A classic Bánh Mi with a summer roll and fried spring roll from Henry's Sandwich, 88 Fulton St. was one of the offerings at the Lunch Box pop-up food fair on Oct. 10. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
The South Street Seaport Museum's lightship Ambrose is open for tours with timed-entry tickets required.
SOLE Defined gave its New York premiere of "Body Language" at the Battery Dance Festival. It's a sonic and kinetic exploration of African Diasporic Percussive Dance. SOLE Defined, based in the Washington, D.C. metro area, specializes in percussive dance, using the body as an instrument synthesized with integrated media, technology and storytelling. (Photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
STAMINA AND THE MEANING OF COURAGE
On May 23, 2020 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his daily COVID-19 report from the Governor's Mansion in Albany where three men had formerly lived who went on to become U.S. presidents. Among them was Teddy Roosevelt, born a sickly kid who fought in the Spanish-American War as a Rough Rider — a nickname that was given to a volunteer cavalry that was on the front lines of the combat.
Cuomo mentioned that when he was New York State governor, Teddy Roosevelt had a boxing ring built on the third floor of the Governor's Mansion and that he would invite Albany legislators to visit and go a few rounds with him. "I think that's how they got the budget done at the end of the budget session," Cuomo said wryly.
He also quoted something that Teddy Roosevelt had once said: “Courage is not having the strength to go on. It is going on when you don’t have the strength.” Then Cuomo continued, “Day 84. “‘I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do this anymore.’ We have to do it more. We have to continue to do it. There’s no normal. We’re going to have to do it for a long time.”
Many people lined up to sample the food from Mughlai Indian Cuisine, which offered chicken kebab and chicken tikka masala with rice and naan or a lunch box of chana masala, vegetable samosa with rice and naan. The restaurant is located at 120 Cedar St.
Native Art Market at the
Museum of the American Indian
The annual Native Art Market took place on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 at the National Museum of the American Indian at the southern end of Manhattan. (The address is 1 Bowling Green.) For many people, the Art Market is a highlight of the holiday season not just for the baskets, jewelry, pottery, textiles, paintings and other art work that are being sold but for the chance to talk to the artists. Many of them learned traditional methods of making their wares from their families. The materials that they use and their methods of working with these materials are rooted in the land and environment in which they grew up. In some cases, they've adapted the materials but with clear reference to what came before. Here are some pictures of a few of the vendors and their wares. For those who missed the Art Market, the store at the National Museum of the American Indian sells a large variety of high-quality items made by indigenous artists and craftspeople. (Photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer 2023)
Celebrate Autumn with Té Company
Pumpkin linzer are now available both online and at the Té Company tearoom at 163 West 10th St. Each one consists of two spiced shortbreads filled with creamy pumpkin caramel. For more information and to order pumpkin linzer, click here.
Curator's Tour at the Skyscraper Museum
Dec. 8: An exhibition at the Skyscraper Museum highlights the skyscrapers in New York City that have been designated as Individual Landmarks. The Skyscraper Museum's director, Carol Willis, will offer a gallery tour of SKY MARKS | LANDMARKS, which focuses on all the New York City skyscrapers designated as individual Landmarks. Curator's tours are free, but timed tickets are required.
Place: 39 Battery Place. Time: 3 p.m. To book a ticket, click here.
Established by legislation passed in 1965, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was slow to designate skyscrapers. The first was the city-owned Municipal Building, then the Flatiron Building in 1966. After the city’s victory in the 1978 Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Landmarks Law, a wave of skyscraper designations began, focusing on the iconic Art Deco towers of Midtown: the Chrysler, Chanin, and McGraw-Hill buildings in 1978-1979 and, finally in 1981, New York's most famous skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
From 1991 to 2001, the focus tilted to Lower Manhattan where preservation played a key role in the transformation of the Financial District into a mixed-use neighborhood while maintaining the historic urban fabric even as older office buildings were converted into apartments. Today, New York City has about 1,450 Individual Landmarks, of which about 84 are “skyscrapers.”
New Lower Manhattan Walking Tour Focuses on LGBTQ+ History
A newly launched two-hour walking tour of Lower Manhattan highlights places of significance in downtown Manhattan's LGBTQ+ history. The tour starts at Castle Clinton in the Battery where immigrants to New York City were processed before Ellis Island opened and where some were denied admission to the United States because of suspected homosexuality. The tour ends in City Hall Park a little less than two miles away. Walt Whitman's name comes up on this tour. So does Keith Haring's. The U.S. Army's Selective Service induction facility on Whitehall Street figures in the tour as does the New York Stock Exchange. This walking tour is one of five whose development was funded by the Downtown Alliance. Tickets for this tour cost $49. For more information and for reservations, click here.
