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The Power of Community: Battery Park Rallies for Their Parks

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“This is a Political Unicorn”

Residents of Battery Park City and their community were not having it: Governor Cuomo was not going to take away their green space. Cuomo wants the Essential Workers Monument up by Labor Day 2021, and we’re all for a memorial celebrating those who put their lives on the line during the pandemic. But there must be a process that includes the community — is this too much to ask for?

All they were asking for was to be included in the decision, planning, and process.

Many of those who spent the night outside and braved the hot sun fighting for their rights to be heard are actually the doctors, nurses, police, and essential workers among business leaders who live and work right here in our beloved downtown.

Within hours of hearing about the bulldozers, opponents started a Change.org online petition that was signed by 5,000 individuals and counting. Busy parents and people of the area camped out in the park for days on end, and like The Lorax, “we speak for the trees” was just one phrase plastered on posters hugging the trees. In just four days, their pleas were answered- to a degree.

Many people were surprised this neighborhood came together on this issue so quickly.

“But the moms in the community were not surprised at all.  Our community is extremely unified and tight-nit— almost like a small village.  We all truly care about one another.  We already had multiple WhatsApp groups, connecting hundreds of neighbors.  We also had almost 1000 members in our BPC Parents Association Facebook group (I founded it with some friends 5 years ago.)
These platforms have been mostly used to exchange advice, give away hand-me-downs, or report a lost shoe.  So when the news got out about Rockefeller Park being at risk, we were able to mobilize very quickly by using the existing platforms we had already been using for years.
The Parents Association has now morphed into the more formalized BPCNA (BPC Neighborhood Association) and will now have a seat at the table with the BPCA (BPC Authority). The DNA of the group was formed by bonds between neighbors who respect each other and interact in a considerate, caring way. We plan to keep that style, even if the new direction moves towards political causes. “Laurie Sheindlin

Park plans were shifted away from Battery Park but applied to other locations that remain less than favorable. Plans moved to other high-traffic beloved community locations, like the site of the volleyball court near the marina in Battery Park City and next to the Irish Hunger Memorial. The fight is not over. Spearheading the protest were the likes of Korin Cohen, Laurie Sheindlin, Greg Sheindlin, Jenny Rich, Anthony Basilio, Eric Gyasi, Amy Van Buskirk, Pamit S., Lee V. Pham, Jenn Coughlin, Britni Erez, to name a few. These are not just parents, and neighbors, but business leaders in their respective fields.

“This is a Political Unicorn,” exclaimed Greg Sheindlin on the green grass under the trees at Rockefeller Park. Just days before, bulldozers showed up unannounced at that very park, ready to upheave the grass and replace it with a concrete monument honoring NYC’s essential workers.

The green space is well-loved by the people of the community, occupied by playing children, book readers, bike riders, birds, pets, and everything in between.

In protest, the people spoke out — and to think, it all started over social media. What started as a group of parents over WhatsApp turned into a herd of people that caught wind of the project. In under 24 hours, an alliance was formed against Governor Cuomo’s plan to pour concrete over grass and overturn trees.

Those whose children were raised in this area are today grown-ups themselves that still came out to fight, like Mary and Kelly McGowan, 30-year residents. They know the fight down here all too well, as they too had to fight for important issues when their children were small. “The great thing about this protest is that everyone was calm and no voices were raised: it was done with facts and from the hearts of the families and children who live and love this area. We had a mission and we were not going to give up.”

Social media gets a bad wrap, but when it’s used properly, there’s nothing like it. “Today, it’s different: at the click of a finger you can send one message to an entire community, and for that matter, around the world. When my daughter was growing up we had to rely on telephones and in-person meetings, but not today,” described Grace A. Capobianco

One politician stood out as he chanted and rallied with the parents and children. Christopher Marte was there from day one, and just happen to win his seat for District 1 Council. Other leaders still showed up after the fight was over. “We’re elected by the people and we should serve the people. If people knew how valuable this space was to parents, kids, to the little league, soccer, baseball leagues out here, this wouldn’t have even been thought of as a space that was going to be turned from green to concrete,” emphasized Christopher Marte

Tammy Meltzer, Chair Community Board 1, was at the protest and rally and fighting every step of the way at the meetings. “To lose any of the quality of space that is part of this green space is really unfair to people,” she noted.

Meltzer’s teen daughter added, “we grew up in Battery Park City: this is our home and going to other places, it’s not like this — this is one of the only places that has so much green open space. Everywhere you go it’s used extensively by all kinds of people, which is something really beautiful that you don’t get everywhere.”

It was unanimous to all parents, grandparents, and those without children that while the community of New York City and Rockefeller Park would love to honor the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic, they would like to honor it without losing the city’s already limited greenspace.

