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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 6,
No. 2
Jan. 26, 2019
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
* Calendar: January - Silent Films/Live Music at Brookfield Place
WEATHER INFORMATION: For current weather information,
click here.
Go to
www.DowntownPostNYC.com for breaking news and for updated Downtown Post NYC bulletin board and calendar information.
MASTHEAD PHOTO: Lisa Fishman and clarinetist Dmitri Zisl Slepovitch in "Soul to Soul," a program of Yiddish and African-American music produced by National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in honor of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 20, 2019
(©Terese Loeb Kreuzer 2019)
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been busy this past week signing New York State laws having to do with voting rights, women's healthcare and LGBTQ equality while the New York State legislature works on providing him with more laws to sign.
The laws in question have been proposed for years but were blocked by Republican control of the State Senate, which shifted to the Democrats in the November 2018 election. Cuomo has stated that passage of the laws that he signed this week could not have come at a more critical time.
"It's not just about what New York does for New Yorkers," he said as he signed the voting rights law. "It's what New York does in this moment in history where we have a federal government that is hell-bent on rolling back individual rights - civil liberties that we believe are essential here in the State of New York."
He went on to say that "We have a federal government going backwards...New York is doing exactly the opposite....They want to reduce our rights, we want to increase individual rights...They're looking to roll back Roe v. Wade. We want to enshrine Roe v. Wade both in the law and in the [State] Constitution. They want to roll back environmental progress and we want to introduce a Green New Deal because we understand that climate change is real and extreme weather is real and the viability of the planet is on the table."
The voting reform law, which Cuomo signed on Jan. 24, 2019, provides among other things for early voting, synchronizing federal and state elections to avoid separate primaries and pre-registration for minors to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to register to vote so that they will be automatically registered when their 18th birthday rolls around and they are eligible to cast a ballot.
Under the new law, universal transfer of registration will kick in when voters move from one part of the state to another. Their voter registration will automatically go with them. Another important stipulation of the new law has to do with campaign contribution transparency. It limits how much money an LLC (Limited Liability Company) can contribute to a candidate and requires the disclosure of direct and indirect membership interests in the LLC making a contribution.
On Jan. 25, Cuomo was at his desk again to sign historic pro-LGBTQ legislation that protects people from being discriminated against based on gender identity and also shields them from having to endure "conversion therapy," which has been deemed not only ineffective but abusive and life-threatening.
Along with Assemblymember Richard Gottfried of the 75th AD and Senator Brad Hoylman of the 27th Senate District, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, a Democrat representing the 66th AD (Greenwich Village, Tribeca, East and West Villages and part of Battery Park City) led the fight for this legislation.
Gov. Cuomo should keep his signing pens handy. The next new law to cross his desk will be the Dream Act, which provides college financial aid to undocumented students. It has passed both houses of the State legislature and awaits the governor's signature. It will affect around 146,000 students who were educated in New York public schools but who were barred from receiving financial aid for higher education because of restrictive federal and state laws. Up until now, fewer than 10 percent of undocumented teens have been able to go to college because of lack of funds.
While the federal government wages war against immigrants, New York State and New York City embrace them as symbolized by the lady in our harbor.
Since Oct. 28, 1886 when she was unveiled, the Statue of Liberty continues to hold her torch high in welcome. Many immigrants have spoken about their exhilaration when they first caught sight of her after crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
One immigrant from Greece said in broken English, "I saw the Statue of Liberty and I said to myself, 'Lady, you're such a beautiful! You opened your arms and you get all the foreigners here. Give me a chance to prove that I am worth it, to do something, to be someone in America."
We are fortunate to have people who feel like that among us.
Terese Loeb Kreuzer
Editor
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 AFTER YEARS OF STRUGGLE, THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT PASSED THE NY STATE LEGISLATURE AND CUOMO SIGNED IT INTO LAW
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On January 22, 2019, the Reproductive Health Act passed both the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly and Gov. Andrew Cuomo immediately signed it into law. Deborah Glick, who represents Assembly District 66, which includes Greenwich Village, Tribeca and parts of Battery Park City, sponsored the bill in the Assembly. As Cuomo signed the bill, she stood immediately behind him with New York State Senator Liz Krueger, who carried the bill in the Senate, standing nearby.
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On Jan. 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the case known as Roe v. Wade, affirming abortion as a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution. In the State of New York the anniversary was celebrated with a legislative victory. After years of struggle, both houses of the legislature passed the Reproductive Health Act and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law.
