Fireworks Spark Anger in BPC
One evening in late September, a series of loud explosions near Battery Park City shook early-to-bed residents out of their slumber, sent others onto the street to investigate, and led Community Board 1's Quality of Life Committee last month to look into why it happened.

"It was an apartment-shaking event," Battery Park City resident John Dellaportas told the group.

"There were children crying," said resident Tom Goodkind.

"It emptied the Tribeca Towers on Duane Street," claimed Jean Grillo, who lives across from the building.

It was a false alarm, of sorts. Fireworks launched from a barge near North Cove exploded prematurely, explained James Lauer, chief inspector of the Fire Department's explosives unit. "There was a low burst," he said. "It wiped out the whole show."

Lauer was called before the committee last month to explain the event and describe how permits are issued for firework displays in Lower Manhattan.

"Marriages, bar mitzvahs-people apply for a lot of reasons," Lauer said. "I can't pick and choose."

Lauer said that nearly all applications are approved, but that fire inspectors must be present at the launch site and can shut down the show at any time.

He told the committee that he will ban the loudest fireworks from bursting over Lower Manhattan and will notify the community board of upcoming shows. The next fireworks event is planned for Dec. 15.

Battery Park City residents have long complained of being given insufficient warning of fireworks displays. Some people in a neighborhood say that the loud fireworks explosions remind then of the terrorist attack of Sept. 11.

"Every time it happens, I'm paralyzed with fear," board member and BPC resident Linda Belfer said during a meeting last year.

Last month, she just asked for more advance warning.

"We just want to know why the hell there are fireworks on, say, a Tuesday night in October," she said.

Fire On Exchange Pl.
A fire in a 15-story building under construction at 15 Exchange Pl. sent fire crews blazing down Broadway into the Financial District just after business hours Oct. 28. Garbage on the 10th floor is thought to have caused the fire, which was reported at 6:12 p.m. and crept up a mail chute and into the upper floors.

No one was in the building at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported. Twelve engines responded to the alarm and firefighters had the blaze out within an hour and a half. A Fire Department spokesman said that the fire appeared to have been accidental and did not warrant further investigation.

New Arts Space
The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Parsons The New School for Design have created a 4,000-square-foot exhibition and performance space in the former bank lobby in the landmark Equitable Building, at 15 Nassau St. A free, public reception celebrating the opening of Interchange: 15 Nassau Street will take place there on Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m.
(RSVP to Mark Vevle, 212-219-9401 x 122, or by email to mvevle@lmcc.net.)

The adaptable, transportable arts space will be used for LMCC's "Swing Space" program, which works with building owners to make temporarily vacant space Downtown available to artists and small arts groups.

New Park Board
Five new members were elected last month to Washington Market Park's board of directors. They are Larry Wasser, David Leach, Pamela Fredrick, Ann Feng Simon and Trace Harris. Monica Forrestall, Kaija Braus, and Charles Komanoff were re-elected.

Downtown Dining
Almost 50 restaurants, including Bayard's, Bridge Cafe, Steamers Landing and Vine, are participating in Downtown for Dinner, a weeklong promotion featuring prix-fixe dinners for $20.05 (excluding drinks, tax and tip). The event, running from Nov. 14-20, is organized by the Alliance for Downtown New York, which manages Lower Manhattan's business improvement district. Reservations are recommended. For a list of restaurants, go to www.downtownny.com.

Toys For Tots
Wall Street Rising's Downtown Information Center, at 25 Broad St., is collecting new, unwrapped toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots program. Toys can be dropped off Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., from Nov. 28 through Dec. 16.

Warning: Tunnel Blasting
This month you may on occasion hear warning whistles followed by a muffled boom and perhaps a low rumble beneath your feet. The disturbances are from underground blasting for the city's Water Tunnel No. 3, now being burrowed into deep bedrock and inching its way downtown.

Blasting beneath Hudson and Laight Streets was scheduled to begin this month and to continue through January. Blasting hours will be restricted to weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and blasts will last 10 seconds each and will be limited to two per day. A Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman said that Tribeca residents will probably hear only faint booms, and that they should call 311 with complaints or concerns.

More Buses Allowed on Closed Park Row
A pair of city buses return this month to their original route along a roughly three-block stretch of Park Row near Police Headquarters-a path blocked for security reasons following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Beginning Nov. 14 the M15 bus and the Brooklyn-bound B51 are scheduled to return. The street remains closed to general traffic between Frankfort and Worth Streets.
Businesses, especially in Chinatown, have reportedly suffered due to the closure and area residents have long complained of the inconvenience.

Police this summer eased some restrictions on th street to allow for partial use, including bus traffic. The M103 returned to Park Row in May.