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Lower Manhattan’s Local News
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The Broadsheet Inc. | 212-912-1106 | editor@ebroadsheet.com| ebroadsheet.com
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Barging In
Local Elected Officials Say ‘Avast’ to Water-Borne Ads, But Company Claims City Is Out of Its Depth
The advertising barges that have become a pet bête noire for Lower Manhattan residents were the focus of a discussion at the April 23 meeting of Community Board 1 (CB1), where Paul Goldstein, who chairs that panel’s Waterfront, Parks, & Cultural Committee, offered an update, saying, “those floating billboards that you’ve seen on both the east and west sides — the good news is that the City is cracking down on them. Both the Mayor and the Council say they find it unacceptable. So they are imposing fines and enacting laws to restrict it.”
This was a reference to a pair of related developments. In March, the City Council began considering a new law that would boost fines for unauthorized use of local waterways for marketing purposes to $100,000. And in April, the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio filed suit in federal court, asking for an injunction barring Ballyhoo Media — the company that operates the 60-foot catamaran bearing an electronic sign capable of rendering high-definition, full-motion video, similar to the “jumbo-tron” panels that adorn multiple buildings in Times Square — from continuing to conduct its business in New York’s waters.
This followed a January development, in which the City’s Law Departmentserved Ballyhoo with notice that it was violating several laws that ban marketing signage along New York’s waterfronts or within line of sight of a major highway. The notice from the City gave the firm two weeks to comply with the relevant statutes, but the barge remained in operation.
The suit filed in April argues that, “dating to 1964, the water-based advertising restrictions, which apply to vessels in waterways adjacent to all major types of zoning districts and in view of major roadways, serve to protect traffic safety, preserve views of the water, and promote various recreational, cultural, and educational activities on the waterfront and waterways.” Court documents similarly continue, “the advertising restrictions are integral to protecting these public spaces and highways. Ballyhoo’s business model targets these areas by selling billboard space to clients seeking to promote their brands through water-based signs directed at drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, ferry passengers, and residents along the water. This business is squarely at odds with the law.”
Ballyhoo has responded with court briefs arguing that, “New York State has jurisdiction relative to the lands under the East and Hudson rivers,” and thus, “State legislation is required in order to authorize local legislative bodies to adopt and enforce laws that apply to these bodies of water. We are aware of no such legislation that would allow the City to apply its Zoning Resolution to these State-owned navigable waters.”
The company’s vessels travel a continuous circuit from the West Side of Midtown, past Hudson Yards, Chelsea, Tribeca, and Battery Park City, before turning into the East River and passing the Financial District, Brooklyn Heights, and Williamsburg.
Ballyhoo also operates a similar fleet of advertising vessels in Miami, where it has inspired a similar response from the public and elected officials. But the service appears to meet a significant demand among marketers, and the firm seems to have carved out a lucrative niche for itself. According to Digiday, an online trade magazine for online media, Ballyhoo charges clients as much as $55,000 to insert a 30-second video message into a two-minute loop and keep it in rotation for one month.
At the April 23 meeting, Bruce Ehrmann, who serves as co-chair of CB1’s Landmarks & Preservation Committee, asked, “what about the trucks that look just like that, with giant screens, and that’s all they do, driving around? Now that we’re discussing congestion pricing, this should be considered, because it’s the same thing.”
Mr. Goldstein replied that the issue of adverting trucks had not come before the Waterfront, Parks, & Cultural Committee, and suggest that CB1’s Quality of Life Committee might have oversight in this area.
While the City Council’s proposed new law and the de Blasio administration’s suit both proceed, Ballyhoo is mulling plans to add local beaches to its route this summer.
Matthew Fenton
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FREE CONCERT TONIGHT AT THE SEAPORT!
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Fleet Week Begins Today
Parade of Ships
7:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
The Parade of Ships officially kicks off 2019 Fleet Week New York. The ships will be able to be seen along the Hudson River from Battery Park to just south of the George Washington Bridge.
