|
Lower Manhattan’s Local News
|
|
|
|
The Broadsheet Inc. | 212-912-1106 | editor@ebroadsheet.com| ebroadsheet.com
|
|
|
|
|
Waves of Change
Honoring a Matriarch of the Hudson
On Monday (July 22), the River Project will host its 2019 Summer Cruise, raising funds for the highly regarded, Lower Manhattan-based non-profit that aims to protect and restore the ecosystem of the Hudson River Estuary through scientific research and education programs.
Setting sail aboard the Hornblower Hybrid from Pier 40, guests will enjoy dinner and an open bar, as well as an auction. The evening will honor retiring executive director Cathy Drew, who founded the River Project in 1986.
Her vision and leadership, among other accomplishments, helped pass legislation that made the Hudson River Park an estuarine sanctuary in 1998. This legal designation was based, in part, on fish ecology data that Ms. Drew helped compile through her research in the Hudson.
For Ms. Drew, the Hudson has long been a personal passion. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from Columbia University in 1979 and a Master of Science in Biological Oceanography from the Marine Sciences Research Center, in Stony Brook, in 1984. From 1973 to 1978, she worked as a scuba diver and underwater photographer on scientific expeditions throughout the southwest Pacific. In recent years, Ms. Drew’s research has focused on near-shore living resources — helping to accumulate a trove of data that informs many city, state and academic environmental programs.
Ms. Drew and the staff of the River Project also invented a new kind of marine research station in the early days of the organization, which they called an Estuarium — a combination laboratory, public exhibit and learning space designed to offer hands-on programs in the urban ecology of New York Harbor and the larger Hudson River ecosystem.
Housed at Pier 26 for decades, the organization moved to Pier 40 when the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) began to redevelop Pier 26 a decade ago. The River Project had always planned to return to its original home on Pier 26, but when HRPT announced plans for a new estuarium in 2014, its initial list of participants did not include the organization. This decision, controversial among Lower Manhattan community leaders who have long supported the River Project, inspired a chorus of support for the organization.
A century ago, Pier 26 was used as a dock for large passenger ships. By the 1990s, however, it had fallen into disrepair. Rebuilt by HRPT in 2008, the pier is now the home to the Downtown Boathouse (which hosts a free kayaking program), a dog run, and City Vineyards, a 350-seat restaurant, operated in partnership with Michael Dorf, who is best known as the founder the City Wineryperformance venue. Further out on Pier 26, construction work is now progressing on a plan to create a giant park space.
The River Project’s relocation to Pier 40 was always meant to be temporary, and the move was made amid expectations by community leaders and elected officials that the River Project and the Estuarium would be welcomed back to Pier 26, once the rebuilding was complete.
That assumption was cast into doubt at an April, 2018 meeting of the Waterfront, Parks, and Resiliency Committee of Community Board 1, when HRPT president Madelyn Wils offered an update about Pier 26. Turning to the Estuarium, she said, “we have a very ambitious plan right now for a two-story facility that would house two kindergarten-through-eighth grade classrooms, three college or post-graduate classrooms, and a significantly sized technology exhibit — a museum-quality type of facility, with a small aquarium.”
“It’s a $50-million project, and we have $10 million toward it,” Ms. Wils continued. “We are currently looking for an anchor donation,” for the remaining $40 million. “So we’re looking for a significant amount. But, if we are not able to get the kind of anchor contributions that we’re looking at, then we will scale back the project.”
The prospect of raising $40 million in new donations to support the Estuarium appears to be far from certain. This calls into question whether the River Project, will ever be able to return to its original home.
In this context, Monday’s event aboard the Hornblower Hybrid (which derives it name from a unique design that draws power from hydrogen fuel cells) may prove to be a crucial opportunity not merely to raise funds, but to demonstrate community support for an organization that has been a mainstay in Lower Manhattan since the 1980s.
Monday evening’s program begins with boarding and cocktails at 5:30 pm, followed by a dinner cruise from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. For more info, please browse: www.riverprojectnyc.org/events.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
The BPCA Gets a Credit Limit Increase
Albany Legislature Okays Half a Billion in New Bond Debt for BPCA
The State legislature has enacted a measure that will allow the Battery Park City Authority to take on up to half a billion dollars in new bond debt, in order to fund resiliency measures throughout the community, as well as to underwrite other capital projects. The bill, sponsored in the Assembly by Yuh-Line Niou (who represents Battery Park City south of Vesey Street) and in the Senate by Brian Kavanagh (who represents all of Battery Park City), grants permission to the Authority… Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
|
|
Come Hell and High Water
Federal Report Foresees More Frequent Flooding for Lower Manhattan
A new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA), the federal scientific agency responsible for study of oceans, major waterways, and the atmosphere, predicts that Lower Manhattan will, in the next 12 months, experience between double and triple the number of flooding days that it did in 2000. The same report warns that ten years from now, the number of flood events will total between five and eight times the benchmark set at the turn of the century, and that by the year 2050, there will be local flooding events as often as every three days.
