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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 2, No. 7 Jan. 5, 2015
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Quote of the day:
"I'm very disappointed at the turn of events at North Cove Marina."
- Anthony Notaro, chair of Community Board 1's Battery Park City Committee
* Seaport Math: A closer look at $305 million in 'public benefits'
* Seaport Math: Payday for Howard Hughes
* BPCA appoints director of marina operations at North Cove
* Bits & Bytes: Brookfield Place ice rink; Proposed PATH train cutbacks
* Letter to the editor: BPCA's North Cove Marina actions provoke community ire
* Downtown Bulletin Board: Electronics recycling; Christmas tree recycling
* Community Board 1: Special meeting of Landmarks Committee on Jan. 5, 2015
* Community Board 1 meetings: Week of Jan. 5
* Calendar: Week of Jan. 5
For breaking news, go to www.DowntownPostNYC.com. All ads in Downtown Post NYC have clickable links. Click on an ad for more information.
1 World Trade Center. Jan. 4, 2015 (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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SEAPORT MATH: A CLOSER LOOK AT $305 MILLION IN 'PUBLIC BENEFITS'
 | A rendering of the South Street Seaport as proposed by The Howard Hughes Corporation, with a 494-foot-tall tower and a marina.
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"A tall building is something we're proposing because we're showing you that a tall building is necessary to satisfy a lot of the wants and needs in the community." That was Christopher Curry, senior executive vice president of The Howard Hughes Corporation, talking on Nov. 19, 2013, addressing Community Board 1's Seaport/Civic Center Committee. The day before, The New York Times had exposed Howard Hughes' plan and intention, previously denied, to build a 50-story tower in the South Street Seaport on the site of the 1939 New Market Building, which HHC proposed to raze. The plan had been under wraps because Howard Hughes believed that many members of the community would oppose it. HHC was correct about that. Now, more than a year later, after numerous public meetings and closed meetings of the Seaport Working Group, (a committee of elected officials and community stakeholders that issued principles and guidelines for South Street Seaport development), The Howard Hughes Corporation is still asserting that it needs that tower to finance the things the community wants such as a middle school, affordable housing and replacement of rotting pier pilings.  | |
Howard Hughes Corp. slide
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At a public meeting on Dec. 1, 2014 organized by Friends of the Seaport, a pro-Howard Hughes Corporation group, Curry showed a slide that read, "Total Infrastructure and Community Benefits Costs: $305,000,000." Where did that figure come from? Ken Sacharin, a member of the audience wanted to know. He didn't get a clear answer, nor would one have been possible. Some of what HHC is proposing by way of community benefits would be impossible, improbable or impractical - or even not wanted in the way and form that HHC has introduced them. A middle school taking up three floors of the proposed tower, for instance, would have a hard time passing muster with the School Construction Authority considering recent massive flooding in the Seaport and the known risk of future flooding. Moreover, it would only be able to accommodate 430 students, a fraction of what's needed in an area whose residential population is growing exponentially. Another proposed benefit - building a 5,000-square-foot home for the South Street Seaport Museum on Pier 16 and displacing the museum from 202-year-old Schermerhorn Row so that that venerable structure could be turned into 60 to 70 units of affordable housing - is adamantly not what the museum wants and not an appropriate use for landmarked buildings that were rehabilitated with millions of dollars in public funds. They contain irreplaceable historic artifacts relating to the commercial history of New York City that should remain in the public domain. "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. He also said that evening that the museum didn't need a 5,000-square-foot space on Pier 16 - that around 1,500 square feet would be sufficient to provide access and ticketing for the museum's keystone ship holding - the 1885 iron-hulled Wavertree, which will soon be going to shipyard for a $9 million refurbishment. A marina, also in the Howard Hughes plans as a public benefit, is another non-starter according to experienced members of Lower Manhattan's maritime community. They said that the fast and sometimes treacherous currents in the East River would make it difficult to moor boats there. In addition, it isn't clear that a marina would even be permissible so close to the Brooklyn Bridge. As for the landmarked Tin Building - HHC proposes to move it 30 feet closer to the East River, raise it by five feet in order to get it above the flood plain and add another story to it for vaguely defined "cultural use." In fact, as an old market building, the Tin Building is less vulnerable to flooding damage than many newer buildings that were not designed to have water flow into them from time to time and flow out again. In addition, moving a landmarked building is always problematic as far as the Landmarks Preservation Commission is concerned. Howard Hughes has announced that 10,000 square feet of this building would be devoted to a "world-class, incredible food market" (Chris Curry's words on Nov. 19, 2013). As Robert LaValva, founder of the New Amsterdam Market, pointed out several times, the market that he ran successfully in parking lots under the FDR Drive was around 15,000 square feet - and to have a world-class food market like Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia, or the Pike Place Market in Seattle requires a market many times that size. (The Pike Place Market takes up nine acres.) In an email, Ken Sacharin ruminated further on what that $305 million in public benefits that Howard Hughes said it would dower on the South Street Seaport might really mean. "Is that $305 million dollar estimate fair?" he wondered. "Is each element correctly valued? Is each element needed? Is it a fair deal overall?" - Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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SEAPORT MATH: PAYDAY FOR THE HOWARD HUGHES CORPORATION | A rendering of the South Street Seaport as proposed by The Howard Hughes Corporation. The proposed 494-foot-tall tower is in the background, with the Tin Building and Pier 17 in the foreground.
