Just what we don't need another nail/beauty salon — K on A private spa is coming to Reade Street

This is so wonderful. I will be going to Tiny’s for challah and telling all of my friends as well. — Baruch Kaplan on Challah Dolly x Tiny’s + matzo ball soup on Fridays

The City and Howard Hughes Corp squeezed the Museum in the first place, denying it the revenue stream from rents it should have to keep afloat. Now HHC is using the Museum and letters from all of its own tenants to plead its case in front of Landmarks Preservation Commission. HHC isn't even hiding its contempt for the community since: ..It now won't reveal the amount of its bribe for the Museum ..It has offered the minimum number of "affordable units" in a segregated section of another luxury building that we don't need, ..It has quickly lopped off a meager 10 stories, grabbed another off-shelf plan and is offering an uglier, bulkier, totally out of scale building in a protected Historic District beloved by millions of New Yorkers, local residents and international tourists alike. The bleak future: If HHC wins, they will go back to Texas, laughing all the way to the bank, with huge profits after paying an obscene over-market rate for the lot, knowing full well it is zoned for 120 feet. Saul Scherl will get his 1.5 million bonus (how many low income units?) for getting it approved before December when duped electeds Brewer and Chin leave office. The Historic District will then have to fight hovering developers waiting for precedents to be set so they can to put up their buildings in the District. Result: The low-scale Seaport Historic District, birthplace of modern New York, enjoyed by so many, will look no different from the rest of hi-rise NY with an occasional historic house squoshed in between. — Linda Hellstrom on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

You are missing the point here. The massive skyscrapers are not leaving enough light and air - there has to be breathing space SOMEWHERE. All that empty space in the "massive skyscrapers" is also ripe for conversion. The French architects who just won the Pritzker Prize for converting existing commercial space into affordable housing are on to something. I used to work for the Seaport Museum, I am devoted to it, but this is not the way to go. — ZE on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

LOL thanks tough guy — AA on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

My point is that the real story is not about how high the structure is going to be or not. Any “story” about this site that does not address the tremendous dangers to CHILDREN is utterly misguided. — AA on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

As father of two boys who go to school next door to the site - how dare the commenter disrespect one of the moms! And that she shouldn’t worry about neurological problems caused by elemental Mercury? Are you kidding me? Nothing says I care about people and especially low income families like ‘your kids are going to be sh*theads!” Why do you hate NYC so much that you wouldn’t raise your kids here? YOU may hate it here, but we cherish it, and want to share it with our kids. Maybe it’s the haters that should move out. Nobody who lives in the neighborhood likes the parking lot. It has remained a parking lot because the previous owners refused to build ‘as of right’ even after their plans were approved. So it isn’t the neighbors who are clamoring to keep a parking lot! We want it developed, but within the present zoning envelope, which, BTW, is already a compromise from what the other buildings are (4-5 stories) to 120 ft. Yes. The site needs remediation, but forgive us if we don’t trust HHC. The issue is not IF the site is remediated but HOW. It has been like pulling teeth to get them to agree adhere to appropriate safety guidelines, like acknowledging that children and pregnant moms are more sensitive to things like elemental mercury. They are! One of the reasons we wanted the city to oversee this vs the state is because the state Brownfield program takes much of the liability away from the developer. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want someone with a 1.5 million dollar bonus for pushing through approvals by year end, who won’t be responsible for future problems, making any decisions on the cleanup. They are against anything that will slow it down to ensure it is done properly. They have pushed to do environmental impact studies to get the ULURP process rolling before the results were even public on what levels of toxicity were found! Refusing to spend money or waste time with precautions like promising to tent the site in the future. Oh, and before you go ‘talk to a homeless person’, please tell me which homeless man or woman would be moving in to 250 Water Street? Go ahead... waiting...none. Even if it were all MIH ‘affordable housing’ units- at over 2k per month- who is paying that rent? You? This type of affordable housing is a sham. An excuse to break zoning and a political out for politicians who support it. — Seaport Guy on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

If you are a parent dumb enough to raise your kids in New York City there way more "hazards" you should be worried about other than this parking lot. — FiDiGuy on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

