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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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Ground Swell
Scant Information about Radical Changes Contemplated for the Battery
City Hall is keeping mum about plans resiliency plans for the Battery, the historic park at the southern tip of Manhattan, according to a recent discussion at Community Board 1 (CB1).
At a May 28 meeting, Alice Blank, who chairs that panel’s Environmental Protection Committee, recapped a recent presentation by the City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) by saying, “the only interesting thing about these slides was how few there were of them.”
“It was a surprisingly lean presentation,” she added, “that did not include any additional information beyond what was provided in a report in March.” Ms. Blank continued, “one third of a mile along the waterfront Esplanade of the Battery is to rebuilt and raised to estimated sea level rise of 2100 at a cost of $165 million. But there were no images or descriptions of the resiliency approach being taken here, which is called the ‘high-edge’ approach.”
In the parlance of resiliency engineers, the “high-edge” solution denotes raising the elevation of waterfront land, in order to create a barrier that will act as a berm to stop incoming flood waters, or rising sea levels. This contrasts with multiple other strategies, such as deployable barriers, which offer similar protection without the expense or disruption of changing the level of the ground. “But there was no indication as to how this approach will impact views or waterfront access,” Ms. Blank observed. She noted that the EDC issued, on June 6, a request for proposals from engineering firms to begin designing resliency measures at the Battery, and that, “the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency expects the design process to be completed in two years. They also promised to come back to our committee in the early fall with schematic plans.”
In the meantime, she added, the EDC has undertaken emergency repair work on the structural underpinnings of the Battery’s Esplanade, with the goal of, “reconstructing and stabilizing the retaining wall and sea wall.” Conditions on the existing sea wall and pedestrian promenade in the Battery include sink holes, cracked concrete with exposed rebar, and deteriorating timber pile caps, according to the EDC.
Matthew Fenton
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Letters
To Broadsheet Editor;
I received the attached map from the US Coast Guard recently. It shows the area of the Hudson River that is closed for the Sail GP races on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
What is interesting is that the ferries going from Jersey City to the WTC terminal on Saturday that replace the closed PATH system will have to go north to Pier 26, then cross the river, then head south. This may slow them down quite a bit.
The races are only for a couple of hours on each day, so there may be no major impact. Just food for thought.
Here is the race website:
Graeme
President, Downtown Boathouse
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Bionomics Begins at Home
BPCA Seeks Green Bond Designation for Upcoming Debt Issue and Plans for Carbon-Neutral Future
The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) is beginning to formulate a roadmap for shrinking the community’s environmental impact. At the May 21 meeting of the agency’s board of directors, Authority president Benjamin Jones explained that, “we’re now making a concerted effort, which we talked a little bit about at our last meeting, to further advance sustainable practices, both in our operations and throughout the neighborhood.”
He noted, “we are committing to having a formal sustainability plan,” which will be announced on the next Earth Day (in April, 2020), “which will provide a road map to get us closer to a carbon-neutral Battery Park City.”
Matthew Fenton
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CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS
Swaps & Trades Respectable Employment
Lost and Found 212-912-1106
$99 Hypnosis Session
($247 value) Smoking Cessation, Weight Loss, Motivation, Sports Performance, Confidence, Stress, Insomnia…
Call Janine Today. Limited time offer! 917-830-6127
Situation Wanted:
Experienced Elder Care (12 years)
Able to prepare nutritious meals and light housekeeping
Excellent references 347 898 5804 Hope
NOTARY PUBLIC IN BPC
$2 per notarized signature
Text Paula at 917-836-8802
CLEANING SERVICES
Dishes, windows, floors, laundry, bathrooms.
You name it – I will clean it.
Call Elle at 929-600-4520
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
ELDER COMPANION
Experienced with BPC residents. Available nights, days, and weekends. Will cook, clean and administer medicine on time. Speaks French and English. Can start immediately. Please call or text 929-600-4520.
