The Broadsheet – Lower Manhattan’s Local Newspaper
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FiDi Food Hall Burgled
Thieves Break into UrbanSpace Market, Abscond with Cash
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The UrbanSpace food hall opened this summer at 100 Pearl Street, in the Financial District. Below: Video captured by a surveillance camera shows two thieves breaking into cabinets within the market, searching for cash.
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The Financial District’s newest food hall was ransacked by thieves on Tuesday evening.
The UrbanSpace market at 100 Pearl Street was broken into around 3:30am on Tuesday evening, by two men who shattered a glass door, according to surveillance video captured by the facility’s security system.
Once inside UrbanSpace, the men (who were wearing masks and gloves) broke into a locked office, where they found keys to each of the individual 16 stalls that comprise the market. This gave them easy access to each shop, where they searched for locked cabinets, forcing the doors open, to look for cash registers and miniature safes inside.
At least three of the food vendors had left cash within their shopfronts, in the apparent belief that the broader security precautions taken by their landlord, the UrbanSpace market, as well as their own locked stalls and cabinets, would keep their premises safe. Food stalls Que Chevere, Senshi Ramen, and Coney Shack were all robbed for a combined total of more than $1,000. The thieves also caused significant property damage, the value of which is not known.
The 15,000-square-feet UrbanSpace opened this summer, as the latest in a wave of such facilities coming to Lower Manhattan that began in New York with the 1997 advent of Chelsea Market. The craze took Downtown by storm starting in 2012, when the vogue for dining at communal tables, while also shopping for produce and takeout, was sparked by the acclaimed All Good Things market and restaurant in Tribeca. Although that establishment garnered universal praise, this was not enough to sustain it in a sluggish economy, and it closed two years later. A few months after All Good Things shuttered, however, Hudson Eats opened at Brookfield Place in Battery Park City, along with Le District, a French-inspired marketplace and collection of restaurants. In August 2016, the trend gathered further momentum with the debut of Eataly in the World Trade Center complex. Since then, similar emporia, such as City Acres, Canal Street Market, the Essex Street Market, and the Bowery Market have planted their flags Downtown.
Although the food hall concept originated in Europe, it has gained increasing traction with American consumers, who prize the perceived authenticity of eating and shopping in a stage-set atmosphere, along with the variety and quality offered by a marketplace that showcases independent and artisanal producers, while catering to locavores and customers seeking organic offerings.
It has also proved expedient for real estate developers, providing a ready use for large volumes of commercial space that, in an earlier era, would have been occupied by supermarkets, department stores, or big-box retailers—all of which are under siege from online shopping.
But the mania for food halls is showing signs of having crested. Market Lane, a food hall in the Oculus shopping center of the World Trade Center complex opened in 2017, but struggled to gain traction for two years, before finally closing at the end of 2019.
Other food halls have been derailed before even opening. The much-anticipated Bourdain Market, planned for Pier 57 (on the Hudson River waterfront, near West 15th Street) was in development for five years, before celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain cancelled the project in late 2017, six months before his suicide. And plans for Sevahaus, another food hall (to be located at 205 Hudson Street, in Tribeca) were dropped in 2017, before it could debut.
The trend may yet have some life in it, however. Another large food hall recently opened at Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport, where noted chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten oversees a seafood-centric version of the concept for the historic Tin Building, and the space that was to have been occupied by Anthony Bourdain’s abortive project is now slated to house a food hall presided over by the James Beard Foundation, a highly regarded culinary nonprofit. The facility, which will include a showcase kitchen, dining and demonstration spaces, and vendor kiosks is slated to open by the end of the year.
Matthew Fenton
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Comment on the BPCA’s N/W Resiliency Project
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The BPCA hosted a meeting about its N/W Resiliency Project on September 19, 2022. This virtual platform contains the same materials that were presented and discussed that day. Click here to visit this virtual presentation to comment on designs through today, October 3, 2022.
