Category: Editorial
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The Leaning Tower of Seaport
CFDC’s Development Disasters series examines troubled projects to understand what went wrong, what safeguards failed or were missing, and what those cases can teach us about responsible development. A skyscraper is supposed to rise vertically. At 161 Maiden Lane, that basic expectation became the center of a years-long construction and financing crisis. The project, known…
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Tribeca Chronicles: Christine & Patrick Hall, Elan Flowers
Christine and Patrick Hall share their thoughts on building their business in Tribeca, the neighborhood’s evolution, and what it takes for small businesses to have a stronger voice in its future. CFDC: What is your connection to Tribeca? Christine: Well, Elan Flowers started in Tribeca. It was really Patrick’s dream to find a live-work space so…
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Development at Any Cost? Is New York Getting the Balance of Oversight Wrong?
This article is the first in CFDC’s new Development Disasters series, which examines troubled projects to understand what went wrong, what safeguards failed or were missing, and what those cases can teach us about responsible development. New York City needs more housing, as well as more investment in affordable housing. And it needs to keep…
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Watch Out for ICE
Hello. It’s me. Carl the Crane. I have been watching a parking garage. That is not unusual for me. When you have been standing in the same place for several years, you become interested in things other people might overlook. This particular parking garage is at Independence Plaza. Until recently, it was open to the…
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Tribeca Chronicles: Sommer Omar, Attorney and Community Activist
Sommer Omar shares her thoughts on working with both the Tribeca community and the local organizations that ensure the spirit of our neighborhood is sustained into the future. CFDC: What is your connection to Tribeca? SO: I’m the new State Committee member representing Tribeca. This little-known volunteer role is largely what you make of it.…
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Dear Ms. Ulker-Kacar
You can join Carl the Crane in opposing the tower by submitting your written comments to the Department of City Planning through July 6. A sample letter is available on our Resources page. 26DCP143M_DL@planning.nyc.gov. Evren Ulker-Kacar, AICP, NYC Department of City Planning, 120 Broadway, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10271. Re: Independence Plaza Modifications — Draft Scope…
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Tribeca Chronicles: Nancy La Lanne, Professional Women Photographers
This month, we sit down with Nancy La Lanne to discuss her 25+ year work history in Tribeca at BMCC, along with her advocacy for Professional Women Photographers. CFDC: What is your connection to Tribeca? NL: I’ve been a staff member at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center (PAC) for 26 years. In 2000, I came to…
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Counting Doors
Photo: Evan Joseph and Tim Waltman/Evan Joseph Studios, via CORE Hello. It’s me. Carl the Crane. I have been looking around, as I usually do, because I am very good at looking and not very useful for anything else. Recently, I noticed something exciting. A very famous person, Mariah Carey, is selling her apartment here…
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NYC Zoning 101: Part Three
What Zoning Means for Tribeca In Parts One and Two, we explored why zoning exists and how the rules work. Now we turn specifically to Tribeca, where those rules have direct and long-term implications. Tribeca contains four commercial zoning districts: As explained in Part Two: Three of Tribeca’s four commercial districts include a contextual letter…
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Watching the Courtyard
If we haven’t met yet, let’s do that here. Hello. It’s me, Carl the Crane. I don’t usually write things, because I don’t have arms. But I have been thinking a lot lately, and when you think for several years in the same spot, the thoughts start to pile up. I like living in Tribeca.…