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EDITORIAL

Sign the bill, ASAP
Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino Jr. should not have perished on August 18, 2007. It’s as simple as that. It is unconscionable that the firefighters did not know they were walking into a death trap on that fateful day. A standpipe had been cut and stairwells were blocked.

Letters to the Editor

Under Cover

Police Blotter

FROM THE ARCHIVE
The waterfront of our dreams, 20 years ago
In July of 1990, the Downtown Express ran a two-page spread by Jere Hester titled “The waterfront of our dreams.” It detailed a proposal from the West Side Waterfront Panel, a seven-member body created to determine the future of the decaying waterfront, to create “the largest—and greatest—waterfront park in the world. And by the year 2000 no less.”

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Read what the Downtown Alliance has to say!

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A different kind of playground opens at Burling Slip in the Seaport
BY John Bayles
The phrase of the day at the opening of the Imagination Playground at Burling Slip was “public private partnership.” Nearly every speaker at the press conference on Tuesday used it, from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Community Board 1 Chair Julie Menin.

Trinity Wall St. lands Wachner; hopes to expand
BY Michael Mandelkern
After performing the world over, composer and conductor Julian Wachner is coming back to New York City.

Gov signs illegal hotels bill
By Aline Reynolds
On July 1, a 68-year-old resident of 120 MacDougal Street couldn’t get to bed until 6 a.m. because of her rowdy, drunk neighbors.

Pondering the City’s land use process
BY Kristin Shiller
“Is the city’s land use process in need of reform?”

New school at Peck Slip still a possibility
BY Michael Mandelkern
The Peck Slip Post Office, located between Pearl and Water Streets, is looking to sell the top half of its United States Postal Service-owned building. But the U.S.P.S. has yet to reach a final deal and the possibility remains for the New York City Department of Education to open a new public school at the location.

Dangerous West St. intersections get pedestrian managers
BY John Bayles
Beginning as early as next week, pedestrians will have help crossing dangerous intersections at West Street. The Battery Park City Authority announced last week they have awarded a contract, made possible by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, to Sam Schwartz Engineering.

News

Bill in the works to protect firefighters
BY Aline Reynolds
On August 18, 2007, firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino died in a fire at the former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street while it was undergoing demolishment.

A day in the life of an L.M.C.C.C. Air Tester
BY Aline Reynolds
Personal DataRAM on. Check. Sound level meter working. Check. And so the day begins.

Public input on Gov Island in Post-it note form
BY Aline Reynolds
Next time you visit Governor’s Island, be sure to swing by the exhibit space to get a taste of the island’s past and a chance to influence its future.

Contract disputes delay Pier A opening
BY Michael Mandelkern
Isolated at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, Pier A has weathered cracks and leaking water and has been vacant for over 20 years. The Battery Park City Authority foresaw a makeover by early next year with an accompanying plaza and possible surplus, but the loss of two contractors has resulted in some budget uncertainty and will lead to a possible four-month delay for the project.

Confusion over the leash law in Battery Park
BY Aline Reynolds
Community members are up in arms about not being able to let their dogs run free in Battery Park. According to some, the city Parks Department recently stepped up enforcement of the rule that prohibits dog owners at Battery Park to unleash their pets in the early morning hours.

Rasta on the River!

Not your average thunder

Street memorial for activist

Studio for tiny dancers creates huge following
BY Joseph Rearick
Melanie Zrihen and Hanne Larsen, expected to see a lot of empty seats at their company’s first recital last year. Owners of the Downtown Dance Factory, a comprehensive dance center in Tribeca, they booked the main theater at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center to give their students, raging from two to 12 years old, the thrill of performing in a professional venue.

From meatpackers to mobs of partiers, she’s lived it
By Cynthia Romero
Everything about Ivy Brown’s loft makes it an escape amid the hustle and bustle of the Meatpacking District. From the tin-foil tree with branches seemingly growing out to the ceiling to the statue of a life-size pig that greets visitors from a corner in the gallery, Brown’s loft breathes art even in between shows at her gallery.

 

ARTS DOWNTOWN

Another Downtown theater bites the dust
BY TRAV S.D. 
Vital Soho institution booted to make way for needless boutique.

 

 

Audacious ‘Niche auteur’ Solondz back with sorta-sequel
BY RANIA RICHARDSON
‘Wartime’ boldly updates 1998’s ‘Happiness.’

As July sizzles, Con Ed power propels their show
BY JERRY TALLMER
Parking Lot plays are Drilling Company’s gift to a hot town.

Ever battling good taste
BY GARY M. KRAMER
John Waters talks about his heroes and what it takes to offend him.

Koch on Film
By ED KOCH

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Volume 23, Number 12
The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan
July 28 - August 3, 2010

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