Abortion had been legal in New York State since 1970 but with some restrictions that were, in fact, obviated by Roe v. Wade. The New York State law had never caught up with the more liberal federal ruling, and for decades, that didn't matter because Roe v. Wade seemed sacrosanct. But with Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade is under threat. Cuomo and others viewed an update to New York State's law to be an urgent matter in order to protect the women of New York State even if the federal law should change.
The former New York State law allowed unrestricted abortions only up to 24 weeks of pregnancy except if an abortion were necessary to save the life of the mother. The Reproductive Health Act permits abortions after 24 weeks in cases where a woman's life or health would be jeopardized by continuing the pregnancy.
Under the former law, a woman could abort an "unviable fetus" only up until the 24th week of pregnancy. Now, a fetus that is not viable and that could not survive outside the womb can be aborted at any time during the pregnancy, including the third trimester.
Another major change is that abortion is now regulated under public health law. Previously it was regulated under criminal law, making a third trimester abortion a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Previously only physicians could perform abortions in New York State. Now they can also be done by licensed nurse practitioners, physician assistants and licensed midwives. Proponents of the Reproductive Health Act said that this change was necessary to make abortions readily available in rural parts of the state where women have limited access to doctors.
In addition to the Reproductive Health Act, the New York State legislature passed the Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act, which requires health insurance policies to include coverage of all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices and products, as well as voluntary sterilization procedures, contraceptive education and counseling and related follow-up services. Insurance companies are not permitted to impose cost-sharing requirements for contraception and contraception-related services.
A third bill, known as the "Boss Bill," finally passed the New York State Senate on Jan. 22 and was signed by Cuomo. This bill, S.660, introduced by Sen. Jen Metzger, ensures that employees or their dependents are able to make their own reproductive health care decisions without incurring adverse employment consequences. The New York State Assembly had passed this bill every year since 2014 but until control of the Senate passed from the Republicans to the Democrats, the New York State Senate had killed it.
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Bits & Bytes
FIDI CONDO SALES TAKE NOSE DIVE; 77 GREENWICH ST. SKYSCRAPER GROWING BRISKLY; WHO WAS WHO AT 2019 REBNY ANNUAL GALA
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| In his State of the State speech, Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged $23 million to help finish Hudson River Park, which runs for more than four miles along the Hudson River between Chambers Street and midtown Manhattan. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
"FiDi is flooded with condos - and sales are tumbling," therealdeal.com, 1/21/19. "Sales in the Financial District may be getting dragged down with the rest of the market, but rentals in the neighborhood saw a big boost," says The Real Deal. "In the fourth quarter, units rented in FiDi climbed 33 percent year over year to 527, according to Platinum Properties' latest report. The uptick came as inventory climbed 4 percent and median rent dipped 4.4 percent....
. Meanwhile, sales in the neighborhood are facing the same challenges as the broader market. Units sold tumbled 39 percent compared with a year earlier - while the median price fell 42 percent to $952,250. Three-bedrooms saw the biggest price hit, according to the report. The median price slid 11.9 percent to $2.78 million. The slowdown in FiDi has been more pronounced than in the overall Manhattan market." For the complete article, click here.
"Olive branch to Durst tucked in State of the State," Crain's New York Business, 1/16/19. "During Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State speech Tuesday, he pledged $23 million to finish the construction of Hudson River Park," says Crain's New York Business. "The small line item in the state's proposed budget represented a big step in mediating a bitter feud between two New York City billionaires. The acrimony goes back to 2014, when media mogul Barry Diller announced he would fund a 2.7-acre park on pilings in the waters near West 14th Street just off the park, which runs for miles along Manhattan's west side. A small but vocal group of opponents secretly funded by developer Douglas Durst began lobbing legal challenges at the project, however, and it eventually succeeded in winning a case. The two sides met for settlement talks, but by that time the dispute had grown so acrimonious that Diller abruptly dropped plans for the project. That's where Cuomo comes in. In 2017 he announced a deal under which Durst and the small organization he bankrolled, the City Club of New York, would agree to stand down and allow the construction of Pier 55, known derisively as Diller Island. In exchange, the governor promised to fund the rest of the park-which is what Durst said he had wanted all along. The developer also was appointed to the park trust's board by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer." For the complete article, click here.
