Month: May 2018

Ships that pass in the night

On May 6, near twilight, two vessels passed one another along their respective port sides. Ghost, a 37-meter sailing yacht by legendary naval architect Luca Brenta, was approaching North Cove, while the 265-foot motor yacht Air was outbound from her berth in Chelsea Piers. A day  earlier, Ghosthad arrived from Newport. A day later, Air...
Sailboat GHOST passes Yacht AIR in New York Harbor

Today in History May 23

1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at Compiegne and sold to the English 1493 – King Charles VIII and Maximilian I of Austria sign Peace of Senlis 1536 – Pope Paul III installs Portugese inquisition 1568 – The Netherlands declare independence from Spain. 1701 – Captain William Kidd is hanged in London after being...
Benjamin Franklin and his 'double spectacles'

Clearing a Blocked Artery

Lower Manhattan cyclists and pedestrians recently got back a piece of their streetscape: More than 10,000 square feet of Park Row, which has been closed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has opened to bikes and walkers.   This new corridor creates a connection from Frankfort Street (at the southern end, near City...
A City Department of Transportation rendering of the new bike and pedestrian lanes on Park Row, which are now open.

Today in History May 22

334 BC – The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus 760 – 14th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet 1570 – First atlas ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’ (Theatre of the World), published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp with 70 maps 1803 – First public library...
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp

Whatever the Market Will Bear

A leading housing advocacy organization has completed an exhaustive look at threats to affordability in every community in the five boroughs, and has found that Lower Manhattan in under pressure, as measured by three metrics. The Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), an umbrella organization of 100 non-profit affordable housing and economic development groups...
ANHD's analysis finds that Lower Manhattan housing has, in recent years, become markedly less affordable in a pair of key respects.

Today in History May 21

878 – Syracuse is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. 1260 – Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire sends his envoy Hao Jing and two other advisors to the Song Dynasty court of Emperor Lizong of Song; while attempting to negotiate with the Song in order to resolve their conflict, Hao Jing and his...
Charles Lindbergh