Important issues Downtown approved without community input

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Editor

CuomoMay 9, 2013- By Steven E. Greer

Battery Park City residents will now be forced to endure weeks of the latest “outdoor art” chosen by the Brookfield Properties art guru, Debra Simon. The hideous steal cargo ship containers are smack-dab in the middle of the most visible part of the esplanade, and on public property (not Brookfield property). How did this come to be without an ounce of warning and no public comment? The Community Board 1 (CB1), which normally meddles in the affairs of small businesses down to the minutiae of the number of outdoor cafe seats, etc., has never once in discussed the Brookfield arts programs within the last several years.

Far more important than some dubious outdoor art has been Continue reading →

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More “art” chosen by Brookfield for the esplanade

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Editor

Metal container 1

May 7, 2013- Debra Simon runs the arts programs for Brookfield Properties and, year after year, selects bizarre outdoor exhibits. This year, they have steal cargo containers with garden plants on the walls. Of all the frivolous overreaches of Community Board 1 power, why are these outdoor exhibits not approved by the community? Continue reading →

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The crime problem in Teardrop Park worsens

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Editor

Update May 8, 2013- A the May 7th CB1 BPC meeting, the main topic was lack of PEP presence in Teardrop Park, and the increase in petty crimes. However, more serious larceny, such as snatch and grab of iPads, is taking place in nearby Rockefeller Park, so residents should not laugh off the trends seen in Teardrop.

teardrop-park-1April 2, 2013 By Steven Greer

At the CB1 BPC meeting tonight, during “new business”, it was revealed that Tear Drop Park is the source of some brewing crime problems. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime | 2 Comments

Verizon selling headquarters on West Side Highway

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Editor
May 7, 2013- Now we know why Verizon is shipping Manhattan jobs to other boroughs. They are selling all, or portions of, the headquarters on 140 West Street. That building was flooded by Hurricane Sandy, and perhaps they are transitioning to safer ground. According to Crain’s NY, “Verizon announced on (more…)
Posted in Real estate | 2 Comments

Water outage in BPC Parks Conservancy

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Editor
May 4, 2013- The reason the water for the community gardens on Albany Street is not activated is that the pipes have a break under the grass field Since that is Hudson River Park Trust property, they are hiring an outside plumber. The BPC Parks staff had little insight into (more…)
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Photos 5-4-2013

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Editor
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Asphalt Green to open June 15th

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Editor

Asphalt Green wood floor 4-13-2013

Update May 3rd, 2013- Asphalt Green sent emails telling people that they will be opening June 15th. As of yesterday, significant work with “movable furniture” is still required.

Update April 13, 2013

The wood floor for the gym has been completed

Update: March 25, 2013

The BPCA board meeting on March 26th will likely Continue reading →

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Tour buses invade North End Ave thanks to Conrad Hotel

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Editor

BusesMay 2, 2013– By Steven E. Greer

At 5:00 PM on Thursday, March 2nd, on a beautiful day, the entire micro-community of North End Avenue was thrown into disarray by a fleet of three huge tour buses. They were hired by a group that was holding a two-day conference at the Conrad Hotel. they were doubled parked in the no-standing zone, turning lane, of North End by Murray Street.

The park’s PEP office was called, but no officers showed up. Continue reading →

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World Trade Center Tower 1 time lapse

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Editor
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The other casualty from Boston: Old-school TV news

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Editor

April 27, 2013 By Steven E. Greer, MD

On April 15, 2013, at 2:49 PM, two terrorist bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three, and blowing off the legs of many others. The other casualty of the event was TV news. Already hanging on to life by a thread as ratings decline double-digits, year after year, and as few people under the age of 30 pay for cable TV, the broadcast TV news suffered mortal wounds in the aftermath of the Boston bombings.

In vain attempts to be relevant in the world of Continue reading →

Posted in - 1 The Good News and Greer Report, - Op-Ed, Film Theater and TV, Videos | 2 Comments

Photos 4-26-2013

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Editor
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Dozens of nice bikes remain unclaimed in PEP office

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Editor

DSC00976DSC00977

April 26, 2013– By Steven E Greer

In May of 2011, the Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) began confiscating bikes that had been abandoned chained to trees and posts throughout BPC. The best working theory as to why the bikes were left is that people moved away and either forgot about them, or did not want to transport them to new locations.

After approximately two years of this process, the PEP have collected more than 24 bikes in the basement of their facility on West Thames Street. There are no finalized plans as to what to do with them. Various legal issues have prevented charitable donations.

For anyone interested in a nice bike, they are encouraged to visit the PEP office and make a claim.

Update April 21, 2013

This is the latest in this epidemic of abandoned nice bikes. read below for the story. If anyone knows why this happens, please post a comment.

May 2, 2011

Rudy Giuliani is often credited with cleaning up New York City and reducing crime by following a “No broken windows” policy, meaning that allowing small levels of vandalism and petty crime leads to more serious crime. The equivalent of “broken windows” have popped up in Battery Park City: abandoned bikes.