"Joe's Pizza Brings Its Iconic Slices to FiDi Next Week," eater.com, 1/10/19. "Popular classic New York slice shop Joe's Pizza is heading to the Financial District. The long-standing pizzeria will soon open a store at 124 Fulton St., between Nassau and Dutch Streets, marking its fifth location in NYC...Sal Vitale, who helps manage Joe's for Pino "Joe" Pozzuoli, his grandfather and pizzeria founder, says the restaurant is expanding to FiDi because it receives so many corporate orders from businesses in the area." For the complete article, click here.
"City Revokes Permits for Planned West Side Skyscraper," Spectrum News/NY1, 1/17/19. In a ruling that should be of interest to the developers of extra-tall buildings as well as to those who oppose them, Spectrum News/NY1 is reporting that "The city Department of Buildings has changed its mind and will revoke permits for a supertall tower in Manhattan. The development company Extell is planning a proposed 775-foot tall skyscraper at 50 West 66th Street near Lincoln Center. Elected officials and advocacy groups slammed the project, saying the architects had found a loophole to make the building taller than it should be. The theory is that a high floor apartment is worth more because the view is better. So the design calls for putting the upper floors of the building on stilts. They would do that by building a mechanical room closer to the building's base. The mechanical room proposed had a 150 foot high ceiling, not because there's a 150 foot tall piece of machinery. But because that high ceiling lifts the rest of the building higher." For the complete article, click here.
"77 Greenwich Rapidly Ascends Towards 500 Foot Pinnacle In The Financial District," New York YIMBY, 1/15/19. "Work on 77 Greenwich Street is progressing rapidly. The ...42-story building is quickly rising above its podium, and has already reached its tenth floor. The FXCollaborative-designed tower will house 90 residential units beginning 150 feet above the streets down below. Interiors are being designed by Deborah Berke Partners. Trinity Place Holdings is the developer of the site, which sits on the western side of the Financial District." For the complete article, click here.
"Let's Taco 'Bout It: Taco Bell Cantina Scoops Up Space in FiDi," Commercial Observer, 1/14/19. "Taco Bell is bringing its new Cantina model-with its urban restaurant design, custom menu with shareable appetizers, alcoholic beverages and open kitchen-to the Financial District," Commercial Observer reports. The taco chain has taken a 1,568-square-foot space at 60 Fulton St., which is at the corner of Fulton and Cliff Streets. For the complete article, click here.
"Inside REBNY's 2019 gala," therealdeal.com, 1/18/19. "If you have any interest in New York City real estate, you may be interested in who the headliners were at the 2019 Real Estate Board of New York gala. The Real Deal reports, "Would it be the Real Estate Board of New York's annual gala without the boisterous schmooze fest drowning out the evening's official program? In that regard, the 123rd annual gathering of real estate's biggest names did not disappoint. Among the 2,000 attendees who converged on the New York Hilton in Midtown were Dan Tishman, who received the Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker award, along with CBRE's Mary Ann Tighe, Paul Massey of B6 Real Estate Advisors, the Corcoran Group's Pam Liebman and MaryAnne Gilmartin, celebrating the first anniversary of L&L MAG, an investment firm she launched last year with David Levinson and Robert Lapidus." For the complete article, click here.
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Downtown Post Political Report
AS HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIR, JERROLD NADLER BEGINS INVESTIGATIONS INTO TRUMP APPOINTEES WHITAKER AND NIELSEN
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Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-New York's 10th Congressional District) is now chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and is actively pursuing investigations that were stymied for the last few years while Republicans controlled the House.
(Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Although much of the federal government was in limbo because of the shutdown decreed by President Donald Trump in an effort to extract money from Congress for a wall on the U.S./Mexican border, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who represents the west side of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, was busy. Now that he is chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee, he is one of the most powerful people in the House and is in a position to require members of the Trump administration to appear before the committee to explain their actions.
On Jan. 22, Nadler sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker in advance of a House Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for Feb. 8. The letter includes a list of prepared questions concerning communications between Whitaker and Trump. In the letter, Nadler makes clear that the Committee expects direct answers to its questions, and "will not accept your declining to answer any question on the theory that the President may want to invoke his privileges in the future."
The prepared questions cover issues related to Trump's appointment of Whitaker to replace Jeff Sessions following his firing, Whitaker's decision not to recuse himself from the Special Counsel investigation, Whitaker's oversight over the Special Counsel investigation and the nature of his relationship with Trump.
