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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC 
 
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
 
 
Volume 2, No. 46  June 4, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE

Quote of the day: 
"The cumulative effects of issuing segmented Federal and State permits without comprehensive environmental analysis are adversely impacting irreplaceable historic and environmental assets, and lack the basic due process required of Federal, State and City agencies duty-bound to protect those assets."
     - Letter from Friends of South Street Seaport (FOSSS) to Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), protesting construction at Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport where supporting piles for the pier are being totally replaced although original construction permits for the pier said they would be reused.              

* Pols write to EDC to defend New Market and Tin Buildings from demolition; FOSSS writes to Army
* Institute of Culinary Education not yet open at Brookfield Place, but dessert awards party goes on   
* Bits & Bytes: Wall Street suicides; Pier 26 restaurant; Battery Park City ball field applications
* Downtown Bulletin Board: Seaport Museum volunteers; Get Low Tuesdays; Yoga in Wagner Park
* Letter to the editor: Pioneer's more than 40 years of safe sailing in New York Harbor
* Community Board 1 meetings: Week of June 8
* Downtown Alliance staging block parties on Water Street this summer
* Calendar: Week of June 1
 
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MASTHEAD PHOTO: Chocolate mushrooms created by pastry chef Salvatore Martone of Atelier Joel Robuchon, Las Vegas, Nev. for Dessert Professional magazine's annual awards ceremony. Joel Robuchon is slated to open a restaurant at Brookfield Place,  250 Vesey St., at the end of the year.  June 1, 2015 (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) 



POLS WRITE TO EDC DEFENDING THE SEAPORT'S NEW MARKET AND TIN BUILDINGS FROM PARTIAL OR FULL DEMOLITION; FOSSS WRITES TO ARMY

Construction work at Pier 17, with the Tin and New Market Buildings in the background. (Photo: Barbara Mensch)

A letter sent on June 1 by five elected officials to Seth Myers, executive vice president and director of project implementation for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, was very polite, but beneath that surface, it seethed. The letter had to do with the Tin and New Market Buildings in the South Street Seaport, whose cooling equipment, EDC has said must be demolished followed possibly by full demolition of both buildings.

EDC officials have stated that the pilings supporting these buildings have deteriorated and are now in danger of collapsing. Both buildings were part of the old Fulton Fish Market. The Tin Building is a designated landmark. The New Market Building is in a New York State and Federal historic district but has no City landmarks protection. According to a report in Crain's New York Business, EDC officials had plans to demolish these buildings as early as April, before a May inspection report on which its current actions are purportedly based.

The letter was signed by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, with additional signatures from U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, New York State Senator Daniel Squadron, New York State Assemblymember Sheldon Silver, and City Councilmember Margaret Chin.  

In their letter to Myers, the elected officials wrote that "the reports of demolition work related to these buildings so closely linked with the historic South Street Seaport...have raised concern in both the media and the community," and asked Myers to provide "a copy of the inspection report that revealed the need to demolish the cooler areas." The letter also asked for an explanation of whether demolition of either building was being planned prior to the May inspection report "as an action separate from, and preceding, any approval of a ULURP [Uniform Land Use Review Procedure] application for development on the New Market site and the timeline and details of any such plan."

In its development proposals for the South Street Seaport, The Howard Hughes Corporation, which has long-term leases on parts of the Seaport, has said that it wanted to demolish the New Market Building and erect a 494-foot-tall luxury apartment tower on that site. If EDC were to find the New Market Building to be structurally unsound and demolished it, HHC would be one step closer to getting that apartment tower, which has been criticized by many people, including Borough President Brewer and City Councilmember Chin, as inappropriate for the historic South Street Seaport.

The letter questioned whether Howard Hughes' pile-driving work on Pier 17, which adjoins the Tin and New Market Buildings, may have undermined the Tin and New Market Buildings. The elected officials requested of EDC that "you take all steps necessary to ensure that work on Pier 17 is not adversely affecting the condition of these buildings or contributing in any way to their deterioration. We will copy you on a letter to the Commissioner of the Department of Buildings and ask that you work together and use all available tools to ensure this."

