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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 3, No. 32 July 7, 2016
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"I think they got approval under essentially false information."
- New York State Assemblymember Deborah Glick describing the Hudson River Park Trust's presentation to the New York State Assembly of proposed changes to Pier 54
WEATHER INFORMATION: For current weather information, click here.
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS IN BATTERY PARK CITY:
To reach AlliedBarton "safety ambassadors," call (212) 945-SAFE (7233). The Battery Park City Command Center is now located at the Verdesian at 211 North End Ave. In case of emergencies, call 911.
IF YOU LIKE DOWNTOWN POST NYC - Downtown Post NYC is emailed free to subscribers, but if you like DPNYC and want to support it, you can do that in three ways. 1) Support Downtown Post's advertisers by clicking on their ads, and if you use their services, tell them that you read about them in DPNYC. 2) Consider advertising in DPNYC if you have a business, service or event that you want to promote. 3) Tell people about DPNYC and suggest that they subscribe. They can sign up at www.DowntownPostNYC.com.
All ads in Downtown Post NYC have clickable links. Click on an ad for more information. MASTHEAD PHOTO: Fireworks over the Hudson River. July 4, 2016
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
 PIER 55 PROJECT GETS A STAY FROM THE APPELLATE COURT
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| | Piers 53 and 54 on the Hudson River. The proposed Diller Island, largely funded by Barry Diller and his wife, Diane von Furstenberg, would replace the old, historic Pier 54 with a park of grassy hills set on pilings. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
As of June 30, "Diller Island," a proposed 2.7-acre park on the Hudson River just north of Pier 54, is in limbo. Construction work was supposed to begin this week, but it won't because of a ruling by the New York State Appellate Division, First Department, granting a preliminary
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A rendering of the proposed park
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injunction to prevent construction until a final decision is reached as to whether the proposed park of grassy hills and an open-air performance space set atop numerous pilings would be environmentally destructive and had been properly vetted and approved.
The suit to stop construction was brought by The City Club of New York along with Tom Fox, who was the first president of the Hudson River Park Conservancy, and Rob Buchanan, an environmentalist.
Michael Gruen, president of the City Club, called the stay order "a valuable step in ensuring that this secretive and misguided project will not get off the ground, potentially damaging the environment of the Estuarine Sanctuary in which the island would be located, until the courts have definitively determined whether all applicable laws have been complied with."
"Diller Island" as it has come to be called, has been on the drawing boards since the fall of 2012. The management of Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) must have been thrilled when Barry Diller and his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, offered to put up $113 million to build the park.
Diller is chairman and senior executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia, Inc. and the former chairman and chief executive officer of Fox, Inc, parent company of Fox Broadcasting
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The RMS Lusitania at Pier 54
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Company and 20th Century Fox. He was and is a man in a position financially to wave a magic wand over the derelict remnants of Pier 54 at West and 13th Streets. That was the pier from which the RMS Lusitania had departed on her final voyage in May 1915 before being torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat. It was the pier to which the survivors of the Titanic were brought after the great ocean liner sank on April 15, 1912. But Pier 54 was in such disrepair that it had mostly collapsed by the time it was dismantled in 2011.
HRPT publicly announced plans for the park as currently envisioned in November 2014, much to the surprise of many people who had been under the impression that a replacement for Pier 54 would be much more modest. Among those taken aback was New York State Assemblymember Deborah Glick, in whose district the proposed park would fall. In 2013, she had had to shepherd what she believed to be the plans through the New York State Assembly and get a sign-off to amend the original State legislation that had created the park so that Pier 54 could be reconstructed "outside of its historic footprint."
"When HRPT made their case to the Assembly that they needed to change the footprint of Pier 54, they said it's not in great shape," she said in a phone interview on June 30. HRPT management told her that the pier was used to show movies and have dances and it would be better to make it shorter and wider for those purposes. "But," said Glick, "it became obvious after the fact that they knew precisely that they were going to be doing a very different project. I think they got approval under essentially false information."
She said that she was "happy" that the Appellate Division is taking a second look at Diller Island.
"It was just disappointing that the Army Corps of Engineers and the State Department of Environmental Conservation were quick to give permits for a project that would be adding hundreds of new concrete piles into an area that had not previously had that number of piles," she said. She was also concerned that the proposed hills would be 60 feet tall and would block the view corridor.
Hudson River Park Trust has reacted to the Appellate Division stay with a scathing denouncement.
"This time-wasting and out-of-touch lawsuit is an insult not just to the local community board, which overwhelmingly supports this project, but to the New Yorkers from across the city who will enjoy this park for years to come," said an HRPT spokesman. "We're surprised by today's decision, which directly contradicts not only what a Federal District Court Judge ruled yesterday, but the array of State and Federal agencies that unanimously determined the project would not cause any significant adverse environmental impacts - much less any irreparable harm. It has become dishearteningly clear that this case has nothing to do with environmental impacts, and not once have the plaintiffs produced an expert who can say the project will cause environmental harm. Rather, this lawsuit is simply about a small group of people who want to determine - outside the public process - how the Hudson River Park Trust is governed and how Mr. Diller's money should be spent."