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It isn't clear exactly how many square feet of space The Howard Hughes Corporation is currently leasing in the South Street Seaport. In any event, a marketplace lease that HHC signed with the City on June 27, 2013 stipulates that HHC owes a flat sum of $1.2 million annually for its leaseholds, which include all of Pier 17 and parts of properties in what are called the "uplands" along Fulton Street and several side streets. HHC has said that its uplands retail spaces alone amount to around 180,000 square feet. In addition to this low-cost deal - which works out to approximately $3.06 a square foot, - Howard Hughes gained a concession from the City when it amended its ground lease in 2012. According to the company's quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June of that year, HHC is getting a rent credit of $1.5 million on Pier 17 while the project is under construction. This is to be taken over a 30-month period. In 2012, Pier 17 had approximately 195,000 square feet of leasable space, according to an article in Business Week. ("NYC's South Street Seaport Redevelopment Planned at Pier," 8/23/12). The new shopping mall design raises that number. In the current market, when Pier 17 is finished in 2016, it should be possible to lease space in it for $250 to $300 a square foot. Conservatively, this leasehold alone should generate a net profit of around $50 million annually for Howard Hughes. In addition, HHC has other revenue-generating Seaport holdings. With so much money at stake, Howard Hughes has spent liberally on lobbying, marketing and advertising. According to HHC's Nov. 10, 2014 SEC filing, Hughes spent $2.9 million from January through September 2014 on See/Change programming and $2.4 million through September 2014 on "development-related marketing." The NYC Lobbyist Database indicates that HHC has spent $1,408,328 on lobbyists to date. Even without income from a luxury apartment tower, The Howard Hughes Corporation is making a substantial amount of money in the South Street Seaport. - Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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BPCA APPOINTS DIRECTOR OF MARINA OPERATIONS AT NORTH COVE
 | The dockmaster's office at North Cove Marina. Jan. 2, 2015.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
On Dec. 30, the Battery Park City Authority posted a notice on its website announcing that Ted K. Wallace had been appointed interim Director of Marina Operations for North Cove Marina. It was unlikely that most people would have been poring over the Battery Park City Authority website on that particular day right before the New Year's holiday, and there was no official statement about the appointment other than what appeared there. "As the newly appointed interim Director of Marina Operations, [Wallace] will be navigating the marina's many uses and users," the BPCA explained on its website. "His extensive experience - first as a sailing instructor and then as a dock master - taught him that safety and customer service are the anchors of a good marina operation, which is why he is certified by both the Red Cross and the YMCA in water safety and first aid. Ted has been active in the world of competitive sailing in and around Manhattan for over a quarter-century, giving him tremendous knowledge of every berth, basin, pier and port throughout New York." In the brief bio that accompanied the announcement, the BPCA noted that Wallace had previously served as senior dock master at North Cove Marina prior to Michael Fortenbaugh being awarded a 10-year contract to manage North Cove. Fortenbaugh's contract expired on Dec. 31, 2014. Wallace has "been at the helm of motor vessels and sailing boats, has raced in regattas and has been a flotilla captain, and is thrilled to bring his wide-ranging experience to our very own North Cove Marina," the BPCA said. Fortenbaugh said that he was aware of the appointment and that he knew Wallace, who had been a member of the Manhattan Sailing Club under Fortenbaugh's stewardship. Fortenbaugh's clubhouse boat, the Honorable William Wall, is still berthed at the marina along with other property that was used by the sailing school that Fortenbaugh ran. However, when Fortenbaugh and some of his supporters tried to go to the docks on Jan. 2, they were barred by security guards hired by the Battery Park City Authority. Robin Forst, spokesperson for the BPCA, was asked in an email about when the BPCA decided to hire Wallace, whether he is temporarily or permanently in charge, and specifically, what his responsibilities would be, however she declined to answer. - Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Bits & BytesBROOKFIELD PLACE ICE RINK; POSSIBLE PATH SERVICE SHUTDOWN
 | | Ice skating at the Brookfield Place rink. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