Fleet Week at Fort Wadsworth
7:30 a.m. – noon
Fort Wadsworth Overlook, 210 New York Ave, Staten Island
Annual event sponsored by the Gateway National Recreation Area and the National Park Service. Spectators will be able to view participating ships as they travel through the New York Harbor during the Parade of Ships.
Navy Band Concert at South Street Seaport
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
South Street Seaport, 12 Fulton St., Manhattan
U.S. Fleet Forces “Brass Band” will perform a concert at the South Street Seaport.
Navy Band Concert in Washington Square Park
4 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Washington Square Park Arch, W. 4th Street, Greenwich Village,
Navy Band Northeast’s “Ceremonial Band” will perform a concert at the Arch at Washington Square Park.
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Shelter from the Storm
City Plans Temporary Flood Protection Measures for Downtown
The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio is formulating short-term strategies to protect the South Street Seaport and the Financial District from sea-level rise and future extreme-weather events.
Matthew Fenton
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Battery Park City Residents, Partners & Friends:
The Battery Park City Authority has engaged 100 Resilient Cities, a program supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, to create the Authority’s first-ever strategic plan.
Using resilience as a lens, BPCA and 100 Resilient Cities will use our most recent Parks User Count and Study, community input from public meetings, and many other inputs to develop an action plan designed to ensure we’re addressing Battery Park City’s needs comprehensively and strategically.
As part of this ongoing outreach, we are also soliciting public input through the following brief survey, which will be available until May 26.
We invite you to please take a few minutes to complete it.
Thank you in advance for your input. We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely-
Nicholas T. Sbordone
Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs
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Anthem of the Seas Spins About
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Today’s Calendar
May 22
11:AM
Elements of Nature Drawing
Battery Park City Parks
Get inspired by the beautiful expanse of the Hudson River & New York Harbor. Embolden your artwork amidst the flower-filled and seasonally evolving palette of Wagner Park’s verdant gardens. An artist/educator will provide ideas and instruction. Materials provided. Wagner Park. 2:30PM
Battery Park City Parks
Challenge your artistic skills by drawing the human gure. Each week a model will strike both long and short poses for participants to draw. Artist/educators will offer constructive suggestions and critique. Materials provided. South Cove. 6PM
Sunset Yoga
Battery Park City Parks
Unwind from the day with outdoor yoga overlooking the sights and sounds of our river. Strengthen the body and cultivate awareness in a relaxed environment. An instructor provides guidance with alignment and poses. All levels welcome. Bring your own mat. Wagner Park.
7PM
An Evening With Nobuki Sugihara
Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
They were human beings and they needed help,” said Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara of the six thousand Jews he helped rescue during World War II. At this special event, we invite you to meet his son, Nobuki Sugihara, who will tell the extraordinary story of how his father risked the family’s lives and his career to issue transit visas granting Jews safe passage through Japanese territory. 36 Battery Place. 7:30PM
Alchemy: Fire
St. Paul’s Chapel New York Baroque Incorporated launches Alchemy, a series based on the classical elements: water, air, earth, and fire. Tonight: Once lit, a flame either catches or flutters and fails. It needs fuel to burn and air to breathe. Alchemy: Fire ignites that devil within with the smoldering bass voice of Dashon Burton and the bright, clear sound of four natural trumpets. $20,$35,$50
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Still Tasty After All These Years
On May 18, thousands of hungry festival-goers noshed their way around Duane Park Triangle to sample the best of Tribeca’s culinary star power; scores of volunteers punched tickets, directed recycling, and served VIPs; and dozens of chefs recreated their finest efforts and arranged perfect little tastes on paper plates.
It was the Taste of Tribeca’s 25th anniversary, benefiting P.S 150’s and P.S. 234’s arts and enrichment programs for more than 800 children.
We caught up with David Waltuck, director of culinary affairs at the Institute of Culinary Education (7 World Trade Center), as he offered a Chinese pulled pork taco. Of the 18 or so restaurants that took part in the first Taste of Tribeca 25 years ago, he noted, only a few remain. His restaurant, the elegant Chanterelle, closed in 2009. Still, he was happy to return for the 25th anniversary of this popular event. “It’s nice to be here,” he said.
