The BroadsheetDAILY – 2/15/22 – Paws to Reflect – Local Leaders Push City Hall to Consider the Cat’s Meow

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Paws to Reflect

Local Leaders Push City Hall to Consider the Cat’s Meow

Community Board 1 (CB1) is urging the City’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to protect a colony of feral cats that have come together in the South Street Seaport, at the site of the recently demolished New Market Building.

An unknown number of non-domesticated felines congregated at the location through much of 2021. Estimated to be at least several dozen in number, they mated and multipled through the warm-weather months of last year.

Feral cats, estimated to number as many as half a million in the five boroughs of New York City, face few threats during spring, summer and fall. Ample trash and New York’s prodigious rodent population provide plentiful sources of food. But in winter, they need shelter to take refuge from the cold, and water supplies often freeze.

Last year, a non-profit called Neighborhood Cats began spaying and neutering the felines at the New Market site, but hopes to capture and relocate the entire colony, which would eventually be endangered and displaced by construction activity planned for the area.

In the meantime, Neighborhood Cats wants to place four purpose-built shelters around the site, which the cats can use as shelters through the start of spring.

At a resolution enacted at its December 21 meeting, CB1, “urges the EDC to keep feral cats on their properties warm over winter, away from active construction,” and, “requests that the EDC accept no fewer than four shelters to place on site according to best practices until the end of April.”

Matthew Fenton

‘You Are Killing Our People’

Shortly After Residents Protest Planned New Homeless Shelter in Chinatown, an Asian Resident Is Murdered Nearby

Mounting frustration in Chinatown over anti-Asian violence and the simultaneous proliferation of homeless persons on local streets reached the boiling point over the weekend. On Friday, the City’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) hosted a meeting at M.S. 131 on Hester Street, to hear community concerns about a new homeless shelter planned for 91 East Broadway, within a bankrupt hotel.

The session erupted into a series of barbed exchanges, at which City officials made clear they intend to move ahead with the plan regardless of community opposition, and insisted that they had already consulted Chinatown leaders. When asked with whom they had discussed the plans, DHS officials remained silent, until a spontaneous chorus of “say their names” thundered through the auditorium. Finally, Erin Drinkwater, deputy commissioner of the City’s Department of Social Services, answered, “former City Council member Margaret Chin.”

Edward Cuccia, a resident of Chinatown who also practices immigration law in the community, said, “we have more shelters than anybody.” This was a reference to the fact that Chinatown is already home to five homeless shelters, while the City plans to create three more there in the near future.

Lights, Cameras, Violation

CB1 Pushes for Expansion in Use of Monitoring Devices

Community Board 1 (CB1) is pushing for the expanded use of traffic enforcement cameras, the automated monitoring devices that can detect violations of the speed limit and other rules (such as stopping at red lights) on public roads.

The use of such equipment began in New York nearly a decade ago, when then-Governor Andrew Cuomo allowed New York City to launch a pilot program to deter speeding in 20 school zones. The success of that initial deployment in 2013 has expanded to 950 cameras in 750 school zones, where the devices logged more than four million violations in 2020, an increase of almost 100 percent from 2019.

Data from the City’s Department of Transportation document the difference that speed cameras make, with a 71.5 percent reduction in speeding and a 16.9 percent drop in injuries at times when and in locations where they are in use. To read more…

Today’s Calendar

Tuesday February 15

2PM

Book Talk

Museum of Jewish Heritage

In 1939, the Christian Front was formed in response to a call by Father Charles Edward Coughlin to oppose the Popular Front, a communist organization. The members of the Christian Front were American Catholics who supported a pro-Nazi agenda. In 1940, the FBI alleged that members of the group were trying to install what they called a “temporary dictatorship” to end the influence of Jews and Communists, who they saw as the same, in the United States. Charles Gallagher‘s new book Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten Story of the Christian Front chronicles the history of the front and how it was ultimately taken down. Join the Museum for a discussion about the book between Gallagher and David Kertzer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Paul Dupee, Professor of Social Science at Brown University. Free; suggested $10 donation.

5PM

Museum of American Financial History

Online event. Leaders in the NFT (non-fungible token) market will discuss the current explosion and future opportunities within this crypto segment. NFTs are a family of crypto assets that hold ownership of unique data linked to a blockchain (e.g. Ethereum). They are typically packaged as digital collectibles, works of art, music, video game items, real estate of virtual reality platforms, and concert tickets. With the NFT market exceeding $27 billion, our panelists will discuss those factors that separate this highly profitable digital market from the rest. The panel discussion will be moderated by Michael Maloney, Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law and Founder of Royale. Panel discussion will be followed by audience Q&A. Free.

