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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 2, No. 14 Jan. 28, 2015
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Quote of the day:
"He is responsible for us having thousands of school seats, and in many cases, solely responsible."
- Paul Hovitz, co-chairman of Community Board 1's Youth & Education Committee, commenting on New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's legislative record
* New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will be replaced
* South Street Seaport Museum's Queen Mary model loaned to Long Beach museum * Bits & Bytes: Small investors sought for 3 WTC; Review of Blue Smoke and North End Grill
* Museum of Jewish Heritage remembers Auschwitz anniversary
* Downtown Bulletin Board: BPC Chamber networking; Asphalt Green Summer Day Camp
* Letter to the editor: Albany's 'Pay-to-Play' culture on Downtown's doorstep
* Calendar: Week of Jan. 26
PARKING: Alternate Side Parking Regulations have been suspended for Wednesday, Jan. 28, to facilitate snow removal. Payment at parking meters remains in effect throughout the City.CONNECTION BUS SERVICE: The Downtown Alliance's Connection bus service linking the South Street Seaport with Broadway near City Hall resumed on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
MTA: As of Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 27, New York City Transit subways, buses and Staten Island Railway were operating on a Sunday service schedule on all lines. Regular weekday service resumed on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
COMMUNITY BOARD 1 FULL BOARD MEETING: Community Board 1's full board meeting, scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, was postponed. It may be rescheduled for Feb. 5. Check www.DowntownPostNYC.com for updates on this and other breaking news. WEATHER INFORMATION: For current weather information, click here.
All ads in Downtown Post NYC have clickable links. Click on an ad for more information.
Walking the dog in Battery Park City. Jan. 27, 2015. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SILVER WILL BE REPLACED | New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver greeting a constituent on June 7, 2013 after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association. The ceremony was held in the auditorium of PS 276 in Battery Park City, one of several schools in Lower Manhattan that were built because of Silver's advocacy. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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The news about whether New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver would - or could - hold on to his position while defending himself from federal corruption charges has seesawed over the past few days. On Jan. 22, when he was arrested, Silver declared his innocence and said that he believed he would be vindicated in court. Initially, the Assembly's Democratic conference supported him, but now it has turned against him.
He will step down - whether voluntarily or by being ousted is not yet clear. He will retain his seat in the Assembly as the representative of the 65th Assembly District, which includes the Lower East Side and parts of Battery Park City.
In its account of this development, reported on Jan. 27 (" Sheldon Silver to Be Replaced as Speaker of New York State Assembly"), The New York Times said, "Sheldon Silver, who faces federal corruption charges, is being replaced as speaker of the New York State Assembly next week, Democratic lawmakers said on Tuesday, paving the way for them to choose a new leader in an election to be held Feb. 10. A Rochester-area assemblyman, Joseph D. Morelle, who is the majority leader and a top contender to succeed Mr. Silver, will become interim speaker on Monday, officials said." The Times said that, "Democrats spent a marathon session behind closed doors Tuesday discussing their future leadership, culminating in an evening announcement by Mr. Morelle in an impromptu news conference, in which he abruptly stopped taking questions after less than three minutes."
Mayor Bill de Blasio has made it clear that Silver's departure as Speaker is not good news for New York City. In the past, Silver has worked effectively in Albany for the liberal agenda that de Blasio espouses. A new State budget must be passed by April 1. It will be negotiated with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Republican-controlled State Senate.
At least some of Silver's constituents are still behind him even though they find the allegations against Silver very troubling.
"Unfortunately for most people in the public eye, when there are accusations made - rather than you're innocent until proven guilty, you're guilty until proven innocent!" said Paul Hovitz, a Southbridge Towers resident and member of Community Board 1 who has worked extensively with Silver on school overcrowding issues. "Prior to his removal either voluntarily or involuntarily from his position as speaker, he deserves to have his day in court."
Hovitz recalled that Silver has "given years of service to the community. He is responsible for us having thousands of school seats, and in many cases, solely responsible. He was vital to us after 9/11 with aid and with getting water and food and generators to Southbridge. The same is true for the assistance he gave after Hurricane Sandy. Our seniors here get help because of him. Once a month, there's a hearing mobile on our grounds free of charge. He helped us get our community center with Manhattan Youth. All of this should not be forgotten in the midst of all of these accusations. It would be an injustice considering all the good this man has done to force him out before he gets an opportunity to defend himself."