But particularly dire predictions are reserved for the corner of the country in which New York is located: “The Northeast Atlantic coast is projected to experience the most [high-tide flooding, or HTF] in 2019 with the regional-median expected value of 8 HTF days. Individual locations are projected to experience more (likely range): 12-19 days in Boston, Massachusetts, 8-13 days in New York City region, and 10-15 days in Norfolk, Virginia.”
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
Upward with the Arts
Silver Art Projects, a public service project supported by Silverstein Properties is kicking off a new artist residency program at 3 WTC.
Under this initiative, dozens of artists will be invited to share more than 40,000 square feet of free studio space on the tower’s 50th floor.
Occupancy will begin in September, but artists who wish to participate must apply by July 31, www.silverart.com/home
|
|
|
Today’s Calendar
Wednesday July 17
9:30AM
Pickleball
Battery Park City Authority
An exciting fusion of badminton and tennis, this new sport has been proven to strengthen muscles, boost cardiovascular health, enhance brain function. Join your favorite BPCA staff and other adults for some friendly competition at drop-in pickleball. All skill levels welcome! Equipment provided. Esplanade Plaza. http://bpcparks.org/events/2019-07/ 11AM
Elements of Nature Drawing
Battery Park City Authority
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
Figure Al Fresco
Battery Park City Authority
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. 6:30PM
Community Board 1’s Executive Committee
Community Board 1 – Conference Room 1 Centre Street, Room 2202A-North
AGENDA
1) 5 World Trade Request for Proposals – Discussion by Holly M. Leicht, Chair, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
2) Bowling Green Shared Street – Discussion & resolution
3) Street Co-Naming Application for Baxter Street between Worth Street & Walker Street (Benjamin Ward) – Resolution
4) 385 Broadway, application for liquor license for HC Downtown Inc. d/b/a High Court – Resolution
5) 19 Fulton Street, application for alteration of liquor license to add bar to 2nd floor – Resolution
6) 121 Fulton Street, application for liquor license for Ainsworth Fulton LLC d/b/a TBD -Resolution
7) 250 Vesey Street, application for alteration of liquor license for Tartinery Liberty LLC d/b/a TBD – Resolution
8) 225 Liberty Street, 1st and 2nd Floor, application for liquor license for 225 Liberty Location LLC d/b/a TBD – Resolution
9) 285 West Broadway, application for sidewalk café permit for St. Helier Tavern LLC, d/b/a TBD – Resolution
10) Proliferation of Venues in CB 1
11) Committee reports
6:30PM
Architects, Developers, and Title 1
Skyscraper Museum
Architectural historian Marci Clark will draw on details of her recent dissertation on the collaboration of architect I.M. Pei and developer William Zeckendorf, Sr. and discuss their twelve-year partnership on two projects that began as Title 1 slum clearance sites, Kips Bay Towers and NYU’s University Village and Silver Towers. 39 Battery Place. FREE https://www.skyscraper.org/PROGRAMS/upcoming_programs.htm#barnet 7PM
Sunset Yoga
Battery Park City Authority
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
Sail Pioneer
South Street Seaport Museum
Take a sail on a historic 1885 schooner. See New York Harbor from the decks of the historic 130-year-old schooner PIONEER. The vessel, first launched in 1885, was built as an iron-hulled sloop to carry cargo along the Delaware River.Pier 16 (box office at 12 Fulton Street). |
|
|
Brewer and the Big House
Borough President Expresses Concerns about Jail Plan, But Gives Okay
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer has given her approval to a plan by the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio to construct a 1.27 million-square-foot prison complex Downtown.
In a determination issued on Friday, Ms. Brewer wrote that, “there is an overwhelming sentiment that we must remember: Rikers Island must close.”
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
Packet Racket
CB1 Calls for Delay in New Staten Island Ferry Route That Will Use Local Terminal
Community Board 1 (CB1) is pushing back against a plan by the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio to launch in 2020 a new ferry service from Staten Island that will bring to the Battery Park City ferry terminal more than 60 new vessels each day, carrying as many as 2,500 passengers.
