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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC 
 
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
 
 
Volume 2, No. 68  Oct. 6, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE

Quote of the day: 
"It is encouraging to see the South Street Seaport Museum steering by its own compass regarding the responsible use of its spaces." 
     - Charlie Deroko, in a letter to the editor, about the South Street Seaport Museum's proposed use of the four floors above the Melville Gallery on Water Street           

* BPCA's plans for the NYPD Police Memorial
* Downtown diary: A year with a Downtown Alliance geranium 
* Bits & Bytes: 20 Broad St.; Extell Tower;  Municipal Building gets new name
* Downtown Bulletin Board: Pier 26; Tribeca Meet & Greet; Music workshop at Trinity
* Battery Park City's animals get blessed
* Letter to the editor: South Street Seaport Museum at the Melville Gallery
* Community Board 1 meetings: Week of Oct. 5
* Calendar: Week of Oct. 5
 
WEATHER INFORMATION: For current weather information, click here.

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MASTHEAD PHOTO: The oculus in the Fulton Transit Center in Lower Manhattan.
Sept. 30, 2015 (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) 



BATTERY PARK CITY AUTHORITY UNVEILS PLANS FOR POLICE MEMORIAL, WHOSE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS DESTROYED BY SANDY

At a midnight service on Sept. 11, 2014 at the Police Memorial, retired Lieutenant Paul Putkowski of the 61st Precinct in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, had to read the list of names of the police officers who died on 9/11 by the light of flashlights and a cellphone because the electrical system at the Police Memorial didn't work. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

The Police Memorial in Battery Park City has been dark since Oct. 29, 2012 when Superstorm Sandy ripped through the area and destroyed the memorial's electrical systems. That day, the
The Police Memorial in Battery Park City as it looked on July 30, 2013. At that time, the BPCA board of directors said it had decided not to install a new electrical system for the memorial's fountain until mid-November 2013, after the next hurricane season had passed, however the design process has taken two years more than was then envisioned.
lights went out and water that once flowed into a fountain and a stone-lined pool was stilled.

On Oct. 6, the Battery Park City Authority provided details of its plan to rebuild the electrical vaults, which will restore the Memorial's water and light features.

Fearing another flood, the BPCA has decided to build two above-ground structures to house the electrical equipment currently located in subterranean vaults that previously provided power for the Police Memorial, a portion of the North Cove Marina and an adjacent playground and dog run. The new structures will house equipment above the 500-year flood plain.

The complex design process, which was recently completed, involved consideration of a number of critical factors - resiliency, the reassessment and resizing of necessary electrical equipment according to present-day technological capabilities, the maintenance of pedestrian access and integration with surrounding public spaces, and placement of the vault structures to avoid conflict with the warren of underground utilities in the immediate area. In addition, it was necessary to analyze the underground conditions to make sure that there would be an appropriate foundation for the vault structures.

The construction and installation process is expected to begin once a contractor is recommended and approved.




Downtown Post Diary
DIARY OF A YEAR WITH A DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE GERANIUM

Last year, Ryan Calby of Phillips Florists in Hicksville, L.I., helped give away more than 4,000 geraniums at Bowling Green Park - an annual ritual at the end of the summer season, arranged by the Alliance for Downtown New York, which maintains the park. This year's geranium giveaway is on Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to noon.
 (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Every spring, the Alliance for Downtown New York plants geraniums in Bowling Green park at the foot of Broadway, and every fall, digs them up again to give away. Last year, I was the lucky recipient of one of those geraniums. I carefully took it home with me and put it on my north-facing windowsill.

I had never owned a geranium before and didn't know what to expect though one of the gardeners had told me it would bloom again. I waited patiently, watering it whenever it began to droop. I worried that perhaps it needed a bigger pot or some food, but I didn't know what to feed it.

The winter was cold and unusually harsh. I came down with the flu and then with debilitating back and knee problems. For days on end, I was unable to go out. The geranium was the only green thing in my apartment except for a small, ancient cactus. From my sick bed, I could see my geranium as blizzards raged behind it and the wind rattled my window.

Finally, spring arrived. The days grew longer and warmed up a bit. I felt better and my geranium seemed to perk up, too. With astonishment, I saw that it had a red bud. Soon that bud exploded into a beautiful flower, and then there were others. I was overjoyed.

In July, I went away for 10 days and gave my geranium to a friend to tend. He has an outdoor balcony where the geranium seemed to thrive. He returned it to me more sprightly than when I had left it with him.

