Tunnel renamed after former Gov
The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel will be renamed the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel after former New York Governor, who held office from 1975 to 1982.
Carey is credited for rescuing the state from civic and financial collapse, particularly during the fiscal crisis of 1975. “Governor Carey laid the foundation for New York City’s revitalization, and for the development of Lower Manhattan and the outer boroughs that accompanied it,” according to the memo of the bill, which was passed in the State Senate on December 7. “It is fitting that this crucial artery to the life of the city is named in his honor.”
Carey is credited for rescuing the city from insolvency in the mid-1970s, and for securing its revival thereafter. He also spearheaded several economic development projects, including the South Street Seaport and Battery Park City, and improved public transportation.
The tunnel, which opened in 1950, connects Wall Street with southwestern Brooklyn, and is accessible from Lower Manhattan via the F.D.R. Drive. It is the longest continuous underwater tunnel in North America, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s website. It got its claim to fame in the 1997 film, “Men in Black,” as the agent’s headquarters.
N.Y. State Senator Daniel Squadron said the renaming of the tunnel is an appropriate tribute to his achievements, and praised the former governor for his strong leadership skills. “Governor Carey rose above those things that so often divide us – Republican and Democrat, upstate and downstate — to craft a solution that kept the whole state strong, and [that] allowed the state to rise, and the city to rise, from what looked like dark days that might never end,” Squadron recently said on the Senate floor.
New landmark in Tribeca
Tribeca inherited yet another landmark on Tuesday, at 258 Broadway (at Warren Street). For 70 years, the building housed Rogers, Peet and Company, a men’s retail clothing store. The building’s ground floor is now occupied by a bank, and its top floors consist of apartment units.
Erected in 1900, it is exemplary of a steel skeleton-framed skyscraper, and was built with the latest in fireproofing technologies. It is clad in stone and brick, and crowned by a deep molded and finely shaped copper cornice.
“It’s a handsome building… that reflects the evolution of commercial architecture in New York City and housed a well-respected business for decades,” said L.P.C. Chairman Robert Tierney. “I can testify, personally, to the quality and the longevity of Rogers, Peet Clothing, having owned one of its jackets for at least 20 years.”
Rogers, Peet & Co., founded in 1874, was one of the first clothing merchants to publicize the quality and appearance of its goods, and was famous for its big inventory and modest prices. The Warren Street branch closed in 1976, and the remaining three closed in 1978.
DT Giants blank the Ravens; win NYC Super Bowl
Lower Manhattan’s Downtown Giants football team won the New York City Championship Super Bowl against the Rockaway Ravens by a score of 32-0 last week. The game’s Most Valuable Player award went to quarterback/safety Aaron Alers, who threw for two touchdown passes and also rushed for two scores.
Now, we’ll see if the N.F.L. NY Giants can follow suit.
