The Elizabeth Street Garden has been a favorite outdoor spot for so many people in Little Italy and Soho for nearly 200 years. On top of offering a respite from busy city life for the residents of Downtown Manhattan, the garden also offers rentals for video and photo shoots as well as weddings and private events.
But the garden may not be with us for much longer. The city has proposed the sale of this land to Haven Green (Pennrose Properties, Habitat NYC, and Riseboro) to make way for affordable housing, retail locations, and office space. The Garden states on their website that “the affordability is not permanent,” and that the residence can eventually “turn into market rate housing.”
The Elizabeth Street Garden has offered numerous alternative sites for affordable housing developments in an effort to save the community’s garden and green space, with these sites providing “more than 10x the amount of affordable units.”
To help save the garden, visit The Elizabeth Street Garden website today!
The Tribute in Light, designed by Gustavo Bonevardi. Photo by Joe Woolhead.
Twenty years later, Tribute in Light helps New York City heal. Photo by Joe Woolhead.
IN NEW YORK, art isn’t limited to the galleries and theaters; it overflows into the streets, draping itself across the city’s skyline. Architects, artists, social organizations, and New York’s many public agencies each play a hand in building the immersive installations that speak towards some of today’s most pressing topics. New York-born architect and artist Gustavo Bonevardi is recognized for his many public projects exploring the impact local and global crises have on our population, and in New York today he is perhaps best known, along with creative partner John Bennett and lighting designer Paul Marantz, as among the artists behind Tribute in Light, an annual light projection commemorating the anniversary of 9/11. Today managed by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Tribute in Light was conceived with the support of the Municipal Art Society as two beacons echoing the Twin Towers as they defined New York City’s skyline. Though the two light beams don’t represent the actual size of the towers, which were each an acre in size, the gap between the beams and the net acreage the installation occupies is approximate to the size of the towers. “What we’ve settled on is to create not the buildings themselves, but the void between those,” Bonevardi notes, emphasizing “this tension between these two vibrating pillars.” With the beacons of light reminiscing what the Twin Towers represented, Bonevardi adds that, “to my mind, it always seemed like the World Trade Center towers were sort of like a gateway, like a door to the city,” symbolizing open arms to the millions passing through each year. In the 20 years that Tribute in Light has taken place, it has acquired a steadfast following that looks to those lights each year, recalling that same message the towers once represented.
Tribute in Light. Photo by Joe Woolhead.
Yet, Bonevardi hopes that the installation looks less at what was, and more at what could be. The Freedom Tower now erected serves as a new vision for the city’s reception of travelers and immigrants alike. Lower Manhattan on its broader spectrum has transformed from a once “beautiful and haunting” evening ghost town, as Bonevardi describes it, to a thriving neighborhood accommodating both residential and commercial tenants collaborating together to build a culture of arts, activism, shopping, and dining.
Gustavo Bonevardi. Photo by Ann Foker.
“I think that’s what New York is, it’s always fresh and new and vibrant,” Bonevardi notes, adding that when it comes to downtown’s future, “I expect it to be something unexpected. I expect to be surprised somehow. I mean, the city is constantly reinventing itself.” His most recent proposal, Missing, explores what traces the COVID-19 pandemic left on cities through footsteps echoing the many who passed away these nearly two years. Whether through such unexpected displays of resilience or delicate works of art, Bonevardi and the many other artists across New York show that this city champions perseverance and adaptability above all, underscoring what it takes to be a New Yorker.
A new plan to protect Lower Manhattan from rising waters and the effects of climate change was unveiled last week, calling for flood walls, improved stormwater infrastructure, new open spaces, and a drastic reshaping of the shoreline.
The master plan from the Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency and New York City Economic Development Corporation aims to defend the one-mile stretch from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Battery from future storms like Superstorm Sandy and intense rainfall, like the soaking the city got from the remnants of Hurricane Ida last summer.
The plan would dramatically reshape the neighborhood’s relationship to the waterfront — adding more soft spaces to absorb water and extending the shoreline into the East River via a walkway. It calls for a multi-level construction that would add a water-level esplanade underneath the extended shoreline, where floodwalls would absorb waves from coastal storms. Piers and terminals for the NYC Ferry would also be reinforced.
The problem the plan is addressing is one that much of the borough, and the city, is facing in the climate crisis: Manhattan is made of hard surfaces, which give rain and floodwaters nowhere to go. The new plan would fix that via new stormwater pumps and green spaces that sponge up the water while creating coves to protect wildlife.
The project is expected to cost between $5 to $7 billion and would take an estimated 15 to 20 years to design and build. That’s already a tight timeline: according to the New York City Panel on Climate Change’s projections, rising tides have long been expected to flood Lower Manhattan on a monthly basis by the 2050s; in another 30 years after that, floods could become daily. Some frequent tidal flooding might occur as early as the 2040s, less than 20 years away.
