March 20, 2014- By Steven E. Greer
The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) board convened a meeting today and the topic of charitable donations was discussed. The board approved new guidelines on how to decide which philanthropy or community organization was worthy of funding. However, no specific group was announced to be regaining the funds that were cut off cold-turkey last year. Continue reading
March 18, 2014- The NYT reports, “Federal prosecutors in New Jersey subpoenaed records last week relating to potential conflicts of interest involving the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey chairman, David Samson, focusing on two bridge contracts worth $2.8 billion that he voted to award to construction companies represented by his law firm, according to people briefed on the matter.” Continue reading
March 12, 2014- The WSJ reports, “Major felony crimes in 31 of the city’s biggest parks increased nearly 18% in 2013 compared with the previous year, pushing the yearly total to the highest level since officials began collecting data for these parks in 2009. Major felony crimes citywide remained essentially constant in 2013—rising 0.17%—compared with the previous year.”. Continue reading
March 8, 2014- By Steven E Greer
With El Vez restaurant installing numerous large neon lights on Vesey Street, and Blue Smoke already having their own, will the strip become a mini-Times Square?
El Vez was approved Continue reading
March 17, 2014- By Steven E. Greer, MD
BatteryPark.TV has previously detailed the financial conflicts of interest between the local advertising flier, The Broadsheet (BS), and the subjects of its articles. Community centers and city or NGO’s that “advertise” in the BS then receive favorable coverage. Continue reading
March 17, 2014– By Steven E. Greer
The WSJ reports on the newly formed “Oversight Committee” for the NJ NY Port Authority, that was created after the Governor Christie “Bridegate” scandal.
March 16, 2014- The Post reports that a new Citi Bike rack installation was blocked when it became apparent it would eliminate a private parking space for a judge. The article states, “Susanna Rojas, the clerk of the court, “threw a tantrum” when she saw “No Parking” signs indicating the station would be placed just outside the courthouse doors, an insider told The Post. The station would displace prime parking for Presiding Justice Luis Gonzalez — Continue reading
March 13, 2014- By Steven E. Greer
This second installment in The Hunger Games has earned $424 Million to date, domestic. Star Jennifer Lawrence delivered another great performance, and some of the scenes were intriguing. However, overall, Continue reading
March 13, 2014- A woman who lives in Gateway Plaza circulated this plea.
“Dear Friends & Neighbors,
After returning from a grueling day of walking dogs in 25 MPH winds, I came upon a disturbing scene. I was headed over to the esplanade to walk my own dogs today @ approximately 4:30 PM from my building 375 SEA. As I approached the entrance to Gateway I suddenly noticed yellow police tape blocking my path. Continue reading
March 13, 2014- Opinion By Steven E. Greer, MD
The newly elected Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer recently formed a “Task Force” to halt the progress of the Howard Hughes Corporation development planned for the Seaport at Pier 17. The appointed members were the usual suspects, such as Community Board 1’s (CB1) Jeff Galloway and Catherine McVay Hughes. However, the CB1 role was downplayed, with majority of the task force members being actual elected officials or members of the community.
The goals of the “Seaport Working Group” task force were ill-defined. Statements in the press indicated that it would help create a “master plan” for the Seaport area, but what does that mean? What is the real purpose of this task force other than to give the appearance that the elected officials are listening to the small vocal opposition to development? Continue reading
