The view north from Prince St. in Soho as the sun was setting around 8 p.m. on Thurs., Aug. 14, the first day of the blackout.
L.M.D.C. allocates funds to promoteChinatown tourism
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced last week that it will help fund a $2 million tourism and marketing campaign to attract visitors to Chinatown.
“As you know, Chinatown was severely affected by Sept. 11, and misperceptions surrounding the SARS epidemic served to exacerbate the post-9/11 trends,” said John Whitehead, chairman of the L.M.D.C. “They need people to come back to visit.”
The L.M.D.C. will contribute up to $1 million for the initiative, with the September 11th Fund paying the additional amount up to $1 million. The two organizations planned to issue a request for proposals on Aug. 18, soliciting the services of a team to provide tourism and marketing services in Chinatown. To be considered, teams must include one or more Chinatown-based community groups and a firm with extensive tourism and marketing experience.
Many in Chinatown have criticized the L.M.D.C. for being late to respond to the community’s needs after the terror attacks. At an L.M.D.C. community meeting in Chinatown two weeks ago, community members both inside and outside the venue interrupted speakers and asked why it took nearly two years to hold such a forum in the neighborhood.
Some in the community reacted to the L.M.D.C. initiative with guarded optimism.
“This is a good step, but it’s one piece of a bigger puzzle,” said Robert Weber, director of policy for Asian Americans for Equality, a Chinatown-based civic organization.
Weber noted that about 8,000 people, or 20 percent of Chinatown’s working-age population, remain unemployed, saying, “More needs to be done to help Chinatown’s economy.”
J&R Jazzfest plays in City Hall Park
J&R Music and Computer World is presenting its Ninth Annual Jazzfest in City Hall Park from Aug. 19-24. This year, two extra days of music have been added to the free jazz festival for a total of five days.
Jazzfest will kick off with a teaser performance, “Hot Summer Nights,” starring Al Jarreau, Yolanda Adams and Najee on Aug. 19 in City Hall Park. The festival will continue Aug. 21-24 with Mindi Abair, Terence Blanchard, Chuck Loeb, Bad Plus, Tom Scott and Sharp Nine All-Stars, among others.
During the festival, J&R will host Tech Expos in their specialty stores. The Tech Expos will be filled with free classes, seminars and new product demonstrations presented by leading high-tech companies. Also, Penny England, famous for her impression of the Statue of Liberty, will be on hand for entertainment and photographs with children. Performances on Tues., Thurs. and Fri. will begin at 5 p.m. Performances on Sat. and Sun. will begin at 1 p.m.
Money for 9/11 victims’ families
The state is encouraging families of 9/11 victims to apply for more than $7 million in donations that remain in the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund.
An estimated 400 families who are eligible to receive the aid have not yet applied, according to Governor George Pataki’s office. Those eligible for assistance include spouses of victims, children under aged 21 or younger, domestic partners or fiancées. Children over the age of 21 who can demonstrate that the victim was the source of at least half of their financial support may also qualify. The fund is administered by the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
Persons with questions about eligibility should contact the department at 518-457-8660. To apply, call 1-866-244-3839 or visit www.state.ny.us. All applications must be submitted by Sept. 30, 2003, when the relief fund will be closed.
Red Cross 9/11 Program moves its operations to Hanover Sq.
The Red Cross September 11 Recovery Program has moved Downtown. For more than a year, the program had operated out of temporary offices in three different locations. Beginning on Aug. 1, it consolidated its operations at 7 Hanover Sq. Services provided by the September 11 Recovery Program include financial assistance with mental care and healthcare, subsidies to cover health insurance costs, and support groups for those most directly affected by the terror attacks. For more information on the center or its services, call 877-746-4987 or visit www.redcross.org/september11/help.