ERV Works Dance at the Battery Dance Festival presented a work called "Veiled from the Womb." Choreographed by Will A. Ervin Jr., it explores his legacy and upbringing as a young man, the descendant of an African American grandfather and a Puerto Rican and White grandmother whose cultural heritage was suppressed. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
News and events in lower Manhattan
Welcome
Downtown Post NYC is a free newsletter about lower Manhattan that is emailed to subscribers. It covers history, architecture, politics, parks, real estate, museums, the marine environment, restaurants, shops and the people of lower Manhattan.
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Terese Loeb Kreuzer
Editor, Downtown Post NY
Pay What You Wish
at the South Street Seaport Museum
Pay what you wish at the South Street Seaport Museum: General Admission tickets to the South Street Seaport Museum are now Pay What You Wish during all regular open hours, Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours aboard the 1885 cargo ship Wavertree are available hourly and include access to the main deck and quarter deck. Also, at the museum's 12 Fulton St. gallery take in three exhibitions that explore the seaport’s contribution to the rise of New York, early twentieth-century ocean liner travel, and the beloved illustrations of Eric Carle. To learn more about the Museum’s Pay What You Wish tickets, click here.
In addition, free guided tours of the 1908 lightship Ambrose, a floating lighthouse, are available. Timed-entry tickets are required. For more information about guided tours of the lightship Ambrose, click here.
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'Harmony' Previews Started on Oct. 18
"Harmony," a musical with a score by Barry Manilow and a book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman, is a story about youth, talent, friendship, hope and love smashed by Germany's authoritarian, anti-Semitic, Nazi régime. It's also a story about memory.
In the 1920's and 1930's a troupe of six men, three of them Jewish and three of them Gentiles, known as the Comedian Harmonists entranced audiences in their native Germany and in New York City with their singing, dancing and antics. They could have stayed in the United States where they would have been safe, but they couldn't believe the stories about what was happening in Germany, so they went back. It didn't take long for comedy to turn into tragedy.
One way or another, Manilow and Sussman have been working on "Harmony" for more than 25 years. They first produced a version of the show in 1997 at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. That was followed by a second version at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles in 2014. In 2022, "Harmony" played to great acclaim at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City. As of October 18, the show is playing on Broadway.
Tickets are now on sale for the Broadway production. For more information, click here.
Litigation over 250 Water St. Continues
On June 6, 2023 the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division: First Department handed down a unanimous decision overturning a ruling by a lower court that had denied a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) that had been granted by the Landmarks Preservation Commision of the City of New York (LPC) to the Howard Hughes Corporation. The COA would have allowed Howard Hughes to build a 325-foot-tall tower at 250 Water St. within the South Street Seaport Historic District. The Appellate Court's decision to allow construction to continue might have been the end of the matter. It wasn't. On July 5 the South Street Seaport Coalition filed a motion with the Supreme Court of the State of New York for reargument or alternatively leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals. The Seaport Coalition motion begins: "There is a long-standing public interest in upholding the integrity of the LPC and the efficacy of the Landmarks Law. After a lower court found actions of the LPC and the de Blasio administration demonstrated a blatant disregard for such integrity, the NYS Appellate Court reversed this decision....The case of the South Street Seaport Coalition, Inc. v LPC CONTINUES; anything else would be an affront to the Seaport & the other 159 cherished NYC Historic Districts."
Proposed structure for the site at 250 Water St.
Downtown Post NYC
Hotline for Air Quality Information
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation air quality hotline phone number is 1-800-535-1345
Michael Venturiello, founder and owner of Christopher Street Tours, stopped at 17 State St. during his "Downtown LGBTQ+ Activism Tour" to discuss the work of gay artist and activist Keith Haring. Prompted by a Keith Haring sculpture located at 17 State Street, Venturiello showed pages in a scrapbook that included examples of Haring's work. Venturiello developed the tour with funding from the Downtown Alliance.
(Photo © Terese Loeb Kreuzer 2023)
"Indian Madonna Enthroned" by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith was part of a retrospective exhibition of her work that recently closed at the Whitney Museum of American Art. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
The Greek at Greca
Breakfast and lunch are served daily. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served from Thursday to Sunday.
452 Washington St. in Tribeca
For hours, menus and photographs, click here
Email: info@thegreektribeca.com
Phone: (917) 261-4795
Lunch Box Was a Hit on Fosun Plaza
Hosted by the Downtown Alliance, the second annual Lunch Box pop-up food fair took place on Oct. 10 at Fosun Plaza, 28 Liberty St. This year's lineup featured 10 restaurants that highlight the culinary diversity of Lower Manhattan. Each restaurant offered a $10 boxed lunch that included one main dish and two sides.
An excerpt from "Here We Root" was presented on the third night of the Battery Dance Festival. "Here We Root" used text, theater and an original score to recount the experiences of Asian immigrants to the United States. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
COVID-19 Vaccination Information
In New York State, there is no charge to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. For up-to-date information about where and when to get vaccinated, go to www.ny.gov/vaccine.