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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Today’s Calendar
Tuesday June 18, 2019
10:30AM
Zumba Jumpstart
Battery Park City Parks
Join a fitness dance party with upbeat Latin music of salsa, merengue, hip-hop, and more! Enthusiastic instruction creates a fun community of dancers who learn new steps each week. Bring your friends and share in this fit and fun dancing community. 6 River Terrace. FREE 12:30PM
Blitz Chess
Battery Park City Parks
A lunch time program for passers-by on their lunch break to play chess. Actually, not just chess…Blitz chess! Blitz chess is a form of speed chess played on a clock where each opponent gets 5 minutes. It is fast, furious and fun. Rockefeller Park House. FREE 6PM
“What’s It Worth? Design, Labor and the Global Economy”
Good Stuff
Panel discussion. 205 Front Street FREE 7:45PM
Time is forever dividing itself toward innumerable futures
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Choreographer Pam Tanowitz partners with New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns in this outdoor site-specific performance. Joined by an ensemble comprised of PTD regulars and NYCB guests, Tanowitz arranges the group among small stages in the tranquil landscape Rockefeller Park in northern Battery Park City. Accompanied by an original score for voice and French horns by Ted Hearne, Tanowitz explores the tensions between legacies of classical ballet versus modern dance; the natural versus the unnatural; the past versus the present. Rockefeller Park. |
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36 Ebony, 52 Ivory, 28 Liberty
Sing for Hope Makes Music for the Eyes, Colors for the Ears
On June 3, the much-lauded public art project, Sing for Hope Pianos, returned to the streets as 50 artist-designed pianos were arrayed on Fosun Plaza, outside 28 Liberty Street.
Robert Simko
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Letters
New Ferry Route Concerns
To the Editor,
Wednesday evening the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) held their required Environmental Scoping Meeting to hear community members’ concerns about the impact of their NYC Ferry route that will begin next year between St George, Staten Island, the BPC ferry dock and Pier 79 at W 39 th St.
While that route will add a transportation option for people with disabilities and will provide better access between the route stops, the new route will operate daily from 6:00 AM – Midnight.
Further, NYC Ferry is already considering new routes to add in the future; similar to what happened on the East River.
Only two residents showed up to speak at the poorly advertised meeting.
Graeme Birchall, from the Downtown Boathouse voiced his concern about wake damage to the pylons that support the BPC promenade from the increased ferry traffic and the boats that are likely to backup along the periphery of BPC during busy periods while they wait to dock.
Since BPC residents pay to maintain the shoreline this is a concern that warrants mention so the EDC has to investigate the impact.
I spoke about ferry noise, especially the ferry horn noise.
While new Tier 3 and 4 ferries will be purchased for this route, which should mean less engine noise, vibrations and fumes than the NY Waterway ferries and other boats that currently use the BPC dock, horn noise before backing is mandated by the US Coast Guard not the newness of the equipment. Horn noise is of special concern since it would start earlier and continue later than any current or past BPC dock activity so is worthy of impact assessment.
I urge anyone with any concerns about the addition of NYC ferry service in BPC to submit their comments to the EDC by emailing dpisani@cityhall.nyc.gov by July 1, 2019.
Betty Kay
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Free Will
Shakespeare Downtown will stage an open-air production of “Hamlet” at Castle Clinton National Monument in the Battery, beginning June 20 to 23 starting at 6:30 pm each night.
Admission is free, on a first-come, first-served basis. Shows starts at 6:30 pm, but anyone wishing to attend should arrive by 6:00 pm, for the best chance of getting tickets. For more information, please browse: ShakespeareDowntown.org.
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RiverWatch
Cruise Ships in the Harbor
Arrivals and Departures
Thursday, June 20
Anthem of the Seas
Inbound 6:30 am (Bayonne); outbound 4:00 pm; Bermuda/Eastern Caribbean
Carnival Sunrise
Inbound 7:15 am; outbound 4:30 pm; Bermuda
Saturday, June 22
Adventure of the Seas
Inbound 6:30 am (Bayonne); outbound 3:00 pm;
Bar Harbor, ME/Canadian Maritimes
Norwegian Dawn
Inbound 7:15 am; outbound 3:30 pm; Port Canaveral, FL/Bahamas
Sunday, June 23
Norwegian Escape
Inbound 6:15 am; outbound 4:30 pm; Bermuda
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.
