The local paper for Downtown wn LIGHTING UP THE MET'S TEMPLE
WEEK OF FEBRUARY-MARCH
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CITYARTS, P.12 >
2016
TRINITY TOWER COMES INTO FOCUS
Our Take THE SECOND DISGRACE OF OUR HOMELESS SHELTERS
A series of forums on the church’s new parish building invites input from residents as well as from parishioners BY EMILY TOWNER
On Saturday morning, architects, parishioners, community members and lower Manhattan residents gathered in St. Paul’s Chapel to discuss the vision for Trinity Church’s new parish building. The existing building, on Trinity Place across from Trinity Church, has been cleared for demolition. Built in 1923, it no longer serves the needs of the church and the community. A new tower will be built in its place. The weekend meeting was the fifth in a series of community “charrettes” — collaborative forums to address the needs and wants of the church and of the lower Manhattan community as a whole. “In our initial charrettes we talked about how we wanted this parish building to be a home for the spiritual, for the homeless and for the neighborhood,” said the Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, Trinity Wall Street’s rector. “We talked about ministry activities. What they would be, how they would look,” Lupfer said. “We conducted a market study in order to objectively understand neighborhood needs and desires as well as parish hopes and dreams.” He said the church community’s vision embraces a philosophy for hospitality that is “open, flexible and welcoming.” “We want it to be visible from the street, accessible to the community,
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IN CENTRAL PARK, WEIGHING KIDS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP NEWS The candidate’s ownership of the carousel puts New Yorkers in a familiar bind BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
It’s late afternoon on a mild winter weekday, and kids and tourists are lining up to pay $3 for a quintesentially New York moment: a carousel
ride in Central Park. On the wall next to the entrance is a white placard with red lettering that reads, “Trump Carousel Rules and Regulations” -- one of the only indications that Donald J. Trump, presidential candidate, owns and operates the carousel. Trump’s politics have begun seeping into the carousel, as riders weigh an afternoon escape against a deeply divisive candidate.
Gemma Whiteman and Joel Hauxwell, who were on vacation from England and rode the carousel Monday, said they noticed the placard bearing Trump’s name. “It was in my head,” said Whiteman, when asked if the realization gave her pause. “He’s not very liked in England, so in my head I was a bit like, ‘Do I want to give money to this
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First, let’s start with the obvious: conditions inside this city’s homeless shelters are a disgrace. A series of terrible crimes, one more horrible than the last (including the killing earlier this month of a woman and her two daughters in Staten Island), has highlighted the shameful living conditions for people at the margins of one of the richest cities in the world. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has been halting in his approach to homelessness from the beginning of his term, has finally begun to address the problem, but years of neglect, from this administration and others, will take years to correct. But none of that excuses the recent grandstanding by the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who apparently sees no issue on which he can’t try to belittle the mayor. In the governor’s latest attempt at a hit job, state officials complained to the city, then promptly to the New York Post, about a gang rape at a city homeless shelter, publicizing the alleged event before police even had time to investigate it. As it turned out, the incident never happened, infuriating city officials who called it a “political media hit” aimed at embarrassing the mayor. More charges and counter-charges followed. In the meantime, of course, the Dickensian living conditions for men, women and kids in shelters in New York goes on. Here’s hoping that someday our leadership in Albany will become as interested in helping them as it is in scoring political points against our sitting mayor.
WEEK OF APRIL
SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12
FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
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MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
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for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced
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