Lower Manhattan’s Local News
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Getting a Corner on the Market
Retail Developer Wins Years-Long Struggle for Control of Legendary Bank Building
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The former headquarters of J.P. Morgan & Company at 23 Wall Street, vacant for more than a decade, may soon house new retailers.
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When the financial upheaval unleashed by the pandemic coronavirus begins to settle, a long-neglected local landmark may resume its erstwhile status as an iconic Lower Manhattan public space.
The building, 23 Wall Street (at the corner of Broad Street), is a former tabernacle of American capitalism. When completed, the year before World War One began, the building became instantly famous as the most important address in American finance. The investment bank based within, J.P. Morgan & Company, acted as a kind of unofficial central bank (stabilizing stock markets, steadying the value of American currency, and lending to the U.S. government) in the years before the modern Federal Reserve system came into being. Such was the quiet authority of the firm that it never felt the need to emblazon its own name on the outside of the building. Although the address was visible on a small sign beside the front door, generations of cognoscenti referred to 23 Wall Street simply as, “the corner.”
J.P Morgan & Company vacated the premises in the early 2000s, after which it changed hands among property speculators every few years, but never found an enduring new use, intermittently serving instead as temporary quarters for movie shoots, seasonal pop-up shops, and upscale parties.
More recently, 23 Wall has been the subject of a bitter court battle. In the fall of 2016, real estate developer Jack Terzi, who specializes in trophy retail properties, finalized a deal to buy the structure for $140 million from China Sonangol, a shadowy company that had purchased the 160,000-square-foot building in 2008, paying $150 million.
But China Sonangol never closed on the sale to Mr. Terzi, prompting the developer to take the company to court, seeking either to consummate the deal or else recover a quarter of a billion dollars in alleged damages. In the years following China Sonangol’s purchase of 23 Wall Street, the edifice languished. This decline may have been related to the personal travails of Sam Pa, a mysterious Asian billionaire who was arrested by Chinese authorities on corruption charges in 2015, and has since been targeted with sanctions by the U.S. Treasury, for alleged interference in the internal affairs of various African nations where he has mining interests. Mr. Pa is believed by U.S. officials to be a large investor in China Sonangol, and the firm’s reluctance to close its 2016 deal with Mr. Terzi may be stem from U.S. legal requirements that prevent it from being paid until it can demonstrate that it has no ongoing ties to Mr. Pa.
That Gordian knot was cut earlier this year, when Mr. Terzi settled the suit on terms that allow him to lease the property for 99 years, rather than purchase it outright. This avoids the thorny legal issue of shedding light on China Sonangol’s relationship (if any) with Mr. Pa, and clears the way for Mr. Terzi to take possession of the premises, and begin thinking seriously about its next use.
In the years since he began seeking control of 23 Wall Street, Mr. Terzi has marketed slivers of the building to various prospective tenants as the potential home for a gym, comedy club, bowling alley, video arcade, and movie theater, as well as a Uniqlo department store. Each of these nascent deals foundered on the uncertainty created by the now-resolved legal battle for control of 23 Wall Street.
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The building, designed by the firm of Trowbridge and Livingston (creators of other iconic New York structures, such as the American Museum of Natural History), was declared a New York City landmark in 1965. Sadly, although the building’s exterior was given legally protected status, its interior was not set aside for preservation, with the result that its beautiful oak paneling and crystal chandelier are now gone.
J.P. Morgan’s headquarters was also the site of a grisly act of terrorism, which marked its 100th anniversary last week. On the afternoon of September 16, 1920, a horse-drawn cart pulled to a stop on Wall Street, in front of the Morgan offices, and was abandoned by its driver. Packed inside were 100 pounds of dynamite and a quarter of a ton of sharp metal fragments. Minutes later, when this cargo detonated, the blast killed 40 people, injured hundreds more, and inflicted millions of dollars in damage. The crime was never solved, and pockmarks from the blast remain visible on the exterior stone of 23 Wall Street to this day.
