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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 2, No. 27 March 12, 2015
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Quote of the day:
"In the short time I was in New York, I saw first-hand how important this debate is to the community."
- Canadian filmmaker Tony Rammos commenting on his documentary, "South Street Story."
* Save Our Seaport proposes alternatives to Howard Hughes development proposals
* The River Project nets two three-spined sticklebacks
* South Street Seaport documentary aired on World Fishing Network * Bits & Bytes: Zipcar thefts; Tribeca synagogue; Monty Python in Tribeca; Cond� Nast at 1WTC
* Downtown Bulletin Board: Protest against Cuomo's school plan; Council Member for a day
* Community Board 1 meetings: Week of March 9 * Calendar: Week of March 9
WEATHER INFORMATION: For current weather information, click here. DOWNTOWN POST NYC KUDO: Downtown Post NYC is honored to have been one of eight Manhattan publications to be included on Brick Underground's list of the "24 Best NYC Neighborhood Blogs." To see the article, click here. BREAKING NEWS: Go to www.DowntownPostNYC.com for updates on breaking news.
All ads in Downtown Post NYC have clickable links. Click on an ad for more information.
A detail of the fa�ade of 73 Franklin St. in Tribeca. Sept. 26, 2014. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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SAVE OUR SEAPORT PROPOSES ALTERNATIVES TO HOWARD HUGHES DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS FOR TIN AND NEW MARKET BUILDINGS|
| The New Market Building in the South Street Seaport was the last waterfront building to be built specifically for the Fulton Fish Market. It opened in 1939.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
The Texas-based Howard Hughes Corporation has long-term leases on parts of the historic South Street Seaport, but not on all of it, and now Save Our Seaport (SOS) is coming forward with its own proposals for Seaport redevelopment that do more than just react to what Howard Hughes has put on the table. Save Our Seaport, a grassroots organization that began in 2011 primarily among South Street Seaport Museum volunteers and former staff, has grown to include people from all over the city who are concerned with the preservation of the Museum, the Seaport Historic District, New York and American maritime history, the Museum's ships and waterfront, and the District's public markets. In the first of what will be a series of proposals, SOS specifically addresses the future of the Tin Building, which dates from 1907, and the New Market Building, which opened in 1939. Both were built specifically for the Fulton Fish Market and are the last remaining waterfront market buildings in New York City. The Howard Hughes Corporation has proposed demolishing the New Market Building and erecting a 494-foot-tall luxury apartment tower on that site. SOS's proposals are "the distillation of several years of looking at these buildings," said David Sheldon, a founding member of SOS. "They were built by the city. They were built as public assets. They were built to serve a public need, and we saw no reason why could they not continue to do so." SOS proposes that the first floor of the New Market Building be repurposed as a center of maritime activity with a South Street Seaport Museum gallery on the second floor. This space - more than 23,000 square feet - could also be used for educational purposes and possibly as a performance and rehearsal space.
In light of the desperate need for historic ship berths in Manhattan, SOS would like to see berths created on the East River for visiting historic ships and/or for use as a working waterfront. These would be where ghost piers 18 to 21 used to be, with control of these piers under the direction of the South Street Seaport Museum. This, SOS says, would bring in earned revenue. The popular New Amsterdam Market, which often attracted as many as 6,000 people within a few hour period proved that a market in the South Street Seaport is wanted and viable. SOS proposes to select an operator (via an RFP process) to operate an indoor/outdoor destination public market in the Seaport and to house it on the first floor of the Tin Building.
The upper floors of the Tin Building (estimated at 100,000 square feet) could be used for a Harbor Middle School or for a community recreational center with public/private funds. Alternatively, these floors could become a catering facility or a culinary school (via an RFP process) to create earned income.
SOS states that, "Since the Howard Hughes Corporation has "missed their milestones," SOS reiterates its call for a moratorium on any new Seaport Land Use Actions. SOS asks that the New York City Comptroller annul the 2011 Letter of Intent" which gave Howard Hughes the option to make a proposal for the Tin and New Market Buildings, among other options in the Seaport, "and for the Mayor to put into place a community-based master planning effort to create a strategic vision for the Seaport Historic District." SOS concedes that "The Howard Hughes Corporation will need to be part of the process," but goes on to say that HHC "should not be leading it."
