|
Lower Manhattan’s Local News
|
|
|
The Broadsheet Inc. | 212-912-1106 | editor@ebroadsheet.com | ebroadsheet.com
|
|
|
|
Doing Good While Doing Well
Howard Hughes Practices Corporate Citizen in the Seaport
If the giving season is an appropriate time to take stock of local philanthropy, one Lower Manhattan stakeholder has amassed an impressive record of thinking globally and acting locally. The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC), which has been designated by the City’s Economic Development Corporation to redevelop the South Street Seaport neighborhood, has quietly built a history of public service that benefits the community in multiple ways.
This began in the spring of 2016, shortly after Saul Scherl took over as HHC’s president for the New York region. Paul Hovitz, then vice chair of Community Board 1 brought to Mr. Scherl’s attention that Downtown Little League was facing a dilemma, because they had recently discovered (weeks before the new season’s Opening Day) that most of the organization’s baseball gear had been ruined by exposure to the elements during winter storage. Mr. Scherl immediately authorized a donation of $15,000 to cover the cost of replacing the equipment.
“When something like this happens in the neighborhood, it’s important for us to do what we can to help,” Mr. Scherl said at the time, “In this day and age, when we’re tied to phones and other modern-day tech, Little League is so important. It’s nice that the kids get out on the field — to communicate and play together, without all of our modern devices. Nothing beats face-to-face experiences for true community building.”
Mr. Scherl ongoing effort to modernize the Seaport District has been guided by this belief, along with a deeply rooted desire to give back, something that he credits to his parents, “who always reminded me that with opportunity comes the responsibility to help those around us.”
More recently, a few days before Thanksgiving as part of its “Topping Out & Giving Back” event in celebration of the reconstruction of the historic Tin Building, HHC donated $5,000 to The Bowery Mission, a Lower Manhattan non-profit that provides food, medical services and employment assistance to New York’s working poor, along with homeless men, women, and children. That funding provided more than 3,100 meals for Bowery Mission clients during Thanksgiving, when Scherl and HHC staff members volunteered to help serve a holiday dinner. At the same time, HHC separately partnered with The Bowery Mission to buy, prepare, and serve meals for 14 women at a women’s shelter, which aims to help female clients transition back into society. The Bowery Mission is also a personal priority for Mr. Scherl, who supports the organization separately from his capacity at HHC.
On a more individual level, HHC last year “adopted” a family of six who were living in a Lower Manhattan shelter, paying for all their holiday gifts, as well as providing additional support. For the 2019 holidays, HHC has reprised this effort with two families.
The company also donated to children residing in Lower Manhattan’s Alfred E. Smith Houses (a New York City Housing Authority complex) 60 tickets to the South Street Seaport Museum’s production of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show Experience,” an interactive puppet show. This move came in conjunction with HHC’s sponsorship of the show, which doubles as a form of support for the Museum.
HHC’s commitment to the South Street Seaport Museum is bigger than tickets to shows, however: the Museum received more than $550,000 from HHC earlier this year. This is in addition to contributions raised by HHC in excess of $250,000, which includes all of the nearly $41,000 in ticket proceeds from the company’s second annual Seaport Community Concert, also donated to what is regarded as the crown jewel among local cultural institutions.
Elsewhere on the local cultural front, HHC recently received a request from the Lower Manhattan-based Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra for critically needed space in which to store its music library and equipment. (This is a common, although often overlooked need for local cultural institutions and non-profits, which struggle to find available — and affordable — square footage in a community where property values are on a relentlessly vertical trajectory.) HHC responded immediately and contributed space to the orchestra.
Downtown public schools have received multiple donations from HHC in recent years, to help purchase school equipment and fund after-school programs.
And Lower Manhattan residents have turned out in droves to enjoy the free Seaport Cinema series, which showcases ten movies each summer on the roof of Pier 17.
“When I joined The Howard Hughes Corporation four years ago,” Mr. Scherl recalls, “I was struck by the warmth and engaging spirit of the community that is so rooted in the historic Seaport District. Through our work on the ground, we hope to mirror that spirit of generosity and neighborliness. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished through our charitable initiative, Seaport Cares, under the umbrella of our portfolio-wide Howard Hughes Cares, from replacing baseball gear for Downtown Little League to combating hunger in New York with The Bowery Mission, and so much in between. Every day, we are focused on strengthening our community connections and building on our work through Seaport Cares for years to come.”