My geranium continues to bloom. Perhaps I will be able to bring home another one this year. I will definitely be among those in line, hoping to spend a winter with summer's flowers.

- Terese Loeb Kreuzer

The Downtown Alliance's annual geranium give away takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to noon in Bowling Green park.




Bits & Bytes
20 BROAD ST. TO BECOME APARTMENTS; CHINATOWN AND LES RESIDENTS DEPLORE EXTELL TOWER; WALL STREET SUICIDES  
On Oct. 15, the landmarked Municipal Building at 1 Centre St. will formally be renamed the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building in honor of the former mayor.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

"Condos at 111 Murray Street Finally Hit the Open Market," Curbed.com, 9/29/15. "Sales at 111 Murray Street, the 792-foot, Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed condo tower currently on the rise in Tribeca, have been going on behind closed doors since June-the building passed the 50 percent sold mark last month-but now, finally, there are public listings to be had," says Curbed.com. "The listings give a few more peeks inside the building and showcase the floorplans. Before this, only three floorplans, shared by a tipster, had been revealed. The 157 condos range from one-bedrooms to five-bedrooms, and there will be two full-floor penthouses priced north of $17.5 million." For the complete article, click here.

"Circuit Upholds New York Law Banning Credit Card Surcharge," New York Law Journal, 9/30/15. One way or another, a ruling by a federal appeals court on credit card surcharges could affect nearly everyone. "A New York business law that bars merchants from charging customers surcharges for using credit cards has been found constitutional by a federal appeals court," says the New York Law Journal. "Reversing a lower court judge who called General Business Law �518 'incomprehensible,' the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Tuesday the law violates neither the First Amendment nor the Due Process Clause. Judges Richard Wesley, Debra Ann Livingston and Susan Carney in Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman, 13-4533, vacated an injunction against the law imposed by Southern District Judge Jed Rakoff in 2013. Under the law, businesses can offer discounts to consumers paying by cash or by check, but they cannot charge surcharges for credit card users, a practice intended to make up for the fees merchants are charged for every credit card transaction." For the complete article, click here.

"Developer known for converting downtown office towers into rentals takes over 20 Broad St.," Crain's New York Business, 10/2/15. "Nathan Berman, a developer who specializes in transforming old lower Manhattan office properties into luxury residential space, is buying a controlling interest in 20 Broad St." says Crain's New York Business. "Mr. Berman is acquiring a leasehold of the 27-story, 473,000-square-foot office building from Vornado Realty Trust for an undisclosed sum and plans to convert it to rental apartments. The leasehold essentially gives Mr. Berman ownership of 20 Broad St. Vornado had leased the entire building from the New York Stock Exchange until 2081, when NYSE will have the right to take back control of the 1950s-era office property. That means Mr. Berman will have plenty of time to transform the building and operate it as a rental for decades. Before selling the leasehold to Mr. Berman, Vornado had mulled converting the building to residential." For the complete article, click here

"Residents Fear New Luxury Tower Will Destroy Chinatown & LES," Gothamist.com, 10/2/15. "Protesting the construction of a 72-story luxury tower on the site that was once the neighborhood's main supermarket, about 400 people, from elementary-school-age to elderly, marched in Chinatown near the base of the Manhattan Bridge last Friday," Gothamist.com reports. "'Vamos a coger la calle' [let's take the street], someone called out, and the crowd, hemmed in by police RMPs and SUVs, moved into the bus lane on East Broadway, heading toward City Hall. 'Bill de Blasio, you promised to end the tale of two cities,' David Tieu of the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side told the crowd as they assembled by the construction pit's green wooden fence. 'But you continue to ignore thousands of working people in Chinatown and the Lower East Side.' The tower being built by Extell at 250 South Street will make rents skyrocket, "'forcing out residents and small businesses,' Tieu said a few days later. 'It's a blatant and obvious example of the destructiveness of luxury development in the neighborhood.'" For the complete article with photos, click here.

