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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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Edible Art
New Installation at World Trade Center Cultivates Symbols of Remembrance and Renewal
A bit of wisdom often attributed to Confucius holds that, “if your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees. If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children.” By this yardstick, Lower Manhattan, where half a dozen high-performing schools have opened in recent years, has the century plan covered, and is doing reasonably well in the decennial stakes, with hundreds of trees flourishing along the Esplanade, in the Battery, and around the World Trade Center campus. But Downtown has been woefully deficient on a per-annum basis — until now.
On Thursday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (which manages the World Trade Center complex) unveiled Rice Paddy — a living, growing installation that will incubate five varieties of rice between now and the Harvest Moon Festival in late September, when dozens of chefs will gather at the site to create unique, original dishes designed to be an homage to rice.
Located on the outdoor plaza along the southern side of the Oculus, the structure of the three-tiered Rice Paddy, which is crafted from sustainable materials and incorporates eco-friendly practices, is also designed to offer seating for dozens of passersby. Behind the serpentine benches are shallow pools that will nurture rice seedlings, with each one producing up to 3,000 grains.
The installation was created by a partnership between the Port Authority and Danielle Chang, the founder of LuckyRice, an Asian food festival that began in New York and later spread to cities around the world. “Rice paddies are a common sight in Asia, yet foreign to many New Yorkers,” observes Ms. Chang. “Our public-art installation follows small rice seedlings as they go through the life-giving transformation that feeds much of the planet, and that symbolizes luck, fortune, fertility and global connections through culture and food.”
The Rice Paddy will raise five varieties of the staple that feeds more of the world’s population than any other: one each from Italy (Purple Jamon Upland Rice), Japan (Yukikihari Lowland Rice), Madagascar (Mamoriaka Upland Rice), Uzbekistan (Amaura Upland Rice), and America with origins in Africa and Indonesia (Carolina Gold Rice). They will reach nearly five feet tall by the end of the growing season, when local students and volunteers will be invited to assist with the harvest.
The Rice Paddy installation seeks to evoke a universal resonance by elevating a humble grain of rice into a bold and visually arresting statement that celebrates Asian heritages and the significance of the world’s most widely consumed food source, grown in the heart of Downtown’s urban streetscape. But there is also a specific local connection: rice paddies are symbolic of remembrance and renewal — themes that echo through the World Trade Center, and will do so with special plangency in the month of September.
Matthew Fenton
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The Broadsheet
June 4-17
In Lobbies This Morning
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Triangle Trade
Tribeca Traffic Island Remains Forlorn,
Despite Developer Promises in Exchange for Zoning Variance
Community Board 1 is trying to hold a developer to a bargain made five years ago, but never memorialized in writing. The deal committed builder DDG, which is erecting a large new residential and retail structure on a tiny former parking lot in Tribeca, to refurbish a nearby traffic island into a small park.
Matthew Fenton
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Brewer, Chin, and Community Groups Tell Mayor: See You in Court
Borough President and City Council Member Hold Rally to Underscore Objections to Planned Development at Two Bridges
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Council Margaret Chin held a rally outside the Municipal Building to build support for their ongoing lawsuit against the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, over City Hall’s plans to erect a string of super-tall towers along the East River waterfront in Lower Manhattan.
Matthew Fenton
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Today’s Calendar
Friday June 7
8:30AM
Tai Chi
Battery Park City Parks
Build muscle and strength, improve flexibility and balance, and increase aerobic conditioning. Tai Chi results in strength and focus of body and mind. Esplanade Plaza. FREE 12PM
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Tour
Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian
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 1PM
Pipes at One
St. Paul’s Chapel
Pipes at One concerts feature the celebrated three-manual Noack organ that was inaugurated in the spring of 2018. Today, listen to the students from Indiana University, Indiana: Katie Burk and Noah Klein. St. Paul’s Chapel.FREE 4PM
Fix It Friday
Good Stuff
Join Remade in Brooklyn and Fixup to learn basic lamp repair – rewiring, sockets, and switches. 205 Front Street FREE 7PM
Sunset Singing Circle
Battery Park City Parks
Singer/songwriter Terre Roche leads this weekly singing program with the beautiful backdrop of the setting sun in NY Harbor. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned crooner, the singing circle is perfect for mellow melodies and healthy harmonizing. FREE |
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Letters
Stabilization = Community
To the Editor,
Since the GPTA Rally for Rent Stabilization ended abruptly when the skies opened up, I did not get the chance to express my gratitude to many and to convey some important information.
On behalf of GPTA and all of Gateway, I want to express our sincere gratitude to Congressman Nadler, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and Council Member Margaret Chin for joining us at the rally and standing with us in solidarity (and in the rain).