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
Letters
Idling Threats
TO: Editor of The Broadsheet
RE: Traffic issue related to numerous double-parked idling motorcoaches on South End Avenue 12/5/2019
On the evening of Thursday, December 5, at around 5:30pm, we noticed numerous charter buses idling and parked in the northbound lane stretching the entire length of South End Avenue between Liberty Street and Albany Street, which forced northbound cars to pass them unsafely (using the center lane or the southbound lane).
I called the First Precinct, and the officer who took my call said they had just received another call about the situation.
His suggestion was that a contingent of BPC residents attend the First Precinct’s ‘community meeting’ which takes place at the precinct the last Thursday of each month, starting at 6:30pm, to voice their concerns.
I encourage local residents and CB1 to attend at least one of these meetings.
My worry is that the bus companies will continue to allow their drivers to park there, and just factor the cost of the traffic ticket as cost of doing business and that this will cause major traffic issues, accidents, and it will make our street less safe.
Leslie Nowinski
———————————————————————————–
Tammy Meltzer, a long time Battery Park resident, had this to say about the situation:
Thursday was a dangerous evening during rush hour caused deliberately by a tenant within Brookfield Property without regard for the surrounding residential or business neighbors. Buses were double parked along South End Avenue and Liberty Streets with two way traffic alternately forced into a single lane causing extraordinary safety hazards for pedestrians, MTA buses and every other vehicle in the area. It is unclear if they had permission but either way no one should be allowed to jeopardize the safety of an entire community in this manner. |
|
|
Back to the Drawing Board
City Landmarks Agency Agrees with CB1 about “Disaster and Affront”
The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has concurred with Community Board 1 about a builder’s proposed plan for a new mansion at Hubert and Collister Streets, within the Tribeca West Historic District.
At its December 3 meeting, the LPC’s commissioners listened to a presentation from the builder and his team of architects.
When the presentation was done, the commissioners were unanimous in their disapproval. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
Calendar
Friday the 13th of December
6PM
Friday Night Film Noir: Side Street
Battery Park City Authority at 6 River Terrace
Film noir is a style of American crime film originating in the 1940’s. Often made on shoestring budgets, these low light, high intrigue detective stories are now regarded as classics from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Side Street (1950, Anthony Mann) is the story of a struggling mail carrier who steals an envelope of money from a corrupt attorney, which sets off a tumultuous turn of events culminating in a car chase filmed on the streets of lower Manhattan. Free popcorn will be served, and a discussion will follow the screening. 6 River Terrace.
8PM
Snack Cat & Generations – A Family Affair
Tribeca Performing Arts Center at 199 Chambers Street
Snack Cat is a NYC based band that features some of the city’s top young musicians, including Aleksi Glick (lead guitar/ vocals), Jeff Koch (bass), Pete Ayres (Vocals), Chantal Mitvalsky (Vocals), Nathan Ellman-Bell (Drums), Seth Weaver (backup vocals/trombone), David Engelhard (sax), and Sharik Hasan- (keys). The group’s sound is a cross between soul, rock, jazz, blues and funk. Generations is an NYC-based father-and-son led group with Mike Glick (lead vocals, guitar) and son Aleksi Glick (from Scack Cat) as well as singer/songwriter Lindsey Wilson. Generations is a greatly versatile group with elements of R&B, folk, salsa and samba. $25 199 Chambers Street.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show Experience South Street Seaport Museum presents The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show Experience, a fun- filled hour-long experience complete with an interactive puppet show, activities, activity sheets and the opportunity to take a picture with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This experience is a “story-time format” with seating for children on mats or with their parents in chairs. The atmosphere is very casual and children are encouraged to participate at whatever level they are most comfortable. Various times; check website for details. $5, $25 Melville Gallery, 213 Water Street. Today and Tomorrow
——————————————————————————-
Saturday December 14
10:30AM
Wonderland Lantern
Skyscraper Museum
The weather outside may be frightful, but the view from a skyscraper is so delightful. Come out and build a magical winter wonderland lantern featuring Supertall skyscrapers from around the world. Ages 5+. $5 39 Battery Place.
