World Financial Center stores to close:
All of the retail stores on the south side of 2 World Financial Center will close on Sept. 30 according to Melissa Coley, vice president of investor relations and communications for Brookfield Properties, which owns the World Financial Center. These stores include Urban Athletics, SouthWest NY restaurant, Boomerang Toys, Ciao Bella gelato, a shoe repair shop and several others. Godiva chocolates has already closed. Brookfield has told Community Board 1 and the Battery Park City Authority that it plans to construct a food marketplace with food retailers and restaurants in this wing of the building. None of the stores on the north side of 2 World Financial Center will be closing.
In fact, Caravelli’s, serving Italian food, will be opening in early July on the former site of the Donald Sacks restaurant. The chef and co-owner is Ed McFarland of Ed’s Lobster Bar, which has a kiosk on the World Financial Center plaza.
Bang on a Can at the Winter Garden:
One of the most important contemporary music events in New York City and arguably in the country is coming to the Winter Garden on Sunday, June 19 when Bang on a Can presents its annual marathon. The free program of non-stop music begins at 11 a.m. and ends at midnight. Though there are some familiar names among the composers — Yoko Ono, Bjork, Frank Zappa and Philip Glass are on the program — many of the pieces are by young, cutting-edge artists who are known in the contemporary music community but less well known outside it.
Bang on a Can was founded in 1987 by Julia Wolfe, David Lang and Michael Gordon, luminaries among contemporary composers (each of them has won many prizes and prestigious grants, and Lang won a Pulitzer Prize), to bring contemporary music to a wider audience. This year, 150 musicians from around the world will perform. Bang on a Can is the opening event of the annual River To River Festival in Lower Manhattan, which will include concerts featuring Rufus Wainwright and the New York City Opera (June 28), Patti Smith (July 14), Vijay Iyer (June 23) and a tribute to The Bottom Line with Rosanne Cash (June 22). For the times and artists on the Bang on a Can program, go to https://bangonacan.org/marathon/schedule
Greenmarket farmer:
Five generations: Every Thursday, Judy Sedor travels three hours each way from a farm in Windsor, Conn. to the World Financial Center Greenmarket in Battery Park City.“We own 120 acres, but we only farm 65 of them,” said Sedor, of Newgate Farms, which has been in her husband’s family since 1933.
The farm was started by Frank and Nellie Sedor, immigrants from Poland who came through Elllis Island. Frank was orphaned at the age of two when bandits attacked his family as they were traveling from one place to another, and his parents were killed. Frank was left by the side of the road and someone took him in. He never knew exactly where he came from.
Judy and her husband, Stanley, have five children, one of whom, Douglas, works on the farm. A 16-year-old grandson does markets along with his grandparents “and is really into it,” said Sedor, though she doesn’t know if he’ll choose a career in farming. That makes five generations of Sedors who have worked on the farm.
“We raise everything we sell,” said Sedor. “We have a full line of vegetables and small fruit such as strawberries, red currants, raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries. We sell almost any kind of berry that grows in Connecticut. We have a greenhouse and sell cut flower bouquets in the summer. And we have a bakery that I started to use up the excess fruit and vegetables in a value-added way.”
In the coming weeks, Sedor said she’ll have pickling cucumbers, peas, lettuce, arugula, Swiss chard, collard greens, kale and beans.
The World Financial Center Greenmarket at Liberty Street and South End Avenue is open Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Busy Saturday:
Saturday, June 18, will be busy in Battery Park City. At 9:30 a.m. more than 40 solo swimmers and relay teams will leave from South Cove for a 28.5-mile swim around the island of Manhattan, returning to South Cove. NYC Swim, which sponsors the event, says the field is the strongest and largest in 20 years, with swimmers from the United States, Australia, England, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Portugal, and Ireland.
Also on Saturday, there will be several events in and around Wagner Park. The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy is holding a bird-watching walk starting from Wagner Park at 11 a.m. and catch-and-release fishing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with rod, reels and bait provided for those who don’t bring their own. The Brooklyn-based Michael Hill’s Blues Mob will perform from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. with songs about freedom and the joys of fishing. And at 2 p.m., there will be a tour of Wagner Park’s public art led by an art historian who will talk about the work of Louise Bourgeois, Jim Dine and Tony Cragg. All of the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy events are free, with no reservations required.
To comment on Battery Park City Beat or to suggest story ideas, email TereseLoeb@mac.com