"Tragedies Draw Attention to Wall Street's Grueling Pace," New York Times, 10/3/15. Thomas Hughes, a 29-year-old investment banker, killed himself on May 28 by jumping out of the window of his 24th-floor apartment in Lower Manhattan. "He had been up all night, on an alcohol- and cocaine-filled binge," The New York Times stated in an article about suicides in the financial industry. "There is no simple answer to what leads a person to take his own life," The Times continued. "And there is no evidence that the incidence of suicide by young professionals on Wall Street is higher than in any other industry. But Mr. Hughes died at a time when sensitivities about the pressures of Wall Street on young professionals are acute. Just a month earlier, Sarvshreshth Gupta, a 22-year-old first-year banking analyst at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco, committed suicide after a particularly stressful stretch at work. Around that time, another Goldman first-year analyst in the health care group who had worked 72 hours straight was hospitalized after having a seizure. (Goldman declined to comment about either episode.) Two years before, Moritz Erhardt, a 21-year-old investment banking intern at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, died after having an epileptic seizure while he was taking a shower to prepare to return to the office after working the previous 72 hours without sleeping." For the complete article, click here.

"Revealed: 440 Washington Street, 41-Unit Tribeca Residential Development," New York YIMBY, 10/5/15. "Back in December, YIMBY reported that an LLC filed applications for a new development at 440 Washington Street, in Tribeca. And now, we have the first renderings of the residential project, which is being developed by Ponte Equities and designed by OCV Architects," says New York YIMBY. "Per the building applications, the structure will total 48,447 square feet, which will include 7,407 square feet of commercial space. The residential portion of the project will be divided among 41 units, giving an average size of about 1,000 square feet, which indicates it will probably hold condominiums. While filings list the development's height at nine stories, it will actually clock in at 11 floors in total." For the complete article, click here.

Municipal Building to be renamed for David Dinkins: The Manhattan Municipal Building at 1 Centre St. will be renamed for former Mayor David N. Dinkins in honor of his decades of public service. The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building will be formally renamed at a ceremony on Oct. 15.
 
Of all the government buildings in New York City, the Municipal Building has the strongest connection to former Mayor Dinkins. He spent 14 years of his career there: 10 years as the City Clerk (from 1975 to 1985) and four more years as the Manhattan Borough President (from 1986 to 1990). When he was elected the City's first African-American Mayor, he moved across the street to City Hall.
 
Mayor Dinkins is currently a professor in the Practice of Public Affairs at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs; he also serves on the school's advisory board and hosts its annual Dinkins Leadership and Public Policy Forum.
 
The Municipal Building is a New York City landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places. When it was completed in 1914, it was the largest office building in the world, and the first building to be constructed with a subway station inside. It was designed by William Kendall of the firm of McKim, Mead & White.



Downtown bulletin board
PIER 26; TRIBECA MEET & GREET; LMCC PROGRAMS FOR ARTISTS
 A rendering of a proposal for Pier 26 in Hudson River Park. The pier already includes space for the Downtown Boathouse and a restaurant. An estuarium is also supposed to be located on this pier. On Oct. 19, there will be a public discussion about the future of Pier 26. It will be held at 120 Warren St., starting at 6:30 p.m. (Rendering by Sage and Coombe architects; landscaping by Mathews Nielsen)

The future of Pier 26: Pier 26 in Hudson River Park near North Moore Street already houses the Downtown Boathouse, which offers free kayaking, and it has a restaurant for which City Winery has been awarded a contract. But the pier is still unfinished. It is supposed to house an estuarium to be run by Clarkson University - and it needs landscaping. The Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) previously received a $70 million grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation  to finish the Tribeca section of the park, but that proved insufficient. Now HRPT is going back to LMDC to request another $10 million, which would supplement $20 million that the HRPT already has in hand for the build out. In the meantime, on Oct. 19, HRPT and Community Board 1 are sponsoring a discussion about the future of Pier 26. Place: 120 Warren St. (the Downtown Community Center). Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Tribeca Meet & Greet:
Tribeca Meet & Greet provides an opportunity to meet informally with neighbors to exchange ideas, do some networking and have a drink. Around once a month, these meetings take place at a different Tribeca restaurant or business. Some people show up for the full evening, some just drop by to say hello. Frankly Wines at 66 West Broadway provides some beverages and MaxDelivery brings nibblybits.

The next Tribeca Meet & Greet will take place at the Drama League in the historic AT&T Long Distance Building at 32 Ave of the Americas on Monday, Oct. 19 from 6:30 p.m.  to 9 p.m. This is your opportunity to experience the amazing lobby of this building as well as to learn about The Drama League. Everybody's welcome. This is a free event.

The Drama League is a not-for-profit theater organization dedicated to creating transformative interactions between artists and audiences, above and beyond the performances they experience. Their offices have a small space for readings and discussions.

