It is with deep sadness that the Broadsheet must announce the passing of its co-founder, Robert Simko, who died on Thursday morning, at age 68, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife (and Broadsheet co-founder), Alison, and their two children, Lucy and Theo. Plans for a memorial service will be announced soon. In the meantime, Robert will be remembered as someone who made better every life that he touched, and who helped build the fledgling community that he called home by giving it the gift of a voice.
Arrivederci Benvenuti
Highly Regarded Delicatessen and Pizzeria Closes Doors
Hero Worship: For generations of Battery Park City residents, Bevenuti was the go-to destination for mouthwatering Italian sandwiches.
Another small business that was a building block of community in Battery Park City has been driven to extinction by the turbulent local real estate market, coupled with the lingering economic turmoil unleashed by the pandemic.
Benvenuti, which has served ambrosial Italian sandwiches to generations of local residents and office workers abruptly shut down on Thursday afternoon. Located at 235 South End Avenue (between Rector Place and Albany Street), the eatery was originally named Samantha’s, when it opened in the 1990s. Passing through a succession of owners, it was rechristened Benvenuti in the early 2010s. Around that time, what had been exclusively a deli installed a high-end oven, and expanded into gourmet pizza.
Owner Natale Gambino explained, “our landlord was very sympathetic when we closed during the pandemic, but didn’t understand that the business never fully recovered, even after we reopened.” As the chasm between rent obligations and declining revenues widened, “we eventually got to the point where our total monthly income was less than the rent,” Mr. Gambino noted. “And that was without setting money aside for salaries, supplies, utilities, or any other expense.”
When it became clear that no reprieve was in prospect, Mr. Natale spent the last few weeks trying to find jobs for his staff, placing them with friends who own restaurants, pizzerias, and delis.
“I know people who own restaurants in Midtown, whose business is back almost to where it was before COVID,” he observed. “But those locations are very different from here. Many people who live in Battery Park City own second homes, where they began spending a lot more time during the pandemic. A lot of our customers are also kids from the local schools, but they were closed for a long time. And the other part of our business always came from offices, but most of those are still half-empty.”
Asked to reflect on his plans for the future, Mr. Gambino, who lives in the New Jersey suburbs, said, “I’d like to open a new food place, but it can’t be in New York. It is just too hard to do business here. I might try to find start a business closer to home.”
On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Gambino offered complimentary pizza to the last few customers in his store, and hugged them as they departed. Then he turned out the lights and locked the door for the last time.
Matthew Fenton
How Lower Manhattan Is Voting
Preliminary Tallies Indicate Downtown Is Deeper Blue Than City or State, But Paler Than Manhattan
Unofficial election night results show that incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul won Lower Manhattan by a smaller margin than she did Manhattan as whole, but with a wider lead than she earned citywide and statewide. Read more…
Help those in need stay warm this winter
Winter Coat Drive
Friday, November 11, to Sunday, November 13
Drop off your warm winter coats—all sizes, clean, and in good condition—
at the lobby of 395 South End Avenue (Gateway Plaza)
Sponsored by Gateway Plaza Tenants Association and Battery Park City Cares
Where There’s Smoke…
Convenience Stores Raise Concerns about Neighborhood Going to Pot
A new convenience store on Battery Place is sparking concerns about the possible sale of smoking and vaping products, particularly because the shop is located close to a local school, PS/IS 276. The store, which bills itself as Battery Park Convenience, is located at 98 Battery Place, between West Thames Street and Third Place. This places it along the route that the majority of students at the kindergarten-through-eighth grade facility take to and from school each day. Read more…
Wagnerian Woes
Hotel Operator Implodes Amid Allegations of Loan Default, Fraud
Even by the standards of the distressed Lower Manhattan hotel industry, the spiraling adversity faced by the owners of the shuttered Wagner Hotel in Battery Park City is remarkable. On Thursday, the current owners of the hotel were sued by the company that sold them the property in 2018, which also provided a $96 million loan to enable the transaction. In a story first reported by Crain’s New York, Urban Commons (the current owners, who purchased the hotel for $147 million) is facing a court claim by Westbrook Partners (the former owners, who lent Urban Commons the $96 million) for defaulting on that loan. Read more…
Ask and You Might Receive
Push for Seaport Community Center at Site of Demolished Waterfront Building
Community Board 1 (CB1) is reviving calls for a waterfront community center in South Street Seaport at the site of the New Market Building (which was demolished last fall). Read more…
Bring family and friends aboard the 1885 tall ship Wavertree for hands-on activities that explore the fascinating world of trans-Atlantic sailors from the time of European explorers through today. These dynamic activities invite kids ages 5–12 to haul on ropes to raise the sail, and walk the capstan ‘round, while learning how sailors slept, ate, worked, and played. Also at 11am. Free.
Gallery tour by museum director Carol Willis of Residential Rising: Lower Manhattan since 9/11, which focuses on Downtown’s doubled population and transformed skyline over the past 20 years. Book a timed ticket at the link. Free.
Lively 2.5-hour tour of Battery Park, the Financial District, Tribeca, the Civic Center, and Chinatown. Meet at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Discover more than four centuries of life and death in Manhattan. $34.
How do supertall structures stand up to wind, rain, and even earthquakes?Architects spend years designing buildings that look beautiful and stand up to the elements. Learn about how skyscrapers are built to be stronger than the weather, then take on the role of an architect and construct your own windproof towers! Recommended for ages 6-12. RSVP required. Free.
Visit the New York City that George Washington would have known from 1776 to 1790, This walking tour explores the people and places of NYC during the Revolutionary War and Washington’s first term as president. Tickets must be purchased in advance and include complimentary Museum admission. $30.
Works by Undine Smith Moore and David Hurd; David Lang national anthems. Downtown Voices; NOVUS NY String Quartet; David Hurd, organ; Stephen Sands, conductor. Free.
Visit the New York City that George Washington would have known from 1776 to 1790, This walking tour explores the people and places of NYC during the Revolutionary War and Washington’s first term as president. Tickets must be purchased in advance and include complimentary Museum admission. $30.
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)
The Outdoor Fulton Stall Market
91 South Street, between Fulton & John Streets
Indoor market: Monday through Saturday,11:30am-5pm
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