downtown
express
Part 2 in a 3-part series on N.Y.C.H.A.
BY ALINE REYNOLDS
New York’s public housing system,
founded in the 1930s, is historically
considered to be one of the most suc-
cessful in the country. It owns and
operates 344 housing developments,
30 of them in Lower Manhattan.
But in recent years, a severe lack of
funding, paired with aging buildings,
has hindered the authority’s ability to
keep up with repairs.
“[Underfunding] each year adds to
our structural deficit and hampers the
Authority’s ability to meet the main-
tenance needs of our aging housing
stock,” explained Michael Kelly, gen-
eral manager of the New York City
Houseing Authority, at a recent public
hearing.
In 2005, the housing author-
ity anticipated a $7.5 billion need for
apartment repairs, but only a fifth of
that amount is available — not nearly
enough for the thousands of work
orders it receives each year. Since
then, repair requests have continued
Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess
Air at the pier!
Pier 25 in Tribeca re-opened last week and is home to Manhattan’s newest skate park. It’s already getting a lot of use.
BY TERESE LOEB
KREUZER
A scathing report from
the New York State Inspector
General’s office issued
last Friday condemned the
Battery Park City Authority
for wastefulness, favoritism
in promotions and compen-
sation and sloppy internal
accounting practices.
The B.P.C.A. is a public
benefi t corporation created by
New York State in 1968 “to
plan, create, coordinate and
maintain” Battery Park City’s
92 acres of residential and
offi ce buildings, retail stores
and park space on the Lower
West Side of Manhattan.
The 31-page report,
which states that the B.P.C.A.
squandered an average of
more than $45,000 a year
on holiday parties and pic-
nics for employees and gifts
for departing employees,
also states that the Authority
spent an average of $3,500 a
year on flowers and cakes
for employees “to acknowl-
edge events such as birth-
days, bereavements and to
extend get-well wishes.”
Joseph Fisch, the inspec-
tor general, castigated the
Authority for paying for
lunches during in-house
business meetings and also
took it to task for paying
for restaurant meals such as
those enjoyed by then-chair-
man James Gill and former
president James Cavanaugh.
“From late 2006 through
2008, Cavanaugh and Gill
had lunch together at the
Authority’s expense a total
of 32 times,” the report
states, at an average cost of
$70 per meal.
Report on Battery Park
City Authority provokes
rebuttals
Lack of funding is root of problem
Continued on page 10
Continued on page 15
®
VOLUME 23, NUMBER 26
THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN
NOVEMBER 10 - 16, 2010
Matisse, Muyu, Madonna & more
November gallery preview, p. 22
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Former B.P.C.A.
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November 10 - 16, 2010
2
downtown express
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Photo courtesy of N.Y.C. Parks Department
More parkland for Lower Manhattan
Elected officials and community members gathered on a
stormy Monday morning to celebrate the opening of DeLury
Square Park.
The 8,8850 square-foot park, located right by Southbridge
Towers at the intersection of Fulton and Gold Streets, is bor-
dered by a steel perimeter fence. It has a display fountain,
trees and shrubbery, benches, a drinking water fountain and
security lighting.
The $2.3 million space was financed by the Lower
Manhattan Development Corporation as part of the city’s
effort to expand parkland in the Downtown area following
9/11.
It is named after John DeLury Sr., who founded Local 831
of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association in 1956 and
served as its president until 1978.
downtown express
November 10 - 16, 2010
3
N.Y.C. School Chancellor Resigns
Joel Klein, 64, is stepping down from his position
as the New York City Schools Chancellor to become
Executive Vice President of the News Corporation,
according to various news reports. Klein was the longest
serving school chancellor in the city’s history.
While he is credited for increased high school gradua-
tion rates, college enrollment and other successes, Klein
was also disparaged for excluding school administrators,
teachers and parents from citywide educational deci-
sions.
Klein will stick around until the end of the year, when
ex-publisher Cathleen Black, 66, will take the reins.
Black, formerly the publisher of New York Magazine and
U.S.A. Today, is now chairwoman of Hearst Magazines,
which publishes Esquire, Cosmopolitan and others.
MayorB l o o m b e r g appointed Klein in 2002 after
establishing mayoral control over the N.Y.C. public
school system. He hailed Klein as “one of the most
important and transformational educational leaders of
our time,” according to the New York Times.
The Mayor continued, “Joel has implemented innova-
tive changes that have made an enormous difference in
the lives of millions of children.”
Seeking a compromise for dog leash
policy in Battery Park
There was another emotional discussion about the
dog leash policy in Battery Park at last Wednesday’s
Community Board 1 Financial District Committee meet-
ing.
Parks Manhattan Borough Commissioner Bill Castro,
the Downtown Dog Owners Association, Community
Board 1 and the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy
got together on October 29 in State SenatorD a n i e l
Squadron’s office to discuss the matter. Castro is now
recommending that dog owners set up a makeshift space
for their off-leash pets on a paved surface in the park
between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.