Up until now, the vibrations from the pile-driving on Pier 17 have not been monitored. Moreover, a grassroots group called Friends of South Street Seaport (FOSSS) claims that The Howard Hughes Corporation has managed to sidestep all environmental protection rules for the Pier 17 site by getting permission to reconstruct the pier using existing pilings and part of the superstructure of the shopping mall that formerly stood on that site - but then proceeding to do a complete demolition.

Since the Army Corps of Engineers issues permits for development work in the South Street Seaport, FOSSS members wrote to Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) on May 23, 2015 to say that "the current activities by the permittee [at Pier 17], South Street Seaport Limited Partnership, are exceeding the type and scope of work upon which a national maintenance permit was issued, and therefore the permit for this activity must be reissued as a properly assessed individual permit." They go on to say in their letter that "the original scope of work analyzed in the City Environmental Assessment Statement clearly indicated no pile driving would occur." (To see and hear a video of the pile driving at Pier 17, click here.)

The FOSSS letter concludes by saying, "The cumulative effects of issuing segmented Federal and State permits without comprehensive environmental analysis are adversely impacting irreplaceable historic and environmental assets, and lack the basic due process required of Federal, State and City agencies duty-bound to protect those assets."

They ask for a meeting with Darcy "as soon as possible" given that "the City is undertaking immediate steps that will result in irreversible harm in the [Seaport] Historic District."

The elected officials, in their letter to the New York City Economic Development Corporation asked to be provided with the information requested (an inspection report and details about EDC's demolition plans) within the next two weeks and further asked that "our offices and the community be informed of any evaluation indicating a need for additional demolition as soon as [it] may occur and well enough in advance of your seeking additional authorizations to remove anything more than the cooler areas at issue."

In the past, EDC has proceeded secretively with its plans and has made deals with The Howard Hughes Corporation that only came to light because of FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requests or because HHC has chosen to act on these deals, previously unknown to the general public.

Now, everyone is watching.

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer




INSTITUTE OF CULINARY EDUCATION NOT YET OPEN AT BROOKFIELD PLACE, BUT DESSERT PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE'S SHOW WENT ON 


Pastry chef Jimmy LeClerc of Ladur�e was one of the winners of Dessert Professional magazine's awards for the top 10 pastry chefs in America.  (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
  
The Institute of Culinary Education's website says, "We've moved!" to 225 Liberty St., Brookfield Place, Lower Manhattan. And that is sort of true. The cooking school's former premises on West 23rd Street are no more, and the school has transported its belongings to its new location - but it has not yet opened.

The new facilities were supposed to open late in 2014, according to a New York Times article that ran on March 25, 2014. Then the opening was to be in mid- to late-March 2015 as proclaimed in an article that appeared on 2/25/15 in the Commercial Observer. Then the opening was supposed to be in May. But there's many a slip between the cup and the lip, as the proverb says.

What happened is not exactly clear; whatever the reason for the delay, it proved to be a cliffhanger for Dessert Professional magazine, which was scheduled to hold its 22nd Annual Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America awards at ICE's new facility on June 1. Magazine executives learned on the afternoon of May 26 that the premises wouldn't be ready. After much scrambling, Dessert Professional nailed down another venue - the capacious and atmospheric La.Venue at 608 W. 28th St. in an old warehouse. The party went on not exactly as planned but with gusto - a minefield for anyone watching their weight. But if anyone was watching their weight at that event, it was a well-kept secret. The honored chefs outdid themselves with beautifully crafted creations that eclipsed what passes for dessert in most restaurants.

Jimmy LeClerc, executive pastry chef at Ladur�e, for instance, produced a dessert that he called "Diva." On top of a soft vanilla almond biscuit soaked with vanilla syrup, he layered macaron Tahitian vanilla, Tahitian vanilla cream, strawberry slices and wild strawberry "cr�me l�g�re," which he decorated with gold leaf. He surrounded each of these confections with white chocolate "Opalis valrhona" so that they resembled small coaches worthy of taking Cinderella to the ball.

Maura Metheny, Chef Chocolatier and Head of Design and Innovation at Norman Love Confections, described her offering simply as "Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Caramel Crunch." She made flourless chocolate cake for the bar and topped it with peanut butter chocolate crisp, peanut butter cream with poached candied peanuts, peanut butter mousse, and caramel mousse.  She served it with a dark chocolate peanut butter macaroon and vanilla caramel.

She said that she had experimented with the recipe, going through around eight iterations before she was satisfied. She also said that she had gone to art school, where she studied sculpture - and that pastry-making was just another art form.