Near the newly built West Thames Continue reading →

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Letter: Parent outraged over kindergarten waitlist

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Editor

Kid on waitlistApril 25, 2013- Letter from Reader

In our most recent CB1 meeting, Tricia Joyce started her speech saying “We built it and they came…”. Continue reading →

Posted in - Op-Ed, Schools | 3 Comments

Pit bulls are dangerous

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Editor

pit-bull-attacks-grandma

April 25, 2013- In the news is a story about a pit bull that attacked an 12-yo girl in Harlem and is scheduled to be euthanized.

March 7, 2013- Surgeons who treat dog attack victims are well aware that certain breeds of dogs are more dangerous than others. The most common breeds involved in human attacks are pit bulls, chows, and rottweilers, according to numerous medical publications. In the news today is the death of a baby after two pit bulls mauled him.

Gateway Plaza has a growing problem of owners who have been allowed to sneak in pit bulls and rottweilers. Several Gateway residents have posted comments that they are in fear when they encounter these dogs and their owners in tight quarters such as elevators. The Gateway management proposed last year to ban these breeds, but dog group leaders, such as Jeff Galloway and Glenn Plaskin, opposed the measures. They ended up losing and pit bulls are now banned. (Warning graphic images) Continue reading →

Posted in Crime | 16 Comments

BPCA turns off the cash spigot to non-profits, bus shuttles in question

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Editor

April 18, 2013- By Steven E. Greer

In response to BatteryPark.TV oversight stories (see below) questioning the legality of awarding six-figure grants to non-profits unrelated to Battery Park City, the BPCA board debated on April 16th whether to continue those practices. The two largest block grants go to the Downtown Alliance bus shuttle (at $632,000 per year) and to Bob Townley’s Manhattan Youth community center in Tribeca (at $224,563 per year). However, only the free bus service was discussed as a concern.

BPCA President Demitri Boutris announced, Continue reading →

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Did the Tribeca Film Festival benefit Downtown after 9/11?

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Editor

April 18, 2013  By Steven Greer, MD

Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro were interviewed on the CBS Morning show today, and Ms. Rosenthal listed examples of the recovery of Downtown New York after September 11th, 2001. For example, she mentioned that 7 new schools have opened and that “more people live Downtown than ever.”, clearly implying that her film festival helped contribute to those accomplishments. In fact, the Tribeca Film Festival is the beneficiary of larger forces put in place to help the recovery.

The most powerful force that caused the complete recovery of Downtown after 9/11 was the creation of the LMDC, funded by billions of dollars, which handed out grants and tax breaks to new businesses. The Tribeca Film Festival received initial seed funding from LMDC grants. LMDC disclosures indicate that approximately $4 million in grants have been issued to the film festival entities..

Mr. De Niro is the first person to acknowledge Continue reading →

Posted in - 1 The Good News and Greer Report, - Op-Ed, Film Theater and TV, Videos | 2 Comments

Agenda for CB1 meeting tonight

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Editor

April 23rd, 2013- The Manhattan Community Board 1 is consistently not posting the agendas for the monthly meetings. We had to email them to receive this. The controversial Hudson River Park NID will be front and center. Chairwoman Katherine McVay Hughes seems to be continuing her strategy of passing resolutions with minimal public input.

 MONTHLY MEETING

 DATE:    Tuesday, April 23, 2013

TIME:   6:00 PM

PLACE:     Murry Bergtraum High School,  411 Pearl Street, Auditorium

 A G E N D A

Continue reading →

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Gateway makes good on promise to hook up hoses for power washing South End Ave

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Editor

SpigotApril 19, 2013- Gateway Plaza, owned by the LeFrak organization, has made good on their promise to hook up water connections to faucets on South End Avenue, thereby allowing the store owners to power wash the filthy sidewalk. An additional spigot will be activated farther north by the ice cream cafe at the driveway entrance to Gateway, according to building manager Greg Tumminia.

Recall, the few bad dog owners in the area have used the sidewalk as a dog urinal since the creation of BPC.

This is a major development for the area. Continue reading →

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Stroll on the esplanade 4-21-2013

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Editor

Click images for full screen

WFC and marina 4-21-2013 Continue reading →

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Port authority and City Spar Over Escalating World Trade Center Expenses

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Editor

If you thought the construction progress at the new World Trade Centers and 9/11 memorial was stalling, you were correct. After duct taping together the 9/11 Memorial to meet the deadline of the tenth anniversary opening, the whole site has ground to a halt. There simply is no money left and the overruns are now being passed between the city and the states of New Jersey and New York.

November 21, 2011 The Wall Street Journal

By JENNIFER MALONEY AND ELIOT BROWN

The planned 2012 opening of the Sept. 11 museum at Continue reading →

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