The BroadsheetDAILY – 3/30/22 – Census Analysis Indicates Lower Manhattan Has Become a Lot Younger, Quite a Bit More Crowded, and Slightly More Diverse

The Broadsheet – Lower Manhattan’s Local Newspaper

The Way We Live Now

Census Analysis Indicates Downtown Has Become a Lot Younger, Quite a Bit More Crowded, and Slightly More Diverse

The population of Lower Manhattan has grown by almost 20,000 residents in the decade preceding the 2020 Census, according to an analysis co-authored by James Wilson-Schutter, a Community Planning Fellow affiliated with the Fund for the City of New York, who is consulting with Community Board 1 (CB1), and Diana Switaj, CB1’s Director of Planning and Land Use.

At the March 17 meeting of the Board’s Executive Committee, Mr. Wilson-Schutter noted that, “a lot has changed in the district since 2010,” referring to the catchment of CB1, a collection of neighborhoods encompassing 1.5 square miles, bounded roughly by Canal, Baxter, and Pearl Streets, and the Brooklyn Bridge. “CB1 has grown just tremendously over the past 10 years. There are a lot more people, a lot more youth, and a lot more housing.”

The report presented by Mr. Wilson-Schutter and Ms. Switaj notes that in the period they analyzed, CB1’s population, “grew to an astounding 78,390 residents, increasing by 28.6 period since 2010, when the population was 60,978.” This expansion makes CB1 the second-fastest growing district in the City, behind only Brooklyn’s Community Board 2, which grew by 30.5 percent. For context, such a jump in population far surpasses the City-wide average of 7.7 percent, as well as the Manhattan average of 6.8 percent. “If not for COVID, the district could have hit 80,000 residents,” observed Mr. Wilson-Schutter. “But the growth hasn’t been even throughout the district. Some neighborhoods grew a lot faster than others.”

Broken out by neighborhood, FiDi grew by 45.3 percent (or 6,669 residents, for a new total of 21,386), while the South Street Seaport expanded by 33.9 percent (3,043 new residents, for a total of 12,012). Battery Park City swelled by 21.5 percent (2,883 more residents, now totaling 16,269), and Tribeca saw growth of 15.6 percent (with 2,810 new residents, yielding a new total 20,806). In the aggregate, these changes mean that Tribeca has been displaced by FiDi as the most populous local neighborhood.

Among different age groups, the growth was most pronounced among those under 18, a category that expanded by 60.3 percent, with 12,775 CB1 residents (or 16.3 percent of the local population) now falling into this group. This makes CB1 the fastest-growing community for young people anywhere in the five boroughs. For the City as a whole, the under-18 category grew by one percent, while Manhattan as a whole actually lost population in this cohort.

“The district has become a lot more family-oriented,” Mr. Wilson-Schutter reflect. “That means that you’re as likely to run into someone with the stroller and child, as you are to a tourist within the district.”

He noted that, “housing has grown tremendously within the community board as well,” with CB1 ranking close to the fastest-growing community in Manhattan when gauged by the number of dwellings. “It was only beaten out by one other district within the borough,” he added. The total number of dwellings within CB1 grew by 23 percent in the last decade, making Lower Manhattan the fourth-fastest growing community (in terms of housing units) anywhere in New York City. This rate of growth is roughly triple both the City average of 7.3 percent, and the Manhattan average of 7.9 percent. Noting that FiDi is home to many large office buildings that could still be converted to residential use, Mr. Wilson-Schutter added, “it’s very much an area that will probably keep growing as we move into 2030 and looking forward.”

But many of these new homes remain empty. The report also documents that the vacancy rate for local dwellings is 13.2 percent, ranking Lower Manhattan the second-highest district for vacant housing units anywhere in the City.

“Racial distribution has also changed quite a lot,” he said. “Lower Manhattan has gotten a lot more diverse. The Asian, Black, and Native American populations have grown, and the population of those who have two or more races has grown tremendously.” CB1 remains majority white (slightly more than 65 percent, or 51,258 residents), but this margin has shrunk from the 2010 Census (when 73.3 percent of residents were white). The Asian population is now 18.3 percent (or 14,344 residents), up from 17.7 percent a decade ago. Next, in order of population, are those who are of two or more races, who constitute nearly 10 percent of the district (at 7,206 residents), a proportion that has more than doubled from (from 3.5 percent in 2010 to 9.2 percent in 2020). The Black population has expanded to 3,282 residents (growing from 3.5 to 4.2 percent of the local population).

