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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 3, No. 34 July 16, 2016
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"The Statue of Liberty is more and more profoundly relevant than ever. She welcomed immigrants."
- Leslie Koch, president and CEO of the Trust for Governors Island
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: Valerie June, a singer, songwriter from Memphis, Tenn., performing at the Lowdown Hudson Music Fest at Brookfield Place. July 13, 2016
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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 THE HILLS ON GOVERNORS ISLAND, OPENING ON JULY 19, ARE
A MAGNIFICENT ADDITION TO THE NEW YORK CITY LANDSCAPE
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| Discovery Hill is one of four man-made hills on Governors Island.
(Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
A profoundly beautiful place in New York City will open to the public on Tuesday, July 19 - The Hills on Governors Island. Where once there were utilitarian buildings left over from the years when the U.S. Army and Coast Guard used the island as a base, now there are four hills that were constructed from demolition debris, landfill and lightweight pumice.
The hills are between 25 feet and 70 feet tall and sited so as to provide dramatic views of New
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"Cabin," a sculpture by Rachel Whiteread, is on Discovery Hill.
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York harbor, Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. The road through The Hills frames the Statue of Liberty. Governors Island is the closest place on land in New York City from which to see her face. The Hills have been planted with more than 860 new trees, 41,000 new shrubs and a multitude of flowers and grasses that were chosen so that they can withstand the sometimes harsh weather conditions in the harbor and the gradually warming environment predicted by climate change. Already, many birds have discovered this new habitat. Swallows and common terns flit overhead. Red-winged blackbirds display their striking epaulets as they dart among the grasses.
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Leslie Koch on Discovery Hill
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Leslie Koch, president and CEO of the Trust for Governors Island, masterminded this project. Under her direction, a flat 40-acre parcel of the 172-acre island has been transformed. The contract for the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation's competition to "transform the island and integrate its two halves" was awarded in 2007 to a Dutch firm, West 8. One of its founders, landscape architect Adriaan Geuze, headed the project. The first phase of the work was the development and landscaping of 30 acres of meadows, play lawns and a hammock grove.
"We were in construction for that first part of the park on Oct. 29, 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit," Koch recalled. A 13-foot-tall wall of water deluged the island from all sides. Shipping containers came over the sea wall fence from the Brooklyn side of the island. "I thought that all the fill that we had carefully placed would be in the harbor," said Koch. But it wasn't. Where construction had begun was bone dry.
Geuze and West 8 had designed the park so that it could withstand sea-level rise. The Netherlands are below sea level and the Dutch have been dealing with similar problems for centuries. "This was the first park design to be created as a resilient landscape," said Koch. "When work on the master plan began, the word 'resilient' wasn't even in the vocabulary that was used to describe what was needed."
The meadows, play lawns and hammock grove opened to the public in 2014.
Groundbreaking for The Hills took place on July 25, 2013. They are on a 10-acre site on the southern end of the island. When they open to the public on July 19, it will be a year ahead of schedule.
Each hill has a name. Grassy Hill is the smallest of the four - a gentle slope overlooking the island's new and historic landscapes and the Manhattan skyline. Discovery Hill has a sculpture by British artist and Turner Prize winner Rachel Whiteread. She created a concrete cabin, reminiscent of a New England-style shed or fisherman's cabin. Strewn around the cabin are numerous bronze casts of discarded objects including bottles, cans and other refuse. Some of these objects were found on the island, which was used by the region's Native Americans for millennia for hunting and fishing, and settled by the Dutch West India Co. in 1624.
Slide Hill, at 36 feet high, has four slides of varying lengths. One of them is the longest slide in
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Slide Hill
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New York City. The slides are cradled by century-old granite blocks that once formed Governors Island's southern sea wall, which had to be rebuilt. The granite blocks have been placed throughout The Hills. The last of the four hills, and the tallest, is called Outlook Hill. The top can be reached by a paved path or by climbing over some of those granite blocks, which have been dubbed "the Scramble."
