October 9, 2009 Downtown Express

Downtown Express photo by Julie Shapiro

Southbridge’s senior male poker players including Joe Scelso, far left and Russell Torraco, center (in white shortsleeves), are mostly in favor of leaving the Mitchell-Lama middle class housing program to take full ownershipof their apartments. The women’s group, however, is split on the issue so the ladies avoid the topic when theyshufﬂe up and deal.

BY JULIE SHAPIRO

Work on the Fulton St.Transit Center is rampingup, and Downtown resi-dents and commuters arestarting to feel the effects. Weekend service outageswill start soon on the A/Cline, blue plywood barriershave popped up on plat-forms and one entrance tothe 2/3 recently closed.“It’s really congested,especially at lunchtime,”said Rose Zolaazo, 57, asshe navigated the narrowed2/3 entrance at Fulton and William Sts. during rushhour this week.The payoff for severalyears of inconveniences willcome in 2014, when theMetropolitan TransportationAuthority plans to open the$1.4 billion transit center,linking 12 subway lines andthe World Trade CenterPATH trains beneath a glass-domed station. The projecthas faced numerous delays,but a $424 million infusionof federal stimulus cash liftedthe plans out of limbo earlierthis year, and now the M.T.A.says the project is meeting itsnew schedule.In fact, some pieces of the project, such as thefoundation work, are aheadof schedule, said Uday Durg,the project manager. But,Durg quickly added, “I don’twant to jinx it.”Durg described recentprogress and upcominggoals to Community Board1’s World Trade CenterRedevelopment CommitteeMonday night. The news thatmost pleased the commit-tee was that the northboundplatform of the Cortlandt St.R/W train will open soon.“There is no doubt inmy mind today that we willopen it in December 2009,”Durg said.The entire Cortlandt St.station has been closed since2005 (at the time it wassupposed to reopen in 6–9 months), and the south-bound platform won’t openuntil the 10-year anniversary

Subway work tightens the squeeze on Fulton

BY JULIE SHAPIRO

Over poker games and at the gro-cery store, Southbridge Towers resi-dents are debating one of the biggestfinancial decisions of their lives.The question is whetherSouthbridge’s 3,500 occupants shouldleave the state’s Mitchell-Lama afford-ability program, giving residents thechance to sell their co-op apartmentsat market rate, likely for hundreds of thousands of dollars.The debate has been going on formany years, and a final vote is at leastseveral months away, but the discussionis heating up now as residents review anew document that details their options.Called a “red herring,” the 605-pagereport explains exactly what residentsstand to gain or lose if the building goesprivate. In a vote that will likely comenext year, two-thirds of the 1,651 apart-ments would have to support privatiza-tion for it to take effect.The decision is dividing friends andneighbors, and many Southbridge resi-dents did not want to talk about it orbe quoted, for fear of angering theiracquaintances. In Southbridge’s com-munity room on a recent afternoon, agroup of senior women playing pokersaid raising the topic would ruin theirgame because they did not all agree.“One side calls the other side stu-pid, and the other side calls the oneside crazy,” a white-haired woman said.“Either you’re crazy or you’re stupid.No thank you.”The men playing seven-card stud atan adjacent table were much chattier— perhaps because they were all of thesame mind.“We’re all for it,” said 80-year-oldRussell Torraco. “There’s no reasonnot to be.”Some of the poker players had livedin Southbridge since the complex of brick towers opened in the 1970s. Theywere impervious to the arguments of those who oppose privatization, whowarn of additional taxes that will bur-den the residents.Joe Scelso, 81, said that even if hismaintenance charges go up becauseof higher taxes, the benefit of owningManhattan real estate without puttingany more money down far outweighsany short-term costs. Also, he pointed

A gamble or a sure thing?

Southbridge considers privatization

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VOLUME 22, NUMBER 22 THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN

OCTOBER 9 - 15, 2009

New Tire Park

Tire Swing Park will get a new tire with the old redesign.