Thiago Silva of the EMM Group holding a passion fruit dessert that he made.
The other award winners were Lisa Bailey, co-owner of D Bar, Denver, Colo. and San Diego, Calif.; Michelle Gayer of  Salted Tart, Minneapolis, Minn.; Salvatore Martone of Atelier Joel Robuchon, Las Vegas, Nev.; Thomas Raquel of Le Bernardin, New York, N.Y.; Thiago Silva of the EMM Group; Miroslav Uskokovic of Gramercy Tavern, New York, N.Y.; William Werner of Craftsman & Wolves, San Fransisco, Calif.; and Zac Young of the David Burke Group.

Pastry students from the Institute of Culinary Education were present to help put on the show. They said that they had been unable to go to classes this week, but that they hoped that their school would open next week when problems with the premises have been resolved.

ICE was founded in 1975 by the late Peter Kump. It offers eight to 13-month career training programs in culinary arts, pastry and baking, culinary management, and hospitality management. It also offers a wide range of hands-on recreational cooking, baking and wine education courses and hosts hundreds of corporate and private cooking events every year.

ICE's 74,000-square-foot premises at Brookfield Place has 11 kitchens plus classrooms without kitchens, conference rooms, offices, a student lounge and a library. The facilities include a bean-to-bar chocolate lab, a room devoted to stock-making and roasting meat, and a working bar for students who want to learn mixology. In addition, the school has a hydroponic garden for growing herbs and vegetables.

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Pastry chef Keegan Gerhard, former host of the Food Network series "Food Network Challenge," and his wife, Lisa Bailey, one of the Dessert Professional award winners.




Bits & Bytes
WALL STREET SUICIDES; 101 WALL ST. CONDOS; PIER 26 RESTAURANT;  CHINATOWN RAPE; BATTERY PARK CITY BALL FIELD APPLICATIONS  
Office workers in Lower Manhattan. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

"Reflections on Stress and Long Hours on Wall Street," New York Times, 6/1/15. "Earlier this year, a 22-year-old first-year analyst at the Goldman Sachs office in San Francisco was feeling overwhelmed by the all-nighters and 100-hour workweeks," says The New York Times. "The analyst, Sarvshreshth Gupta, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania who was born in New Delhi, told his father, Sunil, 'This job is not for me. Too much work and too little time.' In March, against his father's wishes, Mr. Gupta quit." However, The Times recounts, he soon rejoined Goldman and was working for days without sleep and with deadlines looming. On April 16, Mr. Gupta called his father in India, who advised his son to ask for a leave of absence, and if it were not granted, to quit. However, a few hours after that phone call "Mr. Gupta was found in the parking lot next to his apartment building on the corner of Sacramento Street and Brooklyn Place and was declared dead, according to police officials." The Times says that, "Mr. Gupta's death, one of numerous unexpected deaths or suicides of young bankers over the last year, has caused a new round of reflection and re-evaluation by Goldman and other Wall Street firms about their work policies just two weeks before a new class of college interns descend on the industry for the summer. Just last week, Thomas J. Hughes, a 29-year-old banker at Moelis & Company, was found dead with drugs in his system after falling from [1 West St.], a building in [Lower] Manhattan." For the complete article, click here.

"First Look at Piet Boon's Wall St. Office-To-Condo Conversion," Curbed.com, 6/1/15. "The office-to-condo conversion at 101 Wall Street has kept a pretty low profile, despite being led by noted Dutch designer Piet Boon," says Curbed.com. "Maybe that hush has a little something to do with the turmoil surrounding building owner The Claremont Group's move to boot the building's office tenants to allow for the 52-apartment conversion. That's just how things seems to go in New York City, though. Now, after less than a year in the works, the condos will hit the market today [June 1] (if all goes according to plan), asking between $1.1 million and $6 million. Condos in the building will range in size from 700 square feet to over 2,300 square feet." For the complete article, click here.

"Massive Pier 26 Restaurant to House City Vineyard, a City Winery Offshoot," Eater.com, 6/1/15. "Two years after the Hudson River Park Trust put out a request for proposals to New York's 'experienced restaurateurs' to fill an insane indoor/outdoor restaurant space on Pier 26, they've finally announced their choice," says Eater. com. "The restaurant, which is enclosed mostly in glass and crowned with an enormous terrace, will be run by Michael Dorf, the owner of Soho's sprawling restaurant/bar/music venue City Winery. It will be called, reasonably enough, City Vineyard." For the complete article, click here.

