The BroadsheetDAILY ~ News of Lower Manhattan ~ 1/23/20

City Announces Agreement to Expand FiDi’s Millennium High School

City Council member Margaret Chin (center), Community Board 1’s Youth and Education chair Tricia Joyce (center left) and Millennium High School principal Colin McEvoy (right) look on as the City’s Schools Chancellor, Richard Carranza, announces that the school will expand to an additional floor (now under construction).

On January 15, jubilant elected officials, community leaders, and education officials toured the new space into which the Financial District’s Millennium High School (MHS) will expand over the next two years. This was the culmination of a multi-year campaign to win approval and funding for the school’s growth.

Founded as part of the revitalization of Lower Manhattan in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Millennium (which opened in 2003) occupies three floors (the 11th, 12th, and 13th stories) within 75 Broad Street, a 1928 skyscraper originally built as the headquarters of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT). But the school quickly became a victim of its own success, attracting high-performing students along with top-flight faculty and staff, which led to a flood of applications and severe overcrowding.

In the years since, various plans were floated to expand MHS. In 2010, the City tried to lease the 34th floor within 75 Broad Street, but fire safety officials could not devise a plan that would reliably evacuate hundreds of students quickly in an emergency. In 2011, the City, leased a much larger space nearby, at 26 Broadway, and Millennium lobbied to move into that facility. But the Department of Education (DOE) decided instead to give the space to the Richard R. Green High School of Teaching, which was transplanted from the Upper East Side.

The most recent plan contained an element of serendipity: The owner of 75 Broad Street, JEMB Realty, announced two years ago that the floor directly above MHS had become available, and asked whether the school would be interested in expanding.

This triggered a massive lobbying effort by City Council member Margaret Chin, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, and Community Board 1 (CB1) member Tricia Joyce, who chairs that panel’s Youth and Education Committee, among others.

In the face of this campaign, officials at the DOE and the City’s School Construction Authority scrambled to come up with funding for both the annual rent and the cost of retrofitting the former office space as a school. In mid-2019, they provisionally agreed to try to negotiate a lease. These discussions were successfully concluded before the close of the year, and construction work to convert the space into classrooms recently began. But even with a signed lease, more than two years will be needed before the space is ready for students. The new facility is expected to open in the fall of 2022.

At the January 15 walk-through, Ms. Chin said, “when we heard that this beautiful space was available, we were all excited. It took a long time, but this shows what we can do by working together: the principal, the Community Board, the Parents Association.”

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said, “it’s marvelous to see this wonderful space coming to fruition, because we have been working on it for a while. This is a great school, a school that students want to attend. This is an example of the kind of institution we want: one that is desired and has great faculty and great families.”

The former headquarters of International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation, at 75 Broad Street, now houses the highly regarded Millennium High School in its 11th, 12th, and 13th floors. The school is now slated to expand and take over the 14th story of the building as well.

The City’s Schools Chancellor, Richard Carranza said, “Margaret Chin has been an incredible advocate. And our incredible principal, Colin McEvoy, has utilized every square inch of space he had available. But we’re going to give him another 25,000 square feet to play with. So get out of his way.”

Mr. Carranza noted with pride that, “this is a school that has a 100 percent graduation rate. This is what we want for all of our students.” He was referring to the fact that one-quarter of New York City public high school students are unable to graduate within four years (a significant subset of these never earn a diploma), while 40 percent of those who do graduate do not enroll in college. MHS not only graduates all of its students, but sends all of them to college — with many of these being accepted at highly selective universities.

“What Council member Chin and I saw as we toured an environmental classroom was students interpreting data, actively engaged with data,” Mr. Carranza continued. “When we asked questions about their sources, they were able to authenticate them. They knew what they were talking about. This is what’s happening right here, at Millennium.”

“But we also saw that these students need more space,” he added. “So we’re proud to announce that MHS will grow by an additional 25,000 square feet. And that doesn’t count the additional square feet that Principal McEvoy will now be able to repurpose.”