PAGE 10

Asian Fest is stagin’, p. 23

October 9 - 15, 2009

2

downtown express

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LIBRARY

Celebrity stalkers wondering what

Leonardo DiCarpio

reads (or if he reads at all?) could soon have ample oppor-tunities to ﬁnd out: An opening month has been set forthe branch of the New York Public Library in Battery ParkCity’s Riverhouse condo building, where DiCarpio owns anapartment.The 10,000-square-foot, $6.6 million library will open inMarch,

George Mihaltses

, an N.Y.P.L. vice president, toldan elated group of Community Board 1 members Tuesdaynight. The 92nd branch of the New York Public Library willbe the ﬁrst environmentally friendly one in the system, witha Gold LEED rating. The branch was funded by GoldmanSachs, Councilmember

Alan Gerson

and others, and hasgone through its fair share of delays and budget disputes, butall the necessary pieces now appear to be in place. While Mihaltses praised Gerson for ensuring that theCouncil funded the project and for recently earmarkinganother $300,000 to buy books,

Linda Belfer

, chairpersonof C.B. 1’s B.P.C. Committee, pointed out that Gerson is notgoing to be councilmember for much longer. Belfer askedMihaltses if he had reached out to

Margaret Chin

, whodefeated Gerson in the Democratic primary last month, butMihaltses said it would be a bit premature, because the gen-eral election (which Chin is virtually guaranteed to win) hasnot yet taken place.“As soon as she’s ofﬁcially elected, we will reach out,”Mihaltses said.

C

OMING

SOON

A low-key tavern is coming to Battery Park City later thisyear from the owners of SouthWest, the Merchants cafe andPound & Pence.The as-yet-unnamed bar will take the former Market Barspace at 250 Vesey St., or Four World Financial Center andwill open around Dec. 15. The 1,000-square-foot space doesnot allow for cooking, so fare will be limited to cold appetiz-ers and sandwiches.

Richard Cohn

, vice president of Merchants Hospitality,envisions a warm, inexpensive venue for neighbors and thesoon-to-arrive Goldman Sachs workers who want somethingmore intimate than the W.F.C.’s larger, noisier establishments.Several members of Community Board 1’s B.P.C.Committee, who approved the liquor license Tuesday night,said the predecessor Market Bar, which never reopened after9/11, was not very popular, and questioned whether the newbar could thrive.Cohn didn’t sound worried.“When we open it, it’s going to become popular now,”he said.

N

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STAMPEDE

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Battery Park City gadﬂy

Tom Goodkind

, who coined“Patakistan” for the much-derided neighborhood walkwaynear West St. favored by former Gov.

George Pataki

, nowhas a new name for North Battery Park City: “Elephant.”The animal is the rough phonetic pronunciation of L.F.N.T.,or the landﬁll near Tribeca.

D

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HANCE

Over the past six months,

John White

has become afamiliar face at Assembly Speaker

Shelly Silver

’s meetingson school overcrowding, as he calmly explains the Dept.of Education’s policies as head of the D.O.E.’s Ofﬁce of Portfolio Planning.But White won’t be going to Silver’s meetings anymore,because he was recently promoted to interim acting deputychancellor for strategy and innovation, a job that doesnot involve controversial school zoning decisions. Whitereplaces

Chris Cerf

, who stepped down to help Mayor

MikeBloomberg

with his reelection campaign.

Will Havemann

, spokesperson for the D.O.E., said Whitemay stop by one last overcrowding meeting to say goodbye.Havemann did not know who would report to Silver’s task-force in White’s place.

C

HINESE

HOTLINE

State Sen.

Daniel Squadron

launched his district’s ﬁrstChinese language hotline this week with a live demonstra-tion. The number is 917-254-3138 and the hotline is openMonday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Spread the word,bilingual UnderCover readers!

NEWS

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EDITORIAL PAGES

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YOUTH

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ARTS

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C.B. 1

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EETINGS

The upcoming week’s schedule of CommunityBoard 1 committee meetings is below. Unless other-wise noted, all committee meetings are held at theboard ofﬁce, located at 49-51 Chambers St., room709 at 6 p.m.

