THE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN | Volume 20 Issue 6 | June 22 - 28, 2007
Editorial
50 West St. plan should be rejected
Community Board 1 gave conditional support Tuesday to a troubling 63-story luxury condo and hotel project in Downtown’s most perilous pedestrian area, without any commitment for affordable housing from the private developer in this government-subsidized project, or much improvement to the area.

Talking Point
The pier’s people made it ‘cool’
By Bob Townley
I had to smile when reading Downtown Express’s front page article “Park Prez: Tribeca ‘cool’ will return” (June 8 - 14). Over a period of 11 years our organization, Manhattan Youth, developed and nurtured the famously friendly and laid-back Pier 25 scene. And we do hope it does return.

Downtown Express photo by Jefferson Siegel

P.S. 150 on Greenwich St. is slated to get a 13 percent cut in its budget once the school’s new funding system is in place.

School change plans confuse parents, drain principals, as summer approaches
By Skye H. McFarlane
An uncertain summer will begin next week for Downtown educators and parents. This fall, a sweeping set of structural and policy changes will take effect across New York City public schools.

Math numbers high for Downtown schools

NEWS

C.B. 1 OKs luxury tower on West with conditions
By Skye H. McFarlane
The 50 West St. tower can rise to 63 stories, so long as a good chunk of the windfall lands squarely within Community Board 1 and the Greenwich South neighborhood, the board said Tuesday night.

5 more ideas floated for Governors Island parks
By Skye H. McFarlane
The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation has unveiled five new designs for the parkland on the former military base. The designs, submitted by five different teams of architects and landscapers, are a part of GIPEC’s design contest to choose a park development team.

Assembly passes gay marriage; Senate remains opposed
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
In an historic vote late in the evening on Tuesday, June 19, the New York State Assembly approved legislation guaranteeing marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.
ARTS

Design
More than masks: New designs for a diverse continent
By Laura Silver
The Museum for African Art’s “Design Made in Africa” exhibition at the World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery is tricky to find, but worth the effort. (Look on the second floor above the food court and just behind the American Express Travel Service desk). One might say the same thing about African design.

Design
Curing poverty through conscientious design
By Stephanie Murg
iPods, Aeron chairs, Nike shoes, and the animated creations of Pixar might be among the greatest hits of contemporary design, but they’re only household names in the households that can afford them—that is, the richest 10% of the world’s customers.

Music
Summer playlist
Feisty tunes, Rufus croons, and American roots in translation: Jessica Molaskey “Sitting in Limbo”; Feist“The Reminder”; Rufus Wainwright “Release the Stars”; Matt Singer “All Us Heathens”; Takénobu “Introduction”; Grey Gardens original Broadway Cast Recording

Film
Revisiting a painful wound from the Iraq War
By Steven Snyder
There’s a primary and secondary effect to Michael Winterbottom’s taut, documentary style in “A Mighty Heart.” The primary effect is that this story about the abduction, search for, and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is rendered remarkably intense, depicting this hostage scenario as a grueling, gripping, earth-shattering affair.

Listen to Downtown Express
Radio on the internet:
Two residents who live near the former Deutsche Bank building, Pat Moore, a Community Board 1 member, and Dave Stanke, a Downtown Express columnist, talk about their concerns living near the skyscraper's dismantling and the construction as well as their thoughts on the Survivors' Stairway and other issues related to the World Trade Center site with hosts Josh Rogers and Skye H. McFarlane. Recorded June 4, 2007.
NEWS

Downtown revelers roll over to Stone
By Jennifer Milne
In the evening, people slowly begin to trickle through the cobblestone street from both ends of Stone St. and from the perpendicular Mill Lane. Those in the 19th century historic district don’t seem to notice the buildings towering over them — they’re too busy enjoying one of the newest hot spots in Lower Manhattan.


Traffic relief now, not next year, Soho says
by Josh Rogers
“Step outside,” the senior citizen said, challenging a police commander Monday night. After all, some Downtowners have dealt with Holland Tunnel traffic longer than others.

SPORTS/YOUTH

Downtown’s Blue Jays capture league title
The Downtown Little League’s Blue Jays won their second title in three years over the weekend with a 7-3 victory over the Blues in Sunday’s final game of the Greenwich Village Little League Seniors Division playoffs at Murry Bergtraum High School Field. They advanced to the final with a 10-7 win over the Jazz Saturday.

Downtown Little League action

Students research Downtown, where the streets have names
City Councilmember Alan Gerson asked middle school students Downtown to select a Lower Manhattan street and research its origin, inviting them to suggest a new name. Gerson commended 13 students from I.S. 131 and Shuang Wen for their essays last week in a City Hall ceremony. He said he was surprised at how much he learned about the streets in his district. Here is a sample:
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GREENWICH VILLAGE APARTMENT RENTALS

Exhange Hotel and Lounge

Photo by Megan Doyle
Happy Children’s Day!Gordon from Sesame Street and other big names from children’s TV will take over the stage at New York’s longest-running free family festival on June 16. Above: Fans snuggle up to Dora the Explorer at Target Children’s Day.

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YOUTH
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