Ashley Dennis, chief of staff for New York City Economic Development Corporation President Kyle Kimball, has found a new job. According to Save Our Seaport, a grassroots organization that has been working to preserve the historic South Street Seaport and its maritime history, Dennis has resigned from EDC to take a job with Kasirer Consulting, a lobbying firm that, since 2009, has received more than $1 million in fees from the Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC).

Kasirer Consulting is one of the largest lobbying firms in the city. Julie Greenberg, senior vice president at Kasirer Consulting, has been frequently at the side of Christopher Curry, senior executive vice president of The Howard Hughes Corporation, as he has negotiated the land use deals that have opened the way for HHC to take over more and more of the Seaport.

Dennis, 27, led the now disbanded Seaport Working Group, a task force composed of elected officials, Community Board 1 members, Seaport residents and businesses, representatives of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (landlord for much of the Seaport) and The Howard Hughes Corporation. It was charged with creating non-binding goals and principles for South Street Seaport development.

Dennis, along with her boss, Kyle Kimball who announced his resignation effective next month for an undisclosed opportunity, and Patrick O'Sullivan, former VP of Real Estate for NYCEDC who left in September 2014 to join the land-use practice of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, was responsible for negotiating the revised Marketplace Lease that gave HHC the keys to "privatize" the historic South Street Seaport District.

Michael Kramer, a member of the Seaport Working Group task force and of Save Our Seaport, called Dennis' move to Kasirer Consulting "troubling."

Save Our Seaport cites New York City Conflict of Interest Board regulations that state, "As a City employee, you may often deal with companies in the private sector. If you are thinking about leaving City service, you may want to contact some of the firms you deal with to talk about the possibility of going to work for them. But stop! This kind of networking is prohibited. Similarly, a private firm with which you have some official business dealings may let you know about a job opening in that firm for someone with your City experience. Exploring these possibilities, a common practice in the private sector, could present a conflict of interest for a City employee. To any outside observer, trying to get a job with a company that you're dealing with in your City capacity can raise serious questions about your integrity."
 

Save Our Seaport spokesperson Diane Harris Brown remarked, "The Seaport Working Group was supposed to represent all stakeholders. We were quite vocal at the time regarding its exclusion of the South Street Seaport Museum and the New Amsterdam Market. Now we see how that could have happened! It is time for a new governing authority, with local stakeholders to replace the involvement of NYCEDC in the Brooklyn Bridge Southeast Urban Renewal Plan District. We need a Master Plan for the Seaport."

Dennis is the step-daughter of former New York State Governor David Paterson.

"Former Pier 17 tenants sue Howard Hughes over allegedly fake membership dues," The Real Deal, 5/5/15. "A group of former tenants at the South Street Seaport's Pier 17 is suing General Growth Properties and the Howard Hughes Corp., claiming the landlords intentionally squeezed the retail shops dry so they could throw them overboard in an attempt to redevelop the pier," says The Real Deal. "About a dozen businesses, including the pier's Nathan's Famous hot dog restaurant and the Simply Seafood eatery, filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court late last week alleging that GGP and Howard Hughes collected member dues for a defunct merchants association for 15 years, then took the businesses to court when they stopped making payments.
According to the lawsuit, pier operator the Rouse Company, which GGP acquired in 2004, established a merchant association for the pier in 1986 and collected dues that were to go toward advertising, promotions and special events meant to enhance business at the pier. But when the association expired in 1998, Rouse continued to collect dues, the suit claims. The plaintiffs claimed the landlords even went so far as to hold phony officers elections and have the tenants endorse checks ostensibly paying for the association's programs." For the complete article, click here.

Rajkumar launches re-election bid: Jenifer Rajkumar, Democratic District Leader for the 65th Assembly District, Part C, launched her bid for reelection at a rally on the steps of City Hall on May 3. U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and New York

On May 3, Jenifer Rajkumar launched her bid to be re-elected District Leader for the 65th AD, Part C, on the steps of City Hall. She was endorsed by U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (at the lecturn), by U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nader and by New York City Public Advocate Letitia James. (Photo: Courtesy of Jenifer Rajkumar)

City Public Advocate Letitia James were among the elected officials and Lower Manhattan community leaders who attended the rally.

