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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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Bridge of Sighs
CB1 Meeting Tonight Will Be Last Opportunity to Support Preservation of Rector Street Bridge
Tonight (Thursday, December 19) at the monthly meeting of Community Board 1 (CB1), the thousands of area residents and workers who have signed a petition to preserve the Rector Street pedestrian bridge will likely have their last chance to argue against its imminent removal. The span is slated to be demolished in January, once the new West Thames bridges becomes fully operational.
At November’s CB1 meeting, a delegation of ten speakers rose to make the case for retaining the structure, led by Bob Schneck, who said, “this is an issue of democracy, of whether people who live in the community and pay taxes can get what they want in a reasonable way. We have gathered more than 2,000 signatures on our petition. We have to make sure that the bridge is preserved as a public asset.” He added that, “once upon a time we were promised an evaluation of how much it would cost to preserve the bridge, but we never received that.”
Mr. Schneck was followed by a phalanx of speakers who focused on safety (especially for the elderly, the handicapped, and parents with small children), convenience (because the existing bridge connects directly to three subway lines on Rector Street, while the new one requires pedestrians detour blocks out of the way), and fiscal prudence (in that more will be spent to demolish the older bridge that was originally budgeted to build it).
Betty Kay, who chairs CB1’s Transportation Committee responded that, “the Board’s position for well over a decade is that we are in agreement that this bridge would be taken down, once the West Thames Bridge was operational. It has been long under-serviced, and the State Department of Transportation is very anxious to take it down, because they have done no work to maintain it. And there is zero funding available to maintain it.”
CB1 member Bob Townley inquired on behalf of the large constituency who wish to preserve the bridge, and have attended a succession of meetings trying to make this case. “These people have come to the committee and talked about it, and the committee told them, ‘we’re not going to do a resolution?'” Proposing and debating such a resolution would have the effect of giving members of CB1 an opportunity to vote, one way or the other, on a concern shared by several thousand residents of the community they represent.
“No,” Ms. Kay replied. “We didn’t do a resolution. State officials just reinforced to the community,” why they have decided to take the bridge down.
At that point, chairman Anthony Notaro tried to proceed with the meeting’s agenda, but CB1 member Joe Lerner insisted, “some of us have questions.”
Mr. Notaro retorted, “this is one of those I-agree-or-I-don’t-agree issues,” but argued that in the absence of a resolution to vote on, there was nothing further to discuss.
CB1 member Roger Byrom said, “so let’s send it back to the Transportation Committee.”
Mr. Notaro responded, “I’m happy to send it back to committee.”
Mr. Byrom’s position was echoed by CB1 member Paul Goldstein, who said, “just do a resolution — up or down.”
Ms. Kay insisted, “no resolution.”
In the event, no resolution or discussion of the Rector Street Bridge appeared on the agenda for CB1’s Transportation Committee. This means that tonight’s CB1 meeting will likely be the final opportunity for supporters to make the case for their cause.
Support for preserving the Rector Street bridge has been building for months. At the September 24 meeting of the BPCA board, Nancy Wann said, “our family, like many families in the Battery Park City community, relies heavily on the Rector Street Bridge. It’s not a convenience, but a safe means to get to and from one side and the other.” She noted that dozens of children cross the span each day to play in West Thames Park, which has a large lawn beneath the Rector Street Bridge.
If the overpass is demolished, Ms. Wann predicted, “people will be running across the West Side Highway, and there’ll be unnecessary accidents. So we just request respectfully that you consider not taking down the bridge.”
She added that, “a lot of financial resources will go into taking down the bridge. So if all that money is going toward taking down the bridge, we respectfully request that you take the money to invest it into making it a stronger bridge, so that it could last for a longer period of time.” This was a reference to the fact that the City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has budgeted $3.8 million in federal funds to cover the cost of demolishing the Rector Street Bridge, which is $300,000 more than the span cost to build in 2002.
