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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC 
 
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
 
 
Volume 2, No. 1  Dec. 17, 2014
IN THIS ISSUE
Quote of the day:
"We absolutely must, must, must have space in Schermerhorn Row. It's the first World Trade Center."   
        - Capt. Jonathan Boulware, interim president of the South Street Seaport Museum, addressing Community Board 1's Seaport/Civic Center Committee.

* The future of the South Street Seaport Museum
* Hundreds rally to support Fortenbaugh at North Cove Marina
* Letter to the editor: The South Street Seaport Museum - a public resource
* Bits & Bytes: Charging bull; Stuyvesant H.S. student admits prank; The Donald vs. Durst
* Downtown Bulletin Board: Boot Camp; Lifeguard certification; Ferry service to Jersey City
* Community Board 1 meetings: Week of Dec. 15
* Calendar

NOTE: It was exactly a year ago yesterday that the first issue of Downtown Post NYC was published. The first issue had an article about the dedication of the Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza at Edgar and Greenwich Streets in memory of the president of the Downtown Alliance who had done so much for the Lower Manhattan community. All of the 151 issues of Downtown Post NYC's first year are archived at www.DowntownPostNYC.com.

For breaking news, go to www.DowntownPostNYC.com. On Dec. 17, Gov. Cuomo announced that hydrofracking would be banned in New York State, a decision that affects all New Yorkers. For more, "Cuomo to Ban Fracking in New York State, Citing Health Risks," New York Times, 12/17/14. Click here.

All ads in Downtown Post NYC have clickable links. Click on an ad for more information.

Rachel Yucht with the National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene at a Hanukkah concert in Battery Park City's Winter Garden. Dec. 14, 2014  (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) 


 

BOULWARE CHARTS A FAIR COURSE FOR THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT MUSEUM BUT THIS MIGHT BE SUBJECT TO HOWARD HUGHES' GOOD WILL
 
Capt. Jonathan Boulware, interim president of the South Street Seaport Museum, addressing Community Board 1's Seaport/Civic Center Committee chaired by John Fratta (back to camera). (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
  
"We absolutely must, must, must have space in Schermerhorn Row. It's the first World Trade Center," Capt. Jonathan Boulware, interim president of the South Street Seaport Museum, told the dozens of people who had come to hear his presentation on Dec. 15 to Community Board 1's Seaport/Civic Center Committee.

The people in the room applauded. Schermerhorn Row, built between 1810 and 1812 on Fulton Street as commercial office space and warehouses, housed most of the museum's galleries and collections until October 29, 2012, when Superstorm Sandy knocked out the electrical system. It has not yet been repaired. In its recent public presentations, The Howard Hughes Corporation, holder of long-term leases on much of the South Street Seaport, had said that it wanted to turn Schermerhorn Row into affordable housing.

"If you look at our logo, it shows a ship very much like Wavertree [the museum's 1885 square rigger] and Schermerhorn Row," Boulware continued. "Those two together are the story of the beginning of modern New York. Now as I understand it, there isn't any plan to evict us from Schermerhorn Row."

Boulware said that the museum still controls around 25,000 square feet of gallery space. "Those are still ours and those are up to us to determine what to do with," he said.

The museum is currently engaged in a feasibility study, he explained, to determine what its optimum size should be given programmatic, financial and space use considerations. Some ships and some street frontage will have to be divested, Boulware said.

"The way forward isn't clear yet. We have some work yet to do," he said. But, he added, "I'm confident, given the focus that I've seen from the Department of Cultural Affairs, from the Mayor's Office, that we are going to find a way to get through this thicket. I will tell you that it is absolutely critical that we do so because this story is more essentially old New York than anywhere else."
Chris Curry
Chris Curry, senior executive vice president of The Howard Hughes Corporation, was standing in the back of the room listening to this.

"Jonathan, please tell the folks here that you're not fighting with Howard Hughes for space," he said. "We told you that we're going to make the space available to you."

Curry's choice of words was interesting. Had Howard Hughes become the South Street Seaport's landlord, with the right to decide how much space the museum could use and where it would be?