5:30PM

Museum of Jewish Heritage

Conversation with Dr. Georgette Bennett, whose new book, Thou Shalt Not Stand Idly By, tells the story of her efforts to get aid to Syrians during their Civil War. The massive $175 million humanitarian effort that she sparked was largely carried out through unprecedented partnerships between Syrians and Israelis. The conversation will reveal a fascinating story about the impact one person can have and why Bennett was recently cited in Forbes’ first “50 Over 50” Impact list. Free; suggested $10 donation.

6PM

Location: Live Remote Meeting – https://live.mcb1.nyc

AGENDA

1-Coast Guard Building Operations – Discussion with Micah Bonner, Director of Auxiliary Southern Region, First Coast Guard District

2-Poets House – Presentation by Cornelius Eady, Interim Director & Jane Preston, Managing Director

3-Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Waterfront Assets (Brooklyn Bridge/East River Esplanade, New Market Building, Fidi/Seaport Coastal Resiliency Master Plan) – Discussion with Gigi Li, Vice President, Government & Community Relations

Wednesday February 16

11AM

Museum of Jewish Heritage

Join the Museum and Our Travel Circle for a virtual walking tour of Istanbul, which is home to the vast majority of Turkey’s 26,000 Jewish citizens. Istanbul’s Jewish community today is a fraction of its size during Ottoman rule in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was one of the world’s most important Jewish centers. Unlike Jews in much of Europe, Istanbul’s 500,000 Jews were permitted to work in all professions and could enter the Ottoman court. They excelled in commerce and were particularly important leaders in medicine. Remains from that time can still be seen in the Balat area, along the Golden Horn, and in the Galata district in Beyoğlu—the centers of Istanbul’s Jewish life. Our tour guide, Safak, will take us on a journey through time and into the modern day life of Jews in Istanbul. $36.

6PM

Location: Live Remote Meeting – https://live.mcb1.nyc

AGENDA

1- DDC Street Reconstruction Project Updates

Dangerous Cobblestone Conditions on Harrison Street and Around the District – Discussion & possible resolution

2- 9/11 Victim’s Trust Fund Established from the Treasury of the Former Government of Afghanistan – Discussion

Thursday February 17

9AM

LMHQ

Spotlight on practices, skills and products you can use to build out an accessible, sustainable routine to take care of yourself mentally and physically, from energy healing to CBD to movement. Free.

1PM

Museum of Jewish Heritage

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which led to over 100,000 Japanese Americans being forcibly removed from their homes to incarceration camps all over the Western United States. The executive order was influenced by prevalent anti-Asian prejudice. Since that time, Asian Americans have faced ongoing prejudice and hatred. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans have risen dramatically, making it more important than ever to talk about these issues. Join the Museum for a program commemorating the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 and discussing the continuing violence and bigotry against Asian Americans. The program will consist of a conversation between Sam Mihara, who was a child prisoner at Heart Mountain Wyoming camp; John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC; and Eric L. Muller, Dan K. Moore Distinguished Professor of Law in Jurisprudence and Ethics at the University of North Carolina School of Law. They will be interviewed by distinguished journalist Ann Curry. Free; suggested $10 donation.

6PM

Fulton Street

Today: Iron Buddha. Reservations are released at 10AM every Monday the week before class. Free.

6PM

Location: Live Remote Meeting – https://live.mcb1.nyc

AGENDA

1. Community District 1 Demographics Update – Presentation by James Wilson-Schutter, Fund for the City of New York Community Planning Fellow

2. Bylaw Changes to Reflect New Public Hearing Guidance – Discussion & resolution

3. CB 1 Election Preparations – Presentation by Lucy Acevedo, Community Coordinator, Manhattan Community Board 1

4. Committee Highlights

6:30PM

Fraunces Tavern Museum

For more than forty years, George Washington was dedicated to an innovative and experimental course of farming at Mount Vernon, where he sought to demonstrate the public benefits of recent advances in British agriculture. In this lecture, Ragsdale will discuss these methods of British agricultural improvement and how they also shaped Washington’s management of enslaved labor. This lecture will take place via Zoom. Free.

CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS

Swaps & Trades, Respectable Employment, Lost and Found

To place a listing, contact editor@ebroadsheet.com

Albany to Lower Manhattan: Drop Dead

Redistricting Grafts Downtown Assembly District Onto Staten Island

In a move that has stupefied and outraged local leaders, the legislature in Albany has proposed to redraw lines for the State Assembly that will divide Lower Manhattan, and transfer its representation to a district on Staten Island.

