AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. 193 – Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus. 1776 – Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco. 1814 […]
Archives for March 2018
Come Together
A parent leader is calling upon the City’s Department of Education (DOE) and the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio to increase diversity in Manhattan’s District 2, which includes Lower Manhattan, as well as the East Side south of 97th Street (with the exception of the Lower East Side) and the West Side south of […]
March 27
196 BC – Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt 1513 – Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon discovers Florida 1625 – Charles I, King Of England, Scotland and Ireland, ascends English throne 1668 – English king Charles II gives Bombay to East India Company 1790 – The modern shoestring (string and shoe holes) invented […]
We Need Your Support to Help Puerto Rico
Dear Friends, The Manhattan Youth community shares the concern with New Yorkers everywhere about shortages and the slow pace of recovery in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Our own community learned how helpful donors and volunteers can be after September 11, 2001 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Already, the young people on our Manhattan Youth […]
‘Senators, Congressmen — Please Heed the Call…’
In the month following the Valentine’s Day Massacre in Parkland, Florida the national stereotype about teens has been sorely challenged. We’re not just about decorating the gym for prom night. We can charge forward on serious issues and effect change with lightning speed, while seasoned politicos remain stuck in the muck that they throw at […]
March 25
708 – Constantine begins his reign as Catholic Pope 1584 – Sir Walter Raleigh renews Humphrey Gilbert’s patent to explore North America 1609 – Henry Hudson embarks on an exploration for Dutch East India Company 1655 – Christiaan Huygens discovers Titan (Saturn’s largest moon) 1807 – First railway passenger service began in England 1811 – […]
The Busing Issue
City Council member Margaret Chin and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer are pushing legislation to limit the number of tour buses on local streets, addressing a perennial complaint of Lower Manhattan residents and community leaders. According to a a recent report form Governor Andrew Cuomo’s advisory panel, Fix NYC, “the number of tour buses licensed […]
March 23
1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” – at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia. 1801 – Tsar Paul […]
Neighbors
Bob Townley is a self-confessed workaholic, community organizer and, in his words, “a large person in love with his 84 year old mom Anita Townley, his wife Veronika Korvin and his two children, Robert and Kate.” As the Founder and Executive Director of Manhattan Youth, Mr. Townley oversees the after-school and summer camp activities of some 5,000 kids […]
Why Is This Sunday Different from All Other Sundays?
The Museum of Jewish Heritage will partner with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) to present a kid-friendly “Pop-Up Passover” this Sunday (March 25), from 10:00 am to noon. The event will feature old and new Passover traditions, Yiddish songs, create personalized Haggadot (the text recited at the Seder on the first two nights of […]
March 22
238 – Gordian I and his son Gordian II are proclaimed Roman emperors. 1622 – Jamestown massacre: Algonquians kill 347 English settlers around Jamestown, Virginia, a third of the colony’s population, during the Second Anglo-Powhatan War. 1630 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables. 1638 – Anne Hutchinson […]
TO the editor: I’m not looking to diss a Pier.
To the editor, I’m not looking to diss a Pier. The new Pier 25 in Tribeca is very nice, clean, and filled with children under 12 and their parents. But this is not at all the old Piers 25 & 26 – not even close. It is generic, cold and sadly void of […]
Lollapalooza Producer Coming to South Street Seaport
The nation’s largest and most powerful concert promoter has been designated by the Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC), which is redeveloping the South Street Seaport, to operate a planned concert venue on the roof of Pier 17. Live Nation Entertainment, which also owns Ticketmaster, will program the Pier 17 Rooftop Concert Series, which will he held […]
Today in History March 21
1697 – Czar Peter the Great begins tour through West-Europe 1788 – Fire destroys 856 buildings in New Orleans, Louisiana 1826 – Beethoven’s Quartet #13 in B flat major (Op 130) premiered in Vienna 1857 – Earthquake hits Tokyo; about 107,000 die 1871 – Journalist Henry M Stanley begins his famous expedition to Africa 1907 […]
Special Quay
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Waterfront, Parks and Resiliency Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1), local residents were given an update about what may eventually be Lower Manhattan’s next great public space. Bob Townley, the founder and executive director of Manhattan Youth and a member of CB1, said, “I should tell you that Pier 26 […]
Today in History March 20
141 – 6th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet 1760 – Great Fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings 1815 – Napoleon enters Paris after escape from Elba, begins 100-day rule 1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” published 1861 – An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina 1890 – German Emperor Wilhelm II fires Republic […]
Closing Time
A pair of high-end restaurants in Battery Park City’s north neighborhood are planning to close. As first reported on the culinary news site, Eater.com, North End Grill, which specialize in gourmet seafood, and Amada, which focuses on Spanish dishes, are both planning to shut down. Amada will close as of March 31, while North End Grill […]
March 19
1279 – A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano sailing for King Francis of France sights land around area of Carolinas. While his place of birth in a small village south of Florence or in Lyon France is debatable, what is not is […]
EYES TO THE SKY March 19 – April 1, 2018
Spring begins tomorrow when the Sun crosses the celestial equator from the southern to the northern hemisphere; the precise moment is 12:15pm EDT. Take part in the Vernal Equinox by observing sunrise due east at 7:00am, sunset due west at 7:07pm and the Sun at its highest point at midday, 1:03pm EDT While the Sun’s […]
The Play’s The Thing
The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) and its parks organization have partnered with the sociology faculty at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to analyze how many people utilize the open spaces within the community, where they come from, and why. Formally titled the “Battery Park City Parks Count and User Survey,” the project aims […]