Maloney praised Rajkumar as "an outstanding leader for her constituency," citing her work to end the contemporary slave trade of human trafficking that has resulted in "the strongest state anti-trafficking legislation in the country." In Battery Park City, said Maloney, Rajkumar has fought "to preserve usable open space in the community and to save the North Cove Marina" and "has built a permanent grassroots network to continue voicing the community's priorities and concerns to the Battery Park City Authority." She also said that Rajkumar had helped to persuade the MTA to restore the M9 bus route linking the Lower East Side to Battery Park City. "Now that's a big thing," Maloney said. "That wasn't easy to change."

Congressman Nadler said that Rajkumar had "demonstrated time and again her ability and her interest and her willingness and her energy in building diverse coalitions to tackle community problems and to lead."

Letitia James said that Rajkumar had worked with the office of Public Advocate on a wide variety of issues. "When we focused on the state of our public health system, we reached out to Jenifer," James said. "She was a part of our effort when we sponsored town halls all across the City of New York on mayoral control of our public school system."

Rajkumar was also endorsed by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and by Manhattan County Leader Keith Wright.

The emcee for the event was Gen. Sidney Baumgarten, a long-time Battery Park City resident. Baumgarten told the crowd, "Jenifer not only supported the Battery Park City CERT [Community Emergency Response Team], she took the courses and became a member of the CERT." He mentioned that Rajkumar is a graduate of Stanford University Law School and "is working for a law firm where she does a lot of civil rights work. She is a very powerful spokesperson for the underprivileged and the disadvantaged in New York."

Steven Wong, President of the Hotel Chinese Workers Association, also spoke, praising Rajkumar's work helping workers in Chinatown. "She is a strong lady, and she knows the issues," said Wong, pointing out how Rajkumar has used her background as a civil rights lawyer to help Chinese hotel workers fighting wage discrimination.

The district that Rajkumar represents includes Battery Park City below Vesey Street, the Financial District, part of the Lower East Side, and part of SoHo.

District Leaders are unpaid. They are elected every two years during the primary election in September by voters registered to the party that the New York State Assembly member for that district represents. The 65th Assembly District is represented by Sheldon Silver.

New York City Mayor Ed Koch, Congressman Nadler and New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer were once district leaders as was former City Councilmember Kathryn Freed - now a justice on the New York Supreme Court - who was once district leader for the 65th AD, Part C, which Rajkumar represents. - Terese Loeb Kreuzer

"As Oculus at World Trade Center Opens, So Does a Neighborhood," New York Times, 5/6/15. "Santiago Calatrava's Oculus, that unearthly winged structure taking form at the World Trade Center, will open to limited pedestrian traffic in June," says The New York Times. "This will give the public its first glimpse of a majestic and luminous space - framed by soaring, softly curving white ribs and the ribbons of light between them - that looks like nothing so much as the nave of a cathedral by Gaud�. Or like a turkey skeleton after it's been stripped clean at Thanksgiving. The debate over the $3.9 billion World Trade Center Transportation Hub, of which the Oculus is the aesthetic and retail centerpiece, is only beginning. Love it or hate it, however, there is no denying its magnitude." For the complete article, click here.

Senior and Disability rent freeze workshop: Seniors who are at least 62 years old and have a total annual income of $50,000 or less may be eligible for a rent freeze if they live in a rent-controlled, rent-stabilized or Mitchell-Lama apartment. On May 6 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., a workshop will explain SCRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption) and DRIE (Disability Rent Increase Exemption) and how to sign up. The workshop is being sponsored by New York State Assemblymember Deborah Glick, New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman and the Westbeth Artists Residents Council along with U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Councilmember Corey Johnson and Community Board 2. Place: Westbeth Community Room, 55 Bethune St. (between West and Washington Streets). For more information, call (212) 674-5153.

Free Tai Chi classes: Warrior Bridge, which opened in January in the South Street Seaport to teach martial arts, meditation and yoga, is offering free Tai Chi classes in the Peck Slip Plaza on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. The Warrior Bridge studio is at 275 Water St. For more information about Warrior Bridge, click here. In Battery Park City, free Tai Chi classes take place on Friday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Esplanade Plaza, just south of North Cove Marina. Alex Hing, the instructor, also teaches at the China Institute and at Sacred Sounds of Yoga. No experience is necessary for the Tai Chi classes and all levels are welcome. The classes are under the auspices of the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy and run through Oct. 31 except on May 23, July 4, Aug. 29 and Oct. 31. For more information, click here.

