WTC gets its first hotel (photo courtesy of WorldCenterHotel.com).
As of today, Ground Zero has its first hotel.
The World Center Hotel, which had already begun construction when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks hit, is finally, officially open for business on Washington Street on the southern tip of the World Trade Center rectangle.
So what is the hotel like? For starters, it boasts unimpeded views of the Ground Zero construction, including the Freedom Tower and the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, as well as breathtaking views of the Hudson River, the Manhattan skyline and the surprisingly beautiful New Jersey skyline (yes, you read that correctly). And for the weary traveler looking to drink in these views and a few tasty beverages, the World Center Hotel also has its own bar, the View of the World Terrace Pub, located on the top floor.
Pretty soon, BPC residents may be able to buy fruits and vegetables so fresh they make the stuff at Whole Foods look the stuff from Gristedes (not that there’s anything wrong with Gristedes produce).
Yes, folks, Battery Park City just might be getting its own green market in the not-too-distant future. Michael Hurwitz, director of Grow NYC’s Greenmarket, recently met with Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee to discuss the prospect, and the committee was overwhelmingly supportive of his idea.
There is currently a green market in Zuccotti Park on Tuesday and Thursday, and Hurwitz proposed moving the Thursday night green market to a much bigger location in front of 2World Financial Center. The new area would allow for 15 to 20 tents for farmers to sell their delicious produce, while the Zuccotti location only provides room for seven tents. The committee ate up the idea like so many freshly picked tomatoes. So why hasn’t said market come to, um, fruition?
In a word: parking. The farmers need somewhere to park, sometimes for up to 10 hours a day. And as anyone who’s ever set foot in New York knows, parking here comes at a premium. Hurwitz tells Downtown Express, “Parking is crucial. If there wasn’t a parking consideration, then we’d start next week.”
But don’t fret. Hurwitz and some Committee members think they may have found somewhere for the farmers’ trucks to park on Liberty Street and South Street, where parking normally is not allowed. Assuming this solution gets enough support, the Thursday green market could become a reality as soon as next month. And, if that succeeds, a Saturday market could get a Green thumbs up very, very soon.
It’s with open arms that I welcome you into BatteryParkCity.com! It had been years in the dreaming, and months in the making but the site is finally here! We encourage you to visit the site where we promise to bring you Battery Park City “made fresh daily.” To get to know the site, is to get to know a little bit about me and the rest of us who contribute to BatteryParkCity.com.
I have lived and grown up in Battery Park City since since 1985. For the little girl in me, the World Financial Center was my playground. The system of bridges and tall skyscrapers to a young girl in the 80’s felt like a fortress of strength. Indestructable and protective. Battery Park City’s esplanade was where I sold my first cup of lemonade, I had my first kiss, the path on which I rollerbladed to Stuyvesant High School, where I had my first job at Foxhounds. It’s the backdrop of both my prom picture, my wedding photo, and when my heart broke forever on that fateful September day.
Battery Park City has slowly but steadily rebuilt itself. I’ve seen families stay, I’ve seen families leave. I’ve watched businesses succeed and great businesses die because people in our neighborhood had no idea what was beyond the subway stop. Â There is something about this neighborhood unlike any other in the city. For the great spirit we have here, I wanted to create a gift for the community. A place where we could all connect, learn, and keep in touch with the things that are going on in Battery Park City — online. For us who own homes, we’ve grown increasingly concerned with the real estate market as it affects our investments here. At times we feel like outsiders wondering what is happening at Ground Zero. Sometimes we just want to reach out to our neighbors and let them know we’ve got an extraordinary dining room table that needs a good home. Whatever the reason is, the focus of this site is to connect with one another… and it’s our goal to help achieve that! 🙂
The site is maintained and written by a handful of residents who both live and work in the area. I encourage others to drop us a note if you’d like to join as a contributor! Send us an email at [email protected].
So I welcome you again to BatteryParkCity.com. As much as it’s our site, it’s your site too. We openly welcome suggestions, comments and criticisms. (Just punch with kid gloves on the latter!)
Rumblings of a Shake Shack, but Five Guys will be here first.
With the closing of Applebee’s this year, there has been a lot of speculation as to what new businesses will take over the newly and increasingly vacated spaces in the shadow of the new Goldman Sachs building.
Many have gone out on a limb to say that Danny Meyer of Shake Shack fame is setting his eyes on a downtown location. This would be great if confirmation of the move wasn’t veiled in so much secrecy. NYÂ Eater has had it’s hand on the pulse of this alleged burger movement Downtown. Not to be overdone with the burgers, BLT is planning on opening their own Bar and Grill within The W this summer as well.
With all the hoopla surrounding the burger joint’s new arrival — I’m wondering why no one is touting another reputable burger institution, also setting it’s roots by our neighborhood.
Five Guys is set to open up on Fulton street shortly — which is a way more exciting newcomer for the following reasons:
1. Tourists + Lines for burgers = Hell.
Can you imagine the ruckus that the lines for Shake Shack would be like? For the fact that Shake Shack’s official website highlights waiting on line as part of the burger experience is sort of off putting. Why not show juicy burgers first?!
2. Five Guys has better fries.
Hands down. Plus the cost of a burger and fries from Five Guys would be half as much as a burger at PJ Clarke’s which requires us to BYOF* or else be left with a lonely hamburger.
