Category Archives: News

One World Trade Center

1 World Trade Center Reaches Midway Point

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One World Trade Center
One World Trade Center is in the works.

Let’s take a moment to celebrate a major milestone. The Associated Press reports that the steel construction of 1 World Trade Center – formerly the Freedom Tower – has reached the midway point. Many New Yorkers felt that the only salve that would heal the wounds of September 11 would be the day that the ground was broken. Now, the fact that the 1 World Trade Center site has reached the halfway point helps to soothe the scar just a little bit more.

The building is expected to be comprised of 104 stories and it reached the 52nd story mark on Thursday, rising 600 feet into the sky despite years of developmental delays. With its antenna, the building will rise to 1776 feet, making it the tallest structure in the city’s storied skyline.

Despite rechristening the building to “1 World Trade Center” in a bid to lure corporate tenants, locals still refer to the site as the “Freedom Tower.”

How does the news that 1 World Trade Center is halfway done make you feel?

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at World Trade Center

Church at WTC Site Faces Engineering Problems

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St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at World Trade Center
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church destroyed on 9/11 (Photo by Grisha Ressetar. Copyright 2001)

More drama abounds at Ground Zero. The Greek Archdiocese of New York is at odds with the Port Authority over its promise to rebuild St. Nicholas Church. The church, initially located at 155 Cedar Street, was destroyed by the World Trade Center debris; the new location would be 130 Liberty Street, which was once the location of the Deutsche Bank building. Despite the haggling over funds and deal points, more problems –this time of the engineering sort- have arisen. The New York Post reports that the steel that the Port Authority ordered for the Vehicle Screening Center that would be located beneath the church is unable to support the structure the Archdiocese wants to build, making it structurally unsound.

The VSC is a security-clearance facility for delivery trucks and will provide service to buildings at the WTC site. A lawyer for the Archdiocese argued that the PA’s claims about the steel is another stalling tactic, but an engineering source said that a redesign and ordering replacement steel would costs millions and further delays.

The Port Authority and the church have been battling over the rebuilding process, with the PA accusing the church of making escalating and unreasonable demands, while the church has said the PA is misappropriating the land and interfering with their rights.

Will this church ever be rebuilt in a fashion that suits both sides?

Slated World Trade Center Graphic

4 World Trade Center Site May Be Delayed

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Slated World Trade Center Graphic
Proposed World Trade Center Site (Courtesy: Renewnyc.com)

The World Trade Center site defies the current climate and is one of the hottest pieces of real estate in New York City, but the construction of 4 World Trade Center, which is a part of the project, maybe be put on ice due to bond issues. Developer Larry Silverstein is set to issue a $1.3 billion bond package to finance the continued construction of 4 World Trade Center, which is a 64-story office tower at the site’s southeast corner.

4 WTC is set to open in 2013, a date that may or may not be in jeopardy due to fluctuation in the municipal bond markets and the fact that Silverstein and the Port Authority may delay issuing those bonds as a result of market conditions.

“Silverstein Properties and the Port Authority have elected to temporarily delay pricing of the Liberty Bonds,” the developer’s statement said. “It is better to wait until the bond market has stabilized to the point that our Liberty Bonds could be priced based on the strength of our project and the high credit ratings it has received, rather than on the external factors now roiling the markets.”

Translation: They are waiting and seeing.

Will the former site of the Twin Towers ever be fully finished?

Christmas Trees Past

MulchFest to Help New Yorkers Get Rid of Post-Holiday Waste

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Christmas Trees Past
(Photo: Flickr @CocteauBoy)

You may be enjoying your festive holiday tree right now, but what about early January, when it’s shedding needles, wilting and taking up space? Well, The Alliance for Downtown New York will help cure the post-holiday headache of dealing with the disposal of your tree after it has served its purpose! But that’s not all. You can recycle other unwanted electronic goods, too, as part of the MulchFest and Electronic Waste Recycling event.

The event is scheduled for January 8th at Bowling Green Park. You can get rid of your tree between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM; recycling of unwanted electronics is open from 10 AM to 4 PM.

Hot apple cider and light snacks will be served, and New York City Department of Sanitation mascots will be on site, too.

For more information about MulchFest and Electronic Waste Recycling, call 212.835.2789 or visit here.

Will you let MulchFest collect your holiday tree on January 8?

New Italian-American Museum Being Eyed For Pier A

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Pier A
Pier A could become the new home of an Italian-American museum

The New York Times reports that third-generation Italian-American resident Joseph J. Grano, Jr., who was a financier of Jersey Boys, is hoping to develop a new Italian-American museum to serve as the main attraction at Pier A, the 124-year-old Victorian pier that lives at the northern edge of Battery Park City and is controlled by the Battery Park City Authority. The pier is currently under construction.

Grano’s plans are grand – he hopes to position a Roman chariot and a Ferrari at the entrance to demonstrate artistic and technological progress. He also has plans for an exhibit that focuses on Italian artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, as well as composers like Puccini. Furthermore, Grano would like to construct an amphitheater for presentations for visiting students.

Grano also said he has potential investors willing to contribute funding for his proposal.

This $25 million proposal isn’t the only one being considered by the Battery Park City Authority. The organization will make its choice among this and three other proposals sometime next year.

Would you visit an Italian-American museum at the pier?

