Governor Andrew Cuomo spent much of the last week making public appearances and delivering speeches to build support for his avowed goal of enacting a mandatory minimum wage of $15 per hour for every employee, public or private, in the State of New York. But an agency that he directly controls, the Battery Park City…
Tag: Lower Manhattan
Truth, Justice, and the Occasional Refund
Three hundred years ago, when New Yorkers were still British subjects, there were redcoats patrolling the streets of Lower Manhattan. Today, they’re still here — but much friendlier. The lobsterbacks of the 21st Century are the Downtown Alliance’s Public Safety Officers, who handle everything from medical emergencies to interventions on behalf of aggrieved tourists who…
A Shore Thing
The February 16 meeting of the Seaport/Civic Center Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1) considered whether Lower Manhattan deserves a beach of its own. Graeme Birchall, president of the Downtown Boathouse, a local non-profit organization that promotes public access to the water, spoke in support of creating one. He also responded to “Brooklyn Bridge Beach: Feasibility…
Emotionally Disturbed Man Menaces Residents
Three female Battery Park City residents were accosted by an agitated homeless man on Monday afternoon near South Cove. “We were sitting on the wooden deck, overlooking the water, recalls Frances Misciangna, a 15-year resident of Battery Park City, “when we saw a man, who was lurching and incoherent, stagger toward us. He may have…
Decisions Are Made By Those Who Show Up
Legendary newspaper editor John B. Bogart (who ruled over the New York Sun from 1873 to 1890) summed up journalism this way: “When man bites dog, that’s news.” Steps away from Bogart’s former headquarters at Chambers and Broadway, an even rarer — and more consequential — reversal of accustomed roles will take place tomorrow (Saturday, February 20),…
Apseity Facto
More than 100 residents of the Financial District, along with elected officials and representatives of City government agencies, were on hand for the February 11 kickoff meeting of the FiDi Neighborhood Association. Although Lower Manhattan’s other communities (Tribeca, Battery Park City, and the Seaport/Civic Center District) have long had a strong local identity and distinct…