Matthew Fenton
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‘How Solitary the City Has Become…’
A Downtown Photographer, Forced to Pause and Reflect, Sees New York in a New Light
A Battery Park City resident has created a haunting evocation of Manhattan in the time of COVID. His new book, a compendium of photographs entitled “Quiet in NYC: Images from a Time of Quarantine,” eloquently documents the stark beauty and forlorn grace of an erstwhile-bustling streetscape, suddenly rendered desolate.
“The project was born from the inability to do just about anything else but walk around the City in the early days of the quarantine,” says Brad Fountain, who is a graphic designer in his professional life. “No sports, shopping, concerts, or museums. The stark emptiness of the streets seemed to be asking to be photographed. I could walk for hours and see only a half a dozen people, even if I visited some of the most famous sites in New York.”
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Community Board Meetings This Week
Monday September 21
6PM
Executive Committee
AGENDA
1) Update on Bias training
2) Placard Abuse by City Agencies – Discussion & Resolution
3) NYPD Seizures of Public Space – Discussion & Possible Resolution
4) Late and On-time Agenda Submissions to the Office – Discussion
5) Capital and Expense Budget Items for FY 2022 – Discussion
6) Committee Reports and Community Advisory Board reports
Tuesday September 22
6PM
CB 1 Monthly Meeting
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Pull Down the Shades!
City Council Backs Study of Drones to Inspect Buildings
Lower Manhattan skies may soon be slightly more crowded. The City Council on Wednesday enacted legislation authorizing the Department of Buildings to study the feasibility of conducting facade inspections using the small, robotic aircraft known as drones.
City law requires such facade inspections every five years for all buildings taller than six stories. These reviews are usually performed by contractors suspended from the roof of each structure, but the danger of such overhead work requires the installation of the unsightly scaffolds commonly known as sidewalk sheds.
The impact of such a program would likely be especially significant in Lower Manhattan. To read more…
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CLASSIFIEDS &PERSONALS
Swaps & Trades
Respectable Employment
Lost and Found
———————————————————–
College essay and
application support available.
Millennium HS English teacher with 30+ years of experience.
Oberlin BA, Brown MA.
SEEKING
FREE-LANCE PUBLICIST
Need experienced, reliable publicist
to pro-actively work on a project basis
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. Some graphics
Downtown location.Please send resume and fee schedule to:
SHSAT TUTOR AVAILABLE
Stuyvesant HS student available for test prep
$20 an hour; remote /zoom preferred
BPC resident, with years of tutoring experience
References available upon request
Tutor available for homework support
Stuyvesant HS student available for homework help
All grades especially math
References available upon request
SHSAT TUTORING
Stuyvesant HS graduate
available for SHSAT tutoring. $40/hr. Zoom or in-person.
NOTARY PUBLIC IN BPC
$2.00 per notarized signature.
Text Paula @ 917-836-8802
Nurse’s Aide
Caring, experienced Nurse’s Aide seeks PT/FT position.
Excellent references.
ELDERCARE:
Available for PT/FT Exp’d. Refs.
Experienced Elder Care
Able to prepare nutritious meals and light housekeeping.
Excellent references.
HOUSEKEEPING/ NANNY/ BABYSITTER
Available for PT/FT. Wonderful person, who is a great worker. Refs avail.
Worked in BPC. Call Tenzin
347-803-9523
Seeking Full-Time Live-In Elder Care
12 years experience, refs avail.
I am a loving caring hardworking certified home health aide
Marcia 347 737 5037
IT AND SECURITY SUPPORT
Expertise in 1-on-1 tutoring for all ages. Computer upgrading & troubleshooting. Knowledgeable in all software programs.
347-933-1362. Refs available
If you would like to place a listing, please contact
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TODAY IN HISTORY
SEPTEMBER 21
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1993 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution.
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455 – Emperor Avitus enters Rome with a Gallic army and consolidates his power.
1776 – Part of New York City is burned shortly after being occupied by British forces.
1780 – American Revolutionary War: Benedict Arnold gives the British the plans to West Point.
