Month: December 2016

December 15

1161 – Jin-Song wars: Military officers conspire against the emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin dynasty after a military defeat at the Battle of Caishi, and assassinate the emperor at his camp. 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British and French fleets clash in the Battle of St. Lucia. 1791 – The United States Bill of...
Sitting Bull was shot and killed in 1890, fearful that he would help lead the growing Ghost Dance movement aimed at restoring the Sioux way of life.

How Lower Manhattan Voted: Clinton vs. Trump

It will come as no surprise that in the recent presidential election, the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine won by comfortable margins throughout Lower Manhattan. In this regard, Battery Park City is representative of much of Downtown. In the neighborhoods six election districts (or “precincts”) that lie south of Vesey Street, a...

December 14

557 – Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake. 835 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled. 1287 – St. Lucia’s flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people. 1542 – Princess...
Max Planck "Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve."

Demography In Action: The Kids Are All Right

(Editor’s Note: This is part an occasional series that will seek insights about life in Lower Manhattan by looking at statistics available from the Data2Go.NYC website, by Measure of America — a nonpartisan, non-profit project of the Brooklyn-based Social Science Research Council. This installment focuses on statistics about young people.) If you were poised to...

The Cost of Living in Manhattan

Dear Editor , This letter is a response to your comprehensive, powerful story about the escalating cost of living in an apartment that is making it economically possible for only the wealthy or low income (public housing) residents to live in Manhattan. Another possible niche for affordable, owned housing could be built (or converted?) in...

Elevated Discourse

Three local elected officials are urging the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio to consider a proposal to create a new, elevated tram network to help mitigate the shock from the 18-month shutdown of the L train slated to begin in 2019. U.S. Congress member Carolyn Maloney, City Councilman Stephen Levin, and State Assemblyman Joseph...
A rendering of the first phrase of the proposed East River Skyway, which would shuttle passengers between Williamsburg and the Lower East Side in five minutes.