The BroadsheetDAILY ~ July 3, 2019

Of Unfinished Revolutions and Ongoing Evolution

“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation,” Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in 1835, “but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” Tomorrow is a day, of course, when we reflect more on the greatness and less on the faults.

But if de Tocqueville was right, it may difficult to disentangle one from the other. And we might be better for this. The poet and scientist Lewis Thomas once observed (in a very different context) that, “the capacity to blunder slightly is the real marvel of DNA. Without this special attribute, we would still be anaerobic bacteria and there would be no music.”

Perhaps this insight about biology is applicable to our body politic. If so, our capacity as a nation to blunder slightly — or more than slightly, but still in a way that is reversible — and then stitch our collective civic genome back together, may well be our saving grace. Without that special attribute, we would likely never have achieved the eminence that gives rise to American exceptionalism and all of the providential mythology that we often choose to view as the unseen hand guiding our history.

Evolutionary biologists theorize that RNA (another component of our genetic code) isn’t actually human. It likely began as an invasive pathogen — perhaps a virus — that fought its way into the cells of our ancestors, found a way to make itself useful, and was thus assimilated into our beings in a way that was worth passing down to subsequent generations. What had been invasive and foreign became native.

Can this analogy also be extended from a cell to a sovereign nation? In 1776, we became only the second country in history of the world to incorporate the word “united” into its name. And we did it for the same reason as the first (the United Kingdom of Great Britain, 69 years earlier): we trying reassure ourselves about something we hoped would turn out to be true, but weren’t entirely sure about.

For the British, imagining themselves to be a single people, including the Scots, the Welsh, and (later) the Irish, was itself a staggering leap. But for the first generation of Americans, lacking shared history or ethnicity, the challenge was greater. The sole unifying precept they could claim was what later came to be called the American Idea — summarized by John Quincy Adams on the 45th Independence Day in this way: “the only legitimate foundation of civil government [is] the unalienable sovereignty of the people.” Embrace this, the founders in effect said, and you are one of us.

By this embrace, each of us (with the unconscionable exception of Native Americans) was transfigured — either in our own lifetimes, or those of our forebears  — from alien to American, from something invasive to indigenous.

Thanks to this alchemy, we have mostly managed (for 243 years) to live up to our billing as “united.” We have achieved — more or less — the aspiration summed up by the Latin motto that the founders selected for the nation they had founded, which translates as, “out of many, one.” (They lifted this, by the way, from a popular journal of the time, Gentleman’s Magazine, which used the phrase as reference to the fact that it reprinted articles from a wide variety of sources.)

But old habits die hard, and atavism appears also to be hard-wired into our genetic code. So we periodically revert to schisms based on race or region, class or creed, and seek to eclipse one another. Lord Acton once reflected that, “the danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.” But also predicted that, “the law of liberty tends to abolish the reign of race over race, of faith over faith, of class over class.”

Admittedly, we’re still working on that part, but the Fourth of July is a day better than most to refocus on that work. An occasion when we momentarily transcend tribe and community and all of the outward markers of identity and consider ourselves simply… Americans.

De Tocqueville also observed that, “in a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.” But unfinished stories, as well as unfinished revolutions, retain the capacity to surprise and inspire and uplift. Here’s looking forward to more of all three.

July 6

“Iggy Peck, Architect”

Young learners will be inspired by a reading of Andrea Beaty’s picture book “Iggy Peck, Architect.” After the story, the young architects will use different materials to design and create their very own unique skyscraper. Ages 2-5. RSVP required. 39 Battery Place. $5

Kid’s Kitchen

In this Kid’s Kitchen class, bambini (ages 6-12) will get the opportunity to learn about the history and process of making one of the most loved Italian staples, pizza! Parents are welcome to complimentary Lavazza coffee and housemade Cantucci. Adult supervision is required. World Trade Center. $20 https://www.eataly.com/us_en/classes-and-events/nyc-downtown

