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. […]
Archives for January 2018
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 […]