As of today July 12, 2021, the fight continues, and all residents want is a seat at the table to have their voices heard.

There is a rally today at 4 PM Irish Hunger Memorial.

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Living Real Estate

Artist & Activist Noël Jefferson On Tribeca, 9/11 and the new World Trade Center

WTC Lower Manhattan Redevelopment site, 2008 / Photo by Noël Jefferson

Photo by Noël Jefferson
Photo by Noël Jefferson

It’s hard to run into someone downtown who doesn’t know Noël Jefferson. The artist, photographer, filmmaker and producer has been one of downtown’s strongest pillars even before Tribeca became “trendy.”

While working towards her Master’s Degree at Columbia Teacher’s College, she moved into the neighborhood “before gentrification began,” when vacant buildings were in high supply and the streets smelled of coffee spewing out from a vacant factory. Today, the Greenwich Hotel and LaConda Verde are grounded in that very spot, where she says she can still smell that same coffee.

“The desolate area had one dry cleaners, a corner store, and one restaurant, on Franklin Street, called The River Run whose owner went to Navarre, Spain to participate in the Pamplona, ‘Running of the Bulls,’” she says, adding that she attributes Tribeca’s rise to fame to Robert DeNiro residence, as well as that of John Kennedy and Harvey Keitel.

On Sept. 11, 2001, she heard what she describes as an unusual shriek that drew her to the window, where she spotted suited stockbrokers gawking, looking south. The neighborhood was usually quiet at that time, so she knew something serious had happened.

WTC Lower Manhattan Redevelopment site, 2008 / Photo by Noël Jefferson
WTC Lower Manhattan Redevelopment site, 2008 / Photo by Noël Jefferson

“I quickly got my camera and as many rolls of film my pockets would hold, got dressed, grabbed my keys and hurried out of my apartment and onto Greenwich Street. As I proceeded south, I saw what appeared to have been the tail of an airplane hanging from a window at One World Trade Center,” she said.

“As I approached the burning towers, I overheard someone say, “Terrorist Attack!” But I didn’t believe it. How could it be? Why? Who? These were the thoughts that flooded my mind as I tried to sort it all out.”

She recalls, in that moment, feeling sad for the pilot who “must have had a heart attack and accidentally flown into the Tower.” But after returning home to find out exactly what had happened by watching CNN’s coverage of the events as they transpired, she had all of the facts, and a decision to make: return to the site, or stay relatively safe at home.

She chose the former, compelled to capture it all on camera, and stayed at the site to assist the American Red Cross on site for days after.

“My neighbor, Dorothy Drayton, and I worked with the American Red Cross, whereby Dorothy established an on-site location for residents to file loss claims,” she says. “Dorothy and I assisted in the outreach effort to ensure seniors were taken care of, such as, ensuring sufficient food and water supplies, medicine refills and filing appropriate reports.”

Those photos she took 15 years ago have since been exhibited at Museum Of Modern Art, about a dozen galleries in SoHo, in a number of other U.S. states, and even in Europe. Twelve of them currently reside in the Permanent Collection in the Humanities Building of the 42nd Street Main Library. 

Over the course of the past fifteen years, she continued to photograph the World Trade Center site.

Photos by Noël Jefferson
Photos by Noël Jefferson

“The Oculus’ pointed claws fascinated me and soon became my photographic study, as did the ‘bird’s skeleton.'”

In one of her new works, she merges the new Oculus’ interior with its exterior, as well as the Reflection Pool with WTC Tower 1 burning in the background. In her words, that piece is intended to “give life to those who died and strength to those neighbors to the attacks.”

“The vibrachrome photos printed on steel reflect the resolve of my neighbors and those beyond, and represent both strength and sensitivity,“ she explained. Jefferson added that the ones printed on Voile canvas move as viewers approach it, creating a certain languid effect.

Jefferson has done much more than move people with her art. She has served on several World Trade Center redevelopment and planning committees. She also began producing and hosting television interviews with locals, fellow Community Board 1 members politicians and concerned residents. 

“We Lower Manhattan residents also carry a heavy heart because we too suffered, more than many might know,” she said, “We lived in a battle zone for years, with holes in the ground, a stench in the air and dust everywhere! Many lost their homes, businesses and most of all our spirit was ripped apart.”

Still, she says, the strength of the community, of the survivors, and of those that the deceased left behind is strong as steel, which led to the ultimate revitalization and redevelopment of the new World Trace Center complex.

“As the anniversaries come and go, my feelings remain the same, but my determination to fight the enemies grows stronger,” she declared. “We must fight for freedom.”

