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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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You Can Hit-and-Run,
But You Can’t Hide
Driver Alleged to Have Run Over Tribeca Pedestrian in May Indicted for Separate Manhattan Traffic Death
The New York County District Attorney’s Office has indicted Jessenia Fajardo, a resident of the upstate town of Walden in two separate incidents involving reckless driving that caused injury to pedestrians. The more serious of these took place on July 19, when Ms. Fajardo is accused of having run a red light on the Upper West Side and then slamming into an elderly couple in a crosswalk. One of these pedestrians, 62-year-old Alfred Pocari, was killed, while the second (whose name has not been released) was seriously injured.
When police took Ms. Fajardo into custody at the scene of the July incident, they discovered that she was also involved in a similar (albeit less gravely serious) incident two months earlier. On May 21, she is alleged to have been driving along Washington Street in Tribeca, when she approached the corner of Desbrosses Street. Police and prosecutors charge that she drove through the stop sign at that intersection, without slowing or stopping. In doing so, the indictment reads, Ms. Fajardo drove, “over a pedestrianʼs foot while the pedestrian was crossing inside of a marked crosswalk. The defendant briefly exited her car but fled the scene without providing any identifying information after the pedestrian indicated he was going to call 911.”
The pedestrian in the May incident, whose name has not been released, used his phone to take a picture of Ms. Fajardo’s license plate as she fled. Detective David Okonek of the NYPD’s First Precinct used this to identify Ms. Fajardo and her vehicle, which was the same car used in the fatal July incident on the Upper West Side.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Ms. Fajardo told Detective Okonek, “I know the incident that you are talking about. I don’t believe that I hit him. I thought he was just exaggerating. This doesn’t make any sense. If I hit his foot, wouldn’t I have hit other parts of his body? I left when he went to call the police because I had to get to work. I am on probation.”
Detective David Okonek arrested Ms. Fajardo in June for the May incident, but she was released without bail. Less than a month later, she is alleged to have killed Mr. Pocari on the Upper West Side. After that incident, she was once again released on her own recognizance.
In addition to the two incidents detailed here, Ms. Fajardo has had several brushes with the law in recent years. These include multiple occasions on which she was charged with driving without a license and without insurance, one in which she was charged with attempting to smuggle contraband to a prisoner at Rikers Island, and another charge of grand larceny arising from alleged identity theft.
Ms. Fajardo is now facing multiple charges related to both the June incident in Tribeca and the July incident on the Upper West Side. These include three felonies (one count of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault), along with five misdemeanors (one count of assault in the third degree, one count of leaving the scene of an incident with injury, and three counts of failure to yield right of way to pedestrians with injury).
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Junior said, “while other types of crime drop to historic lows across New York City, pedestrians and cyclists remain under constant threat of vehicular violence from habitually reckless drivers. This defendantʼs driving record demonstrates a history of disregard for our laws and the safety of her fellow New Yorkers. In the space of just three months, her reckless conduct included striking three pedestrians, endangering countless others, and causing the death of a beloved grandfather of three.” He added a renewed call for legislation, “that enhances criminal accountability for vehicular violence and keeps reckless drivers off the road.”
Matthew Fenton
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Adding Insult to Penury
Ridership Survey Indicates That Ferry Coming Soon to Battery Park City Primarily Serves Affluent Riders
An analysis of who uses the NYC Ferry service, which the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to expand to Battery Park City next year, shows that riders are primarily white passengers who earn more money than average New Yorkers.
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Out of Their Depth
Volleyball Players Rescued from Hudson, After Jumping Into River to Retrieve Ball
Two young men were pulled from the waters of the Hudson River on Saturday morning, after jumping from the Battery Park City Esplanade to retrieve a volleyball that went over the railing, near North Cove Marina.
The men, whose names have not been released, were playing volleyball on the court that overlooks that yacht basin at approximately 11:40 am, when a wild serve sent their ball into the Hudson. Impulsively, they both leaped in after it.
Matthew Fenton
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Letters
Preserving the Rector Street Bridge
To the editor,
I would like to take this opportunity to report progress on saving the Rector Street Bridge.We now have over 1,800 petition signatures and a letter from Margaret Chin calling for community engagement; the steps of the bridge are re-painted and the elevator is running consistently. As time has passed with this issue, I have a fuller appreciation of how bridges and underpasses save lives.
