PS/IS 276 Winter Carnival

Winter has arrived and so has the season of giving. PS/IS 276 will be hosting a Winter Carnival at 55 Battery Place on Saturday, Dec. 11 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Carnival will include potluck food, games and a winter tag sale. PS/IS 276 would appreciate donations of new or gently used household items such as toys, books, kitchen items, small furniture and electronic gadgets but adds, “Sorry, no clothes, linens, or plush items at this time!” Donations will be collected in the collection box at the school until December 9. Contact Julie Brown at gaschler.brown@egab.net or Magda at magdakgagli@gmail.com for more information. Thanks to the downtownexpress for this story.

NYC Boat Tour Highlights Battery Park City

Do you have plans for this Saturday yet? What about taking the Around Manhattan Official NYC Architectural Tour by Classic Harbor Lines. It offers a rare view of the city that we don’t see often during our commute through the streets on the island. The 2.5 hour tour boasts to guide us to a new appreciation of the cities architecture. Battery Park City is highlighted during the tour for our landscaping, promenades and parks. You can find departure times, rates and more details about the tour here.

WSJ: Mortgage Rates Fall, Extend Record Lows

By NATHAN BECKER
Mortgage rates fell in the past week, with the average rates on 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages further extending record lows, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.

Rates have been at or near record lows as the Treasury market has rallied amid stock-market volatility, pushing yields lower. Mortgage rates generally track Treasury yields.

The decline over the past few weeks also “echoes the recent signs of weakening confidence in the strength of the economy, particularly the housing and consumer sectors,” said Freddie Chief Economist Frank Nothaft.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.56% for the week ended Thursday, down from the prior week’s 4.57% average and 5.2% a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.03%, down from 4.06% and 4.68%, respectively.

Both the 30- and 15-year mortgage rates are at the lowest point since Freddie started tracking them, 1971 and 1991, respectively.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.79%, lower than the prior week’s 3.85% and 4.74% a year earlier. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs hit a fresh low of 3.7%, down from 3.74% and 4.77%, respectively. That loan type has been followed by Freddie since 1984.

To obtain the rates, the five-year fixed-rate mortgages required payment of an average 0.6 point and the others required an average 0.7 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

Liberty Island to Open Evenings in Summer

Photo credit: tedhubert.com/photos.html

Need a new date idea for the summer? The National Park Service is opening Liberty Island for visits and dinner at dusk on Thursdays. The dinner on Liberty Island was tested in September and after being received well, the Park Service has decided to allow visits each Thursday from June through August. NY Times has the full story here.

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Welcome to Liberty Living in Battery Park City!  We are currently developing our first content for this site which will inform readers about lifestyle, resident activities, shopping and services and  development trends and milestones in New York City’s popular Battery Park City neighborhood.  Please visit us after the New Year when we will bring news and information that takes you closer to your Battery Park City home.