Tribeca Citizen » World Financial Center

In the News: Inside Demi Monde

Erik Torkells — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:22:03 +0000

••• Inside Demi ~~Moore~~ Monde, the new FiDi bar, restaurant, and someday, café. Do I have to go there or can we call it done? —Eater

••• “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

In the News: Fake Grenade at the World Financial Center

Erik Torkells — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:09:25 +0000

••• “Antonio Fermin, who has performed at Carnegie Hall and worked as a piano teacher, was arrested and pleaded guilty [...] to illegally receiving $17,815 in Section 8 housing funds from July 2004 to September 2009, after failing to disclose he owned a three-bedroom, 2,700-square-foot hideaway on wooded Ranch Court in Sagaponack, court records showed. He used the money to pay for a two-bedroom apartment in Independence Plaza, which, at that time, was Mitchell-Lama low-income housing. He was already paying a subsidized, below-market $1,000-a-month rent for an apartment at the Tribeca complex that normally costs about $3,400.” —DNAinfo

••• A New York Times article about New York Ranger Brad Richards says that his teammate, defenseman Michael Del Zotto, also lives in Tribeca.

••• Then again, the New York Times also said that Matt Bernson opened his new store “at the same Tribeca location that has housed his design studio for six years,” which would certainly be news to Capucine.

••• “Community Board 1 got an infusion of fresh talent in April. As part of the panel’s annual appointment cycle, three new members joined the board: Adam Malitz, Tammy Meltzer and Linda Gertsman will replace Tiffany Winbush and Peter Glazer, who were not reappointed, and Elizabeth (Liz) Williams who decided not to reapply.” —Broadsheet

••• “One World Trade Center has a logo.” —Wall Street Journal

••• “Hidrock Realty, a New York developer, bought a vacant lot near the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan where it plans to build a 300-room hotel. The property at 133 Greenwich St. was purchased in a joint venture with Robert Finvarb Cos. for $27.9 million [...]. The partners plan to spend an additional $70 million to develop the 28-story hotel, which is slated to open in 2015.” Maybe Downtown Alliance will do a map showing all the hotels in the works. Because it’s out of control. —New York Post

••• Someone left a “novelty grenade” at the World Financial Center, which was evacuated as a result. —@Breaking911. UPDATE from DNAinfo: “Police determined that the suspicious device was a grenade-like novelty item mounted on a plaque with a sign: ‘Complaint Dept. Pull Pin,’ the NYPD said on Twitter.”

Seen & Heard: Chipotle Correction

Erik Torkells — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:45:07 +0000

••• CORRECTION: The Chipotle coming to southwest Tribeca is actually in 275 Greenwich (so presumably the old Twin Café space at Greenwich and Murray) and not 295 Greenwich (Chambers and Greenwich). Not sure how I confused the two, but it happens.

••• You may recall how the CB1 agenda for April said that someone named Paolo Meregalli was applying for a liquor license for 273 Church, which is where Souths is. Souths said it wasn’t so, and now I’ve heard from Meregalli. I’ll wait for the meeting minutes to share his plan, but he did say it is for 279 Church, which is the brick building that was the Fig Leaf Theater.

••• From the World Financial Center on Facebook: “Make sure to hit the ATM tomorrow—Girl Scout Cookies at the WFC Courtyard tomorrow!”

••• I had ~~coffee~~ tea with a friend* I met through Tribeca Citizen this morning, and during the conversation she told me that she makes a point of telling businesses—specifically mentioning Bloom and Euphoria Spa—that she’s there because she read about them here. She asked me if I thought that helps, and I said it does, a lot. So if you patronize a business because you read about it here, please mention it. (*At one point, I referred to her as a friend, and she said, “Oh! How sweet that you think we’re friends.” My eyebrows shot skyward so fast they may still be on the ceiling of Kaffe 1668.) P.S. She explained that she did genuinely think it was sweet that I considered her a friend (and vice versa).

Coming Up: Open Studios, the Titanic, and Isabella Rossellini

Erik Torkells — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 19:42:14 +0000

MARCH 25
“Join Mario the Magician for an uplifting, inventive, and highly interactive magical performance for the young and young-at-heart! Part retro, part rock and roll, Mario is an artist and inventor who creates his own props. Mario’s old world looks and physical comedy style are reminiscent of his heroes, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but he puts a thoroughly modern spin on everything he does.” At Space on White; also May 27, June 17, and July 22.