Links to recent issues
Downtown Post NYC is emailed to subscribers, however, if you missed a recent emailed issue, here are some links:
Oct. 21, 2023, Volume 6, No. 77
* 'Courage to Act' at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
* Bulletin Board: Release of the fishes; 'Boatlift' screening and discussion
* Calendar: Open House New York sites in Lower Manhattan
Sept. 11, 2023, Volume 6, No. 76
* Letter From the Editor: That Day
* September 11, 2023
* Our Man in Washington
July 12, 2023, Volume 6, No. 75
* Letter from the Editor: The General and the Sexton
* "B.J." Jones is leaving the Battery Park City Authority to work for New York City
* Bits & Bytes: Gateway Tunnel project gets funded
* Bulletin Board: Free movies at the Oculus; CB1 seeks new District Manager
* Calendar: City of Water Day -- July 15
July 4, 2023, Volume 6, No. 74
Letter From the Editor: July 4, 1804
Lower Manhattan Theater: 'The Democracy Project' at Federal Hall
Bulletin Board: Digital guide to Hudson River Park; Seaport Museum collection online
Calendar: July 4 fireworks
July 2, 2023, Volume 6, No. 73
July 2: The Last Day to Watch Tribeca Festival films
Bits & Bytes: Employers with businesses near Ground Zero on 9/11 must soon alert former workers to 9/11 toxin dangers
Bulletin Board: South Street Seaport Collection online; Battery Dance Festival news
June 26, 2023, Volume 6, No. 72
Primary election: What's at stake in tomorrow's primary election
Bits & Bytes: Plan to dump radioactive waste in the Hudson River
Bulletin Board: Free summer meals; Summer farm shares at the Fulton Stall Market
Swedish Midsummer Festival in Battery Park City
June 16, 2023, Volume 6, No. 71
Tribeca Festival is back in town with films and more
Bits & Bytes: Library leaders decry Mayor Adams' budget cuts; Historic diners
Downtown Post NYC Food: Oculus Greenmarket opens for the season
Bulletin Board: Lower Manhattan gets 'smart' composting bins
Juneteenth in Battery Park City
Calendar: Gay Pride at the Whitney; Gay Pride at the South Street Seaport Museum
June 10, 2023, Volume 6, No. 70
Appellate Court greenlights 325-foot-tall tower at 250 Water St.
Bits & Bytes: Cuomo weighs in on housing for migrants; Tribeca Festival returns
Dine Around Downtown 2023
Juneteenth in Battery Park City
Calendar: Gay Pride at the Whitney Museum of American Art
May 20, 2023, Volume 6, No. 69
Fleet Week New York returns on May 24 with a parade of ships
Dine Around Downtown will be back on June 6
Harmony' on tap for a Broadway run this fall
Century 21 reopens to an elated crowd of shoppers
Calendar: Landmarks Conservancy 2023 Sacred Sites Open House
April 20, 2023, Volume 6, No. 68
Titanic Memorial Lighthouse restoration underway
Bits & Bytes: Garage collapses on Ann Street; New Jersey to withdraw from Waterfront Commission
Downtown Post Food: Greek Easter at The Greek in Tribeca
Bulletin Board: Tickets on sale for the Seaport Museum's summer sailing season
Calendar: Earth Week in Lower Manhattan
April 1, 2023, Volume 6, No. 67
Proposed changes to Floor Area Ratio laws — panacea for NYC housing crisis?
Bits & Bytes: Office space conversions to residential housing; Smorgasburg returns
Summer and permanent jobs in Hudson River Park
Bulletin Board: Pay what you wish at the Seaport Museum; Little League season
Memorial for Robert Simko, photographer
Calendar: The Battery
March 12, 2023, Volume 6, No. 66
Demonstration at 250 Broadway protests Landmarks Preservation Commission
Bits & Bytes: CB1 votes 'no' on 'Robert De Niro Way'; Update on bike path terrorist
Bulletin Board: LMCC accepting workspace applications; Resources for immigrants
Estuarium design meeting invites public input
Calendar: Book Talk: Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City
Feb. 6, 2023, Volume 6, No. 65
Outdated Hudson River Rail Tunnels Get Some Federal Funding
Downtown Post Food: Par Ici at the Hotel Barrière Fouquet in Tribeca
Bulletin Board: Register for Five Boro Bike Tour; Donate Bikes for Migrants
Calendar: Black History Month in Lower Manhattan
Jan. 26, 2023, Volume 6, No. 64
Letter from the Editor: Follow the Drinking Gourd
Downtown Post Food: Delmonico's Dispute; Restaurant Week Winter 2023
Bits & Bytes: South Street Seaport Hotel Sold; Goldman Sachs Profit Plunges
Bulletin Board: 9/11 Memorial and Museum 5K Run/Walk; Aid for Migrants
Calendar: Winter Saturdays at the National Museum of the American Indian
Jan. 14, 2023, Volume 6, No. 63
Letter from the Editor: Artemus Ward
Seaport Coalition Wins Legal Ruling Against Howard Hughes Corp.
