1227 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for his failure to participate in the Crusades. 1717 – An earthquake strikes Antigua Guatemala, destroying much of the city’s architecture and making authorities consider moving the capital to a different city. 1789 – The United States Department of War first establishes […]
Archives for September 2017
Tunnel to Towers Report
“We had a great time as always as the official FINISH LINE crowd control team. And while soccer moms sometimes give us a hard time staying put until the runners pass, it’s people on bikes who were difficult, especially when we asked them to walk their bikes while crossing Warren Street. In order to make […]
Is Lower Manhattan Coral Island or Vulgaria?
A slew of sources have recently deemed Battery Park City the child-friendliest neighborhood in Manhattan (or anywhere in New York City), while at least one source says the Financial District is among the City’s least hospitable communities for children. The 2017 ratings by Niche.com, an online database that helps users determine which neighborhoods (and which […]
September 28
48 BC – Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He and Hippolytus, church leader of Rome, are exiled to the mines of Sardinia. 1066 – William the Conqueror invades England beginning the Norman conquest of England. 1538 – Ottoman-Venetian […]
It’s Official: Chin Wins a Third Term
On Tuesday, the City’s Board of Elections (BOE) certified the results of the September 12 Democratic Party primary race for the City Council seat representing the First District, which covers Lower Manhattan. The final result is the same as the provisional tally, in that incumbent Margaret Chin has been deemed the winner by a few […]
September 27
1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the River Somme, beginning the Norman conquest of England. 1540 – The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) receives its charter from Pope Paul III. 1590 – Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, making his reign the […]
Tunnel to Towers Run, The Musical
On the morning of September 25th, as 30,000 men, women and children assembled on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, Tom Goodkind, maestro of the TriBattery Pops was somewhere in Tribeca negotiating with the NYPD to get a baritone sax, two trombones, an alto sax, a tenor sax, a flugelhorn, two flutes, two […]
Working in Tandem
At its Tuesday meeting, Community Board 1 (CB1) enacted a resolution endorsing a consensus view of how to manage bicycle traffic along Battery Park City’s Esplanade and Greenway (the path that parallels West Street). This joint vision was the product of a year-long collaboration between members of CB1 and officials from the Battery Park City […]
September 26
46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix in accordance with a vow he made at the battle of Pharsalus. 1087 – William II is crowned King of England, and reigns until 1100. 1580 – Sir Francis Drake finishes his circumnavigation of the Earth. 1687 – The Parthenon in […]
Community Center at Stuyvesant High School Open House
One of the little known benefits of living in Battery Park City is its Community Center tucked away in Stuyvesant High School on Chambers Street. The Center is administered by the Battery Park City Authority and the facilities are first rate. Fitness classes offer Tai Chi, Bounce Fit Cardio and Boxing Classes. There’s a gym […]
Paying It Forward
More than 100 friends and neighbors gathered at Treadwell Park on Monday evening for a Battery Park City Cares fund raiser to aid victims from a slew of recent hurricanes. The assembled crowd (which included several senior staff from the Battery Park City Authority) shared drinks and food (donated, along with the space, by Treadwell […]
September 25
275 – In Rome (after the assassination of Aurelian), the Senate proclaims Marcus Claudius Tacitus Emperor. 1066 – The Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Viking invasions of England. 1237 – England and Scotland sign the Treaty of York, establishing the location of their common border. 1513 – Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez […]
Putting the Action in Benefaction
Tonight (Monday, September 25), Lower Manhattan’s homegrown humanitarian organization, Battery Park City Cares, will host a fund raiser at Treadwell Park (301 South Avenue, at the corner of Albany Street), from 6:30 to 9:00 pm, to aid communities devastated by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The organization was founded in the wake of the terrorist attacks […]
September 22
904 – The warlord Zhu Quanzhong kills Emperor Zhaozong, the penultimate emperor of the Tang dynasty, after seizing control of the imperial government. 1598 – English playwright Ben Jonson kills actor Gabriel Spenser in a duel and is indicted for manslaughter. 1692 – The last of those convicted of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials […]
Delayed Deliverance
A student from Stuyvesant High School, whose name has not been released, fell from the Esplanade into the Hudson River on Wednesday, around 1:00 pm, and was not aided by emergency responders for almost 20 minutes, according to witnesses. One bystander, a Battery Park City resident who has asked that her name be withheld, recalls, […]
September 21
455 – Emperor Avitus enters Rome with a Gallic army and consolidates his power. 1776 – Part of New York City is burned shortly after being occupied by British forces. 1792 – French Revolution: The National Convention declares France a republic and abolishes the absolute monarchy. 1897 – The “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa […]
A Report Card for Rental Buildings
A website that aims to, “bring trust back to the Manhattan rental market,” by using government data to foster transparency on the part of landlords and reward those who adhere to best practices, has created a search engine that assigns a letter grade to every apartment in New York based on public records. Rentlogic.com, founded […]
September 20
622 – Muhammad and Abu Bakr arrive in Medina 1498 – The 1498 Nankai earthquake generates a tsunami that washes away the building housing the statue of the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan; since then the Buddha has sat in the open air. 1519 – Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlúcar de […]
Reading, Writing, and Statistics
Data from the City’s Department of Education (DOE) indicates that there may be a correlation between the amount an elementary school spends on each student, and how many applications it receives for each available seat. A further connection may be observed between per-student spending and achievement, as measured by standardized test scores. These parallels can […]
September 19
335 – Flavius Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle, emperor Constantine I. 1676 – Jamestown is burned to the ground by the forces of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon’s Rebellion. 1778 – The Continental Congress passes the first United States federal budget. 1796 – George Washington’s Farewell Address is printed across […]