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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 2, No. 12 Jan. 22, 2015
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Quote of the day:
"Sal's legacy remains as one of the finest examples of what the Museum and District were once, and could be again."
- Capt. Robert Rustchak, commenting on the death of Sal Polisi, master woodcarver at the South Street Seaport Museum
* BPCA will select new North Cove Marina operator on Jan. 22
* In memorium: Sal Polisi (1935-2015) * Bits & Bytes: BPCA deaf to community pleas on North Cove Marina; Sheldon Silver arrested
* Downtown Bulletin Board: Asphalt Green Summer Day Camp; Peck Slip Community Crawl
* Community Board 1 meeting: Week of Jan. 26 * Calendar: Week of Jan. 19 BREAKING NEWS: "Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker, Faces Arrest on Corruption Charges," New York Times, 1/22/15. "Federal authorities are expected to arrest Sheldon Silver, the powerful speaker of the New York State Assembly, on corruption charges on Thursday, people with knowledge of the matter said." For the complete article, click here.
For breaking news, go to www.DowntownPostNYC.com. All ads in Downtown Post NYC have clickable links. Click on an ad for more information.
Sal Polisi's woodcarving shop at the South Street Seaport Museum. Jan. 21, 2015.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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BPCA WILL SELECT NEW NORTH COVE MARINA OPERATOR ON 1/22 | | North Cove Marina as it looked in July 2010. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Despite pleas from hundreds of people in the Battery Park City community and letters from elected officials representing Lower Manhattan asking that a new RFP be issued giving more weight than the previous one to community-oriented sailing activities, the Battery Park City Authority indicated on its website that it has selected Brookfield Office Properties to serve as the manager of North Cove Marina for the next 10 years. The BPCA board of directors has to confirm that selection in order to make it official.
"The BPCA Board on Thursday [Jan. 22] will choose an operator of the North Cove Marina following the expiration of the previous 10-year lease in December," said the BPCA's spokesperson, Robin Forst, in a statement. "The evaluation process began several months ago, when a request for proposals (RFP) was released to the public, inviting parties to submit bids detailing plans to operate the marina though 2025. That process included opportunities for bidders to raise concerns about the RFP directly to the Authority, in-person and through additional correspondence exchanges. The Board will make its decision based solely on the publicly available criteria outlined in the RFP: a commitment to MWBE goals, a robust sustainability program, continued and expanded community programming including a sailing school, viable future financing to support the marina and BPCA operations, and specific capital improvement plans."
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said that she would take the unusual step of attending the Thursday BPCA board meeting to register her protest against the BPCA's actions.
"North Cove Marina must include a sailing program that is locally based and friendly to the community," she wrote on her Facebook page. "I am steamed...along with hundreds and hundreds of residents."
However, the Battery Park City Authority is a New York State agency and Brewer has no control - either directly or indirectly - over its actions.
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Dennis Mehiel, BPCA chairman.
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Dennis Mehiel, the chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, owns a 148-foot-long yacht called Helios that he has moored in marinas owned by Andrew Farkas of Island Global Yachting, who will be the presumed partner with Brookfield Office Properties in operating North Cove Marina.
Activists who have organized under the name "Save North Cove" say that Mehiel should recuse himself from the vote on North Cove because of a conflict of interest. However, Mehiel has said that there is no conflict of interest and will not refrain from voting.
Brookfield does not have the experience and longevity in marina operations required by the BPCA's RFP, and would need to have Farkas and his company on board in order to meet the RFP's stipulations.
For the past 10 years, the marina, which is mapped as parkland, has been operated by North Cove Marina Management headed by Battery Park City resident Michael Fortenbaugh. Under his stewardship, mega yachts used the marina along with historic vessels and yachts engaged in around-the-world races. In the summertime, Fortenbaugh organized frequent regattas. In addition, he operated Manhattan's only affordable community sailing program and a youth program that enabled hundreds of young people to learn how to sail.
Although Fortenbaugh had offered to increase his rent to the BPCA by 25 percent to nearly $400,000 a year in a bid he made public, his offer was rebuffed.
According to Save North Cove, citing published reports, Brookfield Properties and Andrew Farkas "together donated $427,000 to Cuomo's recent campaign for governor. In addition Farkas has helped raise millions of dollars for Cuomo in three successive campaigns, and is a former employer of the Governor, paying him more than $2.5 million when Cuomo worked for him after leaving as HUD secretary."
