Archive for the ‘Discover’ Category

Hive at 55 Getting Bigger and Better with Age

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
More than 100 folks celebrate the Hive at 55's 6-month anniversary

More than 100 folks celebrate the Hive at 55's 6-month anniversary

It’s hard to believe, but the Hive at 55 is now 6-months old. Yesterday, we raised a glass and celebrated this anniversary with friends, partners, and members that have supported us along the way.

We have partnered with countless organizations and had hundreds of individuals walk through our door and join our community.  It’s been amazing to become a resource for the many small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelancers in New York City.

The Hive is definitely “on the map” when it comes to the greater technology and startup communities.

The celebration started at 6 PM, just about the time when our members start to wrap up their day. With drinks supplied by The Greene Grape and delicious food from Harry’s Italian, we pushed “play” on the stereo and let the fun begin!

We saw so many familiar faces: a mix of current members,  Meetup organizers, friends of our community, and even some new folks who have been supporting us from afar.  A women-based entrepreneur club was even discussed to empower the women of the Hive!

You can check out some of the festivities at our Flickr page. More than 100 people attended the party, including more than 20 members of our co-working community (some even brought their kids!).

The Hive will continue to evolve based on the people who work here. Their personalities and professional needs, as well as their input on programming and events, are what make the Hive a special place to do business.  We look forward to celebrating our first year with everyone and seeing what changes are made in the next six months!

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Bennie’s Thai Cafe: A Hidden Gem on Fulton Street

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Bennie and her daughter Am behind the counter at Bennie's Thai Cafe

Bennie and her daughter Amy behind the counter at Bennie's Thai Cafe.

As you walk down Fulton Street and dodge the never-ending construction work, you could easily miss a booming business, and some of the best Thai food you’ll encounter in this city.

Bennie’s Thai Cafe has been in business since 1996, and if you head toward the East River, look down just before you reach Gold Street and there it is, an unpretentious, relaxing haven.

The owners didn’t even start out pursuing a Thai restaurant. Back in the late 70s, Bennie Boon, her husband, James, and some friends partnered up and bought two Blimpie franchises in Chelsea and on Trinity Place in Downtown. Since most of the employees were Thai, Bennie decided to cook something for the staff, meals that routinely included pots of curry or noodles.

Then word got around Thai circles that there was a place owned by Thai people in Lower Manhattan.

So, Bennie started a small steam table out of the back of Blimpie’s called: Bennie’s Thai Corner.

When the Boons were bought out back in 1992, they searched for spaces in Lower Manhattan where they could re-open Bennie’s Thai Corner again. After a short stint on West Street, the couple rediscovered a space that sat empty for a number of years on Fulton Street.

It wasn’t an ideal space at the time – after all, it’s easy to miss – but Bennie’s Thai Cafe was born.

Today, Bennie’s has become a sort-of cafeteria for office workers during lunchtime and, in the evenings, a home kitchen for residents of the ever-growing Financial District neighborhood. (The Downtown Alliance’s residential survey recently noted the dramatic growth, from about 25,000 people in 2001 to 55,000 folks today south of Chambers Street.)

As a regular customer for more than a decade, I can easily say it’s worth the trip. While my favorite is the steamed dumplings, you should try the Pad Thai, Spicy Noodles, Curry Puffs and Jungle Curry (note to readers: some of the dishes are very spicy so ask about the heat level first!).

Some of Bennie’s more interesting items are the Thai salads, called “Yum,” a mix of tamarind, lime juice, fish sauce, chili peppers, onions, and cucumbers, and whichever meat or seafood you want to add. It’s a perfect representation of Thai flavors of sweet, salty, sour and fiery, all at once.

Stick around for dessert if you can and try the Thai sweet sticky rice with mango or custard, baked acorn squash filled with custard, and fried bananas. (Oh, and before I forget, bring cash or American Express; that’s all they take.)

And say “Hi” to Bennie (or her daughter, Amy) who you can always find behind the counter or in the kitchen.

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Are you the next Ben Folds or Billy Joel?

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Sing for Hope Piano on Coenties Alley at Stone Street

If you want to tickle the ivories during your lunch break – or during any daylight hours – here’s your chance to kick back and impress your friends. A piano now sits at Coenties Alley at the foot of Stone Street until July 5th as part of the Sing for Hope program; 59 others are spread out across the city as well. If you happen to have any photos or video, send us your best ones at ContactUs@DowntownNY.com and we may be able to show off your musical prowess.

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Visiting the Rise of Wall Street

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

wallstreet_banner

If there is one thing I have learned from working in Lower Manhattan, it is that the area is constantly changing. I rarely turn a corner without discovering a new shop or restaurant or a high-rise construction site. So it seems only fitting that the latest exhibition at the Skyscraper Museum would be entitled The Rise of Wall Street.