CB1 chair Tammy Meltzer concluded the discussion by noting that, “the demographics show our extraordinary rise in residential use. We really need to take a look at how we’re zoned and whether or not it makes sense to try and change the zoning. It’s a big endeavor. But you need to have the demographics and the numbers, as we all know, to back it all up.”

She said the report is, “part of the continuing drive that has come from CB1 to take a look at the changes in our district, who we really are now, versus 20 and 30 years ago. And to be able to look at the zoning we have and say, ‘does this fit?’ And where is a finer, better line?”

“From the ratio of parks and open space to the housing, do we have the right size and amounts of services for our demographics?” she asked. “These are all really good things for us to be looking at to better serve the community.”

Matthew Fenton

Down in the Depths on the 50th Floor

Elevator Outages Have FiDi High-Rise Tenants Out on a Ledge

Months of chronic elevator problems at a historic skyscraper in the Financial District have left tenants at 20 Exchange Place hiking dozens of flights to and from their apartments each day. At a Monday rally called by elected officials to show support for the plight of residents in the building, City Council member Christopher Marte said, “this is the worst-case scenario for any resident. The first incident was in late October, almost six months ago.” Since then, he said, “there has been neglect from Con Edison and the management office. This is unacceptable. Enough is enough. Let’s get this fixed.”

Tenant Astin Hutch: “Imagine firefighters in full gear trying to get to my apartment. At some point, somebody will die.”

The cause of the elevator outages has not yet been precisely identified, beyond that it appears related to high-voltage electrical surges that burn out the computerized “mother boards” that govern elevator operation. To read more…

Morose Metric

Local Rates of Infection with BA.2 Version of COVID Among Highest in City

In a sharp reversal of previous trends, four Lower Manhattan neighborhoods are ranking among the top five anywhere in the City for rates of infection with the new BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron mutation of COVID-19.

In data released by the City’s Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday (covering the period from March 18 through March 24), southern Tribeca, two areas of the Financial District, and southern Battery Park City all placed among the five communities with the highest percentage positive test results for COVID infection. The four local zip codes with the highest level of positive test results were:

THIS WEEK’S CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY MARCH 30

12:30PM

Meeting of the Board’s Investment Committee (12:30PM)

Meeting of the Members of the Authority (2:00PM)

The meetings will be livestreamed at: bpca.divacommunications.com/bpca-live/ and video recordings made available for post-meeting access via the Battery Park City Authority website. Agendas will be made available at least 48 hours in advance of the scheduled meetings, and a public comment period will be scheduled during the Meeting of the Members of the Authority at a time on the agenda determined by the Chairman.

Anyone wishing to participate in the public comment period should submit their comments via email to boardcomment@bpca.ny.gov by no later than 5:30 p.m. on the day prior to the Meeting. Comments should be no longer than two minutes in length, and may be read into the record during the livestream broadcast. BPCA reserves the right to prioritize comments that have not been previously raised.

THURSDAY MARCH 31

5PM

A Righteous Woman: Doña Gracia Mendes Nasi

Museum of Jewish Heritage 36 Battery Pl

Virtual event

Beatrice Nasi, who would come to be known as Doña Gracia, one of the richest women in the world, was born in 1510 in Portugal. Join the Museum for a program exploring the incredible life and legacy of Doña Gracia on the 530th anniversary of the Alhambra Decree. The program will consist of a conversation with Andrée Aelion Brooks, author of The Woman Who Defied Kings: The life and times of Doña Gracia Nasi, and Howard Tzvi Adelman, Associate Professor of History at Queen’s University. The program willl be moderated by Josh Nathan-Kazis, a reporter at Barron’s and a former staff writer at the Forward.

Free; suggested $10 donation

7PM

Book launch at McNally Jackson 4 Fulton Street

During the coronavirus pandemic, a queer disabled woman bikes through a locked-down NYC for the ex-girlfriend who broke her heart. In pandemic-era NYC, Orpheus just manages to buy a bike before they sell out across the city. She takes to the streets looking for Eurydice, the first woman she fell in love with, who broke her heart. The city is largely closed, devoid of touch, connection, and community. But Orpheus hears mysterious news of an underground bar, Le Monacle, fashioned after the lesbian club of the same name in 1930s Paris. Can she find it?