"On, or Just Near, the Ice at Brookfield Place," New York Times, 1/2/15. "Brookfield Place, the riverfront development formerly known as the World Financial Center, offers views to the east of Santiago Calatrava's massively over-budget PATH station; to the west, the sun setting over the Hudson River; and to the middle, Hudson Eats, a food court that has the rare good taste not to blast bad music," says The New York Times. "For a few months of the winter, it also has another attraction: one of the least-crowded skating rinks in Manhattan." For the complete article, click here. "Plan to End Overnight PATH Service Irks Riders," New York Times, 1/4/15. "The PATH platform at Ninth Street in Manhattan at 2:30 in the morning can be a bit disorienting," says The New York Times, "looking more like midday than the middle of the night. As dozens of people waited at that hour on a recent weekday, the only real tipoffs to the time were the drowsy eyes and drooping heads. As the New Jersey-bound train to Hoboken and Journal Square pulled in, 35 minutes after the previous one, it was standing room only." But Governors Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey, who jointly control the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, unveiled a report in December calling for the possible elimination of service between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on the Port Authority Trans-Hudson, known as PATH, the train linking Manhattan with nearby cities in New Jersey. "Eliminating service would save the authority $10 million from its $330 million budget, according to the governors' report. The idea was universally rejected by those lonely souls crisscrossing the Hudson River in the early morning hours, including the bartenders and clubgoers, the swing-shift construction and postal workers, and the foreign-exchange traders heading in on Frankfurt time. To them, the overnight PATH is a lifeline, the only one into or out of New York City when all other trains and buses have stopped and taxis, at $50 to $100, are too costly." For the complete article, click here. |
Letter to the editor
BPCA'S NORTH COVE MARINA ACTIONS PROVOKE COMMUNITY IRE
 | | Young people who had learned to sail at North Cove Marina during Michael Fortenbaugh's tenure as manager speaking on his behalf at Community Board 1's full board meeting on Dec. 18, 2014. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
To the editor:
Anthony Notaro
Chair, Community Board 1's Battery Park City CommitteeFrom the editor:Community Board 1's Battery Park City Committee meets on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. at the Battery Park City Library, 175 North End Ave. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Gwen Dawson, Senior Vice President of Asset Management and Robin Forst, Vice President of External Relations for the Battery Park City Authority, are scheduled to be at this meeting. At its Dec. 18, full board meeting, Community Board 1 had passed by a unanimous vote (36 to zero) a resolution that stated, "the Marina Request for Proposals [RFP] Evaluation Criteria only assigns a weight of 15 percent of a total 100 percent to 'quality and strength of proposed community-based programming...,' which we believe diminishes those criteria and the value of our parkland." The resolution said that the BPCA could "exercise its right (per the RFP) to withdraw the current North Cove Marina Operator RFP so that it can be reviewed with more community input and transparency to ensure that the selection of any operator will support the public good, be stewards of our parklands and generate a reasonable revenue stream. Until such time as a new RFP is released and the final selection is made, CB1 asks that the contract with the current operator be extended." 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
MANDATORY ELECTRONICS RECYCLING; CHRISTMAS TREE COLLECTION FOR COMPOSTING; KERRI PEDERSEN FUNDRAISER
 | | A boy dragged a Christmas tree along the Battery Park City esplanade to add to the pile of trees that the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy has been collecting to turn into compost for use in BPC's gardens. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Electronics recycling: As of this year (2015) it is illegal to discard electronics in the trash. New York City apartment buildings are eligible to participate in a program that provides them with a free service to pick up and recycle unwanted electronics. Click here for more information. Alternatively, electronics can be dropped off at Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Best Buy, Staples (no TVs) or the Lower East Side Ecology Center. For more information, click here. Working electronics can be donated for reuse at the New York City Stuff Exchange. For more information, click here.
