A note from a reader: “It is now 9pm. For the past few months, about this time in the evening, I view a very bright “planet.” I face west and this object is descending pretty quickly. Two months ago I figured it was Jupiter, now I am told Jupiter will not appear until a few more […]
Archives for May 2018
Watchdog Growls at Apartment Guests
City Comptroller Scott Stringer is pushing back against critics of his report, “The Impact of Airbnb on NYC Rents,” which was issued earlier this month, and concluded (among other allegations) that residents of Lower Manhattan who lease (rather than own) their apartments are collectively paying more than $49 million per year in extra rent as […]
Today in History May 25
567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet. 1521 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw. 1738 – A treaty […]
The Lay of the Land
A rare copy of what is widely regarded as the first credible map of Lower Manhattan was recently sold at auction for $150,000. This was an edition of the “Ratzer Plan,” created in the late 1760s by British Army surveyor and cartographer Bernard Ratzer, who was ordered by General Thomas Gage to compile a detailed […]
Today in History
1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1626 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan. 1830 – “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by Sarah Josepha Hale is published. 1844 – Samuel Morse sends the message “What hath God wrought” (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol […]
The Picture of Health
A new online tool offers startlingly precise snapshots of public health, as measured by a wide range of metrics, at the neighborhood level through New York City, and yields some surprising findings for Lower Manhattan. The City Health Dashboard, which was created by a partnership between two arms of New York University — the Langone […]
Ships that pass in the night
On May 6, near twilight, two vessels passed one another along their respective port sides. Ghost, a 37-meter sailing yacht by legendary naval architect Luca Brenta, was approaching North Cove, while the 265-foot motor yacht Air was outbound from her berth in Chelsea Piers. A day earlier, Ghosthad arrived from Newport. A day later, Air […]
Today in History May 23
1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at Compiegne and sold to the English 1493 – King Charles VIII and Maximilian I of Austria sign Peace of Senlis 1536 – Pope Paul III installs Portugese inquisition 1568 – The Netherlands declare independence from Spain. 1701 – Captain William Kidd is hanged in London after being […]
Clearing a Blocked Artery
Lower Manhattan cyclists and pedestrians recently got back a piece of their streetscape: More than 10,000 square feet of Park Row, which has been closed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has opened to bikes and walkers. This new corridor creates a connection from Frankfort Street (at the southern end, near City […]
Today in History May 22
334 BC – The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus 760 – 14th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet 1570 – First atlas ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’ (Theatre of the World), published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp with 70 maps 1803 – First public library […]
Whatever the Market Will Bear
A leading housing advocacy organization has completed an exhaustive look at threats to affordability in every community in the five boroughs, and has found that Lower Manhattan in under pressure, as measured by three metrics. The Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), an umbrella organization of 100 non-profit affordable housing and economic development groups […]
Today in History May 21
878 – Syracuse is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily. 1260 – Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire sends his envoy Hao Jing and two other advisors to the Song Dynasty court of Emperor Lizong of Song; while attempting to negotiate with the Song in order to resolve their conflict, Hao Jing and his […]
Neighbors
Way back in 1981, Buckle My Shoe was the first preschool to open in Tribeca. Over the years it’s grown and now has two locations, one on Church Street and one in the West Village. Founder Linda Ensko, while greeting her charges one morning, told us the story of how and why she started the school and […]
A Plan to Warm Up the Frozen Zone
The Downtown Alliance has unveiled its vision for transforming the “frozen zone” — a 3,000-feet security perimeter surrounding the New York Stock Exchange, which has enclosed (and limited access to) 19 acres of the Financial District since shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This area, bounded by Broadway on the west, Beaver […]
Today in History May 18
332 – Constantine the Great announced free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople. 1565 – The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta. 1652 – Rhode Island passes the first law in English-speaking North America making slavery illegal. 1756 – The Seven Years’ War begins […]
A Powwow With a Little Bit of ‘Pow’ and a Lot of ‘Wow’
Tomorrow and Sunday (May 19 and 20), from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, the opening celebration of the new imagiNATIONS Activity Center at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian — New York (One Bowling Green, near the intersection of Broadway and Battery Place) will offer a weekend of activities showcasing the ingenuity of […]
Wage Against the Machine
Two Lower Manhattan hotels have been become entangled in an indictment from New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance, alleging that a construction contractor stole more than $1.7 million in wages from laborers hired to help build the structures, along with another $7.8 million in unpaid insurance premiums, which Mr. Vance’s office says the company […]
‘Would It Spoil Some Vast Eternal Plan?’
Broadway-caliber theater is coming to Lower Manhattan in July, with a groundbreaking Yiddish-language production of “Fiddler on the Roof,”which will be directed by Oscar- and Tony-winner Joel Grey. Steven Skybell will play Tevye in the upcoming production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Casting for the eight-week run was completed in the first week of May, […]
Today in History May 15
1004 – Henry II the Saint crowned King of Italy 1252 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad ex stirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition. 1602 – Cape Cod discovered by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold 1718 – James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents world’s first […]
Destabilization with Extreme Prejudice
A 72-year-old Tribeca artist is facing eviction from the rent-stabilized apartment she has occupied for more than 40 years, after a judge ruled that she illegally rented her home out via Airbnb. Eileen Hickey allegedly posted notices on the website that brokers short-term rentals starting in 2012, which her landlord, Robert Moskowitz detected two years […]