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CB1 Wants to Contravene Convene
Local Leaders Raise Concerns about Traffic and Crowding from Planned Events Venue at Brookfield
The owners of Brookfield Place, are planning to launch an events venue that will host up to 1,000 people at a time, which has sparked concerns about traffic and crowding from community leaders. At the June 5 meeting of the Battery Park City Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1), Mark Kostic, Brookfield’s Vice President for Asset Management, explained that Convene, a firm that develops and markets meeting rooms, event venues and flexible workspaces (and is partially owned by Brookfield) will be taking over the 86,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Saks Fifth Avenue, at 225 Liberty Street. Matthew Fenton
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Radical Cheek
Subvertising Campaign Shocks the Conscience, But Not for Long
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.
Matthew Fenton
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A Cenotaph for the Esplanade
Cuomo Announces List of Possible Locations in Battery Park City for Hurricane Maria Memorial
At Sunday’s Puerto Rican Day Parade, Governor Andrew Cuomoannounced that his administration is pushing ahead with plans for a memorial to Hurricane Maria — the cataclysmic storm that claimed more than 3,000 lives in Puerto Rico in September, 2017 — which will be located in Battery Park City.
Mr. Cuomo’s office also announced Sunday that his administration has narrowed the potential sites for such a memorial within Battery Park City down to six possibilities.
Matthew Fenton
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Today in History
Tuesday June 18
618 – Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries of the Tang Dynasty’s rule over China.
860 – Swedish Vikings attack Constantinople
1178 – Five monks at Canterbury report explosion on moon (only known observation)
1682 – William Penn founds Philadelphia
1812 – War of 1812 begins as US declares war against Britain
1873 – Susan B Anthony fined $100 for voting for President
1940 – Gen Charles de Gaulle on BBC tells French to defy nazi occupiers
1953 – USAF C124 Globemaster crashes near Tokyo killing 129 servicemen
1959 – Governor of Louisiana Earl K. Long is committed to a state mental hospital; he responds by having the hospital’s director fired and replaced with a crony who proceeds to proclaim him perfectly sane.
1977 – Space Shuttle test model “Enterprise” carries a crew aloft for 1st time, It was fixed to a modified Boeing 747
1996 – Ted Kaczynski, suspected of being the Unabomber, is indicted on ten criminal counts.
When asked if he was afraid of losing his mind in prison, Kaczynski replied:
“No, what worries me is that I might in a sense adapt to this environment and come to be comfortable here and not resent it anymore. And I am afraid that as the years go by that I may forget, I may begin to lose my memories of the mountains and the woods and that’s what really worries me, that I might lose those memories, and lose that sense of contact with wild nature in general. But I am not afraid they are going to break my spirit.”
In 2012, Kaczynski submitted his current information to the Harvard University alumni association. He listed his eight life sentences as achievements, his current occupation as prisoner, and his current address as No. 04475-046, US Penitentiary-Max, P.O. Box 8500, Florence, CO 81226-8500
In 1995, he sent a letter to The New York Times and promised to “desist from terrorism” if The Times or The Washington Post published his essay, Industrial Society and Its Future, in which he argued that his bombings were extreme but necessary to attract attention to the erosion of human freedom and dignity by modern technologies that require large-scale organization.
Birthdays
1723 – Giuseppe Scarlotti, composer
1854 – Edward Wyllis Scripps, publisher/journalist
1886 – George Mallory, England, mountain climber (“because it is there”)
1913 – Sammy Cahn, lyricist
1915 – Red Adair, oilman (fought oil fires in Kuwait)
1942 – Paul McCartney, Liverpool
1952 – Isabella Rossellini, Rome Italy, actress (Big Night, Blue Velvet)
Deaths
1629 – Piet Hein, Dutch naval commander (Spanish silver fleet) and folk hero (b. 1577) shot by cannonball at 51
1982 – John Cheever, Pulitzer prize winning author, dies at 70 in Ossining
1984 – Alan Berg, American radio talk show hostand attorney. An outspoken abrasive combative talk show host, he was murdered in his driveway by members of The Order, a white nationalist group who took umbrage at his comments.