Bits & Bytes: Restaurant Week 2023; Ice Skating in Lower Manhattan
Bulletin Board: Chinese Calligraphy in the Seaport; Native Winter Games
Calendar: Chinese Lunar New Year in Lower Manhattan
Jan. 10, 2023, Volume 6, No. 62
Letter from the Editor: Local Journalism
New York Congressional District 10's Man in Washington
Bits & Bytes: Grace Lee Goes to Albany; Titanic Memorial Lighthouse Update
Bulletin Board: Fulton Fish Market Book Talk; Recycle Your Tree
Calendar: Silent Films with Live Music at Brookfield Place
Dec. 2, 2022, Volume 6, No. 61
Letter from the Editor: Affordable Housing; In Memoriam: Robert Simko
CB1 concerned about the future of free Hudson River kayaking
Stockings With Care brings holiday happiness to kids in need
Downtown Post NYC Food: Empanadas on 14th St.; Dine Around Downtown videos
Bits & Bytes: 9/11 Fund low on money; A million new trees for New York City
Bulletin Board: Native Art Market at the National Museum of the American Indian
Calendar: December music at Trinity Wall Street
Aug. 13, 2022, Volume 6, No. 60
Letter from the Editor: Primary Election, Round Two
Bits & Bytes: Howard Hughes Corp. buys stake in Jean-Georges restaurant empire
Bulletin Board: Free Covid-19 test kits; Discounted sailing on the Pioneer
Calendar: Blues Barbecue in Hudson River Park
July 3, 2022, Volume 6, No. 59
Letter from the Editor: Who Won
Tribeca Film Festival documentaries add perspective to today's headlines
Bits & Bytes: St. Nicholas Orthodox Church construction update
Bulletin Board: Prehistoric dinosaurs in the Seaport
Calendar: July 4 Fireworks
June 26, 2022, Volume 6, No. 58
Letter from the Editor: Voting Chaos
Downtown Alliance ministers to Lower Manhattan businesses
Bulletin Board: Composting pilot program extended; Free Summer Meals Program
June 24, 2022, Volume 6, No. 57
River to River Festival: 'Lenticular Histories' in the South Street Seaport
Bulletin Board: Bowne & Co. reopens: Schooner Apollonia in the Seaport
Calendar: Swedish Midsummer Festival in Battery Park City
May 30, 2022, Volume 6, No. 56
Letter from the Editor: Happy Memorial Day!
Downtown Post NYC Museums: Hans Holbein the Younger at the Morgan Library
Bits & Bytes: Summer sailing with the South Street Seaport Museum
Bulletin Board: In-person sea chantey singing resumes at the South St. Seaport
Calendar: Fleet Week 2022
May 16, 2022, Volume 6, No. 55
Letter from the Editor: Guns and Babies
Downtown Post NYC Museums: Hans Holbein the Younger at the Morgan Library
Downtown Post NYC Theater: 'Harmony' gets standing ovations
Bits & Bytes: 111 Wall St. getting a makeover; Chef Daniel Boulud opens Le Gratin
Bulletin Board: Fireboat John J Harvey kicks off summer season; Go, Fish! in BPC
Calendar: Adult art programs in Battery Park City
March 2, 2022, Volume 6, No. 54
Letter from the Editor: Soviet occupation
Rapid-delivery grocery services in Manhattan
Bits & Bytes: Seaport's Tin Building nears completion; 1 WTC gets new tenants
Bulletin Board: Jane's Walk; Bach's St. Matthew Passion at Trinity Wall St.
