Year: 2017

In Memoriam: ‘The James Joyce of Jive’

Jon Hendricks, the legendary jazz lyricist and singer and one of the earliest residents of Battery Park City, died on November 24. He was 96. Acknowleged as one of the originators of “vocalese,” which adds lyrics to instrumental tunes and replaces instruments with voices, he was also praised as one of the most accomplished practitioners...
Jon Hendricks, "Poet Laureate of Jazz," in 2016 at Gateway Plaza

Looking for a Few Good Santas

Stockings with Care, the charity based in Battery Park City that makes the holidays brighter for families in need throughout the five boroughs, is asking for your help. This year, the organization will be buying, wrapping, and delivering gifts for more than 1,700 needy kids. You can assist by signing up as a Santa, which...

November 29

800 – Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III. 1783 – A 5.3 magnitude earthquake strikes New Jersey. 1864 – American Indian Wars: Sand Creek massacre – Colorado volunteers led by Colonel John Chivington massacre at least 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho noncombatants inside Colorado Territory. 1929 – U.S. Admiral...
U.S. Admiral Richard E. Byrd leads the first expedition to fly over the South Pole.

Lower Manhattan’s Version of the Second Avenue Subway

What the long-promised proposed T train (which is slated someday to run from 125th Street, down Second Avenue, to Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan) is for the rest of New York, the similarly ambitious and wistful notion of a direct rail connection between the World Trade Center and Newark Airport is for Downtown residents. The...
Seen from Newark Airport, the skyline of Lower Manhattan appears almost close enough to touch. But antiquated transportation infrastructure makes the trip to the skyscrapers on the horizon, in some cases, longer than the flights from which travelers arriving at the airport have just disembarked.

November 28

1582 – In Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway pay a £40 bond for their marriage license. They were married in 1582, when he was 18 and she was 25 years old. She outlived her husband by seven years. 1660 – At Gresham College, twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir...

POPS Pap

The City Council recently enacted a new law that strengthens enforcement over “privately owned public spaces” (POPS), in response to an April report from City Comptroller Scott Stringer, which found that of 51 POPS located in Lower Manhattan, only eight were meeting legally required standards for public access, hours, or the availability of amenities such...
A sign that adorns every entrance to 101 Barclay warns members of the public that they are not welcome. This sign remains in place despite a new law that specifically requires compliance with promises of amenities in "privately owned public spaces."