MARCH 27
Open studios at the Clocktower Gallery: “See the projects and meet the artists in our studios: Julie Covello aka DJ Shakey, Caroline Cox, Sabisha Friedberg, and Haroon Mirza, plus take a tour through the Canyon Candy exhibition. Free & open to the public, no entry after 7 p.m.” (It starts at 6 p.m.) I love the Clocktower Gallery but you do need instructions on how to visit, which were in a recent email but I can’t find on their website: “The Clocktower Gallery is located in a City-owned building at 108 Leonard Street between Broadway and Lafayette, so please, remember to bring your ID for security. Enter through the grey door under the scaffolding and take the elevator to the 12th Floor. Take a left, enter through the red staircase B door, and walk up to the 13th Floor. The Clocktower offices and studios are down the corridor.”

APRIL 4
I can’t quite tell, but Isabella Rossellini might be at 92YTribeca; “selected works from the Green Porno and Seduce Me series” will be shown either way. Do you think she gets to keep the costumes for her own enjoyment?

APRIL 4–MAY 5
“Flux” at Cheryl Hazan Gallery: “Cheryl Hazan Contemporary Art presents three artists who work with metal to perform a kind of alchemy or flux. With interests in science and nature—in different ways, each transforms the hardness of metal into organic forms.” The artists are Matt Devine (that’s one of his works pictured), John Ensor Parker, and Carolina Sardi.

APRIL 5–MAY 12
“Kansas is pleased to present Lost in America, a solo exhibition of new work by Sylvan Lionni. [...] Sylvan Lionni reinterprets established hierarchies and dissolves cultural hegemony through appropriative techniques which deconstruct symbolic objects and their clichés. Familar icons are illuminated by a new vocabulary that serves to charter networks of analogy between lived and imagined form.”

APRIL 5
The Good Fairy—written by Preston Sturges—is at 92YTribeca.

OPENING APRIL 10
“On April 10, 2012, the one hundredth anniversary of RMS Titanic’s launch on her maiden—and only—voyage, the South Street Seaport Museum will open ‘Titanic,’ an exhibition that examines both the disaster and a century’s worth of fascination with the ship’s dramatic story. The exhibition will feature original historic objects and documents from Titanic and her passengers, as well with interactive elements and artifacts that show how the event has been remembered and interpreted in popular culture, including production items ranging from the 1953 film Titanic starring Barbara Stanwyck through to the most current interpretation, the upcoming four-part ABC miniseries, Titanic, written by Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) scheduled to air April 14 and 15, 2012.” None of my business, but these days Julian Fellowes might be better known these days as the man behind “Downton Abbey.”

APRIL 10
“Pen Parentis will celebrate the new works of three authors who see the world a special way: Ann Napolitano, author of the novel A Good Hard Look; Deborah Copaken Kogan, author of Shutterbabe, memoir of her time as war photographer; and Tara Altebrando/McCarthy who writes successfully for both adults and for teens. The April Pen Parentis Salon—Visionary Women will begin with networking over wine and continue with readings from new works, book signings and discussion surrounding the balance of family with a successful literary career. All Pen Parentis authors are parents” but kids are not allowed.

APRIL 12
“Daily Show” writers do stand-up comedy at 92YTribeca.

APRIL 13
From Yahoo! Sports: “The skate contest [at the Tribeca Skatepark near Pier 25] is being organized by POW!! Skateboards and it is set to take place on April 13, 2012, from noon until 3 p.m. It is a best trick contest with a delightfully wicked twist, in that those competing in the skate contest are being asked to sport a hockey mask like Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th horror movies. [...] Prizes will be given out to the three best skaters wearing one of the masks. Those that don’t want to wear a mask may still skate, they just won’t be eligible for the top three prizes.”

APRIL 13
Betty plays 92YTribeca.

APRIL 19–MAY 19
At Hionas Gallery: Burton Machen’s “Urban Evolution: Portrait’s Project.” That’s one at left.

APRIL 19
Jaws screens for free at the Tribeca Film Festival’s “Drive-In” at the World Financial Center: “Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 6 p.m. The programs will also begin at 6 p.m., with live music at 7 p.m., and screenings starting at dusk (approximately 8:15 p.m.).” That movie ruined the ocean for me.

APRIL 20
The Goonies screens for free at the Tribeca Film Festival’s “Drive-In” at the World Financial Center. See above for admission info.

APRIL 21
Knuckleball!, a baseball documentary, screens for free at the Tribeca Film Festival’s “Drive-In” at the World Financial Center. See above for admission info.

APRIL 21
Tribeca/NYFEST Soccer Day at Pier 40: “All ages and skill levels are welcome to ‘kick it’ at Tribeca with the second annual Tribeca/NYFEST Soccer Day, which brings together celebrities, film and media professionals, and New York youth for a day filled with athleticism, learning and fun. [It] will take place on Pier 40 in Lower Manhattan. The day will include an industry soccer tournament, a celebrity soccer match, and a youth soccer showcase, including soccer clinics for NYC youth, skill demonstrations and workshops.”

