APPELLATE COURT GREENLIGHTS 325-FOOT-TALL TOWER AT 250 WATER ST.

A scale model of the tower that the Howard Hughes Corporation has now been approved to build at 250 Water St, in the Seaport Historic District. The scale model was commissioned by the Seaport Coalition, which has opposed the project as being intrusive and out of place in a neighborhood of historic, low-rise buildings. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

On June 6, the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division: First Department handed down a unanimous decision overturning a ruling by a lower court that had denied a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) allowing the Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) to erect a 325-foot- tall building at 250 Water St. within the South Street Seaport Historic District. The COA had been granted by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) of the City of New York. Now, the Howard Hughes Corporation can go ahead with building its tower.

"We are gratified by the court’s decision, which confirms what we have maintained all along: The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s approval of our project was proper and made in full compliance with the landmarks law,” Howard Hughes co-president Zach Winick said in a statement.

The five judges who heard the case, selected at random from the 14 who hear cases in this court, were Tanya R. Kennedy, Jeffrey K. Oing, Barbara R. Kapnick, Peter H. Moulton and Manuel J. Mendez.

'Bounty Box' From Té Company

Elena Liao and Fred Ribeiro recently returned from a sourcing trip to Taiwan and were offering a limited edition set of six of the teas they discovered. The tea quickly sold out but traditional pineapple cakes, included in the bounty box, are still available. To purchase, click here.

The tea room at 163 West 10th St. is open Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from

11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information about Té Company, e-mail: hello@tecompanytea.com

For more information and to order, click here.

Bits & Bytes

CUOMO WEIGHS IN ON HOUSING FOR MIGRANTS; ELECTED OFFICIALS URGE EXPEDITED WORK PERMITS FOR MIGRANTS; TRIBECA FESTIVAL RETURNS

Wagner Park in Battery Park City as it looked on May 21, 2023. The South Battery Park City Resiliency Project as it is called, was necessary so that the park can resist storm surges and sea level rise. Reconstruction is scheduled to be finished in the spring of 2025. For the latest project construction update, click here. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Tribeca Festival Returns for 22nd Year: Tribeca Festival 2023, which officially kicked off in New York City on June 7, continues through June 18. Tribeca’s Opening Night featured Kiss the Future, a testament to art’s enduring ability to cast light even in the darkest of circumstances. Kiss the Future follows an underground community that worked and created throughout the nearly four-year-long Siege of Sarajevo.

Sensing that a larger voice was needed, an American aid worker made a longshot pitch to U2 to help raise awareness about the Bosnian capital’s plight. The band immediately agreed and began a series of live satellite interviews with local Sarajaevans during their 1993 ZOO TV Tour in an effort to highlight the dire situation on the ground. After those mid-concert interviews ended, the band pledged to play a concert in the city once the conflict came to a close. When U2 arrived to perform a long-promised concert, the show became a monument to the strength and resilience of the people of Sarajevo, and art’s capacity to inspire and unite. It’s not too late to get tickets. The documentary will also screen on June 15.

Downtown Post NYC has been screening some of this year's Tribeca films and has some recommendations that will be posted after the premières of the films in question. The Tribeca Festival is no longer exclusively devoted to films, though they remain the core of the programming. There are also games, immersive productions, TV shows, talks with creators, music and more.

For more information about what's happening at the Festival and when, here are a How to Fest Guide and a detailed Festival Schedule.