In memoriam: Gus Ouranitsas
Calendar: New York Harbor Seals
Jan. 27, 2022, Volume 6, No. 53
Letter from the Editor: Scandal and Disgrace
Speaker Adrienne Adams appoints City Council committee leadership and members
Bits & Bytes: Sheldon Silver dead at 77; Insurers must pay for at-home Covid tests
Bulletin Board: Ice Sculpture on Governors Island; Covid-19 test scams
Calendar: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
Jan. 5, 2022, Volume 6, No. 52
Letter from the Editor: The Philadelphia Story
250 Water St. Victory for the Howard Hughes Corp.? Not so fast
Bits & Bytes: Crumbling public art; Manhattan gets some new hotels
Bulletin Board: Connection bus is back in service; Poets House rebuilds
Letter to the Editor: Managing Covid
Calendar: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
Dec. 23, 2021, Volume 6, No. 51
Letter from the Editor: Tired, Weary and Mad
Bits & Bytes: Cipriani facing possible foreclosure; Pen Parentis wins NYS grant
Calendar: Becoming Dr. Ruth
Nov. 26, 2021, Volume 6, No. 50
Letter from the Editor: Getting There
Downtown Post Museums: Jennifer Packer at the Whitney
Bits & Bytes: Connection bus service halted; Cruise ships return to New York City
Bulletin Board: Stockings With Care gift collection; Holiday lights
Calendar: South Street Seaport Museum galleries at 12 Fulton St. reopen
Nov. 18, 2021, Volume 6, No. 49
Letter from the Editor: Looking up
Downtown Post Travel: Little Island takes root
Bits & Bytes: 1 Wall St. conversion nears completion; Tribeca art scene
Bulletin Board: Covid vaccination questions answered; Help for small businesses
Calendar: Native Cinema Showcase
Oct. 24, 2021, Volume 6, No. 48
Letter from the Editor: Early voting has begun
Schooner Apollonia plies the Hudson River with cargo from upstate New York
Hudson River fall foliage cruises are not to be missed
Bits & Bytes: A sculpture, 'Water's Soul,' dominates Jersey City's waterfront
Bulletin Board: Geranium giveaway; Release of the fishes
Calendar: Pumpkins and puppies
Sept. 9, 2021, Volume 6, No. 47
Letter from the Editor: We know
Labor Day Weekend's North River tugboat races remembered
Honoring the 9/11 Boatlift
Bits & Bytes: Tin Building construction nears completion; More sky-high dining
Bulletin Board: September 11 anniversary events; Get vaccinated
Calendar: Fall Arts Week on Governors Island
July 12, 2021, Volume 6, No. 46
Letter from the Editor: The Governor's BPC memorial
Protests escalate against the Essential Workers Monument
Bulletin Board: Free Grab-and-Go breakfast and lunch; Wetlab look-ins on Pier 40
Calendar: Films at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City
June 30, 2021, Volume 6, No. 45
Letter from the Editor: Gay Pride
Some BPC residents protest Essential Workers Monument placement in their park
Bulletin Board: Skyscraper Museum reopens; In-home Covid-19 vaccination
Calendar: River & Blues in Battery Park City
June 22, 2021, Volume 6, No. 44
Letter from the Editor: Vote today!
Bulletin Board: Perks for getting vaccinated; Art on the Avenue seeks submissions
Work by two prominent African-American artists enhances BPC's Belvedere Plaza
Calendar: River to River update
June 6, 2021, Volume 6, No. 43
Letter from the Editor: Milestones
Hurricane Maria Memorial in Battery Park City
Bulletin Board: River to River reservations; Kayaking at the Downtown Boathouse
Bits & Bytes: City Council candidates, District 1; Vestry Street high rise
Calendar: Battery Park City summer calendar
April 29, 2021, Volume 6, No. 42
Letter from the Editor: Head count
Gov. Cuomo and New York State legislative leaders announce FY2022 budget
BPC Girl Scout troop collects supplies for volcano-stricken Caribbean island
Bulletin Board: BPC outdoor art classes resume; Dine Around at The Fulton
Calendar: Governors Island reopens for the summer season
April 9, 2021, Volume 6, No. 41
Letter from the Editor: The visibility of time
Landmarks Preservation Commission again nixes 250 Water St. tower plans
Letter to the Editor: Why latest Howard Hughes tower proposal should be rejected
Summer plans for South Street Seaport Museum's Pioneer and W.O. Decker
Bulletin Board: Bird walks in The Battery; Hudson River Park seeks volunteers
Calendar: Museum of Jewish Heritage and Annual Gathering of Remembrance
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The Greek at Greca, 452 Washington St.
(Photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
Pumpkin linzer are available at the Té Company tea room at 163 W. 10th St.
Staten Island ferry timetable
The Staten Island Ferry is free and offers service 24 hours a day. The trip between Lower Manhattan and Staten Island takes approximately 25 minutes. All passengers on the Staten Island Ferry must continue to wear face coverings at all times within the terminals and on the ferry. For more information, click here.
South Street Seaport Museum
Book Club
Themost recent meeting of the South Street Seaport Museum's maritime-themed book club in partnership with McNally Jackson Books took place on Nov. 27. The book that was discussed was Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, a nonfiction masterpiece by David Grann that delves into how and why Native voices have been marginalized or omitted from history. Now a motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, this book has been called “A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery” by The Boston Globe and it has won many awards. For links to all the books that have been discussed at the book club, click here. Many of these books can be purchased from McNally Jackson Books. The book club usually meets on the last Monday of each month.
Rain Scott comes from the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. His pots are made from small pieces of folded paper. Sometimes these vessels are ornamented with feathers or turquoise. The shapes of Rain Scott's paper pots are similar to those created by Acoma's famous potters who worked with clay. The designs on the pots are also similar to Acoma's traditional designs.
The café at the National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green in Manhattan.
The Empire State Building on 34th Street was not designated as a New York City landmark until 1981. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music at the South Street Seaport Museum
Dec. 3: The South Street Seaport Museum's monthly program of "Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music" welcomes singers of all levels as well as listeners. In a round-robin format, anyone can sing and share a chantey, join in the choruses throughout the event or just listen. Through April 2024, the program will take place indoors in the Seaport Museum's 12 Fulton St. galleries and will also be available via Zoom. For all Zoom attendees advanced registration is required. This free event is offered on the first Sunday of every month. For more information, and to register for Zoom attendance or for an in-person ticket, click here.