"People visit New York City for the skyscrapers and the height," Koch said, "but many people
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The summit of Outlook Hill
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who live here don't have the experience of looking down over the city, unless they're rich." Now anyone who visits The Hills on Governors Island can do that. In one direction, the harbor unfurls toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and the sea. In another direction, the skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan sit as though on a flat platter. The Hudson River and the skyline of Brooklyn are part of the panorama. The centerpiece is the Statue of Liberty. The four hills were sited so as to continually conceal and reveal her from the road that winds between them. "The Statue of Liberty is more and more profoundly relevant than ever," Koch said. "She welcomed immigrants." From The Hills on Governors Island, you can clearly see Lady Liberty's face.
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
Governors Island is open daily through Sept. 25. Ferries leave daily from the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South St. and on weekends from Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. From Monday to Friday, the island is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, the island is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. On July 19, opening day for The Hills, the island will open at 9 a.m. On Wednesday, July 20, Governors Island will be open from sunrise to sunset, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. That day, ferries will be free all day with the first ferry leaving from the Battery Maritime Terminal at 5 a.m. Sunrise will be at 5:42 a.m. and sunset at 8:22 p.m. For more information about Governors Island its programming, click here. 
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LESLIE KOCH BIDS FAREWELL TO GOVERNORS ISLAND AFTER
TEN YEARS AT THE HELM OF THE TRUST FOR GOVERNORS ISLAND
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| | Leslie Koch, president and CEO of the Trust for Governors Island, standing in The Hills, the last part of the Governors Island Park and Public Space Master Plan to be finished. It opens to the public on July 19. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
The 10 a.m. ferry from the Battery Maritime Building in Manhattan to Governors Island was crowded on Wednesday, July 13. On the upper deck, Leslie Koch talked about the 10 years since she first made that trip as the president and CEO of the Trust for Governors Island. "My first day of work was May 1, 2006," she said.
Aug. 1, 2016 will be her last day of work. In those 10 years, she has shepherded the island from an abandoned military base that was visited by around 26,000 people a year in 2006 into one of the City's most beloved retreats for both tourists and City residents. Last year, 450,000 people visited Governors Island. This year, Koch expects even more.
What is she most proud of when she thinks back over this past decade? "Look around!" she said. There were kids and adults of all ages on the ferry. Through surveys, the Trust knows that three-quarters of them live in the five boroughs. When Koch first took the Governors Island job, that wasn't true. The island's few visitors mostly came from Manhattan.
Koch is glad that visitors to New York City enjoy Governors Island but what she is really interested in are the City's residents. "One of our purposes is to be a place where people will return again and again," she said.
Governors Island has more to offer than ever, thanks to Koch. At first, the island was only open on summer weekends. In 2014, for the first time, it was open seven days a week.
The major work of the last decade has involved creating a master plan for a 40-acre site on the southern end of the island and getting it implemented. The first part of the project opened in 2014 at a cost of $92 million (all funds were provided by the City). Liggett Terrace, the Hammock Grove, the Play Lawns and a food court were an immediate hit.
"Don't tell anyone, but I let my children run free on Governors Island," one mother told Koch, who liked that idea. There are no fences or barricades. Governors Island is supposed to be a place where people can freely and safely play, and, said Koch, "there is no age limit for play."
The Trust does nothing in the way of formal programming. "We're an open platform," Koch said. "Our philosophy is to welcome all kinds of expressions of culture."
At the present time, there are 72 different organizations creating programming on Governors Island. They are welcome to use the historic officers' houses and other facilities for free if they, in turn, offer free programming to the public.
This is part of Koch's vision for the island. The Hills, which will open to the public on July 19, were another part of her vision. She wanted vistas such as many New Yorkers would have never had a chance to see, and she wanted them to be able to see the Statue of Liberty as they might have never seen her before.
The Hills cost $71 million to build, half from private funds and half from the City. To a remark that the results show that this was money well spent, Koch replied, "I'm glad you think so. It's your money."
That comment as much as anything describes how Koch has approached her work on Governors Island. She has been the steward of a unique, historic and natural site and a servant of the people.
On July 14, City Councilmember Margaret Chin (in whose district Governors Island falls), Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and other members of City Council presented Koch with a proclamation in honor of her work. Chin called Koch's leadership "inspired."