ON THURS., OCT 8:

The Landmarks Committeewill meet.

ON TUES., OCT. 13:

The Seaport/Civic CenterCommittee will meet.

ON WED., OCT. 14:

The Tribeca Committee willmeet.

ON THURS., OCT. 15:

The Quality of LifeCommittee will meet.

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Corrections

Our article last week about a new study of the GreenwichSt. South area by the Downtown Alliance, (“Architects takenew crack at remaking Greenwich St. South”) printed anincorrect address for the Web site where the study is posted.The correct address is www.greenwichsouth.net.Our article last week about Pier 40 (“Would condosor London Eye ﬂoat on Pier 40”) stated that the LondonEye is London’s top tourist attraction. However, itshould have said the Eye is London’s most popular paidtourist attraction.

downtown express

October 9 - 15, 2009

3

Gerson, Chin munch mooncakes together

Political friends and rivals gathered Sunday at theMuseum of Chinese in America to chow down on sometraditional mooncake for a Mid-Autumn Festival in themuseum’s new Centre St. center.Councilmember John Liu, poised to become the firstAsian-American to win citywide elected office, and MargaretChin, in line to be the first Chinese person to ever representChinatown in the City Council, ate with CouncilmemberAlan Gerson, who lost the Democratic Council District 1primary to Chin three weeks ago.Chin and Liu, the Democratic nominee for city comptroller,voted for Nom Wah Bakery’s double egg yolk mooncake, whileGerson favored the sweeter black lotus paste. The Moon Festivalcelebrates the harvest and is somewhat akin to Thanksgiving.Nearly a month after the primary election, Gerson hasnot yet publicly acknowledged his defeat, but he appears tobe readying to begin the “smooth transition” he promised onprimary night “if the results hold up.” Last Thursday, a Chincampaign official said that Gerson called Chin to say he wouldbe endorsing her in the general election.Gerson did not say Sunday if he was going to make anendorsement in the overwhelmingly Democratic district soon.“I can’t tell you because that would ruin the announce-ment,” he told Downtown Express.Gerson arrived after Chin addressed the audience, andneither mentioned the other in their public remarks. Theydid speak briefly to each other. Liu, in his comments, seemedto be bridging the gap. He had nice things to say about therivals, complimenting Chin on her win while also saying she“had big shoes to fill.”The event was held in the museum’s large exhibit space,which opened at 215 Centre St. Sept. 22. After operatingout of cramped Mulberry St. quarters for three decades, themuseum now has an $8 million center designed by renownedarchitect Maya Lin, a Chinese American.The celebration also drew congressional attention asRepresentative Nydia Velazquez also appeared. She did notcast a vote in the political mooncake tasting.

— Josh Rogers with reporting by Tequila Minsky

Downtown Express photo by Tequila Minsky

Sampling mooncakes, from left, John Liu, Margaret Chin and Alan Gerson

Former tenants of 128 Hester St. joinedChinatown activists to protest the demolitionof their building last Wed., Sept. 30. The cityvacated the building in August after findingit unsafe, displacing 60 tenants who are nowmostly staying with friends and relatives.Asian Americans for Equality, a nonprofitgroup representing the tenants, had hopedthe landlord would repair the building. Butinstead the interior demolition started lastweek and the six-story tenement will beginto come down soon. The Department of Buildings said 128 Hester St. was too dam-aged to save.“Even though the building is going to bedemolished, the fight continues,” said ChrisKui, AAFE’s executive director.Kui wants William Su, the owner of 128Hester St., to provide housing and com-pensation for the tenants, who lost theirrent-regulated apartments. In addition, Kuiwants the city to permanently stop workon an adjacent 18-story hotel at 91 Bowery,which Su also owns, since work on the hotelis part of what destabilized 128 Hester St.To force a stop to the hotel work, Kui istrying to get United Commercial Bank torevoke the construction loan.The bank and Su’s lawyer did not respondto requests for comment.

Demonstration vs. demolition

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