We have conducted a survey to learn about BPC workers and residents who cross the bridge. We have learned that workers and residents do not think of West Thames as a replacement for the Rector Street Bridge but, at best, an addition. 98% know that crossing at Albany is more dangerous, but in New York seconds are precious, and if the Rector Bridge is demolished, they will cross at Albany, despite the danger. With 1,800 signatures and a plea from our Council Member for Community Engagement, we now know that our community cares. The real question is what are our community needs are in the present, not 17 years ago. The bottom line for our community to ponder: With what we have learned, if the Rector Bridge is demolished and one life is lost, or one child injured, who is responsible? And do we care? |
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Keep It Light
Condo Boards Question Need for South End Avenue Redesign After Installation of Traffic Signal
At the October 2 meeting of the Battery Park City Committee of Community Board 1, Battery Park City Authority president B.J. Jones was apprised by the leader of a coalition of condominiums along South End Avenue of that group’s ongoing reservations about the Authority’s plan to revamp the thoroughfare.
Pat Smith, the board president of the Battery Pointe condominium (at South End Avenue and Rector Place) told Mr. Jones, “before you go too far on South End Avenue, please remember that six condo boards, representing more than 1,000 households along South End Avenue, from Albany down to West Thames, don’t want you to do this.” To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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Wildlife in Lower Manhattan
The dogwalking and jogging crowd on the esplanade yesterday morning had quite a show, when an unidentified Buteo (Buzzard Hawk) lazily flapped past a few heads and landed on a branch to enjoy his breakfast: a tasty pigeon.
Alison Simko
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Music to Our Ears
When she was ten, Julie Reumert was selected
to sing at a celebration marking the birthday of
Margrethe ll, Queen of Denmark. As a girl growing up in Copenhagen, Ms. Reumert performed with the Saint Anne Girls Choir as a soprano and a soloist.
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Today’s Calendar
October 23, 2019
11AM
Elements of Nature Drawing
Wagner Park
Get inspired by the beautiful expanse of the Hudson River & New York Harbor. Embolden your artwork amidst the flower-filled and seasonally evolving palette of Wagner Park’s verdant gardens. An artist/educator will provide ideas and instruction. Materials provided. Free at Wagner Park.
11AM
Walking Tour: Women of Wall Street
Museum of American Finance
Discover the female power brokers who have shaped the history of Wall Street on this 90-minute guided walking tour. Your guide will expose the women who dared to infiltrate this male-dominated industry. This tour highlights women such as Victoria Woodhull, who ran for President and opened the first woman-owned brokerage in 1870; Muriel Siebert, the first women to purchase a seat at the New York Stock Exchange; and many of the women who are moving and shaking the financial world today. $15 Tour meets outside 48 Wall Street
1PM
Adult Chorus
6 River Terrace
Directed by Church Street School for Music and Art, the BPC Chorus is open to all adults who love to sing. Learn a mix of contemporary and classic songs, and perform at community events throughout the year.
2:30PM
Figure Al Fresco
South Cove
Challenge your artistic skills by drawing the humangure. Each week a model will strike both long and short poses for participants to draw. Artist/educators will offer constructive suggestions and critique. Free. Materials provided.
6:30PM
Return to the Reich: Eric Lichtblau
McNally Jackson 4 Fulton Street
Book reading. Growing up in Germany, Freddy Mayer witnessed the Nazis’ rise to power. When he was sixteen, his family made the decision to flee to the United States-they were among the last German Jews to escape, in 1938.
Freddy tried enlisting the day after Pearl Harbor, only to be rejected as an “enemy alien” because he was German. Recruited to the OSS, Freddy, parachuted into Austria as the leader of Operation Greenup, meant to deter Hitler’s last stand.
Based on years of research and interviews with Mayer himself, Return to the Reichis an eye-opening, unforgettable narrative of World War II heroism. Free
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CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS
Swaps & Trades ~ Respectable Employment ~ Lost & Found
212-912-1106 editor@ebroadsheet.com
CERTIFIED HOME HEALTH AIDE SEEKING
Full-Time Live-In Elder Care
I am loving, caring and hardworking with 12 years experience. References available. Marcia 347-737-5037 marmar196960@gmail.com
John Street Methodist Church Autumn Tag Sale
Thursday, Oct 24, 10 am to 4 pm
Friday, Oct 25, 10 am to 4 pm
Saturday, Oct 26, 10 am to 2 pm
Everything HALF PRICE on Saturday!!!
