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.
Signs of an uptick in the economy are showing. Rental vacancy rates in both Battery Park City and Tribeca/Soho are amongst the lowest in Manhattan. Battery Park City is shows only 1.04% vacancy rate while Tribeca shows half that at a o.52% vacancy rate — according to the Wall Street Journal. It should also be noted that the numbers for Tribeca also include a large section of the Soho area bordering the East Village boundaries.
The rates compiled from Citi-Habitats a real-estate brokerage the city wide vacancy rate was 1.23% of apartments in April were vacant which is a significant drop from April 2009 which was at 2.28%.
For those of us who live here, that’s fantastic news! For those who want to live here — the market is no longer on their side to find housing in our area.
The vacancy rate is inversely proportional to the job market. Lower rental vacancies indicate that there is strength in the job market.
One downside to a low vacancy rate in our area are longer lines at the grocery store. Still good news all around for the economy.
The fragments are smaller than a fingernail, but endless amounts of hope for the families of victims of September 11th still waiting to find identifying remains from their loved ones, nearly 9 years later.
48 instances of human bone have been found during reconstruction. The bone fragments were retrieved from otherwise inaccessible areas of the World Trade Center site.
Scientists at the Freshkills landfill have already started work to cross reference the remains with their DNA database.
As we all recognize, first responders of the September 11th attacks had sacrificed their lives, their healths and as some doctors have found — their sense of smell.
The sense of smell is important for a human’s first line of defense against chemical poisons or spoiled foods. Nearly 22 emergency responders, construction workers and other crewmen reported a loss of smell for more than two years after their exposure to the World Trade Center site. An astounding 74% were unable to recognize irritants through smell as reported by doctors at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.
If you’re thinking that this study might have been released a bit tardily, you are not incorrect. According to an article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “The findings could not be published until now, in the online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives, because it took until last year for the Mount Sinai people to extract personal histories for the over 100 subjects.” The studies indicate that there exists subsequent damage amongst the subjects olfactory nerves that may not be regained without nasal steroids and other treatments.
Like most longtime Battery Park City residents, there is a hole in our hearts where two towers used to be. It’s almost 9 years since the terrorist attacks occurred at the World Trade Center — we can’t help but be reminded that something terrible here happened when we pass the busloads of tourists and people hawking “Tragedy” books outside our door.
It has been previously announced of an initiative to build an Islamic mosque at 45 Park Avenue — the former site of the Burlington Coat Factory and merely 600 feet from the World Trade Center site.
Plans for the Cordoba House Mosque
The Mosque called the Cordoba House would be a 15 story Islmanic center which would include a mosque, performing arts center, meeting rooms and a recreational facility. According to its proponents, Daisy Kahn and her husbnd Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf members of the American Society of Muslim Advancement seek to “reverse the trend of extremism and the kind of ideology that extremists are spreading.”
A formal vote is scheduled to be heard tomorrow (May 25) before the Lower Manhattan Community Board. However, reaction to the plans for the Mosque have been mostly negative. Prompting action from September 11 Victim family members as well as creating websites and Facebook pages in protest of the mosque.
As of today, the Facebook page described as 1,000,000+ people who disapprove of building a mosque at Ground Zero! has over 72K members showing a strong solidarity against the initiative. There is also a dedicated website Nomosqueatwtc.com which is dedicated to highlighting their protest — as well as selling bumper stickers. The latter efforts are a bit suspicious … nevertheless a strong showing of anti-mosque sentiments.
How do you feel about it ? Do we have room in our hearts and in our home for Muslims in NYC to worship?
Apparently we really do know how to “Eat Good In the Neighborhood.” So much so, it seems that Applebee’s has closed for business in Battery Park City.
We have been careful to report the closing of this restaurant after our peek-a-boo experience with Ciao Bella, who had momentarily closed down in a rent dispute with Brookfield.
However, it seems that the Applebee’s is really gone for good as the location has been taken down from its official website.
We’ve put together some reasons as to why Applebee’s never had a chance:
1. There are way too many superior burger and wing restaurants in the area to choose over Applebee’s.
2. The location right smack next to our local New York Sports Club, made going into the Applebee’s a highly guilt ridden experience.
3. The food was just terrible. New Yorkers are naysayers of large food chains. (All except for IHOP. For the love of God will someone please open one of those in Manhattan?!)
We feel for Applebee’s closing down but now that Goldman Sach’s is in town — it will be interesting to watch what ends up in that space. There are murmurs of Shake Shack coming down this way. If that’s becomes a reality — things are about to taste a little bit better in this neck of the woods.