Also on Jan. 22, Nadler joined by Rep. Elijah Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, issued a statement in response to a draft memorandum created by senior officials at the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice outlining the Trump Administration's child separation policy.
The draft memorandum was prepared in December 2017 and was uncovered by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon). Nadler, Cummings and Thompson called the document "horrific."
"It is proof that the Trump Administration secretly hatched a plan to separate thousands of vulnerable children from their parents and place them in federal custody in order to deter those seeking refuge in the United States," they said. "This revelation raises grave questions about the veracity of Secretary [Kirstjen] Nielsen's sworn testimony to Congress and her statements to the American people from the White House denying the existence of this immoral policy.
"Secretary Nielsen must appear before Congress to answer for this cruel and heartless policy and her inaccurate statements to Congress and the American people. We also need to hear from the agencies responsible for formulating and carrying out the child separation policy, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services."
On June 18, 2018, Nielsen had been asked at the White House: "Are you intending for parents to be separated from their children? Are you intending to send a message?" She replied: "I find that offensive. ... No. Because why would I ever create a policy that purposely does that?" When the reporter asked if the policy was put in place as a deterrent, Secretary Nielsen again responded: "No."
A day earlier, on June 17, 2018, Secretary Nielsen tweeted: "We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period."
On May 15, 2018, Nielsen stated in sworn testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: "We do not have a policy to separate children from their parents."
Nadler has sent official letters to the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services asking for the preservation of any records related to Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policies and also asking that these documents be turned over to Congress.
An article in The New York Times ("
Democratic Senator Seeks Perjury Investigation of Kirstjen Nielsen," 1/18/19) states that "The federal government has reported that nearly 3,000 children have been separated from their parents under the zero-tolerance policy put in place by the Department of Homeland Security last year. But the policy could have affected thousands more, according to a report by government inspectors released this week."
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Downtown Post Arts
'SOUL TO SOUL,' THE NATIONAL YIDDISH THEATRE FOLKSBIENE'S TRIBUTE TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE
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In honor of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene presented "Soul to Soul," a program of Yiddish and African-American music. The production was conceived by Zalmen Mlotek (at the piano) and performed on Jan. 20 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage by Tony Perry, Magda Fishman, Lisa Fishman and Elmore James.
(Photos: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
On Jan. 20, with consummate musicianship and contagious passion, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene brought "Soul to Soul" to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that has become an annual tradition. The souls evoked by the music were Yiddish and African-American as embodied by Dr. King and by his friend, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Rabbi Heschel's daughter, Susannah, introduced the program. She said that her father had been born in Warsaw, Poland and that his mother and sisters were murdered in the
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Susannah Heschel
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Holocaust, as was all of his extended family. Although Rabbi Heschel escaped to the United States, the world in which he grew up had been
destroyed.
In 1963, he was invited to speak in Chicago at a conference on religion and race, which is where he met Dr. King.
At the conference, Rabbi Heschel gave a passionate talk, Susannah Heschel recalled. He said that "Racism is satanism. It's unmitigated evil. Religion and race can never be uttered in the same breath because they're absolutely opposed. If you believe in God, you believe that God created all human
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Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama
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beings in God's own image. You cannot be racist and a believer."
Both Rabbi Heschel and Dr. King had witnessed and endured unspeakable tragedy stemming from racism. For this and other reasons, they immediately became close friends. Dr. Heschel was with Dr. King in 1965 during the nonviolent march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to seek voting rights for black people.
"When my father went to Selma to march, it was a very frightening time," Susannah Heschel said. "I can tell you that I remember that after Havdalah, my father went downstairs and he kissed me good-by and got into a taxi to go to the airport. I held onto that kiss because I was afraid he might never come back. And when he returned...my father said he felt there was something holy in that march, that it reminded him of walking with Hasidic rebbes in Europe. My father came back and what he said was, 'I felt my legs were praying.'"
It should be clear from that introduction that "Soul to Soul" was more than a concert. With songs and projected images, it evoked the American South, the Civil Rights struggle, the shtetls of Eastern Europe, the immigrant experience and the Harlem Renaissance.
Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" was one of the first songs on the program. ("It's  been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die/ 'Cause I don't know what's up there, beyond the sky/ It's been a long, a long time coming/ But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will.") Cooke wrote the song in 1964 when he was turned away from a whites-only motel in Louisiana.
