially hit the market in May 2013. But now the ODA Architecture-designed tower, which stalled during the financial crisis, is finally shaping up. The 20-story, 53-unit development, located at 5 Franklin Place or 371 Broadway, is being developed by Elad Group, according to Buzzbuzzhome." For the complete article, click here.

"$194 million contract awarded to upgrade South Ferry subway station," Daily News, 12/8/14. "The MTA has awarded a $194 million contract to rebuild the Sandy-ravaged South Ferry subway station in Lower Manhattan," says the Daily News. "Work on the No. 1 line station, which will include permanent flood-protection measures, is expected to be completed in 2017, officials said. Superstorm Sandy dumped about 15 million gallons of salt water from New York Harbor into the nearly new station. The gleaming $350 million South Ferry terminal was less than four years old when Sandy hit in October 2012." For the complete article, click here.

"Pads for the 1 percent: A look at 2014's priciest NYC listings," New York Post, 12/8/14. "From the Bronx all the way to Staten Island, asking prices for residential property jumped in 2014," says the New York Post. "And it's no surprise that Manhattan - the borough that burns hottest right in the middle of it all - saw the largest year-over-year price growth. This year, the median asking price here climbed nearly 20 percent, to $1.19 million from the $999,000 recorded in 2013, according to StreetEasy data." Says the New York Post, a $118.5 million combination penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton in Battery Park City "still ranks as the priciest listing in the city." For the complete article, click here.

"NYC World Trade Shops to Open in 2015 With Eataly, Kors," Bloomberg.com, 12/8/14. Bloomberg.com reports that, "Leasing of stores at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan is almost complete, with a tenant list that includes Breitling, Michael Kors and an outpost of Mario Batali's Eataly, landlord Westfield Corp. (WFD) said. "The 350,000-square-foot (33,000-square-meter) retail complex, to be known as Westfield World Trade Center, probably will open in the second half of 2015."  For the complete article, click here.

"Photographs: Tug Life," New York Times, 12/5/14. "Chris Baker, a tugboat captain who lives in Brooklyn, said he fell in love with both photography and boats while growing up in Maine," according to The New York Times. "He eventually earned his captain's license and began working for McAllister Towing. For the past nine years he has been a tugboat captain at the company's shipyard on Staten Island." To see some of Baker's photographs of New York harbor, click here.

"Prince William and Catherine Pay Respects at Sept. 11 Memorial," New York Times, 12/9/14. "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge began the last of their three days in New York City with a visit to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum on Tuesday morning, placing a bouquet of flowers across the names of victims and taking in the faces of the fallen inside," The New York Times reported. "In sorrowful memory of those who died on 11th September," read a note attached to the bouquet, which was left at the edge of the south reflecting pool, "and in admiration of the courage shown to rebuild." For the complete article, click here.




Downtown bulletin board
STOCKINGS WITH CARE; COAT DRIVE; PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST; MUNICIPAL ART SOCIETY'S BRENDAN GILL PRIZE; ALBANY REFORM
On Dec. 7, New York State Sen. Daniel Squadron received an award from the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association (presented by its president, Glenn Plaskin) for his work to improve living conditions in the 32-year-old complex. Squadron will be holding a public Town Hall meeting on Dec. 11 on "Reforming Albany." For more information, see below.(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 [email protected]. For more information, click here.

Nominations due for the Municipal Art Society's 2015 Brendan Gill Prize: Time is running out to submit nominations for the 27th Annual Brendan Gill Prize, MAS's signature award honoring art and culture in New York City. The Gill Prize, which includes an endowed cash award, is awarded each year to the creator of a specific work: a book, essay, musical composition, play, painting, sculpture, architectural design, film, or choreographic piece that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City. The nominee may be an individual or a group, a renowned artist or an emerging talent - the Gill Prize strives to bring attention to the constellation of artistic experiences that enrich contemporary urban life. All works submitted for consideration must have been produced and completed in 2014. The award celebrates a singular contribution or project, rather than a lifetime of achievement.  The winner will be selected by the Brendan Gill jury, a group of nine experts intimately involved in the city's arts and literature. The winner of the 2015 Gill Prize will be honored at a ceremony and reception during the MAS Annual Meeting this spring. Submit your nomination form via email to [email protected] before Dec. 16, 2014. If preferred, hard copies with background material can be mailed to MAS at 488 Madison Ave., Suite 1900, New York, NY, 10022, Attention: Phyllis Cohen. 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.