Because of Hughes' long-term leases in the Seaport, the developer's needs and wishes cannot simply be dismissed, so SOS proposes to "Explore creative strategies to provide a development site and/or Air Rights Transfers anywhere other than in the New York State/Federal Historic Seaport District for the Howard Hughes Corporation." Howard Hughes has already purchased all of the available South Street Seaport air rights. If it could transfer them elsewhere and build a tower away from the Seaport low-rise district, that might satisfy its wish for revenue while preserving the historic fabric of the Seaport.
SOS would like to "Require ULURP [Uniform Land Use Review Procedure] approvals for downtown developers to include a Community Benefit Agreement to renovate the Tin and New Market Buildings and repair pier pilings and platforms." SOS would authorize The Howard Hughes Corporation "to act as fee-leasing agent, sharing revenue streams for South Street Seaport Museum properties, insuring certainty of SSSM operational cash flow."
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, SOS wants to see the New York Economic Development Corporation, which currently is landlord and manager of the South Street Seaport on behalf of the city, replaced with a new governing authority. This new entity, says SOS, would "replace the involvement of NYEDC in the Brooklyn Bridge Southeast Urban Renewal Plan district. It would act as the landlord to the South Street Seaport and environs, (from The Battery to Pier 42)." The NYEDC has inked numerous agreements with The Howard Hughes Corporation and its predecessors, General Growth Properties and the Rouse Company, that literally gave away city property or leased it at such low below-market rates that it was tantamount to a giveaway. The Howard Hughes Corporation, for instance, is paying less than $3.50 per square foot for its South Street Seaport leaseholds in a market where this real estate normally commands several hundred dollars per square foot. "Reconvene the Seaport Working Group," says SOS, "to finish their work which will result in a new Master Plan for the district." The Seaport Working Group, consisting of elected officials, Community Board 1 members, Seaport stakeholders, Howard Hughes executives and representatives of the NYCEDC, met between February and June 2014, and hammered out non-binding development guidelines for the South Street Seaport that SOS feels have been more honored in the breach than in the observance. "We touched on a lot of things in this release briefly that we need to go into in more depth," said Sheldon. This will happen in future proposals from Save Our Seaport. - Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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THE RIVER PROJECT NETS TWO THREE-SPINED STICKLEBACKS, THE FIRST ONES THEY'VE SEEN IN 10 YEARS OF PLUMBING THE HUDSON|
| A three-spined stickleback netted by The River Project in the Hudson River. (Photo: Courtesy of The River Project)
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Two little fish - each around two inches long - have been the cause of great excitement at The River Project, a marine science field station founded in 1986 at Pier 26 in Tribeca, and since 2006, "temporarily" ensconced at Pier 40. On Jan. 28 and again on Feb 18, River Project staff pulled a three-spined stickleback ( Gasterosteus aculeati) out of the Hudson River. They had not seen these fish in the Hudson for the last 10 years. "It was really exciting!" said Jessica Bonamusa, spokesperson for The River Project. "Head of Interns Nina Zain, Educator Elisa Caref and Wetlab Assistant James Sarmentio were the ones to actually pull them up. These didn't have their mating colors (all red for females, partially red for males) so we weren't sure of their sex. I've heard a couple different theories about why we haven't caught them in 10 years, but we don't know enough to give solid answers." Bonamusa said that The River Project has only been sampling the Hudson in winter for the last six years, which might be a contributing factor to not having seen any three-spined sticklebacks recently. "They're seasonal," she said. Three-spined sticklebacks are of great interest to scientists and have been studied extensively. On the Eastern Seaboard, they live in most inland coastal waters between the Chesapeake Bay to the south and Baffin Island to the north. They are also found in California and points north, on the western shore of Hudson Bay and in many other parts of the world, including Europe and Asia. Most populations are anadromous, meaning that they live in seawater but breed in fresh or brackish water. The Hudson River must be particularly to their taste since it is salty near the mouth but fresh the closer it gets to its source north of Albany. Interestingly, the male three-spined sticklebacks are the nest builders and also the caretakers of the young. From late April to July, the fish move from deep water to shallow water. There the male builds a nest by digging a pit that he fills with plant material and debris that he glues together with mucous threads spun from his kidneys. He bores a tunnel through the center of his nest and then lures a female to enter and lay her eggs. After she has done her job, he chases her away, perhaps in order to invite another female into his lair. For the next seven to eight days, the male cares for the eggs by fanning them, day and night, to keep them at the correct temperature and to make sure that the water is adequately oxygenated. After the young hatch, most three-spined stickleback males will chase any wanderers back into the nest by sucking them up and spitting them back to a place of safety. Another thing that fascinates scientists about three-spined sticklebacks is that they cooperate with each other in checking out potential predators. In Great Britain, these little fish are endearingly called "tittlebats." Charles Dickens must have liked that name. They turn up in his novel, "The Pickwick Papers" when Dickens writes that Samuel Pickwick was purported to have written a treatise on tittlebats. - Terese Loeb Kreuzer
For more information on The River Project, click here.
