The Broadsheet - Lower Manhattan’s Local Newspaper

Trinity Church has gifted to the Lower Manhattan streetscape a new, iconic stained-glass window on its Broadway facade that promises to become a landmark in its own right. Fashioned by world-renowned artist Thomas Denny, the new window is a narrative depiction of the Parable of the Talents, from the Gospel of Matthew, which tells the story of a master who leaves a trio of servants in charge of three allotments of his property while he travels. When the master returns, he judges each servant by the profit earned on the portion of his estate for which that hireling was responsible. The master praises the two servants who earned handsome returns, and condemns the third, who risked nothing, but gained nothing. This leads to the quote that most remember from the Parable of the Talents, when the master says, “for to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

This passage has sparked debate for 20 centuries. In the 1960s, it inspired the sociologist Robert K. Merton to coin the phrase “the Matthew Effect,” which refers to the process of cumulative advantage summed up by the cynical aphorism, “the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” (Merton, incidentally, was a hyperactive originator of catchy archetypes that would later permeate popular culture—he also coined phrases such as “self-fulfilling prophecy,” “unintended consequences,” and “role model.”)

But was Merton right about Matthew? Most theologians argue that the Parable of the Talents is analogy that has little to do with worldly wealth, and is instead a warning that those gifted with God’s grace are called upon to put that gift to work and accomplish something with it. In a similar context, it would be easy to misinterpret the narrative illustrated by Trinity’s new window.

Several years ago, Trinity’s Rector, the Rev. Phil Jackson, began to prepare for a new window above the Church’s main entrance by reflecting on which Gospel passage would be most appropriate. “People sometimes think that I chose the Parable of the Talents because we’re on Wall Street, and that I wanted say to the community on Wall Street, ‘you need to get your act together, you need to do more than just invest your money,’” he reflected on the day Trinity’s new window was dedicated, in November. “But it actually had nothing to do with Wall Street. I chose it for us. Because Trinity Wall Street has a great abundance of wealth.” This was a reference to the fact that Trinity Church was granted ownership of most of the land in Lower Manhattan (more than 200 acres) by Queen Anne in 1705, when New York was still a British colony. Although much of that land has been sold off in the intervening three centuries, the Church’s residual endowment is still worth more than $6 billion.

“What this parable suggests to me very strongly is responsibility,” Rev. Jackson continued. “The message I was trying to get across to our community is that when you come through the doors and want to be part of Trinity Church, it’s not a privilege. It’s a responsibility. The responsibility is to not bury what we have, but to do something with it for our king and master. The window should remind us of what we have to do with what we’ve been given.” (Trinity Church has given away more than $120 million in the last three years, to non-profit organizations and public-service groups around the nation and throughout the world.)

When Trinity’s search committee settled on Mr. Denny to design the new window based on the Parable of the Talents, the artist insisted upon adding a further narrative thread from Matthew. “Jesus speaks about giving drink to the thirsty and clothing the naked,” he says. This is emblematized by the figure of a supplicant, receiving a cup from a benefactor.

“If you look around the edges of the window,” Rev. Jackson notes, “you'll see one group of people feeding someone. One group of people giving someone something to drink. Another group of people giving someone clothing. One person visiting someone in what looks like a cell. Denny is representing all of that in the window.”

Dr. Susan Ward, a Trinity parishioner who is also an art history professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, says, “Trinity is one of the earliest Gothic Revival buildings in the United States. And of course, with the Gothic Revival comes stained glass narrative, which was a big part of medieval stained glass. But it actually hasn’t been well represented in Trinity’s stained glass at all, until this window.”

“One of the things about this type of stained glass,” Rev. Jackson adds, in a reference to Mr. Denny’s artisanal approach, “is he actually uses the old medieval technique. He’s one of the last glass artists who uses the same technique they used in the Middle Ages, and has kept that going. He layers the glass, so that you get different colors.” One result of this craftsmanship with that Mr. Denny’s windows are noted for the unique way in which light and color play across the surface -- an effect that is achieved by separately etching with acid and staining with silver thousands of individual pieces of glass, before each is hand painted and fired.

But for all the ancient craftsmanship, the new Trinity window contains some strikingly modern idioms. “Down in the bottom right, check out the guy with the cell phone,” advises Rev. Jackson. “He's so busy and focused on the phone that he can't see what's going on.”

Mr. Denny adds, “it’s metaphorically about burying oneself, so there's a figure who is hunched over his device, unaware of actual life around him.”

“Everyone’s indicted in that one,” Rev. Jackson says, laughing.

Mr. Denny’s creation is the first new stained-glass window installed in Trinity Church in more than a century, and is part of a larger rejuvenation project that began in 2018. This initiative includes a new organ, restoration of original floor plans by 19th-century architect Richard Upjohn, the installation of disabled-access features throughout the facility, and a facelift for Trinity’s outdoor churchyard.