The Rector Street Bridge was originally constructed on an expedited basis, as a temporary way for residents to access Battery Park City in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when most other routes in and out of the community were blocked. Initially slated to be demolished within two years of its opening, it was given a new lease on life by the BPCA a decade ago, when the Authority shored up the structure by removing half of its width, which enabled the footings beneath to support the remaining structure’s weight more easily.
At the September BPCA board meeting, Authority chair George Tsunis replied to Ms. Wann, “would it be disrespectful if I pointed out that there’s a brand new bridge immediately next to it?”
She answered, “we’re aware of the bridge and we’ve been on it. But so many people rely on this specific bridge. It’s a bit of a walk for us to go down by the tunnel. A lot of people did not even know that the Rector Street Bridge was going to come down, and a lot of people moved into the neighborhood not knowing that the bridge was going to come down. They see it as an easy means to get to the Financial District,” and the subways beyond.
“May I respectfully ask what is the current plan for the bridge?” Ms. Wann pressed.
Mr. Tsunis replied, “I’m going to respectfully point you in the direction of the New York [State] Department of Transportation, who has ownership of it. And although I think this is wonderful awareness for our community, and I appreciate you coming down and sharing your thoughts, it’s their decision.”
These concerns are echoed by City Council member Margaret Chin, who said in an August 9 letter to James Patchett, president of the City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC), “I write to join residents of Battery Park City to call on the EDC, the BPCA and Manhattan Community Board One to reconsider the demolition of the Rector Street Bridge. Connecting the bustling commercial hub of the Financial District with Battery Park City, the Rector Street Bridge provides a vital and safe pathway for pedestrians to cross both the West Side Highway and the bicycle greenway. The bridge also offers residents, tourists and workers with easy and safe access to more than ten subway lines.”
Ms. Chin continued, “since its construction in 2002 at the cost of $3.5 million, the Rector Street Pedestrian Bridge remains one of the best returns on investment in the area. With the West Side Highway remaining one of the most heavily utilized thoroughfares in New York City, this bridge has dramatically reduced the safety risk for pedestrians — especially the seniors and children who cross it every day to go to school or their neighborhood community center. If New York City is to achieve its Vision Zero goals, then the Rector Street Pedestrian Bridge should be preserved and renovated, not demolished.”
She concluded, “while I understand that the demolition of the Rector Street Pedestrian Bridge was part of the discussion around the construction of the West Thames Bridge, I urge you to delay the demolition and join my office in starting a community engagement process that weighs all options and alternatives.”
This goal is seconded by Mr. Schneck, who says, “what we’re asking for, instead of the bridge coming down in the next few months, is that we have a period of public engagement. Don’t take my word for the fact that people care about this, but actually find out what the community really wants. Because the only way you find out the value of something is by asking.”
Matthew Fenton
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Calendar
Thursday the 19th of December
1PM
Pipes at One
St. Paul’s Chapel
The weekly Pipes at One series showcases leading organists and rising stars from around the country in this year-round series at St. Paul’s Chapel, featuring its celebrated three-manual Noack organ. Today, Karen Christianson, organ.
6PM
CB 1 Monthly Meeting
Pace University 1 Pace Plaza
Click here to view tonight’s agenda Gibney “DoublePlus embraces the artist-as-curator format to present split-bill evenings featuring artists deserving of new or wider visibility, each curated by an established artist. Laurel Atwell presents “”We Wield,”” about a trio of women gathering to elevate the self, the group, and the surroundings. Together they pursue altered states via altered understandings of time, space, and rules of engagement in order to begin a expansion beyond the accepted limitations of the body-mind continuum.
Hyung Seok Jeon presents “”Deep Out Agents,”” a multimedia portrayal and analysis of the human tendency to fight against conformity. Jeon deconstructs two videos recorded over a period of four years of anonymous middle-aged Asian men exercising vigorously. He shares footage in conjunction with his moving body to objectify physicality and explore compliance.