44 John Street
DO YOU NEED A PERSONAL ASSISTANT?
I am experienced, reliable, knowledgeable and able to work flexible hours. CHINESE AIDE/CAREGIVER FOR ELDERLY
Cantonese/Mandarin-speaking and Excellent Cook for Battery Park City.
917-608-6022 SEEKING FREE-LANCE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONAL OR SMALL PR FIRM
Work with well-reviewed author of five E-books, developing and implementing outreach strategies. Includes writing, placement, research, new outlets and on-line advertising. Savvy social media skills a must. Downtown location.
Please send resume and fee schedule to: Email: poetpatsy@gmail.com HOUSEKEEPING/NANNY/BABYSITTER
Available starting September for PT/FT.
Wonderful person, who is a great worker. Reference Available ELDERCARE
Available for PT/FT elder care. Experienced. References Angella
347-423-5169 angella.haye1@gmail.com
DITCH THE DIETS & LOSE WEIGHT FOR GOOD
Call Janine to find out how with hypnosis.
janinemoh@gmail.com 917-830-6127 EXPERIENCED ELDER CARE
Able to prepare nutritious meals and light housekeeping
Excellent references 12yrs experienced 347-898-5804 Call Hope anasirp@gmail.com
NOTARY PUBLIC IN BPC
$2 per notarized signature Text Paula at 917-836-8802
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 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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EYES TO THE SKY
October 15 – 27, 2019
Morning stars for late risers, meteors
I am always giddy at the turning point of the season when red and gold leaves fall by day, darkness falls perceptibly earlier every evening and, during the last few weeks of Eastern Daylight Time, bright stars are visible rather late in the morning. The brightest shine into dawn, or civil twilight, which begins within minutes of 6:40am to 7am for the rest of this month through November 3. Clocks are turned back an hour to Eastern Standard Time on November 4.
Judy Isacoff
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Today in History
October 23
42 BC – Liberators’ civil war: Mark Antony and Octavian decisively defeat Brutus’s army. Brutus commits suicide.
425 – Valentinian III is elevated as Roman emperor at the age of six.
1707 – The First Parliament of Great Britain convenes.
1812 – A French general begins a conspiracy to overthrow Napoleon,claiming that the Emperor died in Russia.
1906 – Alberto Santos-Dumont flies an airplane in the first heavier-than-air flight in Europe.
1958 – Canada’s Springhill mining disaster kills seventy-five miners, while ninety-nine others are rescued.
1973 – Watergate scandal: President Nixon agrees to turn over subpoenaed audio tapes of his Oval Office conversations.
1983 – Lebanese Civil War: The U.S. Marines barracks in Beirut is hit by a truck bomb, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. A French army barracks in Lebanon is also hit that same morning, killing 58 troops.
2002 – Chechen terrorists seize the House of Culture theater in Moscowand take approximately 700 theater-goers hostage.
Births
1491 – Ignatius of Loyola, Catholic priest (d. 1556)
1715 – Peter II, Russian emperor (tsarevich) (d. 1730)
1835 – Adlai Stevenson I, American lawyer and politician, 23rd Vice President of the United States (d. 1914)
1869 – John Heisman, American football player and coach (d. 1936)
1905 – Felix Bloch, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1983)
1925 – Johnny Carson, American comedian and talk show host (d. 2005)
1959 – “Weird Al” Yankovic, American singer-songwriter, comedian, and actor
Deaths
42 BC – Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger, Roman general and politician (b. 85 BC)
1456 – John of Capistrano, Italian priest and saint (b. 1386)
2013 – Anthony Caro, English sculptor and academic (b. 1924)
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Build It and They Will Come ~ Monarch Butterflies Pause to Refuel in Lower Manhattan
Click to watch monarch butterflies feeding on milkweed planted by the Battery Park City Authority to help them on their annual fall migration from Canada to the mountains of Mexico. To read more…
To the editor:
Thank you, kind-hearted gardeners. We must all do whatever little bit we can to hold back the wave of extinctions that is a hair’s breadth from taking the last of our monarchs.
