Kindergarten students at P.S. 276 in Tweed. The school\u2019s principal, Terri Ruyter, and Nancy Harris, principal o\ue000 the Spruce Street School, spoke to Downtown Express last week about the beginning o\ue000 the schools\u2019 frst year, their educational philosophies and \ue000uture plans \ue000or the new buildings.

Samuel Evensen stood among a crop o\ue001 rubberized cadavers recently and made an important distinction.

Evensen was speaking in the darkened Bodies exhib- it at South Street Seaport Monday night, a\ue001ter the waves o\ue001 tourists and school groups had gone home. His audience, in addition to the cadavers, was a small group o\ue001 art enthusiasts, who had come to learn about what lies beneath the human skin and how to draw it.

\u201cIt\u2019s an approach to draw- ing the \ue000gure \ue001rom the inside out,\u201d said Evensen, a pro\ue001es-

sor o\ue001 anatomical drawing at the Pratt Institute, who is equally com\ue001ortable with medical and artistic termi- nology. \u201cStudying anatomy helps you interpret what you see \ue001rom a live model, and then translate that \ue001rom a three-dimensional \ue000gure to a two-dimensional drawing.\u201d

A\ue001ter a brie\ue001 lesson \ue001rom Evensen, the group dispersed throughout the exhibit\u2019s nine galleries, set up their easels and started sketching.

\u201cMy dream has come true,\u201d said a grinning Tim Boyle, 33, as he prepared to draw a preserved \ue001oot skel- eton. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s examination o\ue001

Returning to his old Lower East Side stomping ground, Antonio \u201cChico\u201d Garcia is back in town \ue001or a month and a hal\ue001 to work on some commissioned murals, on everything \ue001rom peace to the Rat Pack.

On Wednesday, Chico \u2014 who recently relocated to Tampa, Fla., to reunite with his \ue001amily \u2014 spray-painted a new gra\ue001\ue000ti-style mural \ue001or the Power o\ue001 Peace Coalition at Houston St. and Avenue B. Helping him complete the one-day project were his cousin Andres Borrero and William Pentecost, the coali-

When done, the mural would say, \u201cStop the Violence\u201d and \u201cAnother Way Is Possible.\u201d

\u201cIt\u2019s a power\ue001ul message,\u201d Chico said o\ue001 the peace cam- paign, adding that, coinci- dentally, \u201cThey call me \u2018The Messenger.\u2019

\u201cThat\u2019s \ue001rom New York \u2014 and it\u2019s going across the country,\u201d he said o\ue001 the ini- tiative.

The Houston St. wall has been one o\ue001 Chico\u2019s signature canvases, spe- ci\ue001ically \ue001or memorials, since the 1980s. Those he

ning, everyday \ue001elt like a highlight reel \u2014 our \ue001irst this, our \ue001irst that. Now that that has somewhat subsided, it\u2019s like when you\u2019re on vacation and the days start to blend together, but in a good way. Every moment is great, it really is.

moment. There are a lot o\ue001 very lovely moments \u2014 when the students are really kind to each other. The other day a little girl was upset, and her classmates just totally kicked in, and they were just there to com\ue001ort her right away.

Nearly two months into their inaugural year, the principals o\ue000 the new schools in Tweed Courthouse are keeping busy. When they\u2019re not watching kindergarteners learn how to read and share and play, Spruce Street School Principal Nancy Harris and P.S./I.S. 276 Principal Terri Ruyter are planning \ue000or their K-8 schools\u2019 \ue000utures. P.S./I.S. 276 is scheduled to open at Second Pl. and Battery Pl. in Battery Park City in September. Spruce is expected to open in 2011 at Spruce and William Sts.

Downtown Progress
Report 2009,
pages 15 - 29

The Democratic nominee \ue001or the First City Council District started o\ue001\ue001 on the right \ue001oot by speaking \ue001or only about a minute during the board\u2019s public session \u2014 her brev- ity earned her several approving whispers. (Councilmember

monthly meeting to a di\ue001\ue001erent night o\ue001 the week, since Community Board 3 also meets on the \ue001ourth Tuesday o\ue001 the month. Elected o\ue001\ue000cials and their representatives o\ue001ten have to scurry \ue001rom one meeting to the other and can never stay \ue001or too long at either.

Community Board 1 \u2014 whose members have been known to say, \u201cWe\u2019re No. 1 \ue001or a reason\u201d \u2014 did not seem amenable to this suggestion. Several people called out that C.B. 3 ought to change its meeting time instead. Chin, who had been a member o\ue001 both boards at di\ue001\ue001erent times, said C.B. 3 picked the time slot \ue000rst.

Empire State Pride Agenda leader Alan Van Capelle chal- lenged Tom Duane last week to deliver on his promises to get gay marriage passed in New York.

\u201cSen. Tom Duane, you have told us on multiple occasions you have the votes to pass this bill,\u201d Van Capelle said at ESPA\u2019s \ue001undraising dinner attended by Duane. \u201cGive us the dignity, the rights, and respect we deserve.\u201d

Duane, who represents part o\ue001 Downtown and is the State Senate\u2019s \ue000rst and only openly gay member, initially criticized Gov. David Paterson when he put the marriage bill on the \ue001ront burner this year.