According to several sources in Riverhouse as well as numerous media outlets, Tyra Banks upon living in the neighborhood and is  calling Battery Park City home.
Banks has recently closed on four units at the Riverhouse, located in the northern section of the neighborhood, for a cool $10 million. In true diva style Banks has commenced on construction to merge all four units into a single home for herself.
The constant construction and banging has not gone over well for her new neighbors — leading to several noise complaints to the police, according to an item in New York Post’s Page Six.
In defense of the diva, Battery Park City has been nothing but the mecca of new construction for the last 9 years… what’s a little more banging going to affect us anyhow? Surely after the construction has hammered in its last nail, neighbors will begin to tout that they live in the same building as Tyra Banks or, better yet, Leonardo DiCaprio.
Either way, welcome to the neighborhood, Tyra! So long as you don’t shut down the entire Whole Foods to shop at your leisure, we at BatteryParkCity.com will be glad to see you around.
Brookfield Properties and Battery Park City in Dispute
It may be summer but things in the Winter Garden just got a little chilly.
According to recent reports, the Battery Park City Authority is seeking $4-$7 Million dollars from Brookfield Properties, owners of The World Financial Center.
The dispute is related to rent income received by Brookfield from one of their former and largest tenants Lehman Brothers, who decided to vacate and break their lease from One World Financial center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Although Brookfield Properties is the rightful landlord to any and all rent income within the 8 million-square-foot World Financial Center, a portion of all rents are to cover the land lease which is owned by the Battery Park City Authority.
The authority claims that although Brookfield received a lump sum from the broken lease, they did not report their earnings and instead spread out the money over the life of the original lease — spanning several financial statements.
The net effect of this move was an overall decrease in monies owed to the authority.
According to a quote from Sandy Altman, the Authority’s general counsel, “It was a big blow.”
As of now, the case between both Brookfield Properties and the Battery Park City Authority is currently awaiting the decision of a arbitration panel.
We’ll provide more information when it becomes available.
William Thompson is the current Chairman of the Battery Park City Authority
That which the governor giveth, the mayor can taketh away. At least that’s the case for the Battery Park City Authority, which is facing a potential takeover at the hands of New York City.
It’s only been a month since William Thompson was appointed as Chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, but his days are already numbered. Ironically, his fate is in the hands of the same man who took away his shot at being Mayor, Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
According to the New York Daily News, Thompson said, “It’s not like I’m getting paid a lot in this job. If that happens in the end, so be it.”
Battery Park City has recently been under the scrutiny of New York City’s comptroller John Liu to start determining whether a takeover of the neighborhood is a financially viable step for the city, after similar and recent acquisitions of both Brooklyn Bridge park and Governor’s Island…
Historically, the city has had the option to take over Battery Park City for a mere dollar. Yet, behind that dollar comes great fiscal responsibilities — including assuming the Authority’s $1-billion-dollar debt, as well as the burden of keeping up the same impeccable park maintenance and services (events, art installations, etc.) to which residents have become accustomed.
The decision ultimately lies solely in the hands of both the mayor and comptroller. Liu has been quoted in several news outlets saying that he takes this decision seriously and would want to hear from the residents of Battery Park City before making a decision.
Longtime Battery Park City advocate, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, was also quoted in the article saying, “I’m not for it. I’m not against it. I’m cautioning at this point.”
If anything, Thompson’s announcement that he’s taking a new corporate job hints that he’s hedging his bets. Although Thompson and Bloomberg have a history as political rivals, they’ve also collaborated in the past, working together as comptroller and mayor for several years. While the decision about the Battery Park City Authority’s fate is far from final, the outcome is something neighborhood residents and property owners need to monitor vigilantly.
The city is seeking to limit the amount of art vendors in public parks.
New York City officials have announced plans to limit the number of art vendors who sell their works in several Manhattan’s busiest parks.
The new rules proposed by the Mayor’s office designate that the number of vendors peddling art and other creative goods would decrease by nearly 80 percent.
Art vendors seem to be more of a problem in Union Square, the High Line Park and areas surrounding the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically by Central Park as well as in our own Battery Park. Art vendors have been known to line up around the main entrances of the park, and are often looked at as public nuisances who have been abusing free public space for commercial gain.
Vendors argue that the decreasing the landscape is against their constitutional right. Hearings have been scheduled for sometime next week.
How do you feel about the restrictions being made for public art vendors?