The Native Art Market took place on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 in the rotunda of the National Museum of the American Indian at 1 Bowling Green.
Ronni-leigh Goeman, a member of the Onondaga nation, made these black ash baskets, many of them with story-telling figures on top, carved from moose antlers by her husband, Stonehorse Goeman.
An exhibition called "Shelley Niro: 500-Year Itch" is at the National Museum of the American Indian through Jan. 1, 2024. For more information, click here.
Links
The café at the National Museum of the American Indian at 1 Bowling Green serves sandwiches, snacks and beverages.) The museum is open daily between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The museum is free and tickets are not required. For more information, click here.
Governors Island:Governors Island is open to the public year-round. In addition to previously existing ferry routes to Governors Island, NYC Ferry serves Governors Island daily, year-round, on the South Brooklyn route. On existing ferry routes, ticket reservations are required to manage capacity and ensure social distancing and can be made online at govisland.org/ferry. For more information on the ferry, click here.
The Community Center at Stuyvesant High School is open daily.The facilities include a half-Olympic sized pool, basketball courts, gym and fitness equipment. Annual memberships range in price from $199 for adults to $79 for youth, seniors (62+) and military. There are discounts on those prices for Battery Park City residents. Day passes cost $15 for adults and $10 for youth, seniors, military and Battery Park City residents. Summer hours are 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Monday to Friday and from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, call (212) 427-2000 or email info.bpc@bpca.ny.gov
The Fraunces Tavern Museum at 54 Pearl St. is open. For more information, click here.
LMHQ, the co-working space sponsored by the Downtown Alliance at 150 Broadway, closed its physical space but virtual events and workshops are continuing. For more information, click here.
Battery Park City Library: The New York Public Library system offers unlimited browsing, desktop computer use, laptop loan and general library use, including open seating. Check nypl.org for the most up-to-date hours and activities. For more information about the Battery Park City branch, click here.
Poets House at 10 River Terrace in Battery Park City is still repairing flood damage to its building that occurred in August 2021 and is temporarily closed. Fortunately, the Poets House collection of 70,000 books was spared. As of Dec. 1, Poets House has a new executive director — Rob Arnold. With more than 15 years of leadership experience in literary and publishing roles—most recently as Interim Executive Director of Hugo House—and as a consultant to prestigious arts and cultural organizations, Arnold is Poets House’s first Indigenous (Pacific Islander) leader. An accomplished writer, Arnold’s poems have appeared in many publications and his work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Poets House's Interim Director Cornelius Eady will remain involved with the organization. Poets House plans to fully reopen in the fall of 2023. For more information, go to www.PoetsHouse.org.
The Morgan Library & Museum at 225 Madison Ave. is open Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays. Admission is free on Fridays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with reservations required. Virtual tours and exhibition photos are online at The Morgan Connected. For more information, click here.
The 9/11 Memorial is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is free. The Museum is open from Thursday to Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is free on Mondays starting at 3:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online. For more information, click here.
Blake Roman, Steven Telsey, Zal Owen, Danny Kornfeld, Eric Peters and Sean Bell will reprise their roles in the production of "Harmony" that played to sold-out audiences at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in 2022. (Photo: Julieta Cervantes)
Battery Park City Authority
Events and Classes Online
Every year, the Battery Park City Authority calendar includes hundreds of programs and classes. Usually these take place in Battery Park City and are open both to residents and people from other parts of the city. Most of the events and classes are free. The BPCA has a YouTube channel where it shares dozens of videos produced by the BPCA's Parks Programming team. Topics include music, art, athletics, nature, cooking, culture, and more. To view the selection, click here.
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Governors Island
Governors Island is a 172-acre park around 800 yards from Manhattan and also close to Brooklyn. It was once a military base, first for the U.S. Army and then for the Coast Guard. Governors Island is open to the public daily year-round. Through Memorial Day 2024, the Island is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. For information about ferry service, click here. (Photo © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
Weather and Public Safety
Weather Information: For the latest weather information, go to www.weather.gov/nyc.
AlliedBarton patrols Battery Park City. To reach AlliedBarton, call (212) 945-SAFE (7233). The Battery Park City Command Center is located at the Verdesian, 211 North End Ave. In case of emergencies, call 911.
Battery Dance Festival Returned
for Its 42nd Year
In August, the Battery Dance Festival was back in town for its 42nd season of exhilarating and provocative dancing from an international array of companies. The Battery Dance Festival is New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival. This year, with Wagner Park under construction, the festival was held in Rockefeller Park at the northern end of Battery Park City. In addition to the annual dance festival, for the past 40 years Battery Dance has toured, held master classes, lectured and presented, provided technical training, and conducted its signature arts education program Dancing to Connect in more than 54 countries worldwide. Battery Dance has partnered with over 200 foreign organizations and continues to lead the arts community in heralding new and innovative international collaborations. Contributions to Battery Dance are much appreciated.
