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DOWNTOWN
POST NYC
News and Events
in Lower Manhattan
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Volume 6,
No.
10 July 4, 2019
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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: A teapot shaped like the Statue of Liberty is among the artifacts in the new Statue of Liberty Museum that opened on Liberty Island on May 16, 2019.
(Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer 2019)
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We, who live in Lower Manhattan, have a daily reminder of what this country meant to the millions of immigrants who sailed into the port of New York and cheered and wept when they saw the Statue of Liberty.
Here, once again, is the poem that she inspired a young Jewish woman named Emma Lazarus, to write:
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Terese Loeb Kreuzer
Editor
The emailed Downtown Post NYC newsletter is appearing less frequently than formerly, however,
Downtown Post NYC's website (www.DowntownPostNYC.com) is updated daily. That's the place to check for urgent messages, breaking news and reminders of interesting events in and around Lower Manhattan. So be sure to look at the website every day, especially if you want to know about breaking news.
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CALENDAR: July 2019
Spotlight: July 4 in Lower Manhattan
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This year, the Macy's fireworks show will take place near the Brooklyn Bridge.
(Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Even people who can happily sit out New Year's Eve at home with an old movie or a good book seem to feel an urge to watch July 4th fireworks. A beautiful, summer night outdoors sure beats freezing your tootsies off amid a drunken crowd in the middle of winter.
Here's some information to help you plan and enjoy the Fourth of July:
"Macy's 4th of July Fireworks in NYC: Where to watch,"
Curbed.com, 6/24/19. For the 43rd year, Macy's will be putting on a fireworks show in honor of the Fourth of July. "The company has been touting this year's event as the 'largest display since the Millennial Celebration,' with more than 75,000 shells (up from 60,000 last year) launching during a colorful 25-minute display," Curbed.com reports. "This year, the festivities will head south - specifically, back to barges around the Brooklyn Bridge. According to Macy's, its four fireworks barges will line up close to Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport, and will 'make the iconic Brooklyn Bridge the star of our show,' per a press release. That will also include launching slightly milder blasts from the 136-year-old landmark itself. That means the best vantage points for this year's event will be in lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn neighborhoods closest to the bridge... But if you don't want to be squished among the sure-to-be-sweaty crowds at those street-level spots, never fear: We've gathered some of the best ways to watch the July 4 fireworks, many of which are located at a safe remove-i.e., on a boat in the East River." For the complete article,
click here.
Naturally, elbowing for the best vantage points creates controversy, especially when the best vantage points are for sale. There's this:
"Only Wealthy VIPs Will Be Allowed On South Street Seaport Piers During July 4th Fireworks,"
Gothamist.com, 7/1/19. "Macy's 4th of July fireworks display is back by the Brooklyn Bridge this year for the first time since 2014, and there are seven recommended public viewing areas in Lower Manhattan, as well as spots in Brooklyn Bridge Park," says Gothamist.com. "Elevated sections of the FDR will be turned into viewing platforms, but Piers 16 and 17, which are closest to the action, will be closed to the public by order of the NYPD - unless you can afford a $492 ticket to a July 4 party at The Fulton by Jean-Georges, or have scored a ticket to a VIP party on the roof of Pier 17.
Schmancy parties and exorbitantly priced cruises are a July 4th mainstay. ('Macy's is not aware of and does not approve, endorse or participate in these events/activities,' the department store states on their website.) At Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6, the floating restaurant Pilot is selling a seat at the bar on July 4th for $375, or you can rent a slip at the Brooklyn Marina (four night minimum)." For more the complete article,
click here.
If you want to watch the fireworks from a boat that will get you close to the action and provide you with food and drink, there are still some spots available.
The sticker price for most of these excursions was originally in the neighborhood of $450 to $500 per person, but now there are some last-minute discounts. Here are some URLs to investigate:
Classic Harbor Line: Ship out on a yacht - Manhattan, Manhattan II or Kingston or on the schooner America 2.0. And if you find a ticket, use promo code 1776 and receive $177.60 off each of your tickets for the 4th of July fireworks cruise. The boats leave from Chelsea Piers on the Hudson River near 22nd Street. For more information,
click here.
Clipper City: There are still some spaces available aboard Clipper City, a replica of a ship that was built as a cargo schooner just prior to the Civil War. Rebuilt and refurbished from the original plans, which were borrowed from the Smithsonian Institution, at 158 feet Clipper City can host up to 149 guests. The July 4 package includes a gourmet BBQ dinner cruise and an open bar with specialty red-white-and-blue themed cocktails. The fireworks cruise departs at 5:30 p.m. from the Battery. For more information,
click here.