The Migrant Crisis, 6/8/2023, New York Daily News. Andrew Cuomo, the 56th governor of New York State and the director of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) during the Clinton administration, weighed in with an opinion piece in the New York Daily News about what should be done to address the "migrant crisis" in New York City. His Op-Ed starts like this: "We all make mistakes but we try not to make the same mistakes twice. Government is mishandling the migrant crisis and seriously underestimating the severity, duration, difficulty and cost. It is frighteningly reminiscent of the mishandling of the homeless families crisis in the early 1980s. At the time it was a relatively new phenomenon. There had always been some number of homeless individuals, usually men, but homeless families (primarily young women and children) were increasing dramatically. Mayor Ed Koch, and other big city mayors, faced this apparently novel development. Their assumption — and that of many — was that it was a short-term problem and the need would be satisfied with hotels, motels, and temporary shelters. The unspoken theory was that somehow the homeless families would find a place to go. They didn’t. Koch literally created an industry of 'welfare hotels.' Substandard facilities, ill-equipped to handle families for long periods of time. ...The migrant crisis today follows the same pattern. There is a false assumption that this is a short-term issue. It is not. Cities and states are paying for hotels and motels. They are exploring school gymnasiums, jails, college dorms, upstate motels and other makeshift solutions. These approaches seriously misdiagnose the problem." For the complete article, click here.

Work permits for migrants: City Council member Gale Brewer (who was formerly Manhattan Borough President and who now represents District 6 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan) organized a letter that was sent on June 5, 2023 to President Joe Biden asking him to fast-track work authorizations for asylum seekers in New York City. The letter was signed by numerous elected officials including two who represent parts of Lower Manhattan: City Council Member Christopher Marte of District 1 and State Senator Brian Kavanagh, who represents New York State Senate District 27 which covers Lower Manhattan from the Battery to 14th Street, including Tribeca, Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side, SoHo, NoHo, Greenwich Village and the East Village.

The letter points out that "The individuals and families coming to New York are professionals, including, business owners, welders, teachers, reporters, and more. Tens of thousands of asylum seekers in New York City want and need to work, but very few have been approved to do so and they face years-long processing times for their

applications. Many are working without authorization, which puts them at risk of exploitation and injury. No work means no money. No money means no way to afford an apartment or groceries. No apartment or groceries means full dependence on city social services and non-profit organizations. Full dependence means an open-ended and heavy strain on the city budget and the asylum seekers’ dignity and mobility.

The Department of Homeland Security has the discretion to grant Humanitarian Parole and Temporary Protected Status without Congressional action."

Downtown Post NYC Food



DINE AROUND DOWNTOWN 2023

On June 6, 2023, Dine Around Downtown took place on Fosun Plaza a day before the smoke from Canada's wildfires blanketed New York City. Dozens of Lower Manhattan restaurants offered food that ranged in price from $5 to $9. The Downtown Alliance sponsored the event in partnership with Fosun. (Photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Juneteenth in Battery Park City

Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, is a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It celebrates the anniversary of an order, issued by Major General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas. Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1865 in Galveston, Texas. On June 17, Battery Park City’s 7th annual Juneteenth Celebration, the Federation of Black Cowboys will share history, horsemanship and riding. (Must be 3 years old or older for pony ride). Other activities: paint a Juneteenth flag, make a bandana with bright West African print fabric, meet Glori B, a Brooklyn watercolorist who captures the African-American West in her art. Place: Rockefeller Park lawn. Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

(Photos: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer 2022)

Part of the Meatpacking District and West Street as seen from the Whitney Museum of American Art at 99 Gansevoort St. (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Whitney Museum Gay Pride Observances

The Whitney Museum of American Art at 99 Gansevoort St. is located in New York City's former Meatpacking District on the West Side of Lower Manhattan. In the 1970s, the area began to be known not just for meatpacking and other industries but for night clubs catering to a gay clientele and for prostitution involving transsexuals. Beginning in the late 1990's, high-end boutiques opened in the area, and by 2004, the Meatpacking District had become fashionable, abetted in June 2009 by the opening of the first segment of the High Line.