"3 Teenagers Are Charged in Rape in Chinatown," New York Times, 6/2/15. According to The New York Times, "Three 16-year-olds living in a Manhattan group home for boys were arrested early Tuesday, the police said, charged with raping and robbing a 33-year-old woman they encountered a day earlier at an Internet cafe in Chinatown. The attack began around 5 a.m. Monday at the cafe on Eldridge Street, the police said. Afterward, the teenagers fled the cafe with the victim's cellphone, house keys, New York State identification card, debit cards and a credit card, which they tried unsuccessfully to use, the police said." For the complete article, click here.

Battery Park City ball fields: Permit applications to use the Battery Park City ball fields this fall will be posted on the Battery Park City Authority website beginning on June 15, according to Robin Forst, spokesperson for the BPCA. On June 2, Forst told Community Board 1's Battery Park City Committee that use of the ball fields will not be restricted to Lower Manhattan organizations and that anyone in the city will be able to apply for a permit. Community Board 1 has opposed this policy, stating that Lower Manhattan groups are already using the ball fields to their maximum capacity, and that the ball fields would not exist had not Community Board 1 and Lower Manhattan sports organizations fought for them. Fees to use the ball fields range from $25 per two-hour session for a youth non-profit group to $500 per two-hour session for an adult for-profit group. The ball fields are open Monday to Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Forst said that when the ball fields are not spoken for, they can be used for informal games. For currently available hours, click here. For more information about the ball fields and the permitting process, click here.
 



Downtown bulletin board
SEAPORT MUSEUM VOLUNTEERS; GET LOW TUESDAYS; YOGA IN WAGNER PARK; LMCC WORKSHOPS FOR ARTISTS; DOWNTOWN POST PORTFOLIO
An elderly woman in the South Street Seaport. City Councilmember Margaret Chin, who chairs City Council's Committee on Aging, is hosting a town hall meeting on June 5 to discuss issues affecting the elderly.  (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
Open auditions for Downtown Voices: Trinity Wall Street is looking for experienced volunteer singers to join Downtown Voices, a new choir bringing together the best professional and non-professional singers in the New York metro area. The choir will rehearse once a week and perform Benjamin Britten's St. Nicholas, James MacMillan's Seven Last Words from the Cross, and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in the 2015-2016 season. Stephen Sands will direct. If you have choral experience and are interested in singing alongside members of the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street, audition for Downtown Voices. Click here for more information on audition requirements.

Volunteer for the South Street Seaport Museum: The South Street Seaport Museum has a fleet of six historic ships and a workshop barge, all of which need constant upkeep. Schooner Pioneer and Lettie G Howard rely on volunteers to not only maintain them, but to sail them. Both are recipients of the Tall Ships America - Adventure and Education Under Sail "Sail Training Program of the Year" award (2012 and 2014 respectively). All are welcome to join the crew - no experience necessary! Training is provided as you go, and there are numerous possibilities for participating, learning and growing into a skilled maritime preservationist and traditional sailor. Email [email protected] for more information.

Yoga in Wagner Park: Wednesday evenings through Sept. 30 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy offers free yoga in Wagner Park (at the southern end of Battery Park City, opposite the Statue of Liberty). Instructor Mary Ryan Barnes has been teaching yoga for more than 25 years. All levels of experience are welcome. Bring your own mat or borrow one from the BPC Parks Conservancy. Click here for the BPC Parks Conservancy calendar, with updates on this class and listings of the other classes and events that the Parks Conservancy offers.
 
Get Low Tuesdays:
The Downtown Alliance has launched "#GETLOW Tuesdays," a new summer promotional campaign that will provide a 20 percent discount at nearly three dozen Lower Manhattan restaurants. In addition, participants who share the program using social media will be entered to win a four-day, three night trip to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Created by the Downtown Alliance, the program will be driven by social media. Participants can utilize 11 social media platforms to spread the word about the campaign, using the hashtag #GETLOW. Available platforms include: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, Vine, Snapchat, Foursquare, Flickr, Pinterest and Tumblr.

