The local paper for Downtown wn LOVE LETTER TO DOWNTOWN LITERATURE < BOOKS, P.12
WEEK OF APRIL
10 2014
NYPRESS.COM
OurTownDowntown @OTDowntown
10 AT-RISK BUILDINGS
In Brief ARTS SHORTFALL IN NYC SCHOOLS
DEVELOPMENT A preservation group names the historic buildings in Tribeca most at risk of tear-down TRIBECA They are among the 10 most at-risk buildings downtown. The Tribeca Trust, a preservation group, has re- The Liquor Store building on West Broadway has been around since before Prohibition. leased its list of the 10 Most Endangered Buildings in the neighborhood -- structures the group says are Ezekiel Porter Belden, whose carved, wooden paneither targeted for tear-down, or in danger of demolition down the road. All are historically significant. 2. 31 Desbrosses, also known as 438-440 Washing- orama of New York City created an architectural sensation at the time. According to one of his biogBelow, the list and the Trust’s arguments for why ton Street The architectural firm of Kurtzer and Rohl built raphers, Walt Whitman visited Porter’s workshop they should be saved. 1. 67 Vestry Street this brick, stone, and terra-cotta warehouse in 1899 and was inspired by the sight to use his talents to This fortress-like building was erected in 1897 by and Sonn Brothers Whiskies occupied the upper become the poet of the “panorama” of New York. the same architect who did the Flatiron Building, floors as storage. (Sonn’s advertising can still be Frederick Dinkelberg. Frank Helmle, also a noted seen along the west side of the building.) Ponte Eq- 5. The Merck-Associated Press-Burlington Building architect, designed the two-story addition in 1910. uities owns the building, and has yet to make repairs This was built in 1857 as an office building, over the site of the former Columbia University. It housed As reported recently in Our Town Downtown, more from Hurricane Sandy damage. the New York headquarters of the Associated Press than 1,500 people have signed a petition asking the from 1893-1910 and eventually also housed Merck Landmarks Preservation Commission to save the 3 & 4. 360 Broadway/57 Franklin Ensemble These buildings date from the 1840s and once building, and Community Board 1 has issued a resohoused the fifth-floor workshop of the historian CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 lution asking the same.
FOLLOWING A FIRE, A NEW SCHOOL FOR DOGS SMALL BUSINESS A successful two-woman dog training business is seeking a new downtown home after a fire destroyed their previous space BY MARY NEWMAN
CHELSEA Lifelong New Yorker Anna Grossman grew up on 17th Street and 3rd Avenue watching her mother start her own business, and run it out of their apartment. Following in her mom’s foot steps, she has partnered with Kate Senisi to open a dog training studio, School For Dogs, which they also started out of Grossman’s apartment.
After college, Grossman worked as a journalist, getting stories published in the New York Times, Gizmodo, and the Boston Globe. In 2008 she wrote “A Chorus of Dog Whisperers” for the New York Times, which told the story of people changing their established careers to become dog trainers. “That article had sort of planted a seed in my head,” she explained. “Between 2007 when I wrote that article and 2010, I was always keeping my eye out for [dog training] programs.” Grossman decided upon the Karen Pryor Academy, which pairs online classes with several weekend workshops. After finishing the program, and becoming a Certified Profession-
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A new study by city Comptroller Scott Stringer shows that the city is underfunding school arts programs. The report shows that 20% of public schools lack any arts teachers at all, despite state laws requiring arts education for middle and high school students. The problem, according to the report, is disproportionately worse at schools in low-income parts of the city, adding to existing educational inequities across New York, Stringer says. To fix the problem, New York would have to spend $25 million to supply an arts teacher to every school that needs one -- a tenth of a penny for every dollar spent by the Department of Education.
COLUMBIA DENTAL STUDENT MISSING FROM U.W.S. Jiwon Lee, a 29-year-old female student at Columbia’s College of Dental Medicine, has been missing since Tuesday April 1. Friends say she was last seen at her apartment at 220 West 98th Street, at 8:30 p.m. The police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Lee, and her friends and family have set up a Facebook page and are papering the city with missing person flyers. Lee is described as 5’2” tall, 120 lbs., with black hair and eyes. Anyone with information can call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW. NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.