To see the events and activities on the Battery Park City Authority's summer calendar, click here. Most events are free.
For some, reservations are required.
Mary McGee was the first woman to race motorcycles in the United States. She was also the first person to ride the grueling Baja 500 race solo.
Connection Bus Service
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.
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 exhibitions that explore the seaport’s contribution to the rise of New York and early twentieth-century ocean liner travel, 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.
July 31 to Aug. 4: The New Amsterdam Market will appear this summer as a week-long nightmarket from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Little Island. The market will feature oysters, foods from the sea, desserts, cocktails, and other light fare prepared by chefs, cooks, and purveyors who support regional, seasonal and sustainable food systems and who work to strengthen public space. The market coincides with The Oyster Radio Hour, a performance designed and produced by Little Island’s creative team. Tickets to the Oyster Radio Hour can be purchased here.
Tribeca Film Festival 2024 Reviews
'Motorcycle Mary'
Battery Park City Walking Tours
Aug. 8 and Aug. 16: The Skyscraper Museum is offering walking tours of Battery Park City led by Skyscraper Museum director Carol Willis. The first two tours can be viewed on the museum's website by clicking here. The third thematic tour focusing on the North Neighborhood will be offered on Aug. 8 and Aug. 16, with reservations opening on Friday, July 26. For more information about the Aug. 8 tour and to make a reservation, click here. Free.
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.
Sign up hereand it will be emailed to you. If you are already a subscriber to Downtown Post NYC, please share it and ask those you know
to subscribe.
If you have comments or questions, email editor@downtownpostnyc.com.
Terese Loeb Kreuzer
Editor, Downtown Post NY
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.
FOR THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE DOWNTOWN POST NYC NEWSLETTER, CLICK HERE
Tribeca Film Festival 2024 Reviews
'Under the Grey Sky'
Poets House
Poets House at 10 River Terrace in Battery Park City was closed for around two-and-a-half years because of flooding but has since reopened. Regular open hours for the Poets House library are from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Tuesdays through Saturdays). Free. For more information about Poets House, click here.
"Indian Madonna Enthroned" by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith was part of a retrospective exhibition of her work at the Whitney Museum of American Art. (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.
Demis Hassabis in "The Thinking Game,"which received its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.
The Morgan Library's "Medieval Money, Merchants and Morality" exhibition included an ornate, 800-pound box with an elaborate locking mechanism consisting of nine bolts and various leaf-shaped shields operated by a system of levers and springs. The box would have held money and other valuables. Handles suggest portability but the sheer bulk of the object would have discouraged thieves from carrying it away. This steel strong box was made in Germany, possibly in Nuremberg, in the late 16th or early 17th century. (Photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
The South Street Seaport Museum's lightship Ambrose is open for tours with timed-entry tickets required.
Checkpoint Zoo, playing at the Tribeca Film Festival, is an important movie that makes the insanity of the Russian invasion of Ukraine vivid and even more horrifying and destructive than stories in print can convey. In 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion, around 5,000 animals were trapped at the Feldman Ecopark, a zoo just outside of Kharkiv, Ukraine, near the Russian border. With the animals running out of food and water and stressed and imperiled by Russian bombs, a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers undertook to rescue as many of the animals as possible. The animals needing to be evacuated included lions and tigers who were capable of maiming or killing their rescuers as well as smaller, more docile animals.
The bewildered suffering of the animals in the film is poignant. They make the species “homo sapiens” seem despicable in its capacity to harm gratuitously only balanced by the capacity of humans to care and to try to behave in ways that are compassionate and noble.
— Terese Loeb Kreuzer
For more information, click here.
Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music at the South Street Seaport Museum
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. During the summer, the program takes place outdoors on Pier 16 aboard the Seaport Museum's cargo ship, Wavertree. This free event is offered on the first Sunday of every month. For more information, click here.
Hotline for Air Quality Information
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation air quality hotline phone number is 1-800-535-1345
Proposed structure for the site at 250 Water St.
To escape Russian bombs, a camel was among the large animals that had to be evacuated from the Feldman Ecopark just outside of Kharkiv, Ukraine. The rescuers had to deal with animals of all sizes and temperaments and also to find places willing and able to care for them.
Aug. 1: The annual concert series "River & Blues" in Battery Park City concludes with singer-songwriter Abraham Alexander showcasing his beguiling voice and supple acoustic guitar work. Place: Rockefeller Park. Time: 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Free. For more information,click here.