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On Common Ground
BPCA Asks for Ideas about Upgrades to the Promenade
The Battery Park City Authority is seeking ideas from residents about how to bring recreational uses to the granite promenade that parallels the West Street and the Hudson River Greenway, between Battery Place and Third Place. This initiative is envisioned as a tradeoff to countervail the deficit of open space that will be created for several years, when nearby Wagner Park is closed for reconstruction of resiliency measures. That project is slated to begin soon. Read more…
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Au Revoir to Pepperoni and Pinot Noir
Two Legacy Emporia Endangered by Rising Rents Epitomize Battery Park City’s Evolution Into a Community of Shopkeepers No More
Two venerable Battery Park City neighborhood institutions—Picasso Pizza and the Bulls & Bears Winery—may be in imminent danger of disappearing. The LeFrak organization, the landlord of Gateway Plaza (which houses both shops), has posted listings for the two storefronts on the Newmark Retail real estate website. Read more…
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Eyes to the Sky, October 3 – 16 , 2022
Planet Jupiter brightest in 59 years
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In evening twilight, gazing to the eastern skyline, the puzzling sight of a brilliant light close above the hills prompts conjectures such as “airplane?” stadium light?” “UFO?”
This was mostly my response as I approached a lookout expressly to observe planet Jupiter rise over an unobstructed view to the east a few evenings ago. When the unusually bright light met my eyes, I searched my mind for an explanation before accepting that it was, indeed, Jupiter. Not seen so large and bright since 1963, this is a not-to-be-missed time to view the largest planet in our solar system. Two rarely coinciding planetary events account for Jupiter’s outstanding appearance in Earth’s skies over the next couple weeks. The giant planet was at perigee, closest to Earth, on September 25, and arrived at opposition, when Earth was between Jupiter and the Sun, on September 26. Currently, Jupiter is second only to the moon in radiance and traverses the sky all night. The most dramatic times to see the great gas planet are when it is rising and setting. Look to the east on Sunday, October 9, when the Full Hunter’s Moon rises at 6:34pm. Jupiter rises at 5:51pm that same evening, preceding the moon. The two travel the night sky in tandem.
Judy Isacoff, naturesturn.org
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Monday, October 3
3:45pm-4:30pm
Rockefeller Park
Practice the basics of passing, receiving, and game strategy with fun and challenging exercises and drills for all levels. Free.
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Tuesday, October 4
10:30am-11:30am
Irish Hunger Memorial Plaza
Easy-to-follow Latin dance choreography. Come prepared for enthusiastic instruction, a little strength training and a lot of fun. Free.
12:30pm-1:30pm
Rockefeller Park House
Play a quick game of chess or backgammon. Using clocks, opponents will play 5 minute games that are fast, furious and fun. An instructor will be on hand to offer pointers and tips to improve your game. Free.
3:30pm-5pm
Rockefeller Park
Play the popular strategy game while getting pointers and advice from an expert. For ages 5 and up (adults welcome). Free.
3:45pm-4:30pm
Rockefeller Park
For ages 6-10. Practice the basics of passing, receiving, and game strategy with fun and challenging exercises and drills for all levels. Free.
7pm
McNally Jackson, 4 Fulton Street
From celebrity heartthrob, host of The Viall Files podcast, and member of Bachelor Nation Nick Viall comes Don’t Text Your Ex Happy Birthday—a no-holds-barred dating advice book. Custom cocktails, an interactive Q&A, and more! RSVP required.
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Wednesday, October 5
8am
Meet at Netherland Memorial Flagpole, Battery Park
Join experienced birding guide Gabriel Willow on a walk through The Battery to observe the diversity of migrating birds that visit the park. Free.
10am-12pm
Rector Park East
Observe and sketch the human figure. An artist/educator will offer constructive suggestions and critique. Drawing materials provided. Free.
