Harvest Moon

September 25, 2010

There was a rare Harvest Moon a few days ago, so it is fitting to show this montage of images from the 2010 season in the BPC Community Gardens. See if you spot any gardens you know.

This is also a small tribute, in ways, to 9/11 victims.

And this classic digital short from 2009

BPC is the star of Wall Street 2

September 27, 2010

The #1 film at the box office this weekend was “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”, the sequel to the Academy Award winning film of 1987, Wall Street. Most of the film was shot in Downtown Manhattan, and much of that was in Battery Park City. Due to the new Goldman Sachs headquarters being in BPC now, Director Oliver Stone chose to show numerous aerial panorama views of BPC from Goldman HQ all the way south to the park. Your apartment building is almost certainly in view.

We give the film an enthusiastic “thumbs up”. The casting, acting, screenplay, and directing were all excellent. Shia LeBeouf’s portrayal of a prop trader was spot on accurate, and Charlie Sheen’s cameo with Michael Douglas was truly nostalgic. Given Michael Douglas’ real life struggle with stage 4 throat cancer, the scene transcended the film.

The film also does a good job of explaining the complicated financial instruments that led to the crash of 2008 and the global depression that ensued. Schools will show this to students for educational purposes. Sadly, the clear message about the corruption of global finance is truthful, which may be too depressing for some viewer’s tastes.

Photo on set of Wall Street 2 being filmed in BPC

Lights out for Merrill Lynch

It’s lights out for Merrill Lynch, literally and figuratively. The tower all lit up is the new Goldman Sachs headquarters. To the left is the dark WFC 4, the old location of Merrill Lynch. Bank of America has relocated most of the Merrill employees to Midtown. Just a few years ago, WFC 4 was jammed to capacity. Reportedly Deloitte accounting is negotiating a lease to move into WFC 4.

Mission Accomplished

September 25, 2010

One of the male mallards has changed into full mating plumage much sooner than the others, and seems to have chosen a mate already.

August 31, 2010

Coincidentally, on the same day President Obama gave a primetime speech to announce that all combat troops had left Iraq, BatteryPark.TV is glad to announce “Mission Accomplished” too with Project Duck. The last straggling duckling that was developing flight feathers more slowly than the others finally flew away today.

(The last duck to fly, shown here two weeks ago with wingtip feathers still growing)

Every single one of the ten ducklings that was present on May 31 when we first began reporting on the stranded ducklings survived to adulthood and flew away. This was possible only due to a collaboration of various conscientious volunteers in the community, ranging from the Parks Conservancy staff who fed them when they were smallest, to other concerned residents of Battery Park City.

The waterfall pond had zero ducks in it at 6:00 PM today. Now, it’s just the old faithful overgrown goldfish left. However, the ducks return daily, so you will still be able to see them, and more strangers from Up North will land and visit in about a month, as they did last year. There are already three stranger mallard ducks hanging out.

August 17, 2010

The dynamics of the little Duck Utopia have been greatly altered. Four stranger adult male mallards flew into town and are hanging out in the waterfall pond during the day. They can be spotted by their slightly larger size and behavior. They do not associate in close proximity with the nine siblings that grew up in the pond. One of the adult males is also acting territorial, almost in pre-mating rituals.  The mother is not around much these days.

The young siblings seem to be learning from the new adults and are flying more often. This evening, all but two of the ducks flew the coop for the evening. One duck has had slow development of the flight feathers on her wings and another seems too small to fly with the pack.

August 11, 2010

A male duck landed in the waterfall pond today and was a bit larger than the others. It might have been one of the siblings that flew away 5 days ago. It began to lead the group around the pond and bob his head. Then suddenly, he took flight toward the Hudson taking with him one of the ducks on its first flight.

The remaining ducks took short flights but aborted them within the pond. They all hopped up to the highest rim of the pond and gazed westward. Then, suddenly again, three of them got the courage to fly away. They circled nearby over the Hudson for more than a two minutes. One returned to the pond. There are now six ducks in the pond.

August 6, 2010

One of the ten former ducklings flew out of the waterfall pond sanctuary for the first time today and went on an overnight expedition with the mother. Their behavior is to return in the morning. The rest are doing test flights the length of the pond. Unlike last year where only two ducklings survived, and only one of those had the nutrition to develop flight wings, all ten this year are doing well, thanks to the care given by the BPC Conservancy staff.

Fellow duck enthusiasts have asked some common questions and here are the answers.

Q1 Are they all females?

A: No. They will not differentiate into the colorful male plumage until next year. For now, the only distinguishing marks are the color of the bills. The males have green bills. Also, the mature males lose their colorful green plumage a month or so after the eggs hatch and develop a more protective camouflage brown color.

Q2 When will they fly?

A: Mallard ducklings can fly as soon as 50 days after hatching. Our ducks are almost 90 days old and have the fully developed wing feathers for flight. Being citified ducks, they seem to be a bit lazy and comfortable where they are.

Q3: When will they leave for good?

A: They will likely stick around in the pond until November. The mother will stay with them until next year.