Edited from various internet sources
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Let’s celebrate our graduates during the month of June.
Send us a picture and 100 words about your graduate or your own achievement.Pre-K through Ph.D
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‘A Thumb in the Eye’
Local Leaders Don’t Want One Broadway to Get Any Bigger
Community Board 1 (CB1) is resisting plans to add two floors to a landmarked building in the Financial District. In a resolution laced with unusually harsh language, enacted at its May 28 meeting, the Board called upon the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) — which can veto alterations to legally protected historic structures — to reject a proposal by the building’s owner, Midtown Equities, to build a glass pavilion on top of One Broadway (also known as the International Mercantile Marine Company Building), located at the corner of Broadway and Battery Place, directly adjacent to Bowling Green. The resolution summarizes the developer’s proposal with the words, “to distill the very convoluted design’s description, and despite all the narrative hoopla, it is really a preposterous glass box with a mansard surround.” Matthew Fenton
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EYES TO THE SKY
June 10 – 23, 2019
Jupiter shines all night. Sun’s longest day
On June days and into mid-July we find the king of the sky, our Sun, present for over 15 hours. The summer solstice occurs on June 21 at 11:54am. Sunset on the solstice is 8:30pm. Study the illustration for more about summer solstice.
Judy Isacoff naturesturn.org
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Menhir for the Men and Women Who Came Here
A Stele for Survivors Honors Those Who Came Back, and Those Who Chose to Settle Downtown After the Dust Settled
On Thursday morning, the World Trade Center complex unveiled a new monument: the Memorial Glade, which honors people whose health (or whose lives) were taken from them not on September 11, 2001, but in the years that followed, because they were exposed to toxins in the aftermath of the Twin Towers’ collapse.
Matthew Fenton
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‘To Make the Wounded Whole…’
Chin Pushes to Renew Victim Compensation Fund
City Council member Margaret Chin is mobilizing local support for an effort at the federal level to restore funding and make permanent the Victim Compensation Fund, which offers financial awards to responders and survivors of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
This proposed federal measure would renew and make permanent the Victim Compensation Fund that was created by a 2011 law, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which was renewed in 2015.
Matthew Fenton
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Letters
To the Editor:
I watched the transfer of the bridge spans in person on Wednesday, but seeing your video was AWESOME!
Thanks for sharing that!
Maryanne P. Braverman
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Anthem of the Seas Spins About
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Barging In
Local Elected Officials Say ‘Avast’ to Water-Borne Ads, But Company Claims City Is Out of Its Depth
The advertising barges that have become a pet bête noire for Lower Manhattan residents were the focus of a discussion at the April 23 meeting of Community Board 1 , where Paul Goldstein, who chairs that panel’s Waterfront, Parks, & Cultural Committee, offered an update, saying, “those floating billboards that you’ve seen on both the east and west sides — the good news is that the City is cracking down on them. Both the Mayor and the Council say they find it unacceptable. So they are imposing fines and enacting laws to restrict it.” To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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This Sand Is Your Sand, This Sand Is Our Sand…
Although Not Yet a Shore Thing, Proposal for Brooklyn Bridge Beach Takes a Step Forward
After multiple rounds of funding since 2013, the proposed Brooklyn Bridge Beach — a project supported by elected officials, community leaders, and the public — may be inching closer to reality.
The plan, backed by all of these constituencies, aims to create a crescent-shaped wedge of sand along the East River waterfront, just north of the South Street Seaport, where park-goers could wade knee deep in tide. If built, it would become the sole access point at which Lower Manhattan residents could step into the water that surrounds them, rather than merely looking at it.
Matthew Fenton
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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
No part of this document may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher
© 2019
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