Hand-powered radios could be handy
During the blackout, one of the only ways to get news was through a battery-operated radio. Cathy Glasson, a Grand St. resident, was out of town during the crisis, but afterwards made a purchase to be prepared for the future. Radio Shack offers a $40 Grundig “recycled power” radio, which has a hand crank. “You crank it for 90 seconds and you get an hour of use,” Glasson noted. “We decided we had to get one. We just think it’s a good thing to have.” The radio is small, 6” x 6” x 2” and lightweight with built-in light that can illuminate a keyhole.
The S.S. Lilac, an 800-ton steamer salvaged by a group of marine enthusiasts who had it towed up from Norfolk, Va., is in the Erie Basin in Brooklyn and waiting for a permanent home on Pier 40 at W. Houston St.
“We’re waiting for our engineers to certify plans for the protective fendering piles that we have to install on the north side of Pier 40,” said Gerry Weinstein, a member of the Tug Pegasus Foundation, which owns the 173-ft. steamship, built in 1907 for the U.S. Lighthouse Service.
The certification is expected in two weeks and the pilings will be installed at the expense of the Lilac owners.
Historic ship to berth at Pier 40
when fendering work is done Chris Martin, spokesperson for the Hudson River Park Trust, said the Lilac could come to Pier 40 as soon as the fendering system is approved and installed. A permanent home on Pier 40 for the Clearwater, the 1960s reproduction of a 19th-century Hudson River sloop, is likely next year, Martin said.
The Lilac, which served as a training vessel for the Seafarers’ International Union for several years, is owned by a group which includes Norman Brouwer, historian at the South Street Seaport Museum; Huntley Gill, a partner in the decommissioned fireboat John R. Harvey, docked at Pier 63 Maritime in Chelsea; Pamela Hepburn, skipper of the historic tug Pegasus, docked on Pier 62; and Weinstein.
Silver asks for investigation on why power was restored late Downtown
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said delays in restoring power to some residents of New York City “raise questions that deserve thorough examination.”
Silver said among the topics to be investigated in legislative hearings would be reports that residents in New York City, particularly in the Lower Manhattan community he represents, were among the last to be restored — further delaying for many the restoration of water systems that had been knocked out.
Silver last week asked Assembly Energy Committee Chairperson Paul Tonko to commence a complete examination into what happened, why it happened and what is necessary to avoid similar outages in the future.
“As residents of Lower Manhattan continue the rebuilding process after the September 11 terrorist attacks, it is disappointing that this community was among the last to regain electricity,” said Silver. “There are questions about the process for restoring power to a neighborhood struggling to renew itself and with a heavy concentration of senior citizens.”
Silver also asked Tonko to examine published reports that some communities were asked to forgo their electricity so power could be restored elsewhere first. Silver noted these accounts had prompted New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to consider legal action against Con Edison.
The Assembly hearing schedule is expected to be announced this week.
Pier 26 on the Downtown waterfront was alive with activity on Sun. Aug. 17, two days after the great blackout of 2003.
At the River Project on the south side of the pier, the fifth annual Crab Crunch attracted 466 visitors who ate about 900 Hudson River blue crabs, cooked by Christopher Letts, docent with the Hudson River Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization. The event, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., included talks on the life cycle of crabs and other Hudson River creatures by Letts and Tom Lake, a teacher at Dutchess Community College of SUNY in Poughkeepsie.
At the Downtown Boathouse on the north side of the pier, about 40 kayaks took to the water for the 23rd annual Harrison St. Regatta, a race held this year from Pier 26 to Pier 40 and back. About 150 people gathered at the boathouse at 2:30 p.m. to eat, drink and cheer for Dimitri Bougakov, who finished second and, following the Harrison St. tradition, was declared the winner. Felix Apfaltrer, who finished first, was the traditional Regatta loser.
Pier 26 on the Downtown waterfront was alive with activity on Sun. Aug. 17, two days after the great blackout of 2003.
At the River Project on the south side of the pier, the fifth annual Crab Crunch attracted 466 visitors who ate about 900 Hudson River blue crabs, cooked by Christopher Letts, docent with the Hudson River Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization. The event, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., included talks on the life cycle of crabs and other Hudson River creatures by Letts and Tom Lake, a teacher at Dutchess Community College of SUNY in Poughkeepsie.