Van Capelle, who singled out other Democratic senators as well, said: \u201cSome senators, even sponsors o\ue001 the bill, in an attempt to slow us down, will say that we have not made our case. That is a lie.\u201d

Duane later told our sister publication Gay City News, which \ue000rst reported Van Capelle\u2019s remarks, that \u201cI am angry also. I don\u2019t just gotta pray it\u2019s going to happen. I know it\u2019s going to happen. I have tremendous sympathy \ue001or the anger, the impatience, the \ue001ear that it might not happen.\u201d

\u201cI\ue001 you\u2019ve been telling your loved ones, you know, \u2018I\u2019d marry you, but we have a legal problem,\u2019\u201d Paterson said. \u201cMaybe like many straight people have done, you\u2019ve led someone along \u2026. You\u2019d better leave now. Marriage equality is coming to New York State.\u201d

Speaking o\ue001 ESPA, Erin Drinkwater, community rep- resentative \ue001or U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, announced that her three years with the congressman are coming to a close. Drinkwater will soon start a new job at the Empire State Pride Agenda as director o\ue001 downstate organizing.

just eight days be\ue001ore the election should be enough \ue001or Council Democrats to deliver her back to the top spot, sources said. According to one councilmember, Quinn\u2019s re- election as speaker was all but guaranteed when she o\ue001\ue001ered support \ue001or Thompson at an unrelated press con\ue001erence at I.S. 89 in Battery Park City on Monday.

turning o\ue001 term limits that Quinn helped engineer last year. \u201cAn endorsement is an endorsement, despite its tepidity. At least [Quinn] mentioned his name, and even went \ue001urther and added two additional sentences,\u201d she quipped.

mention Thompson\u2019s name a \ue001ew weeks ago when he announced that the Big Man was endorsing the Democratic nominee.

\u201cSo we\u2019ll accept it, and we\u2019ll run with it,\u201d James added, \u201cand we look \ue001orward to the next \ue001our years with her as our leader.\u201d

Quinn had apparently approached Thompson earlier about the endorsement, but due to tensions between the two \u2014 the speaker is seen as too close an ally o\ue001 Mayor Mike Bloomberg \u2014 he put o\ue001\ue001 an announcement. So Quinn slipped in the nod with little \ue001an\ue001are when speaking to reporters a\ue001ter the press con\ue001erence, \ue001raming her position as an a\ue001terthought despite broad speculation over what she would ultimately do.

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to Comptroller Thompson,\u201d she said at the event. \u201cI told him that I am supporting him and I\u2019m ready to be help\ue001ul in any way.\u201d

The back and \ue001orth between Quinn and Thompson helps explain why even her sta\ue001\ue001 seemed con\ue001used as to the endorsement\u2019s timing, with one Council employee intimat- ing last week that the announcement would come be\ue001ore the weekend. Still, the last-minute tip o\ue001 the cap should be enough to propel Quinn to another term as speaker, regard- less o\ue001 any lingering enmity between her, Thompson and some Council Democrats.

Strazzullo, a lawyer and recent Tribeca transplant, wants to sponsor a Christmas tree this year in Duane Park. He wants to collect toys to put under the tree and hold a ceremony in early December to give the gi\ue001ts to underprivi- leged children.

But when Strazzullo presented his idea to Community Board 1 on Tuesday, board members were turned o\ue001\ue001 by what they saw as Strazzullo\u2019s attitude o\ue001 sel\ue001-promotion. Several board members said it would be a bad precedent to allow people to advertise their businesses (in this case, Strazzullo\u2019s private law \ue000rm) in public parks.

\u201cI have a problem with it,\u201d said Pat Moore, a board mem- ber. She suggested that Strazzullo, who by then had le\ue001t the meeting, instead make a quiet donation to the new Battery Park City library.

\u201cI don\u2019t think we should be grinches,\u201d Galloway said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice that [Strazzullo] wants to do something nice \ue001or the community.\u201d

But the majority o\ue001 the board disagreed, voting 19-16 against the tree. The board\u2019s vote is only advisory, and a Parks Dept. spokesperson said the city was still reviewing Strazzullo\u2019s application and would likely make a decision next week. Strazzullo did not return a call \ue001or comment.

Transit Sam\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd 4 Mixed Use\ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd 13 Progress Report\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd15-29

editorial Pages\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd\ufffd30-31 Youth\ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd32 arts\ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd \ufffd33-38

Community Board 1 has not yet released its sched- ule o\ue001 November committee meetings. For more in\ue001or- mation, check CB1.org.

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Developer Larry Silverstein sometimes thinks about leaving the quagmire o\ue001 the World Trade Center site behind and casting o\ue001\ue001 on his yacht, but he said he\u2019s a\ue001raid that without him, the site will never get rebuilt.

\u201cWithout a push \ue001rom the private sector to move this damn thing \ue001orward, it wouldn\u2019t happen,\u201d Silverstein said Wednesday at the RealShare New York real estate con\ue001erence in Midtown.