Gruen of the City Club replied that the suit was far from frivolous. "The Pier 55 case is a wholesale evasion of open governmental action with public input," he said. "Among our complaints: minimal public consultation and only after the basic decisions had already been made; evasion of a presumptively required environmental impact statement; a phony imitation of seeking the legislative consent to the project; and an intended lease to a private operator which threatens true public access to the projected performance spaces and does not appear beneficial to the Hudson River Park Trust. We hope that any victory will help to quash these all-too-common practices."
Whether the suit ultimately succeeds or fails, it will at least create a significant delay in implementing the project. At best, the summer will be all but over before a decision is announced. Construction in the Hudson River can only proceed in warm weather.
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer|
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Pier 54 and the area immediately north of it where the proposed Pier 55 would be built. The iron gateway to Pier 54 is still painted with the words "Cunard White Star Line," an indication of the legendary history of the pier.
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JULY 4 PORTFOLIO: PAINTING WITH FIRE
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| | East River fireworks on July 4. (Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
July 4 is one of the nights in the year when New York City becomes a village and everyone who can, looks at the sky. After a particularly brilliant and sunny morning and afternoon, dense clouds toward evening and even some rain were not enough to dampen the spirits of thousands of people who lined the shores of New York harbor and who also watched from a flotilla of boats as fireworks went off just after dark.
The first part of the show in Lower Manhattan took place over the Hudson River with a
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Classic Harbor Line's yacht, Kingston, on its way down the Hudson River for the fireworks.
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fusillade from New Jersey. Then the boats that had positioned themselves for this spectacle angled themselves toward the East River and its necklace of bridges.
The sparks sizzled as they burned out. Reverberations echoed from surrounding buildings as the fireworks were detonated. The light on the water looked like rumpled foil, glinting green and gold and red.
One image after another emerged for a few seconds and then disappeared - ephemeral but memorable. It looked, as one woman said, like "Painting with fire."
The boats applauded the end of the show with blasts from their horns and then they sped homeward, the Hudson River turbulent from many wakes and from the memory of rain.
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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FIRST HEAT ADVISORY OF THE SUMMER AND HOW TO STAY SAFE
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| | Battery Park City on a hot, humid day in July. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
The National Weather Service has issued its first heat advisory of the summer. It started at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, and will run through 7 p.m. on Friday, July 8. Additionally, an Air Quality Alert went into effect on July 6. Hot weather can be dangerous to the very young, the elderly and those with chronic health conditions. The Department of Health advises that New Yorkers should use air conditioning to stay cool, go to a place that has air conditioning if it isn't available at home, drink water at regular intervals and limit strenuous activity, especially during the hottest parts of the day.
New York City opened cooling centers throughout the five boroughs at 1 p.m. on July 6. They are scheduled to remain open through 8 p.m. and then reopen on July 7 beginning at 8 a.m. Cooling centers are air conditioned facilities, such as libraries, community centers, senior centers and NYCHA facilities that are open to the public during heat emergencies. To find the cooling center - including accessible facilities - closest to you, call 311 (TTY: 212-504-4115) or click here. Heat illness is serious. Prolonged exposure to the heat can be harmful and potentially fatal. On average in recent years, extreme heat in New York City caused an estimated 120 excess deaths from natural causes in addition to an average of between 10 and 15 heat-stroke deaths. The added stress caused by heat can aggravate chronic health problems such as heart or lung disease or diabetes without specific symptoms of heat illness. Each summer, New York City records up to 450 heat-related emergency department visits and an average of 150 heat-related hospital admissions. The risk for getting sick during a heat wave is greatest for people who don't have or don't use air conditioning and suffer from chronic health conditions.
Extreme heat events in New York City are defined as a heat index (which accounts for both temperature and humidity) reaching 95 degrees or more for two or more consecutive days or 100 or more for one or more days. The risk to public health increases as the heat index and the number of consecutive days of extreme heat increase.
The Department of Health has issued some advice for heat protection:
* Stay out of the sun and avoid extreme temperature changes.
* Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing.
* Drink fluids, particularly water, even if you don't feel thirsty. Your body needs water to keep cool. Those on fluid-restricted diets or taking diuretics should first consult their physician.
* Water is the safest liquid to drink during heat emergencies. Avoid beverages containing alcohol and/or caffeine.
* Eat small, frequent meals.
* Avoid strenuous activity, especially during the sun's peak hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m.
* If possible, go to an air-conditioned building for several hours during the hottest parts of the day.
* Cool down with a cool bath or shower.
* Participate in activities that will keep you cool, such as going to the movies, shopping at a mall, or swimming at a pool or beach.
* Cover all exposed skin with an SPF sunscreen (15 or above) and wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect your face and head.
* Never leave your children or pets in the car.
Know the warning signs of heat stress. If you or someone you know feels weak or faint, go to a cool place and drink water. If there is no improvement, call a doctor or 911.
Call 911 immediately if you have, or someone you know has:
* Hot, dry skin OR cold, clammy skin.
* Trouble breathing.
* Rapid heartbeat.
* Confusion, disorientation, or dizziness.
* Nausea and vomiting.
Pets are as much a risk during a heat emergency as humans. They can dehydrate quickly and need plenty of fresh, clean water.
Take dogs for walks early and late in the day. When the temperature is very high, don't let your dog linger on hot asphalt. Your pet's body can heat up quickly, and sensitive paw pads can burn.
