The Fulton Street Beat

Everything there is to know about what's happening in Manhattan's southernmost neighborhood.

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In Case You Missed It: The Round-Up

Fancy pet grooming boutique re-opens at South Street Seaport. 

Battery Park gets an ice skating rink this winter. 

Ferry service is bridging the gap left by the R train closure. 

The Peking Ship at South Street Seaport re-opened. 

A think-piece: Should there be a toll to drive across the Brooklyn Bridge?

An anthropologist documents the battle for Ground Zero. 

Alexander Wang threw his fashion week after party at the recently-closed Pier 17. 

Victoria's Secret at South Street Seaport became a "bespoke wallpaper speakeasy," according to Gothamist. 

There has been a surge in retail across Lower Manhattan. 

The TKTS booth at South Street Seaport is re-opening. 

Fast food workers held a strike on Fulton Street. 

A man threatened passers-by with a samurai sword on Barclay Street. 

A woman was arrested wielding a gun at 9/11 memorial. 

The 9/11 museum started a membership program. 

Mystery parachuters landed in lower manhattan at 3 am. 

And, oh right, the South Street Seaport mall at Pier 17 permanently closed. Goodbye to the businesses there and this artist.

Simply Seafood refused to leave and is still hawking fish and chips at Pier 17 despite its closure. 

And then, of course, there was a pop-up restaurant in the abandoned Pier 17 mall charging close to $300 for a tasting menu because New York. 

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In Case You Missed It: The Real Estate Update

Curbed published this incredible map of the Financial District's 17 upcoming residential buildings. 

5 Hanover Square sells for $104 million.

Construction started on Pier 17 on October 1st. Read about the locals' concerns. 

New Pace University dorm opened at 180 Broadway in time for the school year. 

Old Fulton Fish Market denied landmark status. 

Fortis bought a parcel at the Seaport for $64 million. 

Will Dance New Amsterdam be forced to close?

Time Equities secures $400 million to finance luxury condos at 50 West Street. 

Famed architecture firm Pelli Clark Pelli is slated to design Trinity Wall Street building. 

Over 94 companies, including tech companies, have moved to Lower Manhattan since January 2012. 

Plans to re-open Front Street shops take shape. 

New information about the luxury high rise going up at 246 Front Street. 

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WE'RE BACK!

The Fulton Street Beat would like to express its sincerest apologies for dropping off the face of the earth for the better part of late summer-early fall. We have been neglectful and we know it. We are back and plan to be attentive as ever so please forgive us and excuse the way-too-long link round-ups we're about to post to make sure everybody's up to speed.

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The Real Estate Update: Beauty, Coffee, & Receding Shorelines

A Ricky's, which supplies beauty goods and Halloween costumes, will take over one of the old J&R slots at 33 Park Row.

Sadly, Jack's Stir Brew will not be re-opening near the waterfront until October. It was originally scheduled to open in September. 

The NYTimes ponders whether NYC can adjust to our receding coastline. 

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The Round Up: Free Ping Pong, Ragtime, and Ferries

There is a free ping pong table to use down at South Street Seaport.

Ferry services to Sunset Park and the Rockaways from Pier 11 are being extended through January.

New Yorkers really want free wireless on the Staten Island Ferry. 

Seasoned ragtime performer, Terry Waldo, performs at The Dead Rabbit every Saturday night, ensuring that 1930s music alive and well.

Wall Street hiring a lot again, according to MBAs.

Demonstrators call for politicians to stand up for school libraries and its librarians.

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The Real Estate Update: 100 Broadway and 120 Wall Street

American Field Service (AFS-USA) moves close to 200 employees into 120 Wall Street.

Northwood Investors purchases 100 Broadway. Managing Partner of the Brookfield Financial team that advised the transaction, Chris Wilson, says: "Downtown Manhattan is in the midst of an exciting transition and Northwood is well poised to realize this potential with their long-term perspective." 

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Why Lower Manhattan Parents are Choosing Public School Instead of Private

The New York Observer reports that private school enrollment numbers are decreasing, especially among kids in Lower Manhattan. In response to the post-9/11 residential boom in the area, Community Board 1 rallied for the opening of the Spruce Street School, now located at the new Frank Gehry Building, and highly ranked P.S. 276. 

In fact, according to one parent, people have even started moving downtown to chase schools like P.S. 234, the school that "started it all," and other public schools in the area. 

Plus, parents with the luxury to choose between public and private say that kids are stuck-up in private school. One parent said, "Kids at [private] schools are like, 'Don't you know who my father is?' which really pisses me off. Being in public school teaches you self-sufficiency, that you can be as special as you want to be, but you're not granted the right to be special." 

Still, it seems these public schools have all of the trappings of the private ones anyway. Minus the price tag. According to the Observer: "Parents know what kinds of kids are (and are not) there and whether the neighborhood is safe, the building is new, and the teachers are high-quality." A statement like that seems to nullify any potential arguments for increased diversity in public schools, but we'll continue.

All that said, it's still difficult to land a seat in one of those coveted "good" public schools. People have tried to donate to score seats, but it's obviously discouraged and restricted. Since it is public school after all. For now. 

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The Round Up: Filling the East River and The Ferry to Red Hook

Use of the ferry between South Street Seaport and Red Hook has dramatically increased this summer. There have been upwards of 80,000 passengers so far taking a boat to Fairway.

Inflammatory screed appears in the Atlantic Cities to raise the non-issue of whether we should just fill in the East River to ease congestion. Can we get a collective "No, Thank You"?

A surprise of all surprises: there was a brawl at South Street Seaport. 