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SOUTH STREET SEAPORT DOCUMENTARY AIRED ON WORLD FISHING NETWORK, DESCRIBES SEAPORT HISTORY AND CURRENT STAND-OFF|
| | Some of the buildings on Beekman Street still carry signage from the Fulton Fish Market, which was in the South Street Seaport from 1822 to 2005. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Now we have a Canadian take on the South Street Seaport and what's going on there. When the World Fishing Network, a 24/7 channel geared towards fishing enthusiasts, commissioned Canadian writer/producer/director Tony Rammos to create a short documentary on the old Fulton Fish Market, WFN may have expected a historic narrative, which they got. They may not have expected to learn about a brawl over real estate, which they also got. In his nine-minute video, "South Street Story," Rammos depicts the Seaport odyssey as a clash of cultures - first between the rough-and-tumble fishmongers and the Wall Street white-collar workers, and more recently, between the historical preservationists and the Texas-based Howard Hughes Corporation, which has a long-term lease on parts of the Seaport. Hughes wants to demolish the New Market Building, built for the Fulton Fish Market in 1939, in order to erect a 494-foot tower on that site. Hughes also envisions turning the Seaport into a fashion hot spot. "I was surprised by the magnitude of the story," said Rammos. "In the short time I was in New York, I saw first-hand how important this debate is to the community. I then felt it was my duty to convey this message properly." Rammos began researching the video in mid-November 2014 and finished editing it by the end of January 2015. "I did all my research before coming to New York," he said. "It took me about three weeks of reading and preparing." He said that he crammed the shooting into two days but could have used a third day. Barbara Mensch's stunning photos of the old Fulton Fish Market make up a large part of the documentary along with her recollections of what the market was like when she first moved to the Seaport more than three decades ago and what she saw it become. Madeline Rogers, who served on the board of the New Amsterdam Market, also contributes her insights as does Frank Mineo, one of the fishmongers, whose family had a business in the Fulton Fish Market for generations. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer comments on the proposed tower and on the need to preserve the integrity of Manhattan's last remaining neighborhood of largely 19th and early 20th century buildings. The Howard Hughes Corporation was asked to be part of the documentary but declined. The World Fishing Network is broadcast throughout Canada and the United States. Rammos' documentary has already aired on WFN's half-hour journalistic news program called "World Fishing Journal" and elsewhere on the World Fishing Network. To see the South Street Seaport video, click here. - Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Bits & Bytes
ZIPCAR THEFTS; TRIBECA SYNAGOGUE; MONTY PYTHON IN TRIBECA; NEW LEADERS FOR OLD SEAPORT ALLIANCE; RENT REGS; CONDE NAST|
| Sara Williams, owner of Fresh Salt at 146 Beekman St., has been elected co-chair of the Old Seaport Alliance along with Enrico Ciotti of VBar&Company, a restaurant at 212 Front St. The Old Seaport Alliance, a merchants' association, was founded in the wake of Superstorm Sandy by businesses in the historic South Street Seaport neighborhood.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
"Thieves are stealing Zipcars across the city," New York Post, 3/9/15. "They're a zip to rent - and to steal," the New York Post comments. "Auto thieves have swiped at least 20 Zipcars - mostly luxury vehicles such as Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs and Audis - from lower Manhattan parking lots since July. The popular car rental service works by having its members make a reservation online for a vehicle. The members then unlock their reserved Zipcar at a participating garage using their 'Zipcard.' But fraudsters started hitting lots across Tribeca, the Financial District and Chinatown last summer with phony Zipcards, law enforcement sources said." For the complete article, click here. "TriBeCa Synagogue's Memorable Building and Stubborn Architect," New York Times, 3/11/15. "If the best sacred architecture intimates the presence of a higher power, the G-d of the TriBeCa Synagogue is a luminous and soft-spoken one," says The New York Times. "Few congregations are as closely identified with their buildings as the TriBeCa Synagogue has been with its