THE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN

Youth Activities
Visit our favorite places to eat
Downtown Express photo by Jefferson Siegel
Not exactly barefoot in the park

Despite being surrounded by Canal St. traffic, Ashley Havey, left, and Kyle Ferrara were able to enjoy some green space at Canal and Varick Sts. last week, across the street from their jobs at Tribeca Cinemas.
Tribeca umbrellas will fold for good

Under an ominous gray sky Tuesday, the final, rightmost piece of the iconic red umbrella clung to the side of the Citigroup building at 388 Greenwich St. in Tribeca. Nobody was on the street cheering for the umbrella’s demise, like so many had 10 years ago. Instead, the icon was being dismantled slowly, bit by bit, fading away silently.

NEWS
Developer says ‘no’ to affordable housing, so C.B. 1 considers saying ‘right back at you’
A presentation on the proposed 63-story tower at 50 West St. last week left local community board members wrestling with two questions: What sort of community amenities would mitigate the impact of the project’s desired zoning variances? And when does the impact become so significant that no potential amenity could make the deal worthwhile?

A (good) shot in the arm is keeping junkies alive
On Wed., June 6, a young man fell to the ground in Tompkins Square Park after overdosing on heroin. A friend in his group administered a shot into his arm while other friends called the police. That shot saved a life.

ARTS

Freddie Roman spills the borscht
The laugh legend reminisces about Catskills comedy
Back in 1991, Freddie Roman’s “Catskills on Broadway” opened to rave reviews and sold out crowds. The show was a celebration of old school stand-up comedy performed by the men and women who had graced the seminal stages of the Catskill Mountains, the Jewish vacation enclave affectionately known as the Borscht Belt.

COMEDY

The secret word is Lisa
Lisa Levy is crazy, and she’s got the empty Prozac bottles to prove it. The visual artist and improvisational comedian has a sculpture of spent bottles of anti-depressants on display in her funky bachelorette pad in the Village, appropriate for a women who once hosted a show called “Psychotherapy Live.”

Listen to Downtown Express

Radio on the internet:
Two residents who live near the former Deutsche Bank building, Pat Moore, a Community Board 1 member, and Dave Stanke, a Downtown Express columnist, talk about their concerns living near the skyscraper’s dismantling and the construction as well as their thoughts on the Survivors’ Stairway and other issues related to the World Trade Center site with hosts Josh Rogers and Skye H. McFarlane. Recorded June 4, 2007.

PREVIOUS PODCASTS on tribecaradio.net

NEWS
Deutsche rush led to mishap, official admits
Community Board 1 gave the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center a vote of confidence Monday night, despite serious concerns about quality of life issues and the safety of the deconstruction project at 130 Liberty St.

Police barrier injures 3 in Chinatown
Straphangers on the M101 got an unexpected lift on Tuesday morning. At 10:45 a.m., an extended bus approached the entrance of Chatham Green on Park Row when a broken police barrier hoisted the bus by its accordion-like center, according to Rich Scorce, a Chatham Green resident.

Wils lands job managing city’s development plans
Madelyn Wils had some advice for Community Board 1 members two months ago: if they want to get more involved with rebuilding plans, they should work more with the city. This week she took her own advice.

THEATER
Oh Dad, poor Dad, here’s prodigal son home again
Bernard Shaw, tongue maliciously only half in cheek, divided his astonishing dramatic output into “Plays Pleasant” and “Plays Unpleasant.”
Classical / Concert Review

Old world flavor at Trinity’s lunchtime concert
Last Thursday at noon, this fortunate New Yorker in the thrall of a sparkling weekday on Lower Broadway was not headed for lunch, but for the latest installment of the lunchtime classical music series at Trinity Church.

SPORTS

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