$15, $20 280 Broadway
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Today in History
December 19
324 – Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.
1795 – Kentucky is the first state appropriation of money for road building 1843 – Charles Dickens publishes “A Christmas Carol,” in England 1903 – Williamsburg bridge opens between Brooklyn and Manhattan 1918 – Robert Ripley began his “Believe It or Not” column (NY Globe) 1922 – Mrs Theres Vaughn, 24, confessed in court to being married 62 times 1924 – The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is sold in London, England. 1948 – 8th largest snowfall in NYC history (15.3″) 1960 – Fire aboard USS Constellation, under construction at Brooklyn (50 die) 1965 – French president De Gaulle re-elected (Mitterrand gets 45%) 1971 – Stanley Kubrick’s X-rated “A Clockwork Orange” premieres 1972 – Apollo 17 (last of Apollo Moon landing series) returns to Earth 1974 – Nelson A Rockefeller sworn-in as 41st VP 1978 – France performs nuclear test 1978 – Indira Gandhi ambushed in India 1980 – Iran requests $24 billion in US guarantees to free hostages 1984 – UK signs agreement with China to return Hong Kong in 1997 1985 – Mary Lund is first woman to receive a Jarvik VII artificial heart 1991 – Boris Yeltsin takes control of Kremlin 1994 – Rolls-Royce announces its future cars will feature V12 engine which will be produced by BMW. 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: The United States House of Representatives forwards articles I and III of impeachment against President Bill Clinton to the Senate. 2007 – The Lakotah people, a Native American tribe, proclaim independence and withdraw all their treaties with the United States. They then proceed to establish the Republic of Lakotah, with an ongoing process of international recognition as a separate country. 2012 – UBS bank is fined $1.5 billion for its role in manipulating the Libor rate Birthdays 1944 – Richard Leakey, anthropologist 1849 – Henry Clay Frick, built world’s largest coke & steel operation Divorces 1995 – Queen Elizabeth askes Prince Charles and Diana to divorce |
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Letters
To the editor:
The Destruction of the Rector Street Bridge
The destruction of the Rector Street Bridge is a victory of a government that imposes its will over the voices of the people. The people have asked to be heard — the government gangs up and says “no.” What’s going on here? Is the government trying to cover-up massive over-spending and gross mismanagement? Or simply superior force? Facts are unavailable and obviously distorted when “temporary” means 17 years. Representatives of the government don’t answer their phones or their emails. They don’t even bother to acknowledge contact from the public. The representative of the Mayor’s Office offers apologies. The government seems to be planning to close and destroy the bridge without public notice in a city where every liquor license application gets a notice and a fair hearing. We are glib about imposing “inconvenience” on others in a city where every second counts. We are glib talking about safety, but when a community is begging for safety, no one is responsible. We are glib about democracy, but when we ask for “community engagement” — the bridge is closed. If you wish to cast a final vote for the Rector Street Bridge, an “eyesore” that saves lives, you can add your name to the electronic petition at http://chng.it/5Vyjt4dk Bob Schneck
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Dear Editor:
Well, this is an interesting development: both the Hurricane Maria Memorial and a statue of St. Frances Cabrini gracing our neighborhood!
In my opinion, St. Frances will not be much of an intrusion – she won’t take much space and likely will not have crowds gathering in front of her.
Also, in my opinion, the Hurricane Maria Memorial will be, and should be, a much more active location. This terrible event happened recently.
Anniversaries will be recognized here attended by individuals who were directly affected by this sad occurrence, and sympathy and prayers will be offered at this location. Crowds will gather to remember and honor. For this reason, if it must be located in BPC, the better location is near Chambers Street. Esplanade Plaza already is used for community gatherings, volleyball and other physical activity programs, and is close to Brookfield and its sometimes noisy programs.
A Memorial should be in a more quiet, less active location. Do any other readers agree?