3. Unlimited Toppings.
The topic choices at Five Guys is way more impressive than Shake Shack.
4. Â Free peanuts.
Hey, in this crazy economy — if a burger joint is going to make you wait for a burger, being on a line won’t be the the only reward at Five Guys. Free peanuts for all who can ingest them.
To be fair — Shake Shack has ridiculously good custard, not sure I would welcome the lines, traffic and hoopla into our neighborhood for it. I was always glad to know that craziness existed far away from home. If the rumor becomes fact, we’ll just have to wait and see what the net effect will be.
The Hudson, an eco-friendly prefabricated home developed by Country Living Magazine in conjunction with design-building company New World Home, will be on display at the World Financial Center (quite appropriately, on the banks of the Hudson River) from June 4 through June 17… before moving on to its permanent address in Vernon, New Jersey.
Constructed in a factory in just 100 days, the two-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot country cottage boasts fireplaces, gargantuan windows, a 1,100-square-foot wraparound porch, and a stylish and “green” interior decoration courtesy of New York designer Katie Ridder. Comprised of six modular pieces, it’s also super easy to put together — assuming you own a 100-ton crane.
Whew! You do not want to go in there! (photo courtesy of hudsoncity.net)
To our knowledge, the PATH trains at World Trade Center are not capable of flatulence. But that certainly didn’t stop the station from reeking of gas this morning.
Four worker had to be treated for minor injuries when smoke from the welding they were doing triggered an automatic fire extinguisher in the station’s signal room, releasing halon gas into the station. The Fire Department of New York, which was on the scene to investigate, told The New York Times that none of the injuries were serious and may have occurred in the workers’ scramble to flee the scene.
BNY Mellon wants to say bye-bye to Wall St. (photo courtesy of Associated Press)
Anyone in the market for a giant office building with the prestigious address of 1 Wall Street? If so, you may be in luck.
The Bank of New York Mellon is looking to sell its headquarters, a 52-story limestone edifice on the corner of Broadway and Wall Street, and head for greener pastures. Bank spokesman Jeep Bryant tells Bloomberg Businessweek that BNY Mellon sent a request to New York landlords for about 450,000 square feet of space, and is seeking an office that is more in line with the corporation’s needs. “We are looking for improved client meeting space and something that can accommodate state-of-the-art technology,” he says.
With the uncertainty of last year’s credit concerns in the rear-view, BNY Mellon joins fellow banks Morgan Stanley and UBS AG in the hunt for office-space upgrades. And it seems banks are not alone in their optimism that the economy is turning around. According to broker CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., tenants had signed leases for 6.75 million square feet of office space through the first four months of this year… almost double the amount for the same period in 2009. In addition, commercial property sales are picking up, having tripled in the first quarter alone.
So, yeah, BNY Mellon’s decision to move on from 1 Wall Street sounds like a solid one… and (hopefully) an omen that the economy is moving on as well.
Kids are hungry for knowledge about hunger epidemics.
In the battle against global hunger, it never hurts to have some young blood on your side… and the Action Center to End World Hunger, the educational and global engagement arm of Mercy Corps, is well aware of this fact.
Downtown Express reports that since opening offices in Lower Manhattan in 2008, the Center has forged strong partnerships with P.S. 89, the Little Red School House and Elisabeth Erwin High School, and Stuyvesant High School, holding educational workshops for the students and encouraging them to take a more active role in the ongoing quest to end crippling food shortages.
Riverhouse tenants want a double serving of green.
Condo owners in Battery Park City’s high-end Riverhouse building have filed a lawsuit seeking a whole lot of green — $1.5 million worth, to be exact — because they contend their supposedly eco-friendly building isn’t environmentally friendly enough.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Steven Gidumal and Allison Keeley — who paid $4.2 million for their three-bedroom, three-bath condo in 2008 –Â filed a complaint with the New York Supreme Court in May, claiming that the building was “marketed as being on the cutting edge of ‘green’ technology” but failed to deliver an acceptably eco-friendly air filtration system and heating unit.
The Sheldrake Organization, which oversaw development of the building until it was ousted in a power struggle in January, and Centurion Real Estate Partners, which currently controls Riverhouse, are named as defendants in the suit. However, Michael Abreu, a Sheldrake executive vice president, claims the suit is groundless. The “complaint about the lack of heat has no bearing on the green and sustainable features of the building,” he says.
Despite the lawsuit, Riverhouse is still seeking to obtain LEED gold certification, the second highest of four levels of eco-friendliness, from the U.S. Green Building Council. Winning such a stamp of approval requires meeting an array of environmental standards, including energy efficiency and air quality, and would certainly make the building more attractive to buyers. Not that it needs much help in that department: Leonard DiCaprio and Tyra Banks are already tenants.
Lady Liberty and Castle Clinton dominate national-monument rankings.
Reason No. 2,912 that Battery Park City rules: Turns out the two most popular national monuments in the entire United States are right in BPC’s backyard.
According to data collected by the National Park Service and revealed by the Chicago Tribune, Castle Clinton and the Statue of Liberty were the most popular national-monument destinations in 2009 — yes, even beating out that ridiculously gargantuan ball of twine in Cawker City, Kansas, which, upon further research (and a quick check of our common sense), isn’t a national monument after all.