Yet that is exactly what has happened.
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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SEAPORT MUSEUM'S QUEEN MARY LOANED TO LONG BEACH SHIP | The South Street Seaport Museum's 21-foot-long model of Queen Mary being moved out of Bowne Printers for the start of its journey to the Queen Mary ship in Long Beach, Calif. where it will be displayed beginning Feb. 5. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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Moving the Queen Mary was no small project even though the task at hand was a 21-foot-long model and not the iconic ocean liner herself. On Jan. 21, around a dozen men, expert in such matters, carefully slid the model out of her purpose-built display case and coaxed her into a mammoth crate for transportation from the South Street Seaport Museum, which owns the model, to a truck that would carry her to yet another truck that would transport her to Long Beach, Calif.
 There, she will be on loan, a year at a time, to the Queen Mary ship as part of a model exhibit and eventually as part of a museum that the owners of the Queen Mary hope to open aboard the ship in 2016. In the meantime, the South Street Seaport Museum's Queen Mary will go on display on Feb. 5.
The Queen Mary model, built by Bassett & Lowke in 1934, was constructed from a single piece of mahogany. "This was a builder's model, built prior to the launching of the actual ship," said Jonathan Boulware, interim president of the South Street Seaport Museum. "These models were built to showcase the scale. So to build something that represents a ship as grand as Queen Mary, the model was necessarily large."
 The model entered the South Street Seaport Museum's collection in 1970, a donation from Cunard, builder and owner of the Queen Mary. It had previously been displayed at Cunard's offices at 25 Broadway. The Queen Mary model was last on display at the South Street Seaport Museum in 2010. Since then, she has been housed in a darkened corner of Bowne Printers at 209 Water St. where no one from the public could see her.
"The model will be placed in the model gallery on the Queen Mary, on the promenade deck," said Chris Wilmoth, director of marketing for the Queen Mary. "There are 14 other models but this will be the largest."
 The Queen Mary's website says that Cunard built the ocean liner at Clydebank, Scotland beginning in 1930. Because of the Depression, she wasn't finished and launched until May 27, 1936. She was a three-class ship: first class, cabin class and tourist class. She had five dining areas and lounges, two cocktail bars and swimming pools, a grand ballroom, a squash court and a small hospital.
She remained in service until Dec. 9, 1967. During that time, she made more than 1,100 trans-Atlantic crossings as a passenger ship and also served as a troop ship in World War II.
After her retirement from active service, she was transformed into a hotel in Long Beach, where she also functions as a visitor attraction and an event venue. Around one and a half million people visit her every year.
"She's in great shape," said Wilmoth, with her original paneling still intact. Many of her original fittings are still in the cabins, which are used as hotel rooms.
"I see the effect the ship has on people when they come aboard," said Commodore Everette Hoard, Queen Mary's historian. "They're curious. Some say that even if they don't have a love for ships and the sea, they end up with a love for the Queen Mary."
"We haven't had the ability to showcase our Queen Mary model in the spaces that we have in recent history," said Boulware. "Although we will be sorry to see her go for this visit to Long Beach, she will be seen by lots of people and it's a good partnership between South Street Seaport Museum and Queen Mary."