The exhibition traces the illustrious history of one narrow street in New York City and follows the rise of the skyscrapers along it. But it also touches on the evolution of the skyscraper throughout Manhattan and the world. One section focuses on green initiatives in modern towers. And visitors also learn how modern skyscrapers can reach thousands of feet into the air without collapsing.

The physical layout of the exhibition is impressive. Large columns with posters of Wall Street skyscrapers stretch up to a mirrored ceiling, and as I wandered in between them, it seemed as if I was actually standing on Wall Street, staring up at its skyscrapers as they reached into an endless gray sky.

One of the most interesting things I learned was how Wall Street got its name. Before industrialization, a stockade ran along Wall Street, separating New Amsterdam from the rest of Manhattan. The original structure—made of simple picket and plank fencing—was meant to protect the Dutch settlement from English colonial forces. In 1653, Peter Stuyvesant led an effort to build a stronger structure. They erected a 12-foot wall that could also protect the settlement from various Native American tribes. Thirty years later, the road that ran along the stockade was named—sensibly enough—Wall Street.

After my museum visit, I took my own tour of the real Wall Street, just a few blocks away. It’s amazing to imagine the small buildings that once stood where skyscrapers now loom. The Rise of Wall Street gave me a wonderful appreciation for the transformation that occurred on one particular street in Manhattan over the course of a few hundred years. The Skyscraper Museum at 39 Battery Place is open from 12 to 6 PM Wednesday through Sunday. General admission is $5.

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Posted in Construction Projects, Discover, My Downtown | 1 Comment »

Keeping History — In Lower Manhattan

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

KeepingHistory

Have you been to the Museum of Jewish Heritage lately? Most visitors head to the museum’s core exhibition which focuses on Jewish heritage from the 20th century. It’s a wonderful collection, but last time I was there I skipped the core (shhhh, don’t tell my professors!) and took the elevators to the third floor. A few months ago the museum opened their Keeping History Center –- a space that is vastly different from the rest of the museum. As I walked down a long hallway I was greeted by a staff member who handed me an iPod touch accompanied by a huge set of noise-reducing headphones. Although I was wondering why the museum would trust me with such precious cargo, I certainly wasn’t complaining.

I am, admittedly, technologically challenged in comparison to the rest of my generation and was a bit confused by the iPod. I put on the headphones and thankfully a recording gave me a brief tutorial on how to approach the Keeping History Center. I didn’t have to touch a single button! The center allows you to wander around the room while listening to the experiences of those who have immigrated to the United States during the last 60 years. Some of the stories are humorous -– a Czechoslovakian immigrant who came to the United States in 1946 talks about being the biggest Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the country, while some are incredibly emotional –- a young woman from Rwanda describes the difficulty of her journey and her fears of learning to adapt in a new country.

The room is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows that face the southern tip of Manhattan. As I stared out at the breathtaking view of the Statue of Liberty I found myself mesmerized by these stories. As a first generation American, I felt as if I had been transported back to my grandmother’s dinner table listening to my own family members tell me stories about their journey to America in the 1960s.

The center is incredibly interactive and encourages visitors to leave their own stories about arriving in America for the first time. The stories are then posted on the museum’s Web site and are periodically transferred to the center’s iPods for future visitors to read.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage has combined history, memory and technology into an amazing interactive exhibit that tells us the story of the everyday American. Next time you are near the New York Harbor be sure to stop into the Museum of Jewish Heritage. The Keeping History Center is included in your museum admission and best of all, they offer free hours every Wednesday from 4pm–8pm. I hope to be reading about your story next time I visit!

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THE PLACE FOR HOLIDAY CHEER

Monday, December 7th, 2009

holiday_wifi

By Liz Berger

This is the time to appreciate what’s really important and tie it all up in a bow: family, friends and community. While we are at war and the economy is struggling, it’s hard to muster the gleeful abandon that Christmas lights and windows used to bring. And yet, It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol are classics for a reason. There may be fewer packages and a little less champagne this year, but I am ready to celebrate.

That is, if I can figure out how to get all the baking, wrapping, packing, cooking, cleaning, folding and shopping done between now and Dec. 25—and still come up with enough jelly donuts and latkes for eight nights of Hanukah, which falls early this year.

Thank goodness Lower Manhattan is a little village, with everything we need for a fantastic holiday season in one square mile. Who needs Rockefeller Center? It feels so homey and festive to see a tree, hear a Messiah performance, ice skate, drink hot chocolate, grab an unexpected nightcap with friends, light a menorah and shop for everyone on my list right here in the neighborhood.

That’s what the season should be all about.