As a New York State agency, the Battery Park City Authority reports to Gov. Cuomo, who appoints the members of the BPCA board of directors. The Battery Park City community and its elected officials have repeatedly asked that more residents of Battery Park City sit on the board, however, at the present time, only one member - Martha Gallo - actually lives in Battery Park City. She recused herself from the North Cove Marina vote because her family rented a boat slip in the marina from Fortenbaugh and took sailing lessons at the sailing school that he ran. The Battery Park City Authority board of directors meeting at which the North Cove Marina vote will take place starts at 9 a.m. on Jan. 22. The board meets on the 24th floor of 200 Liberty St. The public can attend the meeting but may not participate. - Terese Loeb KreuzerBattery Park City Authority board of directors meetings are streamed live, online. To watch today's meeting, which starts at 9 a.m., click here.
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IN MEMORIUM: SAL POLISI (1935-2015) | Sal Polisi on April 26, 2014, carving a figurehead for the South Street Seaport Museum's ship, Wavertree. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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Three days after Sal Polisi's death on Jan. 18 at the age of 80, Jonathan Boulware, the interim president of the South Street Seaport Museum, stood outside Polisi's closed studio at 207 Water St. and expressed what many people are feeling.
"We are heartbroken at the loss of Sal Polisi," he said, momentarily choked with tears. "He has been a fixture at the South Street Seaport Museum for more than 30 years and he represents really the best of what the Seaport District is and what the Seaport Museum is. For more than 30 years, he was a volunteer here, and in his unofficial role as docent and storyteller, he was probably among those who interacted with the greatest number of visitors to the Seaport Museum."
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Polisi's woodcarving shop.
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In a written statement announcing Polisi's passing, Boulware said that Polisi had served in the U.S. Navy and had worked as a manager in manufacturing until the early 1980's. "But these are not the things that defined him," Boulware wrote. "He found his real passion in life through his work at the Seaport and the friends and family he built there over his lengthy tenure. Through his work as a woodcarver, he brought to life the messages, objects, people, and animals in his sculptures. Through his informal role as docent, greeter, tour-guide, and storyteller, he brought to life the Seaport itself." As they recalled Polisi, several people mentioned his warmth and his smile. He "brought joy to whomever he met," said Robert Ferraro, a friend of Peter and Norma Stanford, founders of the South Street Seaport Museum. Ferraro recalled Polisi as "always generous with his time and effort, willing to stop whatever he was doing to explain to visitors his craft and share his passion for the ships or figureheads he was researching, creating or restoring." Ferraro called Polisi, "a true gentleman, soft spoken, joyous of manner yet serious of purpose, he embodied the best of what a person should be." Naima Rauam, an artist who has painted the Seaport for decades and who once lived there, remembers kibitzing with Sal. "He had a great sense of humor," she said, "and we had a number of running gags. We asked each other for advice on our work and if I made a suggestion to him about, for instance, a color on his carving, he would instantly say, with mock pride, what a great idea this was of his! and I would enthusiastically agree that his idea was terrific." She also remembers that, "Sal was always open to learning and embracing new ways of, about and for his craft, his art. There was a plank of wood in his shop with 'always learning' carved on it in Latin. I don't know if it was always the same one I saw, or if he was continually carving more of them. He was intent and thoughtful about doing right by his work."  | Polisi's carving is on the right, the portapalma from Italy, on the left. (Photo: Gary Fagin)