“One of the most important goals of the rejuvenation project,” notes Rev. Jackson, “is that we look at it in a 100-year timeframe. With appropriate care and maintenance and updating, these things will last a century or more, and we believe that actually will happen, God willing. So we’re going to be looking at this window for decades. Just see what you see and enjoy its blessings.”

Edgar Holley, Sr., a 31-year resident of Battery Park City, died at home on December 2, 2022. He was 78.

Born in Pensacola, FL, Ed grew up in Maywood, IL. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he was known for his signature greeting, "Wah Hoo Wah, Daddio," and as the "Dartmouth Bearcat" linebacker on his undefeated Dartmouth football team of 1965. After receiving his MBA from the University of Chicago, he rose through the ranks in finance, operations, and management at companies including Mobil Oil, ITT Latin America, Revlon International, American Express, and Glorious Foods.

He and his wife, Mary Anne, met on a blind date as college freshmen 60 years ago and were married for 56 years. Mary Anne is a professor at Baruch College and a founding member of the Battery Park City CERT team. His son Ed, Jr. is a baseball coach at Friend's Academy and a musician who leads the band, Preachermann & the Revival.

He took sabbaticals from the corporate world to give back to humanitarian causes, assisting small business owners at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration and the New York Urban League. Of equal importance, he cherished the adventures of coaching his son's Little League teams on Roosevelt Island. The family is grateful to his former players for their outpouring of love and memories of how much he mattered to their young lives.

He will be missed by his many downtown friends, some of whom worked out with him at the gym for years, and all of whom knew him for his smile, wit, and sense of humor.

The U.S. Senate failed to take action Wednesday evening on a bill that directly affects many hundreds of Lower Manhattan residents. The so-called “omnibus bill,” which is intended to pay for all government operations beyond a Friday deadline, contains a provision sponsored by New York Senator Kristin Gillibrand that would partially fund the World Trade Center Health Program. The Health Program, which provides medical treatment to people affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is facing an impending budget shortfall that, if left unaddressed, could cause it to scale back services starting in less than two years. Read more...

Multiple sources confirm that the Rite Aid pharmacy in Brookfield Place is scheduled to close. Two employees (who asked not to be identified, because they are not authorized to speak to the press) said they have been notified that the store will cease operations in the near future. Both said that they had not been given a specific date, and that no explanation for the closure had been provided. A press representative for Rite Aid corporation did not respond to a request for comment. Read more...

The Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) began construction last week on a new science play area at Pier 26 in Tribeca. Designed by the architectural firm Olin, the plan envisions a 4,000-square-foot marine science-themed space that will include custom-fabricated giant play structures in the shape of two endangered sturgeon species that are native to the Hudson River—the Atlantic sturgeon and shortnose sturgeon. Read more...

Learn more about the African Burial Ground National Monument in this art tour of the lobby. Led by National Park Service rangers. Free.

The Gov­er­nors Island Win­ter Vil­lage in Colonels Row fea­tures fun activ­i­ties and win­ter vibes for vis­i­tors of all ages, including an ice skat­ing rink open Thurs­day through Sun­day and all NYC Depart­ment of Edu­ca­tion holidays, fire pits and lawn games open Thursday through Sunday, sled and bike rentals from Blaz­ing Sad­dles available daily, and food from Lit­tle Eva’s avail­able daily.

Yiddish New York

Lunchtime and evening concerts, instrumental klezmer workshops and ensembles, yiddish dance workshops, kids and teen programs, online lectures, online films, and more.

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

1776 - Thomas Paine writes "These are the times that try men's souls."

1779 - Benedict Arnold court-martialed for improper conduct

1783 - General George Washington resigns his military commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army

1888 - Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh severs part of his left ear after an argument with Paul Gaugin

1946 - Highest ridership in NYC subway history (8.8 million passengers)

1954 - First human kidney transplant performed in Boston.

1968 - 82 members of US intelligence ship Pueblo released by North Korea

1972 - 16 plane crash survivors rescued after 70 days in the Andes; survived by cannibalism

1975 - Congress passes Metric Conversion Act

1987 - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, serving a life sentence for attempted assassination of President Gerald R Ford, escapes from prison by scaling an eight-foot fence and running into the West Virginia woods. She is captured two days later.

2002 - A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat.

1805 - Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, born in Vermont (d. 1844)

1867 - Madam C. J. Walker, First American self-made female millionaire, born in Louisiana (d. 1919)

1947 - Bill Rodgers, athlete

2007 - Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist and composer, dies of kidney failure at 82

2013 - Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and inventor of the AK-47, dies at 94