Christmas tree heaven: Through Jan. 26, the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy is collecting Christmas trees to turn into compost. Battery Park City residents are invited to bring their trees (minus all decorations and stands) to their street corner where BPCPC staff will pick them up daily. Trees will then be taken to Esplanade Plaza to be fed through a chipper. "Recycling your tree is a great way to help your community by reducing waste, lowering carbon emissions and helping to keep the plants healthy," says the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy on its website. For more information about BPCPC's sustainable composting practices, click here.
Fundraiser for Kerri Pedersen's children: For more than two decades, Kerri Pedersen worked as a nurse practitioner at Tribeca Pediatrics. Eleven years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but continued living as normally as possible - working and and taking care of her two children. She passed away on Dec. 16 at the age of 44. "Kerri touched thousands of local parents and their babies and children with her gentle knowledge and her loving and inviting smile," said Manon Chevallerau, one of her many admirers. "Every one who knew her, loved her and is heartbroken with the news." Pedersen was a single mother. Her older child, Conrad, now 27, has become the legal guardian for her younger child, Gage, 11. Pedersen's many friends have established a fundraiser to help her boys. To learn more about this effort, or to contribute, click here.
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COMMUNITY BOARD 1: SPECIAL MEETING OF LANDMARKS COMMITTEE
 | A slide from The Howard Hughes Corporation's presentation of its South Street Seaport development plans to Community Board 1's Landmarks Committee on Dec. 10, 2014. This shows HHC's proposal for Schermerhorn Row, the South Street Seaport Museum, the Tin Building, the John Street lot and Pier 17. The empty square in the rendering to the left of the Tin Building is presently occupied by the New Market Building. HHC proposes to raze that building and erect a 494-foot-tall tower on that site.
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Jan. 5, 2015: There will be a special meeting of Community Board 1's Landmarks Committee to discuss The Howard Hughes Corporation's proposals for South Street Seaport development and to vote on a resolution that will be presented to the City's Landmarks Preservation Commission. The meeting will be held at the National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, in the Diker Pavilion, starting at 6 p.m. The public may attend but will not be allowed to participate in the discussion. The topics to be considered in the resolution include: 1. Tin Building: relocation and one-story addition 2. Pier 17 western edge/removal of headhouse 3. Pier 17 canopy and mechanical screen 4. Pedestrian canopy 5. Demolition of the Link Building 6. Construction of pavilions and lighting under FDR Drive 7. East River Esplanade 8. New building on Pier 16 9. Schermerhorn Row and new building on John Street 10. Wayfinding dynamic signs
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COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETINGS: Week of Jan. 5
 | The electrical system at the Police Memorial in Battery Park City, damaged by Superstorm Sandy on Oct. 29, 2012, still has not been repaired. The memorial is maintained by the Battery Park City Authority. On Sept. 11, 2014, when retired Lieutenant Paul Putkowski of the 61st Precinct in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, read the list of names of the police officers who had died on 9/11, he had to do so with the help of whatever light people could provide with their cellphones. Gwen Dawson, Senior Vice President of Asset Management for the Battery Park City Authority, and Robin Forst, Vice President of External Relations, will provide an overview of the BPCA's 2015 capital budget at the meeting of Community Board 1's Battery Park City Committee on Jan. 6. Superstorm Sandy repairs will undoubtedly be among the items on the list.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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Community Board 1 meetings take place at 49-51 Chambers St., Room 709, unless otherwise noted, and start at 6 p.m. Bring photo ID to enter the building. All are welcome to attend.
Jan. 5: Special Landmarks Committee meeting at the National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, starting at 6 p.m.
to discuss a Community Board 1 resolution concerning The Howard Hughes Corporation's proposals for South Street Seaport development. The public is welcome to attend this meeting but may not comment.