The current boundaries are slated for change because the 2020 Census has the legal effect of automatically triggering a recalibration of all election district boundaries within the State. This task has fallen to the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR), which has operated largely in secret for several weeks. To read more…

‘Our Representative Won’t Give A Damn About Us’

CB1 Discusses Harm to Lower Manhattan from Gerrymandered Assembly District Lines

Wednesday evening’s meeting of the Battery Park City Committee of Community Board 1 became the forum for a vehement discussion of the proposed legislative redistricting that will uproot Battery Park City and the western Financial District from Lower Manhattan, and instead relegate representation of these communities in the State Assembly to Staten Island.

Get Rich or Get Out

Analysis By Housing Group Cites Declining Affordability in Lower Manhattan

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 ranks among the ten most at-risk neighborhoods by one key metric, while also placing in the 20 most-endangered by another.

Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets

Tribeca Greenmarket

Greenwich Street & Chambers Street

Every Wednesday & Saturday, 8am-3pm

Food Scrap Collection: Saturdays, 8am-1pm

Open Saturdays and Wednesdays year round

Bowling Green Greenmarket

Green Greenmarket at Bowling Green

Broadway & Whitehall St

Open Tuesday and Thursdays, year-round

Market Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Compost Program: 8 a.m. – 11 a.m.

The Bowling Green Greenmarket brings fresh offerings from local farms to Lower Manhattan’s historic Bowling Green plaza. Twice a week year-round stop by to load up on the season’s freshest fruit, crisp vegetables, beautiful plants, and freshly baked loaves of bread, quiches, and pot pies.

Greenmarket at the Oculus

Oculus Plaza, Fulton St and Church St

CLOSED FOR THE SEASON

The Outdoor Fulton Stall Market

91 South St., bet. Fulton & John Sts.

212-349-1380 info@fultonstallmarket.org

Fulton Street cobblestones between South and Front Sts. across from McNally Jackson Bookstore.

Locally grown produce from Rogowski Farm, Breezy Hill Orchard, and other farmers and small-batch specialty food products, sold directly by their producers. Producers vary from week to week.

SNAP/EBT/P-EBT, Debit/Credit, and Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks accepted at all farmers markets.

TODAY IN HISTORY

February 15

1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1642)

706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

1493 – While on board the Nina, Christopher Columbus writes an open letter (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World.

1870 – Stevens Institute of Technology is founded in New Jersey, and offers the first Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering.

1879 – Women’s rights: President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.

1898 – The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain. “Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!”

1933 – In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.

1945 – World War II: Third day of bombing in Dresden.

1946 – ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

1992 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.

2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.

2013 – A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings. This happens unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14.

USS Maine, 1898

Maine’s keel was laid in the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard for the U.S. Navy in 1888, and she was launched 13 months later in 1889 at a cost of $4,677,788. During the Cuban War of Independence the Maine was sent to Havana Harbor to protect U.S. interests. On the evening of February 15, 1898, the ship exploded and sank, killing 268 sailors. A U.S. Navy board of inquiry ruled that the ship had been sunk by an external explosion from a mine. Some Navy officers disagreed, suggesting that the ship’s magazines had been ignited by a spontaneous fire in a coal bunker. The coal used in Maine was bituminous, which is known for releasing firedamp, a mixture of gases composed primarily of flammable methane that is prone to spontaneous explosions. An investigation by Admiral Hyman Rickover nearly 100 years later, in 1974, agreed with the coal fire hypothesis. The cause of her sinking remains a subject of debate. (Wikipedia)

Births

1458 – Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III of Russia (d. 1490)

1471 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (d. 1503)

1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1642)

1710 – Louis XV of France (d. 1774)

1797 – Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (d. 1871)

1809 – Cyrus McCormick, American journalist and businessman, co-founded International Harvester (d. 1884)

1812 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (d. 1902)

1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist and activist (d. 1906)

1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish captain and explorer (d. 1922)

1923 – Yelena Bonner, Jewish Soviet-Russian activist (d. 2011)

1928 – Norman Bridwell, American author and illustrator, created Clifford the Big Red Dog (d. 2014)

1929 – Graham Hill, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1975)

1935 – Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)

Deaths

706 – Leontios, Byzantine emperor

706 – Tiberios III, Byzantine emperor

1965 – Nat King Cole, American singer and pianist (b. 1919)

1988 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)

2019 – Lee Radziwill, American socialite (b. 1933)

Credit: Wikipedia and other internet and non-internet sources

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