The BroadsheetDAILY ~ Democratic Group Endorses Young Activist Christopher Marti for City Council

Downtown Upstart

Democratic Group Endorses Young Activist for City Council

Christopher Marte’s aim is, “building a coalition from the east side to the west side of District 1.”

The Downtown Independent Democrats (DID), an influential political club based in Lower Manhattan, has endorsed Christopher Marte in his campaign for the City Council seat that will be vacated by Margaret Chin next year, as a result of term limits.

At a Monday-evening meeting, the group heard presentations from half a dozen candidates, including Gigi Li (a former chair of Community Board 3, and currently Ms. Chin’s chief of staff), Jenny Lam-Low (who manages Community Engagement for City Council Speaker Corey Johnson), Maud Maron (a public defender, who also serves as president of the Community Education Council for District 2), and Denny Salas, a former financial professional and public school teacher, turned Democratic Party activist.

Mr. Marte has a long track record of engagement, starting in the Lower East Side neighborhood where he grew up, and culminating in a City Council run in 2017, which he lost by only a few hundred votes.

After Monday’s meeting, DID president Richard Corman said, “in a crowded field of committed contenders, we believe Christopher is the best candidate to represent our large and diverse community. Over the past four years, he has consistently shown a strong commitment to and deep knowledge of the complex issues facing the different neighborhoods that make up our district. Moreover, through his actions and words, he has demonstrated the leadership skills necessary to bring our community together as we face the many challenges that lie ahead.”

I am humbled to have DID’s endorsement,” Mr. Marte said afterward. “They have a long history of fighting against political machines and expanding tenants rights. Having the support and trust of their members is an important step in building a coalition from the east side to the west side of District 1.”

“Lower Manhattan has been on the frontlines of many of our City’s greatest struggles,” he added, “and COVID-19 has made these hard times even harder. Local politics matter now more than ever. I’m running for City Council to fight our systemic challenges and finally give our neighbors a voice.”

Matthew Fenton

A Lament for Local Luncheonettes

Losses and Closures Mount Among Downtown Dining Spots

A new report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli documents the impact of the ongoing pandemic coronavirus on the restaurant industry in Lower Manhattan.

In this report, Mr. DiNapoli finds, there were 1,981 operating restaurants and bars before the pandemic began, which places Lower Manhattan behind only the Chelsea/Clinton/Midtown Business District PUMA area, with 2,661 such establishments. (Together, these two areas account for nearly 40 percent of the City’s restaurant jobs.) To read more…

‘This Is about Pitting One Community Against Another’

Packed Meeting Airs Concerns about Plan for Homeless Shelter on William Street

A special meeting of Community Board 1 (CB1), called to gather information and air concerns about a de Blasio administration plan to locate a shelter for homeless men in the Financial District, drew more than 1,000 online participants on October 1.

The hotel, known as the Radisson New York Wall Street, is located at 52 William Street. Housing homeless persons there is actually not a new development. The City’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) has used the building since March as a temporary facility, aiming to limit the spread of the pandemic coronavirus among residents of the shelter system. To read more…

Quay to Success

Pier 26 Opens with Amenities Galore

The tally of great public spaces in Lower Manhattan has increased by one. Last Wednesday, the Hudson River Park Trust officially opened Pier 26 in Tribeca (near Hubert Street), the product of a decade-plus of planning and construction, and a $37-million budget.

The result is 2.5 acres of woodland forest, coastal grassland, maritime scrub, and a rocky tidal zone—all culminating in a breathtaking view of the Hudson River. Additionally included in the design are a multi-use recreation field and a spacious sunning lawn, as well as boardwalks and seating areas. To read more…

Eyes to the Sky

October 6 – 18, 2020

Planet Mars Will Surprise You

A rusty-gold star-like celestial body shines suspended above the eastern skyline at nightfall. It is heaven’s celebrity of the month. Even though I knew that planet Mars is predicted to be at that location after sunset, a rush of surprise overcame me when, approaching a clear view to the east, the planet’s brilliant light pierced the darkness. Mars is brightest for the year in Earth’s skies. On the 6th, it will orbit closest to our planet since 2018 and arrive at “opposition” on the 13th.

DOWNTOWN CALENDAR

12NOON

Poets House

Prolific poet and interdisciplinary artist Heid E. Erdrich reads from Little Big Bully (Penguin, forthcoming 2020), from Minneapolis, MN.

3PM

Inside Schermerhorn Row: A Virtual Tour of the Seaport Museum’s Landmark Buildings

South Street Seaport Museum

These virtual visits offer the opportunity to see and learn the history of Schermerhorn Row, at the end of Fulton Street in Manhattan–one of the most significant examples of early 19th century commercial architecture in New York and home of the South Street Seaport Museum. Visit the upper floors of these New York City Landmarks, located within the National Register-listed South Street Seaport Historic District. Hear about the buildings’ incredible history and developments, and explore the remains of two 150-year-old hotels made famous by New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell’s “Up in the Old Hotel.” Part of Archtober. Free

CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS

Swaps & Trades, Respectable Employment, Lost and Found

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Quatrain Alley

Words Come to Life Amid New Installation in Battery Park City

Poets House—a library, creative space, and meeting place that invites poets and the public to step into the living tradition of poetry, while cultivating a wider audience for the art—will celebrate its tenth anniversary in Battery Park City by launching the Poetry Path, an immersive public art installation running the northern length of Battery Park City, from Rockefeller and Teardrop Parks to the North Cove Marina. To read more…

Rice and Beans

They are better

together.

Me and Jayden

We are better

together.

Josh, PS1 student

TODAY IN HISTORY

October 9

Prague Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square photo: Petr Kratochvil

768 – Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned kings of the Franks.

1410 – The first known mention of the Prague astronomical clock.

1635 – Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony after religious and policy disagreements.

1812 – War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia.

1854 – Crimean War: The siege of Sebastopol begins.

1913 – The steamship SS Volturno catches fire in the mid-Atlantic.

1936 – Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam) begins to generate electricity and transmit it to Los Angeles.

1963 – In Italy, a large landslide a causes a giant wave to overtop the Vajont Dam, killing over 2,000.

1967 – A day after his capture, Ernesto “Che” Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia.

1969 – In Chicago, the National Guard is called in as demonstrations continue in over the trial of the “Chicago Eight”.

1995 – An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona.

2006 – North Korea conducts its first nuclear test.

2012 – Pakistani Taliban attempt to assassinate outspoken schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai.

Births

1201 – Robert de Sorbon, French minister and theologian, founded the Collège de Sorbonne (d. 1274)

1757 – Charles X of France (d. 1836)

1835 – Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer and conductor (d. 1921)

1859 – Alfred Dreyfus, French colonel (d. 1935)

1873 – Charles Rudolph Walgreen, American pharmacist and businessman, founded Walgreens (d. 1939)

1911 – Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (d. 2006)

1920 – Yusef Lateef, American saxophonist, composer, and educator (d. 2013)

1940 – John Lennon, Beatle (d. 1980)

1940 – Joe Pepitone, American baseball player and coach

1941 – Trent Lott, American lawyer and politician

Deaths

1273 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany (b. 1227)

1978 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1929)

1987 – Clare Boothe Luce, American author, playwright, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (b. 1903)

1988 – Felix Wankel, German engineer, invented the Wankel engine (b. 1902)

Credits include wikipedia and other internet sources

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