"Leslie has truly made her mark - not only on Governors Island, but on the City as a whole," Chin said.
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Bits & Bytes
CUBAN COCKTAILS AT PIER A; SPOTTED PIG DEAL AT 70 PINE ST. CALLED OFF; 9/11 MUSEUM ART EXHIBIT; TOURISM COPTER DEAL
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| A helicopter flying over the East River on July 13. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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"A Sip of Prohibition-Era Cuba at BlackTail," New York Times, 7/11/16. "The arrival of BlackTail could hardly be better timed. The Cuban-themed cocktail bar and restaurant, from the team behind the Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, will open on Friday just a few months after the historic visit to Cuba by President Obama, whose administration has started a diplomatic thaw with that nation," says The New York Times. Black Tail will occupy the second floor of Pier A Harbor House at 22 Battery Place on Manhattan's southern tip. It is "meant to suggest what an American bar in Havana may have been like during Prohibition, when Americans flocked to Cuba in search of the liquid refreshment denied them (legally, anyway) in their own country," says The Times. For the complete article, click here. (NOTE FROM THE DPNYC EDITOR: A phone call to Pier A revealed that Black Tail will not open on July 15 as The Times article stated. It will open the first week in August.)
"Spotted Pig owners' plan for rooftop locale fall through," New York Post, 7/14/16. 'Pigs won't fly at 70 Pine Street after all," says the New York Post. "A highly touted deal for Spotted Pig chef April Bloomfield and partner Ken Friedman to open a glamorous bar and eatery atop landmark 70 Pine has fallen through, the landlord and the restaurateurs said on Thursday. The split was amicable, all parties said." For the complete article, click here. "9/11 Museum to Open Its First Art Exhibition in September," New York Times, 7/14/16. "For two years, the National September 11 Memorial Museum, built at ground zero, has presented visitors with a collection that reflects the moments of horror and heroism 15 years ago when terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center," says The New York Times. "Now the museum is moving beyond its array of mainly historical items to include for the first time an exhibition of artworks created as a response to the attacks of Sept. 11. The show, 'Rendering the Unthinkable: Artists Respond to 9/11,' opens Sept. 12 in the special exhibits gallery, the inaugural use of that space. It will include 'Tumbling Woman,' a bronze sculpture by Eric Fischl; some 840 pieces of a nearly 3,000-piece painting installation by Manju Shandler representing each victim of the attacks; and four pieces by Ejay Weiss that mix ash from the site with black acrylic paint and that are meant to evoke the collapse of the towers." For the complete article, click here. "Zinczenko and Abrams Consider Turning White Street Into a Wine Club," Eater.com, 7/13/16. "Galvanized media founder Dave Zinczenko and ABC News chief legal affairs anchor Dan Abrams are in talks to change the concept of their Tribeca restaurant, White Street, which they opened in 2014 with chef Floyd Cardoz, who has since been replaced by Joel Reiss. The media honchos have been discussing bringing in a third partner, and are considering transforming it to a members only wine club, a model that has recently become popular in London." For the complete article, click here. "Hank's Juicy Beef Slinging Chicago-Style Italian Beef Sandwiches In Tribeca," Gothamist.com, 7/8/16. "The newest sandwich to debut in Manhattan looks like it'll take about 350 napkins to get through," says Gothamist.com. "Meet Hank's Juicy Beef, a new Tribeca sandwich shop slapping together Italian beef sandwiches popular with denizens of the Windy City." Gothamist says that "The juicy sandwiches are a bit like the French Dip. Thinly sliced beef piled onto a hoagie roll-or sub rolls or Italian rolls, whatever they call soft, torpedo-shaped bread-with maybe some provolone cheese but definitely some giardineira, pickled vegetables that can be supplemented with hot peppers. The sandwiches are dipped in a flavorful jus of drippings, hence the mess." For the complete article with photos, click here.