marble-clad, potbellied sanctuary, designed in 1967 by the architect William N. Breger, who died Feb. 23 at 92." The Times quotes Avram S. Turkel, the president of the synagogue, who said that people come to 49 White St., west of Broadway, "just to see the building." For the complete article, click here. "Monty Python actors heading to Tribeca Film Festival to celebrate anniversary of 'The Holy Grail'," Daily News, 3/11/15. "To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail,' this year's New York-based film fest will include a special screening of the cult classic comedy and the premiere of a new documentary," says the Daily News. "And word broke Wednesday morning with the velocity of an unladen swallow that the five surviving Python members - John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin - would be on hand for the April 24 screening of 'Holy Grail' at the Beacon Theatre. The 15th annual Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 15-26 in downtown Manhattan, will also host screenings of the group's other films, including 'Monty Python's Life of Brian' and 'Monty Python's Meaning of Life.'" For the complete article, click here.
New leadership for the Old Seaport Alliance: The Old Seaport Alliance, a non-profit merchants' association founded in the wake of Superstorm Sandy by businesses within the historic South Street Seaport neighborhood, has elected new co-chairs to its board of directors following the resignation of its founding chair, Marco Pasanella. The new co-chairs are Sara Williams, owner of Fresh Salt at 146 Beekman St. and Enrico Ciotti, CEO and founder of VBar & Co., opening a new restaurant this spring at 212 Front St. Maura Kilgore, owner of Cowgirl Seahorse at 259 Front St., will serve as the board's secretary and treasurer. The new appointments were effective as of Feb. 5. For more information about the Old Seaport Alliance, click here. "Council calls on Albany to extend rent regulations," Capital New York, 3/11/15. "The City Council passed legislation on Wednesday urging Albany to extend the city's rent stabilization requirements," Capital New York reports. "The current rent stabilization laws are set to expire in April and can only be extended or renewed at the state level. Local lawmakers introduce legislation every year as a symbolic show of support for the extension. The legislation passed Wednesday includes a bill sponsored by Council members Corey Johnson, Jumaane Williams and Helen Rosenthal to extend the law through April 1, 2018. The measure declares that there is a rent emergency in the five boroughs-a requirement to renew the city's rent protections." The article quoted Johnson as saying that "We are at the precipice, it is not simply about renewing rent regulation, it's about strengthening rent regulation and we know that opponents to rent regulation have spent millions of dollars to try to elect their hand picked folks in the state legislature." For the complete article, click here. "Bon App�tit Moves to a New Home and Into the Kitchen You've Always Wanted," New York Times, 3/10/15. Bon App�tit, the glossy food magazine owned by Cond� Nast, was among the publications that the company relocated to 1 World Trade Center from 4 Times Square. Says The New York Times, this was "a move that garnered attention, not least because some of the new offices reportedly suffered from an invasion of rodents. Bon App�tit, which moved in this year, is safely in its new space - no rats in sight - and the employees are excited." According to the article, they like the views from the 35th floor and the natural light that beats the fluorescent lights in Times Square. "Cond� Nast leases 1.2 million square feet at 1 World Trade Center," says The Times. "The skyscraper, built at the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has three million square feet, and leasing the building has been slow. Some tenants, like the first private-sector company to sign on, the China Center, have reduced their original space commitments. The building is still just about 62 percent leased." For the complete article, click here.
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Downtown bulletin board
PROTEST AGAINST GOV.'S SCHOOL PLAN; COUNCIL MEMBER FOR A DAY; NATIONAL DISASTER RESILIENCE COMPETITION; BREWER'S BUDGET
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| The first charette in Trinity Wall Street's planned conversations with the community to determine what kind of building to erect at 68/74 Trinity Place took place in late February. The second charette is planned for Saturday, March 14. For more information, click here.
