May 27th - June 2nd, 2005

Recovered WTC Remnants to Remain at JFK Hangar

Friday, May 27: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has agreed to spend an additional $4.9 million to store more than 1,000 artifacts recovered from the World Trade Center site in a hangar at JFK Airport, the Daily News reported.

"Eventually, these things will find permanent homes, in places that are more suitable," Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia told the News. "But for now, this is necessary to protect these artifacts."

The newly appropriated funds, which will almost double what the agency has spent since it began transporting material to the hangar in 2001, will pay for climate-control modifications, roof repairs, bird-proofing, and additional enclosures, the paper reported.

Eventually, some of the pieces will make their way back to Ground Zero to be included in the interpretive center planned as part of the World Trade Center Memorial. The Port Authority also intends to develop a lending program to allow museums and other institutions to borrow and display artifacts as appropriate, according to Anthony Cracchiolo, Port Authority director of priority capital programs.

City Unveils Latest Plans for East River Waterfront Development

Tuesday, May 31: Mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed the latest plans to redevelop a two-mile area along the East River, a project funded in part by a recent $150 million allocation by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. The planned redevelopment of the riverside will create a virtually continuous greenway between Battery Park and East River Park half the size of Central Park. For the complete story, as well as slide shows and images of the plans, please click here.

Berkeley College Opens New Downtown Extension Center

Tuesday, May 31: Berkeley College has opened a new downtown extension center on William Street, where it will offer courses in business, liberal arts, English, and technology that help fulfill curricular requirements for the school's certificate and degree programs. A dedication ceremony attended by school and city officials was held earlier this month.

"Opening this center is further evidence of our commitment to educate and cultivate students to be citizens of the world," said Berkeley College President Dr. Mildred García in a statement. "By having a center here we anchor our city in its academic diversity and multicultural identity."

The new center fills the second and third floors of the building at 130 William Street and contains 12 classrooms, three computer labs, a library, and a student lounge, as well as administrative and faculty offices. For more information about programs offered at this new Lower Manhattan campus, please click here. 

Heliostats to Shed Sunlight on Battery Park City

Thursday, June 2: Three heliostats -- instruments that track the sun's movement across the sky using mirrors -- have been installed in Battery Park City, where they will redirect sunlight onto the future Teardrop Park South, the New York Times reported.

The heliostats, which measure about eight feet across and cost $350,000 each, were installed Tuesday on one of the three skyscrapers that surround the lot where the future park will be built. They are expected to be running by this fall, the paper reported. Guided by computer, they will track and capture sunlight and send it down to the park, which would otherwise be cast in shadow.

"This is going to change the relationship between New Yorkers and the sun in ways that haven't been tried before," Davidson Norris, the heliostat plan's designer, told the Times.

Morgan Stanley to Consolidate 2,700 Workers Downtown

Thursday, June 2: Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki announced that financial services firm Morgan Stanley has decided to move 2,300 employees to office space at One New York Plaza, consolidating at least 2,700 workers in Lower Manhattan. The firm has also committed to further expand its downtown workforce by adding 600 jobs over the next five years. For the complete story, please click here.