This is sad, there go 30 affordable housing units. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the final version ends even smaller with zero affordable housing. New Yorkers have proven time and time again that they don't *actually* want affordable housing. Next time I pass a person experiencing homelessness I'll tell them to ask the CB1 Landmarks & Preservation Committee why they don't have a home. It's also ridiculous because there are literally massive skyscrapers across the street in multiple directions; I mean this is Manhattan, JFC! — FiDiGuy on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

I agree: there are many reasons not to support the new proposal as it stands; site remediation is not one of them. I'm looking forward to it not being a parking lot anymore, but at the proper scale and with genuine thought given to the input of the neighborhood. I usually lean YIMBY, but this location is important to get right. Perhaps an increase in height and scale is warranted with a design that could pass muster with Landmarks (I am less interested in what CB1 has to say.). Let's see, but I am not enamored by the way HHC continues to tie height and scale to an investment in the Seaport Museum. Either way, we need to see some specific numbers attached to that, too. — malcolm on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

Ummm... I don't get advertising from Howard Hughes, though that's not to say I wouldn't in the future. I have written a lot of stories about this project despite the fact that it is not in Tribeca, including those about the remediation of the site. I think the elected officials who are supporting this project should be a bigger concern to you than me. Finally, note that this site *will* be developed, whether it ends up being 120 feet high or 400 feet high, and any developer, HHC or otherwise, will have to remediate. That should be your focus moving forward, not my advertising revenue. — Tribeca Citizen on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

The real story here is the immense danger this project will pose to the children attending Peck Slip school and the other private school adjacent to this lot. My understanding is that there are serious environmental hazards related to the soil underneath the parking lot which will have to be remediated, to say nothing of all of the typical construction hazards and noise which will last for years. Every parent of a child in these schools and every other citizen that lives anywhere near this site, as well as just any thoughtful person who is opposed to corporate greed and political corruption, should vehemently oppose this project. I hope Tribeca Citizen will choose to forego the ad dollars from the developer of this dangerous project and give voice to those that are rightfully concerned about the health and safety of our vulnerable children. — AA on Howard Hughes revises plans for 250 Water

I have lived on Murray St since 1981. I am thrilled CB1 would not let this man have his way. We have had years of issues with people outside smoking, being loudly drunk, throwing up in our entrance way, and trashing the streets with cigarette butts and bottles. We are relieved that CB1 has standards now for bars so that these issues are kept under control. If it is a sports bar , what sports are played between 2 and 4 AM. The only sport happening at that hour is drinking. I applaud CB1 for making Murray St a much more livable street and keeping things under control for the residents. — Tom on CB1 thwarts plans for a sports bar at 41 Murray

Yes, same ones as December 2018, more or less. I've asked to get them... — Tribeca Citizen on In the News: Another Redesign for Broadway Tower

Regarding CityMD lines: I arrived Monday morning 3/15 at 8am and was tested and out by 8:30. There were about a dozen people in the line total but everyone was being seen right then instead of taking names and asking them to return. — S. on New testing storefront opens on Church

The $119 PCR test I mentioned is not an in office rapid antigen test. It's a saliva PCR test they send to a lab in NJ. — S. on New testing storefront opens on Church

New Renderings Reveal Gene Kaufman's Mixed-Use Skyscraper at 267 Broadway in Tribeca, Manhattan - New York YIMBY https://newyorkyimby.com/2021/03/new-renderings-reveal-gene-kaufmans-mixed-use-skyscraper-at-267-broadway-in-tribeca-manhattan.html — James on In the News: Another Redesign for Broadway Tower