Mr. McEvoy said, “the new space will be transformative, not only in terms of what we can do on the 14th floor, but on the new uses we can bring to the existing three floors.” He added words of thanks for the co-presidents of the MHS Parents Association, Lisa Wong and Marilyn Francescon. Then, his voice catching, he continued, “if I’m emotional, it’s because I’m thinking about all the work that has gone into this, and what it will mean for out students.”

Joseph L. Jerome, president of JEMB Realty, said with pride, “this school was ground-breaking when we did this 18 years ago — it was one of the first times that the City put a school within an office building.” About the expansion, he added, “thanks go to Margaret Chin, who has championed this effort.”

Ms. Joyce observed, “this is a gem of a school that arose from the ashes of September 11. It was funded, in part, by CB1, which helped raise $14 million to open Millennium. And in part by Bill and Melinda Gates, and funds from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.”

“So many people came together to make this school happen,” she added. “Over these very short 18 years, it has turned into one of the most sought-after schools, which now receives more than 6,000 applications each year for just 170 seats, which is a real testament to this school and its leadership.”

“It’s not easy to add space without enrollment,” she noted, in a reference to the Department of Education’s policy that an expanded school must accept more students. But, in a reference to the fact that the DOE has agreed to hold off on this requirement (at least for the time being), she added, “we know the hoops that everybody had to jump through. It’s a great thing to see City agencies come together to put the school first.”

In response to a question about the possibility of being required to expand the school’s student body once the new space is open, Mr. McEvoy said, “we are going to first prioritize serving students who are already here. We are currently serving 675 students in a space designed for 525. We are using hallway space, and space originally designed for lounges, as instructional space. The first space to come online will be new classrooms, to make sure our students have an appropriate learning environment. Once that’s in place, we can look at evaluating how many additional students, if any, we can serve. But we first want to address the overcrowding. That’s going to make a profound change for students and staff.”

Senator Kavanagh said, afterward the walkthrough, “Millennium High School’s long-awaited expansion is a laudable development that will increase opportunities for students.”

The additional space within 75 Broadway will allow MHS to add five new classrooms, and 5,000 square feet of physical education space, as well as a new staircase connecting all the facility’s floors. The funding for the expansion will also provide for a modernization of the school’s security camera system. One issue that remains to be resolved is elevator capacity. The crowding conditions at MHS often result in students waiting up to 30 minutes for space in an elevator to take them into or out of the school. In a 2018, resolution endorsing the proposed expansion, CB1 requested that, “at least one, but preferably two additional elevators, dedicated for the school, be made available along with the expansion.”

THURSDAY HEALTH TALK
January 23, 11AM-1PM
BPCA Community Room
200 Rector Place, West Street Entrance

Topic is “The Science of Memory.”  This talk was presented last year to a group of participants in an Aging research project.

Dr. Masurkar, MD, PhD is affiliated with NYU-Langone Medical Center and holds these positions:

Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience & Physiology
Investigator, Neuroscience Institute
Director, Clinical Core, NYU Alzheimer’s Disease Center
Attending Neurologist, The Pearl Barlow Center for Memory Evaluation and Treatment

Don’t miss attending this relevant topic and hearing this very understandable presentation. Use it or lose it!!
A light lunch will be served after the talk.

Please rsvp here so we can provide sufficient food.

As of this moment, the only person who can save the Rector Street Bridge is New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

If you want to act to save the bridge, you and your friends, children and associates are all encouraged to write our Governor Cuomo.

Please email his Manhattan representative at:

Dan.Dornbaum@exec.ny.gov

Yesterday, our District 1 Councilmember, Margaret Chin, sent the following letter to the governor. We applaud the Councilmember’s efforts on our behalf! .