Participating restaurants are: 121 Fulton Street; Atrio Wine Bar | Restaurant; Barbalu Restaurant; Bavaria Bierhaus; Beckett's; Blackhound Bar; Church & Dey; Cowgirl SeaHorse; Da Claudio Ristorante & Salumeria; Dina Rata; The Dubliner; Felice 15 Gold Street; Financier Patisserie; Fresh Salt; GRK; Harry's Caf� and Steak; Industry Kitchen; Lonestar Empire; Lumpia Shack; Mad Dog & Beans Mexican Cantina; Merchants River House; Nelson Blue; Pound & Pence; Ramen Burger; Red Hood Lobster Pound; St. George Tavern; Schnitz; Seaport Smorgasburg; Smorgas Chef; SouthwestNY Restaurant; Stone Street Tavern; and Watermark Bar & Lounge. The campaign is also receiving support from the Millennium Hilton and Hilton Amsterdam.

To learn more, click here.

July 4 fireworks:
This year's Fourth of July fireworks display, presented by Macy's, will again take place over the East River. The best places to see the show will be from Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, and along the east side of Lower Manhattan. The light show starts at 9 p.m., but it would be best to arrive early. For more information, click here.

LMCC's professional development workshops:  Registration is now open for two of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's most popular professional development programs. Both the Artists Summer Institute and LMCC's Fundraising Fundamentals are designed to provide artists with expert advice, skills and knowledge on relevant topics that will enhance their practice.
 
Fundraising Fundamentals consists of five free workshops in June and July during which participants learn the essentials of fundraising with a focus on arts funding sources, budgeting for proposals, grant writing, cultivating individual donors and more. Those who attend three or more workshops will be eligible for a free one-on-one grant writing consultation to start them off on the right foot to apply for grants. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The first workshop, The Funding Ecosystem is on Wednesday, June 3. For more information, and to register for the Fundraising Fundamentals series, click here.
 
The Artists Summer Institute (ASI) in August offers a more comprehensive approach to managing an artistic practice and achieving long-term goals. ASI is a partnership program that brings together LMCC's Basic Finance for Artists (BFA) and Creative Capital's Professional Development Program (PDP) over five intensive days to help artists develop strategies for greater self-sufficiency and sustainability. ASI explores strategic planning and goal setting, verbal communications, marketing and promotion, financial management and business planning - and to a peer group of over 50 fellow artists working across disciplines, all in the bucolic setting of Governors Island.

The demand for ASI is high and capacity is limited. Participants will be selected through a lottery process. To enter the lottery, register by clicking here. Registration closes on June 17.

Town Hall meeting on aging: City Councilmember Margaret Chin, who chairs City Council's Committee on Aging, is hosting a town hall meeting on June 5 to discuss issues affecting the elderly. 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 [email protected].    

 

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 Post Portfolio: Downtown Post Portfolio is a regular feature in Downtown Post NYC, showcasing artists and photographers who live and/or work south of Canal Street or who create images (paintings, drawings, photographs) of Lower Manhattan.

To have your work considered for publication in Downtown Post Portfolio, send up to seven high-resolution jpeg files attached to an email to [email protected]. (One of the photos should be a picture of you.) Several of these photos will be published in Downtown Post NYC, along with a short artist bio and a statement about the work submitted, including whether or not it is for sale and how to purchase it.

Not all entries can be published. Copyright remains with the artist. Before publication, each contributor will be asked to sign a release stating that Downtown Post NYC has the right to publish the work in the emailed newsletter and in the Downtown Post archives, and that there is no payment.

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.

Downtown Post Portfolio: Jay Fine: Jay Fine is a New York City fine-art photographer and photojournalist, based in Lower Manhattan whose work was featured in Downtown Post Portfolio (DPNYC, 5/6/15). To see some more of Fine's work on the Downtown Post NYC website, click here.



Letter to the editor
PIONEER'S MORE THAN 40 YEARS OF SAFE SAILING IN NY HARBOR  

Furling sails on the South Street Seaport Museum's 1885 schooner Pioneer, on May 22, 2015, the first public sail of the 2015 season. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

To the editor:
(Re: "New York Harbor's oldest sailboat, Pioneer, back for the 2015 season," DPNYC, 5/31/15): That Pioneer has been carrying passengers in New York Harbor for over 40 years without serious incident is a tribute to the training program that the South Street Seaport Museum has had in place since the program began. And, given the difficult maneuvers she skillfully executes on a daily basis to safely leave and return to her berth, one loses sight of how easily it could be done poorly. Pioneer has been around doing her good work and pleasing the eye for 130 years - a singularly remarkable achievement. 

