••• J. sent over photos of the 1 train subway entrances on the 9/11 Memorial plaza, which would seem to be getting prepped for tomorrow’s likely opening. UPDATE: “The MTA announced today [Friday] that the new subway stop, dubbed WTC Cortlandt, will open to the public at noon on Saturday, September 8, just three days before the 9/11 anniversary.” —Curbed

••• From JV: “If there is ever any room to give kudos to First Precinct police officers Dinah Bodden and Joseph Milone, I’d love to heap praise on them.” It’s the Internet! Of course there’s room! “A Department of Buildings official car illegally parked in front of and blocking us from entering/exiting our legal curb cut and garage on Warren. The car was there all Labor Day weekend, and we were trapped. Two separate 311 complaints and a personal visit by two other friendly First Precinct POs on Monday failed to produce any results, even through the end of business on a regular business day, Tuesday, and another 311 complaint (yesterday) this week. The POs that visited the site said they couldn’t ticket the car, “Because NYC will never pay it,” and “You can’t have it towed, we will.” Well…. Crickets. (But I thank them for at least coming by and spending their time on the situation.) In desperation, I launched an email to POs Bodden and Milone, which Tribeca Citizen helpfully identified earlier as community-related POs. Well, they responded virtually immediately, identified what agency the car belonged to (why couldn’t 311 or anyone else do that?), and went to the Department of Buildings to notify them. Officers Bodden and Milone relayed their success back to me via email, and the car finally disappeared this morning. Officers Bodden and Milone were able to move NYC, heaven and earth.” So perhaps this is a good time to add the Neighborhood Coordination Officers’ to your address book. (P.S. Maybe they can do something about this car parked in front of a hydrant on Warren for the last 48 hours.)

SOHO / HUDSON SQUARE
Houston to Canal, west of Broadway
Donald Dermody: 929-291-1993, donald.dermody@nypd.org
Michael Erdman: 929-287-9659, michael.erdman@nypd.org

TRIBECA / NORTH BATTERY PARK CITY / NORTHWEST FIDI
Canal to W. Thames/Rector, west of Broadway
Dinah Bodden: 917-860-2601, dinah.bodden@nypd.org
Joseph Milone: 929-284-0996, joseph.milone@nypd.org

SEAPORT / NORTHEAST FIDI
Frankfort to Wall, east of Broadway
Giocardo Bernabe: 917-833-9631, giocardo.bernabe@nypd.org
Francis Ford: 929-281-7602, francis.ford@nypd.org

SOUTH FIDI / SOUTH BATTERY PARK CITY
South of W. Thames/Rector/Wall
Miles Holman: 929-291-1602, miles.holman@nypd.org
Adam Riddick: 929-287-6638, adam.riddick@nypd.org

••• I’ve never seen a window-washing apparatus quite like this. At least I think that’s what was going on.

••• Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer sent out an email saying that Mayor de Blasio wants to change the way community boards run, including the addition of term limits. Of course the borough presidents are upset; they appoint the members to the community board, and this dilutes their power.

I joined my counterparts from the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island in signing a letter [PDF] to the chairman of the mayor’s 2018 Charter Revision Commission, sounding the alarm over proposals that would weaken our community boards by instituting term limits for community board members and shifting community board support services to a new “Civic Engagement Commission.”

The term limits component is especially worrying. Community boards need to be able to rely on experienced members with know-how and institutional memory if they’re going to properly scrutinize complicated land use proposals and negotiate effectively with real estate power players over the fate of projects in their neighborhoods. By putting an expiration date on every community board member, we will be strengthening the already-strong hand of developers whose job it is to build as high and as densely as possible.

At this writing, the Mayor’s commission is about to finalize this language so that their proposals can go before the voters on the November 6, 2018 General Election ballot.

The notion that community boards have any authority to stop development is ludicrous, and including it here is pure pandering. That said, anyone who has read this site for a while knows how frustrating I occasionally find Community Board 1, but getting rid of its most seasoned members will not remotely fix the problem. You know what would? Appointing people who are smart, qualified, and eager to participate, not just desperate for a new line on their résumé. Some of Brewer’s appointments make you wonder what her office is smoking.

••• Opening tonight at Alexander and Bonin: “An exhibition of works by Emily Jacir, La Mia Mappa, features several recent works, which are being exhibited for the first time in the USA.  The upcoming exhibition derives its title from a particularly lyrical photograph by Jacir taken in the city she calls her spiritual home, Rome. […] La mia Roma (omaggio ai sampietrini) (2016) is an ode to walking, to labour, and to what Jacir describes as one of the great architectural wonders of Rome—the sampietrini. Made of solid volcanic rock and each one individually hand cut, sampietrini are the stones which Rome has been paved with for centuries. This work derives from Jacir’s walks throughout the city of Rome where she collects sampietrini, takes them to her studio, documents them, and then puts them back where she found them. The resulting work is not only a record of the selciatori (pavers) hand-cutting each individual cobblestone but also a diary of Jacir’s walks. Since the 1960s, the sampietrini have also been used during Italian protests due to their easy removal and have become part of the history of class struggle in Italy.

••• Opening tonight at Bortolami: “An exhibition of Daniel Buren’s recent situated works, Tondi, and the US premiere of his new documentary film, Beyond time, as far as the eye can see. The six-and-a-half-hour film organizes his expansive career in several segments, each focusing on a specific aspect of his work, and functions as a comprehensive cinematic catalogue. Conceived to be viewed in chapters, the film will be screened in the viewing room daily from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.” Love the one below.