|
|
||
As of the end of April, 27,000 applications had been approved for a total of $150 million in grant money, according to the LMDC. Another 9,000 applications were pending out of a total of nearly 47,000 residential units in the eligible area. “We’re already at about 80 percent,” said Amy Peterson, LMDC Vice President for Development and Economics. “We just want to make sure everyone knows.” So on April 26, the LMDC sent 50 volunteers to distribute reminders. Ben Dookchitra and Karen Hume, for example, walked through the chilling rain from Chambers to Harrison streets pushing flyers through mail slots and taping them to doorways. The few people they encountered not only knew about the program, but had already received their checks. For the most part, tenants who have applied for the grants have found the process relatively easy. However, some people have been surprised to learn that their buildings had city violations that prevented them from receiving grants. Applicants whose landlords have not cured the violations are still waiting for their checks. Teen Night May 30 on Pier 25 Beach volleyball, a barbecue and music will be part of an evening of activities for Downtown teens on Pier 25 in Tribeca on Friday, May 30, from 6 to 9 p.m. The beach-party-themed “Teen Pier Invasion,” which is free and open to all 13-18-year-olds, is being designed with teen sensibilities in mind: no parents are allowed, though chaperones will be present. No advanced registration is required, teens can just show up at the pier. The event is being organized by the Battery Park City Neighbors' and Parents' Association (BPCN&PA), Manhattan Youth, which oversees programs on Pier 25, and Community Board 1's Youth Committee. The BPCN&PA Association is also planning other youth programs in the next few months, including a summer intern program, a pool party and teen sailing and kayaking nights. For more information on the teen night, call Teresa Sellinger at 217-0022. For more information on the BPCN&PA, which is open to all Lower Manhattan residents, call Stephanie Moore at 945-0085 or go to www.bpcparents.org. Hearing on Park Stripes How do you feel about those wide blue and purple stripes on the new Washington Market Park playground? The controversial colored play surface—temporary, but due to be replaced by stripes of the same colors—is up for discussion this month before the Art Commission, the city panel that must approve all visible new construction on city property. Neighbors whose apartments face the park, near Greenwich and Chambers streets, call the surface “gaudy” and “carnivalesque.” Others defend it as kid-friendly. The Commission will hear public comments on May 12 at 9 a.m. in City Hall. Menin on Memorial Jury Julie Menin, founder and president of Wall Street Rising and owner of Vine restaurant at 25 Broad St., was the sole Downtown resident named to the 13-member jury for the World Trade Center memorial design competition last month. Menin also lives at 25 Broad St., which her husband, Bruce, converted and owns. Menin served on the committee that drafted the mission statement for the memorial. Tribeca Walking Tours Oliver Allen, Community Board 1’s official historian and longtime Trib columnist, will lead two walking tours of Tribeca on May 17 (coinciding with Taste of Tribeca and the puppet festival). The 60–90-minute tours are at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Meet at the entrance of Washington Market Park, at Greenwich and Duane streets. Rafflemania for P.S. 89 P.S. 89 holds its annual “Rafflemania” fundraiser for the school’s enrichment programs on Tuesday, May 6, from 6 to 9 p.m., at Vine restaurant, 25 Broad St. There will be a raffle, silent auction, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $25 per person, $40 per couple, in advance, or $30 and $50 at the door. For information, write to Maria Ouranitsas at kess98@aol.com. Library Book Sale Hundreds of donated books and review copies, including fiction, mysteries, travel, cooking and children’s books, will be on sale at the New Amsterdam branch library. Hours are May 12, 12–6 p.m.; May 13, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; and May 14, 12–8 p.m. The proceeds will fund new books for the library, which is at 9 Murray St. For more information call 1-866-RENEWNYC (736-3969) or go to www.renewnyc.com. Glee Club at St. Paul’s The Downtown Glee Club will perform songs from the 1920s through the 1970s in a concert to benefit the chapel on Sunday, May 4, at 4 p.m. in St. Paul’s Chapel, at Broadway and Fulton Street. Tickets are $20 at the door. For information, go to www.downtowngleeclub.org. Proposed BPC Dog Run The Battery Park City Authority will present a proposal for a new dog run in the north neighborhood at a meeting of Community Board 1’s BPC Committee on May 6 (see community calendar, page 26). The dog run would be built on one of the traffic medians on North End Avenue. Greenmarket Sweet-smelling honey soap and unusual heirloom plants are for sale as the Greenwich Street Greenmarket goes into full swing. Twenty farmers and vendors will sell fish, bread, cheese, meats, cider and local produce. On May 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., cooks from the Art Institute of New York City will give a cooking demonstration. The market, on Greenwich Street between Chambers and Duane, is open Saturdays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
||
|
|