The Yiddish experience was represented by images of an impoverished shtetl, a burning synagogue and such songs as Sholom Secunda and Aaron Zeitlin's "Dana Dana" from 1941 that was popularized by Joan Baez in 1960 as "Donna Donna." ("On a wagon bound for market/There's a calf with a mournful eye/High above him there's a swallow/Winging swiftly through the sky.")
"Soul to Soul has evolved over the last 10 years," said Motl Didner, associate artistic director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. "It began as a presentation for our annual Hamptons Synagogue Labor Day concert. Since that time the concert has grown to include a narrative structure that takes up the parallel journeys of Jewish and African-American struggle for liberation and equality, culminating in the historic partnership between these two communities during the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s."
The concert is accompanied by film clips of Dr. King's final speech from Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march as well as by imagery from leading African-American and Jewish visual artists such as Marc Chagall and Romare Bearden.
Though "Soul to Soul" references tragedy, it is also nostalgic, stirring and profoundly moving. By the end of this year's Museum of Jewish Heritage performance, the audience was on its feet, clapping and singing.
There was only one performance. Not surprisingly, it was sold out. But it should be back next year.
In addition to becoming a staple of the NYTF season, "Soul to Soul" has toured the world. Among other places, it has been performed in Bucharest, Romania and in Winnipeg and Toronto, Canada. In the United States, it has been staged in Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles, Denver, Boca Raton and Stamford as well as at various colleges bringing to them Dr. King's message that "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
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Tony Perry and Magda Fishman in "Soul to Soul"
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Downtown bulletin board
STATUE OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLAND REMAINED OPEN DESPITE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN; BATTERY BIRD WALKS
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The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island remained open to visitors despite the federal government shutdown. Initially, the landmarks were kept open with funds from New York State. As of Jan. 15, 2019, they were being financed using revenue generated by National Park Service recreation fees and by support from the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. Castle Clinton National Monument in Battery Park also remained open.
(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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Battery bird walks: Bird Walks in The Battery with NYC Audubon resume on Jan. 29.
Gabriel Willow, an educator from NYC Audubon, will point out over-wintering birds such as ducks, geese, loons, sparrows and finches that find food and habitat on The Battery's waterfront. Willow, an experienced birder and naturalist, has been leading walks for NYC Audubon for more than 10 years. Meet at the Netherlands Memorial Flag Pole located at the entrance to the park on the corner of Broadway, Battery Place, and State Street. Dates: Jan. 29, Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 starting at 8 a.m. Free. For more information and to register,
click here.
Free admission to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum: The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is offering free admission to New Yorkers on
Feb. 2 and
March 2. To take advantage of this offer, go to the museum's ticket window between 9 a.m. and noon with a valid I.D. such as a New York State driver's license, a New York State identification card, an IDNYC card, a student identification card from a school located in New York or a New York library card.
Year round, the 9/11 Memorial Museum continues to offer free admission on Tuesdays. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the museum each Tuesday starting at 4 p.m. The distribution time is subject to change. For more information,
click here.
Caregiver support group: A support group for the caregivers of disabled adults will have its first meeting at 200 Rector Place on
Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. The group is open to anyone who is caring for a family member or friend with physical and/or cognitive disabilities. Subsequently, the group will meet on Mondays to
share resources and ideas, learn about helpful programs and fight isolation, which so often results from caregiving responsibilities. The group will evolve to meet the needs of those who attend. The support group is being sponsored by Battery Park City Seniors and by the Battery Park City Authority. It is open to
anyone who lives or works in the greater Battery Park City area. For more information, email BPCSeniors@gmail.com.
Manhattan Community Board applications: Community Board membership applications are now open. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer says, "We're looking for passionate and engaged New Yorkers who are dedicated to making a difference in their neighborhoods. Community Boards play an important role in shaping the character of our city. If you live or work in Manhattan, you're eligible to apply for the 2019-2021 class of board members."
Community Board members are volunteers who, at a minimum, meet with the committees on which they serve and attend the monthly board meetings. Community Board members serve two-year terms after which they must reapply.
To apply online,
click here or complete a paper application (
downloadable here as a PDF). The online application must be completed in one sitting.
All applications are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. After you apply, someone from the Manhattan Borough President's office will contact you about next steps in the screening and interview process. Appointments will be announced in the spring.