7PM

Jazz at the Poster Museum

Grammy Award-winning drummer Robby Ameen has lived in Tribeca since the early 90s and has established a recording and touring career stretching from Dizzy Gillespie to Paul Simon to Ruben Blades. See Robby and his band at Philip Williams Posters, 52 Warren Street. $20, $10 students; with complimentary wine. For reservations, 212-513-0313 or robbyameen@gmail.com

7:30PM

Trinity Wall Street

In person at Trinity Church or online

Thomas Cooley, tenor; Jonathan Woody, bass; The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Youth Chorus; The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; New York Baroque Inc.; Dana Marsh, conductor. Trinity ensembles join forces with the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and New York Baroque Incorporated to present Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, one of the quintessential masterpieces of western classical music. The Passion According to St. Matthew, BWV 244, is a dramatic integration of scripture, new poetry, and great hymns of the Lutheran tradition.

FRIDAY APRIL 1

11AM – 5PM

South Street Seaport Museum

On Saturdays and Sundays, visit the exhibitions and the ships of the South Street Seaport Museum for free. At 12 Fulton Street, see “South Street and the Rise of New York” and “Millions: Migrants and Millionaires aboard the Great Liners, 1900-1914,” and at Pier 16, explore the tall ship Wavertree and lightship Ambrose.

For the Birds

A Guide to our Feathered Friends in Lower Manhattan

Gail Karlsson is a local writer and photographer who recently began focusing on New York City birds. She has put together a photo book called A Birds’ Guide to The Battery and New York Harbor. Most of the text is written from the birds’ point of view.

In 2017, she began going on morning bird walks in The Battery led by Gabriel Willow, a naturalist working with New York City Audubon. “One day he told me that not very many birders went to The Battery, and it would be good to document what we saw there. I didn’t know much about the different birds, but I did have a new telephoto lens, and Gabriel helped me identify ones I didn’t recognize. I was amazed at how many different types of birds we found there.I decided to put them together in a book – which turned into a much bigger project than I imagined. But a really fun one.”

‘Downtown Birds’ is now on display in the ground-floor window gallery at the former Western Union building (60 Hudson) located on the northwest corner of West Broadway and Thomas now through May 1

The book A Birds’ Guide to The Battery and New York Harbor is available on Amazon.com.

Local Legacies Lionized

Three Downtown Preservation Projects Cited as Exemplars of Landmark Protection

Three of Lower Manhattan’s architectural masterpieces have been singled out for the prestigious Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award, conferred each year by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a highly regarded non-profit organization (itself based in Lower Manhattan, on Whitehall Street) that seeks to protect New York’s architecturally significant buildings. To read more…

Harmonic Convergence

New Production of Museum of Jewish Heritage Recalls 1930s Saga That Resonates Today

Previews have begun for the seven-week run of Harmony, a musical by Barry Manilow and his longtime collaborator Bruce Sussman at the Museum of Jewish Heritage (36 Battery Place, near First Place).

The production recalls the story of the Comedian Harmonists, “a singing group that was hugely popular in the 1920s and 30s,” Mr. Manilow recalls. “They were very inventive—a combination of the Manhattan Transfer and the Marx Brothers. They made 13 movies, along with dozens and dozens of records. But nobody remembers them today.”

Mr. Sussman reflects that, “when Barry and I write a big project, I need to be able to know what the spine sentence is—the guiding sentence for what this piece is about. I knew immediately this was about the quest for harmony in the broadest sense of the word, during what turned out to be the most discordant period of human history.” To read more…

Not a Penny for Tribute?

Community-Focused Cultural Center Faces Possible Closure

The 9/11 Tribute Museum, a highly regarded local cultural institution, is grappling with the prospect of imminent closure, according to chief executive officer and co-founder, Jennifer Adams-Webb, who told the Broadsheet, “without a donor or partner stepping forward, we are unable to sustain the 9/11 Tribute Museum with current visitation. The 9/11 Tribute Museum has served as a support for thousands of survivors, first responders, families and residents who were all directly affected by September 11. It will be a substantial loss to New York City and the community of support.” To read more…

Banks Heist

Lower Manhattan Students Mobilize to Demand Return of Park Space Beneath Brooklyn Bridge

On March 15, a team of student leaders from the Urban Assembly Maker Academy, a charter school located in Lower Manhattan, presented to the Waterfront, Parks, and Cultural Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1) a plan for reopening the Brooklyn Bridge Banks Park, located in the shadow of the iconic span that stretches across the East River from City Hall.