This master plan is the last link in an overall Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Strategy that has already proposed makeovers to shore up the rest of the tip of Manhattan. This particular stretch of neighborhood holds extra challenges because the built infrastructure — like subway tunnels, roads, and shipping ports — provides less green space and less wiggle room than other stretches of the waterfront.
The plan used input from the Climate Coalition for Lower Manhattan, which includes the Alliance for Downtown New York.
Downtown NYC is filling up with the holiday spirit! We’ve included here a roundup of upcoming holiday lighting ceremonies and fun festivities.
*South Street Seaport’s Chanukah Family Fun Day, Nov. 28, 3pm-5pm
Photo: J. Kratochvil.
Festivities begin with the Grand Ice Carving of Menorah Show – 3:00pm – 3:30pm
Indoor and Outdoor Activities and Entertainment – 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Families can enjoy a variety of winter themed and Chanukah activities and projects including balloons, coloring books, and donut decorating. RSVP for Chanukah crafts here.
Grand Menorah Lighting – 4:30pm – 5:00pm
Celebrate the start of Chanukah with your loved ones as neighborhood figureheads light the first candle at sundown.
Brookfield Place Luminaries, Nov. 29-Jan. 2
Brookfield Place Luminaries
This installation and holiday tradition features a canopy of colorful lights emanating from hundreds of suspended lanterns.Luminaries was created by the LAB at Rockwell Group for Brookfield Place, inspired by the season’s traditions of sharing, giving, and community.
Touchless wishing stations located on the ground allow visitors to send a motion-activated ‘wish’ into the canopy of lanterns above, prompting a magical display of lights and colors. For each wish made and each interaction with Luminaries, Brookfield Place will donate $1 up to $25,000 to City Harvest, New York City’s largest food rescue organization.
This year, Luminaries debuts Maestro, a new interactive experience that will enable guests to conduct their own symphony. Maestro leverages skeletal tracking technology which allows you to show off your creativity as your own unique light show is displayed in unison with holiday music. The kiosk is an organic form, inspired by an abstraction of global instruments from harps to guitars, and is manufactured by Timbur and made of CNC-milled plywood.
NYSE Tree Lighting, Dec. 1, 2pm-6pm
The NYSE’s Tree Lighting prepares for its 98th holiday season. Head over to Experience Plaza, on the corner of Wall and Broad Streets. The event will feature performances by the Harlem Globetrotters, The Salvation Army Band, Senri Oe, the Léman Manhattan Preparatory School Choir and the USMC Toys for Tots Kettle Bell Ringers; holiday-ready companies like Build-a-Bear, Barkbox and Coca-Cola will also be getting in on the festivities-Santa may also be stopping by! Refreshments will be served. The event will livestream beginning 4:15pm. nyse.com
The Seaport Christmas Tree Lighting Block Party, Dec. 2, 5pm-8pm
Ring in the holidays with live music, pictures with Santa, hot chocolate, apple cider, and kids crafts the block party will have indoor and outdoor activities open to the public. Schedule breakdown:
Holiday crafts and live music – The Corner, 25 Fulton St. (RSVP here)
Kids’ coloring activities – McNally Jackson Books, 4 Fulton St.
Hot chocolate at Cobble & Co. and hot apple cider from Fulton Stall Market – Cobble & Co., 19 Fulton and St. Fulton Stall Market, Corner of Fulton St. and Water St.
Mulled wine and spiked hot chocolate – Garden Bar, 19 Fulton St.
Hester Street Pop-Up Marketing – 205 Front St. (5:00pm – 9:00pm)
Sip & shop at SJP – SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, 93 South St.
Christmas tree cookies – Funny Face Bakery, 6 Fulton St.
Upcoming Exhibit Previews – The South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St.
Live music performances – (5:30pm – 8:00pm)
Photobooth with Santa – 8 Fulton St.
Christmas Tree Lighting – 6:45pm
Watch the Howard Hughes Corporation and special music guests light the locally sourced tree and enjoy the Christmas magic.
The Ugly Sweater Party – 8:00pm – 12:00am
Unwind and celebrate the start of the holiday season with specialty cocktails and music from special guest DJ Mel Debarge at Pearl Alley. RSVP free for the Ugly Sweater Party here.
Holiday Lights at Battery Park, Dec. 2, 6pm
Celebrate the fifth night of Chanukah and see the annual tree lighting at Battery Park’s Holiday Lights event! Special appearances by Sing Harlem Choir, PS/IS 276 Advanced Chorus, and you-know-who! Free RSVP here.
Washington Square Park Tree Lighting, Dec. 8, 6pm
Washington Square Park Tree Lighting Ceremony
NYC’s iconic park in the heart of Greenwich Village prepares for the holiday season. There will also be a Meta/Facebook live event, streaming The Rob Susman Brass Quarter along with singalong holiday songs. Santa may make an appearance. Also, there will be Christmas Eve caroling Dec. 24, at 5pm. washingtonnyc.org
Thinking about what to do during the week, or for Labor Day Weekend?
Look no further than your own back, city yard that is.
