A sculpture that once stood in the World Trade Center plaza and was damaged from debris during the 9/11 attacks has been in Battery Park since 2002. But construction is scheduled for Battery Park, which means The Sphere needs to move again—and some families of 9/11 victims say they'll boycott the 10th anniversary of the attacks if it's not moved back to the World Trade Center site. more ›

In honor of 9/11 and all the people lost in the terrorist attacks, the Tribute in Light shone yet again through the sky of the Financial District. Initially a temporary installation that ran through March 11 to April 14, 2002, the lights have become a yearly tradition and sign of remembrance every September 11th. Next year, the 10th anniversary of the attacks, will be their last year. However, there was a bit of a SNAFU with last night's lighting. more ›

Goldman Sachs just can't do anything right. The latest qualm against the company doesn't mention their obscene bonuses or their salty talk, but rather a collection of ferries the company has paid to run 16 hours a day between their office tower in Jersey City and their new headquarters in Battery Park City. The noise from the boats has gotten so loud that Battery Park City officials say they want to kick Port Authority of New York and New Jersey out of the floating terminal, claiming the noise violates the terms of their lease. Of course, money will solve everything. more ›

While the city awaits a space shuttle, NASA has brought in a full-scale model of their James Webb Space Telescope as part of the 2010 World Science Festival. This will be the world's most powerful spacescope, and its replica is currently on display at Battery Park. Columbia University physicist Brian Greene explains its power, saying, "We may be able to finally get an understanding of how galaxies form, how planets form, how stars form, in detail. Maybe we'll figure out the dark energy that we've learned is the fusion of the cosmos forcing space to expand." more ›

Yesterday morning a reader spotted this turkey in Battery Park, and told us "no one else seemed to notice." Everyone is probably just used to seeing the turkey around though: it's Zelda! The last we heard she had wandered onto the West Side Highway, where cars skidded to avoid her in 2004; then she was spotted again in 2006. more ›

Reader David Velez (link NSFW) sent us these photos of a sad looking panda walking around downtown at Battery Park late yesterday afternoon. Was he laid off from the zoo? He was carrying a Duane Reade bag and kept his head hung low as he walked amongst the humans. Aw, depression era panda, you make us so sad. (Though the eye witness pointed out this could be some sort of fetish thing, in which case, gross.) more ›

For the past seven years, the Ritz-Carlton at Battery Park has transformed its 14th floor lounge into a chocolate paradise during the month of February. This year's theme is a Chocolate Carnival, featuring myriad mouth-watering confections from award-winning pastry chef Laurent Richard. With commanding views of the harbor, the lounge is an ideal spot to pass a winter's evening gorging on the unlimited chocolate buffet, while downing bottomless Champagne and chocolate-themed cocktails, until you at last dissolve into a blissful, diabetic coma. more ›

Hometown post-punk heroes Sonic Youth played a free show for approximately 7,000 fans in Battery Park on July 4th as part of the River to River Festival. The decades-old band started the set with a spellbinding, spacey rendition of “She is Not Alone,” followed by the Kim Gordon-led classic “Bull in the Heather.” By the third song, a blistering “Silver Rocket,” 50-year-old frontman Thurston Moore seemed to have had enough of the photographers separating his band from the frenzied crowd, so he climbed down into the photo pit to thrash through the scrum, before getting back onstage to finish the song. more ›

First Lady Laura Bush was in Battery Park yesterday to help the National Park Foundation launch First Bloom, a program to encourage children in urban centers to learn about the environment and what they can do for their parks and neighborhoods. more ›

It may have looked like simple joyriding on a Friday afternoon, but the Parks Dept. employee careening around Battery Park near Whitehall St. yesterday afternoon was actually a man on a mission, i.e. to kill as many birds in the park as possible. Martin Hightower has been a Parks Dept. employee since 2005, but was arrested after 911 started receiving calls about a man driving recklessly on a golf cart at the southern tip of Manhattan. more ›

Earlier this week, the Post reported that "high-profile" Bronx Republican Fred Brown, who is a GOP district leader in the Bronx and votes there, actually lives in Battery Park City in lower Manhattan. Which means he's been voting in the Bronx illegally. Now, the Bronx's DA's office is investigating the matter. more ›

An appeals court ruled that a doctor who had been missing before September 11, 2001 died during the World Trade Center attacks. The family of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, last seen at Century 21 on September 10, had in courts for years trying to do so. more ›

Developer Larry Silverstein announced yesterday that he will build an 80-story building at 99 Church Street, in place of the former Moody's headquarters, just a block away from the World Trade Center site. Twenty-two floors will be for a Four Seasons hotel; the other floors will include 143 condominiums, making it the "tallest residential structure" in the city. more ›

