••• The New York Times has an article on commercial transformations of Manhattan piers. The Pier A restaurant and event space will be called the Pier A Harbor House, and they’re hoping for a May opening: “Its first two floors would serve patrons such seaside fare as beer and oysters, while a third floor, with a stage, would be used for events like weddings.” And this about the Battery Maritime Building: “In the upper stories of the structure, which is next door to the Whitehall Terminal for the Staten Island Ferry, Peter Poulakakos and Dermot Company are developing a 61-room boutique hotel and a restaurant that are scheduled to open in 2015.” (The pic is from a 2010 photo essay on Pier A—it’s still worth a look, if you never saw it.)

••• “Public school parents from Downtown and around the city will have a chance to tell state Education Commissioner John King what they think about the Common Core Learning Standards, as well as on testing and student privacy, at a public forum to be held at the Spruce Street School, 12 Spruce St. The forum takes place at the school on Wednesday, Dec. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m.” —Tribeca Trib

••• “Funding for Safety Agents at Downtown Intersections Lapses in 22 Days.” Gosh, I hope no one is out in the median when the crossing guards leave. They could be stuck there forever! —Broadsheet

••• Tribeca’s “Gelsey Kirkland Ballet, a new studio company, is presenting an ambitious new production of ‘The Nutcracker’ as a coming-of-age tale involving ideas of death and rebirth.” —New York Times

••• “After 30 years of waiting, Time Equities is getting ready to debut its Helmut Jahn-designed tower at 50 West Street. Just one of the oodles of new new residential buildings springing up in the Financial District, 50 West secured $400 million in financing earlier this year for the 63-story condo building with retail, a restaurant, one floor of office space, and the usual luxury amenities. A public plaza with a pedestrian walkway will connect West and Washington streets.” —Curbed

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