••• Go Tom Duane! The state senator tells it like it is: “The traffic congestion crisis brewing in Tribeca, which is bracing for a swarm of tour buses when the 9/11 memorial opens in September, only underscores the need for a designated bus garage on the West Side of Manhattan (‘Concern Voiced on Parking for Buses Near 9/11 Memorial,’ City Room, March 1). The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has proposed such a facility for New Jersey Transit buses only, but even it has been stalled for a lack of financing. Residents and businesses are already overwhelmed by charter, jitney, tour and commuter buses driving up and down or idling on our streets between pickups and dropoffs. It is long past time to invest in a place for them to park.” What about Pier 40? (New York Times)

Courtesy New York Times

••• “Two sleek ferries that Goldman ordered from a shipyard in Bellingham, Wash., have arrived in New York and are scheduled to go into service later this month carrying commuters between docks in Jersey City and Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan. Goldman has office towers in both locations, and its employees often shuttle between the two buildings. The interiors of the ferries are plusher than those of the New York Waterway service that they will replace, and which Goldman Sachs has been subsidizing. But the boats—one named York, the other Jersey—will be open for public use for a fare of $5.50 each way across the Hudson River, the same as the New York Waterway fare. During commuting hours, even Goldman employees will pay that fare, though they will ride free between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.” (New York Times)

••• “Trinity Real Estate is negotiating a deal with Pearson PLC under which the British media giant would move into 330 Hudson St., a stalled development property that the landlord took back last year after a nasty legal battle. The talks are still in the early stages, and the transaction is complicated, so negotiations could still fall apart. Sources said the deal was especially complex because it likely involves another developer that would complete the unfinished former printing facility. It was unclear who that developer is.” OK, fine, I admit it. It’s me. (Crain’s)

••• “The push to save the Grand Staircase in the World Financial Center is gaining momentum. Residents are banding together to stop Brookfield Properties from demolishing the sweeping marble steps, which were rebuilt after 9/11 and have become a community gathering place. ‘To take it away, to destroy it, destroys a lot of people who looked at [the stairs] as their rebuilding and their hope,’ said Justine Cuccia, a Battery Park City resident who recently started a group called Save the Staircase.” (DNAinfo)

••• Tribeca Trib‘s current cover story, about the House of Relief hospital once located at Hudson and Jay, has been posted online.

••• Curbed has an update about units for sale at Skylofts (143 Hudson): “Two B-line units are on the market, on the seventh and ninth floors. #7B is asking $5.75 million, down from its 2008 price of $6.49 million. #9B is now listed for $5.95 million, down from $6.82 million. The other market returnee is #9A, asking $6.95, freshly chopped from the 2008 price of $8.03 million.”

••• “Starting March 8, every Tuesday is Tolo Taco Tuesday at Toloache Taqueria on Maiden Lane. That means from noon until 5 PM, all tacos are $2.” (Eater)

••• The Real Deal interviews Cliff Finn, the Citi Habitats director of marketing responsible for getting folks excited about New York by Gehry; he lives on Greenwich Street in Tribeca.

••• The Guardian profiles/interviews R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, who lives here.