Tribeca Meet and Greet is organized by BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

Music workshop series at Trinity Wall Street:
On Thursdays from Oct. 8 to Nov. 19, Trinity's music staff is offering a new series of classes focusing on vocal skills, sight-reading, musicology, hymnology and more. The first session on Oct. 8 will introduce the 2015-2016 season with a Q & A with Julian Wachner, Trinity's director of music and the arts. Place: Trinity Church. Time: 6:15 p.m. Free.

LMCC programs for artists:
There's still some room in the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's free workshop series, Art & Resilience, designed to help NYC-based artists develop knowledge, build best practices, meet experts, and explore strategies to strengthen their practices today as well as their resilience for the future. The workshops take place as follows: Oct. 7: What Your Archive Can Do For You with Amy Davila from ArtSmart; Oct. 14: Rights and Relationships with Sergio Munoz Sarmiento. Click here to learn more about the program and to RSVP. For other information, email [email protected].

Battery Park underpass closures: Beginning on Oct. 6, early-morning full closures of the south tube (West Street to FDR Drive) of the Battery Park underpass will be in effect at least through October 10 for installation of temporary lighting and sump pumps as part of the restoration of the electrical and mechanical systems damaged by Superstorm Sandy. The schedule for the closures is Tuesday to Friday mornings, 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., and Saturday mornings, 1 a.m. to 8 a.m.  Only one tube will be closed at a time. 

Resiliency meetings: With plans currently being made to try to protect Lower Manhattan from sea level rise and storm surges, the East Side Coastal Resilience Task Force (ESCR) is holding several meetings, as follows:

Oct. 6: ESCR Community Engagement Session 1. Place: Grand Street Settlement, 80 Pitt St. Time: Doors open at 5:30 p.m., presentation begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 8: ESCR Community Engagement Session 2. Place: Washington Irving School, 40 Irving Place. Time: Doors open at 6:30 p.m., presentation begins at 7 p.m.
 
The ESCR community engagement sessions will be identical with a slight focus toward the geographic areas where the sessions take place. These ESCR community engagement sessions build on the planning undertaken as part of HUD's Rebuild by Design competition. Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese interpreters will be present at both meetings. A Fujianese interpreter will be present on Oct. 6. For special needs assistance, call (917) 933-7444 by Friday Oct. 2. Dinner will be provided.
 
More free Wi-Fi in Lower Manhattan
: The Alliance for Downtown New York recently announced that more than one million square feet have been added to its free Wi-Fi network, bringing plans to provide access for the entire Lower Broadway corridor halfway to completion. In total, the Alliance now provides more than 3.7 million square feet of coverage throughout the district. The most recent addition to the network provides uninterrupted service on Broadway from the Battery to Trinity Church. The Downtown Alliance's network is free. For more information about the network, click here.

Downtown Boathouse:
Weekday evening kayaking at the Downtown Boathouse, Pier 26 in Hudson River Park (near North Moore Street), is over for the season but Saturday, Sunday and holiday kayaking continues. It runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The last weekend will be Oct. 10, 11 and 12 (Columbus Day) weather permitting. For more information about the Downtown Boathouse, which is run by volunteers, click here.
 
Downtown Post Portfolio: Downtown Post Portfolio is a 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.

Independence Day in Lower Manhattan photo gallery:
The Independence Day celebration in Lower Manhattan started on July 1 with the arrival of the Hermione at Pier 15 in the South Street Seaport. Hermione is a replica of the 18th-century frigate that brought the Marquis de Lafayette to the U.S. colonies in March/April of 1780. Also at Pier 15, El Gale�n, hosted parties and tours. It is a replica of a 16th-century Spanish ship such as Ponce de L�on would have sailed when he landed on the east coast of Florida 500 years ago. On July 4, there were fireworks over the East River. For photos of some of the Independence Day celebrations, 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.

South Street Seaport Museum on Schermerhorn Row: To see photographs of some of the
An exhibit in 2010 at the South Street Seaport Museum about the SS Normandie included chairs from the famous ocean liner's first class dining room. The chairs were fluted, ornamented with brass and upholstered in tones of silvery gray, blue, pale gold and red. The dining room was illuminated with Lalique chandeliers. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
artifacts inside the South Street Seaport Museum's premises on Schermerhorn Row and photos of past exhibitions, 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.