At the June 25 meeting of CB1, Tammy Meltzer, who chairs the Board’s Battery Park City Committee, explained, “the City’s Economic Development Corporation [EDC] had never spoken to the Battery Park City Committee, the Waterfront Committee, or anybody at CB1. They never came and did a presentation for CB1 about new routes they want to do, before they proposed putting boats at Brookfield ferry terminal from 6:00 am to midnight.”
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
A Mecca for Millennials
Demographic Analysis Finds FiDi to Be Teeming with Twenty-Somethings
Lower Manhattan is emerging as a mecca for millennials (defined here as people born between 1977 and 1996), according to a new report prepared by PropertyShark, an online real estate database website that provides in-depth data for millions of properties in major urban markets throughout the United States.
The study finds that 67 percent of the residential population within the 10005 zip code in the Financial District — a catchment bounded roughly by Broadway, Beaver Street, South Street, and Liberty Street — is compromised of people born between the year “Three’s Company” debuted, and when “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” aired its last episode.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
EYES TO THE SKY
July 8 – 21, 2019
All night planets Saturn, Jupiter. Overnight astronomy holiday
Like Jupiter last month, Saturn is now coming into position opposite the Sun in Earth’s skies. Saturn rises in the southeast at 8:18pm on the 9th – 8:22 pm tonight, the 8th – opposite sunset in the northwest within seconds of 8:29pm both evenings.
All summer, Saturn will be visible at least until midnight, before setting in the southwest as the Sun rises in the northeast.
Judy Isacoff
|
|
The Tale of the Ticker Tape,
or How Adversity and Spontaneity
Hatched a New York Tradition
What was Planned as a Grand Affair became a Comedy of Errors
While the festivities in New York Harbor didn’t go as scripted that afternoon, the spontaneous gesture it generated from the brokerage houses lining Broadway famously lives on more than a century later.
On October 28, 1886, Liberty Enlightening the World was to be unveiled to New York City and the world as it stood atop its tall base on Bedloe’s Island. But the morning mist had turned to afternoon fog, blurring the view of the statue from revelers on the Manhattan shore and the long parade of three hundred ships on the Hudson River.
John Simko
|
|
|
|
|
Today in History
July 17
1054 – Emperor Henry III crowns his son Henry IV king
1203 – Siege of Constantinople begins during the fourth Crusade, Crusaders aboad a Venetian fleet attack the city
1762 – Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III
1821 – Spain cedes Florida to US
1841 – British humor magazine “Punch” first published
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term “cartoon” in its modern sense as a humorous illustration. It became a British institution, but after the 1940s, when its circulation peaked, it went into a long decline, closing in 1992. It was revived in 1996, but closed again in 2002.
1863 – Battle of Honey Springs – largest battle in Indian Territory
1951 – King Leopold III of Belgium gives up throne to son Boudouin I
1955 – Arco, Idaho becomes first US city lit by nuclear power
1959 – Dr Leakey discovers oldest human skull (600,000 years old)
In 1931, Louis Leakey found Olduvai fossils in Berlin and thought Olduvai Gorge held information on human origins, and thus began excavating there. Louis and MaryLeakey are the archaeologists responsible for most of the excavations and discoveries of the hominid fossils in Olduvai Gorge. Their finds, when added to the prior work of Raymond Dart and Robert Broom, convinced most paleoanthropologists that humans originally evolved in Africa.
1967 – Monkees perform at Forest Hills NY, Jimi Hendrix is opening ac
1975 – Apollo 18 & Soyuz 19 make first US/USSR linkup in space
1996 – TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.
1998 – Russia buries Tsar Nicholas II & family,80 years after they died
2004 – Martha Stewart is sentenced to five months in prison plus five months in home confinement for lying to federal investigators
Birthdays
1763 – John Jacob Astor, Germany, richest man in US, banker/fur trader
1839 – Ephraim Shay, American inventor (d. 1916)
1898 – Berenice Abbott, Springfield Oh, photographer (World of Atget)
1899 – James Cagney, American actor (Yankee Doodle Dandy)
1920 – Gordon Gould, inventor of the laser (d. 2005)
1928 – Vince Guaraldi, American musician and composer (d. 1976)
1935 – Donald Sutherland, St John New Brunswick, Canadian actor
1954 – Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
Deaths
1588 – Mimar Sinan, Ottoman architect and engineer, designed the Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque and Süleymaniye Mosque (b. 1489)
1887 – Dorothea Dix, American nurse and activist (b. 1802)
1918 – Victims of the Shooting of the Romanov family
1995 – Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1911)
1996 – Victims of TWA Flight 800
2001 – Katharine Graham, American publisher (b. 1917)
2006 – Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (b. 1918)
2009 – Walter Cronkite, American journalist and actor (b. 1916)
2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 victims
Sourced from various internet sites.