Thank you,
Maryanne Palmieri Braverman ————————————————————————————–
To the Editor,
Friday’s lead in the Broadsheet, “Doing Good While Doing Well” Howard Hughes Practices Citizen in the Seaport” requires a response from the SEAPORT COALITION (an all-volunteer citizens alliance formed by SAVE OUR SEAPORT, SOUTHBRIDGE TOWERS and CHILDREN FIRST).
Trying not to be cynical, but nothing speaks more to “giving from the heart” than issuing a press release puff piece in the hopes that the local community will take notice.
SEAPORT COALITION members have contributed thousands of unpaid hours advocating to the city and its tenant to plan responsibly for the South Street Seaport Historic District.
Helping the South Street Seaport Museum is commendable, and we strongly urge other companies and individuals to follow their lead in donating generously to bring the Museum back to life with its Street of Ships.
Respecting the South Street Seaport Historic District’s carefully crafted “height limits” at their newly acquired 250 Water Street (the former Milstein parking lot) is non-negotiable, as is the responsibility for safe remediation and development in such a “sensitive receptor” given its nearby schools and residents.
Imagining that there will be a “quid pro quo” deal to build a super-tall tower by showering the neighbors with amenities is a complete non-starter.
Happy Holidays to All,
Michael Kramer
The Seaport Coalition
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Recalling Five Points
Epicenter of a Notorious Slum Proposed for Commemoration
In 1831, the City government considered a petition that warned, “that the place known as “Five points” has long been notorious… as being the nursery where every species of vice is conceived and matured; that it is infested by a class of the most abandoned and desperate character.”
A decade later, Charles Dickens, visiting New York, wrote of the same Lower Manhattan neighborhood that had inspired the petition, “what place is this, to which the squalid street conducts us? A kind of square of leprous houses, some of which are attainable only by crazy wooden stairs without. What lies behind this tottering flight of steps? Let us go on again, and plunge into the Five Points…. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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Exaction Redaction
Downtown Traffic May Ease as Congress Okays Change to Verrazzano Toll
The United States Senates is poised to enact federal legislation that will modify the tolling regimen on a bridge barely visible on the horizon from Lower Manhattan, but this may nonetheless reduce traffic congestion Downtown.
A separate study, commissioned by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority — the arm of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) that oversees the Verrazzano — earlier this year, predicted that imposing a toll in both directions on the span would largely eliminate this perverse incentive, and estimated that the bridge would gain an additional 4,361 New Jersey-bound vehicles each weekday. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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Back to the Drawing Board
City Landmarks Agency Agrees with CB1 about “Disaster and Affront”
The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has concurred with Community Board 1 about a builder’s proposed plan for a new mansion at Hubert and Collister Streets, within the Tribeca West Historic District.
At its December 3 meeting, the LPC’s commissioners listened to a presentation from the builder and his team of architects.
When the presentation was done, the commissioners were unanimous in their disapproval. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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A Friend of the Court
Landmarks Agency Says Justice Complex May Merit Protection
The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has responded to a resolution enacted by Community Board 1, calling for legal protection for the criminal courts building at 100 Centre Street.
CB1’s resolution noted, “the surprising and unfortunate fact that many of the Civic Center’s important historic buildings lie outside the existing neighboring historic districts and are not yet landmarked.
These include 80 Centre Street, 137 Centre Street, 139 Centre Street, and the Manhattan Criminal Court Building at 100 Centre Street.”
Matthew Fenton
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Compulsory Commemoration
Cuomo Administration Decides on South Cove for Mother Cabrini Memorial
On Friday, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that a planned memorial to Mother Cabrini — a 19th-century Italian-American who founded more than 60 organizations to help New York’s needy, and later became the first naturalized U.S. citizen to be canonized a Catholic saint — will be sited in the planting beds south of South Cove, the Battery Park City inlet at the foot of South End Avenue.
“This memorial will honor the legacy of Mother Cabrini — a great New Yorker and Italian-American — and the Commission chose a site that perfectly symbolizes her commitment to helping new Americans settle in the United States,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. “We want this memorial to pay tribute to the charity and goodwill she spread to countless others in her lifetime.”
