The Broadsheet - Lower Manhattan’s Local Newspaper

Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed legislation sponsored by State Senator Brian Kavanagh that will expand housing affordability benefits in Battery Park City, while also paving the way to extend the ground lease that governs property ownership within the community.

The bill aims to protect affordability for both rental tenants and condominium owners by extending a range of benefits long available elsewhere in the five boroughs, but from which Battery Park City residents have been excluded, because of the technicality that the community is governed by a State agency, rather than the municipal government. For renters, these include the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption program (SCRIE) and the Disabled Rent Increase Exemption program (DRIE). Condominium owners may be eligible for the Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption program (SCHE) and the Disabled Homeowners’ Exemption program (DHE).

Under the SCRIE and SCHE programs, renters who are over 62 years of age and have annual incomes of less than $50,000 can seek to have rent increases limited or frozen, while seniors who own condominiums (and earn less than $58,399) may now be eligible for reductions in their property taxes. With DRIE and DHE, disabled residents aged 18 years or older are subject to the same income limits, of $50,000 for rental tenants and $58,399 for homeowners.

After the Governor signed the bill, Senator Kavanagh said, “SCRIE, DRIE, SCHE, and DHE are core elements of our efforts to ensure that lower-income New Yorkers are protected from being displaced from their homes and from paying housing costs that make it difficult for them to afford other necessities. I am proud that we are expanding these programs to cover eligible residents of Battery Park City, and former Mitchell-Lama buildings like Independence Plaza North.”

Senator Kavanagh added, “this legislation will also extend Battery Park City's master ground lease by at least 50 years, which will help assure all Battery Park City residents of the longterm stability of this thriving community.”

This section of the bill refers to the exotic nature of property ownership in Battery Park City, where homeowners, landlords, and developers do not own outright the land they occupy, but instead lease the space (currently through June 2069) from the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA), in exchange for yearly payments of ground rent, as well as so-called “payments in lieu of taxes.” The BPCA, in turn, leases the 92 acres of landfill between West Street and the Hudson River, from the ultimate owners of the parcel, the City of New York.

The bill signed by Governor Hochul says, “within six months of the effective date of this act, the Battery Park City Authority shall extend the expiration date of the lease between the Authority and the city of New York... until June 18, 2119.” This passage appears to make possible—but not to guarantee—such an extension. The BPCA has no legal power to extend its lease unilaterally, and cannot do so without the consent of its own landlord, the City government. No language in the bill compels City Hall to agree to such an extension. But the bill does represent a milestone, in that it not only authorizes the BPCA for the first time to seek such a revision to its lease, but orders the agency to do so.

This development raises multiple questions and possibilities for the community. Battery Park City dwellers have grown increasingly restive about the terms of the ground lease in recent years, as more residents have come to realize that, absent any change, ownership of all the real estate in Battery Park City reverts to the Authority. For condominium owners, this worst-case scenario would mean that their property will be confiscated, while renters in the same scenario will face the prospect of eviction.

The measure enacted into law on Thursday is silent about the possibility of extending the leases between the BPCA and property owners. It speaks only to prolonging the agreement between the Authority and the City. Assuming such a new lease is negotiated, it is not clear whether or when the BPCA will extend the leases for the individual buildings for which it acts as a landlord. Nor it is possible to predict on what terms these leases for buildings might be lengthened.

Such a process would entail, in the most optimistic scenario, significant complexity. But it could also be hindered by a convoluted set of incentives. The value of the BPCA’s “leasehold interest” in the land it is now likely to control for an additional five decades will inevitably appreciate as a result of its lease extension with the City. The difference in this valuation may amount to many tens of billions of dollars. Whether this will spur the BPCA to negotiate in earnest to provide broader affordability protections for residents (as community leaders have long demanded) or motivate the agency to maximize future revenue (to the detriment of affordability) remains unclear.

The Governor’s decision to sign the bill containing provisions about senior and disabled affordability, as well as the lease extension clause, follows her veto on November 21 of another measure (also sponsored by Senator Kavanagh) that would have guaranteed a majority of seats on the BPCA’s board to residents of the community, which has been another longstanding goal of community leaders.

Opponents of the plan to demolish and rebuild Wagner Park, with the aim of creating resiliency measures designed to protect against flooding, have reached an agreement with the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) that no demolition work will commence until the State Supreme Court convenes a hearing, slated for February, on whether the plan should be allowed to proceed. Read more...

An erstwhile Lower Manhattan resident and candidate for elective office Downtown recently won a bid to represent a Brooklyn district in the State Assembly, but is facing a probe by the lower house of the State legislature to determine whether he meets legal requirements for living in the community he seeks to represent. Read more...