Exploring Art + Technology Lab: Representations Remixed

Explore the exhibition T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America and create multimedia projects inspired by T.C. Cannon that examine themes of identity, representation, and place. Learn more about your favorite portraits in the exhibition and create your own mixed media portrait using paper, photographs, paint, and more. One Bowling Green. https://americanindian.si.edu/calendar

Rite of Summer: Sandbox Percussion

Sandbox Percussion presents the world premiere of Brendon Randall-Myers’ Conjoining and works by Jonny Allen, Victor Caccese, Steve Reich, Juri Seo, and Julia Wolfe. Concert repeated at 3pm. Free (afternoon ferries are $3 roundtrip)

 https://govisland.com/things-to-do/events/rite-of-summer-sandbox-percussion

W.O. Decker Trip + Museum

Ages 10 and up (no more than three children under the age of 14 per adult) When booking this trip, please be aware that you are embarking on a working tugboat. Tugboat journeys can be bumpy and the only seating area is inside. There is a secure safety line around the perimeter of the boat, but it is not a hand grasp. You may get wet. Flat, closed-toe shoes with a back or back-strap are required. Check web site for times. Pier 16 (box office at 12 Fulton Street).” Admission $29-$35 https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org

July 7

T. C. Cannon: At the Edge of America Exhibition Tour

Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian

Join a museum ambassador for a 45-minute tour of T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America. Repeated at 11am. One Bowling Green. https://americanindian.si.edu/calendar

Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Tour

Tour of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, home of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York. Tour highlights include a discussion of the history of the site, architect Cass Gilbert, viewing the Collectors office;  Tiffany woodwork; Reginald Marsh murals; and the 140-ton rotunda dome by Raphael Gustavino. One Bowling Green. FREE https://americanindian.si.edu/calendar

Paul Hovitz Concludes 27 Years of Service on Community Board 1

	Fledgling Firebrands: Mr. Hovitz (right), Mr. Townley (center), and Mr. Goldstein (left) at a meeting of Community Board 1 in the early 1990s

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.

Multi-Year Traffic Safety Push Culminates as Traffic Light Comes to South End and Rector

	The new traffic signal being installed

More than a decade of advocacy by community leaders came to fruition on Saturday (June 29) when contractors working for the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) activated a traffic light at the intersection of South End Avenue and Rector Place.

Tammy Meltzer, who chairs the Battery Park City Committee of Community Board 1, said at a May meeting, when the final approval was announced, “the DOT has agreed that the volume of traffic, and the history of accidents there, both call for a change. The good news is that this won’t be a ‘traffic calming measure,’ which is what we’ve been promised in the past. This will be a traffic control measure.”

To read more…

Composting Takes Root

in Battery Park City

Thanks to the Battery Park City Authority, Battery Park City has always been at the forefront of green living, guided by BPCA’s pioneering green building guidelines and organic park maintenance. For the last couple years, there have been two community compost bins – one at BPC Parks headquarters on Battery Place and one on Chambers Street.

City Council Votes to Okay Controversial Senior Housing Proposal

The proposed Haven Green affordable housing complex for seniors, which is slated to occupy the site of the Elizabeth Street Garden.

The City Council voted to approve the Haven Green proposal on Wednesday, bringing the controversial plan for a senior housing facility on the site of the Elizabeth Street Garden, in Little Italy, a step closer to reality. The vote in favor of the project was unanimous, except for one abstention from Rafael Espinal, a Council member from Brooklyn.

The strong majority in support of the proposal reflected the City Council’s tradition of deferring to a member in whose district a project is located. Because Council member Margaret Chin, who represents Lower Manhattan, supports Haven Green, its passage was viewed as a fait accompli.

To read more…

State Lawmakers Bark ‘Belay That’ to Water-Borne Marketing Messages

	The advertising barges operated by Ballyhoo Media

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.

Governors Island Passengers Are Going in Style with Launch of New Vessel

	Governors1

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.

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.

Subvertising Campaign Shocks the Conscience, But Not for Long

	The “#NoKidsInCages” installation  on Centre Street

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.

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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.

Local Leaders Raise Concerns about Traffic and Crowding from Planned Events Venue at Brookfield

	Brookfield Place