To be a young harbor seal taking some time from swimming to sun! A young seal was seen hanging out at the 79th Street Boast Basin yesterday morning the Parks Department. more ›

Plans to renovate Pier A, the last remaining pier on the lower west side, are staggering forward again. The Victorian-era three-story pier was built immediately after the Brooklyn Bridge, using much of the same equipment, and was once one of the city’s proudest points of entry, boasting visits from boldface names like Amelia Earhart and the Queen of England. Today it’s a dilapidated eyesore that clashes with the rest of the lavishly rehabilitated west side waterfront, and Governor Spitzer’s office is stepping in to coordinate renovations. more ›

A 22-year old Manhattan deli clerk that took the late shift on New Year's Eve lucked out when he bought himself a winning scratch-off ticket. While everyone else was welcoming 2008 with friends and family, the Yemen native's wife and baby were still living a world away, so Waleed Alsaidi bought himself a little present at his family's deli in Harlem to pass time on the lonely shift. more ›

Last night we received a link to a treasure trove of old copyright-free photos being hosted on the Library of Congress's Flickr page. Here's a link to all of their New York images, and some of our favorites are below and after the jump. The pilot project will get 3,000 of the Library's 14 million photographs online. See what both the Library of Congress and Flickr have to say about the endeavor. more ›

After months and months of delays, the BAM Cultural District may be moving forward. The NY Times is reporting that city officials have chosen Harlem-based developer and Brooklyn resident Carlton Brown to create what the Times' Terry Pristin calls the "cultural district's centerpiece." This is the first Brooklyn project for Brown, who developed the Kalahari and 1400 on Fifth in Harlem and the Solaire, the city's first residential green building, in Battery Park City. The... more ›

Yesterday morning's rain caused a recently installed sewer main to burst, flooding the basement and parking garage of a Battery Park City luxury apartment building. Water levels reached up to 20 feet. Not only were car owners greeted with news that their vehicles were either submerged or floating on top of sewer water, hundreds of tenants at 90 West Street were evacuated. Fire officials explained that, per WNBC, "rain flooded a re-routed sewer pipe,... more ›

We hope all of you, whether you have stayed in the city or have traveled to spend the holiday with loved ones, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. While, for many people, Thanksgiving is about the bounty of food, football games, or the start of the holiday shopping season, it's also a good opportunity to appreciate your life. The History Channel has an extensive website about the history of Thanksgiving (with video). Scholastic's school-children-targeted... more ›

British comedian John Oliver has become an indispensable fixture on The Daily Show, where he’s found a highly receptive audience for his particularly earnest style of fake reportage. But millions of viewers accustomed to their nightly laugh therapy have been going through heavy withdrawal since the Writers Guild strike put the kibosh on new episodes. At issue is the guild’s demand for a taste of the loot being raked in from new media outlets. The... more ›

Make sure you’re sitting down before reading further: Today TV bloggers formed a virtual picket line to support the Writers Guild strike. We’ve been refreshing Ramblings of a TV Whore all day, hoping for some blogging scab to post something! All this strike activity is becoming quite the trend; CBS News writers are expected to join their more gifted and talented “creative” colleagues who are entering week two of the strike. The CBS News scribes... more ›

Members of the Writers Guild of America have been striking in Los Angeles and New York this past week over details of a basic contract between writers and producers - one of the biggest sticking points is the amount of residuals writers get from DVD and new media distribution. The NY Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd asked Seth Meyers (who we spoke to on Tuesday) to give her a weekend update about the strike:... more ›

It's the not the first time the government has wasted lots of money and it won't be the last, but the Daily News special investigation into former Governor Pataki's never-built Museum of Women is great proof of how bureaucracy sucks. Originally conceived to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca, the museum would have been at the south end of Battery Park City. Various grants were directed to the commission (chaired... more ›

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck at White Plains Rd. and 219th St. in the Bronx, an animal incident on Rochelle Pl. on Staten Island, and a hate crime at Columbia University in Manhattan. A tour of Jam Master Jay's studio, where the rap impressario was gunned down five years ago. A brief update on the unforgettable case where a man beat the bejeezus out of a grunting and yelping spin class... more ›

Developer Charles J. Urstadt, the man behind the creation of Battery Park City in the 1970s, is eager to duplicate the feat further north up the Hudson by creating an additional 40 to 50 acres of Manhattan real estate. How? Well, by depositing fill dredged from Lower New York Bay. more ›