1194 – Sverre is crowned King of Norway. 1534 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to reach Prince Edward Island. 1613 – The Globe Theatre in London burns to the ground. 1659 – At the Battle of Konotop the Ukrainian armies of Ivan Vyhovsky defeat the Russians led by Prince Trubetskoy. 1786 – Alexander […]
Archives for June 2017
Downtown’s Edifice Complex Poised to Get Worse
The developer that spent nearly $400 million to acquire adjoining lots in the Seaport District in 2016, along with hundreds of thousands of square feet of air rights, has received demolition permits for two structures at the site. This may indicate that the construction of a new “super-tall” tower, which could surpass One World Trade […]
Today in History
1776 – Thomas Hickey, Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington, is hanged for mutiny and sedition. 1841 – The Paris Opera Ballet premieres Giselle in the Salle Le Peletier. 1846 – Adolphe Sax patents the saxophone. 1855 – Sigma Chi fraternity is founded in North America. 1859 – The first conformation dog […]
Grief and Tragedy in Battery Park City
Stories in yesterday’s BroadsheetDAILY leave me so laden with grief and anger that words are difficult. First, the person who died in the water. This tragedy is a testimonial to the stupidity of the governing entities in Battery Park City. I know exactly what Denise Rubin describes from my calls to *311*, (fortunately, not 911) […]
That Dog Don’t Hunt
The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), which often ignores or contradicts the advisory opinions of local community boards, appears to agree with Community Board 1 (CB1) on the question of a new building proposed for Canal Street, between Church Street and Broadway. That’s where developer Trans World Equities wants to construct a nine-story residential tower […]
To the editor: On Saturday night (June 24) I watched an unfortunate man drown in the Hudson River, mere inches from the Esplanade and South Cove, as I tried to explain to a 911 operator where the EMTs and NYPD Harbor Patrol would find BATTERY PARK CITY, the Esplanade and South Cove. (I repeatedly told […]
Can God Afford to Rent in Lower Manhattan?
The only house of worship in Battery Park City is winding down operations in anticipation of shutting entirely later this year. St. Joseph’s Chapel, located within the Gateway Plaza apartment complex, has been buffeted by exorbitant rent increases that the leadership of St. Peter’s Parish in the Financial District (of which the Chapel is an […]
June 26
221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar. 699 – En no Ozuno, a Japanese mystic and apothecary who will later be regarded as the founder of a folk religion Shugendō, is banished to Izu Ōshima. 1407 – Ulrich von Jungingen becomes Grand Master […]
EYES TO THE SKY June 26 – July 9, 2017
Everyone in the United States will experience, at minimum, a partial eclipse of the Sun on August 21, 2017. In Lower Manhattan, a partial eclipse will be visible. The following short animations reveal the astronomy, wonder and mystery behind a total eclipse of the sun. These animations introduce what has been described as the most […]
One Step Closer…
After years of quixotic effort and false starts, a bill that would guarantee Battery Park City residents multiple seats on the board of the agency that governs them, the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) has passed the State Senate. An identical bill also passed the State Assembly, and the measure now goes to the desk […]
June 23
1532 – Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France sign a secret treaty against Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. 1611 – The mutinous crew of Henry Hudson’s fourth voyage sets Hudson, his son and seven loyal crew members adrift in an open boat in what is now Hudson Bay; they are never […]
All Aboard: Upstairs, Downstairs
Discover the world aboard the Great Liners, where Third Class immigrants endured tough voyages in cramped lower decks while First Class American passengers traveled in luxury, in the South Street Seaport Museum’s new exhibition, open June 23. Millions: Migrants and Millionaires aboard the Great Liners, 1900-1914 explores the dynamic between First and Third Class as […]
Velocipede Valets
The Citi Bike Valet Service in Battery Park City, which ran as a pilot program from August through November 2016, has been relaunched and will run through November 3. The service will be available Monday through Friday, 7:30am-7:30pm at the West and Chambers Streets station, one of the CitiBike system’s busiest stations. During these hours, […]
The Girls with the Golden Arms
The P.S. 276 Chargers softball team ended their season on Sunday, June 12, by winning their first-ever NYC Championship, 14-9, at Red Storm Field at St. John’s University. The team, made up of 14 energetic and spunky sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, had an incredibly strong season this year, winning all but their first game. […]
Falsely Accused
A professor at the Pratt Institute who harnesses publicly available data to address urban-planning questions has discovered that the New York Police Department (NYPD) wrote more than $19,000 in tickets for a legal parking space in Battery Park City. Ben Wellington, who teaches at Pratt’s Graduate Center for Planning and also writes the I Quant […]
June 20
451 – Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius’ battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats, causing the Romans to interpret it as a victory. 1248 – The University of Oxford receives its Royal charter. 1787 – Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the ‘United States’. 1789 […]
Complimentary Culture
Spend tonight (Tuesday, June 20) exploring the City’s history and heritage at the fourth annual Night at the Museums, from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. The event, part of the 2017 River to River Festival, will give locals and tourists alike the chance to see Lower Manhattan’s diverse range of cultural institutions and historical sites — […]
June 19
1306 – The Earl of Pembroke’s army defeats Bruce’s Scottish army at the Battle of Methven. 1586 – English colonists leave Roanoke Island, after failing to establish England’s first permanent settlement in North America. 1846 – The first officially recorded, organized baseball game is played under Alexander Cartwright’s rules on Hoboken, New Jersey’s Elysian Fields […]
The Descent of You
Tucked away on the third floor of the U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green, above the National Museum of the American Indian, is an unassuming room filled with a few dozen computers, some printers, and a couple of staff members and volunteers. Give that this office is the National Archives at New York City, it […]
Who Speaks for You?
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday nominated three new appointees to fill empty seats on the board of the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA), one of whom is a part-time resident of Battery Park City, another of whom lives elsewhere in Lower Manhattan, while the third has no direct connection to the community, but has extensive […]