I have had the great good fortune to have served on Pioneer for many years, first as Master, then as relief Master. Throughout the decades, I have had the pleasure of surveying, repairing and working on her hull, spars, machinery and rigging.

Pioneer, as Kipling would say, found herself many years ago. And, as those lucky enough to have run the boat know, she will quietly tell you when she's fine, and firmly notify you when she's had enough. One need only pay attention.

Charles Deroko

From the editor:
We welcome letters to the editor. Email them to [email protected]. We reserve the right to edit them for clarity and length.
 
Charles Deroko and photographer Barbara Mensch at a reception on May 20, 2015 for members of the South Street Seaport Museum.
 



COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETINGS: Week of June 8


A wall in the National September 11 Museum. On Monday, June 8, Community Board 1's Planning Committee will be updated on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

All Community Board 1 meetings take place at 49-51 Chambers St., Room 709, starting at 6 p.m. unless otherwise indicated. Bring photo ID to enter the building.

June 8: Planning Committee
* 9/11 Memorial & Museum - Update by Anthony Gardner, Vice President, Community Engagement
* Cortlandt Street Reconstruction - Update by Uday Durg, Project Manager, MTA Capital Construction
* Zoning for Quality and Affordability - Presentation by Department of City Planning

June 9: Youth & Education Committee
* School crossing guards - Resolution
* Peck Slip School street safety - Resolution
* Assembly Member Silver School Overcrowding Task Force meeting - Report

June 10: Tribeca Committee
* Free public kayaking at Pier 26 - Update by Graeme Birchall, President, Downtown Boathouse
* 101 Murray St. ("St. John's site") - Update by Alex Adams, 111 Murray Street development team, Franz Prinsloo, KPF Architects, and Geoffrey Valentino, Edmund Hollander Landscape Architects
* Hudson River Park Trust - Updates by Nicole Dooskin, Assistant Vice President, Planning and Real Estate
   *Bikeway safety
   * Pier 26 Restaurant
*355 Greenwich St., application for new unenclosed sidewalk cafe for 355 Greenwich Bakery - Resolution
* 399 Greenwich St., application for restaurant liquor license for GST399 Inc. - Resolution
* JCP sidewalk Sukkah street activity permit application for Duane Street between Church Street and West Broadway, Sept. 27, 2015 8 a.m. - Oct. 4, 2015, 6 p.m. - Resolution
* 2 Avenue of the Americas, application for alteration of liquor license for Tribeca Grand Hotel, Inc. to permit turning portion of cellar floor into a jazz club - Resolution
* 52 Walker St., application for renewal of tavern liquor license for KNH Enterprises, LLC d/b/a M1-5 - Discussion
* HRPT Advisory Council - Update by Bob Townley

The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses or sidewalk cafe permits:
* 277 Church St., application for a renewal of a liquor license for B Flat
* 189 Franklin St. aka 369 Greenwich Street, application for a renewal of a liquor license for Benvenuto Caf� Tribeca
* 339 Greenwich St., application for a renewal of a liquor license for Sarabeth's Tribeca LLC d/b/a Sarabeth's
* 120 Hudson St., application for a renewal of a liquor license for Bubby's Pie
* 136 West Broadway, application for a renewal of liquor license for Edward's

June 11: Landmarks Committee - 6 p.m.
   Location: Southbridge Towers
   90 Beekman St., Community Room
* South Street Seaport Pier 17 and Fulton Market Building - Update by Howard Hughes Corporation
* Buildings 111, 112 and 114, Governors Island, landscape revisions, conversion of windows to doors and exterior installation of mechanical equipment - Resolution
* 178 Church St., application storefront replacement - Resolution

NOTE: On Tuesday, June 16, the New York City Economic Development Corporation is scheduled to appear before Community Board 1's Seaport/Civic Center Committee to discuss the New Market and Tin Buildings. That meeting will be held at the Southbridge Towers Community Room, 90 Beekman St., starting at 6 p.m.




DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE STAGING PARTIES ON WATER ST. THIS SUMMER

As part of this summer's Game On! block parties, movies will be shown in a park known as the "Elevated Acre" at 55 Water St. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Last year, during"Game On!," the Alliance for Downtown New York installed games at various places along Water Street. For this summer's Game On!, the Alliance will be staging four block parties on Water Street. The first party will be on June 17 starting at 5 p.m., followed by parties on July 8, Aug. 12 and Sept. 9. There will be games, food trucks, live DJs, musical performances and movies.

"We're thrilled to bring back Game On! for a second year - and with such exciting new programming this year," said Downtown Alliance President Jessica Lappin.

A DJ and live music will kick off each evening's events, at Water Street and Gouverneur Lane. The first night will feature The Golden Pony mixing beats and a live performance Panama Wedding. An outdoor movie series by Rooftop Films, will begin at 8:30 each night on the Elevated Acre at 55 Water St., with screenings centering on a game theme or storyline, including The Karate Kid and Rudy.

Kill Screen, a videogame arts and culture company, best known for its groundbreaking Arcade at the Museum of Modern Art, will be creating a unique experience for Game On! participants, utilizing the best titles from the world's biggest game makers. Playmatics, which creates digital and real-world interactive game experiences, is creating a unique interactive game of collaboration, team work and movement. Additional games will include shuffleboard by Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club, Jeopardy, cornhole, life-size Jenga and Pictionary sponsored by LMHQ, Lower Manhattan's newest home for innovation and collaboration.

Featured food will include Red Hook Lobster Pound, Sweet Chili, Cool Haus ice cream and more. Lower Manhattan's own Cedar Local will be providing a series of beer trucks and beverages.

The program is being produced by the Downtown Alliance with creative contributions from Auster Agency and support from: 55 Water, 75 Wall Residences, Andaz Wall Street, Cedar Local, FIT + LOVE, Gregory's Coffee, Kill Screen, LMHQ, New York Water Taxi, Pink Sparrow, Playmatics, Rooftop Films, Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club, RXR, Time Out New York, We Work and Yelp.

For more information, click here.
 



 
CALENDAR: Week of June 1

 
Last call to participate in Poets House's wonderful annual fundraising event - a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge punctuated by poetry readings and followed by dinner. This year's walk takes place on Monday, June 8. For ticket information, click here.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

June 4: The historic lighthouse tender, Lilac, berthed at Pier 25 near North Moore Street in Hudson River Park, is hosting a three-month exhibition of art and performance through Aug. 15. As part of this series, Thursday brings "The Secret Opera: An Opera Cabaret." Time: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

June 5
: The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra presents "Music at Melville" - a free concert of classical music in the South Street Seaport Museum's historic Melville Gallery. The program will include Divertimento, K. 136 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; selections from the Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach; Ives at Sea, an arrangement of songs with a nautical theme by Charles Ives; and Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan-Williams. Open rehearsals: Thursday, June 4 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Friday, June 5 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Place: 213 Water St. Time: 8 p.m. For more information, click here.   

June 5: This is the 14th year that the Sunset Singing Circle has been held on Friday evenings in Battery Park City, led by singer/guitarist Terre Roche. As the sun sets over the Hudson River, novice and experienced singers sit on the lawn and sing folk songs (with words provided in the Sunset Singing Circle Songbook). Players of acoustic instruments are encouraged to add their skills to the mix. Place: Wagner Park. Time: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.

June 7: In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law and tour guide Joe Svehlak's 75th year, this is the first in a series of his "I Remember" tours for the Municipal Art Society. Working as a messenger for an engraver on Nassau Street in the 1950s, Svehlak experienced a vastly different streetscape Downtown. He believes that about a third of Lower Manhattan as he knew it, has now been lost. He will lead the group through buildings and neighborhoods from the Civic Center to Wall Street and Bowling Green that have been transformed and will describe what used to be there. Meeting place will be confirmed after tickets are purchased. Time: 10 a.m. Tickets: $20; $15 (Municipal Art Society members). For more information and to buy tickets, click here.

