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The BroadshetDAILY ~ 3/30/21 ~ Local Leaders Get Irredentist to Reclaim Park Space Dispossessed for a Decade

Posted on March 30, 2021

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Lower Manhattan’s Local News

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Banks Heist

Local Leaders Get Irredentist to Reclaim Park Space Dispossessed for a Decade

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The park known as Brooklyn Bridge Banks has been closed to the public for more than a decade, to facilitate maintenance work on the span above.

Community Board 1 (CB1) wants the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio to give back park space beneath the Brooklyn Bridge that was “temporarily” closed more than a decade ago. The area, informally known as “Brooklyn Banks,” is an iconic destination for skateboarders, because the streetscape provides an undulating terrain of ramps, rails, ledges, and jumps. Long before any of these stunts were legal in New York, boarders from around the United States would come to the City to compete there, and connect with one another.

In the years after its debut in the early 1970s, the site evolved into an unofficial cultural and historical landmark, in large measure due to its design by the renowned landscape architect, M. Paul Friedberg. Ironically, Mr. Friedberg never intended to create a Mecca for the subculture of skateboarding, which was then just beginning to coalesce. He simply wanted to transform a barren path of Lower Manhattan into useable public space. But the red brick that he chose to cover the ground (and for which “Red Brick Park” took its original name) turned out to be a material much prized by boarders, who regard it a second only to marble in the quality of ride it affords. And the sloping topography of the site provided the rest of the magic that skateboard enthusiasts crave, by unleashing the power of gravity. The sidewalk surfers who were drawn to the site christened it with the name that has stuck ever since: “The Banks.”

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Before its closure, the space had become a gathering point for both skateboarders and stunt cyclists.

But the Brooklyn Bridge, which straddles the site, turned 100 years old in 1983, and began to cry out for the kind of frequent maintenance that a centenarian structure requires. Through the 1980s and 90s, the park was periodically closed to facilitate preservation and upkeep on the span above. This narrative was reprised in the 2000s, with the result that the park has been off-limits to boarders (and all other public users) for more than a decade. In 2020, an online petition demanding that the facility be reopened garnered more than 45,000 signatures.

Last November, CB1 hosted a meeting devoted to these concerns, which attracted dozens of speakers. Afterward, the Board passed a resolution noting that, “CB1 recognizes both the global and local significance of the Brooklyn Banks Skate park … as an iconic cultural and athletic institution that benefits many cross-sections of the community, including its merit for spectators.” The same measure urged the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT), which has commandeered the space for vehicle parking, and as a staging area for work on the Bridge, the Parks Department, “and our elected officials [to] work together with the community towards the common goal of returning and converting this space under the Brooklyn Bridge back to the public.”

The DOT responded to this resolution by saying that it will need to occupy the park space well into the 2030s, for ongoing Brooklyn Bridge maintenance projects.

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In the mid-2000s, Brooklyn Bridge Banks was a legendary venue that drew boarders from around the world.

More recently, on March 1, CB1 chair Tammy Meltzer wrote to the DOT’s Manhattan Borough Commissioner, Edward Pincar, saying, “CB1 has unsuccessfully attempted to formally engage DOT numerous times since December… to continue publicly discussing this important issue,” while also raising questions about that agency’s need for so much space, and for so long. She argued that, “this community has already lost use of this important public space for over a decade and is not prepared to be without it for additional years. DOT needs to work with CB1 on a plan to return portions of these areas not under construction as soon as possible. DOT has not demonstrated that the entirety of the area needs to remain closed until all bridge-related work is complete.”

“We look forward to working together to be able to start returning the space under the Brooklyn Bridge back for public use,” Ms. Meltzer concluded.