Symptoms of overheating in pets include excessive panting or difficulty breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling, mild weakness, stupor or even collapse. Animals with flat faces such as Pugs and Persian cats are more susceptible to heat stroke since they can't pant as effectively. They should be kept cool in air-conditioned rooms as much as possible.
Never leave a pet inside of a parked car on a hot day. Even with the windows open, extreme temperatures inside a parked can quickly lead to fatal heat stroke for your pet.
Keep cats safe by installing screens in your windows. Unscreened windows pose a real danger to cats that fall out of them often during summer months.
Finally, pet food, water, medications and supplies should always be included in emergency preparedness plans and "go bags."
For more information about heat-related illnesses and precautions, click here.
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Bits & Bytes
SOUTH ST. SEAPORT TOWER WILL BE 1,400 FEET TALL; DEED CHANGES PUSHED FOR LANDMARKED 28 LIBERTY ST.; PERELMAN'S ARTS CENTER
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| Figment, a non-profit arts group, is back on Governors Island with a miniature golf course and a treehouse. This was the Figment treehouse for the summer of 2013.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
"Channeling scofflaw Trump, land use chair says it's time to make public spaces great again," therealdeal.com, 6/30/16."Amid backlash over the (metaphorical) wall Donald Trump has built around the public atrium at Trump Tower, the City Council proposed a bill that would provide further oversight over the city's publicly owned private spaces," says The Real Deal. "The move comes after the Council approved a proposal to allow landlords on Water Street to convert the spaces - known as POPS - into retail use, sparking a larger debate about how the public amenities are treated." The Real Deal quoted City Councilman David Greenfield, chair of the land use committee, who said at a hearing, "The bottom line is, folks, we have a real problem here. We have permitted the construction of millions of square feet across the city, but we're not sure if the public is getting their end of the bargain." The Real Deal explains that, "Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, removed a bench inside the atrium at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in order to make way for campaign kiosks selling 'Make America Great Again' hats and 'The Apprentice' box sets, according to Gothamist." For the complete article, click here.
"China Oceanwide's South Street Seaport Tower To Reach 1,400 Feet Tall," Bisnow.com, 6/30/16. "China Oceanwide Holdings has big plans for the South Street Seaport area-and now we have a sense of what they look like, thanks to a diagram dug up by NY Yimby," says Bisnow.com. "80 South St will be over 1,400 feet tall - that's 50 feet higher than the roof of 1 WTC, the Western Hemisphere's tallest building if you count its decorative spire, which tops out at 1,776 feet. It's safe to say the mixed-use mega-tower will be skyline-altering. It will have the highest roof height in Lower Manhattan. An increase in the project's air rights, which now total over 1.6M SF, helped make the staggering height possible. Howard Hughes Corp owned the development site until selling it to China Oceanwide last year for $390M." For the complete article, click here. "Powerful lobbyist made $250K pushing for deed changes," therealdeal.com, 6/30/16. "Well-connected lobbyist James Capalino made more than $250,000 in the past two years pushing for deed changes at three New York properties," according to The Real Deal. "That's on top of his involvement in Rivington House, where a deed change allowed the building's conversion into luxury condos and recently triggered an Attorney General investigation into the de Blasio administration." One of Capalino's clients was Fosun International, which is angling for a deed change at landmarked 28 Liberty St. that would allow it to "alter the public plaza and build ground-level retail space. The planned modifications won landmarks approval in August, but the deed change has yet to win approval from the department of citywide administrative services (DCAS)." For the complete article, click here. "Ronald Perelman Donates $75 Million for Arts Complex at World Trade Center Site," New York Times, 6/29/16. "Less than a year since he stepped down as the chairman of Carnegie Hall after clashing with its staff, Ronald O. Perelman, the billionaire businessman, announced Wednesday that he was donating $75 million to revive plans to build a performing arts center at the World Trade Center site," says The New York Times. "His donation immediately catapulted the long-stalled performing arts center, one of the last major pieces of unfinished business at the World Trade Center site, from aspirational to achievable and places him among a new generation of power brokers and billionaires who are reshaping - and renaming - the cultural infrastructure of New York. In recognition of his gift, the new theater complex, which will sit on one of the most emotionally resonant and most visited spots in the city, will be named for Mr. Perelman." The Times says that, "culture has long been envisioned as a key part of the rebuilt World Trade Center and was an important feature of the architect Daniel Libeskind's 2003 master plan for the site. The performing arts center was placed on the back burner, though, as officials wrangled over the many other thorny issues involved in redevelopment." For the complete article, click here. "Cornell expands medical college to financial district," New York Post, 7/4/16. "Although the Financial District is booming on the commercial and residential fronts, it's lagged in one area - health care. But help's on the way," says the New York Post. "At William Macklowe Co.'s 156 William St., Cornell University has added 55,000 square feet to 30,000 it already had for its Weill Cornell Medical College - nearly completing landlord Billy Macklowe's aim to establish the first medical office building downtown. The deal includes 41,000 square feet of offices plus 14,000 square feet of retail. The latter will be home to a medical imaging center, the neighborhood's first. Weill Cornell Medical College is an affiliate of New York Presbyterian Hospital across the street." For the complete article, click here. "On Governors Island, Family-Friendly Art With a Stroke of Whimsy," New York Times, 7/5/16. Figment is back on Governors Island. It is, as The New York Times explains, "a nonprofit arts group that, in a world of million-dollar auctions and big-ticket, blockbuster museum exhibitions, is trying to make art, or at least its notion of art, more accessible. Each of the 11 holes [of a miniature golf course] is a carefully curated work designed around a single central theme: 'Mini Is the New Big.'" Says The Times, "Since 2007, Figment has grown from a group running a daylong festival on the island, a 172-acre former military base turned recreational oasis in New York Harbor, into a grass-roots movement with more than 1,000 volunteers, organizing free events in 18 cities, including Boston; Toronto; Boulder, Colo.; and Geelong, Australia. Its signature festival on Governors Island has expanded to three days from one, drawing more than 18,000 people last month, up from 2,600 the first year." For the complete article, click here.