Possibly, said Michael Kramer in a telephone conversation. Kramer, a public member of Community Board 1's Seaport Committee and a member of the Seaport Working Group, said that "
Hughes may be replacing the City as the master tenant and therefore the museum would become a sub-tenant of Howard Hughes.  This would be as per all the options that were granted to them [by the New York City Economic Development Corporation] in the marketplace lease [signed on June 27, 2013] - that if exercised, would make Hughes responsible for Schermerhorn Row and for the museum's buildings on Water Street."

 

Kramer said that the City would still own the ground underneath the properties but would be asking Howard Hughes to manage them. "The City would stop making decisions and those decisions would become corporate and privatized," he said.

 

Despite Boulware's brave words, this may already be a fait accompli unless the Comptroller's Office, which has the right to review City contracts, intervenes.

 

"I think this is not clear to people," said Kramer, "and when it becomes clear to people, there will be outrage."

 
In the meantime, the Howard Hughes proposals could go through the Landmarks Preservation Commission and through ULURP [the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure] while everyone is fighting about the contract.
  
"Chris [Curry] is right," Boulware told the people at the CB1 Seaport Committee meeting. "We're not arguing with Howard Hughes on space. We are doing a space study that we will then present to the City and the City will then arbitrate what the space uses are. We are working on our feasibility analysis, and Chris has assured me that the space that we have in Schermerhorn Row - he has no designs on."  

   

Boulware's choice of words was illuminating. He has made it clear that the museum's feasibility study, which is being executed by WXY Architects and by AEA Consulting, a financial modeling firm, is being done "independently of the other things that are happening in the district."

 

Indirectly, through his use of the word "arbitrate," he indicated that the museum's needs and Howard Hughes' wishes might be in conflict, with the outcome at least partially dependent on the good will of Howard Hughes.  

  

John Fratta, chairperson of the Seaport Committee, asked Boulware whether the museum was negotiating with Howard Hughes to get funding on an annual basis.    

 

"We are in conversations," Boulware replied. "Hughes has consistently said that they want to support the museum."

 

Fratta sounded skeptical, recalling past deals to fund the museum that looked all right on paper but never came to fruition. 

 

"The conversation is ongoing and there's no arrangement that has been made at this point," Boulware said.    

   

Boulware said that although Howard Hughes had proposed building a 5,000-square-foot pavilion on Pier 16 to house the museum, 1,500 square feet on Pier 16 would be sufficient.

   

"We will need an access structure [on the pier] for the Wavertree," he said. The Wavertree is scheduled to go to shipyard some time in the next few months for a $9 million, City-funded refurbishment. When it comes back in late 2015 or early 2016, it will be the star of the museum's fleet of historic ships.  

 

The pier pavilion "might have a ticketing component. It might have a small event space component. It might have a retail component. That's still to be determined," Boulware said. "Again, with a connection to Schermerhorn Row. That's where our primary exhibition space and classrooms and main entrance would be."

 

When he finished his presentation, the people in the room applauded.

 

"Thank you for your support," he said. 

 

  - Terese Loeb Kreuzer 
A graphic from the Howard Hughes presentation to Community Board 1 showing all of the Schermerhorn Row block in the South Street Seaport as being available to Howard Hughes for "adaptive reuse." 


HUNDREDS RALLY TO SUPPORT FORTENBAUGH AT NORTH COVE MARINA
Hundreds of people attended a rally at North Cove Marina on Dec. 15 in support of Michael Fortenbaugh's application to the Battery Park City Authority to continue as manager. (Photos: Jay Fine)

On Dec. 15, with the lights of North Cove Marina glimmering in the background, several hundred people gathered on the plaza next to the marina to express their support for Michael Fortenbaugh, whose 10-year contract to run North Cove will end on Dec. 31.  

 

They carried homemade signs that explained why they were there. "Save Our Sailing School," said one. "If you kill this marina, you'll kill sailing in NY harbor," said another.