What it shouldn’t be about is stress, but, if you’re like me, holiday shopping can be anxiety-producing. I never remember the good ideas I had in April. Nor do I have enough time to find just the right thing for everyone. No surprise, since I squeeze the shopping in between the office, the grocery store, school drop-off, basketball pick-up, the doctor and everything else. I start to envy my friends who make gift-giving a science, and my grandmother, who only gave cash (which she said was “always the right color”).

This year, however, will be different. The really smart folks in the Downtown Alliance’s Marketing Department have put together a series of one-hour Downtown shopping itineraries for people like us. At lunch time and before or after work, there are options for every budget, every list and every part of Lower Manhattan:

• Wall Street Luxury: From Tiffany at #37 to Thomas Pink and La Maison du Chocolat, both at #63, to Tumi and BMW at #67 and Hermés at 15 Broad St.

• Extraordinary Value: This loop includes J&R Music and Computer World at 23 Park Row, Century 21 at 22 Cortlandt, Samuel’s Hats at 72 Nassau, The Bag Shoppe at 63 Nassau and Men’s Wearhouse at 115 Broadway.

• By-the-Bull: Shop around Bowling Green Park at Daffy’s at 50 Broadway, Christopher Norman Chocolates at 60 New St., World of Golf at 74 Broad St. and California Wine Merchants at 15 Bridge St.

• Front Street Finds: Boutiques like AKO Store and Design Studio at 207a Front St., Firefly Children’s Boutique at 224 Front St., Provisions at 150 Beekman St. and Coach at 193 Front St.

• Connection Convenience: Stores along the expanded northern route of the Downtown Connection, the Downtown Alliance’s free bus service, include Babesta at 66 West Broadway, Mysterious Bookshop at 58 Warren St., Korin at 57 Warren St., and Bed, Bath & Beyond and Whole Foods, both at 270 Greenwich St.

I’m going to try all five, and take notes for next year!

— Liz Berger is President of the Downtown Alliance.

For more information about Lower Manhattan’s holiday events, restaurants and retailers, please go to our Web site at www.downtownNY.com/holiday.

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Round, round git around, I git around…

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

What’s grey, white and black, weighs approximately 14,000 pounds and moves close to 800,000 people a year from place to place? No, it’s not a Continental CommutAir Beechcraft 1900 regional airplane or 7 African elephants. Haven’t figured it out yet? OK, here are some more local hints: it arrives every ten minutes. It is there in inclement weather. It gets you to the best shopping and eating in Lower Manhattan. And it will connect you with any downtown MTA train or bus connections.

Still don’t know?

It’s the Downtown Connection Free Shuttle Bus Service…oh, and for those that do not know about this service please take note of that four letter word “free” in the above sentence.

Having started at the Downtown Alliance in the transportation division in 2004, I was never aware of what Downtown was all about until I rode on the Connection bus. As director of the bus service, my focus was providing a great service, content drivers and most importantly, happy passengers. Little did I know that good eats, shopping and mass transit were around every corner and at every stop along the 5.5 mile route the Connection travels every day of the year (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day).

For close to five years, the Downtown Connection has been transporting Lower Manhattan’s business, resident and tourist populations to a variety of destinations…and I think I already mentioned that it’s free. Taking you to eateries like Harry’s Café off Water Street, or Inatesso PizzaBar Casano at the edge of Battery Park City off West Street; there are close to 100 mouth-watering places to eat along the bus route. With the addition of the service’s new loop, there are additional stops like Whole Foods Market, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Borders.

By year’s end we’re likely to serve our 4 millionth passenger, yet many folks in Lower Manhattan don’t even know this service exists. The best way to get information about this free service is to go here and check it out. I mean, it’s nice that you eat your lunch in the deli inside your building. Or you work by South Street Seaport and you think you’re in the heart of all things “eat, drink and shop.” But that’s not true. It may also never cross your mind to shop during your lunch hour at that “halfway around the continent” location called Warren Street. Be adventurous! Get out of your offices and explore what Lower Manhattan has to offer.

If you can travel more than the three or four blocks it usually takes you to get to work, more often than not, you’ll see our signature “NN” sign at one of our many bus stop locations. Don’t be afraid…get on the bus! Explore! Eat! Shop! Remember, all work and no play…well you know the rest.

Did I mention that it’s FREE?!
Connection Bus

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Posted in Discover, Eating, My Downtown, Shopping & Dining | 1 Comment »

Downtown by the Numbers

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Do you remember numerical series problems from elementary school? Things like: 2,4,8, __ What is the next number in the series? Why, its 16 of course (each number is twice as much as the prior one).

Well, here is another series that will really tease your brain: 280, 110, 100, 110, 17, 116, 2, 22, 120, __ What is the next number? And what is the series anyway?

