Battery Park City Authority Rejects Otterness Sculptures for Library

by JESSICA TERRELL
Tribeca Tribune

The Battery Park City Authority is saying “thanks, but no thanks” to the anonymous donation of a set of Tom Otterness lion sculptures valued at $750,000, much to the chagrin of the artist’s supporters on Community Board 1.

“I think this is crazy, absolutely crazy,” CB1 board member Tom Goodkind said. “For God’s sake, it’s free.”

The BPCA said it was declining to accept the artist’s offer, the creation of two five-foot bronze lions and five small cubs to go in front of the library on North End Avenue. A sixth cub would have been placed inside the building. The Authority says it is rejecting the offer because the donor is anonymous and because the proposal did not follow procedures for vetting artwork and allowing public competition.

CB1 had previously voted its support of the installation, and on Tuesday its Battery Park City Committee voted to request more information from the Authority about the proper process for commissioning a new site-specific piece of art. But it appears unlikely that Otterness’ lion and cubs will make it to the library.

Read more from the Tribeca Tribune.

2011 River to River Festival in Battery Park City

The line-up for the 10th Annual River To River Festival has been announced, with free events being held at various locations along downtown New York City’s waterfront, including the World Financial Center, The Seaport, Battery Park City’s Rockefeller Park, Castle Clinton National Monument, The Elevated Acre at 55 Water Street, and more. The festival runs June 19-July 16.

On Wednesday June 22 at 7pm, Battery Park City Authority will present Bottom Line – NY On My Mind, starring Rosanne Cash, Marshall Crenshaw, Willie Nile, Martin Rivas, Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche, Loudon Wainwright III, Dar Williams, and more. The event will be hosted by Meg Griffin, and also feature Christine Lavin and Vin Scelsa reading NYC stories.

Rufus Wainwright will join New York City Opera singers, and pianist Kevin Murphy to perform excerpts from his opera Prima Donna, which will premiere at New York City Opera in spring 2012, as well as his favorite arias. The event will be held at the World Financial Center Winter Garden on June 28.

Read more about other dates & River to River Festival events.

Battery Park City Authority Seeks New Auditor

The Battery Park City Authority will soon have a new auditor managing the neighborhood's finances. (Flickr/jnpoulos)

By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

The Battery Park City Authority is hiring a new auditor, three months after a report slammed the authority for wasting $300,000 on parties and fancy lunches.

The authority plans to hire an outside firm to perform its internal audits from now on, to ensure that the audits are independent and thorough, board members said at an Audit Committee meeting Wednesday.

“When you have a person who is part of the organization reporting internally, it is a difficult process,” said Robert Mueller, chairman of the authority’s Audit Committee.

In the past, the authority had an internal auditor, Roy Villafane, who reported to Lisa Miller, vice president of internal audit and compliance.

The inspector general’s scathing report on the authority last December criticized both Villafane and Miller for inappropriately documenting the car and driver perks that former authority Chairman James Gill received.

Miller still works for the authority, but Villafane retired about six months ago and the authority never replaced him.

Read more from DNAinfo.

New BPC Street Art

Art comes in a new formate in Battery Park City this week. Architect Audrey Matlock completed an eight-year project working on the lighting and visual effect of a man hole in Battery Park City. You can see more photos and read the full story by Curbed here.

Liberty Luxe & Liberty Green Complete Vibrant Neighborhood

Photo Credit: Buck Ennis

Liberty Luxe and Liberty Green are under construction and scheduled to be done next year, but that means more than just being open and finishing construction. We are going to welcome new neighbors to our neighborhood. In this story by Amanda Fung (Crains New York) she agrees that Battery Park City is a place that people want to work and live.

“Early next year, two luxury condominium towers—Liberty Luxe and Liberty Green—will open in Battery Park City. The buildings, which will be 33 and 23 stories, respectively, and will feature similar brick-and-glass facades, are being developed by Milstein Properties.

More important, the two towers will bring to a close one of the largest and most remarkable development projects in New York City’s history: the transformation of 92 acres of landfill across the West Side Highway from the World Trade Center into a vibrant neighborhood…”

You can find out more about Liberty Luxe and Liberty Green and you can read the full story by Amanda Fung here.

Plans For New Battery Park City Fields Selected

Photo credit: tribecatrib.com

Architects for the Battery Park City Authority presented the Downtown Soccer League and the Downtown Little League with options for the new fields and the final layout (pictured) was selected this month. The fields will have two baseball diamonds and the full-size south diamond will be complete with 200-foot outfield fence, meeting Little League regulations. The Downtown Soccer League is also excited because the new fields, made of artificial turf, will allow for weekly practice as the grass will not need scheduled rest time. Read here for more information.

Resident Appointed To Battery Park City Authority

Community leader Anthony Notaro was appointed to the Battery Park City Authority by Gov. David Paterson. The new addition to the BPCA is encouraging to residents as they feel their voices will be heard with fellow resident Nataro on the board. Nataro helped found the neighborhood’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) team and is president of the First Precinct Community Council. For more details and to read the full story click here.