|
|
|
Valediction
Paul Hovitz Concludes 27 Years of Service on Community Board 1
After nearly three decades of building schools, fighting for affordable housing, championing cultural institutions, and generally making Lower Manhattan a better place to live, Paul Hovitz has stepped down from Community Board 1 (CB1), where he has served as vice chairman for three years, and previously presided as chair of the Youth & Education Committee.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
South BPC Resiliency Project
The full presentation and video from the South BPC Resiliency Project Public Meeting #3 held last week at 6 River Terrace is now available on the Battery Park City Authority’s Resiliency page under the heading “South Battery Park City Resiliency Project.”
Additional feedback on the concepts presented may be submitted until Monday, July 15 to the dedicated email address sbpcr@bpca.ny.gov.
|
|
|
———————————————-
Albany Wants to Keelhaul Ad Barges
State Lawmakers Bark ‘Belay That’ to Water-Borne Marketing Messages
The ubiquitous advertising barges that have become anathema for Lower Manhattan residents over the past year have attracted hostile attention from members of the State Senate and Assembly.
Bills were enacted in the closing days of the legislative session that would ban 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.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
———————————————-
Very Merry Skerry Ferry
Governors Island Passengers Are Going in Style with Launch of New Vessel
Visitors to Governors Islandembarking from Lower Manhattan now have a new way to get to the beloved greensward that has become Downtown’s equivalent of Central Park.
The new vessel, Governors 1, a 132-foot-long, 40-foot-wide ferry was built over the last two years at a cost of $9.2 million in the Warren, Rhode Island shipyard of Blount Boats, from a design by Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
Not Ferry Nice
Concerns about Crowding and Noise Surround City Hall Plan for New Staten Island Route to Battery Park City
The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to launch in 2020 a new ferry service from Staten Island that will bring to the Battery Park City ferry terminal more than 60 new vessels each day, carrying as many as 2,500 passengers.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
Radical Cheek
Subvertising Campaign Shocks the Conscience, But Not for Long
On Wednesday morning, two dozen cages fashioned from chain-link fencing appeared on sidewalks at strategic locations around Manhattan and Brooklyn. A pair of these were placed in Lower Manhattan: one on Centre Street, opposite the Municipal Building and close by the Brooklyn Bridge; the other about two blocks away, near the intersection of Broadway and Vesey Streets.
Each one contained a lifelike mannequin, the size of a small child, wrapped in a foil blanket, which bore a disturbing resemblance to a shroud. From around the edges of these blankets, locks of hair and smalls pair of shoes were visible. Concealed within every cage was also a rudimentary audio system that repeatedly played a track of a small child sobbing. This was interspersed with the sound of a heartbeat.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS
Swaps & Trades Respectable Employment
Lost and Found 212-912-1106
$99 Hypnosis Session
($247 value) Smoking Cessation, Weight Loss, Motivation, Sports Performance, Confidence, Stress, Insomnia…
Call Janine Today. Limited time offer! 917-830-6127
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
|
|
Anthem of the Seas Spins About
|
|
RiverWatch
Cruise Ships in the Harbor
Arrivals and Departures
Thursday, July 18
Anthem of the Seas
Inbound 6:30 am (Bayonne); outbound 4:00 pm; Bermuda/Eastern Caribbean
Carnival Sunrise
Inbound 6:15 am; outbound 4:30 pm; Bermuda
Saturday, July 20
Adventure of the Seas
Inbound 6:30 am (Bayonne); outbound 3:00 pm;
Bar Harbor, ME/Canadian Maritimes
Norwegian Dawn
Inbound 7:15 am; outbound 3:30 pm; Port Canaveral, FL/Bahamas
Sunday, July 21
Celebrity Summit
Inbound 7:30 am (Bayonne); 4:00 pm; Bermuda
Norwegian Escape
Inbound 6:15 am; outbound 4:30 pm; Bermuda
Sea Princess
Inbound 5:15 am; in port overnight
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 piers in Brooklyn and Bayonne. Stated times, when appropriate, are for passing the Colgate clock in Jersey City, New Jersey, 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.
|
|
Cass Gilbert and the Evolution of the New York Skyscraper
by John Simko
|
|
The Broadsheet Inc. | 212-912-1106 | editor@ebroadsheet.com| ebroadsheet.com
No part of this document may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher
© 2019
|