Reademan, we need to make sure. EPA lied to us when they came and tested during 911. Its a fact. Hopefully the corruption is over. — Native on 250 Water development is approved by Landmarks Commission

Both the EPA and State require that the Mercury issue be remediated regardless of whether the site is developed. — Reademan on 250 Water development is approved by Landmarks Commission

What about the safety issues underneath 250 Water? How are they going to pull that off? They can't put the community at risk and lie like the air quality after 911 downtown. What is going to be done for the residents living there now? — Native on 250 Water development is approved by Landmarks Commission

Thank you! We need to come together to fight for our neighborhoods downtown! We need new leadership that fights for US! a SAFE CITY is the only way this city makes it. — NATIVE on Part Two: Photos of 9/11 taken from 310 Greenwich and undiscovered until now

I second everything that Michelle has said. Please email BPCducklings@gmail.com if you'd like to learn more or get involved in helping these ducklings survive. — Diana on Make way for ducklings

Looking forward to the “topic de jour” congestion pricing. The traffic /car intensity is a lot. The loud noise and the craziness. Almost got hit by a car on Monday walking in rain during sheer madness traffic. — j. on Community Board 1 agendas for May

I attended a recent zoom meeting with Rep Carolyn Maloney on her Bill to ban non essential helicopters in NYC. I am grateful she is taking this on. She plans to present to Biden to get it into the new Infrastructure bill. I truly hope we make progress on this issue. — j. on Seen & Heard: Tribeca Gallery Walk this weekend

We just need to look at the examples of last year vs 2019. In 2019 there was a duck ramp and none of the ducklings survived to adulthood. In 2020 there was no ramp and 3 sets of ducklings made it to adulthood. The fountain in late August was full of healthy ducks, it was wonderful to see. And they all flew south when it was time. Putting the ramp back is cruel and pointless. — A2 on Make way for ducklings

My name is Michelle Ashkin. I have been monitoring this situation for years and have been in discussion with BPCA since 2018, so I am glad to see this getting much needed attention. Esther Regelson is a dear friend and colleague, but to set the record straight, I started this group. Esther posted this in NextDoor because after much discussion we realized that the only other option we have to save these animals is to galvanize a corps of committed volunteers to monitor the pond. The reason we have to do this, and the ONLY reason we have to do this, is because BPCA will not remove that ramp. Why are we so insistent that this ramp be removed? Because if the ducklings leave the safety of the pond and enter the Hudson, they will die. It is as simple as that. The facts are very clear. Here are a few: 1) Mallard ducklings must feed in the shallows where they meander around to find vegetation and other food sources. They cannot find food in deep or open water like the Hudson, at least not in its present state with no river bank or wetlands. 2) Ducklings need to rest and sleep often ON DRY LAND. Without the ability to do that they will die from exhaustion, or more likely, hypothermia or drowning. Why? Because their feathers are not waterproofed. They need their mother to use the oils from her body to waterproof their downy feathers, and she does this when they are at rest, snuggled up to her, on dry land. 3) They can only stay in the water for at most two hours or so. After that, their downy feathers will become completely waterlogged, they will be drenched to the skin with cold water, and if they don't die from hypothermia first, they will sink and drown. 4) The Hudson in this part of Manhattan has NO dry land for them to rest. NO shallow water with vegetation of any kind except for some seaweed by the rocks near Stuyvesant High School. And the mother will keep searching to find a place for her babies tor rest. They will follow her, of course, but they cannot go very far before they succumb to the river. We have seen it happen. These little things disappear one by one. The DEC's blanket recommendation applies to situations where ducklings are stuck in pools and cannot get out to find food or dry land. But this is a completely different matter, with a unique set of circumstances, and there is absolutely no question at all that if these ducklings leave the pond and go into the river, they will die. It is imperative that the remain in the safety of the pond if they are to survive. As a conservation biologist, wildlife rehabber, and environmental and wildlife educator for the past 30 years I can speak with authority on this issue. Why we are facing such resistance is beyond me, but we will not sit back and do nothing. To be clear, we have taken away the natural habitat that these animals require, built our homes and our promenades, and created - for ourselves - a pretty pond. Our Mallards recognize this as a place they can make their nests and raise their young. Aren't we lucky though? We should embrace this wonderful asset as an opportunity to create a unique, educational, and joyful experience that reconnects us to nature and each other, and teaches us about the urban wildlife in our own backyard. I ask the writer or editor of this paper to please contact me so that I can provide you with more information. Our precious urban wildlife needs our help, and we can only do that if we get the facts out so that people understand why we are fighting so hard for this. Anyone else reading this post and who wants to learn more or get involved please email me a BPCducklings.com . We have a Facebook page as well: BPC Ducklings that I will be updating regularly. We need the community to support us so that we don't have to fight for this every single year. It is exhausting, time consuming and expensive. And there are a lot of other urban wildlife issues we need to address, not only in BPC but all around NYC. — Michelle Ashkin on Make way for ducklings

Could not agree with this comment more - you are most certainly not alone and action needs to be taken ASAP to save this area. Tribeca Citizen - I think it would be useful to share more info on the mayoral candidates that have a common sense approach to safety and those aren’t just concerned with appearing to be ‘woke.’ It’s devastating to see these beautiful downtown neighbourhoods deteriorate so dramatically. We need leadership that cares about the tax-paying, law-abiding residents - the ones that have invested and built this community. Having criminals and mentally ill/drug addicted homeless running wild and attacking residents on the daily is simply unacceptable and it must be stopped. — Tribecan on Part Two: Photos of 9/11 taken from 310 Greenwich and undiscovered until now