Don’t have a car to drive to the nearest drive-in movie, not a problem walk, bus, Uber, Citi bike, or subway downtown to our very own oasis at The Greens Seaport District.
They brought the Seaport Cinema to The Greens the newest Pier 17 rooftop local. Enjoy the big screen with your favorite movies voted for the movies on select Tuesdays & Wednesdays. Enjoy dinner, drinks, and a movie, with spectacular views. Due to COVID-19 guidelines, you must have a reservation to attend. Reservations are limited be sure to sign up early.
Seaport Cinema
Seaport Fit has been back – it’s time get working out before the colder weather sets in. The Greens on The Rooftop at Pier 17 for complimentary small group workouts curated and led by some of New York’s top fitness experts. Can’t make it to a class in-person? They have you covered, workouts posted every Tuesday & Thursday on our IGTV. Strengthen your mind, test your body, and challenge your fitness limits at Seaport Fit.
Peace, Love & Happiness was created in Spring 2020 by Scott Gerber, artist and founder of Tube Dude.
Seaport Art Designed by Scott Gerber
Enjoy, and spread some love from Scott Gerber’s new designs downtown at the Seaport District in New York City, a way for people to come together and heal through art. The “Peace Sign” is a signal to viewers to bring calm to one’s mind when distracted not only by major global events but also by everyday occurrences. By crafting the “Heart”, Gerber urges the viewer to be kind and spread love to those who are suffering.
Lastly, the “Smiley Face” is meant to evoke happiness and positivity to the viewers so that they in turn may spread joy through our communities. Through its simple yet powerful iconography, “Peace, Love and Happiness” sends a universal message of hope and altruism to all that view.
As we all ready ourselves for the fun festivities and fireworks that accompany the Fourth of July, socially-distanced outdoor barbecues, pool parties, and backyard soirées rank high on everyone’s mind. In celebration of one of America’s most red, white, and blue holiday, we thought we’d spotlight some of our favorite products from two American-made brands: True Residential and Room & Board! Replete with designs made for creating the ideal outdoor retreat, we’ve included everything from stools, to ottomans, to beer beverage dispensers, and wine cabinets to boot. Happy Fourth of July!
Room & Board’s Emmet Tall Sofa in Red; True Residential’s Clear Ice machine in Matte White and Pewter; Room & Board’s Oasis Outdoor Sectional in Sunbrella Canvas Navy.
Luxury home refrigeration brand True Residential, which launched in 2008 as an offshoot to its American-born, family-owned parent company, True Manufacturing (1945), has stayed on its American-made path. Room & Board, named as one of the “Most Innovative Companies in Retail” by Fast Company in 2019, also adheres to True Residential’s focus on handcrafted and quality materials, the American-made model, and on good design with some serious functionality. With a vast selection of indoor and outdoor furniture for modern—and most important—summer living, it remains that more than 90% of the company’s products are manufactured in America. Likewise, everything at True Residential is done in-house—from the coiled rolls of steel to the final powder-coated finish. Each with a large repertoire of products that are perfect for creating the ideal outdoor retreat!
Montego Sofa from Room & Board; Undercounter Refrigerator Drawers from True Residential.
From benches and sofas to under-counter refrigerator and freezer drawers, True Residential and Room & Board combined can cater to all of America’s favorite summer pastimes. Whether the focus is on barbecuing, summer poolside parties, and/or backyard soirées and more, all of their made-for-outdoors products will ensure one sublime Plein-air experience.
Entertaining preferences run aplenty, but from adults-only affairs to watching kids run wild, Room & Board’s versatile Brook Counter and Bar Stools, which come in a range of eye-catching colors and are made from recycled milk jugs, sit at the perfect height to pour the perfect draft pour from True Residential’s single or dual tap Beverage Dispenser—also available in a beautiful assortment of color combinations.
For those that lean towards a more relaxed outdoor ambiance yet with a more sophisticated palette, going with a black and metal theme might just be the ticket. Room & Board’s Aria Outdoor Table—shown in a graphite base topped with a marbled black ceramic composite—melds perfectly with True Residential’s easy-access Undercounter Refrigerator, which is shown in a striking matte black finish paired with gold hardware.
Then again, pure relaxation isn’t for everyone. For a more laidback vibe with a touch of fun, opt for Room & Board’s Boyd Round Ottoman in Phipps Spa Mist and True Residential’s Clear Ice Machine—the most efficient ice machine on the market—in the brand’s cheerful new saffron finish. Boost that sense of liveliness with some visual cues!
We all know the matching game can run strong so if that’s the inclination, run with it! Shades of blue are always beautiful, especially in the summer, and when one of the designs actually provides some shade. Room & Board’s Pacifica Square Patio Umbrella in Sunbrella Awning features a 60 mph wind-rating that will keep it in place to sunburns while True Residential’s Dual Zone Indoor/Outdoor Undercounter Wine Cabinet in Cobalt does the highly important job of keeping guests sated and bottles cool and protected.