Brendan Sexton
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Damascus on the Hudson
Lower Manhattan’s Old Syrian Quarter
Today, the stretch of Greenwich and Washington Streets between Battery Place and Albany Street — bisected by the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel entrance — is known by the forgettable name, “Greenwich South.” By all appearances it is an orphan of a neighborhood that never quite coalesced. But nothing could be further from the truth. A century ago, before the World Trade Center or the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel (the two giant public works projects that decimated this once-thriving quarter), it was an ethnic enclave as vibrant as Little Italy or Chinatown. To read more…
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RECENT NEWS
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A Decade of de Gustibus
Taste of the Seaport Marks Ten Years on Saturday
The Taste of the Seaport annual food-apalooza, which raises funds for the Peck Slip and Spruce Street Schools, celebrated its tenth anniversary on Saturday October 19 at the South Street Seaport, on Piers 16 and 17.
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Festina Lente
City to Reduce Speed Limit on West Side Highway Tomorrow
Beginning (Saturday, October 12, the City’s Department of Transportation will begin installing signs on the five-mile length of the West Side Highway between Battery Place and West 59th Street, to reduce the speed limit from 35 to 30 miles per hour.
Matthew Fenton
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Joint Pains
City Hall Hints at Scaled-Back Plan for Lower Manhattan Jail, While Pushing Ahead on Plan for New Prison Downtown
The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio is reportedly considering a scaled-back version of its controversial plan to erect a new, 45-story prison in Lower Manhattan, as part of a wider scheme to close the City’s notorious detention complex on Rikers Island, and replace it with four, large “borough-based jail” facilities — one in each county, except Staten Island.
Matthew Fenton
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Aesthetic Inventory
BPCA’s Public Art Collection Represents Multiple Layers of Value
The Battery Park City Authority, has completed an inventory and appraisal of its public art collection. This is part of a broad effort to take stock of the Authority’s ongoing role as a patron and custodian of pieces that represent an integral thread in the fabric of the community, as evidenced by the fact that space and funding for public art were both set aside decades ago, in the neighborhood’s first master plan, before the first building was erected.
Matthew Fenton
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Saloon Scuffle
Residents Riled about Tribeca Tavern
More than a dozen concerned Tribeca residents turned out for the September meeting the Licensing and Permits Committee, which weighs in on the granting or renewal of liquor licenses.
They showed up to voice concerns about MI-5, a bar located at 52 Walker Street, which has been a source of local complaints as far back 2007.
Neighbors of the bar allege that it operates as a dance club (in violation of its current license, which is now up for renewal), and that loud music penetrates the upper floors of the residential building located above the bar as late as 4:00 am. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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Sin of Omission
City Agency Leaves Cash-Strapped Local Museum Off Roster of Cultural Institutions
The City’s Department of Cultural Affairs has omitted from its list of dozens of New York-based cultural institutions that receive public support the museum that chronicles the oldest community anywhere in the five boroughs.
Matthew Fenton
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Condo Embargo
BPCA Puts the Brakes on Conversions of Rental Buildings within Community
Residents of rental apartments in Battery Park City who fear being thrown out of their homes as developers plan to convert those buildings to condominiums can rest a little bit easier, according to the Battery Park City Authority. At the October 2 meeting of the Battery Park City Committee of Community Board 1, Authority president Benjamin Jones said, “I want to talk about some of the potential condo conversions that people are concerned about. We have been very clear with developers over the last year, and then some, about our position — that we want to preserve the rental housing that exists in Battery Park City.” To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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Court of Appeal
Local Leaders Urge Preservation of Justice Complex
Community Board 1 is urging the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider granting legally protected status to the Criminal Courts Building, at 100 Centre Street. The case of 100 Centre Street takes on special urgency in this context, because, as the CB1 resolution notes, “the Manhattan Criminal Court building shares the same underlying City lot with the south tower of the Manhattan Detention Complex. This appears to mean that if City Hall needed extra space for the proposed new jail, it would face no legal obstacle in demolishing all or part of the historic building.
Matthew Fenton
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Vertical Values
Costs to Rent or Own in Lower Manhattan Are Matched by Lofty Local Earnings
A slew of recent reports documents what everyone who lives or works in Lower Manhattan already sensed in their bones: This is a mind-numbingly expensive place to call home.