1:30pm-2:30pm
Rockefeller Park
Children ages 6-10, are invited to play in pop-up clinics on select days off from school this fall. Join BPCA coaches for a kickball skills session ending in a scrimmage open to all levels. Free.
2pm-4pm
Rector Park East
Draw with pastels and watercolors. An artist/ educator will provide ideas and instruction. Materials provided. Free.
5:30pm
Oculus Plaza, Westfield World Trade Center
Sputnik Yoga creates pop-up experiences in unexpected spaces in New York. Bring your own mat. Free.
6pm-10pm
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl Street
Opening night of a new exhibition at Fraunces Tavern Museum featuring live sketching, silent auctions, original art and rare comics, and keynote speaker, former Marvel Editor in Chief, Jim Shooter. Discover how Washington’s persona has been showcased throughout pop history, from traditional reenactments of famous events to appearances in modern times with the likes of Superman, Captain America and other famous heroes. $25-$149.
7pm
McNally Jackson, 4 Fulton Street
Reading. An explosive, deeply reported exposé of McKinsey & Company, the international consulting firm that advises corporations and governments, that highlights the often drastic impact of its work on employees and citizens around the world. RSVP required.
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Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets
Tribeca Greenmarket
Greenwich Street & Chambers Street
Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8am-3pm (compost program: Saturdays, 8am-1pm)
Bowling Green Greenmarket
Broadway & Whitehall St
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8am-5pm (compost program: 8am-11am)
World Trade Center Oculus Greenmarket
Tuesdays, 8am-5pm
The Outdoor Fulton Stall Market
91 South Street, between Fulton & John Streets
Indoor market: Monday through Saturday,11:30am-5pm
CSA pick-up: Thursday, 4pm-6pm; Friday, 11:30-5pm
Outdoor market: Saturdays, 11:30am-5pm
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Today in History
October 3
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This is the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, a symbol of German unity. On this day 32 years ago, East and West Berlin were united into a single city. Photograph by Thomas Wolf.
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52 BC – Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius Caesar, ending the Battle of Alesia.
1789 – George Washington designates the first Thanksgiving Day.
1849 – Author Edgar Allan Poe is found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore under mysterious circumstances; it is the last time he is seen in public before his death.
1872 – The Bloomingdale brothers open their first store at 938 Third Avenue.
1932 – Iraq gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1952 – The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon to become the world’s third nuclear power.
1957 – The California State Superior Court rules that Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems is not obscene.
1962 – In Project Mercury, Sigma 7 is launched from Cape Canaveral, with astronaut Wally Schirra aboard, for a six-orbit, nine-hour flight.
1990 – Germany is reunified. The German Democratic Republic ceases to exist and its territory becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany. East German citizens became part of the European Community, which later becomes the European Union. Now celebrated as German Unity Day.
1995 – O. J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
Births
85 BC – Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician (d. 42 BC)
1804 – Townsend Harris, merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (d. 1878)
1900 – Thomas Wolfe, author and academic (d. 1938)
1936 – Steve Reich, American composer
1941 – Chubby Checker, American singer-songwriter
1954 – Al Sharpton [Alfred Charles], minister and civil rights activist
1988 – ASAP Rocky [Rakim Mayers], rapper.
Deaths
42 BC – Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician (b. 85 BC)
1656 – Myles Standish, English-American captain (b. 1584)
1838 – Black Hawk, tribal leader (b. 1767)
1867 – Elias Howe, engineer, invented the sewing machine (b. 1819)
1967 – Woody Guthrie, singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1912)
2003 – William Steig, cartoonist and children’s author, dies at 95
2018 – Leon M. Lederman, experimental physicist (Nobel Prize in Physics, 1988 – for research on quarks and leptons) and author (The God Particle), dies at 96
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The Broadsheet Inc. eBroadsheet.com editor @ ebroadsheet.com ©2022 All Rights Reserved All photos © Robert Simko 2022 unless otherwise credited
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