Our dear dear late friend Andy Thurman was heavily involved in finding the McKean and the restoration . Why is he not mentioned here? He put his heart and soul into that project and was so very proud of the out come. We are finally in NYC, and will finally get to see her. Albeit with a heavy heart, but proud of our friend and all his efforts. So sorry to see that he was not mentioned in this article. I hope everyone gets to enjoy this piece of history and all the efforts made to restore her by everyone involved. — Shan Scully on Fireboat McKean arrives at Pier 25 for a summer vacation

Congratulations Elle! And thanks Pam for this lovely profile of another Tribeca small business owner! — Kimberly M. Wang on Made in Tribeca: Emilia George

I'm all for appreciating essential workers, but this is a RIDICULOUS WASTE OF MONEY. The park is so much more helpful to working people the way it is. There are many other places to put a monument, if the powers that be absolutely have to show off and spend money, whether public or private, on monuments that help no one. Why not a scholarship fund for children of essential workers? I would donate to that. I would donate to something that actually helped the workers or their loved ones, that made an actual improvement in somebody's life. There are many wonderful tourist destinations all along the river front, throughout this beautiful park. There is no need for another one. Please, please don't kill these beautiful trees and this comforting area for the sake of an empty, political gesture. — Amy Griggs Kliger on State breaks ground on huge monument for Rockefeller Park lawn

Thanks so much for the fascinating Daytonian in Manhattan history of the building -- but alas it seems the origin and reason for the painted signs remains murky. I think Christopher Gray's and Tom Miller's 2017 exchange at the very end sums it up. It's interesting that in the photo of Vogric's Cafe the signs have not yet appeared . . that photo, taken from the elevated subway that barreled down West Broadway, mentions the date 1915. Certainly, though, I think my speculation about a movie shoot is quite wrong. — George Bacon on Seen & Heard: Bluestone Lane opens next week

George, I think its very possible that the old Delphi restaurant building located at 109 West Broadway is authentic with regards to their painting on the facade. Here is the history for this wonderful building according to the Daytonian in Manhattan. http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-john-h-fraser-bldg-no-112-reade.html — SONIA STOCK on Seen & Heard: Bluestone Lane opens next week

49 Beekman Street FDNY station, Here's to a great job they do for all! Happy July 4th, regards, Sonia S. — SONIA STOCK on Where in (not really) Tribeca?

Yes, Heidi. Exactly! — j. on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

How fun and delicious. Those radishes are gorgeous. Excited for the opening. Been loving peeping in the windows. — j. on 1 White Street opening soon

Wherever the new site is, trees should be added, not deleted. — Heide Fasnacht on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

Sad, but true, Urban Cowgirl. BPCAuthority was created in 1968 by NYState to develop and maintain a new neighborhood. When construction was done, it was quite a challenge to get the Authority to adapt to working with the humans who live here. The Board and other management have adapted pretty well, but the Governor - he never misses a chance to throw his weight around! — maryanne braverman on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

Pam, thank you so much for keeping us in the know about this, and for everything you do to keep Tribeca Citizen going. The Belvedere, South Cove, and Rector Park are perfect as they are. These places were designated from the get-go to be part of the design of the neighborhood, to be “underutilized” as Cami says above, intended to be quiet, passive, open space, and they have grown into a really nice, cohesive, permanent reality. The people who did the original plan for BPC created an impressive plan, and because they did such a good job, 30+ years later it’s still working as a great place to live. The Belvedere has a serene, tranquil view through the trees to the river that is framed by the pylons and adding anything to that area would ruin it. The small house element that is there right now that is off to the side isn’t bad, because it doesn’t interfere with the view, but this memorial needs to be bigger than that. It took 30-ish years to get the Belvedere to this beautiful state with mature trees, so messing with it would put us right back where we were a week ago—destroying something important. Just because it’s not full of kids doesn’t mean it’s “underutilized,” in normal times those benches were often filled by workers in what was the mercantile exchange, and will no doubt be used by whoever is in that building now when they return to work and the building is fully occupied (I don’t know if it’s completely leased since the exchange left). And just walking through there is such a joy that taking it away would be as bad as the idea that just got shot down. It is “differently utilized.” The bottom line is that there is no “underutilized” space left (by design) in BPC and someone (resident? politician? volunteer?) has to be proactive and find an underused space in an area that was heavily impacted by the pandemic that can be easily obtained and will be improved by the memorial. There must be dozens of places in Queens (I think that is the area that was most impacted) that would want it. Can someone who knows that area or any other think of anything? Alternatively, I think the suggestion by “person” above is brilliant. — Hudson River on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

