November 29th - December 3rd, 2010

CB 1 Calls for Congress to pass the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act

November 29 - The vote was unanimous, according to The Battery Park City Broadsheet Daily. It calls on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to schedule a vote on during the last Senate session of the year.  CB1 Chair Julie Menin said "it's a critical juncture...  This is not an entitlement program...  The government has a duty to cover our residents."

Lower Manhattan is Now Called the “CanDo” District

November 29 – The New York Travel Advisory Bureau just released a map of Manhattan in its effort to brand Lower Manhattan as the “CanDo” (Canal Street Down) district. The map will include graphics and text about museums, theaters and other Downtown recreational spots. The Tribeca Trib also reported the move is aimed at attracting more tourists to Lower Manhattan.

Transportation Officials Offer a Peak at New 9A

November 29 - The land along West Street in front of the World Financial Center will one day connect existing bike lanes and pedestrian walkways south from Liberty Street and north from Vesey Street along the west side of the highway. The target date for completion, according to The Downtown Express is 2014. In front of One World Financial Center,  granite-walled buffers landscaped with London Plane trees will separate the highway, bike path and walkway. The section in front of One World Financial Center is expected to be complete next fall, though the street-level crossing at Liberty Street cannot be open until after the Port Authority’s Vehicle Security Center is finished in 2012.

Former Battery Park Chief Lands a New Job

November 30 – Jim Cavanaugh, who was president of the Battery Park City Authority for five years, has joined Empire Strategic Planning, the government affairs firm founded in 2007 by former state Sen. Nick Spano. The story appeared in Crain’s Insider.

Silverstein is seeking $200 million in Stimulus Bonds

November 30 - DNAinfo.com and The Wall Street Journal report Silverstein wants money from the Federal stimulus package to help build Tower 3, a 71-story skyscraper that is scheduled to open in 2015.  The $25 billion federal Recovery Zone Bonds program expires at the end of this year, so the bonds must be issued before then.

The Port Authority is terror-proofing PATH Tunnels

November 30 - The New York Post reports defense contract are installing reinforced metal plates along the interior of the tunnels. Also, massive flood-prevention gates are being erected at either end of the two main lines that run from the WTC and the West Village to Jersey City. The flood gates are designed to close off one or more tubes should water come surging in from a catastrophic bombing.

Former Verizon Tower for Sale

December 1 – M&T Bank is trying to sell 375 Pearl St., an almost entirely vacant tower that Verizon once used to house telephone switching equipment, sources close to the deal told Crain’s New York Business. The bank is hoping to get $125 million, but sources said it was unlikely the price would be that high. The building needs a $200 million rehab to make it suitable for commercial use.

Stalled building sites in NYC hits 692

December 1 – That figure is up 52% from last October, according to a report in Crain’s New York Business, which cites the lack of financing for the steep increase. The New York Building Congress analysis of the City DOB inspections found Brooklyn had the greatest number of stalled sites with 319. That is nearly half, 46%, of the citywide total. Queens had the second most stalled projects with 153, up 19% from a year earlier, while Manhattan had 130 such sites, nearly double the 66 it had one year earlier. Staten Island saw the sharpest increase in stalled projects. There the total tripled to 60, while the Bronx had 30 stalled projects in October, up from 22 a year ago.

Chinatown may get its own BID

December 2 – The Chinatown Chamber of Commerce is working with Community Boards 1, 2 and 3 to establish a Business Improvement District, saying it’s the best way to let Chinatown’s business people help themselves during a struggling economy. For the past three and a half years, it's been able to perform most of its daily maintenance through a grant from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. But that program will sunset at the end of this year, according to a report on NY1.

West Street bike and pedestrian path temporarily closing

December 3 - Starting Monday, the portion of the path between Liberty and Vesey Streets will be closed for many months. The closure is necessary to accommodate construction to link the Winter Garden to the East-West Connector, according to The Battery Park City Broadsheet Daily.  During the interim, cyclists will be detoured around the west side of the World Financial Center, until they reach Albany street, at which point both the bike path and walkway will remain open. Pedestrians will be free to walk through the World Financial Center or follow any of several street routes between Liberty and Vesey Street.