COMMUNITY BOARD 1'S LANDMARKS COMMITTEE SEETHES AS IT DISCUSSES THE HOWARD HUGHES CORPORATION'S SEAPORT TACTICS 

Roger Byrom, chair of Community Board 1's Landmarks Committee, at a meeting on July  at which the committee discussed a resolution to go before CB1's full board on July 28 condemning the segmentation of The Howard Hughes Corporation's proposals for the South Street Seaport. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

1 WALL ST. CONDO/HOTEL CONVERSION RENDERINGS; GRAPPLING WITH SLAVERY; SOUTH STREET SEAPORT DESERVES A BETTER PLAN 

Wall Street at night with the New York Stock Exchange and the Art Deco masterpiece at 1 Wall St. that dates from 1928-1932, the work of architect Ralph Walker. The building is being converted into shops, condos and a hotel. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

"First Look: One Wall Street Set for CetraRuddy-Designed Residential and Hotel Conversion and Expansion," New York YIMBY, 7/9/15. "Back in May of 2014, One Wall Street was acquired by Harry Macklowe from BNY Mellon for $585 million, with plans to convert the building from office to residential use," says New York YIMBY. "The Ralph Walker-designed tower is one of the most iconic skyscrapers in the Financial District, from its limestone exterior, to the vulcan-inspired Red Room, all the way to the former executive smoking room/observation lounge at the tip-top of the building. And now YIMBY has the first renderings of what the building will eventually look like, courtesy of a tipster, who sent along CetraRuddy-designed plans that transform the building's base into a major retail destination, and its upper floors into condominiums and a hotel." For the complete article, with renderings, click here.

"The Cast of 'Amazing Grace' Grapples With Slavery," New York Times, 7/2/15. "One by one, they passed into the stone monument, a dark chamber meant to evoke a ship's hold, and turned tear-streaked faces toward the shaft of sunlight," says The New York Times. "For months - in some cases, for years - the actors had been working on roles as slaves, slaveholders and slave traders in a musical called 'Amazing Grace.' Now they were standing in Lower Manhattan, at a site where thousands of African-Americans, who lived in New York through the decades when slavery was legal here, were buried and then lost to time. They examined pictures of exhumed skeletons; pored over maps of shipping routes; and thought about their own ancestors and their own complex emotions over allowing themselves to be caged or shackled onstage. As the cast gathered at the mouth of the memorial sculpture, Chuck Cooper, a Tony Award-winning actor dressed for church in the Sunday heat, closed his eyes and began to sing a spiritual, 'I've Been in the Storm Too Long,' that he had learned while portraying a private school headmaster in another show. But now he was playing a slave - a manservant to the show's white protagonist - and, as for many in the cast, that has been an emotional career move." For the complete article, click here.

"The South Street Seaport Deserves a Better Plan," Observer.com, 7/8/15. "New York is 'the universal seaport,' Jan Morris once wrote. 'In the remotest corner of the world,' she noted, 'the image of a ship entering New York harbor, into the shadow of skyscrapers, will strike a chord of recognition.' Morris made this observation in 1969, but it holds true today: the view of Manhattan from the waterfront is a grand, cinematic event, as befits one of the busiest, most powerful, and enduring ports in the world. No wonder the Dutch chose to settle this protected archipelago, or that the British chose Manhattan as their stronghold for the duration of the Revolutionary War. New York's seaport is a prize. That prize lies abandoned and in immediate peril. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has just declared South Street Seaport an endangered site, 'under threat' from development that would 'disrupt the look, feel, and low-scale historic character' of its buildings." The article goes on to say, "However, instead of celebrating this unique history and architectural character with community-driven projects such as Robert LaValva's much-praised New Amsterdam Market, or the Museum of the City of New York's radiant renovation of the South Street Seaport Museum, the EDC has sold the district wholesale to the Howard Hughes Corporation, the Texas-based developers of Pier 17, also known as Pizzeria Uno-by-the-Sea." For the complete article, click here.

"For final World Trade tower, a construction obstacle course," CapitalNewYork.com, 7/8/15. "Nearly 14 years after the Twin Towers were destroyed, there are clear signs the World Trade Center may once again be whole," says CapitalNewYork.com. "A tentative deal announced last month would have 21st Century Fox and News Corp. anchor the final building, known as 2 World Trade Center, providing a path forward for developer Larry Silverstein. Already, the companies have shown off new, cutting-edge designs for the skyscraper, thought up by Bjarke Ingels, one of the rising stars of the architecture world.vBut actually constructing Tower Two could prove to be one of the biggest challenges of the entire rebuilding effort, requiring extensive planning, a surgeon's precision and the realization that there could be significant complications along the way. The problem faced by Silverstein and his new design team? Massive, hulking pieces of ventilation equipment take up much of the development site for 2 World Trade Center." For the complete article, click here.

"Extell Receives $150M Bridge Loan from Deutsche Bank," Commercial Observer, 7/8/15. "Deutsche Bank provided a $150 million bridge loan to Extell Development Company for the construction of its luxury condominium tower at 250 South Street in Lower East Side Manhattan," says Commercial Observer. "The development company is expected to seek out a construction loan for the site later this year." The article goes on to say that, "Once completed, the tower will primarily house residential condos, as well as retail and parking components. The Deutsche Bank loan covers four parcels. Extell purchased a one-story building occupied by a Pathmark and a surrounding parking lot at the site, also known as 227 Cherry Street, for $103 million in March 2013. The development firm then acquired Pathmark's long-term lease in a separate $46 million transaction, according to city records. While the condo tower is set to reach 68 stories according to the most recent Department of Buildings filing from June 23, published reports have stated that Extell's permit received a height reduction from 71 stories to 56 stories." For the complete article, click here.

Downtown bulletin board