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Protest against Gov. Cuomo's proposed education bill: On March 12 at 8 a.m., Spruce Street School (PS 397) joined schools across the city and state to protest Governor Cuomo's proposed education bill. Parents held each other's hands to protest the bill, with PTA representatives present to discuss the issue. In a push to implement "dramatic" change and reform in the area of Pre-K to 12th Grade education, the Governor is proposing to change the teacher evaluation system. Under the current system teachers are evaluated by three criteria: Administration assessment (60%); Local assessments of student's skills (how are children meeting learning benchmarks agreed to by the School District) (20%); State tests (20%). Based on sect. 112 and 113, the Governor's proposal would change Spruce's teacher evaluation criteria to this: Administration assessment (15%); Independent teacher evaluations (from outside of the school) (35%); State tests (50%). The proposed NYS budget is an up or down vote. If it passes, all of the sections within it become law. Many parents and teachers are concerned that placing such a high percentage focus (50%) on test results could potentially give teachers an incentive to put their self-interests (high performance ratings) ahead of the learning needs of the students that need good teachers the most. The UFT is seeking to stop the budget from being passed. For more information, click here.
"Council Member for a Day": The New York City Council Women's Caucus will be conducting its annual "Council Member for a Day" on Thursday, March 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Female middle and high school students who are interested in a career in public service or community work are invited to apply. The event will include a lunch with the Womens' Caucus and inclusion in the City Council's Stated Council Meeting. City Councilmember Margaret Chin is seeking nominations from Council District 1, which she represents. Applicants, to be eligible, must live in Council District 1. To nominate a young woman to be Council Member for a Day, submit her name, age, school, grade, street address, and a short paragraph about why you are nominating her by Friday, March 20 to Amanda Farias at afarias@councilnyc.gov. (Make sure that the young woman is interested and available before you submit her name!) For the permission slip that accepted young women can provide to their schools, click here. Contact Xiaomin Zhao at xzhao@council.nyc.gov for more information.
HUD's National Disaster Resilience Competition: New York City is competing against 67 other jurisdictions for a piece of the $1 billion in Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery funds representing the remainder of an original $16 billion Federal appropriation. The competition will help communities recover from prior disasters (declared in 2011, 2012, and 2013), and improve their ability to withstand and recover more quickly from future disasters, hazards, stresses and shocks. The Mayor's Office of Recovery and Resiliency (ORR) is leading the application process for New York City for funds relating to the presidentially declared disaster of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The funds in this competition are distinct from the $4.21 billion allocated to New York City. To participate in the competition, the City must submit a two-phase application. In the first phase, due in to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on March 27, the City describes unmet resiliency needs. If HUD accepts the City's contention that it has unmet needs, then HUD will allow the City to progress to Phase 2. In the Phase 2 application, due in October, the City will identify particular projects for which it seeks funding. No specific projects or proposals are identified in the Phase 1 application - it is only an expression of unmet need to allow the City to advance to Phase 2. The Phase 1 application is now out for public comment. View the document and submit comments by clicking here. Comments must be received no later than March 16 at 11:59 p.m. (EST). Phase 2 outreach will begin over the summer if the City is selected to advance past Phase 1.
