Crash Course
Lower Manhattan is a Perilous Place to Perambulate – But It Could Be Worse
Exploring Downtown’s Lost Neighborhood
Did you know that the Lower West Side used to be one of New York’s most diverse immigrant neighborhoods? In 1917, a news article noted the presence of 27 nationalities in this small compact area. From the 1840s to the 1960s, waves of Irish, German, Middle Eastern, and various Slavic immigrants settled north of the...
Reshuffling the Deck
Community Board 1 (CB1), the body that serves as the official voice of Lower Manhattan in dealing with elected officials and government agencies, is undergoing a major reorganization. Anthony Notaro, who took over as chair last summer, announced at CB1’s February meeting that he planned to eliminate three of the Board’s four geographic committees, which...
Today in History March 14
1489 – The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. 1558 – Ferdinand I appointed Holy Roman Emperor 1743 – First American town meeting in Boston’s Faneuil Hall 1757 – On board HMS Monarch (his own flagship), British Admiral John Byng is executed by firing squad for neglecting his duty “Pour encourager...
Snow Day!
We are perhaps about to be reminded that, as E.E. Cummings wrote, “the snow doesn’t give a soft white damn whom it touches.” Whatever accumulation of powder Tuesday brings, everybody knows that New York just doesn’t have blizzards like we used to. Since the federal government began keeping records in 1869, the deepest accumulation of...
March 13
607 – 12th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet 1519 – Cortez lands in Mexico 1639 – Cambridge College renamed Harvard for clergyman John Harvard 1677 – Massachusetts gains title to Maine for $6,000 1759 – 27th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet 1781 – Sir William Herschel sees “comet” which turned out to be...
Impacted Wisdom Truth
State Assembly member Deborah Glick is sponsoring a proposed law that will (if enacted) impose a tax on residential development in New York City, to create a new, dedicated funding stream to build public schools. In a related development, two Lower Manhattan Community Boards and the Community Education Council for District 2 (which covers Lower...
