Greenwich South: An Update

I occasionally get emails from a reader named Hudson River—that’s not her real name—with updates and questions about stuff in what Downtown Alliance would like us to think of as Greenwich South. Yesterday, seeing as how the weather was so fine, I walked down to follow up on some of Hudson River’s leads. First stop: Charlotte’s Place, Trinity Wall Street’s new community center at 109 Greenwich, between Carlisle and Rector. Here’s the flyer that’s in the window: There’s a deeper explanation of “Charlotte’s Theory” on Trinity’s website: “It will be named for a long-standing parishioner whose financial bequest helps make the center possible. Like our [brown-bag] lunch, ‘Charlotte’s Place’ will welcome homeless people—and also businesspeople on their way home, students from the high school next door, workers rebuilding the World Trade Center, and anyone who loves art. Guests will be able to participate in a résumé writing class, listen to a performance by a jazz quartet, take part in a support group for domestic violence victims, or simply eat their lunch. Every part of the space and activity will be carefully chosen for the energy it can create with our guests—I have a friend who describes it as ‘sound, movement, and beauty’” And there’s a video of a sermon, which explains that “Jesus is inviting everyone in the neighborhood to […] have love revealed.” Anyway, here’s the façade. I put a call in to Rev. Matthew Heyd, but I have to hear back. (Update: He called and left a message, but this DNAinfo piece answers my questions: It’s named after Charlotte Scott, it’s 3,000 square feet, and “The center will not have an overt religious emphasis, though it will encourage mindfulness and offer volunteer opportunities.” Also: “Trinity envisions a wide range of groups using the space—from an urban gardening nonprofit doing a demonstration to a movie and pizza night for families—and the only requirement is that the events are free and open to the public.”)

Onward! Hudson River has also been frustrated by her inability to find out what’s going on in the old Seh Je Meh [a restaurant] space at 120 Greenwich, across from what will be Charlotte’s Place: “It’s getting close to finished and I’ve tried to get answers several times but no one speaks any English.” I peeked in the window—it definitely has some personality. Well, I poked around and it’s going to be an Asian-fusion restaurant called Koko and it’ll open in two weeks or so. What’s more, the north corner will be a restaurant called Blue Planet Grill. There’s not much point in clicking on that link, unless you want to see the restaurant’s logo, which looks like this. (Blue Planet isn’t opening for a while.) Then I walked over to check out the old American Stock Exchange building at 86 Trinity, which we recently learned will be turned into “a retail complex, hotel and a residential tower.” The announcement also mentioned that the developers will be tearing down 22 Thames (123 Greenwich). It’s not the world’s most interesting building, but it’s still sort of a shame. Below: the old American Stock Exchange at 86 Trinity; the Greenwich-facing side of 22 Thames; its nice old loading dock, which I’d love to salvage and save for a country house someday….

 

1 Comment

  1. It is a shame- looks like a beautiful building. If this building was in Tribeca, it would probably be landmarked, and converted as is to luxury condos. But, if they tear it down, and build something two or three times as high, then it is even more profitable- kind of fitting, considering its’ location.