••• “Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday he believes the 9/11 sphere should remain in Battery Park.” —DNAinfo

••• “Still no news on where the Port Authority plans to move the WTC Sphere but according to the Staten Island Advance, Staten Island Borough President James. P. Molinaro is lobbying for WTC Sphere to be moved to Staten Island Sept. 11 Memorial.” —Tribeca Trib

••• “After months of delays and millions of dollars in cost overruns, workers are making progress on repairing the landmarked 126-year-old [Pier A] at Lower Manhattan’s tip and will finish by the end of the year, Gayle Horwitz, president of the Battery Park City Authority, said Monday. The authority will then turn the pier over to a team of developers, including the Poulakakos family, to open an $18 million oyster bar and catering hall there. The new three-story bar and restaurant, along with a tourist information center and a new public plaza, is scheduled to open in the summer or early fall of 2013.” —DNAinfo

••• VE Equities will break ground soon on 11 N. Moore (at Varick), first written about here. “The company has once again tapped Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Eklund Gomes team, headed by Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes.” —The Real Deal

••• “The high-spending husband of beautiful socialite Annie Churchill was hauled off to jail this morning for stealing $590,000 from three of her rich investor pals via his bogus ‘virtual reality shopping mall’ Web site. Andrew Albert, 50, conned his wife’s pals for cash back in 2008, then spent the next two years blowing the money on fancy meals, clothes and renovations for the couple’s new Tribeca loft.” —New York Post

••• “Operation Sail is coming back to New York City this morning to commemorate the oft-forgotten War of 1812, which Henry Adams considered America’s second revolution. The bicentennial of the war will be marked by free boat tours and two parades: The Parade of Sail features an international array of 17 tall ships, and the Military Parade of Sail includes ten warships, plus military aircraft.” —Broadsheet

••• “Facing orders from the Department of Education, [P.S. 276] Principal Terri Ruyter will open a fifth kindergarten class that all but eliminates the kindergarten waitlist but creates future crowding concerns. ” —Tribeca Trib

••• “The city has spent a staggering $30 million on police overtime at the Occupy Wall Street protests, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Thursday. The total overtime cost has ballooned over the past two months from $17 million in March to nearly double that on Thursday, Kelly said at a City Council budget hearing. The spike in spending follows the massive May Day protests of Tuesday, May 1.” —DNAinfo (Speaking of DNAinfo, did you know that its owner is the rich guy who was considering running the Jeremiah Wright-based attacks on President Obama?)

••• “It seems like it’s been awhile since a lunch spot like French Cafe Gourmand has opened in the Financial District—as in a place that’s not a chain or a new branch of a chain. No, this cafe on Maiden Lane (btw. B’way & Nassau) is run by actual French people and they sell a small selection of items including coffee, soup, salads, sandwiches and some French pastries and baked goods.” I’m onboard with that sandwich. —Midtown Lunch

••• “Dozens of waitlisted Battery Park City kindergarteners could be bused to school in Chinatown this fall, Department of Education officials said at a meeting Wednesday night.” —DNAinfo

••• “A woman dressed in jogging clothes plunged into the East River at Wall Street Friday morning, authorities and a witness said. The woman, who was described as distressed, climbed over a fence at Pier 11 and jumped into the water.” —DNAinfo

••• “There’s a mild puzzle in the recent sale of the ’1,872 sq ft’ Manhattan loft #3B at 366 Broadway (Collect Pond House) at $1.72mm, as it sounds like a beautiful loft that went for less than you’d think (well, than I’d think). But there is also a more emotional response, one of empathy, for a seller who tried to sell into The Peak but just could not get the deal done then.” —Manhattan Loft Guy

••• “More than 150 residents of Gateway Plaza gathered in the auditorium of P.S. 276 on Thursday evening, for a meeting of the Gateway Plaza Tenants’ Association. The event also drew a quorum of Downtown leaders and elected officials, among them State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, City council member Margaret Chin, and Community Board 1 chair Julie Menin.” That’s five, if you’re counting. —Broadsheet

As mentioned in the first item:

••• JCP’s pop-up shop is now online.

••• Per a tweet from @TibiTaylor: “USPS moving from Peck Slip to 114 John St on June 4.” The old USPS building at Peck Slip will become a school.

••• From New Amsterdam Market: “Please join us this Sunday for our second Gathering of Fisheries, which will bring together local fishmongers, shellfish vendors, chefs, and other supporters of a revived Fulton Fish Market site for a day of celebrating our coasts and the bounty they provide. [...] In addition to the fisheries, nearly 40 regular New Amsterdam Market vendors will be present—including Flying Fox, making her season debut with fresh-picked strawberries from Maryland—so check out the full list on our website.”

••• A note in the window of Seaport restaurant SamSara says it’s reopening soon with a new chef and a new menu.

••• From local art furniture designers Cmmnwlth: “A furniture show of ours (for ICFF, with three other U.S. designers) opens at Mondo Cane tonight 6–9 p.m. The exhibit is called “No Frontier”: and it’s co-curated by Volume Gallery of Chicago. We’ll be presenting the entire Seltanica series consisting of a family of lights, a wall mounted hook and an umbrella stand.”