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Latitude 360: A Cruise Ship on Land “Docks” In The Financial District

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The Financial District may be receiving a ‘Cruise Ship on Land.’ Historic 23 Wall Street will soon be home to a massive entertainment complex, including a bowling alley, arcade, restaurant, concert venue and movie theater. According to CEO Brent Brown, the center will be called Latitide 360, and is said to opening within a year, right across from the New York Stock Exchange.

The venue and restaurant is meant to be a “multigenerational place where there’s something for everyone,” said Brown at a Community Board 1 meeting. Latitude 360 will be 110,000-square-feet, five-stories, and  have 60,000 square feet dedicated to the theaters, restaurant, and bars. The two top floors will be used for offices, and as space for corporate meetings. There will be plenty of activities and fun with a “luxury” bowling alley, an arcade, a dine-in movie theater, a stage for live comedy and music, a bar, and a “sports theater.” Brown plans on signing the lease for the space relatively soon and will file an application for a liquor license by the end of January. He hopes to bring Latitude 360 locations to Brooklyn, Midtown, Jersey City and Atlantic City. The center currently has locations now in Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and one opening soon in Albany. The restaurant is described by Brown as “upscale casual fare.”

A local resident, Lynne Seid, spent her life savings on her condo, and did not support the idea of Latitude 360 in such a historic, “sanctified neighborhood.” Community members were also concerned about the increased foot traffic and disturbance in the evening in a usually quiet area, Brown plans on returning to the board after applying for a liquor license, seeking their advisory support.

-by Deirdre McAndrew

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News

Julie Menin Starts Job As Commissioner of Consumer Affairs Today

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Julie Menin, the former Chair of Community Board 1 who was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to be the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, begins work on the new job today.

“I look forward to joining the Administration to implement the Mayor’s vision for this agency, which includes  enforcing the City’s new Paid Sick Leave Law, enforcing the City’s consumer protection and licensing laws, working with small businesses to ensure compliance with all DCA rules and regulations, and making sure that, as the Mayor has stated, fines are not punitive or inequitable,” says Ms. Menin. “In addition, DCA houses the Office of Financial Empowerment which works to educate and empower low income New Yorkers.”

The Mayor was effusive in his praise of Menin when the appointment was made on April 24. “My administration is committed to ensuring that both consumers and businesses are armed with the information they need to build up the city’s vibrant economy,” Mr. de Blasio said in a statement. “Julie understands that small businesses are the key to economic growth in our city—and I know she will apply regulations with public safety, not city revenues, in mind.”

Menin has been a champion of small businesses in Lower Manhattan for years. After 9/11, she ran the non-profit Wall Street Rising organization, which aimed to help rebuild Lower Manhattan.

“I became a lawyer decades ago to protect consumers and help businesses comply with the law—and I’m thrilled to lead an agency that pursues this goal across all five boroughs,” she said in a statement. “This department has a real impact on the daily lives of all New Yorkers and plays a critical role in educating and protecting our city’s consumers and business owners.”

–Mike Hammer.

 

 

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Living News Uncategorized

New Report Indicates 10 Percent Rise in Downtown Baby Births

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The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recently released a report titled, “Supplemental Population, Mortality and Pregnancy Outcome Data Tables” that reveals a nearly 10 percent increase in Downtown baby births between 2011 and 2012 in Lower Manhattan’s Community Board 1, which includes the neighborhoods of Tribeca, Battery Park, the Financial District, and South Street Seaport. The report shows 1,087 births in 2011 and 1,191 births in 2012 in Manhattan CB1.

These numbers “appear to settle the question of whether population growth among children in Lower Manhattan has peaked, or even begun to plateau. Neither of these seems to be happening. The curve is still trending upward,” Eric Greenleaf, Tribeca resident and member of State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s School Crowding Task Force, told The Broadsheet Daily.

The increase in births and the overall growth is a positive sign of the area’s desirability, but it also presents a challenge for school capacity and future school planning. Greenleaf told the Broadsheet, “Kids born in 2012 will be going to kindergarten in 2017. We’ve know for years that we’re facing a shortage of school seats, but this makes the deficit more drastic that before. And it may be even worse than it looks, because these numbers are for 2012.”

At a December meeting of Sheldon Silver’s School Overcrowding Task Force, community members and advocates, including Mr. Greenleaf, discussed the immediate need for more school seats. At that meeting, Silver told the Tribeca Trib, “We’re asking that when the DOE finalizes its plan for next year, it add at least 1,000 seats for here in Lower Manhattan, and site them for the Financial District and Battery Park City, where we have seen the most growth.”

The Peck Slip School, which is expected to open in the South Street Seaport neighborhood in 2015, will alleviate a small percentage of the need. The D.O.E. has projected another school in the next five years, but there is still not a site.

—Louise McKnight