11AM
Peter Pan
Tribeca Performing Arts Center
TheaterWorksUSA’s production of Peter Pan is based on John Caird and Trevor Nunn’s 1982 adaptation, which was originally developed for London’s Royal Shakespeare Company. In the spirit of the original tale, this production tells the story through the eyes of six children living in Edwardian England. Together, they transform the Darling family’s nursery into Neverland, turning pillows into clouds, long-johns into shadows, an ironing board into a ship’s plank, and antique snowshoes into a crocodile’s snapping jaws. This enchanting production celebrates childhood and captures the magic of the imagination. $30 Ages 3+. 199 Chambers Street.
1PM
Storybook Reading and Activity Free National Museum of the American Indian Join museum staff in the imagiNATIONS Activity Center classroom for a storybook reading and related make-and-take activity. One Bowling Green.
3PM
China Institute
Experience history, fun, and some friendly competition! China Institute’s mahjong club is open to novices and veterans looking to learn about this historic game, develop their skills, or simply find new partners to craft their Mahjong skills! Mingle with old and new friends who share an interest in all things China during the multiple gaming sessions. Light snacks and refreshments will be available. Space is very limited to ensure an engaging and participatory experience. Mahjong Club $20, $40 40 Rector Street
6:30PM
A Tribute to Fanny Howe
Poets House
Poets House honors the life and work of prolific poet, scholar, and activist Fanny Howe, author of more than 20 books of poetry and prose. After initially dropping out of Stanford to join the civil rights movement, Howe taught literature at institutions across the country. She is currently Professor Emerita in Literature at the University of California at San Diego. She has mentored a generation of American poets and scholars working at the intersection of experimental writing and activism. Join us in honoring Howe’s lasting legacy with hosts Jennifer Tseng and Kazim Ali, as well as Maureen N. McLane, Rae Armantrout, Peter Gizzi, Carolyn Forché, Jeff Yang, Ben Doller, Xing Senna, and Howe herself. $10, $7 10 River Terrace.
——————————————————————————–
Sunday December 15
2:30PM
Winter Tavern Night
Fraunces Tavern Museum Join us for a cozy winter evening of authentic 18th century food tastings and a lecture on the history of early American cookery! Culinary historian Lavada Nahon will explore the history of everyday dining in the early Republic, accompanied by a tasting buffet of common 18th century dishes. 54 Pearl Street.
3PM
Festival of Lessons and Carols for Advent
St. Paul’s Chapel
A cherished holiday tradition for congregations around the world, the service of Lessons and Carols for Advent tells the Christmas story through readings and musical illuminations. Downtown Voices; St. Paul’s Chapel Choir; Trinity Youth Chorus; Stephen Sands and Melissa Attebury, conductors. St. Paul’s Chapel.
|
|
|
A Friend of the Court
Landmarks Agency Says Justice Complex May Merit Protection
The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has responded to a resolution enacted by Community Board 1, calling for legal protection for the criminal courts building at 100 Centre Street.
CB1’s resolution noted, “the surprising and unfortunate fact that many of the Civic Center’s important historic buildings lie outside the existing neighboring historic districts and are not yet landmarked.
These include 80 Centre Street, 137 Centre Street, 139 Centre Street, and the Manhattan Criminal Court Building at 100 Centre Street.”
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
Vaulting Ambition
Plan Floated to Span East River with Arch Containing Thousands of Apartments and New Transit Portal
To those who claim that the age of monumental public works and historic pieces of civic infrastructure has ended in New York, Scott Baker has a succinct answer: “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Mr. Baker is the brains and the propulsive force behind an audacious new proposal to span the East River with a hybrid structure that would be part building, part bridge, and part mass transit conveyance, connecting the Dumbo/Vinegar Hill section of Brooklyn to the Manhattan neighborhood of Two Bridges.
Mr. Baker calls his plan, “RiverArch,” and describes it as, “a way to transform the skyline and the City with a structure like no other in the world, while also housing thousands of people and generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year in new tax revenue.”
|
|
|
A Cup of Good Cheer Among Neighbors
Gateway Tenants Group to Host Holiday Get-Together Tonight
The Gateway Plaza Tenants Association will host a holiday get-together tonight (Tuesday, December 10) at Le Pain Quotidien (395 South End Avenue), from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The event — at which wine, soft drinks, and snacks will be served — is open to all Gateway residents, who are encouraged to join (or renew their membership with) the organization that represents renters in the 1700-plus apartments of Battery Park City’s largest residential complex.
