December 19th - December 23rd, 2011

Seaport Museum May Partner with American Folk Art Museum

Dec 19 - The South Street Seaport Museum and the American Folk Art Museum have a lot in common. Both New York institutions had a tough year, struggling to get their finances in orderand ultimately closing their doors temporarily to reorganize. But now, reports DNAinfo.com, both museums are making big plans to rebuild their visitorship in 2012 possibly including a joint exhibit.

Homeless In New York Highlighted In Aftermath Of Occupy Wall Street Zuccotti Eviction

Dec 19 - When Occupy Wall Street protesters took over a park in Lower Manhattan this fall, they drew attention, perhaps inadvertently, to a problem playing out on the very lowest end of the economic spectrum: Homelessness. According to HuffingtonPost.com, reports spread that some homeless people gathering at the Zuccotti camp were causing problems, both for the protesters and for the surrounding area. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had to clear out the encampment over "safety concerns," such as reports of EMTs responding to homeless people with mental illness. But some people saw these issues as indicative of a failure on Bloomberg's part to provide the city's homeless population with the resources it need. And now advocates for the homeless and lawmakers are taking aim at Bloomberg's policies.

Port Authority Pictures 'Sphere' in Park Near WTC Site

Dec 20 - The Port Authority has yet to announce a permanent home for the battered 22.5 ton sculpture The Sphere, the iconic Sept. 11 memorial that now resides in Battery Park. But renderings prepared for a possible presentation, obtained by the Tribeca Tribune, show the Authoritys concept of how the sculpture might look in the future Liberty Parknear the World Trade Center site but not on it. The renderings show two possible sites for "The Sphere" on the elevated park, to be constructed above the Vehicle Security Center on Liberty Street. According to one image, "The Sphere" would be visible from the Memorial Plaza across the street. According to its renderings, the Authority appears to be choosing between two locations within the new park. The "West Side" option shows the brass-and-steel sphere near the Liberty Street bridge. The "Center" option places it closer to the site of what will be the rebuilt St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

Progress on Fulton Street Also Offers History Lesson

Dec 21 - Work along Nassau Street in the Financial District is scheduled for completion in June and thats music to the ears of Downtown residents who have been anxiously awaiting a more detailed timeline from the city on the large-scale capital construction project, reports the Downtown Express. The $23 million endeavor, which involves utility updates and street repair along Fulton and Nassau Streets, will be finished in December 2012, according to the city Department of Design and Constructions Manhattan construction infrastructure division.

WTC Trucking Company Owners Allegedly Stole $1M from Workers

Dec 22 - Two trucking company owners who helped with World Trade Center clean up were arrested Thursday and charged with stiffing workers out of wages and stealing $1 million from their benefits fund, authorities said. DNAinfo.com reports that brothers Gerardo and Vincent Fusella, who own Fusella Group L.L.C. and Alpine Investment Group, Inc., allegedly embezzled money from Teamsters Local 282 while carting construction and demolition debris between sites and landfills in Long Island, New York City, New Jersey and other locations, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Both men face a maximum sentence ranging from 5 to 20 years on each of the 31 counts if they are convicted.

The Horse Occupation of Wall Street Must End

Dec 22 - Complaints about the NYPD's mounted division are rolling in, reports the NY Daily News. In an opinion piece this week, the article from Mary Joan Cunningham states: "More than three months after it began, the Occupy Wall Street movement has increased discourse on class disparity and the role of corporations in American life. But here in downtown Manhattan, the social movement is also yielding a whole lot of crap. Literally. Defecating with impunity on Wall St. is what the media said the protesters were doing. But from my vantage point, the perpetrators are animals owned by the Police Department, who are still allowed to defecate in our neighborhood with impunity. Even though OWS protesters were forcibly evicted from their settlement in Zuccotti Park long ago, the NYPD still regularly dispatches its mounted unit to Wall St., producing bottlenecks, ill will and, most offensive of all, manure. The only thing occupying Wall Street nowadays is the NYPD."