Since the Rector Bridge is a New York State rather than a City issue, you are also encouraged to email our downtown State representatives, Senator Brian Kavanagh, kavanagh@nysenate.gov, and Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, niouy@nyassembly.gov.

To date we have 3,620 petition signatures to save-the-bridge. If you haven’t signed a petition yet, here’s the link: http://chng.it/5Vyjt4dk.

The Bridge still has a chance.

Gateway Plaza

TENANTS ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 3266 Church Street Station  New York, NY 10008

Lower Manhattan Ranked Among Healthiest Districts in New York

Two Lower Manhattan neighborhoods rank among the healthiest communities anywhere in the five boroughs of New York City, according to new research by RentHop, an online listings database.

The analysis gauged overall healthy by three criteria: the proportion of overall space within each community set aside for parks, the number of gyms (and other fitness facilities) in each neighborhood, and the tally of vegetarian restaurants in each area (relative to its number of households).

January 21 – February 2, 2020

The Summer Triangle’s long season in the evening sky ends this week, although one of its remarkable stars, Deneb, lingers for another month. The Summer Triangle is a star pattern known as an asterism; three outstanding stars shape it, one from each of three constellations. It is a commanding sight from its emergence in the evening sky in May through summertime and autumn. Now, stretched out on the skyline from west to northwest as darkness gathers, the great triangle is particularly impressive, but fleeting.
To read more…

The Art of Chinese New Year
China Institute
The Art of Chinese New Year is a vibrant, interactive experience where visitors of all ages can explore the Chinese New Year holiday and the traditional visual and performing arts related to it. The installation captures the sights and sounds of the holiday through displays, artist workshops, and hands-on activities, leading visitors to a deeper experience, and a greater understanding, of traditional Chinese culture. In the visual arts, visitors will learn about nianhua (New Year pictures), spring couplets, and papercutting. A showcase on the art of shadow puppetry will feature antique puppets, a traditional shadow puppet theater, and a theater where children can create their own puppet shows. At a lion dance display, visitors can try on real lion dance costumes. 40 Rector Street.

 https://www.chinainstitute.org/event/art-chinese-new-year/

Pipes at One
St. Paul’s Chapel
The weekly Pipes at One series showcases leading organists and rising stars from around the country, featuring its celebrated three-manual Noack organ. Today, Renée Anne Louprette, organ, of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, and Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.

National Museum of the American Indian
A 45-minute tour of Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting. Drawing from the National Museum of the American Indian’s rich permanent collection, the exhibition presents nearly 40 paintings that transcend, represent or subvert conventional ideas of authenticity. One Bowling Green.

New York Public Library
For grades K-6. New York City Public Library, Battery Park City branch, 175 North End Avenue. Click here

National Museum of the American Indian
This film tells the story of George Attla, an Alaska Native dogsled racer who, with one good leg and fierce determination, rose to international fame and became a sports hero. A discussion follows with director Catharine Axley and Amanda Attla (Athabascan/Yup’ik). One Bowling Green.

After Two-Year Hiatus, Work to Resume at St. Nicholas Church

Work is slated to resume soon on the construction of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church within the World Trade Center site. The striking design (shown here in a rendering) by architect Santiago Calatrava, who also created the nearby Oculus, has made the structure one of Lower Manhattan’s most eagerly anticipated new buildings.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced on January 2 that a newly formed non-profit organization will raise funds and underwrite the completion of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, within the World Trade Center Complex.

The building, designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava (who additionally created the nearby Oculus, also in the World Trade Center) is slated to replace the histo precious parish church that fell among the victims of September 11. To read more…

Hundreds of Local Storefronts Remain Rented to Corporate Brands

	Forlorn mannequins populate the window at the former Saks Fifth Avenue space within Brookfield Place, shortly after it closed, in December, 2018.

A new report from the Center for an Urban Future (CUF), a public policy think tank that uses data-driven research to bring attention to overlooked issues, documents that the proliferation of chain stores in Lower Manhattan has decreased slightly during the past 12 months, but at a slower rate than for the City as a whole.