In September, RENTCafé issued a new analysis of the most expensive neighborhoods for renters in the United States that finds northern Battery Park City (zip code 10282) is the priciest enclave in America, with an average rent of $6,211 per month. Coming in at second place is zip code 10013, which covers western Tribeca, along with part of Soho. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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From Bunker to Incubator
New Arts Center on Governors Island Will Provide Studio Space and Cultural Programming
Lower Manhattan has a new cultural hub. The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the Trust for Governors Island have partnered to create the LMCC Arts Center at Governors Island, a 40,000-square foot studio space and education facility, housed within a restored 1870s ammunition warehouse — a relic from the days when the island was a military outpost.
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Rapport to the Commissioner
CB1 Makes Exception to New Policy; Okays Naming Street for Former NYPD Commissioner
A public figure from the 1980s may soon be honored by having a street co-named in his memory, if Community Board 1 gets its way. The panel recommended that Benjamin Ward, New York’s first African-American police commissioner, be commemorated by rechristening one block of Baxter Street as Benjamin Ward Way.
This comes on the heels of a controversial decision by CB1 in 2018 to decline such a request on behalf of James D. McNaughton, who, on August 2, 2005, at age 27, became the first New York City Police officer to be killed in action while serving in “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
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While They Were Sleeping
Battery Park City Resident Charged with Two Home Invasions, and Sexual Abuse
A Battery Park City resident has been arrested twice in the space of five days on charges arising from two separate (but related) incidents, in which he is alleged to have sexually assaulted one woman, and sexually menaced her roommate on another, prior occasion.
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Flipped Again
Onetime Non-Profit Nursing Facility Sold to Anonymous Buyer for Five Times Original Price
If there is an Exhibit A in the case of fevered speculation in Lower Manhattan real estate, it must be Rivington House
After purchasing the block-long, 150,000-square-foot structure (located at 45 Rivington Street, near the Williamsburg Bridge), the developer, the Allure Group, paid the City an additional $16 million to remove the deed restriction that limited the property to its legacy use of non-profit, residential healthcare. To read more…
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Breaking It Down
Composting Catches on in Battery Park City
You’re probably heard of the farm-to-table movement. Thanks to the Battery Park City Authority’s compost initiative, there’s a burgeoning table-to-earth movement in this Lower Manhattan community.
What happens to the scraps after you’ve dropped them in the bin? How do your apple peels and corn husks turn into rich, beneficial compost?
The Broadsheet set out to investigate. To read more…
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If They Went Any Slower, They’d Slip Into Reverse
City Transportation Study Finds That Lower Manhattan Bus Service Is Among Most Sluggish in Five Boroughs
The annual New York City Mobility Report, produced by the City’s Department of Transportation, contains two data points that will come as no surprise residents of Lower Manhattan. The first of these is that the median speed for Downtown bus service ranks among the slowest of any community in the five boroughs. And the second is that this creeping pace is, if anything, getting creepier. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
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Death Came Calling at the Corner of Wall and Broad Streets, in Lower Manhattan’s First Major Terrorist Attack
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.
John Simko
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RiverWatch
Cruise Ships in New York Harbor
Arrivals & Departures
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Thursday, October 24
Anthem of the Seas
Inbound 6:30 am (Bayonne); Outbound 4:00 pm New England/Canadian Maritimes
Friday, October 25
Mein Schiff 1
Inbound 7:00 am (Bayonne) in port overnight
Seven Seas Navigator Inbound 6:15 am; Outbound 5:30 pm New England/Halifax, NS/Bermuda Saturday, October 26
AIDAluna
Inbound 7:15 am; in port overnight Mein Schiff 1 Norfolk, VA/Florida/Bahamas/Charleston, SC
Regal Princess Inbound 6:30 am (Brooklyn); Outbound 5:00 pm New England/Canadian Maritimes
Star Pride Inbound 6:15 am; Outbound 4:30 pm Philadelphia, PA/Charleston, SC/Bahamas/Samana, DR/San Juan, PR
Sunday, October 27
AIDAluna
Outbound 6:30 pm Baltimore, MD/Norfolk, Va/Charleston, SC/Florida/Bahamas
Disney Magic Inbound 6:45 am; Outbound 4:30 pm Castaway Cay, Bahamas/Port Canaveral, FL
Norwegian Escape Inbound 6:15 am; Outbound 4:30 pm Port Canaveral, FL/Bahamas
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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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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