Downtown Express photo by Elisabeth Robert

River dance
Costumed performers blanketed the Tribeca section of Hudson River Park Saturday afternoon for the Dance of the River Grasses, above, as part of Earth Celebrations’ Hudson River Pageant.

‘Fed up’ with W.T.C. delays, Silver says build 3rd tower now
By Julie Shapiro
Government officials and Lower Manhattan residents are banking on a summit scheduled for Thurs., May 14 to get World Trade Center rebuilding back on track.

Imagine play starting before the park is built
By Julie Shapiro
For architect David Rockwell, the best part of last Thursday’s groundbreaking of Imagination Playground in the Seaport was not the politicians’ speeches or the obligatory shoveling of dirt.

Feds say Downtown is a bad deal at any price
By Julie Shapiro
Lower Manhattan leaders who were already angry about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s plan to leave the Financial District turned furious when they recently learned that F.D.I.C. specifically excluded the neighborhood from its search for new office space.

New president of the Square is making the rounds
By Josh Rogers
She doesn’t yet have a staff, a budget, an organizational bank account or even an office, but Ellen Baer started last week as the first president of the Hudson Square Business Improvement District.

News

Fiterman down in ’09 — could it be?
By Julie Shapiro.
The demolition of Fiterman Hall will likely begin later this month, finally removing what residents call a “tombstone” just north of the World Trade Center site.

Liquor ruling is one too many, critics warn
By Julie Shapiro
Bar owners in densely packed neighborhoods face fewer obstacles to getting a liquor license under a recent court ruling, and Lower Manhattan residents and leaders are worried.

Council introduces safety bills to prevent Deutsche-type problems
By Julie Shapiro
The City Council introduced 12 bills Monday to make construction sites safer based on lessons learned after the fatal 2007 Deutsche Bank fire.

Downtown buses are moving to Chelsea
By Julie Shapiro
The commuter buses that the city Dept. of Transportation initially planned to dump in Tribeca have found a new home in Chelsea.

Privatizers romp at Southbridge
By Josh Rogers
The privatization slate at Southbridge Towers swept the complex’s board of directors election last week to maintain its dominance of the board.

Playing a boss and a bum, with equal aplomb
BY JERRY TALLMER
Multitalented actor multitasks, with multiple roles.

Truly, deeply mad — or merely performing? 
BY ELENA MANCINI
Surreal life and work leave many questions unanswered.

Out with the Ragu, in with the Mambo Mouth
BY JERRY TALLMER
Historic, hard-to-kill theater renovates, rises again.

Will it Rock-n-Roll away with a Tony?
BY SCOTT HARRAH
Flashy but thematically hollow
jukebox musical amuses.

Koch on Film
By Ed Koch

When reality meets fantasy 
BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN
Audubon denizens: awaiting Apocalypse or regeneration?