 

Their pleas were addressed to the Battery Park City Authority, which is responsible for selecting a management company for North Cove. 

 

Michael Fortenbaugh

In response to an RFP from the BPCA, Fortenbaugh had submitted a proposal to continue his stewardship of the marina for another 10 years. However, the BPCA told him that it would take control of the marina as of Jan. 1, 2015.  

 

No new operator has been officially designated. That must await a vote from the BPCA's Board of Directors. This will probably occur at their January meeting.   

 

The BPCA has not released a list of the bidders, but Fortenbaugh believes that they include Brookfield Office Properties, whose buildings surround the marina, and Island Global Yachting, a company owned by Andrew Farkas, a friend and benefactor of New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

 

At the rally, a succession of speakers praised Fortenbaugh's hard work to pull the marina through the ravages of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy.  

 

"I remember so clearly when Michael took over the marina," said Capt. Pat Harris, whose sailboat, Ventura, docks at the marina during the summer and takes the public on harbor cruises. "The place had been so devastated and look at the life that's come back now!"

 

"This is somewhat odd to me," said Tammy Meltzer, a Battery Park City resident and member of Community Board 1, "that you can be an amazing success, and because of your success, you are replaced."

 

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Roland Lewis, the president of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance recommended.

 

Among other things, the speakers commended Fortenbaugh for teaching young and old to sail.  

 

"The sailing school is a new experience for me, and we should keep it," said one little girl.

 

"It was always my dream to make it possible for kids to sail in the harbor," said Fortenbaugh. "I created kids' programs, not because they were in an RFP. I created them because I believe in this."

 

He also said that it had been his intention to connect the community with North Cove. "I want everybody to feel this is your marina," he said. "I love the millionaires' yachts - I love them - I love to see them. But I've also focused on the common person."

 

He called North Cove "a middle class yacht club."

 

"I don't want to see us replaced with more luxury things," he said. "It's important that we keep New York Harbor for people who live and work here."

 

"It's very hard to think that [Fortenbaugh's] not going to be here," said BPC resident, Paula Galloway. "We have to do what we can to keep him here."

 

Whether or not the Battery Park City Authority is listening, the group that organized the rally - Save North Cove - intends to keep speaking up. It is exhorting its members to show up en masse on Dec. 18 at Community Board 1's full board meeting to speak on behalf of Fortenbaugh's management of North Cove and to ask CB1 to pass a resolution supporting him.

 

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer   

 

 To see a video of the rally, click here.  

 


Letter to the editor
THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT MUSEUM, A PUBLIC RESOURCE
Schermerhorn Row as it looked in May 2010. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
 
To the editor:
"The dreamers have turned out to be realists," said Ada Louise Huxtable, in a New York Times editorial on the Landmarks victory won by South Street Seaport Museum in 1968. This hard-fought effort opened the door to the return of tall ships to South Street to build a new center devoted to the seafaring that built New York. And the dreamers kept moving as they set out to, racking up these notable achievements along the way:

*  first urban renewal project sponsored by a city museum
*  first use of transferred air rights over landmarked buildings
*  first education of inner-city youth at sea by any museum
*  largest active membership of any museum in NewYork or elsewhere

In 1973 the City granted 99-year leases for three blocks of Seaport buildings and four East River piers to the South Street Seaport Museum, based on this kind of achievement of public goals. The Seaport then ran on a balanced budget with substantial reserves, as documented in A Dream of Tall Ships, a book on these founding years recently published by the National Maritime Historical Society. And the official "South Street Seaport Development Plan," backed by the noted philanthropists Laurance Rockefeller and Brooke Astor, foresaw a bright future ahead, noting: "The Museum's ships, and other activities, draw more than a million people a year as visitors, and the Museum program is becoming more popular and active all the time."