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NADLER WINS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY IN THE 10TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT AND THE RIGHT TO APPEAR ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER
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| Rep. Jerrold Nadler speaking at a press conference in Lower Manhattan on Nov. 2, 2015 urging reauthorization of the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Two days after the primary election on June 28, Rep. Jerrold Nadler wrote to thank his supporters. Running against Mikhail Oliver Rosenberg, he had won the Democratic nomination for the 10th Congressional District and the right to appear on the ballot in November. According to the unofficial figures, Nadler had garnered 25,527 votes (88%), with 2,949 votes cast for Rosenberg.
"I am truly in awe of our democracy, which calls on citizens driven by public service, to come forward, present their ideas and positions to the voters, and ask for their support in the hope of representing them, their interests and the nation as a whole," Nadler wrote.
Rosenberg, a former Republican, had based his campaign largely on opposition to Nadler's vote in favor of a nuclear deal with Iran.
Nadler has represented the 10th Congressional District since 1992. It includes a large part of the west side of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
He has been a stalwart proponent of gun control and a vocal opponent of discrimination based on age, race, gender, religion or sexuality. He was among those who championed the creation of Greenwich Village's Stonewall National Monument in recognition of the uprising that took place there in 1969, launching the modern LGBT civil rights movement. He worked for years to get the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act passed and then reauthorized, when it expired. It was specifically due to his efforts that community residents were included in the coverage, said Catherine McVay Hughes, former chairperson of Community Board 1. He is the senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and with New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, was successful in getting the U.S. Department of Transportation to allocate more than $10.6 million in federal grant money to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the vitally needed Cross Harbor Freight Program, which will finally connect the New York City region to the national freight rail grid.
For all practical purposes, the unofficial tally is final. However, New York State Election Law requires a complete recanvass of all votes cast on Election Day and the canvass of all valid absentee, special, and affidavit (provisional) ballots before any election results can be certified. Once all ballot counting tasks have been completed (usually within 15 days for a primary and within 25 days for a general election), each County Board certifies their respective election results. Those certifications are then sent to the State Board for aggregation, certification and publication/posting.
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Downtown bulletin board
NEW YORK HARBOR APPS; NEW AUDIO GUIDE TO THE MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FINANCE; GET LOW CONTINUES WITH DINING DISCOUNTS
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| | Information about an 1880 plaster study of the Alexander Hamilton statue by Carl Conrads that was commissioned by Hamilton's son as a gift to the city of New York is featured on a new audio guide to the collections of the Museum of American Finance. The audio guide will debut on July 12. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
New York Harbor apps: Visitors to the National Parks in New York Harbor can now download three free apps with information, maps and photographs. The Statue of Liberty National Monument, which includes the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, has an app all to itself. So does Gateway National Recreation Area, which includes locations in three New York City boroughs and two states. The remaining eight national parks in New York Harbor are combined on a third app. This one has information about Governors Island, the African Burial Ground, Federal Hall, and more. The free apps are now available on the iTunes App Store for Apple devices and will soon be available on Google Play for Android devices. For the Statue of Liberty app, click here. For the Gateway National Recreation Area app, click here. For the app for Governors Island and other sites, click here.
Museum of American Finance launches audio tour: On Tuesday, July 12, the Museum of American Finance at 48 Wall St. will launch a 12-stop audio tour of its permanent exhibits. The tour was developed in partnership with Antenna - a leading innovative multi-media story-telling company - and is narrated by a variety of experts including the Museum's president and curators, as well as CNN founding financial editor Myron Kandel and architectural historian Damien Cregeau. The tour will feature the backstories of several of the Museum's most popular collections and exhibitions, including objects from the Crash of '29; a stock certificate issued to Ponzi scheme artist Bernie Madoff; rare high-denomination currency; and the solid gold and jewel encrusted Monopoly Set by artist Sidney Mobell, on loan from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The most in-depth stop on the audio tour is the 1880 plaster study of the Alexander Hamilton statue by Carl Conrads, which was commissioned by Hamilton's son as a gift to the city of New York. The study stands just outside the Alexander Hamilton Room - the Museum's permanent tribute to the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury. Also on July 12, in honor of the 212th anniversary of Hamilton's death, the Museum will unveil several new additions to this exhibit, such as an original copy of Hamilton's obituary and a rare 1804 collection of documents pertaining to his death in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr. This includes correspondence leading up to the duel, Hamilton's last will and testament, the eulogies of his friends and colleagues and detailed information on his funeral ceremony. The audio guides will be available to visitors on a first come, first served basis for $2 per person. MoAF members and visitors with visual or other impairments will be granted free usage of the guides. For more information about the museum, click here.