APRIL 28
Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair on Greenwich Street and surrounding streets; includes the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day.

MAY 5
“Brooklyn-based electronic duo Silent Drape Runners return to 92YTribeca to curate a night of moody, David Lynch-inspired musical oddness. First, Silent Drape Runners perform their acclaimed ‘Twin Peaks: The Beginning,’ a live-resoundtracking of the beginning to ‘Twin Peaks.’”

JULY 11–12
“Buddy Guy and Neko Case will headline the second annual Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival. This free two-day outdoor concert will take place on July 11 and 12 at the World Financial Center.” The full lineup will be at artsworldfinancialcenter.com.

In the News: Atera Opens Tuesday

Erik Torkells — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:40:26 +0000

••• Atera opens Tuesday: “Atera (“to go out” in the Basque dialect) replaces the short-lived Compose, but retains its prix fixe, tasting-menu format (now $150 for ten courses, plus $90 optional beverage pairing).” —Grub Street, which has a small slideshow of striking food photos given to them by the restaurant. Pictured: “Parsley root split, freeze dried banana, dried cake, dried milk” (photo by Nathan Rawlinson, courtesy Atera). P.S. Anyone want to take me? We can talk about Tribeca! I’m not sure I can justify yet another $400+ dinner anytime soon. I’m still waiting to hear what my tax accountant thinks about my visits to Jungsik and Brushstroke.

••• Occupy Wall Street marched on the World Financial Center yesterday; nobody cared. Tomorrow: Zuccotti Park. —Broadsheet

••• Tachi Gallery’s new show features the work of Phillip Thies, who used to be a pro wrestler named Damien Demento. —New York Times

••• “Stunt Lab” at the Canal Park Playhouse gets a mini-rave from the New York Times. It certainly sounds like something the 10-year-old me would love.

••• “We were walking in Hudson Square the other day and bumped into [..] Billy Evangelou exiting the former Don Hill’s music club, at Greenwich and Spring Sts. A worker with the Pontes, the landlords, was showing him the space. Evangelou grew up across the street and his family once owned the property where Philip Johnson’s Urban Glass House now stands. He said he hopes to rent the Don Hill’s place and bring back live performances there. He’d also like to use it during the day as a music school for underprivileged youth.” —The Villager (via Eater)

Coming Up: “Being Elmo,” Building a Cave, Lonely Phone Booth

Erik Torkells — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:51:39 +0000

MARCH 16–30
“The Cave” is at Frontrunner Gallery: “Produced by Corinne Beardsley, 20 artists and performers are building a cave out of cardboard and wheat pasting newsprint to paint, draw, install sculpture, projections, soundscapes, and host performances of music and theater. The show will inhabit two spaces at 59 Franklin St.—the 400 sq. foot gallery, and its project space in the deep caverns of the building. The audience will discover the dark spaces using crafted flashlight torches.”

MARCH 27
World Financial Center has a free screening of acclaimed documentary Being Elmo.

MARCH 28
Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan is being screened for free at the World Financial Center.

APRIL 1–5
Citizen Cope is playing City Winery.

APRIL 7–29
The Lonely Phone Booth is at Manhattan Children’s Theatre. Maybe it can hook up with the pay phone at Duane and Church because if the high-pitched tone coming out of it for a week is any indication, that phone is hot and bothered.

APRIL 18–JUNE 29
“Skyline Sentinels: New York Water Towers,” photographs by Jeremy G. Landau, at Warburg Realty.

Seen & Heard: World Financial Center in Legos

Erik Torkells — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:00:36 +0000

••• High school student and Lego artist Rocco Buttliere of Buffalo Grove, Ill., has recreated the World Financial Center in more than 21,500 Legos: “Designing this model has been a tremendous undertaking which has been ongoing since July. I am proud to say that after nine months of work, a trip to New York City to take pictures, and many late nights (most within the past four weeks straight), I have officially finished designing my largest and most complex model yet: the World Financial Center complex in New York City.” (Scroll down Buttliere’s post to see more, including the marina.) Who wants to tell him about the construction?

••• Kori is now open Sundays (5–10 p.m.).

••• Pippi Longstocking will be at Polarn O. Pyret on Saturday (2–3 p.m.). Plus, there’ll be Swedish treats.

••• Chipotle has closed for “scheduled maintenance” and will reopen, according to the sign, when the maintenance is done. Which isn’t very helpful, is it? UPDATE: It has reopened.

••• Aamanns/Copenhagen—the Danish restaurant coming to Laight and St. John’s Place—has a sign in the window saying it’ll open sometime in the spring.