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.”
Downtown Post NYC
Cooling Centers in New York City
When the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory for New York City, cooling centers are open. You can find cooling centers by visiting this link: Cooling Center Finder or by calling 311 or 212-639-9675.
Tribeca Film Festival 2024 Reviews
'Checkpoint Zoo'
Money and other forms of wealth were considered to be temptations best resisted. A painting by Fra Angelico in the “Medieval Money, Merchants and Morality” exhibition depicts St. Anthony Abbot Shunning the Mass of Gold that “the devil threw in his path to seduce him into committing the sin of avarice." The painting, executed with tempera on a panel, dates from 1435-1440.
Medieval Money, Merchants and Morality at the Morgan
A recent exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum entitled "Medieval Money, Merchants and Morality" has closed, but a video on the Morgan's website shows some of the highlights. The exhibition included some of the artifacts and artwork that accompanied an economic revolution that took place in Europe in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Monetary growth at that time transformed every aspect of European society, raising questions that still resonate about the repercussions of avarice, the attitudes of the wealthy toward the poor, lending practices and money management. Many of the objects, books, portraits, panel paintings and sculptures in the exhibition were not only didactic in intention but of breathtaking beauty. For the videotape about the exhibition, click here.
Mara Tamkovich, the writer and director of "Under The Grey Sky," which was her first feature film. She was born in Belarus but lived in Poland for 17 years. The Polish Film Institute helped to finance "Under the Grey Sky." (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
Fictional journalist Lena Antonova is played by Aliaksandra Vaitsekhovich in a film at this year's Tribeca Festival called "Under the Grey Sky." The film is based on a true story and concerns the persecution and imprisonment of a journalist who was broadcasting footage of massive protests in November 2020 against the rigged election of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. The journalist on whom the film is based is named Katsiaryna Andreyeva. She has been in prison for four years of an eight year sentence with no prospect for early release.
"Motorcycle Mary," a short documentary that had its world premiere at this year's Tribeca Festival, revolves around an 87-year-old woman with electric blue eyes and a ready smile. Mary McGee, a professional race car driver and subsequently a motorcycle racer, brims with courage and determination, and as she looks back on her life, with pride.
Encouraged by her older brother, Jim Connors, Mary started racing cars in 1957. Three years later, she became the first woman to road race motorcycles. She loved what she was doing despite the obvious risks and despite the fact that as a woman, she wasn't recognized for her achievements as a man would have been. But the actor Steve McQueen did notice her and became her friend. He encouraged her to leave road racing and race in the desert. Trained by his stunts crew, she became the first woman to engage in cross-country racing on a motorcycle as well as the first woman to undertake an off-road course through the Baja California peninsula, a distance of around 500 miles that she was the first person — man or woman — to traverse alone.
"Probably the thing that I'm proudest about [is] that I had something to do with showing women that they could come out and race motorcycles," Mary says in the film. Women who have tried to enter a field previously reserved for or dominated by men would undoubtedly relate to that.
"Motorcycle Mary" was produced by two women — Rachel Greenwald and Haley Watson, who was also the director and cinematographer. Watson's previous work included the 2021 Academy Award-winning "The Queen of Basketball."
After the Tribeca Festival, "Motorcycle Mary" is slated to appear on ESPN with a release date to be determined. The film will also be screened at the Nevada Women's Film Festival which takes place in Las Vegas between June 19 and June 23. — Terese Loeb Kreuzer
Solar Eclipse Diary
On April 8, 2024 a partial eclipse of the sun was visible in Lower Manhattan. This is what the sky over the Hudson River looked like around 2:38 p.m. as the shadow of the moon began to pass in front of the sun. By 2:44 pm it was getting perceptibly cooler as the moon covered more of the sun. A cool breeze began to blow. By 3:00 pm it was getting even colder. The moon was creeping further and further across the sun. By 3:14 pm the moon had almost completely obscured the sun. Only a thin crescent of sunlight remained.
Many people had gathered on the roof terrace of a building in Tribeca overlooking the Hudson River. By 3:33 pm when they stopped talking, there was a deep, weighty silence. A pier in the Hudson River near that building usually serves as a respite for numerous birds, mostly gulls of various kinds, but there were no birds there during the eclipse nor were there any in the river or flying above it. By 3:44 pm, many of the eclipse watchers had left the roof. The silence was intense except for the drone of a passing helicopter. The wind was colder than ever. By 4:04 pm some gulls had returned to the river. On the rooftop railing an insect landed briefly and then moved on. A cold breeze was blowing. The sun appeared still to be partially in shadow. Not long after that, the light had returned to normal, the spectators had retreated and the birds that live on and near the river had resumed their usual activities.