Pace University is embarking on a transformation of One Pace Plaza, the central building of its Lower Manhattan campus, to include new academic spaces, a modernized residence hall, and a state-of-the-art performing arts center. The rebuilt theater is slated to serve not only the university’s performing and creative arts programs, but also to act as a central gathering space and cultural venue for the Lower Manhattan community. The modernized One Place Plaza is also being designed to lower carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency. Read more...

Join the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island Hor­ti­cul­ture team and the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island to help beautify Liggett Terrace, the six-acre plaza central to Governors Island. Tasks include mulching and weeding the labyrinth of hedge mazes. Free.

Unique music experience with the New Dasheng Chime-Bells (大晟新钟), a ceremonial carillon reconstructed based on historical models of Dasheng Bells of the 12th century, connecting the sound of China’s dynastic rituals to the music world today. This set of 20 new Dasheng Chime-Bells are identical to their historical models except for pitches adjusted to match current and universal standards. New music for these bells with symphony orchestra will be performed at Carnegie Hall on December 29. Learn the extraordinary story of the Dasheng Chime-Bells at China Institute. The audience will have the opportunity to hear and interact with the bells during and after the program. A brief reception will follow the discussion. $10.

Families are invited to create unique decorations while learning how sailors communicate with colorful signal flags. Free.

Ticket price includes one handcrafted gingerbread house, endless icing and candy, live music, and up to 4 guests (including the purchaser). Also at 4pm. $110.

Learn more about the African Burial Ground National Monument in this art tour of the lobby.

The students of Cobble Hill Ballet perform a festive version of The Nutcracker ballet. $25, $30, $35.

Jews arrived in Denmark in the 17th century by invitation of the Danish King. In this live, virtual walking tour, explore the streets of Copenhagen with a member of the Jewish community there. Learn about the rescue of Danish Jews in World War II by brave fishermen, and experience the lighting of the first candle on this first night of Hanukkah. $36.

See description for December 17. Also at 3:30pm and 6:30pm. $25, $30, $35.

Theater critic John Lahr brings a unique perspective to the life of Arthur Miller, the playwright who almost singlehandedly brought 20th century American theater to a new level of cultural sophistication. Lahr will be in conversation with award-winning playwright John Guare. $10 suggested donation.

Ticket price includes one handcrafted gingerbread house, endless icing and candy, live music, and up to 4 guests (including the purchaser). Also at 4pm. $110.

Music, ice skating, performances by local artists and a children’s choir, Chanukah crafts, face painting, an ice menorah carving, and traditional treats. Maritime decorating workshops at South Street Seaport Museum from 1-5pm. Light parade begins at 4pm, traveling from the Seaport Ice Rink to Pier 17, where the new Seaport menorah will be unveiled and the traditional lighting ceremony will take place. This year, local community activist Paul Hovitz will be recognized for his work in the Seaport and Lower Manhattan. Free; RSVPs requested.

Under the direction of Melissa Attebury and featuring harpist Jacqueline Kerrod, the Trinity Youth Chorus will present Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. Free.

Greenwich Street & Chambers Street

Saturdays, 8am-3pm (compost program: Saturdays, 8am-1pm)

Broadway & Whitehall St

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8am-5pm (compost program: 8am-11am)

91 South Street, between Fulton & John Streets

Monday through Saturday,11:30am-5pm

Composition X, painted by Wassily Kandinsky in 1939. Kandinsky was born on this day in 1866.

1431 – Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris.

1497 – Vasco da Gama passes the Great Fish River, where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal.

1773 – Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.

1944 – In World War II, the Battle of the Bulge begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest.

1960 – A United Airlines Douglas DC-8 and a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation collide over Staten Island and crash, killing all 128 people aboard both aircraft and six more on the ground.

1985 – Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumes leadership of New York's Gambino crime family.

1630 – Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort, British botanist (d. 1715)

1770 – Ludwig van Beethoven, composer (d. 1827)

1775 – Jane Austen, English novelist (d. 1817)

1866 – Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-French painter and theorist (d. 1944)

1899 – Noël Coward, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1973)

1901 – Margaret Mead, anthropologist and author (d. 1978)

1914 – O. Winston Link, photographer (d. 2001)

1937 – Edward Ruscha, painter and photographer

1938 – Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress, director, and screenwriter

1943 – Steven Bochco, American television writer and producer (d. 2018)

604 – Houzhu, emperor of the Chen dynasty (b. 553)

1474 – Ali Qushji, Uzbek astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1403)

1965 – W. Somerset Maugham, playwright, novelist, short story writer (b. 1874)

1982 – Colin Chapman, engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (b. 1928)

1980 - Colonel Harland David Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, dies at 90