“The issue seemed to be whether the proposed trial
area was large enough,” said Ro Sheffe, chair of the
F.D.C., on behalf of the dog owners. They also expressed
concern, he said, about the trial area’s size and loca-
tion.
“The dog owners’ point of view is they need to run
on a natural gas surface,” Sheffe explained. “The Battery
Park Conservancy’s view is that it would be damaging to
the lawn and [dogs running off leash on the grass] should
not be allowed.” Sheffe has established a subcommittee
to rewrite a resolution to present to the full board on
November 23. Until then, C.B. 1 is not taking a stance
on the subject.
The group will reconvene at Squadron’s office on
December 13. “It’s a closed-door meeting, and we’re
expecting [Commissioner] Bill Castro to be there,”
Sheffe said.
Squadron and C.B. 1 hope to obtain quantitative data
from the Battery Conservancy on the various uses of the
Battery Park lawn. “What we’re trying to do is assemble
as much factual information as we can to make an
informed decision and a workable compromise,” Sheffe
said. “It remains to see what that will be.”
Post-election survey results come in
A post-Election Day survey found a varied voting experi-
ence for many New Yorkers, with most complaints centering
on ballot design and privacy issues.
Nearly 1,200 New Yorkers from at least 300 different
poll sites anonymously completed the City Council’s online
survey. Over a third of those surveyed said the ballot was
“difficult to read or confusing,” and nearly a quarter of
them complained that poll workers failed to provide privacy
sleeves or folders to keep their ballots private. Another quar-
ter of the participants said a poll worker didn’t offer to help
them with voting or explain the new voting system.
The survey results will be used by the City Council in an
upcoming Board of Elections hearing. “This survey allowed
us to gather important information on voters’ experience on
election day—something the Board of Elections has been
unable to do,” said Governmental Operations Chair Gale
A. Brewer. “We’re looking forward to using the data as part
of the Committee on Governmental Operations’ continuing
oversight of the Board.”
Requiem at the W.F.C. on Friday
The World Financial Center’s Winter Garden will host a
requiem for fossil fuels on Friday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m.
Acclaimed sound art duo O+A — Bruce Odland andSam
Auinger — composed the piece. The requiem weaves together
sounds from fossil-fueled machines with four human voices to
mark the end of worldwide dependence on cheap fuel.
The piece intertwines live vocals by mezzo-sopranoHai-
Ting Chinn, soprano Martha Cluver, tenor Geoffrey Silver,
and bass Mark Uhlemann with what O+A refer to as an
eight-channel “orchestra of cities”: sounds of cars and jets,
some of which were recorded outside the W.F.C. in previous
years.
The free concert is a part of WNYC’s New Sounds Live
series and will be hosted by the show’s John Shaefer. It
has already been performed in churches in New York and
Berlin.
A.B.C. to broadcast Trinity Church
holiday service
A.B.C. television stations nationwide will air Trinity
Church’s special “lessons and carols” service held on
Saturday, December 4. The service is presented by Trinity
Wall Street and the National Council of Churches U.S.A.
Lessons and carols is an Anglican liturgy that tracks the
birth of the Messiah from prophecy to fulfillment in the form
of song and scripture. The tradition, which developed into
its full form in the 1990s, originates from a Christmas Eve
service in 1880s England.
In preparation, participants are supposed to attend an
informal class on Sunday, November 21 at 12:45 p.m., fol-
lowing the church’s 11:15 a.m. service, to learn about the
filming process and rehearse the songs. Participants are
asked to dress festively for the December 4 service, which
will begin at 3:30 p.m. The taping is scheduled to start at 4
p.m. and will last approximately one hour.
For more information or to R.S.V.P., contact Donna
Presnell at 212-602-9672 or dpresnell@trinitywallstreet.org.
88 Fulton Street
(Corner of 33 Gold St.)
New York, NY 10038
212.587.8930
212.587.8935
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• Dry Cleaners
• Evening Formal
• Wedding Gowns
• Launder & Press
• Wash & Fold Laundry
• Alterations
• Patches & Repairs
• Carpet & Rug Cleaning
NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-13, 16-18
Progress Report.................. 19-31
EDITORIAL PAGES..........14-15
YOUTH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
ARTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23-39
CLASSIFIEDS....................38
C.B. 1
MEETINGS
The upcoming week’s schedule of Community
Board 1 committee meetings is below. Unless other-
wise noted, all committee meetings are held at the
board office, located at 49-51 Chambers St., room
709 at 6 p.m.
ON WED., NOV 10:C.B. 1’s Battery Park City
Committee will meet at the Battery Park City Authority
Board Room, 1 World Financial Center.
ON WED., NOV 10: C.B. 1’s Tribeca Committee
will meet.
ON MON., NOV 15:C . B . 1 ’s Wa t e r f r o n t C o m m i t t e e
will meet.
ON TUES., NOV 16: C.B. 1’s Seaport/Civic Center
Committee will meet.
D
OW NTOW N
DIGEST
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