(Photos: © 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.
Tribeca Film Festival 2024 Reviews
'The Thinking Game'
After the Tribeca Festival premiere of "The Thinking Game," Greg Kohs, director, chinematographer and co-producer of the film, applauded Demis Hassabis, the co-founder of DeepMind, a groundbreaking artificial intelligence company. Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky interviewed Kohs and Hassabis about the film and about the possibilities and implications of artificial intelligence. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
A Concert Dedicated to
Courage and Compassion
On March 21, in conjunction with “Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark,” an exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Heritage about the rescue of Danish Jews during the Holocaust, the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra presented “A Concert Dedicated to Courage and Compassion." As the exhibition recounts, night after night during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in 1943, Henny Sinding, then 22 years old, sailed her boat, Gerda III from Denmark to Sweden, saving an estimated 300 Jews. The concert featured the premiere of a work by Gary S. Fagin honoring Henny and Gerda III.
Fagin, the founder and conductor of the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, said that his mother had been a Holocaust survivor from a little town in Poland, and that he had wanted to create a Holocaust-themed work but one that had no direct reference to his mother. The "Courage to Act" exhibition provided what seemed to him to be the perfect context for what he had in mind.
"The exhibition showed what whole communities can do" when they act together and make a moral choice to not be bystanders, said Jack Kliger, president of the museum.
Howard Hughes Corporation Wins the Legal Right to Build a 27-story-tall tower in the South Street Seaport Historic District
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 re-argument 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 ended on May 21, 2024 when the New York State Court of Appeals denied a motion for the "leave to appeal" its previous decision granting Howard Hughes Holding the right to erect a massive tower that will dominate the low-scale South Street Seaport Historic District.
Cars in Jersey City, N.J. waiting to enter the Holland Tunnel, which links New York with New Jersey.
June 3, 2024 © Terese Loeb Kreuzer 2024
Links
The National Museum of the American Indian at 1 Bowling Green is open daily between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The museum is free and tickets are not required. A café serves sandwiches, pastries, coffee, tea and other beverages. For more information, click here.
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, the Island is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. 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) 267-9700 or email communitycenter@bpca.ny.gov
The Fraunces Tavern Museum at 54 Pearl St. is open. For more information, click here.
LMHQ, a co-working space sponsored by the Downtown Alliance at 150 Broadway, closed its physical space but events called "LM Live" 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.
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.
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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. For more information, click here.
The Greek at Greca, 452 Washington St.
(Photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)
"Under the Grey Sky" is an important film about what it's like to live under a dictatorship. With several European nations veering in that direction and with the United States also at risk of having democracy subverted by a would-be dictator, this film about what has happened and is happening in Belarus takes on great urgency. It depicts the courageous role that journalists can play in informing the public and holding the government to account and the price that they may pay for their courage.
This film, which was written and directed by Mara Tamkovich, is flawless in its acting, camerawork, editing and pacing. It received its world premiere at this year's Tribeca Festival. Katsiaryna Andreyeva, whose story inspired Tamkovich to make the film, was the first journalist attempting to cover the protests to be detained and not just fined or given a short sentence. "The fact that she did not get out was a teaching moment for the rest of the free press," Tamkovich said in a recent interview. "Since the time that she was arrested and convicted, more and more journalists have been arrested and convicted for very long prison terms. She was symptomatic of what's happening to the whole country. But Belarus is not Lukashenko."
According to press notes accompanying the film, "since 2020, over 136,000 Belarusians have experienced various types of political persecution...Almost 1,400 political prisoners are currently imprisoned. The actual number is much higher and is growing every day."
Asked if there might be consequences for her because of making this film, Tamkovich replied that there are consequences but "they are not as severe as for people in Belarus."
"I can't go to Belarus anymore," she said.
(The Tribeca Festival is over for this year but if "Under the Grey Sky" is booked elsewhere, that will be reported here.)
'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.