"Congress Releases Secret 9/11 Document Detailing Possible Saudi Ties to Al Qaeda," New York Times, 7/15/16. "Congress on Friday made public a long-classified document detailing possible connections between the Saudi government and the Sept. 11 terrorist plot," says The New York Times. "The 28-page document is a wide-ranging catalog of alleged links between Saudi officials and Qaeda operatives, from contacts that Saudi operatives in Southern California had with the hijackers to a telephone number found on the first Qaeda prisoner in C.I.A. custody that the F.B.I. traced to a corporation managing a Colorado home of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then the Saudi ambassador to Washington. The document, a section of a 2002 congressional inquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks, has been kept secret out of concern that it might fray diplomatic relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Its release marks the end of a yearslong fight by lawmakers and families of the Sept. 11 victims to make public any evidence that the kingdom might have played a role in the attacks. The majority of the facts surrounding the attacks are not in serious dispute, but the enduring controversy over what role - if any - Saudi officials played is a reminder that some mysteries linger even as the 15th anniversary of the attacks approaches. The Obama administration sent a declassified version of the document, with some redactions, to congressional leadership on Friday. It was released hours later on the website of the House Intelligence Committee." For the complete article, click here.
Tourism helicopters get green light from the City's Franchise and Concession Review Committee: An agreement was signed on Feb. 2, 2016 between representatives of the City's Department of Small Business Services and the New York City Economic Development Corporation on the one hand and Ronald J. Ricciardi, president of First Flight Heliports, LLC d/b/a Saker Aviation Services. It seemed to put some brakes on the tourism helicopters that depart and land almost every minute at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport on the East River's Pier 6. For years, the noise and pollution from these copters have been the scourge of many Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn residents. But before becoming finalized, the agreement had to go through the City's Franchise and Concession Review Committee. On July 13, it passed the committee by a vote of four to two. New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer voted against amending the concession agreement between the City and Saker Aviation.
"There should be no tourist helicopters in New York City, period," said Stringer in a press release announcing the vote. "They provide little economic payback and instead bombard our communities with unrelenting noise and pollution, which is why they've been banned elsewhere in the five boroughs. Beyond that, this flawed compromise fails to give the City the enforceable oversight it would need to restore any semblance of peace and quiet for hundreds of thousands of residents."
Stringer said that the agreement failed to spell out what steps the Economic Development Corporation could take if either air or noise monitoring indicated that the choppers were exceeding allowable limits. He also faulted the agreement for not defining what "best efforts" to reduce idling and its accompanying negative health impacts would mean in practice.
He said that the agreement didn't codify how often Saker must research technologies designed to further mitigate helicopter noise and emissions, and exactly what would be meant by implementing them when "commercially feasible." He also noted that there had not been an environmental review of the heliport since 2007.
"Tourist helicopters provide limited benefits to New York City while imposing significant health and environmental risks on our residents. It's time to ground non-essential tourist flights once and for all," Stringer said.
However, with this agreement now firmly in place, that won't happen any time soon.
When the agreement was signed in February, Stop the Chop NYNJ, a grassroots group of residents that has been campaigning for years to get the tourism helicopter business shut down completely, called the agreement a "travesty" and lambasted the public officials who had praised it and signed it. In an email dated Feb. 21, Stop the Chop pointed out that under the old agreement with First Flight, the Mayor could cancel it at any time. The new agreement extended the concession to April 30, 2021, with two one-year options to renew at the City's sole discretion.
"In other words," said Stop the Chop in February, "we have been sentenced to 5+ more years of misery." - Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Downtown bulletin board
BPCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING ON JULY 20; GET LOW RESTAURANT DEALS; YOGA, DRUMMING AND BLUES IN WAGNER PARK
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| On June 9, 2015, when the topic of redoing South End Avenue first came up in public, Gwen Dawson, vice president of real property for the Battery Park City Authority, showed the board of directors where arcades are located in the southern part of Battery Park City. A consultant was hired to study South End Avenue, including its arcades, and make recommendations. These will be presented to the public on July 20 at a Town Hall meeting convened by the Battery Park City Authority. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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Battery Park City Authority Board meeting: The next meeting of the Battery Park City Board of Directors will take place on Wednesday, July 20 at 9:45 a.m. at 200 Liberty Street, 24th floor. Meetings are open to the public for observation, but not for direct participation. In addition, elected officials are encouraged to bring any issues of community concern before the Board for discussion with the Board members. The general public may also submit written comments to the Board up to 24 hours after the conclusion of a Board meeting for inclusion in the minutes of that meeting. Comments should be sent to boardcomment@bpca.ny.gov or by U.S. mail to: BPCA Board Comment, 200 Liberty St., 24th floor, New York, NY 10281.