To contribute to Battery Dance, click here.
Connection Bus Service Changes
In an effort to make the route more efficient, Downtown Connection buses no longer make a U-turn on West Street. Instead they turn left directly onto Murray Street. This only impacts Battery Park City-bound service. As a result, the bus no longer stops at Vesey Street / North End Avenue and now only stops at Murray Street / North End Avenue.
Check www.downtownny.com for updates.
The bus makes 34 stops on its route between the South Street Seaport and Broadway near City Hall. Daily service starts at 10 a.m. with a last run at 7:30 p.m.
'Memory Map,' a Retrospective Exhibition of the Work of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith at the Whitney Museum
A retrospective exhibition of the compelling work of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith at the Whitney Museum of American Art closed on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023 but a video of the artist along with audio interviews with her are still available on the Whitney Museum website. This exhibition was the first New York retrospective of Smith's groundbreaking, "Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map" which brought together nearly five decades of Smith’s drawings, prints, paintings, and sculptures in the largest and most comprehensive showing of her career to date. Smith’s work utilizes contemporary modes of painting, from her idiosyncratic adoption of abstraction to her reflections on American Pop art and neo-expressionism. These artistic traditions are incorporated and reimagined with concepts rooted in Smith’s own cultural background, reflecting her belief that her “life’s work involves examining contemporary life in America and interpreting it through Native ideology.” Employing satire and humor, Smith’s art tells stories that flip commonly held conceptions of historical narratives and illuminate absurdities in the formation of dominant culture. Smith’s approach importantly blurs categories and questions why certain visual languages attain recognition, historical privilege and value. Across decades and mediums, Smith has deployed and reappropriated ideas of mapping, history, and environmentalism while incorporating personal and collective memories. The retrospective offered new frameworks in which to consider contemporary Native American art, showing how Smith has led and initiated some of the most pressing dialogues around land, racism, and cultural preservation. For a video of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith discussing her work, click here.
Lest we forget:
NEW YORK GOV. ANDREW CUOMO'S
RESPONSE TO COVID-19
FROM MARCH TO JUNE 2020
June 13: Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation suspending the forfeiture of unemployment benefits during the Covid-19 state of emergency. More than 44 million people in the United States have applied for unemployment insurance during the pandemic and this number is expected to grow. People who have had forfeit penalties levied against them from past claims have been unable to collect their unemployment benefits. This new law allows them to collect these benefits in their time of greatest need.
June 12: Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an Executive Order — the 'New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative' — requiring local police agencies, including the NYPD, to develop a plan that reinvents and modernizes police strategies and programs in their community based on community input. Each police agency's reform plan must address policies, procedures, practices and deployment, including, but not limited to use of force. Police forces must adopt a plan by April 1, 2021 to be eligible for future state funding.
June 8: Gov. Cuomo said that he would sign a set of bills on criminal justice reform introduced by the New York State Legislature. They allow for transparency of prior disciplinary records of law enforcement officers by reforming 50-a of the civil rights law; banning chokeholds by law enforcement officers; prohibiting false race-based 911 reports and making them a crime and designating the Attorney General as an independent prosecutor for matters relating to the deaths of unarmed civilians caused by law enforcement.
June 7: Gov. Cuomo announced that outdoor, socially distanced graduations of up to 150 people will be allowed beginning June 26th, subject to any outbreaks or significant changes in the metrics that are measuring infection, hospitalization and death rates in each of the 10 regions of New York State.
June 6: Gov. Cuomo said that he was signing a bill to ban price gouging on masks and other supplies needed to help prevent Covid-19 transmission. This legislation will be effective for the remainder of the pandemic crisis.
May 29: Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City is on track to embark on Phase 1 of reopening on June 8. Around 400,000 people who work in construction, wholesale, manufacturing and curbside retail industries will be able to return to their jobs.
May 22: Gov. Cuomo announced that New York State is launching a $100+ million loan program for small businesses. The loan program will focus on supporting small businesses that were less likely to receive federal loans, especially women and minority-owned businesses, and very small businesses with 20 or fewer employees. For more information, go to https://esd.ny.gov/economic-recovery-covid-19-loans-small-businesses
May 21: Gov. Cuomo announced that summer school will only take place via distance learning, not by inclass teaching. He also said that meal programs and child care services for essential employees will continue.
May 17: Gov. Cuomo announced a new website that will help New Yorkers to find sites where they can be tested for COVID-19. The URL is https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-testing
May 10: Gov. Cuomo announced that New York State was investigating 85 cases of a COVID-related illness in children that presented as an inflammation of the blood vessels and sometimes of the heart. He said that three New York children had died of this previously undiagnosed disease.
