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Local Leaders Get Irredentist to Reclaim Park Space Dispossessed for a Decade
The park known as Brooklyn Bridge Banks has been closed to the public for more than a decade, to facilitate maintenance work on the span above. Community Board 1 (CB1) wants the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio to give back park space beneath the Brooklyn Bridge that was “temporarily” closed more than a decade ago. The area, informally known as “Brooklyn Banks,” is an iconic destination for skateboarders, because the streetscape provides an undulating terrain of ramps, rails, ledges, and jumps. Long before any of these stunts were legal in New York, boarders from around the United States would come to the City to compete there, and connect with one another. In the years after its debut in the early 1970s, the site evolved into an unofficial cultural and historical landmark, in large measure due to its design by the renowned landscape architect, M. Paul Friedberg. Ironically, Mr. Friedberg never intended to create a Mecca for the subculture of skateboarding, which was then just beginning to coalesce. He simply wanted to transform a barren path of Lower Manhattan into useable public space. But the red brick that he chose to cover the ground (and for which “Red Brick Park” took its original name) turned out to be a material much prized by boarders, who regard it a second only to marble in the quality of ride it affords. And the sloping topography of the site provided the rest of the magic that skateboard enthusiasts crave, by unleashing the power of gravity. The sidewalk surfers who were drawn to the site christened it with the name that has stuck ever since: “The Banks.” |
Before its closure, the space had become a gathering point for both skateboarders and stunt cyclists. But the Brooklyn Bridge, which straddles the site, turned 100 years old in 1983, and began to cry out for the kind of frequent maintenance that a centenarian structure requires. Through the 1980s and 90s, the park was periodically closed to facilitate preservation and upkeep on the span above. This narrative was reprised in the 2000s, with the result that the park has been off-limits to boarders (and all other public users) for more than a decade. In 2020, an online petition demanding that the facility be reopened garnered more than 45,000 signatures. Last November, CB1 hosted a meeting devoted to these concerns, which attracted dozens of speakers. Afterward, the Board passed a resolution noting that, “CB1 recognizes both the global and local significance of the Brooklyn Banks Skate park … as an iconic cultural and athletic institution that benefits many cross-sections of the community, including its merit for spectators.” The same measure urged the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT), which has commandeered the space for vehicle parking, and as a staging area for work on the Bridge, the Parks Department, “and our elected officials [to] work together with the community towards the common goal of returning and converting this space under the Brooklyn Bridge back to the public.” The DOT responded to this resolution by saying that it will need to occupy the park space well into the 2030s, for ongoing Brooklyn Bridge maintenance projects. |
In the mid-2000s, Brooklyn Bridge Banks was a legendary venue that drew boarders from around the world. More recently, on March 1, CB1 chair Tammy Meltzer wrote to the DOT’s Manhattan Borough Commissioner, Edward Pincar, saying, “CB1 has unsuccessfully attempted to formally engage DOT numerous times since December… to continue publicly discussing this important issue,” while also raising questions about that agency’s need for so much space, and for so long. She argued that, “this community has already lost use of this important public space for over a decade and is not prepared to be without it for additional years. DOT needs to work with CB1 on a plan to return portions of these areas not under construction as soon as possible. DOT has not demonstrated that the entirety of the area needs to remain closed until all bridge-related work is complete.” “We look forward to working together to be able to start returning the space under the Brooklyn Bridge back for public use,” Ms. Meltzer concluded. Matthew Fenton |
  
Compulsory Commemoration Governor Opens Hurricane Maria Memorial On Friday, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced
Pearl of Wisdom |
Brewer Pushes for FiDi Thoroughfare to Be Made Pedestrian-Friendly in Perpetuity Manhattan Borough President Gale
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Chopper Stoppers Proposed Federal Law Would Further Restrict Helicopter Flights Over New York City For the second time in as many months, On March 7, Mr. Nadler reintroduced the Improving Helicopter Safety Act—a measure that he first sponsored in 2019, when it failed to pass. According to the Congressional Research Service, this law would “prohibit operating helicopter flights over any city with a population of over eight million and a population density of over 25,000 people per square mile, except for purposes of (1) public health and safety, including law enforcement and emergency response; and (2) heavy-lift operations in support of construction and infrastructure maintenance.” To read more…