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Seaport resident Gary Fagin, founder and conductor of the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, owns a beautiful and very special example of Polisi's work. "I knew Sal from the mid-80s," he said. "I used to hang out with my dog at his shop in the old container he worked in at the entrance to the old Pier 15. You could tell everything you needed to know about Sal by just looking at his face. "When my wife and I returned from Italy after our honeymoon, we brought back a wooden portapalma and asked Sal to carve a twin for it. What he did was amazing, carving nautical images that evoked this neighborhood. It's so beautiful, and he would only accept a pittance from us in payment. With Sal's passing, one more piece of Seaport authenticity is gone. We'll miss him and his artistry dearly." Julie Finch said that she first met Polisi in 1986, when she started working on the Wavertree. "I am so sad that he is not here anymore," she wrote. "He was such a warm part of the Museum, and would pop out to see what we were doing on winter maintenance on the Pioneer. His work and everything in his shop were inspiring and beautifully carved." "I can well imagine that today in, let's say Germany, there is a young man who visited the South Street Seaport Museum 20 years ago with his parents and stopped into the Ship Model and Carving Shop at the head of Pier 15," said Capt. Robert Rustchak. "Sal Polisi would have been there and would have put down his chisel to greet that child, hoisting him up to look at his latest carving project. Sal would have taken him out the door under the bows of the mighty Wavertree and showed him where the figurehead would go - the one modeled in clay just inside the shop door. That child - and many, many others, and many adults, too - might not have understood all of what Sal was telling him, but they surely remember the gentle, welcoming man who took the time to show them the wonders of the Historic District. Sal's legacy remains as one of the finest examples of what the Museum and District were once, and could be again." Boulware said that Polisi's work at the South Street Seaport Museum will continue. "His shop will stay open," he said. "We are still developing plans for how to carry the carving shop forward, but it is a legacy of Sal's and it is an integral part of the museum as it has been for three decades. The work must continue. Luckily, Sal had prot�g�s and colleagues who have already raised their hands to help carry his most important centerpiece work of recent years, which is the Wavertree figurehead." Boulware said that Wavertree will be going to shipyard in 2015, and that when she returns, the figurehead, which Polisi affectionately called "Penelope," will be complete. Recalling Sal, Boulware wrote, "We move forward here at South Street Seaport Museum, building on the work done by those who came before us. We work to preserve the history, the vessels, and the skills of maritime New York. Sal stood among a group of people who dedicated their lives to that work, and perhaps more importantly to the work of building community. "His work will continue. Penelope will indeed be hung under Wavertree's bowsprit upon her return from shipyard. ... Sal had hoped to complete her himself, but was prevented from doing so by the very thing that made him irreplaceably special: he stopped his work to engage visitors, to talk to staff and volunteers. He set down his mallet and chisel to plan a sign for a shop, a centerpiece for a wedding, or a headboard for a marriage bed. He was interested in people and in engaging them. And so we'll carry on the work. We'll hang that figurehead in memory of Sal Polisi, master woodcarver, Seaport Museum volunteer, friend, and gentleman. Bon voyage, Sal. We wish you fair winds and following seas on your next journey." - Terese Loeb Kreuzer Funeral mass will be at Cure of Ars Roman Catholic Church, 2323 Merrick Ave., Merrick, New York on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 10 a.m.
Donations in Sal Polisi's name can be made to the South Street Seaport Museum at 12 Fulton St., New York, NY 10038 or to www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org.
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Sal Polisi (center) with Jerry Gallagher, then general manager of the South Street Seaport Museum and Gideon Finck, printer at Bowne Printers. April 19, 2013.
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Bits & BytesBPCA DEAF TO COMMUNITY PLEAS ON NORTH COVE MARINA; LOWER MANHATTAN FLOOD PROTECTION; SHELDON SILVER ARRESTED
 | North Cove Marina is flanked by buildings owned by Brookfield Office Properties.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
"Battery Park City Authority chugs ahead with North Cove Marina bids," Daily News, 1/21/15. "Lower Manhattanites are declaring mutiny over the loss of their beloved North Cove Marina, formerly home to a popular sailing school, as Battery Park City officials move forward with plans to name a new operator," says the Daily News. "The Battery Park City Authority is mulling four bids for the rights to operate the marina with Brookfield Property Partners, the landlord of the former World Financial Center, proposing to turn over the docks to a luxury yachting company. The Authority's board further angered residents and the marina's former operator when it quietly moved up a meeting by one week to Thursday to finish the bidding process for the marina's operating license, which expired at the end of 2014." For the complete article, click here.