Matthew Fenton
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Doing Good While Doing Well
Howard Hughes Practices Corporate Citizenship in the Seaport
If the giving season is an appropriate time to take stock of local philanthropy, one Lower Manhattan stakeholder has amassed an impressive record of thinking globally and acting locally. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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RiverWatch
Cruise Ships in New York Harbor
Arrivals & Departures
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Friday, December 20
Anthem of the Seas
Inbound 5:30 am (Bayonne); outbound 3:00 pm Port Canaveral, FL/Bahamas
Norwegian Bliss
Inbound 6:15 am; outbound 3:30 pm Port Canaveral, FL/Bahamas
Saturday, December 21
Norwegian Gem
Inbound 7:15 am; outbound 4:30 pm
Eastern Caribbean
Sunday, December 22
Queen Mary 2
Inbound 6:00 am (Brooklyn); outbound 5:00 pm Eastern Caribbean
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 passenger and propulsion problems, tides, fog, winds, freak waves, hurricanes and the whims of upper management.
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Vaulting Ambition
Plan Floated to Span East River with Arch Containing Thousands of Apartments and New Transit Portal
To those who claim that the age of monumental public works and historic pieces of civic infrastructure has ended in New York, Scott Baker has a succinct answer: “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Mr. Baker is the brains and the propulsive force behind an audacious new proposal to span the East River with a hybrid structure that would be part building, part bridge, and part mass transit conveyance, connecting the Dumbo/Vinegar Hill section of Brooklyn to the Manhattan neighborhood of Two Bridges.
Mr. Baker calls his plan, “RiverArch,” and describes it as, “a way to transform the skyline and the City with a structure like no other in the world, while also housing thousands of people and generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year in new tax revenue.”
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What If All This Is Not Enough?
Pondering Whether $300 Million and 16.5 Feet of Protection Will Matter
At the October 29 meeting of the Battery Park City Authority board, Catherine McVay Hughes raised a potentially troubling question. As BPCA management reviewed plans to spend some $300 million on resiliency measures designed to protect the community against future sea-level rise, extreme-weather events, and climate change, she questioned one of the key assumptions upon which these plans are predicated.
“I think a lot of folks are looking at the depth-to-design elevation flood line,” Ms. McVay Hughes began. “And there was a report that was recently issued… [in which] this technical expert suggested that the 16.5 feet needs to be raised another two to three feet. So I just wanted to make sure that what the Battery Park City will be planning to do will be adequate, as well.”
The metric to which Ms. McVay Hughes was referring comes from the lower end of the mid-range of predicted coastal flood heights for Lower Manhattan by the 2080s. A 2014 report by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, entitled “Climate Change in New York State,” noted that middle range for such predictions at the Battery was 16.5 to 18.3 feet. (The lowest bracket was 16.1 feet or less, while the most extreme scenarios ranged up to 19.9 feet.) Matthew Fenton
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Extreme Makeover
How a Nazi Sympathizer’s Tribeca Garage Could Become a Luxe Mansion
Community Board 1 is pushing back, in unusually emphatic terms, against a builder’s plans for a new mansion in Tribeca. The property in question is located at 11 Hubert Street, near the corner of Collister Street.
The existing structure at 11 Hubert Street has a tangled pedigree. It was built in 1946 by Dietrich Wortman, who was born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1884, and emigrated to the United States, where he studied architecture at Columbia University.