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Bits & BytesSMALL INVESTORS SOUGHT FOR 3WTC; SHELDON SILVER'S IMPACT ON LOWER MANHATTAN; SILVER WAS HERO TO TENANT ADVOCATES
 | | New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver addressing a meeting of the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association at the New York County Lawyers' Association on Sept. 8, 2011. Silver spoke about the resurgence of Downtown after the World Trade Center attack - a resurgence that Silver championed and, in many ways, made possible. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
"Wanted: Small Investors to fund 3 WTC," Crain's New York Business, 1/27/15. "One of the leaders in a burgeoning business that aims to raise capital for real estate investment and finance by crowdfunding is doing its highest-profile deal yet," says Crain's New York Business. "Fundrise, which was launched in 2012 by brothers Ben and Dan Miller, is offering a stake to everyday investors in the $1.6 billion pool of debt issued in October to fund construction of 3 World Trade Center, the latest office tower slated to rise at the World Trade Center site. The company is releasing $2 million of bonds that accredited investors can buy in as little as $5,000 increments. If the company is able to successfully sell off the shares, it will release up to $3 million of additional bonds for sale." For the complete article, click here. "Much at stake for NYC, Assembly in race for speaker," Crain's Insider, 1/27/15. "This much we know: Sheldon Silver's two-decade run as speaker of the New York State Assembly is about to end. But it remains to be seen whether the powerful post remains in the hands of a New York City member and how much authority the new speaker will have to yield to rank-and-file members to secure the necessary votes," says Crain's. "Assembly Democrats have made clear in the past 48 hours that they want Mr. Silver to resign his leadership position in the wake of his Jan. 22 arrest on corruption charges, and insiders expect the speaker to negotiate his exit between now and Monday, which is the conference's next opportunity to conduct a formal vote. Mr. Silver is thought likely to seek assurances that certain members of his inner circle, such as his $172,000-a-year chief of staff, Judy Rapfogel, will be protected after his ouster, and that he will be able to maintain an office at 250 Broadway. But the next speaker will have to do some negotiating as well to assure members, especially younger ones, that they will have a more meaningful role in Albany than they did under Mr. Silver." For the complete article, click here. "Sheldon Silver and His Sway on NYC Real Estate," Commercial Observer, 1/22/15. "The outsize influence of Democrat New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver drastically impacted legislation over his decades-long political career," says Commercial Observer. "While Mr. Silver is under fire for his potentially illicit relationship with two law firms, there is no disputing the fact that he has been instrumental in shaping-and unshaping-the city's real estate landscape." Among the high-profile real estate deals that Silver shepherded, Commercial Observer mentions the World Trade Center Complex. "Following the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City, the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan became a top priority for the lawmaker," says the article. "When the State Legislature approved multiple incentives to foster growth in Lower Manhattan and bring tenants back to the 16-acre World Trade Center site, it was seen as a victory for Mr. Silver. According to a 2009 New York Times article, Mr. Silver was '[developer Larry Silverstein's] most consistent champion.'" For the complete article, click here. "Speaker's Woes Leave Tenant Advocates Wary," Wall Street Journal, 1/25/15. "For tenant advocates in 1997, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was the hero of the hour as he stood fast against a campaign by the Republican-led state Senate to end rent regulation in New York state," says the Wall Street Journal. "The speaker received a standing ovation from Assembly Democrats after the deal was announced, one real-estate industry figure remembers. Outside the Capitol, tenants held a victory rally. Now, rent-regulation laws are due to expire again in June-along with tax abatements sought by the real-estate industry-and it is far from clear what role Mr. Silver will play in this year's face-off in Albany." For the complete article, click here. "Restaurant Review: Blue Smoke and North End Grill," New York Times, 1/27/15. "Even fans of Blue Smoke would not have described it, before Jean-Paul Bourgeois took over the kitchen last March, as a beacon of innovation," says Pete Wells, restaurant critic for The New York Times. "From its birth in 2002 on East 27th Street through the opening of a Battery Park City location 10 years later, Blue Smoke tried to replicate every major American barbecue style," Wells thought, with limited success. But now, he says, "when it comes to contemporary Southern cooking in New York Mr. Bourgeois's menu is at the head of the pack." Around the corner from Blue Smoke, another Danny Meyer restaurant, North End Grill, also has a new chef, replacing Floyd Cardoz, who opened the restaurant. "Eric Korsh, who started last spring, has a more unified approach, one tilting toward France," says Wells. "The level of cooking may not be different now, but Mr. Korsh hits more high notes, and hits them more often." For the complete article, click here. |
MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE REMEMBERS AUSCHWITZ ANNIVERSARY | |
The Enoch/Rosenbaum family at son Jakob's bar mitzvah in 1938. The Enoch family, residents of Oświęcim (called "Auschwitz" by the Germans) since the 16th century, owned the largest building on the Market Square before the war. (Photo: Courtesy of William Rosenbaum, on behalf of the children of Jakob Rosenbaum.)
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Tuesday was the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps in Poland, where Germans killed more than 1.1 million people between January 1942 and January 1945. Around one million of those killed were Jews.
