The people camping in Foley Square Park - on the basis of what I’ve seen so far - are not focused and not really serious about anything but self-expression. Though “abolish ICE” signs are most prominent, there are many other messages mixed in on small signs scattered over the grass like trash. An immediate turnoff to me are the anarchist signs and symbols. They have stew of diffuse grievances and causes with a peppering of PC and anti police messages. I spoke with one of the campers to ask what they’re actually doing - they said (I was corrected for using male identifier (“no labels!!”) they occasionally take good to immigrants waiting in line to get into Federal Plaza - and they’re sending a message to DiBlasio about NY being a sanctuary city. I don’t think they are organized or effective and they are trashing one of the few green spaces people have in this area. — Anne Baxter on Seen & Heard: Cantor Fitzgerald Banners at the World Trade Center

stopped going there when Albert the chef left. it changed and he has the best omakase around. bring albert back — adam glassman on Zutto Will Reopen

hands down some of the best tacos here in manhattan. very happy to hear they are getting into the neigbourhood — simon on Mexican Chain to Open Here

"Occupy ICE" aims to abolish this agency and its cruel and inhuman incarceration of refugees at our border. Disruption is a common tool used by protesters to draw attention to create change. Foley Square is emblematic of the justice system and therefore an apt choice for these protestors. I think it's a great reason to not avoid Foley Square. I intend to drop by and give them two thumbs up. I hope others will as well. — Heide Fasnacht on Seen & Heard: Cantor Fitzgerald Banners at the World Trade Center

Re: "stifling" political protest see: https://www.alternet.org/story/152743/12_most_absurd_laws_used_to_stifle_the_occupy_wall_st._movement_around_the_country "Most cities have an anti-camping ordinance on the books that prohibits camping or sleeping in public spaces, particularly public parks, to minimize the risk of nighttime criminal activity. [...] "Officials in various cities are citing ordinances that prohibit the erection of permanent or semi-permanent structures, referring to tents, tarps, sleeping bags, and in one city, umbrellas. [...] "Fortunately for the Occupy Wall Street protesters in NYC, the privately owned Zuccotti Park is open 24 hours a day, unlike city-owned parks that are usually closed in the late night to early morning hours. In city and state-owned parks occupied by protesters throughout the country, authorities are using park curfews to their advantage. [...] "The 'burn ban' generally applies to outdoor cooking, like grilling in the park, and is strictly followed by Wall Street protestors who refuse to give NYPD any reason to evict them. [...] "a ban on the area 6 feet from the building (almost the entire sidewalk), followed by the enforcement of a Chicago city ordinance preventing people from blocking the public way, aka sleeping or sitting on the sidewalk. (In NYC this is called 'impeding pedestrian traffic.') [...] "In NYC at least five protesters were arrested for violating a state statute that dates back 150 years and prohibits masked gatherings of two or more people, with the exception of masquerade balls. [...] "NYC protesters were required to have a permit to amplify sound" — James on Seen & Heard: Cantor Fitzgerald Banners at the World Trade Center

See "NYPD FINEST Message - Homeless Encampment Procedure” issued January 2016: https://www.scribd.com/doc/306316333/NYPD-FINEST-Message-Homeless-Encampment-Procedure — James on Seen & Heard: Cantor Fitzgerald Banners at the World Trade Center

The so-called Tribeca Bridge was actually a Railroad Trestle manufactured by a firm in West VA. I saw it being floated in on a barge from my window at IPN. It was rated strong enough to run a RR train across, much less students from Stuyvesant H.S. I wonder how much it cost? — Frank DeMarco on In the News: Tribeca Bridge to Get Repainted

FYI, Zutto opened about the same time Puffy's(restored) did, circa 1978. The original Zutto was in a former warehouse space with the same Greek landlord we had at 81 Hudson. The original owner was Japanese, but had to sell the restaurant to a Korean after a divorce settlement. He moved to Honolulu, where he opened a sushi restaurant. — Frank DeMarco on Zutto Will Reopen

Does anyone know the laws around encampment? I thought it was illegal in a public park (at least if you are homeless but these protesters are no different). I called 311 to log a complaint against them but the 311 rep was pretty clueless. — dave on Seen & Heard: Cantor Fitzgerald Banners at the World Trade Center

The lady who ran Zaitzeff's is Amina. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/zaitzeff-new-york?select=2PI3rdwtS6onHeRu4FdZrQ&reviewid=ZbPwtf6YT-tGzqEOQbjBJA ACRIS shows that the neighboring buildings but NOT 72 Nassau St had transferred air rights amongst themselves, so unclear what height limits beyond the zoning resolution would apply. — James on Seen & Heard: Cantor Fitzgerald Banners at the World Trade Center