Battery Park City Authority Town Hall: The Battery Park City Authority will host a town hall meeting on July 20 at 6 River Terrace, starting at 6 p.m. At that time, the BPCA will unveil the recommendations of its consultant, Stantec, as to what should be done to South End Avenue, including its three blocks of arcaded buildings. (Stantec is a design consulting firm headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a Lower Manhattan office at 111 John St.) All members of the public are invited to attend the Town Hall meeting and to comment.
Battery Park City Lost and Found: Plenty things are lost in Battery Park City, according to Patrick Murphy, AlliedBarton's BPC manager for operations. AlliedBarton is responsible for patrolling 92-acre Battery Park City and dealing with safety and quality-of-life issues. Murphy told Community Board 1's Battery Park City Committee that he could "open a shop" with the number and variety of skateboards that had been left behind by their owners. But many other things turn up as well. To contact AlliedBarton's lost and found, call (212) 945-7233 or email bpcallied@bpca.ny.gov.
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: The Museum of American Finance at 48 Wall St. has launched 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 features 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 has unveiled 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 are 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.
Sunset Yoga at Wagner Park: Come to Wagner Park at the southern end of Battery Park City for free yoga instruction. The class is suitable for people of all levels. Wednesdays through Sept. 28. Time: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Free (but bring your own mat). Click here for more information.
BPC Running Club: After warming up at the Community Center at Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers St., members of Battery Park City's Running Club jog along the BPC waterfront followed by cool-down exercises. Thursdays through Aug. 25. Time: 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Free. For more information, click here.
Sunset Jam on the Hudson: Join a drumming circle in Battery Park City, led by master drummers. Instruments are provided or bring your own. Place: Wagner Park (at the southern end of Battery Park City.) Fridays, through Aug. 26. Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free. For more information, 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.
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.
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. 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 19 and 26 and Aug. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. 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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Letter to the editor
LIBERTY PARK PLANTINGS ARE PUNY
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| Liberty Park atop the Vehicular Security Center at the World Trade Center site.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
To the editor:
(Re: "Liberty Park opens to acclaim," DPNYC, 7/12/16.) Your photographs of the green parts of Liberty Park are misleading as most of the park is open walkway. It is really underwhelming and should be called a plaza rather than a park. John DurbarFrom the editor:
Thank you for your email. What you say about the park being mostly open walkway is true at the moment - but hopefully those trees will get bigger and the park will look more like a park in a few years. According to a description of the plantings issued by the Port Authority, the trees will eventually range from eight feet to 20 feet tall.
We welcome letters to the editor. Email them to editor@downtownpostnyc.com. We reserve the right to edit them for clarity and length.
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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 MEETINGS: Week of July 18
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| | The Howard Hughes Corporation will present "minor modifications" to its previously approved Pier 17 ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) at Community Board 1's Seaport/Civic Center Committee meeting on July 19. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
All meetings of Community Board 1 take place in the conference room at 1 Centre St., Room 2202-A North, starting at 6 p.m. unless otherwise indicated. Members of the public can attend and comment. A photo ID is needed to enter the building.
July 19: Seaport/Civic Center Committee
* 22 Reade Street proposal - Presentation by Dan Hoeg, The Hoeg Corporation
* Minor modifications to previously approved Pier 17 ULURP - Presentation by Howard Hughes Corporation and resolution
July 20: Executive Committee
* Discussion of what committee mandate and objectives should be
* Discussion of CB1 committee structure
July 21: Quality of Life Committee
* TD Five Borough Bike Tour - Discussion with Sharon Pope, Community Outreach/Strategic Planning Manager, Bike New York
* Crane regulations - Update by Assistant Commissioner Patrick Wehle, New York City Department of Buildings
* Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment - Presentation and discussion with Andrew Brokman, Deputy Director of External Affairs
* NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer's Sun Screen Initiative - Presentation by Eric Holguin,
Borough Liaison - Manhattan
* Sanitation and other quality of life issues in Community Board 1 - Discussion with Tommy Lin, Director of Constituent Services, New York City Community Assistance Unit
* Recent traffic accident at Chambers and West Streets - Discussion
* Construction forum - Update
July 26: CB 1 Monthly Meeting - 6:00 p.m.
