Music in Peck Slip Park

Saturday, Sept. 14 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

A group of neighbors came together to show some love to Peck Slip Park, a small but vital public space in the South Street Seaport Historic District. Their first goal was to establish real, sustainable landscaping in the planted areas of the park. To that end they worked with the Parks Department to replant the garden beds with new native shrubs and perennials. Their goal was a thriving pollinator garden made up of native plants and shrubs that are not only beautiful but attract birds, butterflies, bees and other insects important for the health of our environment.

"Music in Peck Slip Park" is free. For more information, click here.

EXPLORING NEW YORK HARBOR ABOARD THE JOHN J. HARVEY

The historic fireboat John J. Harvey with Battery Park City and other parts of Lower Manhattan in the background. (Photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest East Coast container port and of critical importance not only to everyone who works, lives or visits New York City but to millions of people up and down the East Coast. The Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is the principal container ship facility for goods entering and leaving the New York metropolitan area and the northeastern quadrant of North America. Nevertheless, although New Yorkers may catch glimpses of commercial shipping when they spy tankers and barges in the harbor, the extent and nature of this shipping remains largely unseen. To address this oversight, on August 24 the retired fireboat John J. Harvey offered a five-hour, adults-only trip that entailed circumnavigating Staten Island where much of the harbor's commercial activity takes place.

This trip involves sights, smells and sounds. Boats traversing New York Harbor are accompanied by the sound of bells emanating from the harbor's numerous buoys. The buoys serve as nesting sites for the harbor's birds — among them, cormorants, gulls and ospreys. As for smells, there may be occasional whiffs of the salty Atlantic Ocean but the more pervasive smell at least in certain parts of the commercial harbor is likely to be the smell of oil.

— Terese Loeb Kreuzer

The Staten Island boat graveyard is located in the Arthur Kill on the west side of Staten Island. It was founded in the 1930's as a salvage yard for boat parts. The abandoned and decomposing boats — mostly cargo ships and tugboats — date from the 20th century. Some of them are historic. (All photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Mooncakes from Té Company

The Mid-Autumn Festival, widely celebrated in places of Chinese heritage, is a harvest festival that takes place in the 8th lunar month when the moon is at its largest and brightest. As part of the celebration, round mooncakes filled with red bean paste, lotus seed paste or salted egg yolks are exchanged between family members and friends. This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival takes place on Sept. 17. The eating of mooncakes accompanies wishes for wealth and happiness. Té Company makes three kinds of mooncakes. For information about mooncakes from Té Company, click here.

The Té Company tea room at 163 West 10th St. is open from Tuesday through Sunday. Mooncakes can be picked up at the tea room or shipped.

Bits & Bytes

'LANDING DAY,' WHEN THE FIRST JEWS ARRIVED IN 'NIEUW AMSTERDAM,' IS NOW OFFICIALLY ON NEW YORK CITY'S CALENDAR

On April 8, 1730, New York City’s Jews consecrated the Mill Street Synagogue — the first synagogue in North America. The site at 26 South William St. in Lower Manhattan is now a parking garage, but the synagogue has been remembered. On April 8, 2019, a stretch of South William Street between Mill Street and Broad Street was renamed Mill Street Synagogue/Seixas Way. Gershom Mendes Seixas was the synagogue’s spiritual leader and was instrumental in getting its congregation of around 500 people to support the American Revolution.

(Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

NYC officially recognizes Landing Day, when the first Jewish community arrived in 1654, NY Jewish Week, Sept. 12, 2024. "Three hundred and seventy years ago this week, a group of 23 Sephardic Jews arrived on the shores of New York — then called New Amsterdam — and created the first organized Jewish community in the city," according to NY Jewish Week. "What a difference a few centuries make: Today, New York City is home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world. On Thursday, the City Council voted on a resolution to honor both, turning Landing Day from an event marked by a few Jewish leaders into an official date on the city’s calendar. The resolution aims to 'commemorate the arrival of the first Jewish community in New Amsterdam in 1654 and to celebrate the continuing importance of the Jewish community in the City of New York.' Landing Day has been commemorated in the city several times throughout history, most recently last year at a ceremony to recognize the 369th anniversary of the community. That event was held at the Jewish Tercentenary Monument at Peter Minuit Plaza in Battery Park, erected by the State of New York in 1954." For the complete article, click here.

Bulletin Board

CONSTITUTION DAY IN MANHATTAN; SEAPORT MUSEUM BOOK CLUB TO DISCUSS 'AMERICA'S FORMATIVE TABLOID TRIAL'

Sept. 17: The US Constitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787. George Washington wrote a cover letter explaining to the states why they should ratify it. The first printing was in the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser two days later. This year on September 17, culture NOW, the United States District Court for the District of New York (the first court to convene after the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789), and the Lower Manhattan Historical Association are offering an afternoon symposium about the US Constitution and its ratification. A rare copy of the Constitution will be on display. Speakers will include Professor Kevin Arlyck, Georgetown Law; Honorable Judge P. Kevin Castel, United States Southern District Court; Seth Kaller, Historical Documents & Legacy Collections; James von Klemperer, FAIA, President Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. Free. For more information, click here. RSVP by clicking here.

Oct. 28: Meeting on the last Monday of almost every month, the South Street Seaport Museum hosts a maritime-themed book club in partnership with McNally Jackson Books. Seaport Museum staff and special guests lead the discussions. On Oct. 28 the book club will discuss "The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice" by Alex Hortis. The book is about the dueling trial lawyers, ruthless newsmen, and shameless hucksters who turned the Polly Bodine case into America’s formative tabloid trial. The book can be purchased at most bookstores. Register for this meeting of the Seaport Museum Book Club to receive a 10% off discount code for online orders of the book from McNally Jackson Books. To register, click here. For book purchase information, click here. Place: 207 Water St. Time: 6:30 p.m. Free.

To see the events and activities on the Battery Park City Authority's fall calendar, click here. Most events are free. For some, reservations are required.

"Edges of Ailey" integrates many art forms: visual art, live performances, music, archival materials and a multi-screen video installation drawn from recordings of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. A 400-page scholarly catalogue accompanies the exhibition.  (Photo: Natasha Moustache)

Opening on Sept. 25 at the Whitney Museum of American Art, "Edges of Ailey" is the first large-scale museum exhibition to celebrate the life, dances, influences and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer, Alvin Ailey.

Ailey was inspired and influenced by Black history in the American South, the Caribbean, Brazil and West Africa, by the practices of Black spirituality, by the Black migration from the South to the North, by the history of Black music, and more. Black women, including Ailey's mother, Lula, who brought him up by herself, played a prominent role in his life and inspired his work.

Like Ailey himself whose creative work was multi-faceted, "Edges of Ailey" will incorporate many art forms. A live performance program will accompany the gallery component. The Ailey dance organization will be in residence at the Whitney for one week during each of five months. When the Ailey organization is not in residence dance commissions by leading choreographers and their collaborators will be presented. Program tickets went on sale on September 10. Tickets are limited and must be booked in advance. Visitors with program tickets that include Museum admission can visit the exhibition on the same day within regular museum hours.

For more information about the exhibition and to purchase tickets, click here.

On September 8, Amos Machanic, a former performer with the Alvin Ailey Company and now a "teaching artist" with the company, led people of varying ages in dance steps from "Revelations," one of Ailey's signature works. The lesson took place outside the Whitney Museum of American Art where the retrospective exhibition "Edges of Ailey" will open on Sept. 25. (Photo:© Terese Loeb Kreuzer)