May 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
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
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
April 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
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
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
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
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
April 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
Click images for full screen
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
Update April 18, 2013- The BPCA board met on the 16th and voted to fund for a $2 Million design of the West Thames bridge. Currently, the bridge is a very speculative idea with no real architectural plans. Therefore, estimated costs are absurd guesses. Moreover, the city is still wanting the BPCA to be on the hook for cost overruns.
March 6, 2013 By Steven E. Greer
The BPCA meeting held on February 27th featured a team from the city presenting for the first time the very preliminary plans for the West Thames pedestrian bridge. The previous plans of four years ago are no longer in play. Continue reading
April 18, 2013, By Barbara Ireland of DJK Residential
Buying an apartment today can be a challenge and leave you disappointed if you are not properly prepared. Here are a few tips to get started on the right path.
April 10, 2013- Part of the Pier 57 news involved the Tribeca Film Festival. According to the NY Post, the new pier will be the home for the Tribeca Film Festival. Currently, major outdoor operations and some screenings take place on the esplanade in Battery Park. We have joked that it should be called the Battery Park Film Festival. Continue reading