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The Real Estate Update: Leasing Rate Up and Bloomberg Passes the Buck

(NYCHA)

In 2013, the year-over-year leasing rate in Lower Manhattan jumped 22 percent. Turns out this jump is coming from first-time renters and re-locaters instead of expected renewals, according to The Real Deal. Plus, rents are staying steady and not skyrocketing unlike other areas of NYC. 

Bloomberg nixes plans to build luxury residential buildings on NYCHA land at the Alfred E. Smith houses, passes the buck to the next mayor. 

Send any and all tips to [email protected]. 

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The Round Up: A Case of the Mondays

The above lined William Street yesterday. 

Kevin Costner and Chris Pine were filming a movie on Front and Maiden over the weekend.

U.S. financial market regulators warn Wall Street to prepare for hurricane season so that capital markets can continue to run "fairly" and "efficiently" in case of another Sandy. 

FDNY puts up a new plaque next to the World Trade Center Tribute Wall for 2 firefighters who died in the line of duty at the Deutsche Bank Building on 9/11. 

Send any and all tips to [email protected]. 

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Large Deli-Market Named Open Kitchen Opens at William Beaver House

For months, the cavernous space below the William Beaver House has been under construction, slowly unveiling layers of white tile, stainless steel pendant lamps, and a ton of seating. Said cavernous space, now called Open Kitchen, opened for business Friday and saw droves of downtown diners flocking to it for lunch.

Open Kitchen seems like more of a gourmet market with coffee than a restaurant but occupies a whopping 6,127 square foot space at the corner of William and Beaver Streets. As a big plus, there is loads of outdoor seating, if overlooking Delmonico's and Hanover Deli is your thing. 

Send any and all tips to [email protected].

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The Real Estate Update: 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza and Bribing Governor Cuomo for Tax Breaks

Oops! Looks like Governor Cuomo got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Big scandal—aka a classic New York narrative— emerging as it is revealed that Fisher Brothers, which develops luxury residences and owns properties at 22 Thames Street and the former American Stock Exchange building at 86 Trinity Place, gave Gov. Cuomo $76,000 in campaign donations just weeks before he approved a giant tax break for their properties. 

JP Morgan Chase & Co. put its 60-story office at 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza on the market. It's estimated to sell for almost $1 billion, which could make it one of the largest commercial office deal in recent history, according to Crain's. 

Send any and all tips to [email protected]. 

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Battle of the Juices: Elixir Juice Bar to Open at John and Nassau Streets

Insider scoop! In the chronicles of this area rapidly upscaling, a tipster walking on Nassau Street noticed signage and brown paper covering the windows of a storefront labeled Elixir Juice. This could only mean one thing: Magic Mix Juicery on Fulton now will soon have some competition in the borderline too-expensive juice and smoothie market at 71 Nassau.

Elixir Juice has ten other New York locations and a few locations scattered throughout Connecticut and California. Its other New York locations are mostly located in the lobbies of Equinox gyms. This one will stand as an autonomous storefront. Historically, our favorite Elixir smoothies have been the Beta Bee and Matcha Green Power.

Send any and all tips to [email protected]. 

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The Round-Up: Pop-Up Shops, Staycations, and A Kid Becomes a Movie Star

Design collective Fort Makers and Baggu team up to open pop-up shop at South Street Seaport from this week until August 28th. The experience has been hyped as "like shopping inside a de Kooning."

We think this is a little too aspirational for right now but Downtown Express asks whether Brooklyn Bridge Beach will be the next hot staycation location. 

The kid in the photo above was having a celebrity moment on John and William today in front of several cameras, boom mics, and professional lights. 

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Study Says Inevitable Sea Level Rise Will Turn Lower Manhattan Into Waterworld

The Bloomberg administration's call to residents and businesses along the East River in downtown Manhattan to batten down the hatches before the next big Sandy hits was just validated in a study. According to a study published in the Journal of Quaternary Science, all 13.88 feet of the gigantic storm tide recorded during Hurricane Sandy was more a product of the planets aligning--i.e., the storm's strongest winds occurring at the exact time as astronomical high tide--than anything else.

However, because of the damage caused during that storm, gradual settling of the land, and global warming, smaller and smaller storms will breach those thresholds moving forward. The Weather Channel described the effect: "The impact of sea level rise on storm surge flooding is similar to raising the floor of a basketball court. The higher the floor, the easier it is for players to dunk the ball, so that even shorter players will be able to dunk."

Basically, thought of as a tipping point, the baseline is low now and we're probably screwed. We just hope that Kevin Costner will be there to join us in the inevitable Waterworld at Pier 17. 

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The Real Estate Update: 1 North End Ave, 180 Water Street, and Pier 17

Brookfield Properties continues to take over downtown Manhattan, in talks to acquire NYMEX's One North End Avenue Building, which was formerly known as the World Financial Center.

180 Water Street was just purchased for $151 million. It's unclear whether it will be commercial or residential. 

Firms show city government plans to tear down the current mall at Pier 17 and replace it with a newer, bigger, glossier mall with extra room for boat docking. 

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Jersey Mike's Subs Provides New Lunch Option to Maiden Lane

Jersey Mike's Subs opened its first New York location at the corner of Maiden Lane and Gold. Midtown Lunch reported that the Jersey Shore institution's sandwiches are similar to Subway's but use higher quality ingredients and cost about $2 more per sandwich on average. Jersey Mike's will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and will be rolling out a delivery service in the coming months. Jersey Mike's Area Director has high hopes for the place saying, "We want this Jersey Mike's restaurant to truly feel like a social gathering place that our neighbors want to visit every day." We at the Fulton Street Beat aren't sure how this is so different from Potbelly or SoupMan or any of the other mediocre sandwich shops scattered around the Financial District but we hope we're wrong.

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