“As we quickly approach the holiday season,” reflected GPTA president Rosalie Joseph, “we are so pleased to have the chance to gather with our neighbors. This is all about community, and we are grateful to Le Pain Quotidien for opening their space to us.”
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
What If All This Is Not Enough?
Pondering Whether $300 Million and 16.5 Feet of Protection Will Matter
At the October 29 meeting of the Battery Park City Authority board, Catherine McVay Hughes raised a potentially troubling question. As BPCA management reviewed plans to spend some $300 million on resiliency measures designed to protect the community against future sea-level rise, extreme-weather events, and climate change, she questioned one of the key assumptions upon which these plans are predicated.
“I think a lot of folks are looking at the depth-to-design elevation flood line,” Ms. McVay Hughes began. “And there was a report that was recently issued… [in which] this technical expert suggested that the 16.5 feet needs to be raised another two to three feet. So I just wanted to make sure that what the Battery Park City will be planning to do will be adequate, as well.”
The metric to which Ms. McVay Hughes was referring comes from the lower end of the mid-range of predicted coastal flood heights for Lower Manhattan by the 2080s. A 2014 report by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, entitled “Climate Change in New York State,” noted that middle range for such predictions at the Battery was 16.5 to 18.3 feet. (The lowest bracket was 16.1 feet or less, while the most extreme scenarios ranged up to 19.9 feet.) Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
Extreme Makeover
How a Nazi Sympathizer’s Tribeca Garage Could Become a Luxe Mansion
Community Board 1 is pushing back, in unusually emphatic terms, against a builder’s plans for a new mansion in Tribeca. The property in question is located at 11 Hubert Street, near the corner of Collister Street.
The existing structure at 11 Hubert Street has a tangled pedigree. It was built in 1946 by Dietrich Wortman, who was born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1884, and emigrated to the United States, where he studied architecture at Columbia University.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
EYES TO THE SKY
December 9-22, 2019
Venus and Saturn, Full Cold Moon Winter Solstice
Yesterday’s sunset, earliest of the year, down to the second, is at 4:28:30pm. Sunset time is seconds later beginning tomorrow, until it is nearly one minute later, 4:29:27 on December 15. Afternoons will be noticeably lighter by month’s end. Sunrise today, 7:08:02, is 12 minutes earlier than the latest sunrise, 7:20:13 on January 6. To read more…
Judy Isacoff
|
|
Today in History
December 13
1294 – Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit.
1636 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the National Guard of the United States. 1928 – George Gershwin’s An American in Paris is first performed. 1960 – While Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard seizes the capital and proclaims him deposed and his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, Emperor. 1972 – Apollo program: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon. 1981 – General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, largely due to the actions by Solidarity. are killed, including the terrorists. 2002 – European Union enlargement: The EU announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members on May 1, 2004. 2003 – Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit. Births 1533 – Eric XIV of Sweden (d. 1577) 1553 – Henry IV of France (d. 1610) 1780 – Johann Wolfgang Dцbereiner, German chemist, invented the Dцbereiner’s lamp (d. 1849) 1920 – George P. Shultz, American economist and politician, 60th United States Secretary of State 1925 – Dick Van Dyke, American actor, singer, and dancer 1953 – Ben Bernanke, American economist and academic 1957 – Steve Buscemi, American actor and director Deaths 1126 – Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1075) 1404 – Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1336) 1521 – Manuel I of Portugal (b. 1469) 1784 – Samuel Johnson, English poet and lexicographer (b. 1709) 1924 – Samuel Gompers, English-born American labor leader, founded the American Federation of Labor (b. 1850) 1961 – Grandma Moses, American painter (b. 1860) 1992 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1899) |
|
Letters
Dear editor:
I have nothing against the Tribute Museum and I was angered when I heard that they were losing their lease. It is a good institution and should survive.
However, the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum doesn’t deserve to be put down in comparison to the Tribute Museum.
|
|
RiverWatch
Cruise Ships in New York Harbor
Arrivals & Departures
———————————————————————
Friday, December 13
Norwegian Gem
Inbound 9:15 am; outbound 3:30 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.
|
|
Arts and Minds
Highly Regarded Local Arts Education Group Stays the Course
To stroll in Tribeca in 2019 is to apprehend what is happening throughout Lower Manhattan. Buildings – along with their occupants and uses – are in perpetual flux. Amid this tumult is a symbol of local continuity: the Church Street School for Music and Art.