For something a little more tranquil and less expensive, there's this:
Sunset yoga on Pier 25: The USCGC Lilac is the oldest lighthouse tender in the United States. It's berthed at Pier 25 in Hudson River Park. On July 4, the Lilac Preservation Project, Hudson River Park, lululemon and the Veterans Yoga Project present yoga on the Pier 25 lawn from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The suggested donation of $35 includes yoga led by the veterans followed by fun and light refreshments aboard the Lilac. Register in advance by
clicking here.
For more calendar listings, go to the Downtown Post NYC website.
Click here.
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Aboard Hornblower Hybrid on July 4, 2015, waiting for the fireworks to begin.
(Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
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Downtown Post Dining
ON TUESDAYS THROUGH AUGUST, 'GET LOW' OFFERS DISCOUNTS TO SOME OF DOWNTOWN'S MOST DISTINGUISHED RESTAURANTS
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| At Dine Around Downtown 2019, thousands of people converged on 28 Liberty Plaza to sample food from 37 Lower Manhattan restaurants. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
When the weather cooperates, and it did on May 21 for the Downtown Alliance's annual food festival, Dine Around Downtown, thousands of people turn out to sample the wares of Lower Manhattan restaurants at prices that are just as delectable as the food. First-rate dishes from some of the priciest tables in town could be purchased for $5 or $6, whetting the appetite for more.
For those who missed this year's Dine Around Downtown, there
is more - the summer-long Get Low promotion from the Downtown Alliance of 20 percent off dinner for two at a different restaurant every Tuesday.
The program kicked off on May 28 with Mad Dog & Beans and runs
through Tuesday, Aug. 27. This coming Tuesday,
July 9, diners can try out Temple Court in the Beekman Hotel. Based on the tuna salad with wasabi, arugula and heirloom radishes; the porchetta sandwiches and the Gâteau Basque with strawberries that Temple Court dished up at Dine Around Downtown, a meal at Temple Court should be superb.
Later in the summer, look for the Mark Joseph Steakhouse, Cobble & Co., Blue Park Kitchen, 10 Corso Como, Barbalu, and the Trading Post. The feast concludes on Aug. 27 with Crown Shy, a restaurant that opened in March at 70 Pine St. and elicited rave reviews.
For more information about Get Low, including details on participating restaurants, click here.
- Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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Bits & Bytes
MELVILLE GALLERY RENOVATIONS ANNOUNCED; GLIMPSES OF ONE WALL ST.'S GLORIOUS RED ROOM; 125 GREENWICH ST. FORECLOSED
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The Thompson Warehouse at 213 Water St. dates from 1868 and is part of the South Street Seaport Museum. The building was once a tin and metal warehouse.
(Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
South Street Seaport Museum begins Melville Gallery renovations: After years of financial negotiations, the South Street Seaport Museum recently announced that it has hired the architectural firm of Beyer Blinder Belle to undertake the restoration and renovation of the Museum's Melville Gallery at 213 Water St. The five-story building was originally a metal and tin warehouse designed in 1868 for A.A. Thompson & Co. by the noted New York City architect, Stephen D. Hatch. The Museum has used the building as an art gallery and as a venue for meetings, book readings, concerts and plays. The Museum's library was once housed on an upper floor.
The lower floors were extensively damaged in October 2012 by Superstorm Sandy. Subsequently, the Museum applied to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (LMDC) for funds to renovate the Melville Gallery. In March 2016, LMDC provisionally approved a $4.8 million allocation to be used to improve the building's accessibility and functionality. Independently, the Museum raised money for the project design, which is expected to be completed in 2019.
At its board meeting on March 19, 2019, LMDC noted that the dispersal of the $4.8 million would be contingent on LMDC's approval of the final design and certification of compliance with all applicable environmental laws.
The money will be used in part for code compliant upgrades to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. A new HVAC system, elevator, stairs and staircases will be installed that will provide access to the core and shell improvements planned for floors two through five.
The space will reopen in 2021.
In announcing that Beyer Blinder Belle had been hired for the project, Capt. Jonathan Boulware, president and CEO of the museum, said that the renovations "will dramatically improve the Museum's ability to partner with other community organizations to host programs and book events to generate support for the Museum." - Terese Loeb Kreuzer
"YIMBY Reveals Interior Renovations of One Wall Street's Red Room, in Financial District," New York YIMBY, 6/23/19. "In the midst of the largest office-to-condo conversion in New York City history at One Wall Street, its famous Red Room is undergoing a 16-month-long renovation," says New York YIMBY. "Designed in 1931 by renowned muralist Hildreth Meière, the former banking hall's walls and ceilings are lined with 8,911 square feet of oxblood, orange, and gold glass tile mosaic, some of which has become damaged over the years. The Red Room will likely serve as retail space when the building reopens, which is expected to be in 2021. Macklowe Properties is the developer of the $1.5 billion Financial District conversion and expansion. CORE is handling sales and marketing of the planned 566 housing units in the rest of the Ralph Walker-designed skyscraper. SLCE Architects is serving as the architect of record." For the complete article along with photographs of the Red Room, click here.