A Dream makes clear that Seaport land was a gift of our chairman Jakob Isbrandtsen, supplemented by funds from the sale of air rights. A public campaign convinced five banks to buy these rights for future sale when the building market collapsed. There was "no public subsidy," as clearly stated at the time. Curiously, a recently published book, Preserving South Street Seaport, characterizes the 1973 settlement as a "bailout." This misrepresents the Seaport as unable to stand on its own feet. But in fact it did so, supported by contributions based on performance, a policy it has abundantly demonstrated it can carry out under Interim President Jonathan Boulware.

But this can only happen if the South Street Seaport Museum regains the urban renewal status it needs to manage the Seaport as a public resource, using land and ships donated for public learning and enjoyment.

Save Our Seaport, an outfit of museum members devoted to the Seaport's founding purposes, has recently been joined by the City Club (an early Seaport supporter, as you'll read in Dream), together with the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, a citizen group with unmatched outreach to multi-purpose users of the waters that embrace our city, and the New York Harbor School Foundation, whose graduates, drawn largely from deprived neighborhoods, go on to college or directly into maritime trades, which readily hire them to support the seafaring enterprises that built New York and that make a growing contribution to New York's industrial base today.

Shouldn't we urge Mayor de Blasio to support these citizen forces, which have shown their ability to make the Seaport work once freed of inept bureaucratic control and free to harness the forces of citizen enterprise and initiative?

Peter Stanford, President Emeritus, National Maritime Historical Society
(Mr. Stanford served as founding president of South Street Seaport Museum from 1967 to 1976)

From the editor:
We welcome letters to the editor. Email them to [email protected]. We reserve the right to edit them for clarity and length.

In the last issue of Downtown Post NYC, we published some statements from members of the public regarding The Howard Hughes Corporation's development proposals for the South Street Seaport. If any additional Downtown Post NYC readers want to share their comments to Community Board 1 for publication here, email them to [email protected].



Bits & Bytes
CHARGING BULL; STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR ADMITS PRANK;
NORTH COVE MARINA; THE DONALD VS. DURST; BEEFED-UP SECURITY
The bronze bull of Wall Street. (Photo: Jay Fine)
























"Wall Street's Famed Bronze Bull Arrived 25 Years Ago (Without Permission)," Wall Street Journal, 12/15/14. "It was 10 nights before Christmas, and all the way down Wall Street the coast was clear," says the Wall Street Journal, at the start of a funny story about the debut of the Charging Bull. "A flatbed truck turned the corner and lurched to a stop directly in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Arturo Di Modica and his small band of co-conspirators jumped out of the truck and got right to work - the night watchman had just completed his patrol of 11 Wall St., and, having cased the block for several nights, Di Modica and his team knew they had just 4 � minutes until he returned. They lowered the bronze beast - all 3 � tons of it-right into the middle of Broad Street, and right under the exchange's Christmas tree. The truck zoomed out of sight, but Mr. Di Modica stood at the corner, watching and waiting for morning. It was 25 years ago today that Wall Street's favorite mascot arrived downtown." For the complete article, click here.

"New York Magazine's $72 million teenage stock trader says he made it all up," Washington Post, 12/16/14. "Sixteen-year-old Mohammed Islam wants you to think he's a big shot," says The Washington Post. "The New York high-school junior says he got interested in the financial industry 'at the tender age of 8,' and quickly fell into the third-rate world of penny stocks before graduating to the futures market after finding 'a love for risk and volatility.' How much has he made? Millions, he said." But as the Washington Post further notes, "The world is filled with teenagers like Mo Islam, who now says he never made a dime on the stock market. They play fast and loose with facts. But they don't usually get the treatment Islam just got in Sunday's issue of New York magazine." For the complete article, click here.

"Battery Park City's Populist Sailing School May Lose Lease," New York Times, 12/15/14. "For 20 years, a Battery Park resident, Michael Fortenbaugh, has been a presence at the marina, running an adult sailing school and yacht club with shared boats," says The New York Times. "But Mr. Fortenbaugh's days at the marina may be over. His contract to run the marina expires Dec. 31, and he has been told by the Battery Park City Authority, the agency that controls the land the neighborhood sits on, that he can continue to keep his boats there for 60 more days, but must relinquish control of the marina, which he interprets as a sign that his contract will not be renewed." For the complete article, click here.