Q4: Will they return next year?

A: Yes. They will likely return and nest again nearby.

Jackass 3D and Big Air’s Mat Hoffman: An American lunatic

August 17, 2010

The upcoming masterpiece of film called “Jackass 3D” will feature a BMX daredevil, Mat Hoffman, who has broken more bones than Evil Knievel and has suffered at least 70 concussions. He wears a shoulder harness because his arm was almost amputated.

Mr. Hoffman was right here in BPC last April for the Tribeca Film Festival. See below.

April 24, 2010

The public “drive in” movie tonight at the Tribeca Film Festival is “Big Air”. To promote it, BMX set up a half pike and has skateboarders and BMX bikers making big air.

Battery Park City on Ice

Update September 14, 2010

BPC resident Matt Fenton is reporting that the seasonal ice skating rink which was installed this winter on top of the grass playing fields might not be repeated this year as the rink company, Rink Management Services, is hesitant to bring it back. There are reports that the rink was not profitable enough.

“RMS was disappointed in the rink’s financial performance. A spokesman for RMS did not return calls requesting comment…. “Right now, everything is up in the air,” Linda Belfer, chair of the Battery Park City Committee, said afterward. “The Authority clearly issued the RFP because they hope to have another manager in there this winter, and open the rink again. But whether they will be able to do that is not clear.”

BatteryPark.TV had a bad experience with Rink Management Services. BP.TV created a video feature of the rink as a public service and did not charge the rink for the video production. However, the management company was unappreciative. In fact, the company actually stole our content and placed it on their own website. In the course of dealing with Rink Management Services, many of the executives seemed unethical, in our opinion. An alternative ice rink company would be an improvement.

January 2010

An ice rink has been opened on the ball fields north of the Goldman Sachs building. It will be open until February. Rental skates and lessons are available.

Some economists say: “Let the housing market fully collapse fast”

September 6, 2010

The New York Times is reporting that some economists think the “delay and pray” tactics of the federal government to prevent foreclosures and housing price reductions is just making the recovery that much further away. They say it is best to stop intervening and let the market collapse.

“As the economy again sputters and potential buyers flee — July housing sales sank 26 percent from July 2009 — there is a growing sense of exhaustion with government intervention. Some economists and analysts are now urging a dose of shock therapy that would greatly shift the benefits to future homeowners: Let the housing market crash.”

For other related stories on NYC housing prices, click here.

Is this Newport?

September 3, 2010

No one would guess that the country is in a double dip depression from the looks of North Cove. The number of mega-yachts anchored for the Labor Day holiday weekend has to be near record levels. It seems more like Newport, Rhode Island, than New York City.

Lady M, at 164 feet, is the largest ship currently in port. The yacht was rumored to have been owned by ex-Beatle Ringo Starr. It can be rented out now. For more information, the North Cove Marina website has this page. Click on “Current reservations”.

Comparing an Islamic mosque by ground zero to a porn shop?

Update: August 15, 2010

ABC Nightly News used the same distorted logic as did the New York Times back in May and made the moral equivalence of pornography shops and strip clubs many blocks away from Ground Zero to a proposed Islamic mosque. Presumably, ABC did this to make the point that Ground Zero is not the “hallowed ground” that mosque protestors claim. Therefore, to oppose the proposed mosque based on the grounds that Ground Zero is special is hypocritical. Read below our original commentary on the flaws of that logic.

Op-Ed May 28, 2010

In what could be one of the poorest uses of logic in recent mainstream media history, the New York Times featured a column by Clyde Haberman supporting the construction of a five-story Islamic mosque near “Ground Zero” (The name for the former World Trade Center sites demolished after the Islamic terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 that killed thousands). In his column, Mr. Haberman compares the insult of an Islamic site of possible future anti-American teaching to a strip club and off-track betting shop that are already nearby ground zero.

He wrote, “No one is known to have protested the fact that three blocks from ground zero, on Murray Street off West Broadway, there is a strip joint. It prefers to call itself a gentlemen’s club. A man stood on the street corner the other day handing out free passes to willing gentlemen.”

Huh? How does a passive purveyor of porn compare to militant murdering terrorists? Pornography and incubators of mass murder are not morally equivalent.

The organizers of this unfunded mosque idea have tried to soften it up by referring to it as a cultural center. Will the mosque really be this multi-religious “cultural center” that it claims to be? Will women be allowed inside without being covered up with various forms of head shrouds? Will the acts on 9/11 and radical Islam be condemned? Of course not.

Mr. Haberman does not seem to be willing to admit publicly that the terrorists who attacked us on September 11, 2001, were all brainwashed by Islamic radicals in extremist mosques. Perhaps he is pandering to the mayor who supports the mosque. The NY Times would benefit from an acquisition by Bloomberg News.

The authorities will undoubtedly keep close tabs on this “Ground Zero mosque” if it is ever built, but critics are justified in raising concern. In contrast, no adult porn shop or off-track betting site ever produced a jihad of America-hating murderers.