Soviet troops liberated the camps on Jan. 27, 1945.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City had planned to commemorate the anniversary by listening to the children of Holocaust survivors describe what it was like to grow up in a family haunted by terrifying memories. However, because of the snowstorm, the event was canceled. It will be rescheduled at a date to be announced.
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Architect Daniel Libeskind, whose office and home are in Lower Manhattan, is the child of Holocaust survivors.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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The storytellers were to have included Daniel Libeskind, architect; Joseph Berger, former New York Times reporter and author of "Displaced Persons: Growing Up American After the Holocaust;" Esther Perel, therapist and author, and a number of other people with distinguished r�sum�s and careers.
Stephanie Butnick, senior editor, Tablet Magazine, was to have represented the third generation with Amichai Lau-Lavie, spiritual leader of Lab/Shul and founding director of Storahtelling, Inc., serving as emcee.
The horror and brutality of Auschwitz-Birkenau are impossible to comprehend, and once glimpsed, impossible to forget. There are large displays of human hair, tinged blue by the Zyklon B that the Germans used to gas their captives. There are cases and cases of shoes and eyeglasses. There is a brick wall, now marked with roughly hewn stones in front of which people leave flowers, where prisoners were lined up and shot. There are the barracks where medical experiments were performed that included castration, sterilization and deliberate inoculation with contagious diseases. There are photographs of emaciated bodies, stacked like firewood. There are the railroad tracks, the watch towers and the barbed wire that prevented escape.
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Marta Swiderska and Olga Pressler, shown in their uniforms on the first day of school in 1934, were best friends. Olga was Jewish
and Marta was Catholic.
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Yet at one time, as an exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage depicts, the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau was just a peaceful market town. "A Town Known as Auschwitz: The Life and Death of a Jewish Community" tells visitors that Jews began to settle in the town in the mid-16th century. By the 1860s, half of the town's residents were Jewish.
In September 1939, the German military arrived. The Nazis annexed the area into the Third Reich, returning it to what they saw as its ancestral roots and calling the town "Auschwitz," as it had been called in the distant past. The Auschwitz exhibit states that "German rule brought new regulations, unpredictability, and terror to Jewish life in Oświęcim" and that "the first Jewish prisoners were sent to Auschwitz on June 14, 1940 in a transport with non-Jewish Polish dissidents."
Between that day in 1940 and January 1942, the Germans perfected their killing apparatus, turning Auschwitz-Birkenau into the death camp that is now remembered as the place where, of all the death camps, the most people died.
The survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau are elderly now. Fewer than 300 attended ceremonies on Tuesday at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum to mark the liberation of the death camp. It seems unlikely that future anniversaries will bring even that many people back to Poland.
In the meantime, their stories and memories are being preserved so that future generations will not forget.
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
Parts of the Museum of Jewish Heritage's exhibit, "A Town Known as Auschwitz," can be viewed on the Internet by clicking here.
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Downtown bulletin board
ASPHALT GREEN SUMMER DAY CAMP; BPC CHAMBER NETWORKING; DOWNTOWN DEALS; ELECTRONICS RECYCLING; COMMUNITY BOARD
 | | There are more than 200 small businesses in Battery Park City, operating out of storefronts and home offices. The BPC Chamber has been formed to help BPC business owners develop new business through networking. (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. BPC Chamber: BPC Chamber is a not-for-profit business networking group founded in late 2014 by Battery Park City residents, David Spencer and Rosalie Joseph. It is focused on the Battery Park City business community, which has more than 200 small businesses that operate from storefronts and home offices. Its main purpose is to help its members develop new business and solidify existing business. It also acts as a clearing house for information about new developments in the neighborhood and serves as a central group to represent the BPC business community. Anyone with a Battery Park City-based business is welcome to become a member. The next meeting will take place on Feb. 3 at The Palm Restaurant, 206 West St. (between Chambers and Warren Streets) at 7 p.m. For more information, email david@spencertaxlaw.com or info@BPCchamber.com. Registration for the 2015 Five Boro Bike Tour: Registration for the annual Five Boro Bike Tour, which takes place this year on May 3, is open through Jan. 30. The tour is run by Bike New York, a non-profit organization that promotes cycling throughout the city by sponsoring education and public events. Around 31,000 riders are expected to participate in the bike tour. Funds raised go to support Bike New York activities. It costs $92 for a standard registration and $325 for a VIP registration. For more information and to register, click here. Downtown deals: The Downtown Alliance website has a section listing "deals" in Lower Manhattan. These range from discounted hotel rooms to food and drink offers at places such as Sm�rg�s Chef Restaurant on Stone Street and North End Grill in Battery Park City. Flowers are discounted by 10 percent at City Blossoms, 62 Trinity Place. Brand name and generic cold items and vitamins are discounted at the Battery Park Pharmacy, 327 South End Ave. The deals change frequently. To see what's on offer, click here.