Le District is hiring: Le District at Brookfield Place, scheduled to open at the end of March, is seeking to hire around 50 people for a variety of positions. Le District is a market owned and operated by HPH Hospitality, a New York City restaurant and development company led by restaurateur Peter Poulakakos and his business partner, Paul Lamos. Le District will have a classic brasserie, a 28-seat fine dining restaurant, an absinthe bar, a bakery and patisserie, a butcher, a deli, a fishmonger and more. Le District is seeking culinary supervisors; cooks (all stations); bread bakers; pastry cooks; stewards; retail counter staff and supervisors (all departments); baristas; produce handlers; butchers; fishmongers and cashiers. The hiring announcement says that, "These positions may require long working hours, holidays and weekends. French language a plus. Candidates interested in applying must know that we are a restaurant group that is committed to hard work, honesty and passion for quality and innovation in all our business practices." Training will begin around March 16. Email r�sum�s to careers@ledistrict.com. Art portfolio development for teens: The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy is running a class this summer to help students entering grades 7 to 12 develop the art portfolios that they will need for further art study. Participants in the class, which runs from July 6 to July 31, Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will learn new techniques using a variety of media. Studio work will be supplemented with weekly museum and gallery outings to look, discuss and draw. The registration deadline is March 31. Tuition is $1,000 for four weeks, with 50% payment required at registration. A limited number of partial scholarships based on financial need are available. All art materials are provided and included in the tuition. For information, call (212) 267-9700, ext. 366 or email registration@bpcparks.org. Manhattan Borough President Brewer's 2015 Budget Priorities Survey: Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is requesting recommendations from the public regarding the needs of the borough, to be included in the annual Borough Budget Priorities Report. This year, her office is conducting a "virtual town hall" to find out which issues are of most concern to borough residents. Fill out a short survey by March 17 at 5 p.m. to help create a report that truly reflects Manhattan's budgetary needs. To access the survey, click here. Trinity Wall Street charettes: The first charette in Trinity Wall Street's planned conversations with the community to determine what kind of building to erect at 68/74 Trinity Place occurred on Feb. 28. The second charette is planned for March 14 at St. Paul's Chapel from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Parishioners, staff, Trinity partners, and members of the Lower Manhattan community are invited to participate in a dialogue about the mission of Trinity and its impact on the new parish building. "A charette is a gathering of all stakeholders in a project where diverse thoughts, hopes, and ideas are used to generate solutions," Trinity explains on its website. "These community gatherings will be led by the Rev. Dr. William Lupfer and Trinity's architects from Pelli Clarke Pelli, who will use your ideas to create a mission-focused design for a new building at 68/74 Trinity Place." To see a video with excerpts from the first charette, click here. Upcoming charettes will take place on March 14, May 2, June 6 and July 7. To RSVP, call (212) 602-0736. Health and Wellness seminars: Free health and wellness seminars are being presented at Pace University in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College. On March 26, Dr. Elaine Barfield will talk about "Celiac Disease: Fact vs. Fiction." On April 21, Catherine Lord, Ph.D., will discuss "New Approaches and Challenges in Autism Spectrum Disorders." All seminars will begin at 8:30 a.m.-9 a.m. with registration and light refreshments. The presentations will take place from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. followed by question and answer sessions. Space is limited. RSVP to communityrelations@pace.edu. Place: Pace University, Aniello Bianco room, 3 Spruce St.
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COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETINGS: Week of March 9
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| | 73 Franklin St. in Tribeca. CB1's Landmarks Committee will hear an application to remove the fire escape, restore the facade and add to the rooftop. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
All meetings take place at the Community Board 1 office, 49-51 Chambers St., Room 709, starting at 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. The public is welcome to attend. Bring photo ID to enter the building.
March 12: Landmarks Committee
* 28 Liberty St. (formerly One Chase Manhattan Plaza,) application for alterations to plaza and storefronts including creation of new entrances at sidewalk and plaza levels - Resolution
* 115 South St., application for rooftop addition - Resolution
* 71-73 Franklin St., application for removal of fire escape, facade restoration and rooftop addition with stair and elevator bulkhead - Resolution
* 363 Greenwich St., application for storefront replacement and new railing - Resolution
* 272-274 Canal St., application for storefront renovation - Resolution
* 7 Harrison St., application for enlargement of back dormer - Resolution
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CALENDAR: Week of March 9
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| An exhibit called "Give Me Liberty" a solo exhibition of new works by Brooklyn-based artist Sylvanus Shaw, at the Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St., runs through March 16.
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March 12: Ori Flomin's "First Move" at Gibney Dance is a reflection on the mature dancing body: its history, its knowledge, its possibilities and its limitations. Featuring performers Hannah Button, Ori Flomin, Isaac Gonyo, and Colleen Thomas, this work makes visible the internal archive of the dancer's body as individuals and materials meet, divide, and weave into and out of each other's worlds. Also, March 13 and 14. Place: 280 Broadway (entrance at 53A Chambers St.) Time: 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $20; $15 (seniors, students and Gibney Dance class-card holders). For more information and to buy tickets, click here.