The rules state: "Banners shall contain no advertisements. The trade name or logo of the sponsor of the event (if applicable) shall occupy no more than 10% of the lower portion of the banner." This banner would seem to comply with the rules. While “Financial Capital” may seem like a redundant name, it is certainly less redundant that promoting NYC as the "Capital Capital"! (And less confusing than a possible term for the main ATM for Senators and Representatives in Washington DC: the "Capital Capitol Capital Capital.") :-) — James on Seen & Heard: Cantor Fitzgerald Banners at the World Trade Center

Presumably promoting NYC and FiDi as "Financial Capital" (which seems like a redundant term) is considered a "cultural exhibit". Like the (hilarious) banners proclaiming NYC the "Fashion Capital of the World". — Marcus on Seen & Heard: Cantor Fitzgerald Banners at the World Trade Center

Does the winning contractor have any relationship to Cuomo or the other BPCA members? That is usually the only requirement for doing work or being awarded a project in BPC. — TribecaMom on In the News: Tribeca Bridge to Get Repainted

That conversation is worthy of Monty Python. "tighten up their costs", indeed! — Marcus on In the News: Tribeca Bridge to Get Repainted

It is often not the owners that drive change, but consumers. As an owner of a company that sells American produced products and not cheaper imports, I always chuckle when people lecture me about the need to pay workers living wages and then allow their own buying choices be governed solely by price, blissfully ignoring their own hypocrisy. — Larry on An Outpost of Pret a Manger Has Closed

Great news... I need to get in there soon :) — Rohin on Zutto Will Reopen

So happy to hear this! We were there nearly every week. — Rose on Zutto Will Reopen

Nothing. The police have been all but ordered off the matter. — James on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

Hilarious exchange, from the article: Ms. Dawson continued, "we issued an request for proposals [RFP] earlier this year and received two proposals. [...] At the June 19 board meeting, then-BPCA chair Dennis Mehiel asked, "you had only two responses?" Ms. Dawson observed that, "we have found that this is a little bit of a 'tweener' project. It's not big enough to really capture the interest of a lot of the big companies, especially when there are a lot of other bridge construction and painting projects going on that give them an opportunity for a lot more work. It's also something that's a challenge for some of the smaller companies because it requires a containment system over a state highway, it requires some lane closures, some night work, things that add a lot of complication to the endeavor." [...] Mr. Mehiel continued, "an extraordinary spread between the two. 100 percent, right? Or 50, depending on which side you're standing on." This apparently means that the losing bidder came in at a price of more than $4 million, which would have been approximately equal to the original budget to contract the bridge, and nearly half of its actual cost. BPCA board member Lester Petracca added, "it's not possible that -- I say this to be funny -- that Champion figured one coat and the other one figured two coats of paint? Ms. Dawson answered, "no, I think we've got that covered in the specs." Mr. Mehiel pressed, "this company, are they overextended in terms of work, availability to work?" Ms. Dawson replied, "they are going to come out and do the scaffolding work at night when they could easily do a lane closure and then do the containment work during the day. They have a very tight approach plan created for the project, I think, which allowed them to tighten up their costs." — James on In the News: Tribeca Bridge to Get Repainted

I'll paint it for a lot less! — tfciv16 on In the News: Tribeca Bridge to Get Repainted

Truly madness indeed. For $45 million it should be possible to build a grand palace. But that apparently costs $3 billion (c.f. "Oculus"). — Marcus on In the News: Tribeca Bridge to Get Repainted

You think that's madness? Stroll further down south along West Street. Walk under the Rector Street Bridge. It's a functional, highly used pedestrian bridge. It will be torn down and replaced by a brand new pedestrian bridge over West Street at West Thames Street. The new bridge has been planned for decades, finally started construction in 2016 and is once again way behind schedule. Of course the budget keeps growing. The latest available figure is $45.1 million with no end in sight. Just take a small fraction of that money and spruce up the Rector Street Bridge. http://www.ebroadsheet.com/tardy-trestle/ — PeterD on In the News: Tribeca Bridge to Get Repainted

$2.2 million to paint a pedestrian bridge? Madness. — Marcus on In the News: Tribeca Bridge to Get Repainted

Another police topic is the increasing proliferation of homeless people in the neighborhood. What can be done? — Jj on Seen & Heard: Another Store Closed at the World Trade Center Mall

Please. Don't tell me paying servers $10 to $15 an hour is the reason restaurants are closing in Tribeca. I've lived here since 1972. The shelf life of restaurants in this neighborhood runs about two years, and that's long before people were being paid a living wage. — Jean Grillo on An Outpost of Pret a Manger Has Closed