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.
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Letter to the editor
ALBANY'S 'PAY TO PLAY' CULTURE ON DOWNTOWN'S DOORSTEP
 | | Supporters of Michael Fortenbaugh's application to run North Cove Marina for the next 10 years packed a Community Board 1 Battery Park City Committee meeting on Oct. 7, 2014, but the Battery Park City Authority neither consulted nor heeded the community and awarded the contract to Brookfield Property Partners. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
To the editor:
Isn't it ironic that on the same day that the Battery Park City Authority board of directors, comprised of Albany insiders, voted to give the 10-year contract for North Cove Marina to Brookfield Property Partners, we have the story of Sheldon Silver's arrest? The corruption in Albany that we New Yorkers like to ignore has come home to haunt us on our doorstep.
In the words of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, "As today's charges (against Sheldon Silver) make clear, the show-me-the-money culture of Albany has been perpetuated and promoted at the very top of the political food chain," and "These charges go to the very core of what ails Albany - a lack of transparency, lack of accountability and a lack of principle joined with an overabundance of greed, cronyism and self-dealing."
Isn't this exactly what we in the Battery Park City community who fought the BPCA about the North Cove Marina contract could not compete with? Isn't this what Michael Fortenbaugh, the small business owner who didn't have a chance, could not compete with? This is what Dennis Mehiel, the Cuomo appointee and BPCA chair, calls "responsibility to the taxpayer" when he actually means responsibility to the 1% who pay-to-play in Albany.
Dolores D'Agostino
From the editor:
We welcome letters to the editor. Email them to editor@downtownpostnyc.com. We reserve the right to edit them for clarity and length.
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CALENDAR: Week of Jan. 26
 | | Larry Dobens (center), who has been teaching art for the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy since 1993, at the opening reception for the annual exhibition of artwork created in the Conservancy's free art programs. The exhibit runs through March 27. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Jan. 28: B�la Fleck and The Knights, a chamber orchestra, play music by Rossini, Fleck and The Knights at the Michael Schimmel Center at Pace University. Place: 3 Spruce St. Time: 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $39 to $59. For more information and to buy tickets, click here. Jan. 28: "Above and Beyond" is a film that tells how a group of Jewish American World War II veterans smuggled planes out of the United States to fly for Israel during its War of Independence. It will be screened at the Museum of Jewish Heritage followed by a discussion with director Roberta Grossman. Place: 36 Battery Place. Time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $10; $7 (students and seniors); $5 (museum members). For more information and to buy tickets, click here. Feb. 5: Under the auspices of the the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY), historian James M. Lindgren, author of the book, "Preserving South Street Seaport: The Dream and Reality of a New York Urban Renewal District," will trace the complex story of how the South Street Seaport has evolved over the past 50 years. The South Street Seaport District, home to the original Fulton Fish Market and to the South Street Seaport Museum, is one of the last neighborhoods of late 18th- and early 19th-century New York City not to be destroyed by urban development. Lindgren will discuss the efforts of preservationists to protect the area leading to its being designated a New York City Historic District, the many challenges faced by the South Street Seaport Museum, the controversial construction of the Rouse Company's New Fulton Market (1983) and recently demolished Pier 17 mall (1985), and the impacts of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy. Place: 536 LaGuardia Place. Time: 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $10; free (AIA members). For more information and to buy tickets, click here.
Ongoing: The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy's 2015 Annual Art Exhibition of artwork created in the Conservancy's free art programs such as Figure al Fresco, Elements of Nature Drawing, Art + Games, and Preschool Art. Place: 75 Battery Place. Time: The exhibition will be on view weekdays from Jan. 26 to March 27, 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Free.
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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Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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� 2014
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