Get Low 2016: The Alliance for Downtown New York's popular summer program, Get Low, is back for the third year with restaurant discounts on Tuesdays through Aug. 30. The program brings special deals to Downtown diners with discounts at 34 restaurants every Tuesday night after 4 p.m. Photograph your meal and post the picture to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #DownIsWhatsUp for a chance to win one of the weekly prizes for the most interesting posts. All participants who tag @ICECulinary will be entered to win the grand prize - a cooking course for two at the Institute for Culinary Education's new Brookfield Place location. The Institute will also offer all participants a 20 percent discount on their Tuesday night classes. For more information on the program, click here.
Breast Cancer Screening: New York State has launched a program to improve access to breast cancer screening. Newly passed legislation extends hours for screening at 210 hospital-based mammography facilities across the state and eliminates insurance hurdles for mammograms and other screening and diagnostic procedures to detect breast cancer. (In Lower Manhattan, New York Downtown Hospital at 170 William St. is participating in the extended hours program.) The legislation eliminates annual deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance payments for all screening mammograms, including those provided to women more frequently than current federal screening guidelines would indicate (such as annual mammograms for women in their forties). Breast ultrasounds and breast MRIs for women at high risk for breast cancer are also covered. For more information about the program, click here.
River Project Anniversary Gala: For the last 30 years, The River Project has been connecting the people of New York and visitors from around the world with the marvels and mysteries of the Hudson River. On Aug. 1, The River Project will celebrate with a fundraising dinner cruise aboard the Hornblower Hybrid. The event will feature the creatures of the Hudson River, live from underwater at Pier 42. Laurie Anderson will add special music. In addition, the gala will honor three special friends of the Harbor's wildlife: U.S. Congressman Jerry Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and author Paul Greenberg. Place: Leaving from Pier 40. Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets start at $250. For more information, email cathy@riverprojectnyc.org. To buy tickets, click here.
More free Wi-Fi in Lower Manhattan: The Alliance for Downtown New York has expanded the free wi-fi network in Lower Manhattan. The network now runs from the Battery to Barclay Street. Since the Downtown Alliance started this network in 2003, it has grown steadily with the support of numerous downtown businesses and organizations, most recently Trinity Church and the law firm, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. The network is accessed via #DwntwnAllianceFreeWiFi. For more information, click here.
Adult Ceramics: Adults can take ceramics classes this summer at the Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren St., starting any time throughout June and July. Classes are held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Enrolled students have access to the studio on Tuesdays and Thursdays (6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.), Saturdays (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and Sundays (noon to 3 p.m.), where they can work on their own projects. Cost: $210 plus $40 materials fee for each six-week session, with a 10 percent discount for Community Center members or past Living Social participants. For more information or to register, email Susan@manhattanyouth.org.
Battery Park City Parks Summer Events Calendar: For a complete list of events and classes taking place this summer in Battery Park City under the auspices of Battery Park City Parks, click here.
Seafarers Camp 2016: The South Street Seaport Museum 's 1893 fishing schooner, Lettie G. Howard, will serve as a camp for teens this summer. The week-long Seafarers Camp is for middle and high school students, who will acquire sailing and science skills, make friends and have fun aboard this historic, Coast-Guard certified tall ship. It will depart each week from Manhattan and sail into Long Island Sound where the teens will raise and handle sail, stand lookout, navigate and plot a course, steer the ship and sail through the night, taking their watch on deck. In the morning, they will anchor in a quiet harbor for a morning swim. The six-day voyages will depart every Sunday from July 3 through Aug. 26. Campers can sign up for one or more weeks. Cost: $1,250 per participant (covers all trip expenses). Group rates are available. Scholarships may be available based on financial need. For more information, email lettieghoward@seany.org or click here.
Volunteers needed at the South Street Seaport Museum: Since its founding, the South Street Seaport Museum's mission has been to preserve and interpret the history of the Port of New York. Volunteers and interns are essential to this effort. Their skills are needed in many aspects of the museum's operation including administration, the crafts centers, and visitor services. Volunteers and interns help to inventory items in the museum's collections and assist with exhibitions. In the Education Department, they help the staff with public programs, book talks, lectures, workshops, walking tours and family programming. Some volunteers serve as docents after they receive training provided by Museum staff, giving tours of the collections and the historic district. On the waterfront, volunteers and interns help maintain and interpret the stationary vessels and operate, maintain and interpret the operational vessels. All of the ships need carpenters, electricians, ship engineers, riggers, metalworkers and divers from time to time. Volunteers and interns also work as crew on the schooner Pioneer as she cruises in New York Harbor and beyond. Training is provided. Those who are interested must be over the age of 18 or have parental or guardian permission, and pass a US Coast Guard-required drug test. For more information about volunteering for the South Street Seaport Museum, click here.
Minority and women-owned businesses get boost from New York City: Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed to awarding Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) $16 billion in contracts over the next 10 years. During FY 2015, the City awarded M/WBEs $1.6 billion and is on track to reach the $16 billion goal. There are now 4,454 M/WBEs in the City, a 21 percent increase since the start of De Blasio's administration. Free services are available to help strengthen certified M/WBE's including access to technical assistance, bonding, financing, teaming and mentorship. Firms interested in starting the M/WBE certification process or participating in M/WBE programming can learn more by calling 311, meeting with a client manager at one of the City's seven NYC Business Solution Centers (the Lower Manhattan center is at 79 John St., second floor) or by clicking here.