March 13: Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre performs "Renewal" at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Also, March 14 and 15. The March 13 performance is followed by a reception in honor of Selwyn's 15th seaso n. Place: 199 Chambers St. Time: 7:30 p.m. on March 13 and 14; 3 p.m. on March 15. Tickets: $25 (performance only). $125-$250 for performance plus reception. For more information and tickets, click here.
March 14: "The Gruffalo's Child," part of the Family Theater series at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, is about the Gruffalo's child who disobeys her father's warning not to set foot in the deep, dark wood. For ages 4 and up. Place: 199 Chambers St. Time: 1:30 p.m. Tickets: $25. For more information and tickets, click here. March 14: The Children's Saturday Morning Show brings live music, games, stories, puppetry, magic and more to Hudson Eats on Saturday morning. Place: Brookfield Place, 250 Vesey St. Time: Shows at 11 a.m. and noon. Free. For more information, click here. March 15: Once a month, the printers at Bowne Printers, part of the South Street Seaport Museum, open their shop to people who want to learn more about printing through hands-on experience. In this month's three-hour workshop, Resident Printer Ali Osborn will teach the basics of carving and printing linoleum blocks. He will show participants how to transfer and carve a design into linoleum and then to ink and print the blocks by hand. At the end of the class, he locks up everyone's blocks on Bowne's vintage Vandercook press so that each student can go home with his or her own block, individual prints, and one poster of everyone's prints together. All materials are supplied. Registration required, with limited availability. Suitable for apprentices 12 and up. Place: 209 Water St. Time: 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tickets: $50; $40 (South Street Seaport Museum members). For more information and to buy tickets, call (646) 628-2707 or email bowneprinters@seany.orgMarch 18: Reserve now for the final lecture in a three-part series organized by the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and AJC in response to the recent tragic events in Europe. The lectures, discussing the future of European Jewry, have been moderated by Jewish Week's editor and publisher, Gary Rosenblatt. The series has featured AJC experts who have been providing in-depth, on-the-ground insights into the new reality confronting Jews across Europe and beyond. The series focuses on the rising tide of anti-Semitism, mounting efforts to delegitimize the Jewish state, and other global challenges. The series began with an evening with David Harris, AJC Executive Director, on March 3. On March 11, Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Director of AJC Paris, spoke. Deidre Berger, Director of AJC Berlin, will conclude the series on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. Place: 36 Battery Place. Free. Donations are welcome. Reserve tickets in advance by clicking here.
Ongoing: The Skyscraper Museum's new exhibition, "Ten Tops," surveys all buildings in the world today, completed or under construction, that are 100 stories and taller. Of these 24 towers, the exhibition focuses on 10 (plus a few more), zooming in on their uppermost floors to see how they were designed and constructed. Through September 2015. Place: 39 Battery Place. Hours: Noon to 6 p.m., Wednesdays to Sundays. Admission: $5; $2.50 (students and seniors). For more information, click here.
Ongoing: Every Tuesday through April 7, Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place presents movie trivia with Maggie Ross from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. followed by a film with a food-related theme from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Each round of trivia has a different theme with prizes for individual rounds and a growler from Mighty Quinn's BBQ for the overall weekly team champion. Free. For more information, click here.
Ongoing: "The Nomad," a new musical with book and lyrics by Elizabeth Swados and Erin Courtney, gets its world premiere at The Flea Theater in Tribeca. The story, told entirely with song and dance, is based on the life of Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904), who was born in Switzerland and defied all expectations and conventions when went to live in the Sahara desert, becoming a practicing Muslim and dressing as a man so that she could have the freedom to travel and work. A writer and journalist by trade, she was both an associate of the French colonists and an advocate for the disenfranchised citizens. She was killed in a flash flood at the age of 27. Through April 6. Place: 41 White St. Tickets: $70-$15 (lowest price tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis). VIP tickets, including reserved seats and unlimited drinks, $100. For more information and to buy tickets, call (212) 352-3101 or 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: 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: 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: "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 three 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: Fridays to Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 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
All articles and photographs in Downtown Post NYC are copyrighted and
may not be reprinted or republished without written permission.
� 2014
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