In the News: Why 1WTC Is Red

Erik Torkells — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:00:20 +0000

••• “The whole upper plaza [of the World Financial Center] will re-open with a site-specific sculpture created by the noted Argentinian artist, Adrian Villar Rojas. [That's it above.] The work, entitled ‘Before My Birth,’ is being displayed concurrently with a related site-specific work, “A person loved me,” at the New Museum. [...] Two other artworks are planned inside [...] later this month. Artist Molly Dilworth will transform temporary construction barriers inside the Center with an 85-foot mural “36 ° 30′,” a meditation on global trade and labor. In late March, Toronto-based Katharine Harvey will present “Chandelier,” a stunning 21-foot-tall, 15-foot-wide chandelier made entirely of recycled plastic bottles.” (Photo by Jesse Untracht-Oakner courtesy the WFC) —Broadsheet

••• “Former United States soccer player Claudio Reyna is [trying] to sell his condo at the Cipriani Club Residences at 55 Wall St. Reyna has put his Financial District apartment on the market for $1.15 million.” —New York Post

••• One World Trade Center is being lit red in honor of cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, who believes I shouldn’t be allowed to get married. —A Great Big City (Photo courtesy AGBC)

Seen & Heard: Tribeca Film Festival Tickets

Erik Torkells — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:10:25 +0000

••• Earth Celebrations‘ 4th Annual Hudson River Pageant will be on Saturday, May 12—or on May 13 if there’s rain (it’s Mother Nature’s party and she can cry if she wants to!). Teens and adults are welcome at the free puppet and costume workshops being held Wednesdays (6-9 p.m.) and Saturdays (12-4 p.m.) from Mar. 3 to May 9 at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center and Teatro LATEA on the Lower East Side. The pageant is a “parade and performance art event to raise awareness for the restoration of the Hudson River and address climate change in New York City.”

••• I finally reached Industria Argentina owner Stefano Villa. He said that the restaurant should “realistically” reopen in two weeks. The ceiling suffered water damage from the hurricane (remember Irene?), but fixing it took a long time because of a tussle with the insurance company. [UPDATE: See comments.]

••• The World Financial Center will now have five food trucks a day instead of four. The schedule is here (via @JulieShapiro).

••• Want to buy tickets to the Tribeca Film Festival? Most screenings will be above Canal, due to the Regal Battery Park’s unwillingness to participate. “Advance selection ticket packages and passes go on sale Monday, March 5, for American Express Cardmembers, and on Monday, March 12, for the general public. All advance selection packages and passes can be purchased at tribecafilm.com/festival or at 646-502-5296 or toll-free at 866-941-3378. Single ticket and discounted ticket package sales begin Tuesday, April 10, for American Express Cardmembers, Sunday, April 15, for downtown residents, and Monday, April 16, for the general public. Single tickets can be purchased online, by telephone, or at one of the ticket outlets (Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick, Chelsea Clearview Cinemas at 260 W. 23rd St., and AMC Loews Village VII at 66 Third Ave.). The 2012 Festival will continue offering ticket discounts for evening and weekend screenings for students, seniors and select downtown Manhattan residents. Discounted tickets are available at ticket outlet locations only. Discounted ticket packages can only be purchased online and by phone.”

In the News: World Financial Center Renovation

Erik Torkells — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:05:02 +0000

••• The Broadsheet has an article about the World Financial Center construction, including the detail that architect Rafael Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli is the son of César Pelli, who designed the original World Financial Center complex. Then Pelli figlio had this to say about the staircase: “The destruction of the second floor entrance meant that we had to reconfigure the space so that people could come up underneath and behind the stairs. [...] We had to clear space underneath the stairs so that you could see through some retail to the Winter Garden and beyond. But it will remain intact while allowing the Winter Garden to feel natural, open and with clear views to the back.” We’ll have to take his word for it. As a reader emailed me this morning, “Isn’t Brookfield being tricky by talking about the new stairwell but not showing it? They’ve obviously completed the design if they have begun construction.” Rendering courtesy of Brookfield Office Properties.

••• “Congratulations to Shawn Gawle of Corton, who has been named among Food and Wine’s Best New Pastry Chefs.” —Grub Street

••• Curbed has a bit of a non-story about residents selling at 169 Hudson.

••• “Hundreds of 9/11 first responders could receive compensation for their cancer treatment after an advisory panel voted Thursday that the disease should be covered under the Zadroga Act. The 15-member panel, appointed by Congress to review research and decide which health conditions are linked to toxins at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11 attacks, believes research clearly shows a link between 9/11 exposure and cancer.” —DNAinfo

••• “A real estate company looking to build a 30-story housing tower on Spring Street [between Hudson and Varick] says it will tear up a parking lot and create paradise if the city makes zoning changes that would allow the construction of a building and park.” —DNAinfo