••• From a reader: “I’m the parent of a Spruce Street School student. Last night the school held a fundraiser on the school’s rooftop playground, which sits below the west side of the Gehry tower. Harry’s Italian donated excellent food, local wine merchants donated cases of vino, and someone renting one of the apartments above the party donated several brown eggs, which came splattering down on the parents. If the party was that noisy, wouldn’t a call to the doormen of the building to do something about it have been the easiest thing to do? Spruce Street School and the Gehry tower co-exist in the same building. I know a relationship exists between building management and school staff because they’ve had to meet and discuss the beer bottles another tenant (or the same?) previously rained down on the playground. What’s next? If recess gets too noisy should parents and school staff need to worry that someone is going to injure the kids? That behavior is disgusting. A doorman could have easily called the school to complain, or simply walked around the corner and said something to the security staff in the school lobby. People in this city are really gross.” It’s true! But they’re gross everywhere.

••• From the Department of Transportation: “The New York City Department of Transportation today announced the installation of a prototype for the agency’s first-ever outdoor art display case at TriBeCa’s Bogardus Plaza on Hudson Street between Chambers and Reade streets. The model, designed by Architecture Research Office, will be in place for one month to observe the design’s performance in an outdoor environment. Last fall, DOT issued a challenge to designers, asking them to reinvent the fixed display cases seen in museums and galleries as a moveable piece for outdoor use. ARO’s design was selected for implementation. The goal is to temporarily install display cases in pedestrian plazas and other areas within the public realm to create new opportunities for displaying art such as photos, paintings and collages.” Call me old-fashioned, but I think parks should be a respite from manmade visual stimulation.

••• From Manhattan Youth: “The Art Shack is a place where kids can get together for special art projects or to participate in the creation of  murals we are now making at Pier 25. The Mural Project is an on-going project and one day we hope to wrap the entire pier in children’s murals.” Let’s see if I can piss even more people off: I’m not sure how I feel about that last part, actually. Is kids’ art not best appreciated on the family’s fridge?

••• From a reader: “Janet Newman is opening a show of her very unique flower paintings [tonight] at the Sovereign Bank at corner of Franklin and Hudson, 5:30 to 8 p.m.”

••• Something called Delmonico’s Café wants to open at 300 Spring (between Hudson and Renwick, where Sora Lella used to be).

••• 481 Washington—just north of Canal—is being marketed as the Spice Warehouse (as if the real spice warehouse isn’t further south). No clue if this is new; I don’t walk up that part of Washington very often.

••• “Law enforcement officials are searching for one person they say is responsible for mailing 380 suspicious envelopes to elementary, middle and high schools, as well as government offices and other institutions across the U.S., the FBI announced Wednesday. Two elite lower Manhattan schools [including P.S. 234], which received envelopes containing white powder last Thursday, May 10, were among those terrorized by the mysterious substance sent out last week with a North Texas postmark. [...] They believe the suspect is likely to be a male who may not demonstrate a mastery of formal English. The suspect is also likely to be over the age of 30 and perceived by others as odd or eccentric.” You think? —DNAinfo

••• “Meg Ryan’s downtown home hunt continues. She was spotted this week at 153 Franklin St., the infamous Tribeca townhouse where [...] disgraced former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn lived while under house arrest after being accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid.” —New York Post

••• “Parents at the Spruce Street School are demanding pedestrian safety improvements in the wake of a crash that killed a UPS worker across the street last month.” —DNAinfo

••• “The questions came fast and furious but the answers were frustratingly few in a meeting with school officials over what lies ahead in September for children on kindergarten waitlists.” In other news, the world continues to turn. —Tribeca Trib

••• Those three buildings the city wants to sell (22 Reade, 346 Broadway, and 49-51 Chambers) have been deemed unsuitable for schools. —Downtown Express

••• “In the last few days, three little cottages have appeared at the base of the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, like a rural-themed mirage. The installation is for Country Living’s semiregular House of the Year.” —New York Times

••• “After just a few months at the restaurant, Atera‘s Wine Director Alex LaPratt announced yesterday that he will no longer oversee the restaurant’s deep and ambitious wine list.” —Eater

••• “Ambitious new FiDi lounge Demi Monde is slated to open at the end of the month. One of the partners in the project is Death & Co owner David Kaplan, so expect some serious cocktails. [...] The coffee program from LA’s Handsome Coffee Roasters will debut a few months after the opening.” A few months?! —Eater

••• More on the new NestSeekers International real estate office, headed by “Million Dollar Listing” star Ryan Serhant, at 156 Reade. —The Real Deal

••• “The New York Harbor School on Governors Island, in partnership with several other organizations, is leading oyster restoration efforts. On April 26th, the New York Academy of Sciences presented ‘Can Oysters Save the New York Harbor?’—a panel discussion about the future of oysters in the local waters.” —Broadsheet