Robert Simko
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Nude Descending a Staircase No. 3
The 280-foot-long digital billboard in the Westfield World Trade Center shopping complex is displaying the latest work by Marco Brambilla, the highly regarded video collage and installation artist, whose “Nude Descending a Staircase No. 3” reimagines the 1912 Cubist masterpiece by Marcel Duchamp. Using full-motion animation, Mr. Brambilla warp times and deconstructs the original painting, with three-dimensional figures constantly reforming and replicating themselves as they cascade down an unseen stairway. On display daily, now through May 31, from 10:00 am through 8:00 pm.
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This Sand Is Your Sand, This Sand Is Our Sand…
Although Not Yet a Shore Thing, Proposal for Brooklyn Bridge Beach Takes a Step Forward
After multiple rounds of funding since 2013, the proposed Brooklyn Bridge Beach — a project supported by elected officials, community leaders, and the public — may be inching closer to reality.
The plan, backed by all of these constituencies, aims to create a crescent-shaped wedge of sand along the East River waterfront, just north of the South Street Seaport, where park-goers could wade knee deep in tide. If built, it would become the sole access point at which Lower Manhattan residents could step into the water that surrounds them, rather than merely looking at it.
Matthew Fenton
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Poor Quay?
Hudson River Park Trust Seeks Development on Pier 40
The Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT), in collaboration with local elected officials, is seeking to revise its enabling legislation to allow for commercial development at Pier 40.
“The major issue is that there need to be changes to the legislation that created the Hudson River Park, because Pier 40 is sinking,” explained Anthony Notaro, chair of Community Board 1 (CB1) at an April 26 meeting.
Matthew Fenton
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Farewell to a Friend
Today, the Battery Park City Seniors group will host a memorial service for Arlene Kalfus, who died tragically on April 4, when she was struck by a bus on South End Avenue. Ms. Kalfus, a long-time resident of Gateway Plaza, was a longtime contributor to Battery Park City Seniors, whose loss is acutely felt, both because of her many volunteer activities and her dry sense of humor. The 2pm service will be held in the Battery Park City Authority’s community room, located within 200 Rector Place. (Please use the entrance on the west side of the building, facing West Thames Park.) Anyone planning to attend is asked to R.S.V.P. to Philomena Pinto at JPinto8925@aol.com. |
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Tragedy Compounded by Delay
Renewed Concerns about Emergency Response Time in Lower Manhattan
“When I got the 911 operator on the phone, she transferred me to another operator, who asked for the location of the accident. I explained that we were in front of 325 South End Avenue, in Manhattan. But this operator kept repeating that help was on the way to 32 South Street in Brooklyn. I kept telling her this was incorrect, but she kept repeating ‘South Street in Brooklyn.’ Then she said they would call me back.”
A new study documents that response times for 911 calls are slower in the First Precinct, which covers Lower Manhattan, than in any other district south of Midtown (an area that comprises seven NYPD commands) and the third-slowest overall in Manhattan.
Matthew Fenton
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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
1761 – First life insurance policy in North America issued in Philadelphia
1803 – First public library opens in Connecticut
1807 – Former Vice President Aaron Burr is tried for treason in Richmond, Virginia and acquitted
1819 – First steam propelled vessel Savannah to cross Atlantic
1826 – The HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage
1842 – Farmers Lester Howe and Henry Wetsel discover Howe Caverns when they stumble upon a large gaping hole in the ground.
1868 – Great Train Robbery-Seven men make off with $98,000 in cash
1892 – Dr Washington Sheffield invents toothpaste tube
1906 – Wright Brothers patent an aeroplane
1915 – Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain, other than Mount St. Helens, to erupt in the continental US during the 20th century.