"Donald takes to Twitter over Durst's management of 1 WTC," New York Post, 12/16/14. "Donald Trump is the real-estate world's most outrageous tweeter," says The New York Post. "While other moguls cite dry, upbeat market data on Twitter, The Donald lets loose on ObamaCare, the Sony hacking, the Jets and the unsurpassed excellence of his golf courses and branded ties." New York themes aren't spared from Trump's attention. As The New York Post notes, "And, occasionally, on real estate - including his competitors' alleged shortcomings. The month of December seems to bring out Trump's particular hate-on for Douglas Durst." For the complete article, click here.

"Aust NY consulate guarded by NYPD squad," Geelong Advertiser, 12/17/14 "New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton are taking no chances," says the Geelong Advertiser. "The metropolis' many iconic sites, including the Empire State Building, Times Square, Wall Street and Columbus Circle, have also been beefed up with extra police following the takeover of Sydney's Lindt cafe on Monday by Iranian immigrant Man Haron Monis." For the complete article, click here.


Downtown bulletin board
BOOT CAMP; LIFEGUARD CERTIFICATION TRAINING; JERSEY CITY FERRY SERVICE; COAT DRIVE; LOWER MANHATTAN PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
Dinner for two at Delmonico's is one of the prizes for the best photo of Lower Manhattan during the holidays. The contest is being sponsored by the Downtown Alliance.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
Boot Camp: The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy is offering Boot Camp fitness classes, one in the morning from 6:15 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. and the other, in the evening from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Both are taught by Alan Courtenay, a Certified Personal Trainer and weight management coach. Classes are for all fitness levels. They utilize bands, ropes, ladders, trx, viper and kettle-bells. The morning sessions meet on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6 River Terrace. The evening sessions meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Community Center at Stuyvesant High School. Fee: $176 for eight sessions (discounted to $150 for members of the Community Center who attend the evening sessions). For more information and to register, call (212) 267-9700, ext. 363 or email [email protected].

Lifeguard certification training:
Teens can sign up now for American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification Training sponsored by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy. The 40-hour course meets New York State Health Department standards for lifeguards and includes CPR/AED and first-aid skills. This would qualify a graduate of the course to prevent and respond to aquatic emergencies at swimming pools, open water and non-surf facilities. The course takes place at the Community Center at Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers St., on Saturdays from Jan. 10 to Feb. 7, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. The fee for the course is $425; $400 (Community Center members. Youth memberships cost $75.) Applicants must be at least 15 years old by Jan. 10, 2015. For other requirements and for more information call (646) 210-4292 or click here.

Weekend Jersey City ferry service to continue:
This winter, NY Waterway will continue weekend ferry service between Paulus Hook in Jersey City and the World Financial Center terminal in Lower Manhattan. Ferries will operate every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The trip across the Hudson River takes six minutes. The weekend fare will be $4 each way. Children five and under ride free when accompanied by an adult.  Weekend service is included for monthly pass holders.  There is a $1 bike surcharge. There are ticket windows at the Paulus Hook and World Financial Center ferry terminals. E-tickets also are available on the free NY Waterway App, available at nywaterway.com, which allows customers to show their ticket on a hand-held device. Ferry service between Paulus Hook and the World Financial Center also operates Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 9:36 p.m.

The Billybey Ferry Co., which also operates the weekday service between Paulus Hook and the World Financial Center, contracted with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to provide weekend service stating in March, when the Port Authority shut the PATH on weekends to repair damage to the infrastructure from Hurricane Sandy. In nine months, this weekend ferry service averaged 6,000 passenger trips per day. For more information, call (800) 53-FERRY or go to www.nywaterway.com, www.facebook.com/nywaterway or www.twitter.com/ridetheferry.

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.


