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EDITORIAL

Hope for SPURA
After decades of inertia at the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, on the Lower East Side south of the Williamsburg Bridge, the makings of a viable development scheme are taking shape. Where six blocks have lain vacant, occupied by open-air parking lots, there are now visions of housing and commercial development, and much-needed jobs and economic development.

Downtown Digest

Letters to the Editor

NEW:

B.P.C. Beat:
Covering Battery Park City

TALKING POINTS
The U.S. must come to the aid of its 9/11 heroes
BY U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
On Sept. 11, 2001, when thousands of innocent men and women lost their lives, tens of thousands more came to their assistance.

DOWNTOWN NOTEBOOK
The peddling of pedaling and those pesky pedestrians
By Daniel Meltzer
We are still at war in Vietnam (excuse me, Afghanistan); the Dems have taken a shellacking in the election, and the politics are smarmier than ever; unemployment is still pushing 10 percent and the checks are running (or have run) out for many; the local murder and MetroCard rates are rising; for the second year in a row Social Security isn’t and may not for years to come; Season 4 of “Mad Men” has ended with another cliffhanger, nobody knows when Season 5 will appear, support groups are forming to deal with withdrawal issues; and Manhattanites are squaring off…over what?

In Pictures

21st Century Breadline

Read what the Downtown Alliance has to say!

*Downtown Express photo by TERESE LOEB KREUZER*

Mr. Bloomberg goes to Washington
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 16, 2010 lobbying for the Zadroga Act. He was joined by Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, who moved the bill through the House, and Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the senate sponsors of the bill.
Lobbying for Zadroga; it's now or never By Terese Loeb Kreuzer In the predawn darkness of November 16, a small group of people huddled under umbrellas outside the District Council 37 building on Barclay Street in Lower Manhattan, waiting for a bus to take them to Washington, D.C. for yet another round in the fight for passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. W.T.C. workers’ first Thanksgiving on site BY Aline Reynolds Five hundred World Trade Center construction workers lined up for turkey subs, angus hamburgers and hot dogs last Friday afternoon during a break from work. Safe crossing via bridge, moving forward BY Aline Reynolds and Andrea Riquier The long-awaited and much-needed West Thames Street pedestrian bridge moved one step closer to becoming a reality this week. Assemblyman Sheldon Silver announced Monday that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation had allocated up to $20 million to build the bridge. L.M.D.C sets waterfront priorities, Pier 42 missing BY Aline Reynolds Downtown’s affordable housing stock could increase and the East Side waterfront could receive a facelift, if funding from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation materializes. Branding a neighborhood to attract more tourists BY Aline Reynolds The New York Travel Advisory Bureau just released a map of Manhattan in its effort to brand Lower Manhattan as the “CanDo” (Canal Street Down) district. The map will include graphics and text about museums, theaters and other Downtown recreational spots. L.E.S. single moms honored by health services program BY Aline Reynolds Thirty-three-year-old Annette Cruz has been hospitalized for asthma eight times since 2008. She got it from inhaling the fumes as she transported firefighters from Ground Zero to safety from on 9/11. Her three-year-old son, Ericsson, also has trouble breathing and other medical problems. Tribeca uneasy about the new next to the old By Aline Reynolds Contemporary architects refurbishing Tribeca buildings often struggle with introducing their contemporary designs to a primarily historic neighborhood. Advisory Council not happy with Black The battle over the chancellorship of the New York City School system took another turn last week, with a parent group submitting a resolution calling for a different appointee. Reformer, activist, journalist, Edward Gold is remembered By Lincoln Anderson With equal parts politics and good humor — both of which were his hallmarks — Community Board 2 elder statesman Ed Gold was memorialized at New York University’s School of Law’s Vanderbilt Hall on Washington Square South on Sunday. Latest trial changes Sheikh Mohammed debate BY Aline Reynolds London loves to co-opt our culture. Examples include food, music and of course television. Now, the tide has turned and we’re taking a page from their book when it comes to securing our streets. ARTS DOWNTOWN What’s Been Happening to Baby Jane? BY JERRY TALLMER Dexter sings with ‘terrifying lion-like power’ Rising Phoenix Repertory: Keepers of the Flame BY MARTIN DENTON Company champions work that’s ‘visceral, transformative, and unforgettable’ Just Do Art! Tribeca artist’s retrospective offers many “Sensations” BY SHANE McADAMS Color, as a form of energy, ‘stimulates our perceptual processes.’	Countdown until the 9/11 Memorial opens BY Joe Daniels When visitors enter the National September 11 Memorial and Museum offices, they pass by a large clock. A brand new Lower Manhattan BY Liz Berger Let’s make it official: This is not your father’s Wall Street! Possibly a watershed year for Lower Manhattan BY Julie Menin It’s been an extraordinary year for Community Board 1. Park protectors: Learning from the past BY Mark Costello In the past few weeks, the “town” that is Lower Manhattan paused to celebrate the work and life of two disparate men. The future looks bright for Hudson Square BY Jason D. Pizer We have weathered the harshest impact of the economic storm and the signs from our vantage point today point toward a more stable and prosperous tomorrow. Our schools downtown: Racing against time BY Tricia Joyce When asked to write this op-ed on our school situation post 9/11 in Lower Manhattan, I took a step back to look upon the neighborhood I moved to 20 years ago September and thought, “how could this happen here?” A City Councilmember’s first year on the job BY Margaret Chin I am writing this piece on November 1, the first day of my eleventh month serving as your Councilmember. Hometown pride and progress BY Sheldon Silver The future of Lower Manhattan has never looked brighter. Believe it or not, progress in Albany BY Daniel Squadron I know that many people will be surprised to read about Albany in the “Progress Report.” Canal Park Playhouse is open for business BY ALINE REYNOLDS Cabaret, clowning, acrobats comprise throwback aesthetic. A ‘Swan’ is Bourne BY SCOTT STIFFLER Return of radical rethink more than the sum of its male members. Reviewing Martin Denton BY BONNIE ROSENSTOCK Prolific nytheatre.com founder pioneered comprehensive coverage. Koch on Film By Ed Koch

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Volume 20, Number 48
The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan
November 24 - 30, 2010

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