Location: DC37 - Auditorium
125 Barclay St.
(ID required to enter building)
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CALENDAR: Weeks of July 11 and July 18
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| | The annual City of Water Day Festival takes place on July 16, centered on Governors Island but with additional events in Maxwell Place Park, Hoboken, N.J. and at Piers 25, 26 and 40 in Hudson River Park and on Pier 16 in the South Street Seaport. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
July 16: Bastille Day was actually on July 14, but Brookfield Place is celebrating on Saturday, July 16 with music, dance, games, food and drink. Place: Brookfield Place in Battery Park City. Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Free to attend. For more information, click here.
July 16: Come to a West African Family Dance to dance or just to watch and listen. To the accompaniment of traditional West African instruments, Mane Kadang dance company's infectious dance, drum, and spirit transport audiences to the troupe's beloved Africa. Dances are led by Founding Director, Maguette Camara. No dancing experience necessary! Place: Esplanade Plaza (just south of North Cove Marina in Battery Park City). Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free. For more information, click here. July 16: City of Water Day, sponsored by the Waterfront Alliance, features waterfront activities such as free boat tours, rowing, kayaking, paddleboarding and a cardboard kayak race. There will also be a Waterfront Activity Fair with music and food and children's activities sponsored by Disney. Many of the day's events take place on Governors Island. The cardboard kayak race is one of the highlights. This year, there will be 25 teams that will build and race their cardboard kayaks in heats beginning at 2:30 p.m. The teams will start building their kayaks at noon. In addition to Governors Island, City of Water Day events will take place on Piers 25, 26 and 40 in Hudson River Park and on Pier 16 in the South Street Seaport. For more information about City of Water Day, click here.
July 17: "The Golden Bride," a Yiddish operetta that premiered in February 1923 and ran for 18 weeks in a 2,000-seat theater on the Lower East Side, has returned to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in an enthralling production staged by the National Yiddish Theatre
Folksbiene. It is sung in Yiddish with supertitles in English and Russian that make the words accessible for everyone. The charming and touching story revolves around love and money, the seduction of American dreams for residents of an impoverished Russian shtetl and the pangs and triumphs of immigrants trying to find their footing in a new land. A brilliant production, not to be missed. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through Aug. 28, 2016. Place: 36 Battery Place. Tickets: $50 (premium seats); $40 (regular seats); $30 (Museum of Jewish Heritage and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene members). Group rates available. For tickets and for more information, call (866) 811-4111 or click here.
July 19: The internationally beloved cantor of the 5th Avenue Synagogue, Joseph Malovany will present a concert of cantorial masterpieces, Yiddish and Hebrew classics including the liturgical music of Joseph Rumshinsky, composer of critically acclaimed musical "The Golden Bride." Place: Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place. Time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $20; $15 (Museum of Jewish Heritage and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene members). For tickets, click here.
July 20: 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 July 20 goes to the Brother Islands in the East River for sightings of herons, egrets, and cormorants and for close-up views of North Brother Island where Typhoid Mary (Mary Mallon), an asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen that causes typhoid fever, was incarcerated for years because she had infected (and killed) many people by working as a cook. Also, Aug. 3 and Aug. 17. Other Audubon Eco-cruises go to Hoffman and Swinburne Islands, man-made islands on the far side of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island (on July 27) and to Jamaica Bay (on Aug. 10). Place: All eco-cruises leave from Pier 16 in the South Street Seaport. For the Brother Island cruise, time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets: $35 (adults); $25 (children, 3 to 12). For more information, click here.
July 21: The third night of the annual River & Blues Festival in Battery Park City features Robert Randolph & The Family Band. 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.
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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