BATTERY PARK CITY'S ANIMALS GET BLESSED
Father Joseph Tyrrell, pastor of St. Peter-Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, with one of about 40 dogs (and one cat) that came with their owners to be blessed on Oct. 4 in a non-denominational service.  (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

There was no secret about where the annual Blessing of the Animals was being held in Battery Park City on Sunday, Oct. 4. The barking was audible from down the block. Around 40 dogs and their owners and one cat (secured in a carrying case), came to Kowsky Plaza to be blessed in a service that fell on the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the Catholic Church's patron saint of animals, but was non-denominational.

Father Joseph Tyrrell, pastor of St. Peter-Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, and the Rev. Dr. Mark
Photo op. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
Bozzuti-Jones, priest for Pastoral Care & Community at Trinity Wall Street, officiated. Bruce Katz read a Hebrew prayer on behalf of the Jewish contingent. "You inspired us to call all animals brothers and sisters/We ask You to bless these animals/By the power of Your love," said the Hebrew prayer in part.

"I usually bring my dogs to the blessing, because I see it as the community of dog lovers and clergy coming together to recognize the value of our pets while asking God to protect and bless them," said Battery Park City resident Audrey Comisky.

The next event for Battery Park City's pet lovers will take place on Oct. 31 at noon. The annual Halloween pet parade will start at South Cove and wend its way to the volleyball court next to North Cove Marina. - Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Meet-up at the Blessing of the Animals. (Photo: Jeff Galloway)


Letter to the editor
SOUTH STREET SEAPORT MUSEUM AT THE MELVILLE GALLERY 
An armada of model ships drawn from the South Street Seaport Museum's collection was displayed in an exhibit at the museum in January 2012.  (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

To the editor:

(Re: "CB1 supports South Street Seaport Museum's application to LMDC to upgrade Melville Gallery as education facility," DPNYC, 9/29/15.) It is encouraging to see the South Street Seaport Museum steering by its own compass regarding the responsible use of its spaces. 
 
The floors above the Melville Gallery contain the library, collections and numerous drawings and other irreplaceable documents and data relevant to the museum's charter as a repository of maritime history. It would be wonderful to see the library re-opened for public use and the floors above used to display the collections and serve as classrooms as stated in the article. The extensive collections could perhaps find suitable space in Schermerhorn Row one day.
 
Charlie 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.



COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETINGS: Week of Oct. 5

Construction in Battery Park City's North Cove Marina this summer. On Oct. 6, Gwen Dawson, vice president of real property for the Battery Park City Authority, will talk to CB1's Battery Park City committee about the BPCA's capital projects.
 (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Community Board 1 meetings take place in the Municipal Building, 1 Centre St., 2202-A North, CB1 Conference Room, unless otherwise indicated. Meeting start at 6 p.m.  All are welcome to attend. Bring photo ID to enter the building.

Oct. 6: Battery Park City Committee
 * Status of tenants in Battery Park City rental buildings - Discussion with Marian Zucker, President of Finance and Development, New York State Homes and Community Renewal and other staff members
* Pier A - Update by HPHNYC
* Battery Park City Authority Capital Projects - Update by Gwen Dawson, Vice President Real Property
* Tunnel to Towers Run - Debriefing

The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses or sidewalk cafe permits:
* 102 North End Ave., application for renewal of liquor license for Blue Smoke
* 102 North End Ave., application for renewal of liquor license for Site 25 Restaurant Concepts d/b/a Wei West

Oct. 7: Financial District Committee
* Dog off-leash rules at The Battery - Presentation by Luis Vazquez, Downtown Dogs and possible resolution
* Dutch Street request for implementation of street cleaning - Resolution
* Movie filming in the Financial District - Discussion (tentative)
* 109 Washington St., application for a restaurant liquor license for 109 Washington Restaurant LLC - Resolution
* 11 Hanover Square, application for a restaurant liquor license for 11 Hanover Group LLC - Resolution

The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses or sidewalk cafe permits:
* 142 Fulton Street, renewal for a restaurant wine and beer license for S &J Tomato Inc d/b/a Caf� Tomato
* 76 Pearl St., renewal of a restaurant wine and beer license for Excel Food Corporation
* 15 Gold St., renewal of a hotel/restaurant liquor license for NYC Serenade Lessee LLC & Thompson Hotels LLC & Felice Gold Street LLC d/b/a Gild Hall and Felice 15 Gold Street
* 57 Stone Street, renewal of a restaurant liquor license for Vintry LLC d/b/a Vintry Wine & Whiskey
* 1 Wall Street, renewal of a restaurant liquor license for Haru Wall Street Corp. d/b/a Haru
* 44 Trinity Place, renewal of a restaurant liquor license for WBGBK Inc. d/b/a Wogie's
* 110 John St., renewal of a restaurant liquor license for 110 John Street Pub Inc. d/b/a The Open Door