Matthew Fenton
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EYES TO THE SKY
December 9-22, 2019
Venus and Saturn, Full Cold Moon Winter Solstice
Yesterday’s sunset, earliest of the year, down to the second, is at 4:28:30pm. Sunset time is seconds later beginning tomorrow, until it is nearly one minute later, 4:29:27 on December 15. Afternoons will be noticeably lighter by month’s end. Sunrise today, 7:08:02, is 12 minutes earlier than the latest sunrise, 7:20:13 on January 6. To read more…
Judy Isacoff
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Arts and Minds
Highly Regarded Local Arts Education Group Stays the Course
To stroll in Tribeca in 2019 is to apprehend what is happening throughout Lower Manhattan. Buildings – along with their occupants and uses – are in perpetual flux. Amid this tumult is a symbol of local continuity: the Church Street School for Music and Art.
Recently, the Broadsheet asked Dr. Ecklund-Flores, who has been the sole proprietor of CSS for many years, to reflect on the move north and the challenges faced in relocating to a new neighborhood. To read more…
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Connection Reduction
CB1 to Consider Cutbacks in Number of Stops on Free Bus Service
Tonight (Tuesday, December 3) the Transportation Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1) will hear a presentation from the Downtown Alliance about planned cutbacks to the number of stops on its free Downtown Connection shuttle bus.
The plans include the elimination of six stops within Battery Park City.
Matthew Fenton
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CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS
Swaps & Trades ~ Respectable Employment ~ Lost & Found
212-912-1106 editor@ebroadsheet.com
LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR AVAILABLE
FOR BABYSITTING OR TUTORING
17 year old young man, lifetime resident of Tribeca and BPC.
Went to PS 234, Lab Middle School and currently attending Millennium HS. This summer was a Councilor at Pierce Country Day Camp. Excellent references.Very experienced with kids under 10.
Available for weeknight and weekend baby-sitting and tutoring middle-schoolers in Math or Science.
Please contact Emmett at 917.733.3572
CERTIFIED HOME HEALTH AIDE SEEKING
Full-Time Live-In Elder Care
I am loving, caring and hardworking with 12 years experience. References available. Marcia 347-737-5037 marmar196960@gmail.com
ELDER CARE NURSE AIDE
with 17 years experience seeks PT/FT work. Refs available Call or text 718 496 6232 Dian
DO YOU NEED A PERSONAL ASSISTANT?
I am experienced, reliable, knowledgeable and able to work flexible hours. CHINESE AIDE/CAREGIVER FOR ELDERLY
Cantonese/Mandarin-speaking and Excellent Cook for Battery Park City.
917-608-6022 SEEKING FREE-LANCE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONAL OR SMALL PR FIRM
Work with well-reviewed author of five E-books, developing and implementing outreach strategies. Includes writing, placement, research, new outlets and on-line advertising. Savvy social media skills a must. Downtown location.
Please send resume and fee schedule to: Email: poetpatsy@gmail.com HOUSEKEEPING/NANNY/BABYSITTER
Available starting September for PT/FT.
Wonderful person, who is a great worker. Reference Available ELDERCARE
Available for PT/FT elder care. Experienced. References Angella
347-423-5169 angella.haye1@gmail.com
DITCH THE DIETS & LOSE WEIGHT FOR GOOD
Call Janine to find out how with hypnosis.
janinemoh@gmail.com 917-830-6127 EXPERIENCED ELDER CARE
Able to prepare nutritious meals and light housekeeping
Excellent references 12yrs experienced 347-898-5804 Call Hope anasirp@gmail.com
NOTARY PUBLIC IN BPC
$2 per notarized signature Text Paula at 917-836-8802
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 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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Putting the Art Back into an Artifact
A Living Remnant of a Vibrant Culture Comes to Battery Place
Written in 1878, “The Sorceress,” is one of the earliest works of Yiddish theater and the first formal theatrical production presented in America by the legendary Boris Thomashefsky, who emigrated to the United States in 1881, two years before the thriving Yiddish theater industry was banned in his native Imperial Russia.
He went on to found, almost singlehandedly, what became a vibrant genre in American theater — productions catering to Jewish immigrants from all the countries in the diaspora, presented in the one language they all spoke: Yiddish.