1931 – Canned rattlesnake meat goes on sale in Florida
1939 – Hitler and Mussolini sign “Pact of Steel”
1947 – First US ballistic missile fired
1964 – LBJ presents “Great Society”
1967 – “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” debuts
1973 – President Nixon confesses his role in Watergate cover-up 1985 – US sailor Michael L Walker arrested for spying for USSR
1992 – Johnny Carson’s final appearance as host of Tonight Show
2002 – In Washington, DC, the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.
2002 – American civil rights movement: a jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.
2004 – The town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado that broke a width record at an astounding 2.5 miles wide
2010 – Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’ remains are reburied in Frombork Cathedral, Poland after a 200 year search for his tomb
2011 – An EF5 Tornado strikes the city of Joplin, Missouri killing at least 158 people, the single deadliest US tornado since modern record keeping began in
1950
Birthdays
1813 – Richard Wagner, Leipsig Germany, composer
1844 – Mary Cassatt, US, Impressionist painter (Woman Bathing)
1859 – Arthur Conan Doyle, UK, author brought Sherlock Holmes to life twice
1907 – Laurence Olivier, England, actor (Rebecca, Hamlet, Jazz Singer)
1928 – T Boone Pickens, CEO (Shamrock, Mesa Petroleum Co)
1938 – Richard Benjamin, NYC, director/actor (Goodbye Columbus, He & She)
1950 – Bernie Taupin, lyricist (writes with Elton John)
Anniversaries
1980 – Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue marry
2001 – Jane Fonda divorces Ted Turner
Deaths
337 – Constantine the Great, Emperor of Rome (306-37) dies at 47
1967 – Langston Hughes, American poet and playwright
1990 – Rocky Graziano, boxer, dies at 71 of heart failure
This information was culled from various internet sources, including Wikipedia, the New York Times and other special interest sites.
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RiverWatch
ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES
Cruise Ships in the Harbor
May 23
Anthem of the Seas
6:30 am Bayonne 4:00 pm Bermuda/Eastern Caribbean
Carnival Sunrise
6:15 am 4:30 pm Bermuda
May 24
Queen Mary 2
6:00 am Brooklyn 5:00 pm Transatlantic
Many ships pass Lower Manhattan on their way to and from the midtown Passenger Ship Terminal. Others may be seen on their way to or from docks in Brooklyn and Bayonne.
Stated times, when appropriate, are for passing the Colgate Clock and are based on sighting histories, published schedules and intuition. They are also subject to tides, fog, winds, freak waves, hurricanes and the whims of upper management.
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CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS
Swaps & Trades Respectable Employment
Lost and Found 212-912-1106
PART TIME SALES POSITION
High commission. B to B sales
We sell donor signage to non-profits,
extremely nice clientele.
Our office is located in FIDI.
Call me at 646-729-7142. Barry Silverberg, Principal
Situation Wanted:
Experienced Elder Care (12 years)
Able to prepare nutritious meals and light housekeeping
Excellent references 347 898 5804 Hope
NOTARY PUBLIC IN BPC
$2 per notarized signature
Text Paula at 917-836-8802
CLEANING SERVICES
Dishes, windows, floors, laundry, bathrooms.
You name it – I will clean it.
Call Elle at 929-600-4520
IT AND SECURITY SUPPORT
Experienced IT technician. Expertise in 1-on-1 tutoring for all ages.Computer upgrading & troubleshooting.
Knowledgeable in all software programs. James Kierstead james.f.kierstead@gmail.com 347-933-1362. Refs available
ELDER COMPANION
Experienced with BPC residents. Available nights, days, and weekends. Will cook, clean and administer medicine on time. Speaks French and English. Can start immediately. Please call or text 929-600-4520.
OLD WATCHES SOUGHT
PREFER NON-WORKING
Mechanical pocket and wristwatches sought and
sometimes repaired
212-912-1106
If you would like to place a listing, please contact editor@ebroadsheet.com
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Cass Gilbert and the Evolution of the New York Skyscraper
by John Simko
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The Broadsheet Inc. | 212-912-1106 | editor@ebroadsheet.com| ebroadsheet.com
No part of this document may be reproduced without the written approval of the publisher
© 2019
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