Study Suggests Market for WTC Site A one-acre, enclosed public marketplace with 250 vendors selling prepared food, fresh produce, bread, meat, cheese, flowers and crafts would be the perfect addition to a redeveloped World Trade Center site. So says a study commissioned by the City Council and released late last month. The 49-page feasibility study says that a vibrant public market is a much-needed neighborhood amenity that would serve Downtown residents and office workers, and draw shoppers, tourists and small businesses. “A large-scale public market would inject new life Downtown,” said Councilman Alan Gerson, adding that local residents have few places to buy fresh produce. The World Trade Center Greenmarket and the Amish Market on Cedar Street were destroyed on Sept. 11. The study, compiled by the Public Market Collaborative of the nonprofit Project for Public Spaces, reviews a variety of options, from a simple open-air market to a large “market district” along the lines of Seattle’s Pike Place Market. It ultimately recommends an approximately one-acre, climate-controlled market hall with two levels, linked to an open-air market. The project would cost about $12 million to construct, and could generate at least $15 million in annual sales, while costing less than $1 million to run, the study says. A large market on the trade center site would also be a nod to history, the study noted, evoking the Washington Market that stood at the site from 1771 to 1956, and extended north into Tribeca. The report was submitted to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency overseeing Downtown rebuilding, for possible inclusion in the designs for the trade center site. Church Offerings Living Word Community Church is offering a free weekly support group for women wishing to discuss emotional issues relating to their experiences on and after Sept. 11. The group, led by certified counselors, meets through Dec. 19. The church is also serving a free dinner on Thanksgiving for guests of all ages. For a reservation or information, call 571-2644 ext. 12 or 967-2587 ext. 3. On Giant Street Work Its streets are rated the worst in the city. Now, Lower Manhatten is the beneficiary of $140 million in federal funds for massive reconstruction. Roadwork is never easy on neighbors, and this project, not due to be completed until 2007, is sure to raise questions and complaints. On Nov. 7 at 6 p.m., the commissioners for the Departments of Transportation and Design and Construction will be at Assembly Hearing Room, 250 Broadway, 19th fl. to explain the giant project and the expected disruptions. See Community Calendar. More Business Help Seedco has expanded its Small Business and Workforce Retention Project, which provides loans, grants, wage subsidies and technical assistance to businesses in Lower Manhattan. The new program is open to non-retail service firms between Chambers and 14th streets. Call 866-4-SEEDCO or go to www.seedco.org. Discounted Electricity The city’s Economic Development Corporation and Con Edison last month launched “Power Downtown.” The program offers up to 15 percent discounts on electricity to small businesses hurt by the trade center disaster. Businesses south of Houston Street that use between 10 and 400 kilowatts are eligible. Call 866-227-0458 or go to www.newyorkbiz.com. New Lecture Series The Downtown Community Center at 55 Warren St., run by Manhattan Youth, launches a free lecture series this month. Congressman Jerrald Nadler will speak on the Bill of Rights on Nov. 7, and on Nov. 21, Trucle Nguyen, a tutor for Princeton Review, will speak on “Getting Your Child Into College.” Both begin at 7 p.m. For information, call 766-1104. A Taste of Wall Street Wall Street Rising, a group helping to revitalize the financial district, hosts a fundraiser on Nov. 18 with tastings from Downtown restaurants, an open bar, a silent auction and live entertainment. Tickets for the evening event at the Regent Wall Street Hotel costs $150 in advance, $175 at the door. Proceeds will support the group’s information center and the 2003 Art Downtown exhibition. P.S. 150 Tours Tours of P.S. 150, at 334 Greenwich St. in Independence Plaza, takes place on Nov. 21 and Dec. 4. The school goes from pre-K through fifth grade and is open to all District 2 children. Call 732-4392. Junior Tennis Winner Brian Oldfield, 11, won the recent Chambers Street Junior Tennis Championship, defeating Kevin Kwok 6–2, 3–6, 6–4. Kwok had beat last year’s winner, Jason Wasser, in the semi-finals. Brian is the son of Ed Oldfield, winner of the adult championship in 2000.