Oct. 8: Landmarks Committee
* Landmarks Preservation Commission Designation Backlog - Resolution
* 315 Broadway (1989)
* 143 Chambers St.(1989)
* Excelsior Power Company Building, 33-43 Gold St. (977)
* Pier 17 update by Howard Hughes Corporation - Presentation (invited)




CALENDAR: Week of Oct. 5

The landmarked fireboat John J. Harvey passing Ellis Island. Her last trips of the 2015 season will be this week and next. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
 
Oct. 7: Trinity Wall Street begins its annual series of "Bach at One" with a concert of Bach's music performed by the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra conducted by Julian Wachner. A reception follows the performance. Place: St. Paul's Chapel (Broadway at Fulton Street). Time: 1 p.m. Free.

Oct. 8:
Learn the "Hidden History of the Brooklyn Bridge" on a one-hour walking tour conducted by the South Street Seaport Museum in association with Archtober, Architecture and Design Month New York City, October 2015. The iconic landmark, the virtual symbol of New York in the 19th century, has secrets hidden deep within its granite towers, as well as within its 140-year history. Secret vaults, underground rooms filled with priceless drawings, a fortified (and amply provided) bomb shelter, undisclosed passages as well as some quirky and mostly forgotten construction techniques give the story of this structure a much richer and more interesting flavor then any other structure in the city. The walking tour will reveal some of these long hidden spaces and tell the stories behind the remarkable people who created this massive, wonderful, but enigmatic structure. Meeting place: South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St. Time: 12:15 p.m. Also Oct. 15. Registration required. Limited availability. Tickets: $10 (adults); $8 (museum members); $5 (children). For tickets, click here.  

Oct. 8: The fireboat John J. Harvey embarks on her last trips of the season, leaving from Pier 66 Maritime at West 26th Street. Trips are free, but a $20 refundable deposit is required to reserve a place. Time: 5:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.  Click here to reserve for Oct. 8. There will also be a Hudson River trip on Saturday, Oct. 10. On Friday, Oct. 16, there will be a trip from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. to Oyster Bay, Long Island with LIRR connections available for the return to New York City. For more information about these trips and about the John J. Harvey, click here.

Oct. 8: Trinity Wall Street begins its annual series of "Concerts at One" with works by Frank Martin ("Mass for Double Choir"), Richard Strauss ("Der Abend") and Gustav Mahler ("Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen") performed by the Choir of Trinity Wall Street conducted by Julian Wachner. A reception follows the performance. Place: Trinity Church (Broadway at Wall Street). Time: 1 p.m. Free.

Ongoing: Work by Trevor Winkfield showcases his visionary contributions to the overall aesthetic of poetry publishing. Place: Poets House, 10 River Terrace in Battery Park City.  Exhibition will be on view through Jan. 10, 2016 during regular hours for Poets House. Free. For more information, click here.
 
Ongoing
: "Spirits of the Passage: Stories of the Transatlantic Slave Trade" on the museum ship Lilac at Hudson River Park's Pier 25 discusses aspects of the maritime trade in African slaves combined with profiles of slaves, former slaves, abolitionists and others whose lives were touched by this global traffic. The exhibit was created by the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum (www.melfisher.org) in Key West, Fla. Lilac received key funding from the Sandy Hook Pilots' Association (www.sandyhookpilots.com) to bring this exhibit to New York. Through Oct. 25. The ship is open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Lilac is the last steam-powered lighthouse tender in America and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Launched on May 26, 1933, she carried supplies to lighthouses and maintained buoys for the U.S. Lighthouse Service and then the U.S. Coast Guard until she was decommissioned in 1972. For more  information about Lilac, click here.

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 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 October 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: Fraunces Tavern Museum's exhibition, "Lafayette," opened in May to complement the docking of the Marquis de Lafayette's replica ship, L'Hermione at the South Street Seaport over the July 4th weekend. It includes 20 items from the museum's collection such as Lafayette's calling card and the his sash, splashed with his blood from a wound sustained at the Battle of Brandywine. Through December 2016. 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. Lobby access: Fridays to Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For private tours of Schermerhorn Row and its old hotels, email [email protected].



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Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer

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