Manhattan Youth's Outdoor Adventure Summer Program: From Aug. 15 to Aug. 19, Manhattan Youth is offering a week-long sleepaway program for young people in grades 4 to 9 at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Outdoor Mohican Center in Blairstown, N.J. The program will include swimming, canoeing and kayaking, camping, day and night hikes, fishing, outdoor sports, evening campfires and more. Private transportation to and from the Mohican Outdoor Center will be provided. The center is a 90-minute drive from New York City located on 70,000 acres in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The program costs $945, however any child previously or currently enrolled in Manhattan Youth's Downtown Day Camp or After School Outdoor Adventure Program will receive a discount of $100. There is an additional $100 discount for siblings. For more information, email Yessenia Chimelis at yessenia@manhattanyouth.org or call (212) 766-1104, ext. 303.
Downtown Boathouse season: This year's season of free kayaking at the Downtown Boathouse on Pier 26 (in Hudson River Park near North Moore Street) is in full swing. Weekends and holidays, the Downtown Boathouse is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Oct. 10. It is also open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings between June 15 and Sept. 15 from 5 p.m to 7:30 p.m. with the last boat going out a half hour before closing time. Kayaking classes take place every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting. In addition to Pier 26, the Downtown Boathouse runs a free public kayaking program on Governors Island, with details about the plans for this season yet to be announced. For more information about the Downtown Boathouse, click here. Manhattan Youth volleyball: On Friday nights, Manhattan Youth offers beach volleyball instruction and games on Pier 25 in Hudson River Park for kids from grades 5 to 12. The Volleyball League runs through July 15. Fifth to eighth graders play from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. while ninth through 12th graders play from 7:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. The program is free for Downtown Community Center members. The fee for non-members is $35. For more information, email Marshal Coleman at mc@marshalcoleman.com. To register, click here. Reduced fees at Stuyvesant High School Community Center: All-access memberships in the Community Center at Stuyvesant High School (CCSHS) at 345 Chambers St. will now cost $199 for adults (ages 18-61), down from $525. For Battery Park City residents, the price will be $179. For seniors, youth (17 and under) and for members of the military, all-access annual membership is now $79, down from $150 for seniors and $100 for youth. Military membership pricing is being offered for the first time. Battery Park City residents in these categories will pay $59 annually for an all-access membership. Day passes will continue to cost $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and youth, with a first-time $10 day pass option now available for military members. Annual membership and day pass purchases include free access to many classes and programs at the community center. Upcoming classes and programs include group swim lessons for children and adults, tennis clinics, yoga, badminton, total body boxing, the BPC Running Club, and more. The Community Center at Stuyvesant High School is operated by the Parks Programming department of the Battery Park City Authority. The community center is open seven days a week when classes at the high school are not in session. For full membership options or to join CCSHS email ccshs@bpcparks.org or call (212) 267-9700. For more information, click here.
Unclaimed funds in New York: The New York State Comptroller's Office reports that it is holding nearly $14 billion in unclaimed money for New York residents who may have been charged superfluous fees or overpaid a bill, among other reasons for the money to end up in that office. Manhattan has the largest number of unclaimed funds in the New York area with just over 1.5 million potential cases. To search the comptroller's database and verify if you have unclaimed funds, click here or call (800) 221-9311 for more information.
Disposing of electronic waste: New York State and City laws require the safe disposal of electronic waste (such as cellphones, computers and television sets) so that it doesn't end up in landfill. Most electronics can't be discarded through regular curb-side pick ups. The Lower East Side Ecology Center has a warehouse in Gowanus where electronic waste can be dropped off. In addition, the Lower East Side Ecology Center has rotating monthly recycling events in various city neighborhoods. For a calendar of its April recycling events, click here. The New York City Department of Sanitation offers a free recycling service for apartment buildings with more than 10 units. For information on how to enroll, call (212) 437-4647. Finally, many manufacturers offer drop off or mail-back options. For a list of manufacturers registered in New York State, go to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website by clicking here. If a manufacturer on the list refuses to accept your electronics, notify the Department of Environmental Conservation by calling (800) 847-7332.
Gracie Mansion: Artifacts and Tours: Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City's mayors at 88th Street and East End Avenue, was built in 1799 as a country retreat for financier Archibald Gracie and his family. At the time, the gracious, Federal-style house was five miles outside the city limits - and at that time, the city limits would have meant what we now call "Lower Manhattan." A recently installed exhibit of paintings, sculptures and documents called "Windows on the City: Looking Out at Gracie's New York" sheds light on what our neighborhood was like at the turn of the 19th century. Slavery was still legal, and there was a slave market at the foot of Wall Street. Clipper ships plied the harbor, taking cargo in some cases to and from Asia - a recently opened market. The streets were noisy with the raucous calls of vendors selling oysters, ice, charcoal, milk and many other goods and services. Immigrants began to arrive in greater numbers, many of them living in crowded tenements and working at monotonous, low-paying jobs. The city, already diverse from the time of the Dutch settlers in the early 17th century, became even more so. For more about Gracie Mansion and to see photographs, click here. Free tours are available on July 12, 19 and 26. To register for a tour, click here. SeaGlass Carousel: Following 10 years of design and fundraising and a setback named "Sandy," the SeaGlass Carousel in The Battery opened on Aug. 19, 2015 to universal critical acclaim and rapturous crowds. Downtown Post NYC was there for the opening. Read about the carousel and see photos by clicking here. SeaGlass Carousel is open daily, weather permitting. For updates on changes to operating hours, follow The Battery Conservancy on Facebook. Admission to SeaGlass Carousel is $5 per ride. Access to The Battery is free and open to the public. Downtown Post NYC photos for sale: If would like to buy prints of a photograph that has appeared in Downtown Post NYC, email editor@downtownpostnyc.com with your request for more information about sizes and prices.