May 7: Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that no commercial or residential tenant can be evicted for non-payment of rent through Aug. 20, 2020 and that renters may use their security deposits to pay their rent and may repay their security deposits over time. He also said that fees for late rent payments would be banned during the eviction moratorium.
May 4: Gov. Cuomo announced that New York State will monitor four core factors to determine if a region of the state can safely re-open: Number of new infections, health care capacity, diagnostic testing capacity and contact tracing capacity.
April 29: Gov. Cuomo announced that elective outpatient treatments and surgeries could resume in 35 New York counties that have no significant risk of a COVID-19 surge in the near term.
April 15: Gov. Cuomo directed schools and nonessential businesses to stay closed through May 15th. On May 1, Cuomo announced that New York State schools and colleges will remain closed for the rest of this academic year.
March 27: 1. The first 1,000-bed temporary hospital was completed at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. The facility opened on Monday, March 30.
New Yorkers without health insurance can apply for a health plan through NY State of Health. Those who recently lost employer coverage, must apply within 60 days of losing that coverage. Because of loss of income, New Yorkers may also be eligible for Medicaid, the Essential Plan or Child Health Plus.
For a 90-day period, New Yorkers experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 may defer paying life insurance premiums. Late payments will be payable over a one-year period. Additionally, consumers and small businesses experiencing Coronavirus-related financial hardship may defer paying premiums for property and casualty insurance for a 60-day period. This includes auto, homeowners, renters and other kinds of insurance. (No late fees will be assessed and there will be no negative impact to your credit.)
The USNS Comfort, a U.S. Navy hospital ship, arrived in New York Harbor on Monday, March 30. It is a massive facility with 1,000 beds, 12 operating rooms, a pharmacy and a laboratory. It left New York City on April 30.
March 20: On March 20 at 8:40 a.m., the governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania released a statement that said that beginning March 21 at 8 p.m., all barbershops, hair salons, tattoo or piercing parlors, nail salons, hair removal services and related personal care services in their respective states would be closed to the public "as these services cannot be provided while maintaining social distance."
New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said "We know how the novel coronavirus spreads, and we are making data-driven decisions as the situation evolves to continue to reduce density and slow the spread of the virus. We remain in constant communication with our neighboring states to ensure we are establishing a set of uniform rules and regulations for the entire region. These temporary closures are not going to be easy, but they are necessary to protecting the health and safety of New Yorkers and all Americans."
March 19: Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order mandating that businesses that rely on in-office personnel decrease their in-office workforce by 75 percent. Essential service industries are exempted. These include shipping, media, warehousing, grocery and food production, pharmacies, health care providers, utilities, banks and related financial institutions and other industries critical to the supply chain.
March 17: Gov. Cuomo announced a three-way agreement with the New York State legislature on a bill guaranteeing job protection and pay for New Yorkers who have been quarantined as a result of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. The program bill also includes the permanent comprehensive paid sick leave policy first advanced in the Governor's FY 2021 Executive Budget proposal.
This follows the Governor's announcement last week that the state will guarantee two full weeks of paid leave for all state workers who are subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine as a result of the novel coronavirus.
The Governor also announced that the state is reaching out to qualified former doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to supplement the personnel at hospitals. The State Department of Health and the State Education Department have sent letters to retired health care professionals and all schools of nursing, public health and medicine encouraging qualified health care personnel to sign up for on-call work during the COVID-19 crisis. Healthcare professionals who wish to sign up can contact the State Department of Health at health.ny.gov/assistance.
Gov. Cuomo also directed the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Healthcare Association of New York State to work with 1199 SEIU to develop a plan to create drop-in child care opportunities and to expand child care facilities at their hospitals to ensure child care for hospital workforce. They will submit a joint plan to the state by Friday.
Gov. Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James announced that effective immediately the state will temporarily halt the collection of medical and student debt owed to the State of New York and referred to the Office of the Attorney General for collection. The reprieve will be for at least 30 days.
March 16: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued an Executive Order allowing the state to increase hospital capacity to prepare the state's healthcare system to handle the potential influx of patients suffering from COVID-19. The State organized the National Guard and worked with building unions and private developers to find existing facilities -- such as dormitories and former nursing homes -- that could most easily be converted to medical facilities, with the goal of creating an additional 9,000 beds. The Governor also asked local governments, especially those in the most impacted areas, to help identify available facilities for this purpose. The State Department of Health suspended regulations to allow existing hospitals to increase space and capacity.
The Governor directed nonessential state employees statewide to work from home starting March 17. The Governor also directed local governments to reduce their overall workforce by 50 percent and allow nonessential employees to work from home.
Following the Governor's directive to close schools in Westchester, New York City, Nassau and Suffolk yesterday, Governor Cuomo said that the counties are required to submit their childcare and meal plans to the state for approval by midnight tonight.
The Governor also announced New York State will waive all fees for state, local and county parks.