Holiday diaper drive: For the third year, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is helping to sponsor a holiday diaper drive. "For many low-income working parents, getting diapers for their children is a struggle," she says. "Day care centers often require parents to supply diapers when they drop off their kids, so if the parents don't have diapers to bring every day, they can't work. That's why my office, the Food Bank for New York City, and the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York are launching the third annual holiday diaper drive to collect these essential items for New Yorkers in need. We'll distribute the diapers we collect to emergency food pantries."
If you wish to help, bring new, sealed boxes of diapers in sizes 3 to 6 (sizes 4 and 5 are needed most) to either of Gale Brewer's offices: 1 Centre St. (19th floor South) or 431 W. 125th St. (storefront). If you're an Amazon customer, you can
use this link to order from the Food Bank's Amazon Wishlist for delivery straight to their warehouse.
Donations will be accepted
through Jan. 31, 2019.
Weekend closures of PATH World Trade Center station: Beginning in January 2019 and running through December 2020, PATH's World Trade Center station will be closing each weekend, except for holiday weekends, to replace equipment and rebuild tunnels severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy. The station closes at 12:01 a.m. on Saturdays and reopens at 5 a.m. after each weekend of work. Riders are being given free transfers to daytime weekend ferry service between Exchange Place and Lower Manhattan. Overnight service on the Journal Square-33rd Street line has been increased. The weekend hours of operation at Brookfield Place Ferry Terminal have been extended to 7 a.m.-11:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (regular weekend hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.). For more information,
click here.
Community Center at Stuyvesant High School: The Community Center at Stuyvesant High School (CCSHS) located at 345 Chambers St. in Battery Park City, offers a half-Olympic-sized swimming pool, basketball courts, a gym, fitness equipment and other amenities
. In addition, there are a variety of classes including swimming lessons for children and adults, Tai Chi, Hatha Yoga, tennis for kids and total body boxing. CCSHS is open daily with hours that vary. Since the facilities are shared with the high school, the hours from September to June differ from those in July and August. An annual membership includes free programs and classes. The rates are $199 (adults, 18+) and $79 (seniors, military and youth). Battery Park City residents get a $20 a year discount on those rates. Walk-in passes are available for $15 (adults 18+) and $10 (seniors, military and youth). For more information, call (212) 267-9700, email communitycenter@bpcparks.org or
click here.
Most of the Downtown Post NYC bulletin board listings are now on the Downtown Post NYC website. To see the bulletin board listings,
click here.
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CALENDAR: January 2019
Spotlight: 'Silent Films/Live Music' at Brookfield Place
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Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in "The Kid," one of the silent films that will be screened at Brookfield Place as part of the annual "Silent Films/Live Music" festival.
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If this year's presentation of "Silent Films / Live Music" at Brookfield Place lives up to its previous seasons, this will be a series not to be missed. Curated by John Schaefer, the series brings three classic silent films to the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place in Battery Park City. Time: 7:30 p.m. Free
Jan. 30: The Kid (1921) with Marc Ribot. In Charlie Chaplin's first full-length film as a director, Chaplin plays a petty criminal who finds and raises an abandoned baby as his own. The score for The Kid was commissioned by the New York Guitar Festival and premiered at Kaufman Music Center's Merkin Hall in January 2010.
Jan. 31: Nosferatu (1922) with Irene and Linda Buckley (US Premiere). Directed by F. W. Murnau, Nosferatu continues to be one of the most influential horror films of all time featuring actor Max Schreck as the iconic vampire villain Count Orlok.
Feb. 1: Underworld (1927) with Alloy Orchestra. Josef von Sternberg's crime drama Underworld helped launch an American obsession with the organized crime-heist movie genre after winning the Oscar for best screenplay at the very first Academy Awards in 1927.
2019 Annual BPC Art Exhibition: View works by participants in the Battery Park City Authority's art programs. The art will be on view weekdays from
Jan. 28 to March 30, 2:00-4:00PM.The opening reception will be on Sunday,
Jan. 27, at 1 p.m. Place: 75 Battery Place.
A complete list of all programs and activities is on the Battery Park City Authority website. To see and download the winter calendar, click here.
For more calendar listings, go to the Downtown Post NYC website.
Click here.
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At the "Silent Films/Live Music" festival, the Alloy Orchestra will provide music for "Underworld," the film that launched Josef von Sternberg's very successful career.
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Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer
All articles and photographs in Downtown Post NYC are copyrighted and
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