The Whitney opened on May 1, 2015 near the southernmost entrance of the High Line. This is a museum noteworthy for its embrace of artists of varied backgrounds and for often mounting shows with politicized messages. So it's no wonder that the Whitney is celebrating Gay Pride Month with a multitude of events that acknowledge the years when the streets around the museum were a hub of gay activity. The museum states that "Whitney Pride is part of the Museum’s ongoing commitment to support LGBTQ+ artists and communities and offer an inclusive space for all to gather and enjoy American art. Registration is required for most programs, which are for adults 21+" This a partial schedule of what the Whitney plans for the month of June:


June 5: On the occasion of the New York premiere of HBO Documentary Film "The Stroll" (2023), the Whitney celebrated the history of the Meatpacking District and honored the transgender women who helped shape it with a free after-hours event featuring music, dancing, and refreshments in the Museum’s Griffin Hall. "The Stroll" (2023) is a documentary film that explores the history of New York City's Meatpacking District through the eyes of the transgender women of color who lived and worked there. The film is titled after the block of 14th street between Ninth Avenue and the Hudson River where trans women, shunned from the workforce, turned to sex work as a means of survival. Their perspectives and insights contribute to an essential archive documenting how heavy policing, discrimination, violence, and gentrification created Manhattan’s built environment today. Though this screening has passed, "The Stroll" will be available as of June 21 at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO and will be available to stream on Max coinciding with LGBTQ Pride Month.

June 10: Whitney Pride Celebration. To honor our LGBTQ+ community and allies, the Whitney will host a celebration with activities designed for community members and families of all ages, including artmaking, tours, giveaways, and more. Free. Tickets to the Museum must be reserved separately, advance booking is recommended. Time: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

June 17: The Matthew Westerby Company and Hudson Guild Theatre Company Present The Piers Project, inspired by the history and documentation of the world that existed on Manhattan's west side piers in the 1970s and '80s. In the post-Stonewall era, the area became a space of sexual freedom and creative expression among the crumbling relics of the piers. Through photographs and first-hand written accounts capturing the scene, dancers imagine the moments and movements that occurred there, creating a dance work that evokes the freedom, exuberance, anonymity, and dangers of the piers during this time. The program will feature the premiere of Life/Space, a dance work performed by the seven women of MWC inspired by Gestalt psychological theory, which places an emphasis on perception and how we use our senses to understand the world around us. The piece explores a humanistic approach to the study of the individual and how the forces of attraction and repulsion affect our paths through space and time. Place: Susan and John Hess Family Gallery and Theater on Floor 3 in the Whitney Museum. Times: 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. This event is free with registration. To register, click here.

For more events at the Whitney during June Pride Month, click here.

Gay Pride at the South Street Seaport Museum

June 24: Cap the Seaport Museum’s Pride Month festivities by getting out on the water to join the LGBTQ+ sailing club Knickerbocker Sailing Association’s (KSA) 21st-annual floating parade. Two of the Museum’s National Register-listed historic vessels will join over 30 vessels for the sail, which means you can join part of the parade on the 1885 schooner Pioneer or on the 1930 tugboat W.O. Decker. The fleet of 30+ vessels will feature sails designed by Gilbert Baker who created the first pride flag and was a member of KSA.

For each Pioneer and Decker ticket purchased, the Seaport Museum will donate a sailing ticket to Ali Forney Center, which is dedicated to protecting LGBTQ+ young people from the harms of homelessness and empowers them with the tools needed to live independently.

Time: 1 p.m. Place: Leaving from Pier 16 Cost: $15–$30 for W.O. Decker and $20 to $50 for Pioneer.

Click here to get your ticket to join the procession aboard Pioneer or W.O. Decker. Advance registration is required. Capacity is limited.

Want to enjoy the parade from shore? The procession of vessels is expected to sail past the Seaport Museum between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. and anyone can come to Pier 16 to watch the boats and cheer them on. While on the Pier, you are invited to browse and support the Hester Street Fair, which will feature all queer-owned or -operated businesses.

Classic Harbor Line’s schooner, Adirondack, cruising up the Hudson River in celebration of Gay Pride Day. June 28, 2020 (Photo: © Terese Loeb Kreuzer)