Matthew Fenton

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Compulsory Commemoration

Governor Opens Hurricane Maria Memorial

On Friday, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced
the opening of the Hurricane Maria Memorial in Battery Park City, located at the corner of Chambers Street and River Terrace. Mr. Cuomo made this announcement at an unrelated event in the Bronx, which was closed to the press, as has become the embattled Governor’s custom in recent weeks, while he faces multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, along with allegations that his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic led to thousands of deaths in New York that might otherwise have been prevented. To read more…

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Pearl of Wisdom

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Brewer Pushes for FiDi Thoroughfare to Be Made Pedestrian-Friendly in Perpetuity

Manhattan Borough President Gale
Brewer is pushing the
administration of Mayor Bill de
Blasio to expand and make
permanent a trial implementation of the Open Street program in Lower Manhattan. Since last summer, the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) has each day restricted vehicular access to Pearl Street, between Broad Street and Hanover Square, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm and again from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm To read more…

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Chopper Stoppers

Proposed Federal Law Would Further Restrict Helicopter Flights Over New York City

For the second time in as many months,
U.S. Congressman Jerry Nadler (who
represents Lower Manhattan in
Washington) has introduced federal
legislation that would impose stricter regulations on helicopter flights over New Y ork.

On March 7, Mr. Nadler reintroduced the Improving Helicopter Safety Act—a measure that he first sponsored in 2019, when it failed to pass. According to the Congressional Research Service, this law would “prohibit operating helicopter flights over any city with a population of over eight million and a population density of over 25,000 people per square mile, except for purposes of (1) public health and safety, including law enforcement and emergency response; and (2) heavy-lift operations in support of construction and infrastructure maintenance.” To read more…

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Alliance For Downtown New York Hosts 2021 Shred-A- Thon
​And Clothing Drop-Off

After a year like the one we all just endured and the promise of a brighter day emerging, the idea of “spring cleaning” takes on new energy and meaning.

Now is the time to round up all the old clothes and unwanted documents that have been piling up and bring them over to Fulton Street (between Cliff and Gold Streets) for the Downtown Alliance’s annual dual shred-a-thon and clothing drop- off Saturday, April 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A shredding truck parked on Fulton Street will securely dispose of and recycle all your sensitive documents, tax receipts, junk mail and old bills.

The Alliance is also partnering with NYC clothing recycler Wearable Collections, which is providing a bin to collect all dry, used clean clothing including shoes, sneakers, belts and hats, as well as household items such as linens, towels and handbags.

Rain or shine, the Alliance will be there to dispose of your much-loved old outfits and no-longer-needed memories, minus a few items (e.g., carpeting, rugs, bath mats, comforters, pillows, large luggage). This spring will be even sweeter when you’ve got some extra space.

(sponsored content)

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One Act of Kindness

Matt Keating is a singer/songwriter who lives in Lower Manhattan with his wife Emily. In a recent post on Facebook, he described his friendship with a man who took shelter outside his building, and how he helped this man

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receive his federal stimulus check.

This is my neighbor Jamal. We became friends about a month ago when I met him taking shelter outside of my building under the construction scaffolding that’s been put up for a while now. He is currently without a home and asks politely for any help from me whenever I walk by so I started giving him something every once in a while whenever I had it. He was very grateful and we struck up a conversation about politics and the current situation of inequality in this country.

About two weeks ago, as Emily and I were leaving to do our weekly visit to the Union Square Farmers Market, he came up to us and showed us that his shoes were falling apart. His soles were flapping and it was wet out. To read more…

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6PM

Pure Bearing Wall

Skyscraper Museum

Today’s Calendar Tuesday March 30

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Skyscraper Museum webinar. Structural engineer Robert Sinn is a Principal in the Chicago office of Thornton Tomasetti. Before joining TT in 2007, Mr. Sinn spent more than two decades at SOM, where he was responsible for such award-winning projects as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, and Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, which when completed was the tallest all-concrete building in North America.

