1607 – An estimated 200 square miles along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths. 1649 – King Charles I of England is beheaded. 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than […]
Archives for January 2018
Acting Nationally, Speaking Locally
At the January 23 monthly meeting of Community Board 1 (CB1), Jerry Nadler, who represents Lower Manhattan in the United States House of Representatives, briefed local residents on national issues, including immigration reform, budget priorities, and the recent federal government shutdown. “Hopefully, we can do something about DACA now, without paying a price for DACA,” […]
January 29
757 – An Lushan, leader of a revolt against the Tang dynasty and emperor of Yan, is murdered by his own son, An Qingxu. 1790 – The first boat specializing as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne. 1834 – President Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute. […]
Make It a Bit Shorter and a Little Less Red
The City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has approved a plan to demolish five structures in the Tribeca East Historic District that date from the early 1800s and allow construction of large apartment tower in their place. The LPC, which often ignores or contradicts the advisory opinions of local community boards, appeared to agree with Community […]
January 26
1500 – Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil. 1531 – The Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. 1564 – The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. 1700 – The Cascadia earthquake takes place off the west coast of North America, as evidenced […]
Get a PhD at Pizza Academy
The clink of wine glasses grows faint and the party scene seems to fade. We step to a marble countertop and adjust our aprons. We are at the Pizza Academy on Fulton Street. “Massage the dough,” encourages Giorgia Caporuscio, pressing our hands into floury rounds. “Don’t be scared to touch. Push the air bubbles to […]
Meet Your Assembly Member This Weekend
On Sunday (January 28), State Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou will convene a Town Hall meeting to gather feedback from constituents, and hear their priorities for policies, legislation, and the budget in Albany this year. Members of the public are invited to participate on panels that will focus on subjects like civil rights and immigration, senior […]
January 24
AD 41 – Roman Emperor Caligula, known for his eccentricity and sadistic despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards. The Guard then proclaims Caligula’s uncle Claudius as Emperor 1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento. 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill […]
Thinkin’ of Borinquen
When Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in 2012, flooding the Downtown Community Center and much of Lower Manhattan, it was through the support and resilience of the downtown community that Manhattan Youth was able to recover, rebuild, and continue offering its programming to over 4,500 families. This year, the Manhattan Youth Tritons Swim Team […]
Opinion & Analysis: To Win HQ2, Lower Manhattan Must Become a New Amazon Basin
Out of 238 contenders, New York has made the shortlist of 20 candidates Amazon is still considering for its second headquarters, a project known as HQ2. The encouraging news is that New York ranks first in an analysis by Anderson Economic Group of locations best suited to the e-commerce giant’s requirements. But the sobering fact […]
January 23
393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000. […]
ONCE AGAIN
To the editor: Once again, it has become critically, crucially clear that the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) in its collaboration with The Howard Hughes Corp about the future of the Historical Tin Building historical and other actions, past, present and future plans is the WRONG city agency to oversee the current and future existence […]
Disparity Begins at Home
Community Board 1 (CB1) is exploring the possibility of using surplus funds from the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) to fund resiliency infrastructure throughout Lower Manhattan. At the January 18 meeting of CB1’s Waterfront, Parks, and Resiliency Committee, chairman Paul Goldstein began the discussion by noting that, “resiliency is an issue that we need to […]
Mallification or Woonerf?
To the editor: Your article “The ‘Mallifcation’ of Lower Manhattan,” and comments by some members of CB1, suggest that the opportunity to turn Thames Street between Trinity and Broadway into a pedestrianized zone, with increased retail opportunities along the block, somehow amounts to “privatization of public space” and “mallification.” Let me suggest an alternative view. […]
Eyes to the Sky January 22 – February 4, 2018
The Sun, our star, is returning to the northern hemisphere at a steady clip, rising noticeably north of its furthest south of east marker and setting north of its furthest southwest reach on the horizon. Each day, sunrise is a minute earlier and sunset a minute or two later. By February 4, we will enjoy […]
You Won’t Have John Catsimatidis to Kick Around Anymore
The Gristedes supermarket chain appears to be engaged in a headlong retreat from Lower Manhattan. The firm’s owner, John Catsimatidis, is seeking to close two Downtown locations of the grocery store, at 90 Maiden Lane (in the Financial District) and at 21 South End Avenue (in Battery Park City). The firm’s desire to shutdown the […]
January 19
1419 – Hundred Years’ War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy. 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits a “supplement” which establishes the current understanding of polarized light. 1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States. 1883 […]
Defining ‘Screwed’
At January 9 swearing-in ceremony for City Council member Margaret Chin, Borough President Gale Brewer pointedly predicted that, “when a real estate developer says that he wants something, and Margaret and I say he can’t have it, that developer is screwed, because we are not going to change our positions.” On Thursday, Ms. Brewer and […]
January 18
474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later. 1591 – King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Mingyi Swa of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day. 1778 – James Cook is the first […]
Waterfront Woes
The Tuesday meeting of Waterfront, Parks, and Development Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1) was the venue for a spirited discussion about the City’s plan to demolish a South Street Seaport structure that many preservationist believe has significant historic value, along with the process that led to this decision. All of which has inspired calls […]