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Before the construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and the World Trade Center, Manhattan's Lower West Side was home to one of the largest and earliest communities of Arab Americans in the United States. Little Syria, NY: An Immigrant Community's Life and Legacy tells the story of this neighborhood from its beginnings in the late 1800s to its legacy in Brooklyn and beyond.
May 25 to Sept. 16: The NYC Department of Records and Information Services, 31 Chambers St. Visitors Center. This exhibition was created by the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Mich. For more information, click here. |
COMMUNITY BOARD 1 MEETING: Week of July 4
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| The landmarked plaza at 28 Liberty St. was constructed for the Chase Manhattan Bank. The current owner, Fosun Property Holdings, is seeking a zoning change.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
On July 6, Community Board 1's Financial District Committee heard presentations on the following issues:
* Shared Streets - Presentation by NYC DOT Plaza Program
* 28 Liberty St./Chase Plaza Deed Restriction Modification - Presentation by Erik Horvat, Managing Director, Fosun Property Holdings and possible resolution
* 68-74 Trinity Place/103-109 Greenwich, application pursuant to section 72-21 of the Zoning Resolution for a Board of Standards and Appeals variance to facilitate the development of a Parish House and Commercial Tower - Resolution
* Relocation of 9/11 Tribute Center - Presentation by Jennifer Adams-Webb, Chief Executive Officer, 9/11 Tribute Center
* Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment - Presentation and discussion with Andrew Brokman, Deputy Director of External Affairs
* 23 Park Place, application for sidewalk caf� license for Murray Place Inc. d/b/a Barleycorn - Resolution
* World Trade Center - Upper Level, application for bar/tavern wine, beer & cider license for NuNu Chocolates NYC02, LLC - Resolution
* 123 Washington Street, application for restaurant liquor license for an entity to be formed by Brian Crawford - Resolution
* 15 Stone Street, application for restaurant liquor license for Nebraska Steakhouse - Resolution
* 21 Rector St., application for a restaurant liquor license for 21 Rector LLC d/b/a Jerry Liberatas - Resolution
* 84 William St., application for restaurant/bar/hotel liquor license for 84 William Street Property Owner, LLC d/b/a AKA Wall Street - Resolution (postponed)
The following notices have been received for renewal, upgrade, or transfer of wine and beer or liquor licenses or sidewalk cafe permits:
* 129 Front St., application for renewal of a hotel liquor license for Front Property Hotel Corp. d/b/a Exchange Hotel
* 130 Cedar St., application for renewal of a restaurant/hotel liquor license for Cedar & Washington Associates LLC d/b/a Club Quarters (World Trade Center Hotel)
* 2 Broadway, application for renewal of a restaurant liquor license for Chipotle Mexican Grill of Colorado, LLC d/b/a Chipotle Mexican Grill
* 150 Nassau St., application for renewal of a restaurant liquor license for Nassau 8793 LLC d/b/a Denny's |
CALENDAR: Week of July 4
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| The annual River & Blues Festival in Battery Park City's Wagner Park starts on July 7.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
July 7: The annual River & Blues Festival in Battery Park City kicks off with a performance by Amy Helm & the Handsome Strangers. Each Thursday night during July there will be a different blues headliner. Place: Wagner Park. Time: 7 p.m. Free. For more information,
click here.
July 7: An exhibition, "Deep Calls Deep" is at the World Trade Gallery with artists Michael Alan, Jenny McGee, Desmond Frick, Alicia Flannery, Ruben 415 and Erasmo. Gallery open Monday to Saturday. Place: 120 Broadway (entrance on Cedar Street). For gallery hours and more information, click here.
July 13: Join a New York City Audubon Society Eco-cruise aboard New York Water Taxi for a thrilling glimpse of New York Harbor's wildlife. The tour on June 29 goes to Hoffman and Swinburne Islands - man-made islands on the far side of the Verrazanno Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island - for sightings of herons, egrets and more. Also, July 27. Place: Leaves from Pier 16 in the South Street Seaport. Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets: $35 (adults); $25 (children, 3 to 12). For more information, click here.
Through July 21: Artist Rachel Lussier will be creating two new paintings of the historic
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Oculus by Rachel Lussier
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ship Lilac at Hudson River Park's Pier 25. Visitors can talk with her about her work and watch her as she paints. For more about Lussier and her work, click here. The Lilac is the last steam-powered lighthouse tender in America and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is open to the public from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. For more about the Lilac, click here.