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Alliance For Downtown New York Hosts 2021 Shred-A- Thon After a year like the one we all just endured and the promise of a brighter day emerging, the idea of “spring cleaning” takes on new energy and meaning. Now is the time to round up all the old clothes and unwanted documents that have been piling up and bring them over to Fulton Street (between Cliff and Gold Streets) for the Downtown Alliance’s annual dual shred-a-thon and clothing drop- off Saturday, April 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A shredding truck parked on Fulton Street will securely dispose of and recycle all your sensitive documents, tax receipts, junk mail and old bills. The Alliance is also partnering with NYC clothing recycler Wearable Collections, which is providing a bin to collect all dry, used clean clothing including shoes, sneakers, belts and hats, as well as household items such as linens, towels and handbags. Rain or shine, the Alliance will be there to dispose of your much-loved old outfits and no-longer-needed memories, minus a few items (e.g., carpeting, rugs, bath mats, comforters, pillows, large luggage). This spring will be even sweeter when you’ve got some extra space. (sponsored content)
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One Act of Kindness Matt Keating is a singer/songwriter who lives in Lower Manhattan with his wife Emily. In a recent post on Facebook, he described his friendship with a man who took shelter outside his building, and how he helped this man |
receive his federal stimulus check. This is my neighbor Jamal. We became friends about a month ago when I met him taking shelter outside of my building under the construction scaffolding that’s been put up for a while now. He is currently without a home and asks politely for any help from me whenever I walk by so I started giving him something every once in a while whenever I had it. He was very grateful and we struck up a conversation about politics and the current situation of inequality in this country. About two weeks ago, as Emily and I were leaving to do our weekly visit to the Union Square Farmers Market, he came up to us and showed us that his shoes were falling apart. His soles were flapping and it was wet out. To read more…
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6PM Pure Bearing Wall Skyscraper Museum Today’s Calendar Tuesday March 30
Skyscraper Museum webinar. Structural engineer Robert Sinn is a Principal in the Chicago office of Thornton Tomasetti. Before joining TT in 2007, Mr. Sinn spent more than two decades at SOM, where he was responsible for such award-winning projects as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, and Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, which when completed was the tallest all-concrete building in North America. Recent project credits include the 245-meter Federation of Korean Industries headquarters (2014) in Seoul, South Korea, the Al Wasl Plaza for Expo 2020 in |
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Dubai, UAE, topped by a translucent dome that spans 130 meters. Free
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CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS Swaps & Trades, Respectable Employment, Lost and Found To place a listing, contact editor@ebroadsheet.com
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AVAILABLE NURSES’ AIDE COLLEGE ESSAY AND APPLICATION SUPPORT Oberlin BA, Brown MA. Other tutoring services available as well. Contact jeffmihok@gmail.com. NOTARY PUBLIC IN BPC @ 917-836-8802 NURSE’S AID Caring, experienced Nurse’s Aide seeks PT/FT position. Excellent references. 718-496-6232 dianshields32@gmail.com EXPERIENCED TUTOR data analysis All levels and all ages Virtual or in-person meetings in safe and Covid free environment PhD, Wall St. Experience 917 293 7812 thisispaulinelam@gmail. com PERSONAL ASSISTANT TUTOR AVAILABLE FOR HOMEWORK SUPPORT HOUSEKEEPING/ NANNY/ BABYSITTER Available for PT/FT. Wonderful person, who is a great worker. Refs avail. Worked in BPC. Call Tenzin 347-803-9523 SEEKING FT LIVE- IN ELDER CARE Marcia 347 737 5037 marmar196960@gmail.com SHSAT TUTOR SHSAT TUTORING Stuyvesant HS graduate available for SHSAT tutoring. $40/hr.
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Eyes to the Sky March 22 – April 4, 2021 Turn-of-the-season dazzle: brightest stars, vivid constellations, and rusty-gold Mars The calendar in the night sky marks As twilight deepens, about an hour after sunset, gold-to-red twinkling Arcturus climbs above the northeastern horizon. The great star, -0.05 magnitude, appears later over obstructed views. To be sure to locate Arcturus at any time of night, follow the diagram at the top of this page. On spring evenings, the Big Dipper can be found high in the sky from the northeast to southeast. Trace the arc of its handle down to “arc to Arcturus”. To read more… Life of the Party Sheriffs Break Up Illegal Nightclub in Tribeca
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On Friday, for the second time in three 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Report More Survivors than Responders Now are Submitting Claims The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) has released its annual report for 2020, which documents some significant developments. Over the course of its ten years of operation thus far, the VCF has awarded $7.76 billion to more than 34,400 individuals who have suffered death or personal injury as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath. The vast majority of these injuries take the form of illness caused by exposure to toxic materials that were released by the destruction of the World Trade Center.
To read more…
TODAY IN HISTORY March 30 |
1981 – Ronald Reagan is shot outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr. 1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long. 1861 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium. 1944 – Out of 795 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos sent to attack Nuremberg, 95 bombers do not return, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of the war. 1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others. Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman sultan (d. 1481) Vincent van Gogh, Dutch-French painter and illustrator (d. 1890) |
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