Jan. 6: Battery Park City Committee
Location: Battery Park City Library, 175 North End Ave. Time: 6 p.m.* Brookfield Place tenants and service providers - Discussion with Charlie Colletti, World Financial Center Shoe Repair Shop * Overview of the 2015 capital plan by Gwen Dawson, Senior Vice President of Asset Management and Robin Forst, Vice President of External Relations, Battery Park City Authority * Traffic enforcement around West Street - Discussion with Sgt. George Giga, New York Police Department WTC World Trade Center Command * 250 Vesey St., ground level #107b and second floor #202, application for restaurant liquor license for L'Atelier NYC LLC - Resolution * Committee accomplishments of 2014 for CB1 Annual Report The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses or sidewalk cafe permits: * Tartinery Liberty, 225 Liberty St., store 245A, upgrade from a restaurant wine license to a full liquor license for Tartinery Liberty * 102 North End Ave., application for alteration of liquor license to add service bar for Signature 102 North End Ave LLC d/b/a North End Grill * 255 Vesey St., renewal of unenclosed sidewalk cafe for Blue Smoke 102 North End Ave LLC Jan. 7: Financial District Committee * Broadway Reconstruction Project - Update by Eirik Rundhovde, Resident Engineer and Liz Baptiste, Community Construction Liaison, Broadway Phase 1 * 23 Wall St., proposed new leasehold and use for property - Presentation by Robert W. Romano, Esq * 140 West St. Condominium - Update * Street activity permit for 911 Memorial Family Day on 04/26/2015 from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Greenwich St. between Cortlandt St. and Liberty St. - Resolution * Street activity permit for Coenties Slip Thursday Greenmarket on 07/02/20015 to 11/19/2015 from 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Coenties Slip between Water St. and Pearl St. - Resolution * 20 John St., application for a wine and beer license for Dee Jing, Inc. - Resolution * 83 Greenwich St., application for a sidewalk caf� for Tajin Restaurant Corp. - Resolution * Committee accomplishments of 2014 for CB1 Annual Report The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses or sidewalk cafe permits: * 77 Water St., Suite 701, renewal application for license for Megapolis USA, LLC * 2 Rector St., renewal application for a wine and beer license for Masterpiece Pizza Inc. * 60 Pearl St., renewal application for a wine and beer license for Baluchis Masala * 6 Stone St., renewal application for a liquor license for A Square B Inc., d/b/a Murphy's Tavern Jan. 8: Landmarks Committee * 79 Laight St., application for replacement of entrance door and transom - Resolution * 152 Franklin St., application for handicapped access ramp - Resolution * 140 Broadway, application for entry infill and re-glazing - Resolution * Committee accomplishments of 2014 for CB1 Annual Report Jan. 12: Planning Committee* World Trade Center Performing Arts Center - Update by Maggie Boepple, President & Lucy Sexton, Associate Artistic Director * MTA fan plants and infrastructure storm hardening - Update by Zachary Campbell, Assistant Director, Government & Community Relations * City-wide Zoning Text Amendment regarding stairwells in non-residential buildings - Resolution * Acquisition of office space for Department of City Planning at 120 Broadway - Resolution * Status of FEMA Disaster Assistance Programs - Update by Ken Curtin, Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator, FEMA * City-wide allocation of Community Development Block Grant Funds - Resolution http://www.nyc.gov/html/cdbg/html/proposed/action_plan_amendments.shtml * Committee accomplishments of 2014 for CB1 Annual Report
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CALENDAR: Week of Jan. 5
 | | A statue of Alexander Hamilton at the Museum of American Finance. In honor of Hamilton's birthday this week, a series of programs have been planned at the Museum and at Trinity Church, where he is buried. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Jan. 5: Mondays through Wednesdays in January, The Howard Hughes Corporation in partnership with FiDiFamilies.com and sponsor New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital invites local families inside the Community Cube at the South Street Seaport. Children will have a chance to partake in music, arts, crafts, film and yoga for kids. The month-long program kicks off on Jan. 5 with a free themed party and screenings of Disney's "Frozen" at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Fans are encouraged to dress up like their favorite characters for sing-alongs and movie-inspired crafts. Space is limited. For more information, click here.