I appreciate the concerns in the article expressed above but I want to make clear what has happened at the pond and the position of our group - BPC Wildlife Watch. We feel the BPCA is acting on the assumption of rigid standards and needs to act on the facts at the pond. Currently we are in discussion with the BPCA on this but they are entirely misguided. Every circumstance is different and while this is a wise practice in many cases it will not succeed at the Lily Pond. First of all, BPCA has created an inviting habitat for ducks to roost in totally uninviting surroundings outside the pond. If the ducklings get out of the pond before they can fly, they will be accosted by many dangers - aggressive people, overzealous children, bikers, cars, etc. But WORST of all is the habitat in the Hudson! More than once the ducklings climbed a ramp out of this pond following their mother in search of food and fell right into the river. This section of the river is over a mile of high stone wall with no place to roost. The ducklings have to swim incessantly, have no waterproofing in their feathers, and no place to rest and they sink and drown. As an entirely man-made creation, the proprietors need to take responsibility. They should do so by keeping the ducklings in the pond, feeding them nutritious food daily while keeping visitors from giving them junk, and letting them climb or fly out when they are mature enough to do so on their own. We have arranged a body of volunteers to make this happen for these creatures and short of preventing any ducks from nesting here at all, or oiling the eggs early so that they will not hatch, this is the safest most responsible route. The ramp has proven to be a death sentence for these little birds and it does nothing to help them except to decimate the brood in its entirety by unnatural means. — Esther on Make way for ducklings

Hadn’t been to Tribeca Paint since last summer. Just was there and they were great helpful and well stocked. — j. on Hardware store on West Broadway and Canal appears closed permanently

I didn’t realize they hatched. I’ve been routinely checking on the nest but hadn’t been able to in past couple days. I am involved somewhat but unable to commit to a volunteer schedule and have been unable to make the last couple zoom meetings. Nice that you wrote a piece. — j. on Make way for ducklings

Re: 451 Washington Street -David Litwak d/b/a Maxwell...The google came up with this: 🥳 Founder @ Maxwell Social (www.maxwellsocial.com), a new type of private membership club, Launching Fall 2021. Is that what's going into China Blue (RIP)? Why the proliferation of membership clubs? I'd prefer establishments that encourage democratic foot traffic. Interested to know if someone has a positive, city-minded defense of what seems like a gatekeeping trend. — Kathleen on Community Board 1 agendas for May

PF Great tip. Thanks. Had the glass noodles and dumplings. Plan to go back for the beef. Good fare for a long plane ride soon — dianne talan on A pandemic pivot: The K-Box at Battery Place Market

I lived through this here. It is my home. I am living down here over 30 years. It was a very hard time for all who lived through this here. It took a long time for the clean up and the rebuilding of the area. It also took a very long time mentally for all of us. Some of us have PTSD. No joke. We were happy when the the Freedom Tower came! We were told it was "safe" to live here. The EPA came and tested our place. We who worked and lived here were lied too. It was not safe. Some of us died and are sick from living down here. We need to fight for downtown to stay safe. After all this work down here I refuse to lay back and allow criminals mentally ill to take over our neighborhoods. I am sure I am not alone. Hopefully with a new Mayor that is for safer streets we can get back to normal. Lets never forget 3000 souls are down here. Its sacred ground. — Native on Part Two: Photos of 9/11 taken from 310 Greenwich and undiscovered until now

Good chance. I will see at the meeting... — Tribeca Citizen on Community Board 1 agendas for May

220 Front Street is the former Bin 220 wine bar. There is a logo on the window now "Something Blue by Leonide." Loved Bin 220 so hopefully this will get approved and be a good replacement! — Kristin on Community Board 1 agendas for May

I hope we discuss exempting people who have cars and live in the area from congestion pricing. It is one more fee that will make it more expensive to live in the city. — AaronK on Community Board 1 agendas for May

The new hotel is 456 Greenwich Street, and the Greek is between the new hotel and Estancia460 at 460 Greenwich Street. https://tribecacitizen.com/2021/02/23/456-greenwich-hotel-tops-out-with-plans-for-several-restaurants/ — James on Community Board 1 agendas for May

I met Denny yesterday in the Lower East Side, and he is impressive. Smart, knowledgeable, and has realistic goals for our city (I'll admit he's pretty handsome, too). He's got my vote! — Morgan F on The Candidates 2021: Denny Salas for CD1

139 Duane is the old Savida/Blaue Gans space, right? Does that liquor license relocation mean Fonda is moving from the East Village down to that spot? — person on Community Board 1 agendas for May

Great about congestion pricing. The exceptions to congestion pricing must be considered very carefully, and weighed against the goal of reducing congestion. If exceptions are too broad, congestion pricing will make little difference. For example: an electric vehicle exception. See this article (which, appropriately enough, uses a photo of Tribeca streets to illustrate the congestion problem!): https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2021/02/08/komanoff-beware-the-ev-congestion-boomerang/ — Marcus on Community Board 1 agendas for May

For the sake of transparency in the year 2021 these meetings should be remote/live online for more people to attend. This community is so diverse with elderly members who cannot attend in person, working parents and caregivers, etc. Its not easy to attend these meetings in person, but truthfully so many people want to if they were more accessible. I hope this happens! — KLG on CB1 meetings will continue remote at least for a month, and maybe longer

I appreciate her concern for sanitation issues but as she does not have plan laid out, I referred back to Chris Marte in which that is a highly detailed strategic platform of his. — j. on The Candidates 2021: Susan Lee for CD1