I will answer the second question first. These are the building numbers of all the buildings I have worked in over the last 40 years. And they are all in Lower Manhattan. I never made it above Reade Street. Two of these buildings have undergone residential conversions; two were significantly upgraded by the City of New York and are occupied by city agencies. One is nearly entirely vacant and the building I am now in – 120 Broadway — is probably the finest of the bunch.

Over the last 40 years I have witnessed many comings and goings. Sloppy Louie’s and Sweets were the places to go for fish. They had very different personalities, but given their proximity to the Fish Market, they had the freshest food around. Alas, they are gone, as is, of course, the Fish Market itself. And while I am reminiscing about restaurants whose names start with S, the corner of Park Place and Church Street used to have two such restaurants, Schraft’s and Suerken’s. Schraft’s was a table clothed chain restaurant and Suerken’s was an old style- German bar and restaurant, opened in 1877 and closed 110 years later.

And I remember buying records out of wooden boxes on legs at the very first J&R store in the basement on Beekman Street. And then watching the empire grow all along the entire Park Row block, except of course for Weinstein and Holtzman’s Hardware store.

And one more establishment that I miss is the original Job Lot on Church Street; a destination for bargain hunters from all around. I am talking about a store, before it was ruined by expansion, that actually sold its merchandise from push carts and would have both a section of fairly stable merchandise as well as true odd lots that would come and go in an afternoon. I found that out the hard way when I bought mirrored switch plates for ten cents (yes, a long time ago). Unfortunately, I miscounted and needed two more, but when I went back the next day they were gone.

All by way of saying that this stroll down memory lane has been replaced by new destinations and adventures, many of which can be found by a walk down any of our historic streets or by using the retail directory on the Downtown Alliance’s Web site.

To return to the first question of the numerical series — what is the next number? — who knows? Will we move? Will I move? Maybe the answer is that this is the end of the series. Maybe not. We’ll see.

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Posted in Discover, My Downtown, Shopping & Dining | 2 Comments »

A Sweet Downtown Experience

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Do you know what I bought last Friday for my family? Chocolate. And not just any chocolate, my friends. I’m talking about the most unique and delicious chocolate I’ve ever had in my life (and I’ve had some chocolate, I’ve got to tell you). The coco beans were grown in Ecuador and then shipped to France and blended into the delectable dessert our family shared. Where did I get such exotic chocolate? La Maison du Chocolat.

Right here in Lower Manhattan!

Yes, the birthplace of New York City, one of the world’s premier business centers, the fastest growing residential community in Manhattan, also has some of the world’s best chocolates.

Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my chin.

Okay, that’s better. Let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Jeremy Schneider and not only am I a noted chocoholic, but I have worked Downtown for almost 10 years, the last seven of which have been with the Alliance for Downtown New York, Lower Manhattan’s Business Improvement District. If you have been Downtown in the past 15 years, you probably know our public safety officers in the red coats. You can learn more about us and what we do by visiting our website.

Downtown Diary – our brand new blog – is going to be about what makes Lower Manhattan different, what makes it special, and where you can find those interesting things to do, see and eat. Our employees are experts on everything Downtown; we have so much to tell you about our favorite people and places. Downtown Diary will give us a chance to make sure you know as much about Lower Manhattan as we do.

For instance, did you know that every week there are new retailers opening in our district? Just last week Burritoville (36 Water Street) and Tiatris Neckwear (100 William Street) opened. We actually have a guy who walks around the entire district tracking every single retail space – whether it is vacant or not. His name is Luke “I am not your father” Mess and we call his weekly posts Mess Around Downtown (get it?). He’ll tell you about every new retailer that opens up in Lower Manhattan.

As I’ve mentioned, I have been down here for quite some time now. Do you know one of the things I see that still makes me chuckle almost every single day? Walking down Broadway and seeing packs of people in business suits rushing to a meeting each holding a BlackBerry, while packs of tourists circle around one of their own studying their map, while couples are walking their dogs and parents are pushing strollers right through all of them. To me, this is the vitality of Downtown in action, where it all – literally – comes together.

There is so much more we notice and learn about Lower Manhattan every day and we’ll share it all with you right here. We’ll talk about new green initiatives by businesses and buildings, about art projects, about concerts and events happening here, about the latest news, and anything else we think you might want to know about Downtown. We’ll even have a regular post about My Downtown, a chance for our employees (and even you) to write about some of our favorite places down here. And as I’ve touched on, it is also your chance to share your Lower Manhattan experiences with us.

This is not only our diary, but yours as well.

This is the new gateway to Lower Manhattan.

Welcome.

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Posted in Discover, My Downtown, Shopping & Dining | 6 Comments »