Clearing the East Bathtub (Detail) by Marcus Robinson

Artist Documents World Trade Center Rebuilding Without Words

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Clearing the East Bathtub (Detail) by Marcus Robinson
Clearing the East Bathtub (Detail) by Marcus Robinson (marcusrobinsonart.com)

Artisan and filmmaker Marcus Robinson, a native of Ireland, has been documenting the World Trade Center site rebuild through his “Rebuilding the World Trade Center” installation, which is a series of artistic works, ranging from paintings to drawings to short films. Robinson purposely chose to create a body of work that could not be restrained by language and cultural barriers and therefore elected to demonstrate the events that took place on the site. Robinson has self-funded his project, with some financial help from Silverstein Properties.

DNAInfo reports that Robinson, 51, moved to TriBeCa to be closer to the site. “It’s about the passing of time and the whole idea of transformation,” he said. He began working on the project in 2006, when the first foundation at One World Trade Center was laid down.

To date, the project hosts 40 paintings and 70 drawings and is only scratching the surface of its potential. Robinson hopes to one day craft a film that combines video footage of the events along with his artwork, juxtaposing the physical world with the envisioned one. He won’t show his work or release a film until construction on the site is finished, which will take years. Robinson, however, is committed to seeing this project through to completion at all costs.

Robinson, who has a background in architectural photography and documentary filmmaking, works on his paintings at the World Trade Center site itself, as well as on the 48th floor of 7 World Trade Center, which has spectacular views of the harbor and Midtown. He captures the workers as they do their thing and placed time-lapse cameras around the site. His work is abstract, capturing shapes and colors as opposed to concrete imagery.

Are you interested in seeing the end result of Robinson’s work?

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at World Trade Center

Church Destroyed During 9/11 Taking Legal Action

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St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at World Trade Center
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church destroyed on 9/11

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and leaders of St. Nicholas Church, a Greek Orthodox Church that has roots stemming back to 1916 and that was destroyed by falling debris after the Twin Towers were attacked, have begun legal action by filing a claim against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The leaders are demanding that the church be rebuilt under the terms of a deal that was worked out several years ago but that the PA has since reneged on.

The claim is hefty, as it accuses the PA, which oversees the rebuilding process at Ground Zero, of engaging in “arrogance, bad faith and fraudulent conduct,” as well as “shabby and unlawful treatment.”

Initially, in 2008, the PA agreed to help rebuild the church, originally located on Cedar Street, in a new but nearby location on Liberty Street. The PA also agreed to contribute $20 million to the project. The deal fell through in March when the PA accused the church leaders of making excessive demands; the church countered that the organization backed out of the deal.

The church’s claim also references several civil rights and constitutional violations, accusing the PA of interfering with its right to freely practice religion and of defaming the church, as well. The church seeks to compel the PA to follow through on their binding preliminary agreement. “Filing a lawsuit is not something that we really want to do,” said the Rev. Mark Arey, a spokesman for the church. “We have come to this point because we have been ignored and bullied.”

In addition to the Port Authority, the claim also names the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. as a potential defendant.

Should the Port Authority be beholden to the old terms? Does the church’s suit sound like it has merit?

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral

St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral Designated a Basilica

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St. Patrick's Old Cathedral
St. Patrick's Old Cathedral (Photo: oldcathedral.org)

St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan has the distinction of being the Big Apple’s first Roman Catholic cathedral and the 200-year-old church was just given a status upgrade! It has been designated a basilica, reports The Associated Press. Archbishop Timothy Dolan “christened” the church with basilica status on Sunday; Pope Benedict XVI approved the designation.

The church, which was erected between 1809 and 1815, was the seat of the Archdiocese of New York until the larger (and more famous) St. Patrick’s cathedral was established in midtown. The church has a rich, storied history of sheltering orphans and providing a ministry to immigrants. In case you are wondering, a basilica has a ceremonial privilege and is recognizes as honorific for its works.

Does this church’s new status as a ‘basilica’ make you want to visit and attend mass there?

One Police Plaza

NYPD Lauded For Human Treatment Towards Mice

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One Police Plaza
One Police Plaza is fighting a mice infestation (Photo: Flickr @Checco)

Reuters reports that the New York Police Department, which is dealing with an infestation of mice at its lower Manhattan headquarters at 1 Police Plaza, is the recipient of both praise and a “compassion award” from animal rights organization PETA (People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals), thanks to the humane methods the PD employs when battling an outbreak of rodents.

The NYPD has replaced glue traps, which kill mice slowly and in a cruel fashion as they struggle to escape, with fast, efficient devices that snap their necks and kill them instantly. The PD elected to use the new traps after PETA appealed directly to Commissioner Ray Kelly to use something fast if a lethal method is the only choice in solving the problem. Spokesman Paul Browne said, “We found other alternatives that would dispatch them more humanely.”

What do you think of the NYPD’s decision to take advice from PETA in dealing with rodent infestation?

Battery Park City Authority’s Audit Process Under Scrutiny

News, Politics

DNA Info reports that the Battery Park City Authority is reviewing its internal audit process thanks to a report that indicated over $300,000 in funds had been misappropriated on extravagances such as parties, lunches and chauffeurs. The BPCA earns profits in the tens of millions of dollars per year while managing debt that numbers around $1 billion.

Internal auditors Roy Villafane, who has since retired, and the still-employed Lisa Miller were criticized in a state Inspector General report for their sloppy bookkeeping; for example, they did not document a car and driver service utilized by former BPCA chairman James Gill.

An Audit Committee meeting was held on Wednesday, which was the first since the report was released, to discuss the matter. Miller is temporarily filling the auditor role but other board members agreed a dedicated auditor is necessary to ensure a smoother work flow and management of funds. A new policy is being formulated, with the possibility of an external company being brought on to conduct the audits.

The next Audit Committee meeting is slated for January.

What should the BPCA do to rectify the problem with their audit function?