1792 – French Revolution: The National Convention abolishes the monarchy.
1938 – The Great Hurricane of 1938 makes landfall on Long Island in New York. The death toll is estimated at 500–700 people.
1949 – The People’s Republic of China is proclaimed.
1953 – Lieutenant No Kum-sok, a North Korean pilot, defects to South Korea with his jet fighter.
1972 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos begins authoritarian rule by declaring martial law.
1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor is unanimously approved by the Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
1993 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin triggers a constitutional crisis when he suspends parliament and scraps the constitution.
2001 – America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks.
2013 – Al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, killing at least 67 people.
Births
1415 – Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1493)
1866 – H. G. Wells, English novelist, historian, and critic (d. 1946)
1903 – Preston Tucker, American engineer and businessman, designed the Tucker Sedan (d. 1956)
1912 – Chuck Jones, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1947 – Stephen King, American author and screenwriter
Deaths
19 BC – Virgil, Roman poet (b. 70 BC)
1743 – Jai Singh II, Indian king (b. 1688)
2018 – Trần Đại Quang, President of Vietnam (b. 1956)
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What’s Next for the Store of the Future?
As Century 21 Shutdown Looms, Opportunity Arises to Ponder New Uses for a Storied Temple of Commerce
With local shoppers still mourning the impending demise of Century 21, the renowned fashion discounter, the family that owns the soon-to-be-defunct retailer may be crying all the way to the bank.
Century 21 was founded in 1961, by Al Gindi and his cousin, Samuel (“Sonny”) Gindi, who set up shop in the palatial former home of the East River Savings Bank at the corner and Church and Cortlandt Streets, and took their new venture’s name from the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, which styled itself the “Century 21 Exposition.” That event focused on the theme of how Americans would live come the millennium, but its predictions did not include an epochal pandemic, or the death of retail driven by online shopping.
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Notorious Adverse Possession
Urban Squatters Stake a Short-Lived Claim to Empty Lot in FiDi
A Financial District lot with a turbulent history that has sat empty for nearly two decades briefly become the venue for an insurgent (although anonymous) effort to open the space for public use, while also making quixotic political point. The parcel in question is 111 Washington Street, at the corner of Carlisle Street.
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DOWNTOWN CALENDAR
Monday September 21
12NOON – 6PM
BLOOD DRIVE
6 River Terrace
Appointments preferred, Walk-ins welcome.
8AM-9PM
Brookfield Place New York
Collection of eight adjoining paintings by artist La Vaughn Belle, exhibited on the first floor of Brookfield Place. A hybrid word combining “china” and “money,” “chaney” describes small fragments of pottery—often blue and white—found on the surface of the soil in the Virgin Islands. The fragments originate from plates, tea pots, and cups imported from Europe and North America as part of the vast transatlantic trade of the last centuries of the second millennia.
Originally, this colonial fine china was a display of the wealth resulting from the plantation economy. Now, the remaining fragments have become detritus, broken down into the soil, just like the traded bodies. “Chaney” serves as a reminder of both the colonial past and the fragmented present of Caribbean societies.
La Vaughn Belle’s Chaney series examines the process of reconstructing the fragments – charting the loss and the imagination required for repair. As the artist takes the petal of one flower and appends it to the stem of another truncated bloom, and connects and expands geometric motifs, she creates a topography that mirrors the process of identity formation of those who are the descendants of the transatlantic slave trade.
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Recently Reopened Businesses Downtown
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Get Out on the Water
from North Cove
Need a safe and breezy break from your apartment? Several cruise operators have reopened in North Cove and are offering opportunities to get out on the water, including Tribeca Sailing, Ventura, and Classic Harbor Line. All cruise operators are adhering to social distancing guidelines; check individual websites for details.
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Flat Tire? Rusted Chain? Bent Rims?
GothamFix
A mobile bicycle shop offering service and parts
Open Tuesday through Sunday • 646-322-9557
Corner of Greenwich and Chambers Street.
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395 South End Avenue,
New York, NY 10280
212-912-1106
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No part of this document may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher © 2020
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