"Plan to Protect Manhattan from Sandy 2.0 Moves Forward," Curbed.com, 1/20/15. "Last year, New York City nabbed a nice chunk of change to protect Lower Manhattan from future Hurricane Sandys, and now the city is ready to take these ideas from rendering to reality," says Curbed.com. "The bulk of the funding, which was awarded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Rebuild by Design competition, will go toward building the first phase of an integrated flood protection system, the framework for which was dubbed the BIG U and designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group. Renderings showed an earthen berm that would essentially double as a giant park, and the first piece would stretch from East 23rd Street to Montgomery Street. Now the city is taking this framework and turning it into an official submission to HUD," which has to approve the plan. According to Curbed.com, "By 2019, the berm could be a reality." However, not everyone regards this as good news because "this action plan only includes the coastal section south to Montgomery Street. There is a proposal (and it's only a proposal) for a levee system to protect from Montgomery Street to the Battery. A plan for protecting the west side, from the Battery to West 57th Street, is still in the distance. Having them not funded and built at the same time didn't sit well with Community Board 1, which essentially runs from the Brooklyn Bridge down and around to Canal Street. CB1 Chairperson Catherine McVay Hughes is concerned about how flood protection north of Montgomery Street will redirect water to surrounding areas." For the complete article, click here. "Dogs, Kids, and a Couple Fill This Earthy Financial District Loft," Curbed.com, 1/20/15. "Andi and Mike Costa moved from Tribeca to the Financial District in 2012 for one main reason: more space," says Curbed.com. "They have two young daughters, and wanted to stay downtown so that they didn't have to switch schools. They happened upon a two-bed, two-bath loft on Fulton Street, with west-facing windows looking towards what is now a full-grown One World Trade Center and completed Fulton Center. What it lacked, though, was an open kitchen for entertaining, separate rooms for the girls (now 7 and 11), and a quintessentially natural vibe that Andi craved. So the couple enlisted Studio DB to help realize their vision." For the complete article, with photos, click here. "Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker, Faces Arrest on Corruption Charges," New York Times, 1/22/15. The New York Times reports that, "Federal authorities are expected to arrest Sheldon Silver, the powerful speaker of the New York State Assembly, on corruption charges on Thursday, people with knowledge of the matter said. The case is likely to throw Albany into disarray at the beginning of a new session. The investigation that led to the expected charges against Mr. Silver, a Democrat from the Lower East Side of Manhattan who has served as speaker for more than two decades, began after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in March abruptly shut down an anticorruption commission he had created in 2013. Details of the specific charges to be brought against Mr. Silver were unclear on Wednesday night, but one of the people with knowledge of the matter said they stemmed from payments that Mr. Silver received from a small law firm that specializes in seeking reductions of New York City real estate taxes. The total amount of the payments was unclear, but another person has said they were substantial and were made over several years." For the complete article, click here. |
Downtown bulletin board
ASPHALT GREEN SUMMER DAY CAMP; PECK SLIP SCHOOL COMMUNITY CRAWL; ELECTRONICS RECYCLING; TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL PASSES
 | | Lower Manhattan as viewed from Peck Slip. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Asphalt Green Battery Park City Summer Day Camp: Enrollment is now open for Asphalt Green's summer day camp for children ages 4 � to 15 years old. Asphalt Green at 212 North End Ave., has programs for age-specific groups: Pee Wee Camp (4 � - 6 years), Junior Camp (6-8 years), Senior Camp (8-13 years) and Counselors in Training (14 - 15 years). Camp is in session from June 29 to Aug. 21, with five separate sessions. The fee to attend for the entire eight weeks ranges from $5,750 to $6,250, depending on age, however, scholarships are available. Scholarship applications are being accepted through Feb. 13, 2015. Click here for directions on how to apply. Asphalt Green is holding monthly open houses through May to introduce the camp program and staff. The next open house is on Feb. 5 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Click here for more information. Peck Slip School Community Crawl: On Jan. 24, the Peck Slip School has arranged a "community crawl" in support of the Old Seaport business district that surrounds the former Peck Slip Post Office, site of the Peck Slip School, now under construction and slated to open in August 2015. The evening will start at 7:30 p.m. at The Paris Cafe, 119 South St. Participants will then wend their way through the Old Seaport (Fulton to Dover Streets and Pearl Street to the East River), visiting MarkJoseph Steakhouse, Acqua, Barbalu, Fresh Salt, Nelson Blue, BIN No. 220, KEG No. 229, Suteishi, The Salty Paw, Pasanella & Son, Jeremy's Ale House and the Hideaway. Some of the restaurants will be offering food samples, while others will be offering drink specials. For more information, email staceyvasseur@levelgroup.com or Denise@FiDiFamilies.com.