At the Downtown Boathouse on the north side of the pier, about 40 kayaks took to the water for the 23rd annual Harrison St. Regatta, a race held this year from Pier 26 to Pier 40 and back. About 150 people gathered at the boathouse at 2:30 p.m. to eat, drink and cheer for Dimitri Bougakov, who finished second and, following the Harrison St. tradition, was declared the winner. Felix Apfaltrer, who finished first, was the traditional Regatta loser.
Insurance companies don’t want to pay for Deutsche demolition
Kevin Rampe, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp, filed a deposition in State Supreme Court last week supporting Deutsche Bank’s lawsuit demanding that two insurance companies declare the bank building just south of the World Trade Center site a total loss.
Deutsche Bank along with L.M.D.C. have been planning on the demolition of the office tower at 130 Liberty St., damaged during the World Trade Center attack, as part of the redevelopment of entire site.
But Allianz and AXA, two companies who insured the building for $1.75 billion, insist that Deutsche Bank has lost no more than $500 million and that the building can be repaired, cleaned and re-used.
Rampe was quoted as saying, “We are committed to the inclusion of the property in the planning effort …there is a strong public interest in having the plan with the Deutsche Bank property.” He said at the L.M.D.C. board of directors meeting on Thurs. Aug. 14 that he had submitted a statement to that effect in connection with the court case.
A spokesperson for Allianz said the company has the responsibility to pay the bank only for its insured loss and that the question of whether the building is demolished is irrelevant. The two insurers are scheduled to respond this week to Deutsche Bank’s suit.
Fundraiser forged ahead on Pier 25
The Tribeca Organization’s fundraiser on Pier 25 Thursday night took on much greater proportions than event organizers ever could have foreseen. With the steel band already in place Thursday afternoon and the food from A & M Roadhouse ready for delivery when the blackout occurred, organizers decided to go ahead.
Many local residents were glad they did. In addition to supporting a good cause, residents enjoyed some of the only prepared food available that night. Hamburgers, hotdogs and more were grilled under the stars.
Part of the evening’s entertainment, included star-gazing. Kathryn Freed, the former city councilmember, had everyone looking for Mars. The red-tinged planet is the closest its been to earth in 73,000 years she said, and, what with no lights from Connecticut to Michigan, it was easy to spot.
Local finalists in Smithsonian/Cooper Hewitt Design Awards
Four architects with connections to the World Trade Center site or Lower Manhattan have been named among the 15 finalists for the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards.
Michael Van Valkenburgh, who designed Tear Drop Park under construction in Battery Park City and who is one of the jurors who will pick the design for the W.T.C. memorial, was nominated in the environmental design category along with Laurie Olin, who designed Wagner Park, also in B.P.C.
Frederic Schwartz, who lives and works in Downtown Manhattan and who designed the new Whitehall Ferry Terminal nearing completion in Lower Manhattan, was nominated in the architecture design category. Schwartz was also part of the THINK architectural team, the designers of the Towers of Culture, which was one of two final entries under consideration for the W.T.C. site master plan.
Billie Tsien, the only architect on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board of directors, and her partner, Tod Williams, are also nominated in the architecture design category for their work, which includes The American Folk Art Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum.
The five winners will be announced in October.
Sculpture evokes bridge’s poetry
The five panels, linked by steel wire, are reminiscent of the bridge suspension system. They represent the five pages of the Mayakovsky poem and the black lines on the steel screens represent the words and lines of the text.
Noble, a Southbridge resident for the past five years, had been working on small models of the piece for quite a while and won the B.W.A.C. commission for the large version for the 2003 show. He teaches at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., and his work has appeared in galleries in New York and in Europe, most recently in the Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Italy.
The show on the Brooklyn side of the bridge will be on display from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily until Sept. 14.