Recently, the Broadsheet asked Dr. Ecklund-Flores, who has been the sole proprietor of CSS for many years, to reflect on the move north and the challenges faced in relocating to a new neighborhood. To read more…
|
|
|
Connection Reduction
CB1 to Consider Cutbacks in Number of Stops on Free Bus Service
Tonight (Tuesday, December 3) the Transportation Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1) will hear a presentation from the Downtown Alliance about planned cutbacks to the number of stops on its free Downtown Connection shuttle bus.
The plans include the elimination of six stops within Battery Park City.
Matthew Fenton
|
Gotham Girls Winter Futsal League & Formativo Training
Register Today!
Gotham Girls F.C. – the only NYC all-girls soccer club is running our Winter Futsal League for girls ages 7 to 16.
(Our foundational development soccer – Formativo – is available for girls ages 7-10).
Our dedicated coaches ref the fun, active 50-minute 4v4 indoor futsal games, and provide coaching to develop girls foot skills and knowledge.
Games are on Saturdays or Sundays (depending on age)
at PS276 and PS234 gyms.
Cost is $210 for 12 games.
To register for Winter Futsal or Formativo, please go to http://gothamgirls.org.
advertisement
|
|
|
CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS
Swaps & Trades ~ Respectable Employment ~ Lost & Found
212-912-1106 editor@ebroadsheet.com
LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR AVAILABLE
FOR BABYSITTING OR TUTORING
17 year old young man, lifetime resident of Tribeca and BPC.
Went to PS 234, Lab Middle School and currently attending Millennium HS. This summer was a Councilor at Pierce Country Day Camp. Excellent references.Very experienced with kids under 10.
Available for weeknight and weekend baby-sitting and tutoring middle-schoolers in Math or Science.
Please contact Emmett at 917.733.3572
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
ELDER CARE NURSE AIDE
with 17 years experience seeks PT/FT work. Refs available Call or text 718 496 6232 Dian
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
|
|
|
|
|
Putting the Art Back into an Artifact
A Living Remnant of a Vibrant Culture Comes to Battery Place
Written in 1878, “The Sorceress,” is one of the earliest works of Yiddish theater and the first formal theatrical production presented in America by the legendary Boris Thomashefsky, who emigrated to the United States in 1881, two years before the thriving Yiddish theater industry was banned in his native Imperial Russia.
He went on to found, almost singlehandedly, what became a vibrant genre in American theater — productions catering to Jewish immigrants from all the countries in the diaspora, presented in the one language they all spoke: Yiddish.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
RECENT NEWS
|
|
The Train to the Plane
A Convenient Connection to the Airport Visible from Lower Manhattan Rooftops May Be Less Than Ten Years Away
The Regional Plan Association (RPA) recently partnered with the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association (DLMA) to build support for a proposed rail connection between Lower Manhattan and Newark Airport. A report the two organizations produced together, “Taking the PATH to Newark Airport,” summarizes the potential and the prospects for such a link, which local leaders have long pushed for.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
A Tale of Two Museums
Community-Focused Cultural Center Faces Uncertain Future, as Tourism Magnet Thrives
The 9/11 Tribute Museum, a highly regarded local cultural institution, is grappling with a precarious outlook, according to a story first published in Crain’s New York Business, which says that the space housing the facility, located at Greenwich and Rector Streets, may be sold out from under the organization by its landlord.
Mathew Fenton
|
|
|
Aggregation and Promulgation
Council Member and Borough President Push for Transparency in Development
Community Board 1 has endorsed a proposed new law — sponsored by a City Council member representing the Upper East Side and supported by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer — that would require City government to notify local officials whenever development rights are transferred between building lots. Such transfers are often used by developers to maximize the zoning potential for the site of a planned skyscraper.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
Artists-Not-In-Residence
Your Next Neighbors Might Be Vastly Less Interesting, But Better Able to Pay High Rents
A new report from City Comptroller Scott Stringer documents that Lower Manhattan is undergoing an exodus of artists and other “creative economy” workers, who are being driven away primarily by skyrocketing costs for housing.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
Quid Pro No?