Community Board applications: Manhattan has 12 community boards, each with 50 volunteer members who serve staggered two-year terms. Community boards represent their neighborhoods on issues such as development, land use, historic preservation, liquor license applications and quality of life. The Office of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is currently accepting applications for Manhattan Community Board membership. This year, for the first time, 16- and 17-year-olds are eligible to join community boards. There will be a community board information session just for teens on Friday, Jan. 23, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building Mezzanine, 1 Centre St., North Entrance. Registration is required at teenboards.eventbrite.com. All applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2015. For more information and to apply, click here.
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. Tribeca Film Festival passes: The Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place from April 15 to April 26, will have a new central hub this year at Spring Studios, an exhibition space at 50 Varick St. It will host Tribeca Talks� panels and the Tribeca Hacks and TFI Interactive days, additional innovation talks and demonstrations, galleries, collaborative work spaces, and more. Spring Studios will also house lounges designated for filmmakers, industry professionals, and the press. The majority of the Festival's special events, including Tribeca's innovation offerings, Awards Night, panel discussions, and after parties, will take place at this venue. Tribeca Film Festival at Spring Studios Resident Pass and Day Pass will provide full access to all of the programs and offerings available at the Festival's Hub at Spring, including a resource center and creative workspace with food, coffee, and drinks. The passes will also provide reduced ticket prices for select special events. Resident Passes are $400, discounted to $300 if purchased before April 15 and allow pass holders to invite a guest each day of the Festival. Individual Day passes are $50, discounted to $40 if purchased before April 15. The passes went on sale at TribecaFilm.com on January 20.
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COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETING: Week of Jan. 26 | | Community Board 1's Landmarks Committee voting on a draft resolution responding to The Howard Hughes Corporation's proposals for the landmarked parts of the South Street Seaport. This resolution will be discussed at CB1's full board meeting on Jan. 26 and perhaps amended before it is forwarded to the City's Landmarks Preservation Committee. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Community Board 1's monthly full board meeting takes place on Monday, Jan. 26 starting at 6 p.m. It will be held at P.S. 89, 201 Warren St., 2nd floor auditorium. The public is welcome to attend and to participate.
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CALENDAR: Week of Jan. 19
 | | The Clinton Room at the Fraunces Tavern Museum is a recreation of a federalist-style dining room. The room is named for George Clinton, New York State's first American governor who hosted a dinner party for Gen. George Washington at Fraunces Tavern to celebrate the evacuation of British troops from New York on Nov. 25, 1783. The museum is open daily from noon to 5 p.m. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Jan. 23: Trinity Wall Street is showing movies at St. Paul's Chapel every fourth Friday of the month through July 2015. On Jan. 23, watch "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), which tells the story of a troubled child who summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape Earth and return to his home-world. Place: St. Paul's Chapel (Broadway at Fulton Street). Time: Doors open at 6:30 pm. Popcorn and drinks will be served. Free. For more information, click here. Jan. 24: Join the Thunderbird Indian Singers and Dancers for inter-tribal dances. Drum groups include Heyna Second Son Singers and Silvercloud Indian Singers. Place: National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green. Time: 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.
Jan. 25: A documentary film, "Oro Macht Frei" (Gold Will Set You Free) at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, sheds light on the persecution of Jews in Italy with particular focus on the Nazis' demand for gold in return for Jewish hostages. The afternoon will also serve as the New York premiere of Memory Recovered - The Della Seta and Di Segni Family Films (1923), the only known video document of Italian Jewish life before the Holocaust. There will be introductory remarks by Alessandra Di Castro, Director of the Jewish Museum of Rome and a post-screening discussion with producer Catherine Campbell and historian Susan Zuccotti. Place: 36 Battery Place. Time: 2:30 p.m. Tickets: $10; $7 (students/seniors); $5 (members). For more information and to buy tickets, click here.
Ongoing: 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. 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.
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 Feb. 15, 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 lobby of the South Street Seaport Museum at 12 Fulton St. on Schermerhorn Row is open four days a week with interpretive displays and activities. Access to the museum's upstairs galleries is by appointment or for education programs only. For private tours of Schermerhorn Row and its old hotels, email info@seany.org. Lobby access: Thursdays to Sundays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Ongoing: The South Street Seaport Museum's lightship Ambrose and its barque Peking welcome visitors Fridays 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. In addition, a guide to the Ambrose can be downloaded from the Internet by clicking here. 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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Downtown Post NYC is emailed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer
All articles and photographs in Downtown Post NYC are copyrighted and
may not be reprinted or republished without written permission.
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