Jan. 9: Two hundred twenty-five years ago, Alexander Hamilton became the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury. In celebration of Hamilton's birthday on Jan. 11, the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society (AHA Society) has organized events at Trinity Church, where he is buried, and at the Museum of American Finance, housed in a Wall Street building erected by the Bank of New York, which Hamilton founded. From 11:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., there will be a graveside wreath-laying and blessing at Trinity Church (Broadway at Wall Street). From 12 p.m.-1 p.m. at the Museum of American Finance: "Conversation with the Curators" on the exhibit "Alexander Hamilton: Indispensable Founder and Visionary." Join Museum founder John Herzog and AHA Society Chair Mariana Oller in a discussion about their curation of the newest exhibit at the museum. The talk will be followed by the cutting of birthday cake in honor of Hamilton's birthday. 1 p.m.-2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Exhibit Open House "Alexander Hamilton: Indispensable Founder and Visionary." AHA Society docents will be available at the Hamilton exhibit to answer questions about Hamilton's life. 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Talk: "A Bar Fight that Changed America: Alexander Hamilton, the Trespass Act, and the Case of Rutgers v. Waddington." Lawyer Pooja Nair speaks on Alexander Hamilton's legal defense of Tories after the Revolutionary War. 4:30 p.m.-5 p.m.: Candlelight processional to Hamilton's grave at Trinity Church starting at the Museum of American Finance. Place: Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St. All events are free. For more information, click here. Jan. 10: "Winter Blast" at the National Museum of the American Indian includes a storybook reading ("Rabbit's Snow Dance," retold by James and Joseph Bruchac and illustrated by Jeff Newman) and games such as Eskimo yo-yo, string games, Hawaiian stone game, Woodlands bone toss, M�tis rattle games and other activities. Place: 1 Bowling Green. Time: Noon to 5 p.m. with storybook reading at 1 p.m. Free. For more information, click here. Jan. 10: Poets House presents "Creating the Future: Art and Climate Change with Alison Hawthorne Deming." Poet and essayist Alison Hawthorne Deming, whose newest book is "Zoologies: On Animals and the Human Spirit," discusses writing in the era of climate change - how we must join the sensual texture and discernment of poetry with the critical content of scientific writing to fully elucidate a rapidly changing world. Place: Poets House, 10 River Terrace. Time: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets: $10; $7 (students and seniors); free (Poets House members). For more information, click here. Jan. 11: The Museum of Jewish Heritage screens a one-hour, CNN special called "The Voices of Auschwitz" in which Wolf Blitzer looks back at Auschwitz through the eyes of those who were imprisoned there. There will be a post-screening discussion with Blitzer and Martin Greenfield, a survivor of Auschwitz. Place: Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place. Time: 2:30 p.m. Free (donations welcome). Tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 11 a.m. For more information, click here.
Ongoing: The Woolworth Building was designed by Cass Gilbert to house the offices of the F. W. Woolworth Company and was the tallest building in the world from 1913 until 1930. With its ornamental gothic-style exterior, it dominated the New York City skyline and served as an icon of American ingenuity with state of the art steel construction, fireproofing and high-speed elevators and it was dubbed "the Cathedral of Commerce." The building is still privately owned and operated, and has long been closed to the public. Tours of its magnificent landmarked lobby featuring marble, mosaics, and murals have only recently been made available and can be taken for 30-minutes, 60-minutes or 90-minutes. Custom and Private tours for groups of 10 - 35 can also be arranged. Place: 233 Broadway. Various times. Tickets: $20, $30 and $45, depending on the length of the tour. For more information and to buy tickets, click here.
Ongoing: The Jewish Art Salon presents "Lashon Hara: On the Consequences of Hate Speech." This exhibit examines the power of words, both within hate speech and as "a catalyst for salvation" The exhibit features several mixed media textile works by Robin Atlas. Place: The Anne Frank Center USA (44 Park Place). Time: Tuesdays through Saturdays (except holidays), 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets: $8 (adults); $5 (students and seniors 65 and over); Free for children ages 8 and under.
Through Feb. 27, 2015. For more information, click here.
Ongoing: 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 Jan. 6, 2015: Trinity Wall Street's Twelfth Night Festival of early music at St. Paul's Chapel, 209 Broadway, and at Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall Street, continues through Jan. 6, 2015, with a variety of programs, some of them, free and others requiring tickets. For more information, click here.
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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