Why not take that cash and do something at Pier 76 in HRP? It’s a huge open space without much green and it’s right across from Javits Center, which played a key role as a hospital and for vaccinations. Plant trees and greenify the space there. — person on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

From the mythological, theological, and moral standpoint, I haven't seen anything more stupid than this. — Vanik G on Art in Tribeca: Medusa gets her man

The $3m sounds like the $50m Donald Rumsfeld promises the war in Iraq would cost. It’s laughably low and since the governors office also said this proposal was fine because it consumed 2% of green space, AND we have no transparency, it’s likely not true. In addition, resident funded fees will have to maintain the memorial so the long term cost of maintaining it which includes a gas line on a flood plain is on residents. Residents have the upper hand now and should get at least an agreement to have no further memorials or structures without proper processes and approval by the community, approval for location and design of new memorial, financial support for on hosing maintenance, any changes to the neighborhood initiated from the state also need to go through the community. Belvedere is actually a lovely quiet spot that we enjoy as is. Let’s not use “under utilized” as criteria for potential new locations. Pier A seems like a great spot if it has to be here, but honestly, why not improve some other patch of state land that could use an infusion of state funds? — Cami on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

Very happy that they will move the site. In the sweltering weather we've been having the value of trees and grass are not just for enjoyment only, but for health of our kids and seniors that need shade. I commented on the petition yesterday that cities around the country are ADDING plants not getting rid of trees. Ironically, yesterday I came across this site that details such activities: https://www.americanforests.org/media-release/nationwide-tree-equity-score/ A worthy spend of the money for the monument could be a new shady, planted grassy site for essential workers somewhere that helps the environment, creates shade as the planet gets hotter and offers respite for our essential workers and their families. It was an incredibly dopey plan to begin with -- we don't need more cement monuments that cut down trees. — bpcnc2 on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

I'm so grateful for this decision. Every time I walk through that park I marvel at what an oasis it is. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard toward this result. — Angela O'Donnell on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

It took a 2017 law to mandate Cuomo have at least 2 of 7 BPCA board members reside in BPC. Either get more Cuomo contributors to live in BPC or change the law to mandate a 4 of 7 majority be BPC residents (or both :-) ) https://tribecacitizen.com/2017/06/22/big-step-for-local-representation-in-battery-park-city/ — James on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

If this is really true, if the park really has been spared, this is a tremendous victory! We should all be celebrating! Thank you to all the wonderful people who spent long days and nights in extremely hot weather to save our beloved park and trees. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You should have a plaque at the site (a small one!). — A2 on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

wait. so george tunis is the chair of bpca but doesn’t live in bpc or even in manhattan and yet is making decisions on behalf of our community?! how does this happen and how do we prevent it from happening again? — urban cowgirl on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

Thannks! But sounds a bit too low for what they proposed... — Tribeca Citizen on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

Hi Pam The budget for the Essential Workers Monument is $3m. Thanks for your coverage. Much appreciated from #pausethesaws team. Ibti. — Ibtesam Khurshid on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

Good news but hopefully the service here will be better than is typical of Battery Park loc. — Ben on Bluestone Lane coffee is on its way to Tribeca

The pandemic starkly illuminated the importance of green, open space. Apparently that lesson is lost on Cuomo. The way to honor essential workers is to create more green space, not less. This is, more than anything, a wasted opportunity. And to me, it's another reminder that our politicians learned nothing from the past year about the shared experience of living, day to day, in the city. I'm all for a monument. Let's make a new park for it! — Ben on State breaks ground on huge monument for Rockefeller Park lawn

While it may not be the best place in New York for an essential workers monument, it still is an area close enough to heavily touristed areas that may warrant placement in battery park. Belvedere Plaza really does make a lot of sense. The victory of the grass and trees staying was the number one priority, so locals can concede having something, if properly planned. Perhaps the discussions can negotiate this is the final monument as to not make it an easy dumping ground in the future for the state, at the very least the last one of a certain scope? — nyc on The state will find a new location for the monument to essential workers

I haven’t seen Dr Quraishi in some years but decided to call him to see if he takes my new insurance. I only stopped seeing him because I lost the good insurance I had when I worked up the block from him on Greenwich I was so saddened when I called him today to find out he passed away. I am so heart broken. This was such a gentle sweet and caring man. I’ve seen Dr Abid also but when I made my appointment and they asked if I wanted to see father or son I said father. We always talked about holistic approaches to medications. I am so so sorry to hear this. May he rest well with the ancestors. — Denise Jacobs on Dr. Nisar Quraishi dies from the coronavirus at 74