"Lender files motion to foreclose on 125 Greenwich St.," Crain's New York Business, 7/2/19. "A major lender in the 125 Greenwich St. project has filed a motion to foreclose on the Financial District development," Crain's New York Business reports. "United Overseas Bank, a Singapore-based lender, filed a complaint in state Supreme Court Monday, alleging it is owed $187 million that was advanced to the developers. According to the complaint, developers secured a building loan for about $187 million from the bank, accruing more than $1.6 million in interest as of June 3. In the complaint, the bank states that the developers requested an additional $11.5 million to pay contractors and workers, but they were not dispersed funds due to their inability to make payments." For the complete article, click here.
'Plans Unveiled for More PATH Service at World Trade Center," NY1.com, 6/20/19. "The crush of people arriving each morning at the World Trade Center PATH station from New Jersey should be easing a bit," NY1.com predicts. "The Port Authority Thursday unveiled its three-year, billion-dollar plan to give some breathing room for 280,000 daily riders. ... For 2022, the PATH will have a new signal system and 72 new rail cars, the centerpiece of the Port Authority's plan. Officials say the rail line will carry 40 percent more people - about 18,000 extra riders in the rush hour - on its Newark to World Trade Center route, which will run longer, nine-car train sets. Other lines will carry 20 percent more riders. More immediately, the PATH will run two train trips in the rush hours on its two busiest lines starting this September." For the complete article, click here.
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Letter to the editor
LOCALS WRITE LETTER TO THE MAYOR ASKING HIM TO SUPPORT
USE OF THE DEUTSCHE BANK SITE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
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| The World Trade Center construction site, with Tower 1 rising in the background and 130 Liberty St. - the site of the former Deutsche Bank building - being taken down in the foreground. July 19, 2010 (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
To the editor:
There is news afoot that the the lot where Deutsche Bank once stood on Albany Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets will be up for development very shortly. It appears that there will be an open bid for ideas that probably will go to the most profitable proposal rather than the one that is more practical for those of us who live and work here. Because this plot is Port Authority property we feel we should have a say in the matter.
Below is a letter to Mayor de Blasio requesting community input especially weighted to low-income and affordable housing among other things. We have until July 11th before the bidding begins officially and want the mayor to add some stipulations that benefit the community.
Here are some links to the proposal and what might rise on the site:
Todd Fine
President, Washington Street Advocacy Group
Esther Regelson
Local resident
Dear Mayor Bill de Blasio:
As local residents and community groups, we oppose the sale of 5 World Trade Center to the highest bidder. We demand that you stand up for New York City and Lower Manhattan and not allow the governor to dispose of the last World Trade Center site as a raw financial play. After repeatedly refusing to provide local residents and Community Board 1 any information in advance, the Port Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation abruptly released a Request for Proposals last week. The published decision criteria are completely disrespectful to New York City. They make the quality of the skyscraper's design and effects on the community only marginal aspects of the decision criteria compared to the price that can be achieved.
Ideally, if the World Trade Center General Project Plan must be changed to allow for housing, it should be amended to develop the site as largely low-income housing, affordable in perpetuity. In public listening sessions in 2002-2003, residents frequently urged that the World Trade Center reconstruction include low-income housing. Unfortunately, as the opaque redevelopment process went forward, housing goals disappeared. Out of the billions of dollars in federal funding, including nearly $3 billion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the LMDC's "Partial Action Plan 6" for affordable housing has only subsidized the design process for a mere 33 new low-income units in a single mixed-income building at 270 Greenwich Street. In fact, the affordable housing plan spent just $41 million in total, in comparison with over a billion dollars spent on the memorial and cultural grants.
Several studies by Community Board 1 and other housing organizations have noted the absolute decline of affordable and low-income housing in Lower Manhattan since 2001. This trend was exacerbated by the LMDC's overall encouragement of luxury development and the demolition of rent-stabilized loft buildings throughout the area. For long-time residents, the continued push for high-rise development, without commensurate city planning in a neighborhood only relatively recently rezoned, has created a miserable state of ceaseless construction with overwhelming problems of vehicle and pedestrian traffic, trash pile-up, and access to light.
As Mayor, you could affirm your commitment to progressive housing goals by insisting that the 5 World Trade Center site - as public land - be used for low-income housing in a reasonable manner. Selling the site to private developers for any purpose will only disappoint people across the city and across the country whereas a low-income housing initiative would rekindle the ideals that were lost as the World Trade Center redevelopment became a fight over power and money, with greed always winning the day. The opportunity to influence the situation is before you and we urge you to act quickly before the RFP site tour planned for Thursday, July 11.