••• “The wait is aready over for children on the P.S. 234 kindergarten waitlist. Last week the school’s principal, Lisa Ripperger, sent letters to all 22 remaining families on the list to say their children will have a seat at the school. Ripperger created the extra space [...] by adding another kindergarten section—a sixth—to her school.” —Tribeca Trib

••• “A new bar and restaurant is opening soon in the former Yankee Clipper space on John Street—despite objections from many of the building’s residents. At a tense Community Board 1 meeting last week, condo owners at 170 John St. confronted the team behind The Trading Post, the new eatery that is now under construction in the landmarked building.” —DNAinfo

••• Potbelly Sandwich Shop has a new “Mediterranean” vegetarian sandwich. —Midtown Lunch

••• “I’ve only eaten at the Yushi in the World Financial Center once to try their healthy take on chicken katsu, but it wasn’t bad, so I was happy to see paper up in a window on Pearl St. btw. Maiden Lane and Pine saying it was forthcoming. They’re known for their conveyor belt sushi and also have hot items and other Japanese fare in a fast food setting.” —Midtown Lunch

••• “A few days ago, the Post reported that JCPenney had signed a lease for 200 Lafayette Street, but it was unclear what might be happening with the building’s 11,500-square-foot retail space. Now, the Commercial Observer confirms that JCPenney did indeed lease the retail portion of the building.” Wait, what’s that sound? Could it be nails in Soho’s coffin? —Racked

••• “The city will deal with Downtown’s record kindergarten waitlists by sending the extra kids to Chinatown or cramming more students into already-crowded local schools, Department of Education officials told parents Monday. Parents slammed the DOE’s proposals as inadequate for dealing with the nearly 100 children who were waitlisted this year at four of Downtown’s five elementary schools. The parents [...] said the only real solution is to build another new school in Lower Manhattan.” —DNAinfo

••• “Noted architect Winka Dubbeldam both lives and works at 11 Hubert Street, a building she redesigned [...] herself. Perhaps Dubbeldam is ready to move on to a new creation, because 11 Hubert is now on the market, with an ask of $16.7 million. (Dubbeldam’s Soho 2BR is still for sale, too.)” Wait, does this mean that the lawsuit is settled? —Curbed

••• A mechanical singing pig made its debut at Duane Park restaurant. —Artnet

••• “Megu [...] just received a Six Star Diamond Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences, a group that honors stellar luxury establishments around the globe. The only other New York restaurant to ever receive a Six Star Diamond Award is Midtown’s Jean Georges.” —DNAinfo

••• The Pier 25 snack bar is open. I was out jogging, and I forgot the menu as soon as I looked at it. I know there was a veggie burger, and I think hot dogs, and several ice cream bars. UPDATE: See photo (click to enlarge). I heartily recommend the Double Caramel Magnum Bar.

••• From Chabad of Tribeca/Soho: “We will be opening our Hebrew school, Hi Tech Hebrew this coming September. Hi Tech Hebrew will combine an innovative multi sensory approach to learning enhanced by interactive technology with an outstanding Judaic & Hebrew language program and social action focus.”

••• “This summer the River to River Festival and The Joyce Theater will present the U.S. premiere of ‘Le Grand Continental’ by Montreal-based choreographer Sylvain Émard at the South Street Seaport. The performance brings together 200+ participants of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds—dancers and non-dancers alike—to perform a contemporary re-imagining of a traditional festive line dance. This is an open call to perform in the River To River Festival and work with an internationally renowned choreographer. Join a diverse and dynamic group of New Yorkers from all five boroughs for this free, fun, once-in-a-lifetime event. If you are a dancer—professional or amateur—or just want to be one, we want you! Prospective participants must attend one of the following info sessions: April 19 @ Joyce SoHo, Studio 3, 155 Mercer Street; April 23 @ Joyce SoHo, Studio 1, 155 Mercer. Click here for more info and to sign up: tfaforms.com/232598.” The performances are June 22-24.

••• There’s a sale going on at 45 (43?) White.

••• “As Lower Manhattan soars upward in glass and steel, Tribeca resident and Community Board member Allan Tannenbaum is celebrating the paperback release of his book, New York in the 70s.
‘New York City has changed so much! This will bring readers back to a bygone era when the City was broke but you didn’t need a lot of money to do things. It was very exciting and very creative,’ he said.” —The Broadsheet

••• “A Tribeca superintendant was sentenced to three to nine years in prison for stealing from residents of his building at 427 Washington Street. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced the sentencing today of Mihaly Kovacsezics, a 62-year-old superintendent who pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny. Kovaczevics was charged with stealing $13,365 worth of paintings from one resident and $23,380 worth of jewelry from another resident, when he was entrusted to supervise a delivery to the latter’s apartment. In a seperate [sic] incident, he also agreed to sell 13 pieces of jewelry for a business associate, not affiliated with the building, only to cut off contact with the associate and keep the jewelry.” —The Real Deal (with much more background in this old Observer article)

••• “The young musicians at P.S. 150 can now sing as loudly as they want to — thanks to a sunny new music room with insulated doors that opened Monday.” There’s video of the kids singing, if you’re into that. —DNAinfo