Matthew Fenton
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RECENT NEWS
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The Train to the Plane
A Convenient Connection to the Airport Visible from Lower Manhattan Rooftops May Be Less Than Ten Years Away
The Regional Plan Association (RPA) recently partnered with the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association (DLMA) to build support for a proposed rail connection between Lower Manhattan and Newark Airport. A report the two organizations produced together, “Taking the PATH to Newark Airport,” summarizes the potential and the prospects for such a link, which local leaders have long pushed for.
Matthew Fenton
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A Tale of Two Museums
Community-Focused Cultural Center Faces Uncertain Future, as Tourism Magnet Thrives
The 9/11 Tribute Museum, a highly regarded local cultural institution, is grappling with a precarious outlook, according to a story first published in Crain’s New York Business, which says that the space housing the facility, located at Greenwich and Rector Streets, may be sold out from under the organization by its landlord.
Mathew Fenton
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Aggregation and Promulgation
Council Member and Borough President Push for Transparency in Development
Community Board 1 has endorsed a proposed new law — sponsored by a City Council member representing the Upper East Side and supported by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer — that would require City government to notify local officials whenever development rights are transferred between building lots. Such transfers are often used by developers to maximize the zoning potential for the site of a planned skyscraper.
Matthew Fenton
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Chopper Stoppers
Nadler Sponsors Legislation to Make Lower Manhattan Heliopolis No More
Support is building among decision-makers to heed a decade long call by Lower Manhattan community leaders to enact a comprehensive ban on non-essential helicopter flights in New York’s airspace.
Matthew Fenton
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“A Fraudulent Scheme”
FiDi Renters Seek Recompense for Years of Rent Overcharges
In the wake of a June ruling by New York State’s highest court that tenants in Financial District rental buildings had been illegally deprived of rent stabilization benefits, a pair of apartment dwellers is litigating to recoup the money they lost by paying inflated, market-rate rents for years.
In October, Bruce Hackney and Timothy Smith, tenants at Ten Hanover Square, filed suit against their landlord, alleging that the owner’s, “failure to follow rent regulations was part of a fraudulent scheme to deregulate apartments in the building.” To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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Eighteen Years Later, What about the Children?
Schools Agency Begins Belated Outreach Effort to Former Lower Manhattan Students at Risk of 9/11 Illness
The City’s Department of Education is partnering with the United Federation of Teachers union for an unusual mission: tracking down former New York City public school students who were pupils at Lower Manhattan schools on September 11, 2001 (or in the months that followed) and informing them that their health may be at risk. The project will also seek to put these students in touch with the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Shoot
Chin Pushes Legislation to Rein in Production Permits
City Council member Margaret Chin is co-sponsoring a package of bills to clamp down on rampant film and television production in Lower Manhattan.
Although the new laws, if enacted, will have City-wide effect, their impact would be especially significant in the square mile below Chambers Street, where dozens of movies and TV shows commandeer local streets (sometimes for days at a time) each year. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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Things That Make You Go ‘Hmm…’
Lawsuit Over Similarity Between One World Trade and Architecture Student’s Design Moves Ahead
One thing is reasonably certain: In 1999, Jeehoon Park, then a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture, created a design for a very tall building with a large square base tapering to a smaller square top. In Mr. Park’s vision, the square formed by the roof was rotated 45 degrees relative to the one at the ground level, so that the center-points on each side of the quadrilateral below corresponded to the corners of the one above, and vice versa. And instead of four vertical walls, the structure’s facade consisted of eight elongated triangles.
That structure was never built. Or was it?
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Death Came Calling at the Corner of Wall and Broad Streets, in Lower Manhattan’s First Major Terrorist Attack
As the noon hour approached on a fall Thursday morning in 1920, a horse-drawn wagon slowly made its way west down Wall Street toward “the Corner,” the high-powered intersection of Wall and Broad. Its driver came to a gentle stop in front of the Assay Office, where stockpiles of gold and silver were stored and tested for purity. But theft was not his motive.
John Simko
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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
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© 2019
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