June 7: A New York Audubon eco-tour aboard New York Water Taxi goes to Hoffman and Swinburne Islands, man-made islands that lie between Staten Island and Brooklyn. Passengers on the two-hour cruise get great views of such birds as Black-Crowned Night-Herons, Glossy Ibises, Double-Crested Cormorants, Snowy and Great White Egrets, and many more! Place: The boat leaves from Pier 16 in the South Street Seaport. Departure time: 7 p.m. (but arrive by 6:45 p.m. at the latest). Tickets: $35 (adults); $25 (children). For more information and to buy tickets, click here

June 8: Poets House will once again embark on a poetic pilgrimage across the Brooklyn Bridge, stopping along the way to listen to NYC-inspired poetry and ending at at 26 Bridge, a historic foundry-turned-event space in DUMBO for dinner, wine and more poetry. This is the 20th anniversary of the fundraising event that helps make possible the hundreds of free and affordable public programs that Poets House presents each year. Tickets start at $250; ($225 for Poets House members). Reservations are required. To buy tickets online, click here. For details or to make reservations, contact Krista Manrique at (212) 431-7920, ext. 2830 or email [email protected].       
Ongoing: Celebrate summer with a sail aboard the South Street Seaport Museum's historic schooner, Pioneer, and get a new perspective on New York City. Bring a picnic lunch or dinner, snack, beverage or dessert. Pioneer was built in 1885 as an iron-hulled sloop to carry cargo along the Delaware River and is the oldest ship regularly sailing in New York Harbor. For more information or to buy tickets, stop by the museum's Visitor Service Center at 12 Fulton St. or ask the Museum's Associates on Pier 16. Afternoon Sails: Tuesday-Friday 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets: $38; $28 (museum members); $32 (students and seniors); $20 (children 2 to 11 years old); $5 (children uner 2 years old). Sunset Sails: Tuesday-Sunday 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets: $45; $35 (museum members); $25 (children 2 to 11 years old); $10 (children under 2 years old). For more information or to buy tickets, click here.

Ongoing: Governors Island is open daily through Labor Day. For a calendar of events, click here
 
Ongoing: The historic lighthouse tender, Lilac's three-month exhibition of artwork focuses on three themes inspired by the ship's story - "Steam," "Work + Labor" and "Restoration/Reinvention." The exhibition features the work of more than 25 artists, with several site-specific installations.  Performances, artist talks, film screenings, readings, community activities and educational events accompany the exhibition. For more information about the Lilac, click here. For a video about the Lilac, click here. For more about the art series, click here. Place: Pier 25 in Hudson River Park. 

Ongoing: "America in Circulation: A History of US Currency Featuring the Collection of Mark R. Shenkman," an exhibition at the Museum of American Finance, showcases around 250 rare examples of American paper money accompanied by large, interactive touch screen displays. From Colonial times, American money has told a fascinating story of the country's struggles and successes. Often local and national currencies competed and coexisted with each other, while economic depression, war and counterfeiting drove constant advances in design. The exhibition spans the period from the Colonial era to the present day. Highlights include rare examples of currency bearing the signatures of signers of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence; a complete set of notes from the Educational Series of 1896, renowned for being the most beautiful paper money in American history; and rare examples of high denomination notes including $5,000 and $10,000 bills. Through March 2018. To see an online version of the exhibition, click here. Place: 48 Wall St. Museum is open Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission: $8; $5 (students and seniors); free (museum members and kids 6 and under). For more information, click here.

Ongoing
: "Cer�mica de los Ancestros: Central America's Past Revealed" displays 155 ancient objects from the National Museum of the American Indian's rarely seen collections of Central American ceramics. The exhibition examines seven regions representing distinct Central American cultural areas that are today part of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, where Central America's first inhabitants lived. Dating back to 1000 B.C., the ceramics help tell the story of the innumerable achievements of these ancient civilizations, each with unique, sophisticated ways of life, value systems and arts. Through January 2017. Place: 1 Bowling Green. The National Museum of the American Indian is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays, until 8 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.  

Ongoing: The Museum of Jewish Heritage presents "Designing Home: Jews and Midcentury Modernism," an exhibition that explores the cultural context in which many Jewish �migr� architects and designers created a distinctly modern American design that still has wide appeal today.  Walk-up tours will be offered on Sundays in May (except May 24) at 12 p.m. with no reservations necessary. Through January 2016. Place: 36 Battery Place. For more information, click 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: 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: "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: "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: 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 [email protected]. Lobby access: Fridays to Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 

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Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer

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