Lower Manhattan Sales and Rentals Rebound Slightly, But Condo Prices May Founder on Looming Supply Glut

A trio of new reports documents the state of flux in Lower Manhattan home prices, both rental and owner-occupied.

Much-Touted Crackdown on Placard Parking Not All It Was Cracked Up to Be

Photos and information culled from Wikipedia and other internet sources

Cuomo Announces Planned Expansion of Museum of Jewish Heritage

	The Museum of Jewish Heritage

At his annual State of the State address, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo included on his list of dozens of proposals an announcement that he was directing the Battery Park City Authority to develop an expansion plan for the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, located within Wagner Park, on Battery Place.

On New Year’s Eve, Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill passed earlier this year by both houses of the State legislature that would have allowed limited commercial development on 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.

Such development would have helped to fund operations for the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT), which oversees the four-mile-long riverfront park that stretches from the Battery to West 59th Street.

“Pier 40 is a very key element of the Hudson River Park,” noted Paul Goldstein, who chairs the Waterfront Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1), at an April meeting.  To read more…

CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS

Swaps & Trades  ~  Respectable Employment ~ Lost & Found

212-912-1106   editor@ebroadsheet.com

HOUSEKEEPING/NANNY/BABYSITTER

Available starting September for PT/FT.

ELDERCARE

Available for PT/FT elder care.  Experienced. References Angella

 347-423-5169 angella.haye1@gmail.com

EXPERIENCED ELDER CARE

Able to prepare nutritious meals and light housekeeping

Renewed Victims Compensation Fund Extends Cutoff Date for Registration

Following last summer’s passage of a new law that extends (and expands funding for) the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund (VCF), the Fund will be accepting claims until it sunsets in 2090. Another benefit of passage is that the cutoff date by which current claimants must register for the VCF has been pushed back to July 29, 2021.

	Kimberly Flynn, the director of 9/11 Environmental Action

Kimberly Flynn, the director of 9/11 Environmental Action, a non-profit advocacy group whose mission is to ensure that those who were affected by September 11 (physically or emotionally) get the specialized health care they need, commented, “the best possible news is that on July 29, 2019, the ‘Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act’ was signed into law.

Class-Action Suit on Behalf of Gateway Tenants Reaches Proposed Settlement

Attorneys representing Gateway Plaza residents in a class-action suit that began in 2014 have reached a tentative settlement with the LeFrak Organization, the landlords at Battery Park City’s largest residential complex, which they value at $42 million.     To read more…

January 6 – 19, 2020

Click to Watch

 Judy Isacoff

Epicenter of a Notorious Slum Proposed for Commemoration

The Five Points gang, a criminal organization that drew its members from the ethnic immigrant populations that inhabited the neighborhood.

In 1831, the City government considered a petition that warned, “that the place known as “Five points” has long been notorious… as being the nursery where every species of vice is conceived and matured; that it is infested by a class of the most abandoned and desperate character.”

A decade later, Charles Dickens, visiting New York, wrote of the same Lower Manhattan neighborhood that had inspired the petition, “what place is this, to which the squalid street conducts us? A kind of square of leprous houses, some of which are attainable only by crazy wooden stairs without. What lies behind this tottering flight of steps? Let us go on again, and plunge into the Five Points…. To read more…

———————————————————————

	In an instant, both wagon and horse were vaporized, and the closest automobile was tossed twenty feet in the air. Incredibly, the iconic bronze of George Washington surveys the devastation from the steps of the Sub-Treasury without so much as a scratch.

As the noon hour approached on a fall Thursday morning in 1920, a horse-drawn wagon slowly made its way west down Wall Street toward “the Corner,” the high-powered intersection of Wall and Broad. Its driver came to a gentle stop in front of the Assay Office, where stockpiles of gold and silver were stored and tested for purity. But theft was not his motive.