I didn’t attend the licensing meeting, but reading these many comments I feel it’s important to point out: CB1 liquor license guidelines for Tribeca side streets are actually 12am Sun-Thurs, and 1am Fri-Sat. Applicants can return after a year of operations to ask for later hours. These guidelines were set approximately ten years ago, formalized from what had been working successfully if somewhat haphazardly for most residents and business owners. Some establishments were indeed recommended to the SLA for later hours after that one year period though in my 13 years on the board surprisingly most never asked. Some just said they were fine with what they had, that there was little profit in those later hours. The guidelines can stretch (in either direction) depending on the history or qualifications of the applicant, the nature of the specific area, and importantly the response from the immediate community. The SLA has been very supportive of CB1’s approach, citing it a number of times as one of the most reasonable Community Boards in the city. Applicants are also asked to post the immediate neighborhood with the basics of their business (method of operation, hours) 15 days in advance of the committee meeting. Some of the licensing attorneys make it their business to engage the community prior to an appearance. Pam is correct about Mr. Lipsitz’s history -- in my experience there were no complaints about the business, (and the photos of scantily clad dancers displayed in the windows were readily removed after some young mothers expressed discomfort at such exposure to their kids). 10-15 years ago most of the other “legacy” 4am bars on Murray (licenses from the days before Tribeca became so kid-friendly, residential and fashionable) were a constant source of complaints about under-age drinking, and rowdy, rude or loud patrons on the street, sometimes well after 4am. The slow change-over to newer bars and restaurants with earlier hours was welcome relief to the residents. So on Murray particularly I understand any reluctance to recommend right off the bat an extra three or even two hours to any new establishment, no matter the success of the owner at a very different type method of operation. That the committee offered 2am was a compromise. The absence of neighbors at the meeting does make me wonder if there were actually 15 days of postings? One resident I just spoke to, who in the past has been active in setting up lines of communication with applicants, was unaware of this app until Pam wrote it up. Finally, I think we all agree something needs to be done to get businesses and small building owners back on their feet. The Community Board is well aware of that and I’m sure would welcome constructive ideas and new public members. A lot of work and creative thinking needs to be done. But personally, like Marcus, I’m not sure accepting 3 and 4 am closing hours is helpful even if residents are willing to suffer until the businesses are stable. There is no way to claw back hours with the SLA once things improve. — Jeff on CB1 thwarts plans for a sports bar at 41 Murray

The state owns the land underneath Hudson River Park south of 34th Street, and I would guess (tho I am not positive) that it also owns the land in all state parks -- such as Riverbank or Roberto Clemente. — Tribeca Citizen on In the News: More memorials for BPC

Community board 1 is the real plight to this neighborhood. How many times have we heard NO to a qualified operator? These nobody’s should have no business dictating from their rent stabilized apartments. Wake up NY! If we want to get our city back cut the red tape and let the free market work. Didn’t they just dismiss the F&B at the 456 Greenwich? Another beautiful project that can bring a lot of business back to the neighborhood. It’s also another family owned and operated hotel chain which means quality operators. — Times have changed on CB1 thwarts plans for a sports bar at 41 Murray

You don't run. Members are appointed by the borough president. The applications for 2021 were due in late February. — Tribeca Citizen on CB1 thwarts plans for a sports bar at 41 Murray

All state memorials have to go in bpc, that’s the only part of the city that the state runs, right? — Eric on In the News: More memorials for BPC

In office rapids aren’t PCR tests. And there can be real issues with their accuracy. — A. on New testing storefront opens on Church

The lines were long before Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s because people wanted to travel and see family - even though the tests are not appropriate for such purposes. That’s what fueled the last big spike. Now that those folks are not traveling, testing has decreased. — A. on New testing storefront opens on Church

He’s completely unqualified, a shiny bauble the way Cynthia Nixon was. Take, for example, his defense of the absence of secular education in Hasidic yeshivas - there have been lawsuits, State monitors, a horrifying lack of enforcement - and enormous problems for anyone who wants to leave that world and has only a 3rd grade secular education. But he believe outcomes are equal? In what world? And his basis - not studies, not data but a prep school course he took!!! https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2021/02/18/andrew-yang-doubles-down-on-defense-of-yeshivas-1364452 Then there’s his endorsement of any number or Chinese American candidates- and only Chinese American candidates. Are we going back to the ethnic politics of the 70s - 90s? Diversity is the goal, not this. We need someone with government experience. I don’t know why that all these arrogant private sector folk think government is so easy that they don’t need to know anything. Ugh! — A. on In the News: Glut of office space in Fidi (no shocker)