I would also like to acknowledge the GPTA Board. We all we are all so fortunate to have an Executive Committee with vast knowledge and expertise working for us…
1stVP- Robin Forst, Secretary- Jeff Galloway. Treasurer- Karlene Wiese (who has served longer than anyone in the history of GPTA). We are also so fortunate to have Board members with a variety of talents and strengths and most of all commitment….Honey Berk, Sarah Cassell, Audrey Comisky, Larry Emert, Pat Gray, Howard Grossman, Bruce Katz, Steve Kessler and Ninfa Segarra.
Without the help of the Battery Park City Authority, BJ Jones, Eric Munson, Nick Sbordone, Nidia Reeder, and the wonderful staff at BPCParks, this rally would not have been possible. Thank you.
As for next steps, GPTA urges you to STAY ENGAGED!
If you are not already a member, join GPTA (gpta.org), follow us on Twitter and Facebook, write letters, make calls, attend meetings of CB1 and
make your voice heard.
If you want to stay up-to-date on what is happening, please take a moment and email the words, “I’M IN” to stabilization@gpta.org. We will keep you informed of any updates and let you know what you can do to help.
At Sunday’s rally, there was a sign on the stage which read “We built this (BP)City.” Like many of you, I have lived in Gateway for almost 30 years and I know that it is and has always been the anchor of Battery Park City.
We believe that Stabilization = Community and there is no other community quite like our Gateway community. The Rent Stabilization Agreement must be preserved and extended for all. I think we can agree, living in Gateway is like living in a small town. And in my opinion, it is the best small town in the Big Apple.
Thank you all… let’s keep up the fight!!!
Rosalie Joseph
President, GPTA
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Letters
To the Editor:
The article, “Pupil Protection,” published April 1, 2019, notes the unfortunate shortage of School Crossing Guards (SCGs) in our area, especially at and around PS89 in Battery Park City. It’s been two months since the article appeared, and there seem to still be no “permanent” crossing guards for PS89.
As a parent, every day I see the dangers to our kids posed by irresponsible drivers creeping into crosswalks at red lights, blocking crosswalks with their vehicles, out-of-state cars illegally turning right-on-red, and others speeding to make green or yellow lights; that’s in addition to equally irresponsible bicycle riders heading the wrong way on streets, careening through red lights, riding on sidewalks, and speeding recklessly along the West Street bikeway. I would love to see multiple SCGs posted at the intersections around PS89 (and other schools). It would especially be nice to have local residents as crossing guards since they would have a familiarity with the neighborhood, and also have a more heightened and direct interest in its safety. For anyone interested, our NYPD Neighborhood Coordination Officers can be contacted with questions at 212-334-6462, or dinah.bodden@nypd.org (Officer Bodden) and arif.tasoren@nypd.org (Officer Tasoren). A lso, there is an online registration at: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/careers/civilians/school-crossing-guard.page.
Sincerely,
Ron Dowd
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Today in History
June 7
1099 – First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins.
1628 – The Petition of Right, a major English constitutional document, is granted the Royal Assent by Charles I and becomes law.
It was passed by the House of Commons in 1628 in response to years of abuse by the King regarding forced billeting of soldiers, imprisonment without cause, the use of martial law and taxation. It was sent to the House of Lords and after weeks of debate, the Petition was ratified. Charles I bowed to pressure and sign the Petition on June 7th.
It is seen to have served as the predecessor to the Third, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
1832 – Asian cholera reaches Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and kills about 6,000 people in Lower Canada.
1863 – During the French intervention in Mexico, Mexico City is captured by French troops.
1892 – Homer Plessy is arrested for refusing to leave his seat in the “whites-only” car of a train; he lost the resulting court case, Plessy v. Ferguson.
1893 – Mohandas Gandhi commits his first act of civil disobedience.
1899 – American temperance crusader Carrie Nation begins her campaign of vandalizing alcohol-serving establishments by destroying the inventory in a saloon in Kiowa, Kansas.
1906 – Cunard Line’s RMS Lusitania is launched from the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow (Clydebank), Scotland.
1938 – The Douglas DC-4E makes its first test flight.
1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Nationalist government creates the 1938 Yellow River flood to halt Japanese forces. 500,000 to 900,000 civilians are killed.
1944 – World War II: Battle of Normandy
1965 – The Supreme Court of the United States hands down its decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, effectively legalizing the use of contraception by married couples.
1981 – The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear reactor during Operation Opera.
1982 – Priscilla Presley opens Graceland to the public; the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier is kept off-limits.