The Greek at Greca
Summer Hours: Breakfast and lunch are served daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
452 Washington St. in Tribeca
For hours, menus and photographs, click here
Email: info@thegreektribeca.com
Phone: (917) 261-4795
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Calls for an Indefinite Pause on Congestion Pricing
Congestion Pricing for the Central Business District of Manhattan had been approved meaning that with few exceptions, there would be tolls for vehicle drivers below 60th Street. However on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called an "indefinite" pause to the program that would have charged a base toll of $15 a day to any cars entering Midtown and Lower Manhattan. The program was expected to begin in June with a 30-day testing phase and a 60-day public information campaign before the start of toll collection. However, even before Gov. Hochul's announcement, five lawsuits had challenged the plan in a way that could have deferred or blocked its enactment, at least on the planned schedule.
On Feb. 15, State Senator Brian Kavanagh hosted a congestion pricing information session with the MTA. It was intended for Lower Manhattan residents (South of 14th St.) Although the MTA representatives spoke enthusiastically about the benefits of congestion pricing saying that it would unclog streets for emergency vehicles, improve air quality and speed up buses, it was clear from audience questions that the current plans would have numerous unintended consequences that would make life more difficult and more expensive for numerous people in Lower Manhattan and elsewhere in New York City. In early March, the MTA held public hearings during which the public could comment in person, via Zoom or by conference call. The hearings were videotaped and can be seen on YouTube. For a video of the March 4, 2024 hearing, click here.
Gov. Hochul doesn't have the legal authority to overturn a 2019 law that required congestion tolling but she does exert considerable influence over the MTA since she can select most of its board members and can designate its chairman.
So far, Gov. Hochul's congestion pricing pause has been praised by some Albany lawmakers who had already expressed their opposition to congestion pricing. Their concerns included how congestion pricing would affect outer-borough communities and how it would affect people living in "transit deserts" who, of necessity, rely on their cars to get to Manhattan. Among their other concerns were adverse effects on small businesses, people traveling for medical treatment, seniors trying to visit family members and residents living on the outer boundaries of the congestion pricing zone whose parking would be used by those not wanting to drive into the congestion area.
Proponents of congestion pricing are pointing out that the revenue that it was supposed to generate was going to fund several major transit projects. They include fixing subway signals to improve speed and safety, expanding the Second Avenue subway and extending subway service into East Harlem.
In announcing the pause in congestion pricing, Gov. Hochul said that she was committed to funding the Second Avenue subway though it was not immediately clear where that money would come from.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who for years represented the 10th Congressional District in Lower Manhattan and who now represents the 12th Congressional District on the Upper East and Upper West Sides of Manhattan, was adamant in his disappointment at Gov. Hochul's "pause."
“As a longtime champion of Congestion Pricing and the Congressional Representative of a significant portion of the Central Business District (CBD), I am disappointed by reports that Governor Hochul will not implement Congestion Pricing on June 30, as previously planned," Nadler said. "After years of delays, we need congestion pricing now more than ever to reduce paralyzing vehicle traffic in the CBD, improve air quality in our city and region, and raise desperately needed capital funds to enhance the public transit system that millions depend on..... Over 1.3 million people rely on transit daily to enter the CBD for work, compared to 143,000 drivers. It’s evident that congestion pricing will significantly benefit the vast majority of commuters who rely on the MTA, rather than a small, vocal minority of drivers who don’t qualify for exemptions or discounts. Congestion pricing is crucial for delivering the capital improvements necessary to make the MTA more reliable." — Terese Loeb Kreuzer
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.
Links to recent issues
Downtown Post NYC is emailed to subscribers, however, if you missed a recent emailed issue, here are some links:
May 14, 2024, Volume 6, No. 81
* Spring and Summer Fridays are for Singing
* Greek Easter at The Greek in Tribeca
* Bulletin Board: Summer Plans for Little Island
March 24, 2024, Volume 6, No. 80
* Letter From the Editor: The polls are open
* Spring Equinox Festival at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
* Bulletin Board: Price Gouging Warning From New York Attorney General James
Dec. 28, 2023, Volume 6, No. 79
* Letter From the Editor: Ten Years Later
* Shelley Niro retrospective exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian
* Bulletin Board: Price Gouging Warning From New York Attorney General James
* Calendar: Holiday Events in Lower Manhattan
Dec. 25, 2023, Volume 6, No. 78
* Letter From the Editor: This is an Emergency
* Shopping at the National Museum of the American Indian
* Bulletin Board: Price Gouging Warning From New York Attorney General James
* Calendar: Holiday Events in Lower Manhattan
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
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