The Broadsheet – Lower Manhattan’s Local Newspaper
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Born Free, But Everywhere in Chains
Provocative New Public Art Piece Critiques Economics, Politics, and History
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“Moving Chains” is now on view on Governors Island, where it summons New York’s history as an economic engine for the nation. Below: The view from inside “Moving Chains” is a haunting evocation of the history of slavery.
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A monumental and deeply affecting work of public art is on now on view at the waterfront of Governors Island. “Moving Chains,” by Charles Gaines, is a 110-foot long “kinetic sculpture” fashioned from steel and sustainably harvested African mahogany. Visitors are invited to walk through the installation, beneath nine custom-made chains, each weighing over 1,600 pounds, which are in constant motion.
The structure educes the shape and form of a seagoing vessel, while the chains (and the cacophony their looping movement produces) connote America’s history of slavery. Visitors can experience the view only from a space that would be belowdecks on an actual ship—the same perspective that slaves had for the duration of their journey across the Atlantic. At the same time, the presentation conjures the centuries-long history of New York Harbor as an economic engine for the growing American republic. And in a provocative juxtaposition, “Moving Chains” is situated within view of the Statue of Liberty, with its iconic invocation of freedom as a core value of an increasingly prosperous nation.
Mr. Gaines says, “there needs to be this tie made between our idea of the American economy and the illogical, structural patterns that built it. I wanted the piece to address that—specifically, to address the idea that in order to produce this kind of economy, they had to legitimate slavery. It becomes a real emblem of what I call the fatal flaw that exists at the foundation of American democracy.”
“And then you have the Statue of Liberty,” he continues. “The Statue was presented to the United States as the present for getting rid of slavery. The original Statue had these markers that pointed to that, and they all disappeared. I look at that as an attempt at rewriting history, in order to obscure and obfuscate a past that I suppose people are not proud of anymore.”
“Moving Chains” is at the Governors Island shoreline adjacent to Outlook Hill, now through next April. Click here for more information. Matthew Fenton
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Where to Figure Out How to Save the World
Three Proposals for a Climate Solutions Center on Governors Island
The administration of Mayor Eric Adams unveiled on Wednesday a trio of proposals submitted by the finalists in a competition to build a Center for Climate Solutions on Governors Island, which will combine interdisciplinary research on climate change with education in a single physical hub. Read more…
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Seeking Concord on the Promenade
CB1 Discusses Possible Uses of Park Space Along West Street
At its October 18 meeting, the Battery Park City Committee of Community Board 1 discussed preliminary plans to add active recreation facilities to the granite promenade that parallels the West Street and the Hudson River Greenway, between Battery Place and Third Place. This initiative is contemplated by the Battery Park City Authority as a tradeoff to countervail the deficit of open space that will be created for several years, when nearby Wagner Park is closed for reconstruction of resiliency measures. Read more…
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The Right to Light
Community Groups Revive Lawsuit Against Towers Using New State Constitutional Provision
A years-long saga of legal battles aiming to thwart the planned development of a cluster of super-tall residential towers proposed for the Two Bridges neighborhood of East River waterfront in Lower Manhattan has taken a new twist, with a lawsuit that relies upon a provision of the New York State Constitution that was approved by voters last November, and formally enacted in January of this year. Read more…
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An Attractive Tract
Marte Pushes for New Park and Public Space Alongside the Brooklyn Bridge
City Council member Christopher Marte is throwing his support behind a plan to create a new, dozen-acre linear park in Lower Manhattan on the north and south sides of the Brooklyn Bridge. All of the land in question is already publicly owned, with much of it legally mapped as park space. But the vast majority of this expanse has been closed to public access for more than a decade, mostly to allow for its use as an equipment storage area for various City agencies, and partly in response to security concerns in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Read more…
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Friday, October 28
1pm
Meet at the 30 Park Place public plaza
Downtown’s evolution into a mixed residential neighborhood has been a story as much about the conversion of older office buildings into apartments as about new construction. This walking tour hosted by the Skyscraper Museum will cover blocks from City Hall Park to Wall Street. Free.
6pm
The Green Room, Pier 17, 89 South Street
Candlelit historical exploration of how occult markets—of shops, fortune tellers, and psychics often considered deviant by law enforcement and society at large—emerged during the 1960s and 70s. Why did so many LGBTQ+ individuals gravitate toward the occult and alternative forms of spirituality for both spiritual and economic fulfillment, and what were the limits of doing so? Free. Advance registration required. Complimentary toast is included.
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Saturday, October 29
Governors Island
5K and 10K. Click on the title for details.
10am-12pm
South Cove
Paint in watercolor or use pastels and other drawing materials to capture the vistas of the Hudson River and the landscape of South Cove. An educator will offer critique. Materials provided. Free.
10am-5pm
Governors Island’s annual free pumpkin patch and fall festival returns to Nolan Park.Visitors are invited to pick out their own pumpkins (free with suggested donation). Arts and crafts, story-telling, magic shows, puppetry.
Washington Market Park
Prizes are awarded to one overall winner as well as to the winners of the five categories: scariest, funniest, cutest, most realistic and most creative. Click on the title for time and other details. Free.
10:30am
Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place
Wear your costume, learn about the different parts of a castle, and try some yoga poses inspired by the spooky holiday. All ages welcome. RSVP required. Free.
