For Food Network Fans, Centrico is a must visit location during New York Restaurant Week as it features a dinner menu from famous TV chef Aaron Sanchez — right in our neighborhood.
DINNER MENU SUMMER NEW YORK RESTAURANT WEEK $35.00
MENU DE LA CENA
FOUR COURSES
GUACAMOLE AND CHIPS
APPETIZERS:
CEVICHE DEL DIA
TAMAL DE HUITLACOCHE
masa flavored with corn truffles, saffron-aji amarillo sauce
CAMARONES Y POZOLE
sauteed shrimp, creamy guajillo, chile sauce, pozole
ENSALADA ALEX-CESAR CARDINI
the original
ENTREES:
POLLO A LAS BRASAS
grilled recado chicken, roasted garlic, lime and chipotle
PESCADO VERACRUZANA
pan roasted market fish, tomato, olives, serrano chiles
BIRRIA EN ESTILO JALISCO
braised short ribs jalisco style, ancho chile broth
Blue Smoke and Shake Shack coming to Battery Park City!
-=UPDATE =-
July 28, 2010 – Confirmation was made by Danny Meyer himself that Blue Smoke and Shake Shack are INDEED, opening in Battery Park City during tonight’s Community Board 1 Meeting.
Meaning — we probably will need that New York Sports Club back.
—————————————————————————————————
I don’t know about you, but on more than one occasion, my friends and I have been guilty of venturing to Citi Field for a “Shake Shack / Blue Smoke Dinner Combo.”
I am happy to report that the journey for one of my favorite dinners of all time soon won’t require taking the 7 train.
It’s being widely reported by NY Mag’s Grub Street and others that Blue Smoke has been confirmed as one of the restaurants replacing the recently-shuttered Applebee’s and Chevy’s. Well done Goldman Sachs — we had our doubts — but it seems you’ve done the neighborhood a culinary favor!
We have been discussing the rumblings of Shake Shack for months, but news of this pairing would be an encore presentation of what every Met fan or visitor to Citi Field already knows is a great collaboration in one’s belly.
Along with newcomers BLT Burger at the W, Five Guys on Fulton and our summer visitor Quality Burger — our neighborhood is poised to be quite a burger and BBQ paradise.
We just didn’t know the first politician would be Rick Lazio.
Riding on the heels of a report that more than half of all New York voters oppose the building of the Cordoba Initiative mosque, the Republican gubernatorial candidate has openly challenged his Democratic opponent and current Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate.
According to Lazio, “New Yorkers have a right to feel safe and be safe. There are serious security questions about the appropriateness of this mosque.”
In his formal request, Lazio asserts that an investigation must be made into the backgrounds of both the Imam in charge of construction as well as its questionable funding.
Here is the complete letter to Attorney General Cuomo which was posted on Lazio’s official website:
July 7, 2010
The Honorable Andrew Cuomo
Office of the Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341
Dear Attorney General Cuomo,
I am writing on behalf of the people of New York who share my concerns for their personal security and safety with respect to the construction of the Cordoba Mosque in lower Manhattan. Recent press reports have highlighted the following troublesome issues:
• The Imam in charge of the construction refused to acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist organization. (New York Post, 6/19/10)
• The Imam of the project is a “key figure†of Perdana Global, the single largest funder of the flotilla that tried to break the blockade of Gaza by Israeli defense forces. (New York Post, 6/5/10)
• The questionable background of the funding sources for the construction of the Mosque. (New York Post, 5/25/10)
Given that the Cordoba Initiative is a legally registered charitable organization with the New York Attorney General’s Office, my fellow New Yorkers and I are asking you to immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the previous items highlighted by the media with respect to the construction of this Mosque in lower Manhattan. The people have the right to know if this “charity†is using its resources in a legitimate, legal, and charitable way.
New Yorkers were shocked and appalled at the silence of our state law enforcement officials when the Obama Administration decided to stage a civilian trial of admitted terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in lower Manhattan. We hope that we can depend on our state officials for more competent leadership with respect to this extremely sensitive matter.
I and the people of New York await your rapid and full response.
Sincerely,
Rick Lazio
The cornerstone has not be laid out and it seems we’ve got a long road of controversy before any prayers begin. How do you feel about the allegations and the building of the Cordoba Initiative?
Condo sales rise citywide except in Financial District.