We welcome letters to the editor. We reserve the right to edit them for clarity and length. Email them to editor@downtownpostnyc.com
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Downtown bulletin board
FREE SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS; DOWNTOWN VOICES AUDITIONS
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| Paul Hovitz, who has been a member of Community Board 1 for 27 years, officially stepped down at the June 25, 2019 full board meeting. For the last three years, he was CB1's vice chairman. Before that, he was chair of the Youth & Education Committee. He was lauded by his colleagues on the Community Board for the many causes that he has championed over his years of service, affecting many people in the community, whether they knew him or not. Because of Hovitz's work, CB 1 has schools and educational facilities that it would not otherwise have had. He has been a passionate advocate for affordable housing and has worked diligently to preserve the historic South Street Seaport. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer) |
Free summer meals for kids: All New York City public school students who are 18 years old or younger can receive free breakfast and lunch all year. No application is necessary. The meals are served at schools when they're in session. During the summer, free meals are served through August 30 at public schools, community pool centers, public parks, libraries and at New York City Housing Authority locations. For more information and a list of locations where meals are served,
click here.
Downtown Voices holds auditions: Trinity Church Wall Street's semiprofessional choir, Downtown Voices, is auditioning new volunteer singers to begin rehearsals in September 2019. Downtown Voices rehearses on Wednesday evenings from September to June with approximately six concerts a year. All applicants are required to submit a video sample of their singing and after a screening process, successful applicants will be invited to audition in person. These auditions will include sight-reading from a four-part hymn, singing a prepared choral piece, as well as performing an aria of the singer's choosing.
For an audition application or for more information, click here.
Whitney Museum will be open daily in July and August: The Whitney Museum of American Art at 99 Gansevoort St. will be open to the public seven days a week during the months of July and August. Ordinarily closed on Tuesdays, the Museum will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Extended hours continue on Friday and Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., and Friday evenings are pay-what-you-wish from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Museum's summer exhibitions include Spilling Over: Painting Color in the 1960s and the 2019 Whitney Biennial. This summer, the Museum will host a wide variety of events connected to the Biennial, including performances by Biennial artists Laura Ortman, Las Nietas de Nonó, and Ellie Ga as well as a conversation with Beta-Local, a Puerto Rican non-profit run by Biennial artist Sofía Gallisá Muriente and artists Pablo Guardiola and Michael Linares.
On June 28, the Museum debuted The Whitney's Collection: Selections from 1900 to 1965, presenting beloved works by artists associated with the Whitney, including Elizabeth Catlett, Edward Hopper, Jasper Johns, Jacob Lawrence, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Georgia O'Keeffe, and others. The show also features a panoramic installation of Calder's Circus that dramatizes its narrative arc and major recent acquisitions of works by Mary Ellen Bute, Ed Clark, and Norman Lewis. For more information about the Whitney,
click here.
Open Call for Seaport Community Mural Project: The Office of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) have announced an open call for mural designs to be applied to structures that are part of the Interim Flood Protection Measures (IFPM) program that will be installed along South Street in Manhattan's South Street Seaport neighborhood. The Open Call isn't just limited to professional artists - anyone may submit a design, which will be printed on vinyl banners and attached to the IFPM. Winning proposals will receive $1,000.
For more information on the project and how to apply,
click here.
The submission deadline is July 15, 2019. (Applications sent by mail must be postmarked by July 12, 2019.)
Free kayaking: The kayaking season at the Downtown Boathouse on Pier 26 in Hudson River Park is now in full swing with kayaking on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Downtown Boathouse also offers free kayaking on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Governors Island. The Downtown Boathouse is run by volunteers. Kayaking is free (no experience required). For more information,
click here.
Connection bus service changes: Changes to the Downtown Connection bus service started on
May 27 and will continue through the end of the summer season. Buses are running on a temporary limited route near The Battery to prevent the misuse of buses by aggressive ticket sellers. For more information,
click here.
Ferry schedules: On
Monday, May 20, the summer schedules for NYC Ferry routes went into effect. These routes serve the Lower East Side, South Brooklyn, Rockaway, the East River, Astoria and Soundview, with connecting buses in the Rockaways and midtown Manhattan. As of May 20, ferries to and from Pier 11 at Wall Street and Governors Island are running on weekends
. Also on May 20, NYC Ferry began serving the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with a new stop along the Astoria Route. For more information,
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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Downtown Post NYC is emailed to subscribers twice a week.
Editor: Terese Loeb Kreuzer
All articles and photographs in Downtown Post NYC are copyrighted and
may not be reprinted or republished without written permission.
© 2019
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