Ongoing: An exhibition called "Dunsmore: Illustrating the American Revolutionary War" opened on June 17 at the Fraunces Tavern Museum. John Ward Dunsmore (1856-1945) was a realistic and accurate genre painter who focused on the American Revolution and Early Republic. Through a chronological display of the Revolutionary War, this exhibition returns 47 recently conserved paintings to their rightful place in the iconography of American culture. Place: 54 Pearl St. Open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Admission: $7; $4 (seniors, students and children 6 to 18); free (children under 5 and active military). For more information, click here.
Ongoing: "Stitching History from the Holocaust," an exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, re-creates the dress designs of Hedy Strnad. In 1939, she and her husband, Paul, wrote to his American cousin seeking help to escape Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Nearly 60 years later, the Strnad family discovered the letter in their basement, along with a packet of Hedy's dress designs. While Hedy and Paul did not survive, their story is brought to life through the contemporary creation of Hedy's designs and the piecing together of this couple's history. Through Aug. 14, 2016. Place: 36 Battery Place. The museum is open Sunday to Friday. Tickets: $12; $10 (seniors, 65 and up); $7 (students); free (children, 12 and under and museum members). For hours and more information, click here. Ongoing: Aboard the historic lighthouse tender Lilac, a photography exhibition by Richard W. Golden entitled "Defending New York Harbor: The City's Waterfront Forts" documents the fortifications that protectively ring New York Harbor. Through July 31. Place: Pier 25 in Hudson River Park. Time: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Thursdays) and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Saturdays and Sundays). Free. For more information, click here.
Ongoing: "Street of Ships: The Port and Its People" in the South Street Seaport Museum's 12 Fulton St. lobby. The exhibition showcases works of art and artifacts from the museum's permanent collections related to the 19th century history of the Port of New York. The objects on display illuminate the Seaport's decisive role in securing New York City's place as America's largest city and the world's busiest port by the start of the 20th century. On view through 2016. Place: 12 Fulton St. Time: Open Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets: $12; $8 (seniors 65+, Merchant Mariners, Active Duty Military and students (with valid ID); $6 (kids, ages 6-17); free (children ages 5 and under). For more information or to reserve tickets, click here. Ongoing: "Rethinking Cities for the Age of Global Warming" is the title of the newest exhibition at the Skyscraper Museum. Of the world's 20 largest megacities - metropolitan areas with a population of 10 million or more - seven are located in the tropical countries and islands of Southeast Asia. WOHA - the practice begun in 1994 by architects Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell - has built extensively in the tiny city-state of Singapore, as well as in Bangkok, Mumbai, and other megacities in the region. WOHA proposes - and has built - tropical skyscrapers enveloped by nature and vertical villages with sky gardens, breezeways, and elevated parks. At a time when global warming threatens the future, the enlightened work of WOHA rethinks the urban environment, offering prototypes that use vertical density to create highly social, sustainable, and garden-filled cities. Through Sept. 4, 2016. Place: Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place. Museum open, Wednesday-Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. Admission: $5; $2.50 (students and seniors). For more information, click here.
Ongoing: "Unbound: Narrative Art of the Plains" at the National Museum of the American Indian traces the evolution of the narrative art form from historic hides, muslins and ledger books to a selection of contemporary works by Native artists, the majority commissioned for this exhibition. Warrior-artists from the Native nations of North America's plains have long used pictures to depict visionary experiences and successes in battle and horse raiding. When the U.S. government enacted policies from 1870 to 1920 that forced Plains people to give up their traditions, drawings became a crucial means of addressing cultural upheaval. Since the 1960s, narrative artists have blended traditional and modern materials to depict everything from ceremonies and family histories to humor and contemporary life. Through Dec. 4, 2016. Place: 1 Bowling Green. The museum is open daily. Free. For more information, click here.
Ongoing: The exhibition, "New York's Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway," is playing at the Museum of the City of New York (definitely uptown - the museum is at 1220 Fifth Ave., at 103rd Street - but the subject matter recalls the downtown heyday of the Yiddish theater in New York City). New York's first Yiddish production was staged in 1882. In the ensuing decades, so many Yiddish theaters opened on Second Avenue between Houston Street and East 14th Street that the area was known as the "Yiddish Rialto." The exhibition features more than 250 artifacts, including photographs, costumes, playbills, sets, drawings, sculptures and film clips. Some of them came from the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City, now affiliated with Folksbiene, the National Yiddish Theatre - one of the co-presenters of the exhibition along with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the National Yiddish Book Center. Place: Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Chalsty's Caf� in the museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets: Suggested admission, $14; $10 (seniors and students with ID); free (under age 20 and members). For more information, click here.
Ongoing: In Atlanta, in 1915, Leo Frank became the only Jew ever lynched in the United States. He was accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl who worked at the pencil factory that he managed. His trial, murder and the aftermath are the subject of an exhibition, "Seeking Justice: The Leo Frank Case Revisited." Through Aug. 28, 2016. Place: Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place. Open Sunday to Friday (closed Saturdays). 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 December 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. For a video related to the exhibition, 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: 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: 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.
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Downtown Post NYC is emailed to subscribers twice a week.
Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer
All articles and photographs in Downtown Post NYC are copyrighted and
may not be reprinted or republished without written permission.
� 2016
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