Condominium sales have climbed throughout all of Manhattan except in the Financial District, according to Radar Logic, the company that runs the RPX index which calculates condo sales. The RPX index measures 8 separate neighborhoods in Manhattan and reported that prices declined in five out of eight Manhattan neighborhoods, with our neighborhood accounting for the steepest drop in both sales and price per square foot.
In April, Manhattan condo sales had seen a stark rise to 383 units — 246 units over last years figures. However, compared with March numbers, April condo sales were up 20%.
An increase in condo sales is usually good news –except the overal price per square foot was down 6.9% year over year. Our neighborhood which is included with condominiums located in the financial district had reported an average price per square foot drop of nearly 16.% percent  — at approximately $869.21 per square foot. Whereas Murray Hill/Gramercy Park reported the biggest gain, with a 6.4% to $1,014.04 per square foot.
The decrease in square foot value is due to the amount of inventory in and around our area — with developers pricing units to sell. According to the report, “The principal problem facing the housing markets is one of oversupply — at the current levels of demand it will take years to absorb unsold inventory.”
Hello Goldman! Goodbye New York Sports Club and others
We have Goldman Sachs to thank for using the Independence Day weekend to free us from the conveniences of our local gym and other stores some Battery Park City residents have grown to love.
Our newest corporate neighbor and owner of 102 North End Avenue has not offered renewal leases for some local restaurants and businesses including Applebees, New York Sports Club, Pizzabola, and Chevy’s among others. The landlord is cleaning house and also shuttering the Embassy Suites hotel to make way for The Conrad, a luxury Hilton Hotel brand.
The introduction of this new hotel will also lead the way for new restaurants and retail stores. While some are glad to see a change for more upscale dining options in our neighborhood, others — including committee members of Community Board #1 — decry it, saying it doesn’t serve the mixed income interests of the community. Whether we love these places are not is still yet to be seen. One thing is for certain — the sudden lack of services and possible construction impediments will affect our neighborhood almost immediately.
Although there isn’t much that residents can do to about the end of Chevy’s and Applebees beyond renting a car and heading to the ‘burbs, one of the most immediate pitfalls in this “landscape transition” is losing the New York Sports Club. Although several of our buildings have our own gyms — the NYSC was still the neighborhood’s largest and most robust fitness center. Leaving newly orphaned NYSC members with the question: “Where do we go now?!”
Some official answers have been left for local residents on the Town Sports, Inc. website:
“All Battery Park City members now have Passport privileges allowing unlimited access to all clubs across the Sports Clubs Networks.” Whether or not you have subscribed as a passport member before.
Other New York Sports Clubs within walking distance of Battery Park City are:
NYSC Tribeca at Reade Street
151 Reade Street
NYSC City Hall
217 Broadway
NYSC Wall Street
30 Wall Street
For anyone who has specific questions towards their membership, New York Sports Club is requesting you call BPC’s NYSC management team at (212) 945-3535.
Although this is a short term solution for patrons of the BPC’s NYSC, one cannot help but feel a bit helpless. Goldman Sachs has always had powerful control over our local restaurants and services, which affect the overall landscape of our neighborhood. As long as they are mindful of residential needs — it will be nice to see some fresh retail and restaurant blood in the neighborhood. Especially if it remotely involves a Shake Shack.
Liberty Court residents complain of sand in their face.
First an injury on the new and quickly beloved Tire Swing Park had the neighborhood up in arms. Now it’s a wind tunnel of sand being thrown in the faces of Liberty Court terraces at 200 Rector Place, say residents of the building.
According to a report in the Under Cover section of the Downtown Express, the injuries of wind swept sand onto residential balconies have resulted in torn corneas and will inevitably lead to property damages for those apartments facing the newly constructed playground.
In an email sent to Community Board 1,
“About half a cup a day is flying onto the balconies — more comes in through windows, landing of course on everything inside. This includes into peoples’ eyes and into bedding and foodstuffs.â€
Residents of this building have threatened to take action against the sand issue and have aired their grievances with both the New York State Department of Transportation and the Battery Park City Authority Conservancy, who had partnered together to build the new playground.
Liberty Court or 200 Rector Place has had a tough break with the playground area. The area had been previously used as evidence holding post 9/11 and was an area enduring the demolition and construction of the Rector Street bridge and Route 9W construction.
Are you a resident in this building that can speak more to this issue? Let us know if this issue has affected you.
