I have been lucky enough to live in a building with incredible view of the East River for the past year and a half. Just thought I might include an image from this morning of the two major downtown bridges for your enjoyment!
View of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges from above the South Street Seaport at sunrise
While on the Jane Jacobs’ Village tour last weekend, our tour guide walked us through some of the more notable buildings in the area… one of which was the former Ninth Precinct of the NYPD.
135 Charles Street, former Ninth Precinct station, 1897-1969
As I found out from the tour, Roosevelt broke an exclusive contract to hire an outside architect to design the building. These days, the architecture is considered Beaux-Arts/Neo-classical – clear from the ornamentation along the classic granite lines.
The whole building sold in an auction in the 70’s for $215K (!!!) and was repurposed into West Village condos, called Le Gendarme (“the policeman”). Definitely worth a visit for the building’s facade- which remains relatively unchanged and still features the carved lettering “NINTH PRECINCT” above the entrance.
PS: above the balcony rests the Seal of the City of New York, designed in 1625.
Left – Seal on 135 Charles St. Building; Right – close up design of the NYC Seal
On the left- a colonist. On the right- a Native American. For obvious reasons. In the middle? A windmill, representing the city’s Dutch history, with beavers and flour barrels between the windmill sails indicating our original trade goods. (Beavers? Really?) The friendly New Yorkers stand on a horizontal laurel branch- incidentally, the symbol of status, wealth, fame, victory, and prosperity – and below a bald eagle, added after the American Revolution.
Last night, the New York Transit Museum held a conversation between Times journalist Michael Grynbaum and MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu about two projects with imminent completion – Fulton Transit Center and the 7 Train Extension.
Michael Grynbaum interviews Michael Horodniceanu in the NY Transit Museum’s first installment of “Building New York”
These projects are both extremely interesting – and involve a lot of details that could turn this post into a 10- page essay on Reverse Transit-Oriented Development and Neighborhood Revitalization. And one day, I’ll delve into those topics and the changing landscape of the city.
My takeaway from this talk, though, was the Man Behind the Curtain, another Mike with his hands in NYC’s pockets.
The weather in Manhattan on Saturday was absolutely stunning- after a polar vortex of a winter, Saturday brought a refreshing 50 degree day without a cloud in the sky.
555 Hudson, Jane’s home, and the second floor window from which she often observed the “street ballet”
This was lucky for me because I had signed up months back for “Jane Jacobs’ Village,” a tour put on by the Municipal Art Society in Manhattan. This was the first tour I’d signed up for and I didn’t want to miss it for another round of heavy snow!
At promptly 1:45, I waited at the Liberty Storage and Moving building, right on Hudson and 11th. Soon, a tiny woman with bright red hair and a leopard fur coat came strolling up to lead the tour. Joan, a Village native and obvious “Manhattophile,” had arrived to take us through the rich history of the West Village, and why it still stands today.
Without Jane Jacobs, the entire West Village would have ceased to exist. Starting with simple observations and unintrusive magazine articles, Jane grew to be an icon for the urban planning community.
Standing on her 555 Hudson doorstep, it was as if she still looked out from her second floor window over the “street ballet” she helped preserve. People were everywhere- couples walking dogs, friends stumbling from boozy brunch, and us – a motley crew ready to take to the streets for observation’s sake.
Having studied Jane in college, I always knew she was key to Manhattan’s streetscape. This tour brought those studies to life -as well as a true appreciation for her work, and what she’s preserved.
Continue reading for the details.
Last week, newly appointed Mayor De Blasio chose the new head for the Department of City Planning, Carl Weisbrod.
Carl, who is lauded as the person responsible for transforming Times Square from an international symbol of urban decay into a current, Disney-ified tourist mecca, has come up against little criticism from the NYC community. [Politicker]
Photo fro Politicker
The Department of City Planning is essentially responsible for everyone’s enjoyment of living in Manhattan. They dictate the urban landscape and how urban dwellers interact with their surroundings. So in choosing a new planning commission chair, De Blasio held our fates in his hands.
Weisbrod, in my opinion? Great choice.
Here’s why.
This weekend, I had the pleasure of returning home to Westerly, RI in an attempt to escape the snow in Manhattan. (I did not.)
As I have since I could drive, I took a spin through Weekapaug, a little oceanside “village” at the north side of town.
After a short, winding road through the village, I stopped at my favorite place in town- the “Overlook” at Panic Point. Lauded by locals as the most popular view in the area, it was surprisingly empty. Lucky for me, I had the place to myself for a peaceful 15 minutes before anyone else arrived. Take a look!
Read more for a little history, but I’m mostly featuring this spot because, well, it’s beautiful!
Yesterday, my boss took me out for a drink around the corner from the office at Keens Steakhouse. In a neighborhood that I consider “lacking character” on the restaurant front, I was expecting exactly nothing- a generic steakhouse, with a generic bar, and a generic ambience.
From the corner, Keens seemed like just this. Generic faded awning, tacky white font on the side…. but as we grew closer and my boss told me more about it, its character slowly became more clear.
Photo sniped from Eater NY
The entire front of the building has a classic, Gilded Age look – small windows, wooden details – and you enter into a “quintessentially American” bar room with wood paneled walls and that reddish, mahogany feel. Needless to say – I, the self-proclaimed Amerophile obsessed with early 1900’s tradition, was hooked.
And then I looked up.
The Flaneurist's Review 