Silverstein\u2019s comments were among the \ue000rst he has made on the Trade Center since he and the Port Authority entered arbitration this sum- mer. Back then, in a well-publicized dispute, Silverstein charged that the Port was years behind on key in\ue001rastructure projects at the site, preventing Silverstein \ue001rom building his three o\ue001\ue000ce towers on Church St. To compensate \ue001or the delays and the \ue001rozen credit markets, Silverstein wanted the Port to help him \ue000nance two o\ue001 the Church St. towers. The Port o\ue001\ue001ered some assistance, but said Silverstein needed to put in more money as well.

The argument has largely disappeared \ue001rom the spotlight as Silverstein and the Port make their cases privately be\ue001ore an arbitration panel. As Silverstein pointed out Wednesday, \u201cThere\u2019s not a hell o\ue001 a lot I can say, \ue001or obvious reasons.\u201d But he went on to speak about the World Trade Center \ue001or hal\ue001 an hour with moderator John Salustri, editorial director \ue001or the ALM-Real Estate Media Group.

Center has been the revolving door o\ue001 New York and New Jersey governors, who share con- trol o\ue001 the Port Authority, Silverstein said.

\u201cEvery time there\u2019s a change o\ue001 executive, there\u2019s a change o\ue001 agenda,\u201d Silverstein said. \u201cAnd every time there\u2019s a change o\ue001 agenda, it wreaks havoc with everything you\u2019re trying to accomplish i\ue001 you\u2019re trying to hold a speci\ue000c time\ue001rame.\u201d

Silverstein also criticized the Port Authority, though he started by saying they\u2019re \u201cnot bad people.\u201d

\u201cThe un\ue001ortunate thing,\u201d Silverstein said, \u201cis the people who built the Trade Center \u2014 the last major high-rise project they were involved with \u2014 are long since gone. And the people who are there today don\u2019t have the experience, don\u2019t have the ability, don\u2019t have the compre- hension o\ue001 what it takes, the need \ue001or timely decisions.

\u201cYou know,\u201d Silverstein continued, \u201cthe attitude is, \u2018I\u2019ll get back to you \ue001or the decision.\u2019 Construction doesn\u2019t wait \ue001or people who say, \u2018I\u2019ll get back to you.\u2019 You need the decision now.\u201d

Silverstein said he committed shortly a\ue001ter 9/11 to stay at the World Trade Center \ue001or 10 years to rebuild it. Now an optimistic estimate looks more like 17 years, but he said he\u2019s not going anywhere.

\u201cMy attitude is you\u2019ve gotta stay there,\u201d Silverstein said. \u201cOn a daily basis, you\u2019ve gotta make the decisions that you are required to make so the construction will fow unimped-

ed\u2026. I want very much to be around to see it accomplished. So as \ue001ar as I\u2019m concerned, I\u2019m going to stay right where I am.\u201d

Silverstein said he was not worried that the Port would \ue000nd a way to complete the project without him.

Silverstein expects the arbitration to \ue000nish be\ue001ore the end o\ue001 the year. A source \ue001amiliar with Silverstein\u2019s position said a \ue001ew months ago that the developer would ask the arbiters to award him at least $2.75 billion as compensa- tion \ue001or Port delays and \ue001or all o\ue001 the rent and insurance he has paid to the authority.

The panel just \ue000nished hearing two weeks o\ue001 testimony \ue001rom Silverstein and is now hearing two weeks \ue001rom the Port, Silverstein said. I\ue001 the panel rules in \ue001avor o\ue001 Silverstein and \ue001orces the

Port to give him the resources he needs to build the towers, Silverstein said the entire site with all three o\ue001 his o\ue001\ue000ce towers could be complete by 2016. The Port previously wanted Silverstein to only build Tower 4 and wait to build Towers 2 and 3 until the market improved.

A Port Authority spokesperson declined to comment on the arbitration but said in a state- ment, \u201cWe are 100 percent committed to restor- ing Downtown and continue to make important progress on all o\ue001 the public projects on the site, including the 9/11 Memorial, which is our high- est priority.\u201d Previously, the Port has objected to risking billions o\ue001 dollars on Silverstein\u2019s private o\ue001\ue000ce towers, saying the expense would com- promise the Port\u2019s ability to complete public in\ue001rastructure projects elsewhere.

Silverstein also gave a brie\ue001 update on 99 Church St., the \ue001enced-o\ue001\ue001 site next to the Woolworth Building that was supposed to be an 80-story condo and hotel tower run by the Four Seasons. Silverstein stopped construction on the tower this summer a\ue001ter \ue000nishing the \ue001oundation because he could not get a loan to continue building above street level.

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to be patient,\u201d Silverstein said. \u201cFour Seasons\u2019 attitude is, \u2018Hey, whenever it comes, it comes. We\u2019re there, we\u2019re ready.\u2019\u201d

Silverstein said he \ue001eels the same way and he expects to get a loan in 2011 and \ue000nish the building in 2013 or 2014.

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