Recent project credits include the 245-meter Federation of Korean Industries headquarters (2014) in Seoul, South Korea, the Al Wasl Plaza for Expo 2020 in

Dubai, UAE, topped by a translucent dome that spans 130 meters. Free

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CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS

Swaps & Trades, Respectable Employment, Lost and Found

To place a listing, contact editor@ebroadsheet.com

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AVAILABLE NURSES’ AIDE
20+ years experience Reliable & Honest FT/PT Flexible Hours Charmainecharmainecobb@optimu m.net or 347-277-2574

COLLEGE ESSAY AND APPLICATION SUPPORT
Millennium HS English teacher with 30+ years of experience.

Oberlin BA, Brown MA. Other tutoring services available as well. Contact jeffmihok@gmail.com.

NOTARY PUBLIC IN BPC
$2.00 per notarized signature. Text Paula

@ 917-836-8802

NURSE’S AID

Caring, experienced Nurse’s Aide seeks PT/FT position. Excellent references. 718-496-6232 dianshields32@gmail.com

EXPERIENCED TUTOR
in accounting, finance, math and statistical

data analysis

All levels and all ages Virtual or in-person meetings in safe and Covid free environment PhD, Wall St. Experience 917 293 7812

thisispaulinelam@gmail. com

PERSONAL ASSISTANT
with Apple experience needed for filing, packaging/mailing items, and computer work including spreadsheets. Handyman skills helpful. $25/hour, approximately 12 hours/week. email cathy@riverprojectnyc.org.

TUTOR AVAILABLE FOR HOMEWORK SUPPORT
Stuyvesant HS student available for homework help. All grades especially math. References available upon request Philip.vm3@gmail.com

HOUSEKEEPING/ NANNY/ BABYSITTER Available for PT/FT. Wonderful person, who is a great worker. Refs avail. Worked in BPC. Call Tenzin

347-803-9523

SEEKING FT LIVE- IN ELDER CARE
12 years experience, refs avail. I am a loving caring hardworking certified home health aide

Marcia 347 737 5037

marmar196960@gmail.com

SHSAT TUTOR
A V AILABLE Stuyvesant HS student available for test prep
$20 an hour; remote /zoom preferred BPC resident, with years of tutoring experience References available upon request ​tutoringbpc@gmail.com

SHSAT TUTORING

Stuyvesant HS graduate available for SHSAT

tutoring. $40/hr.
Zoom or in-person. natasha_lyasheva@yahoo.com

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Eyes to the Sky

March 22 – April 4, 2021

Turn-of-the-season dazzle: brightest stars, vivid constellations, and rusty-gold Mars

The calendar in the night sky marks
Spring Equinox evenings with the
rising of golden Arcturus, the second
brightest star in our sky. Sunset is at
7:11 this evening and about a minute later each day going forward.

As twilight deepens, about an hour after sunset, gold-to-red twinkling Arcturus climbs above the northeastern horizon. The great star, -0.05 magnitude, appears later over obstructed views. To be sure to locate Arcturus at any time of night, follow the diagram at the top of this page. On spring evenings, the Big Dipper can be found high in the sky from the northeast to southeast. Trace the arc of its handle down to “arc to Arcturus”.

To read more…

Life of the Party

Sheriffs Break Up Illegal Nightclub in Tribeca

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On Friday, for the second time in three
weeks, a task force of New York City
sheriffs shut down an illegal bar and
nightclub in Tribeca. At 11:30 pm, half a
dozen sheriffs entered One Harrison
Street (at the corner of Hudson Street),
ordered more than 120 patrons to
disperse, and arrested five of the party’s
organizers, charging them with violations
of emergency health orders related to the
pandemic, selling liquor without a license, selling liquor to minors, and dispensing cannabis products to minors, along with various vice and health-code violations. To read more…

9/11 Victim

Compensation Fund

Report

More Survivors than Responders Now are Submitting Claims

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) has released its annual report for 2020, which documents some significant developments.

Over the course of its ten years of operation thus far, the VCF has awarded $7.76 billion to more than 34,400 individuals who have suffered death or personal injury as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath. The vast majority of these injuries take the form of illness caused by exposure to toxic materials that were released by the destruction of the World Trade Center.

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To read more…

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TODAY IN HISTORY

March 30