Amy Piller, the principal of the Urban Assembly Maker Academy (headquartered alongside the Brooklyn Bridge, within the Murry Bergtraum Campus, on Pearl Street) began by noting, “most of our students go out to eat at lunchtime. Particularly now, in light of the pandemic, there are really limited places where they can go.” To read more…

Eyes to the Sky

March 21 – April 3, 2022

Equinox Sun, Spring Star Arcturus rising, Solar Orbiter’s closest approach

We are several days past the Vernal Equinox (aequus = equal and nox = night), the astronomical first day of spring in the northern hemisphere when the rising Sun (due east on the horizon) and the setting Sun (due west) trace an arc in the sky that brings about equal day and night. Our star’s equinox trajectory is halfway between the winter and summer solstices, the shortest and longest days of the year, respectively.

Preservation as Privatization

Historic, Publicly Owned Battery Maritime Building Has Reopened, But Only for Paying Customers

Community Board 1 (CB1) is raising questions about the use of what was supposed to be public space at the Battery Maritime Building, located at Ten South Street.

The publicly owned structure, located next to the Staten Island Ferry, is a landmarked Beaux Art ferry terminal built in 1909. It served for three decades as the gateway for boats taking passengers across the East River, but after commuters and vehicles gained direct access to Manhattan with the advent of bridges, tunnels, and subways, ferry usage declined and the building fell into disrepair.

CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS

Swaps & Trades, Respectable Employment, Lost and Found

To place a listing, contact editor@ebroadsheet.com

Esplanade or Espla-Nada?

City Says Planned Improvements to East River Waterfront Are On Hold

The February 22 meeting of Community Board 1 (CB1) included an update about long-planned improvements to the East River Esplanade, some of which are being cancelled.

Paul Goldstein, the chair of CB1’s Waterfront, Parks & Cultural Committee, said, “we got a report from Economic Development Corporation [EDC] regarding some of their waterfront assets and projects that are ongoing—or not.” (The EDC is a not-profit corporation controlled by City government, which oversees development of assets, such as publicly owned property.)

“Unfortunately, a lot this project is not moving ahead for a variety of reasons,” Mr. Goldstein explained, “the biggest one being that the City is focusing much more on resiliency, and they don’t want to go ahead with improvements that may interfere with that.” To read more…

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.

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

March 30

On this day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.

1818 – Physicist Augustin Fresnel reads a memoir on optical rotation to the French Academy of Sciences, reporting that when polarized light is “depolarized” by a Fresnel rhomb, its properties are preserved in any subsequent passage through an optically-rotating crystal or liquid.

1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.

1855 – Origins of the American Civil War: “Border Ruffians” from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.

1861 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium.

1867 – Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre ($4.19/kmІ), by US Secretary of State William H. Seward.

1944 – Out of 795 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos sent to attack Nuremberg, 95 bombers do not return, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of the war.

1945 – World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna; Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig.

1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.

1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident.

Vincent Van Gogh Self-Portrait, 1887, Art Institute of Chicago

Births

1432 – Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman sultan (d. 1481)

1632 – John Proctor, farmer hanged for witchcraft in the Salem witch trials (d. 1692)

1853 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch-French painter and illustrator (d. 1890)

1902 – Brooke Astor, American socialite and philanthropist (d. 2007)

1913 – Richard Helms, soldier and diplomat, eighth Director of Central Intelligence (d. 2002)

1919 – McGeorge Bundy, American intelligence officer and diplomat, sixth United States National Security Advisor (d. 1996)

1945 – Eric Clapton, English guitarist and singer-songwriter

Deaths

943 – Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang (b. 889)

1925 – Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and author (b. 1861)

1981 – DeWitt Wallace, publisher, co-founded Reader’s Digest (b. 1889)

2002 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (b. 1900)

2008 – Dith Pran, Cambodian-American photographer and journalist (b. 1942)

2012 – Granville Semmes, businessman, founded 1-800-Flowers (b. 1928)

2015 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer & academic (b. 1921)

2020 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)

2021 – G. Gordon Liddy, chief operative in the Watergate scandal (b. 1930)

Credit: Edited from various sources including historyorb.com, the NYTimes.com and Google searches

The Broadsheet Inc. eBroadsheet.com editor @ ebroadsheet.com ©2022 All Rights Reserved All photos © Robert Simko 2022 unless otherwise credited

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