 
COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETINGS: Week of Dec. 15

Kids got an introduction to tennis at this year's Taste of the Seaport in October. A presentation about Super Duper Tennis is on the agenda at CB1's full board meeting. (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. 18: CB 1 Monthly Meeting at 6 p.m.
              Location: Gibney Dance, 280 Broadway (entrance at 53A Chambers)

Agenda

I. Public Session
* Comments by members of the public (6 p.m.-7 p.m.) (1-2 minutes per speaker)

II. Business Session
* Adoption of November 2014 minutes
* Chairperson's Report - C. McVay Hughes
* District Manager's Report - N. Pfefferblit

III. Welcome
* Emily Petrone, Manhattan Borough Outreach Manager, Pre-K for All

IV. Committee Reports
A. Quality of Life Committee  - P. Moore
   * Lower Manhattan Construction Update - Report
   * Light Pollution - Resolution

B. Seaport/Civic Center Committee J. Fratta/ M. Pasanella
* Brooklyn Bridge Rehabilitation Project - Report
* South Street Seaport Museum - Report
* South Street Seaport development - Report
* South Street Seaport Visions for a New Future - Report
* Reconstruction of South Street South - Report
* CB1 Summer Fair on Fulton Street activity permit application for Fulton Street between Water Street and Gold Street Saturday, July 4, 2015, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. - Resolution
* 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
* Brooklyn Bridge improvements - Report/Resolution
* 77 Fulton St., application for a wine and beer license for 77 Fulton Bakery Inc. d/b/a Lot 77 - Resolution
* 22 Peck Slip/251 Water Street, application for a new unenclosed sidewalk caf� license for Hedgie LLC d/b/a The Hideaway Seaport - Resolution
* 21-23 Peck Slip, application for renewal of an unenclosed sidewalk caf� license for IDG Seaport Corp d/b/a Acqua - Resolution

C. Planning Committee  - J. Galloway
* World Trade Center Quarterly Update - Report
* Silverstein Properties Update - Report
* State Legislature Bill A5355/S3076, concerning electric substation placement - Presentation by representative of Assemblymember Gottfried - Resolution
* Passive House - Resolution

D) Planning and Battery Park City Committees -  J. Galloway/A. Notaro
* Affordable housing in Lower Manhattan - Resolution

E) Landmarks Committee - R. Byrom/ J. Friedman
* South Street Seaport, 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 - Report
* 1 White St., application for storefront renovation, handicapped access ramp and bulkhead and rooftop garden - Resolution
* 26 Broadway, application for signage and flagpole - Resolution

F) Tribeca Committee - P. Braus
* Proposal for a bus stop for Lily Travel Services LLC on Lafayette Street between Walker and White Streets - Report
* 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
* 88 Thomas St. a/k/a 50 Hudson Street, application for alteration of liquor license to permit permit later closing hours; and to permit 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
* 155 Chambers St., application for restaurant wine and beer license for DBTG Chambers LLC d/b/a Dirty Bird to Go - Resolution
* 32 White St., application for renewal of sidewalk cafe license for Tribeca Grand Hotel, Inc. - Resolution
* 135 West Broadway, application for renewal of sidewalk cafe license for Tiny's and the Bar Upstairs - Resolution

G) Financial District Committee - S. Cole
* Lower Manhattan HQ - Report
* Shakespeare Downtown Presentation - Report
* 20 Exchange Place Construction Update - Report
* 90 Washington St., application for a liquor license for NY Hospitality LLC - Resolution
* 1 World Trade Center, 45th floor, application for a liquor license for Legends OWO, LLC - Resolution

H) Youth & Education Committee - T. Joyce
* Art Connects New York Presentation - Report
* Institute for Career Development (ICD) Presentation - Report
* Establish a center around preventing diseases of environmental origin in children - Report
* Super Duper Tennis Programs Presentation - Report

I) Battery Park City Committee - A. Notaro
* Manhattan by Sail Update - Resolution
* Tunnel to Towers Foundation street activity permit application for Vesey Street between West Street and North End Ave. Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Resolution
* Battery Park City Authority - Report
* BPC Parks Enforcement Patrol Update - Report
* Responses by NYC and NYS Departments of Transportation to CB1 letter regarding Liberty and West Street intersection - Report
* Pier A Visitors Center Update - Report
* CB1 letter regarding ferry noise - Report

VI. Old Business
VII. New Business
VIII. Adjournment

All documents relating to the above agenda items are on file at the Community Board 1 office and are available for viewing by the public upon written request to [email protected]
At all meetings, additional items may be raised as "New Business."

