Seen & Heard: New Non-Profit on Laight

••• An organization called Understood has set up shop at 32 Laight, on the block opposite the Holland Tunnel offramps. From the National Center for Learning Disabilities website: “The NCLD and 14 other nonprofits have been developing a new digital destination for parents of children with learning and attention issues.” And from the email I got when I signed up for updates: “Offered in English and Spanish and developed by leading non-profit organizations, experts and parents, Understood.org will help parents all along their journey so their kids can thrive in school and in life. At Understood.org, you can: Get practical advice with tools that help you navigate common behavior challenges; experience videos and games that simulate reading, math, organization and attention issues; personalize your online experience to deliver content most relevant to you and your child; connect in a private online community with parents who are on a similar journey; participate in live chats with experts in learning and attention issues.”

••• I was walking on Hudson the other day when I got a sense of how much 30 Park Place will dominate its neighbors. It’ll be 82 stories when done; Barclay Tower and the Woolworth Building are 58 and 60 stories, respectively.

30 Park Place from Hudson••• From Downtown Alliance: “The thirteenth Dine Around Downtown, a community tasting event brought to you by the Downtown Alliance and Fosun International, will take place at One Chase Manhattan Plaza (between Liberty & Pine and Nassau & William) on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. You’ll find 50 fabulous restaurants all at one food fair. It is open to the public and admission is free. Signature menu items will be available for between $3 and $7, and the event will feature music by National Jazz Museum in Harlem All-Stars.”

••• Have you been to Murray’s Cheese Shop on Bleecker since it expanded? May have to do some regular stocking up there…. (And yes I know this is not Tribeca! I don’t care!)

Murrays Cheese Shop dairy section••• I hear that the big new building going up where 353-355-357 Broadway currently is (are?) will start work in 2015. So enjoy that Cuban coffee while you can….

••• WTC Progress released this very interesting aerial photo of Liberty Park at the World Trade Center last month. (via FiDi Fan Page)

Liberty Park courtesy WTC Progress••• Apt timing, what with the recent post about Susan Rosenberg Jones’s portfolio: My husband Adam came across this exquisite 1976 photo of Independence Plaza North by the late Peter Hujar; it’s in MoMA’s collection. (“Best they’ve ever looked,” said Adam.)

IPN by Peter Hujar

 

7 Comments

  1. Thanks for the Liberty Park pic! Is the squarish thing at the top St. Nicholas? What are the other odd shapes?

  2. The square at the top will be the site of the new St. Nicholas (designed by Calatrava). It’s construction is completely independent of the Liberty Park. The Church is not due to be completed until 2017 or so. Liberty Park on the other hand should be done by late next Spring/early Summer.

  3. Understood sounds like it has a noble mission, but as a fellow neighbor on the block, none of us appreciated that they did their space buildout each night from 7pm until the wee hours. For weeks, their electricians and other subs worked only in the dead of night, without permits (presumably to avoid city inspectors). One night, they were using a loud power saw out on the street at 11pm. When I finally notified them that we knew they were working without permits, they quickly retreated. However, almost every building on the block has its permits displayed and it would be nice if the management of 32 Laight also had its occupants and tenants play by the rules. I’m sure the nonprofit was just trying to save money, but it’s a danger and nuisance to the neighbors when extensive electrical work is not done to code, or when they think they can use the sidewalk for loud work at 11pm at night.

  4. The 32 Laight photo does not appear to show any wheelchair access, kind of ironic for building housing a group with the word Disabilities in their name.