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12pm
Costumed dogs and their people gather at the northwest corner of South Cove, then parade north along the Esplanade to North Cove, where judging will take place. Prizes will be awarded for Best Costume – Large Breed; Best Costume – Small Breed; Best Owner & Dog Combo; Best Dog Team Costume. A Tail-Wagging Contest for small and large dogs will be held again this year. Free.
12pm-3pm
Brookfield Place Waterfront Plaza
Activities and trick-or-treating at Brookfield. Free.
1pm-4pm
Meet outside the U.S. Custom House, Bowling Green
Walking tour that commemorates the Great Crash of 1929, the Panic of 1907 and the 1987 stock market collapse. It also delves into the political, financial, real estate and architectural history of Wall Street and New York City. The tour shows that despite such adversities as the Great Fires of 1776 and 1835, financial panics of the 19th century, the 1920 Wall Street explosion, the Crash of 1929, the stock market collapse of 1987, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack and the financial crisis of 2008, New York and Wall Street have always recovered their position as the world’s financial capital. Tickets must be purchased at least 24 hours in advance. $15.
2pm-6pm
Teardrop Park
Cozy up to a campfire for stories and singalongs with family and friends featuring award winning children’s performer Suzi Shelton. Free.
2pm
South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton Street
From taverns to warehouses, built by the most famous American architects of the 19th century, the buildings of the Seaport have big stories to tell. Free.
3pm-4pm
National Museum of the American Indian, One Bowling Green
Día de los Muertos is a time for celebrating our ancestors and remembering those we have lost. This day for the entire family will feature traditional dances by the Aztec dance troupe Cetiliztli Nauhcampa around the community ofrenda (altar) to honor the ancestors. Free.
7pm
Pier 17
Concert.
8pm
China Institute, 40 Rector Street
In the wake of the reunification of China, the government initiated a plan to reconstruct the war-torn city of Nanjing into a modern capital. The city itself became a grand museum of modern architecture. Learn more in this lecture. Free.
8pm
Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 190 West Street
Carole Montgomery has had a long and varied career as a comedian, writer, director, producer, and mom. $20-$30
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Sunday, October 30
11am-6pm
Pier 17
Curated selection of NYC’s artisanal fashion, art, design, jewelry, crafts, music, and food vendors.
1pm
Line up at 12:50pm at the intersection of Greenwich and Beach Streets, then march in costume down Greenwich Street to Washington Market Park for a Halloween party. Free.
8pm
St. Paul’s Chapel
30 minutes of beautiful, improvised music sung by the Trinity Youth Chorus and members of The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, accompanied by Trinity Baroque Orchestra. Free.
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Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets
Tribeca Greenmarket
Greenwich Street & Chambers Street
Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8am-3pm (compost program: Saturdays, 8am-1pm)
Bowling Green Greenmarket
Broadway & Whitehall St
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8am-5pm (compost program: 8am-11am)
World Trade Center Oculus Greenmarket
Tuesdays, 8am-5pm (ending this month)
The Outdoor Fulton Stall Market
91 South Street, between Fulton & John Streets
Indoor market: Monday through Saturday,11:30am-5pm
CSA pick-up: Thursday, 4pm-6pm; Friday, 11:30-5pm
Outdoor market: Saturdays, 11:30am-5pm
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Today in History
October 28
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This June 1885 edition of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper shows woodcuts of the Statue of Liberty being constructed and assembled in Paris, sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, and the statue’s interior structure. On this day in 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the statue in New York Harbor.
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1492 – Christopher Columbus lands in Cuba.
1726 – The novel Gulliver’s Travels is published.
1746 – Peruvian cities of Lima and Callao demolished by earthquake, 18,000 die
1886 – President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty.
1893 – Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique, receives its première performance only nine days before the composer’s death.
1922 – Italian fascists led by Benito Mussolini march on Rome and take over the Italian government.
1942 – The Alaska Highway first connects Alaska to the North American railway network at Dawson Creek in Canada.
1956 – Elvis Presley receives a polio vaccination on national TV.
1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis: Premier Nikita Khrushchev orders the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.
2017 – Spain’s central government imposes direct rule on Catalonia, dismisses its government and calls for new elections.
Births
1017 – Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1056)
1466 – Erasmus, humanist and theologian (d. 1536)
1793 – Eliphalet Remington, businessman, founded Remington Arms (d. 1861)
1903 – Evelyn Waugh, English journalist, author, and critic (d. 1966)
1909 – Francis Bacon, Irish painter and illustrator (d. 1992)
1914 – Jonas Salk, American biologist and physician (d. 1995)
1955 – Bill Gates, businessman, founder and CEO of Microsoft, richest person in the world)
1967 – Julia Roberts, actress
Deaths
312 – Maxentius, Roman emperor (b. 278)
1646 – William Dobson, English painter (b. 1610)
1818 – Abigail Adams, writer, second First Lady of the United States (b. 1744)
1993 – Doris Duke, heiress, philanthropist, and socialite, dies at 80
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The Broadsheet Inc. eBroadsheet.com editor @ ebroadsheet.com ©2022 All Rights Reserved All photos © Robert Simko 2022 unless otherwise credited
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