 
COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETINGS: Week of Dec. 8

Naima Rauam's painting, "Beekman Street at Dawn," depicts the old Fulton Fish Market including the New Market and Tin Buildings on South Street. On Dec. 10, Community Board 1's Landmarks Committee will hear The Howard Hughes Corporation's proposal to move the Tin Building. HHC also wants to demolish the New Market Building and build an apartment tower on that site, but that part of the proposal will not be discussed at the Wednesday meeting because it does not come under Landmarks jurisdiction.

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. 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



CALENDAR: Week of Dec. 8
The National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene performing "My Yiddishe Chanukah" at the Winter Garden in December 2012. This year, they will be returning to the Winter Garden for a Chanukah concert on Dec. 14. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
Dec. 10: Gibney Dance continues its series, "DoublePlus," during which 12 emerging artists are being mentored by experienced choreographers. This week, Anna Azrieli and Stuart Shugg will perform work that they developed under the wing of Jon Kinzel. Through Dec. 13. Place: 280 Broadway (entrance at 53A Chambers St.) Time: 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $20; $15 (seniors, class-card holders and students). For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

Dec. 10:
Comedian Brad Zimmerman, who used to open for Joan Rivers, will be joined by Cory Kahaney and Tom Cotter in an evening of comedy and reminiscence called "'Can We Talk?': Remembering Joan Rivers" at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Place: 36 Battery Place. Time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $15; $12 (students and seniors); $10 (members). For more information and to buy tickets, click here.
 
Dec. 11: Catherine Russell celebrates the holidays at the Winter Garden. The Grammy Award-winning jazz and blues vocalist will perform holiday classics from the American Songbook. Place: Brookfield Place, 220 Vesey St. Time: 12:30 p.m to 1:30 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.    

Dec. 11:
The Manhattan Yacht Club's room-sized Holiday Train Garden has seven trains running on different tracks through vignettes of New York City and New York harbor. The train show is accompanied by holiday music and treats. Through Thursday, Dec. 24. Place: North Cove Marina in Battery Park City, William Wall floating clubhouse. Time:  4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on week nights and noon to 6 p.m. on weekends. Free.

Dec. 12: A holiday craft fair at the Downtown Community Center promotes the talents and resources within the Lower Manhattan community. Twenty three vendors -- including Manhattan Youth teaching artists, parents, members and supporters -- will showcase 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. Also, Dec. 13. 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. Free to attend.

Dec. 13: Winter Wonderland Workshop, sponsored by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy supplies materials and inspiration for adults, teens and children 5 and up to make ornaments, garlands and hand-printed wrapping paper for the holidays. Place: 6 River Terrace. Time: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets: $15 (includes supplies). Pre-register by Dec. 10. Call (212) 267-9700, ext. 363 or email [email protected].

Dec. 14: The National Yiddish Theatre will bring "Songs of Chanukah" to the Winter Garden. Place: Brookfield Place, 220 Vesey St. Time: 12:30 p.m to 1:30 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

Dec. 14:
"Menorah Madness with Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights" a program for children ages 3 to 10 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, includes crafts, a family mini-tour and a concert. Place: 36 Battery Place. Time: Crafts from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; family tour, 1:30 p.m.; concert, 2 p.m. Tickets: $10; $7 (children 10 and under); members pay $7 and can bring up to three children for free, $5 for each additional child. For tickets and more information, click here

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.

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

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