Births
156 BC – Emperor Wu of Han (d. 87 BC)
1761 – John Rennie the Elder, Scottish engineer (d. 1821)
1848 – Paul Gauguin, French painter and sculptor (d. 1903)
1868 – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish painter and architect (d. 1928)
1877 – Roelof Klein, Dutch-American rower and engineer (d. 1960)
1879 – Knud Rasmussen, Danish anthropologist and explorer (d. 1933)
1893 – Gillis Grafström, Swedish figure skater and architect (d. 1938)
1894 – Alexander P. de Seversky, Georgian-American pilot and engineer, co-designed the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (d. 1974)
1909 – Virginia Apgar, American anesthesiologist and pediatrician, developed the Apgar test (d. 1974)
1909 – Peter W. Rodino, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2005)
1910 – Marion Post Wolcott, American photographer (d. 1990)
1925 – John Biddle, American sailor and cinematographer (d. 2008)
1947 – Thurman Munson, American baseball player (d. 1979)
1952 – Orhan Pamuk, Turkish-American author, screenwriter, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1958 – Prince, singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (d. 2016)
1965 – Damien Hirst, English painter and art collector
Deaths
1329 – Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (b. 1274)
1358 – Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese shogun (b. 1305)
1394 – Anne of Bohemia (b. 1367)
1866 – Chief Seattle, American tribal chief (b. 1780)
1937 – Jean Harlow, American actress and singer (b. 1911)
1966 – Jean Arp, German-French sculptor, painter, and poet (b. 1886)
1967 – Dorothy Parker, American author, poet, and critic (b. 1893)
1980 – Philip Guston, Canadian-American painter and educator (b. 1913)
1996 – Max Factor, Jr., American businessman (b. 1904)
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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Greater Goods and Lessor Evils
Gateway Affordability Rally Draws Large Crowd; Multiple Elected Officials Pledge Support
Hundreds of residents of Gateway Plaza braved ominous weather to attend a tenants’ rally along the Esplanade on Sunday evening, and hear a succession of elected officials pledge their support to the campaign for extended and expanded affordability protections at Battery Park City’s largest apartment complex. The event was organized and hosted by the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association(GPTA), which represents the 1,700-plus households in the community’s first residential development. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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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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Can Prized Community Facility Experience a Re-Berth?
A panel of elected officials and representatives from the Hudson River Park Trust(HRPT) will host a public forum this evening (Tuesday, May 28) to discuss proposed legislation that would enable commercial development at Pier 40, the massive former cruise ship terminal on the Hudson River waterfront, adjacent to Houston Street, which covers 14 acres and now houses athletic and recreational facilities.
Among the elected officials expected to attend tonight are U.S. Congressman Jerry Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, State Assembly member Deborah Glick, and State Senators Brian Kavanagh and Brad Hoylman.
Matthew Fenton
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RiverWatch
Cruise Ships in the Harbor
Arrivals and Departures
Friday, June 7
Queen Mary 2
Inbound 6:00 am; (Brooklyn); outbound 5:00 pm;
Transatlantic (Southampton, UK/Hamburg, Germany)
Saturday, June 8
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 4:30 pm; Canadian Maritimes/Maine/Rhode Island
Sunday, June 9
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, NJ, 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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EYES TO THE SKY
May 28 – June 9, 2019
The Spring Triangle – an asterism
While writing my recent column about bright stars in the south at nightfall, I was reminded of patterns those stars shape in addition to the position each has in an official constellation.
Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes the Herdsman and Spica is brightest in Virgo the Virgin. Denebola marks the tail of Leo the Lion and Regulus the Lion’s heart. Draw imaginary lines to connect Arcturus to Spica and Denebola and we have a Spring Triangle, an asterism. Replace Denebola with Regulus for a larger Spring Triangle.
Asterisms are easily distinguishable patterns often composed of stars from more than one constellation. In the case of the Big Dipper – overhead to the south — the asterism is an outstanding part of one official constellation, Ursa major, the Great Bear. Judy Isacoff naturesturn.org
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On the Waterfront
Governors Island Trust Considers a Plan to Activate the Island’s Perimeter
Visions for the future of Governors Island are beginning to come into focus, as various constituencies emphasize their priorities. Earlier this month, theWaterfront Alliance unveiled its Maritime Activation Plan for the highly regarded island, which focuses on strategies for capitalizing on the unique waterfront assets located along the island’s 2.2-mile perimeter, while offering practical recommendations for meeting the challenges of being situated in the middle of New York Harbor. Matthew Fenton
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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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Shelter from the Storm
City Plans Temporary Flood Protection Measures for Downtown
The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio is formulating short-term strategies to protect the South Street Seaport and the Financial District from sea-level rise and future extreme-weather events.
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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CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS
Swaps & Trades Respectable Employment
Lost and Found 212-912-1106
PART TIME SALES POSITION
High commission. B to B sales
We sell donor signage to non-profits,
extremely nice clientele.
Our office is located in FIDI.
Call me at 646-729-7142. Barry Silverberg, Principal
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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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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