Spring planting at DeLury Square Park: Join the Friends of DeLury Park on May 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Spring Planting Day, a citywide event sponsored by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. All tools and planting materials are provided. DeLury Square Park is at the corner of Fulton and Gold Streets, next to Southbridge Towers. Rain date is Sunday, May 17. For more information, click here.

Financial District Lions Club raises money for Nepal relief effort: Terry Paladini-Baumgarten,
president and founder of the New York Financial District Lions Club, vividly remembers what happened in Lower Manhattan on 9/11. Helplessly, she watched victims of the terrorist attack jump from the burning towers. "We are grateful for our lives, but all this motivated me to do something for others in need," she wrote in the aftermath of the attack. That's why she founded the Financial District Lions Club, part of an organization started in 1917 whose mission is to "empower volunteers to serve in their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding." From funds collected around the world, Lions Clubs International has already sent $1 million to help the victims of the Nepal earthquake. The Financial District Lions Club is helping in this effort by collecting donations to aid the victims. Funds collected will be sent to the Lions Clubs International for distribution to where the money is most needed, with 100 percent of funds contributed going to the Nepalese. To donate through Pay Pal, click here. To donate through the FiDi Lions Club website, click here.

Liberty Street bridge to close: On May 11 at 6 a.m., the Liberty Street bridge will be closed to pedestrian traffic in order to remove the temporary bridge extension from the Route 9A median to the sidewalk in front of 90 West St. Pedestrian and handicap access to the Battery Park City/World Financial Center will be available via the north and south crosswalks at Albany Street and the north crosswalk at Liberty Street. The Liberty Street bridge will remain closed until its eastern connection to the World Trade Center complex is complete.

Focus groups and Town Hall meetings on aging: On June 3, the New York Academy of Medicine will be conducting a focus group on aging at the Battery Park City library, 175 North End Ave., from 10 a.m. to noon. The NYAM is looking for a maximum of 12 people aged 55 or older, to participate. Each participant will be paid $20. All information will be kept confidential. To sign up, call Anushka Gopilall at (212) 822-7237 or email agopilall@nyam.org.

 

In addition to this focus group, City Councilmember Margaret Chin, who chairs City Council's Committee on Aging, hosted a town hall meeting on May 1 and is hosting one on June 5 to discuss issues affecting the elderly. The May 1 town hall was co-sponsored by Community Boards 1, 2 and 3 and took place at the City Hall Senior Center, 100 Gold St.

 

The June 5 town hall will be held at the Educational Alliance, 197 E. Broadway from 10 a.m. to noon. To attend, send an email to Xiaomin Zhao at XZhao@council.nyc.gov.    

 

Beach volleyball at Pier 25: Kids in grades 6 through 12 can sign up for Beach Volleyball instruction and games at Pier 25 in Hudson River Park. The League runs from May 15 to July 17 on Friday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The program is free for Downtown Community Center members. The fee for non-members is $25. Sponsorships are needed. Email jim@manhattanyouth.org to become a sponsor. To register, click here.

Battery Park City Parks Conservancy summer programming: The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy organizes free art, gardening, science, yoga, tai chi and sports programs that run from early May through late October in BPC's parks. The programs are for children as young as three years old to adults. Some are drop-in programs. Others require advance registration. For more information, click here.

 
Downtown Little League opening day photo gallery: The Downtown Little League kicked off its 2015 season on April 18. This year, there are just under 1,100 players on 81 teams. For photos of the opening day, click here.

Whitney Museum of American Art photo gallery: The Whitney Museum of American Art at 99 Gansevoort St. opened to the public on May 1. For photographs of the Whitney Museum's new building and of its opening exhibition, click here.

South Street Seaport Museum Opening Day: The South Street Seaport Museum opened its 2015 season on April 25 with events on Pier 16 and activities for kids and their families in the lobby of the museum's 12 Fulton St. building. For photographs of the museum's opening day, click here.