Dec. 25: Office Closed - Christmas Day

All documents relating to the above agenda items are on file at the Community Board 1 office and are available for viewing by the public upon written request to [email protected]

At all meetings, additional items may be raised as "New Business"


CALENDAR: Week of Dec. 15
"Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" is part of a series of plays and musicals for children at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. (Photo: Courtesy of Tribeca PAC)
Dec. 17: Gibney Dance concludes its series, "DoublePlus," during which 12 emerging artists have been mentored by experienced choreographers. This week, Maree ReMalia and Abby Zbikowski will perform work that they developed under the wing of Bebe Miller. 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. 17: Trinity Wall Street presents Handel's Messiah, as performed by the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra. Place: Trinity Church, (Broadway at Wall Street). Time 7:30 p.m. Also, Dec. 18 at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall at 7:30, and again at Trinity Church on

Dec. 19 at 7:30 and Dec. 21 at 3 p.m. Trinity Church tickets: $45, $75, $95. Alice Tully Hall tickets: $85, $65, $45. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here

Dec. 18: The West Point Band performs at Trinity Church as part of the Concerts at One series. Place: Trinity Church. Time: 1 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

 

Dec. 18: Gelsey Kirkland Ballet's rendition of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker comes to Pace University. Place: Schimmel Center, 3 Spruce St. Time: 7:30 p.m. Also, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. Tickets: $39, $49, $59. For more information and to purchase tickets,  click here. 

 

Dec. 19: Neighborhood Movie Night at St. Paul's Chapel will bring a big-screen viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (PG-13). Neighborhood Movie Night will continue at St. Paul's on every fourth Friday of the month through July 2015. Place: 209 Broadway at Fulton Street. Time: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for a 7 p.m. start time. Free. For more information, click here.

 

Dec. 19: Under the auspices of Arts Brookfield, Metropolitan Klezmer is giving a lunchtime concert in the lobby of 1 New York Plaza. It will include "full out rollicking frelekhs" [dance music], Yiddish pop and original compositions by the band's members. Time: 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.
 

Dec. 20: Twenty-five years ago, the "Charging Bull" statue arrived in Lower Manhattan. A one-day-only walking tour will highlight the bulls and bears of Wall Street and tell the story of how the bull statue arrived in the night and has since become a mainstay. Starting place: Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St. Time: 1 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $15. Museum admission, $8 (adults); $5 (students and seniors); free on Saturdays. For tour tickets, click here.   

 

Dec. 20: First-grader holiday angst is in full feather when Tribeca Family Theater presents "Junie B. in Jingle bells, Batman Smells." For ages 4 and up. Place: Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. Time: 1:30 p.m. Tickets: $25. For more information, and to purchase tickets, click here.  

Dec. 20: The Museum of Chinese in America offers a hands-on workshop covering Fujianese folk art and the art of paper folding as part of its Mocacreate series. Participants will create craft projects inspired by the museum's Waves of Identity exhibition. Place: 215 Centre St. Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets: Workshop is free with museum admission: $10; $5 (seniors and students); free (children under 12 in groups of less than 10). For more information, and to buy tickets, click here.

Dec. 21: Compline by Candlelight at St. Paul's Chapel brings a quiet end to the week, with music and meditation. The service will feature William Byrd's Vigilate performed by members of the Choir of Trinity Wall Street conducted by Julian Wachner. Place: 209 Broadway (at Fulton Street). Time: 8 p.m.-9 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

 

Through Dec. 24: The Manhattan Yacht Club's room-sized Holiday Train Garden has seven trains running on different tracks, passing through vignettes of New York City and New York harbor. The train show is accompanied by holiday music and treats. 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.

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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