FiDi Renters Seek Recompense for Years of Rent Overcharges; Landlord Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Overrule Tenants’ Victory
More Financial District tenants are going to court to demand restitution from years of illegally high rent, on the heels of a June ruling by New York State’s highest court, which found that as many as 5,000 Lower Manhattan apartments had been illegally deprived of rent stabilization benefits.
The first to file suit in the wake of this decision were Bruce Hackney and Timothy Smith, tenants at Ten Hanover Square, who brought their complaint in October.
At issue is the 421-g subsidy program, which was designed to encourage Downtown’s transformation into a residential district, by offering rich incentives (chiefly in the form of tax abatements) to developers who converted former office buildings — south of a line connecting Murray Street to City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge — into apartment towers.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
Where the Streets Are Paved with Gold
Decades of Savings Needed to Purchase on Lavish Lanes
A trio of new analyses points to the self-evident conclusion that Lower Manhattan is a mind-numbingly expensive place to reside.
Tribeca’s Murray Street was calculated to be the third-most expensive anywhere in the five boroughs, with a median sales price of $5.4 million, and a volume of sales in excess of $364 million. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
|
|
Chopper Stoppers
Nadler Sponsors Legislation to Make Lower Manhattan Heliopolis No More
Support is building among decision-makers to heed a decade long call by Lower Manhattan community leaders to enact a comprehensive ban on non-essential helicopter flights in New York’s airspace.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
Preservation, Renovation, Elevation,
and a Donation
Seaport Structure Reborn as Flood-Proof Food Emporia as Owner Celebrates with Support for Local Charity
The South Street Seaport’s historic Tin Building reached a milestone on Wednesday, when the last and highest structural beam was placed (after being ceremonially signed by dozens of well-wishers) within a reconstructed edifice, following an unprecedented, years-long effort to preserve it.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
|
“A Fraudulent Scheme”
FiDi Renters Seek Recompense for Years of Rent Overcharges
In the wake of a June ruling by New York State’s highest court that tenants in Financial District rental buildings had been illegally deprived of rent stabilization benefits, a pair of apartment dwellers is litigating to recoup the money they lost by paying inflated, market-rate rents for years.
In October, Bruce Hackney and Timothy Smith, tenants at Ten Hanover Square, filed suit against their landlord, alleging that the owner’s, “failure to follow rent regulations was part of a fraudulent scheme to deregulate apartments in the building.” To read more…
Matthew Fenton
|
|
Eighteen Years Later, What about the Children?
Schools Agency Begins Belated Outreach Effort to Former Lower Manhattan Students at Risk of 9/11 Illness
The City’s Department of Education is partnering with the United Federation of Teachers union for an unusual mission: tracking down former New York City public school students who were pupils at Lower Manhattan schools on September 11, 2001 (or in the months that followed) and informing them that their health may be at risk. The project will also seek to put these students in touch with the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
|
|
The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Shoot
Chin Pushes Legislation to Rein in Production Permits
City Council member Margaret Chin is co-sponsoring a package of bills to clamp down on rampant film and television production in Lower Manhattan.
Although the new laws, if enacted, will have City-wide effect, their impact would be especially significant in the square mile below Chambers Street, where dozens of movies and TV shows commandeer local streets (sometimes for days at a time) each year. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
|
|
Things That Make You Go ‘Hmm…’
Lawsuit Over Similarity Between One World Trade and Architecture Student’s Design Moves Ahead
One thing is reasonably certain: In 1999, Jeehoon Park, then a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture, created a design for a very tall building with a large square base tapering to a smaller square top. In Mr. Park’s vision, the square formed by the roof was rotated 45 degrees relative to the one at the ground level, so that the center-points on each side of the quadrilateral below corresponded to the corners of the one above, and vice versa. And instead of four vertical walls, the structure’s facade consisted of eight elongated triangles.
That structure was never built. Or was it?
|
|
What’s In Store?
Amid a Booming Economy, Lower Manhattan Retail Space Languishes
A new report from City Comptroller Scott Stringer finds that in one Lower Manhattan zip code — 10013, which covers parts of western Tribeca SoHo, and the Canal Street corridor in Chinatown — there are 319 empty retail spaces, comprising almost 300,000 square feet of unused property.
Matthew Fenton
|
|
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. To read more…
Matthew Fenton
|
|
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. Matthew Fenton
|
|
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
|
Cass Gilbert and the Evolution of the New York Skyscraper
by John Simko
|
|
|
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
|
|
