downtownCOLLABORATIVE ART SHOWS, P. 23 ® express VOLUME 22, NUMBER 11 THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN JULY 24 - 30, 2009 25 Broadway makes the grade for private school’s expansion BY JULIE SHAPIRO “You walk right out our Claremont Prep’s $30 door, cross Bowling Green, million expansion is back on and there you are,” Koffl er track after the school fi nal- said. “It’s a wonderful build- ized a lease this week for ing, it’s close by, and the 200,000 square feet at 25 staff is really thrilled.” Broadway. Claremont was able to Claremont will use the back out of the 100 Church space for middle and high St. lease because owner The school classes starting in the Sapir Organization took a fall of 2010, said Michael long time to get their bank Koffl er, C.E.O. of Met Schools, to sign off on the deal, Claremont’s parent company. Koffl er said. Koffl er made a similar The asking rent at 25 announcement in March, Broadway was $39 per square saying the school had leased foot, compared to $40 at space for its expansion at 100 100 Church. Koffl er said he Church St., but Claremont paid very close to the asking opted out of that deal rent at 25 Broadway, which because the 25 Broadway is owned by the Wolfson space was better, Koffl er Group. Wolfson and Sapir said. A major tipping point could not immediately be was 25 Broadway’s location, reached for comment. just steps from Claremont’s Claremont had detailed Broad St. home. architectural plans and ren- Continued on page 6 Photo by Joe Woolhead Tanya Ridley, a metal lather, hoists a rod of rebar at Tower 4 at the World Trade Center site. Rosie the Riveter redux: Women work it at W.T.C. BY JULIE SHAPIRO “I wear the ring as a decoy,” Johns trades are even more skewed toward Ashia Johns goes to work every day said, laughing as she ate lunch on men — in the same 2008 study, the wearing a white hard hat on her head the edge of the construction site on a most unbalanced of all professions in and a fl ashy white-gold diamond ring recent afternoon. “They don’t really the country was bricklaying, which on her left hand. bother me,” she said of her male co- boasted only one woman for every 230 The hard hat keeps her safe as she workers. “I just use [the ring] to throw men. builds the new Goldman Sachs head- them off.” On the whole, women represent quarters Downtown. The engagement Johns, 35, is one of the rare women 2.5 percent of the total workers in the ring look-alike, which Johns bought who choose carpentry as a career. For construction and excavation industry, for herself, also keeps her safe — from every 65 male carpenters, there is only up from 2.1 percent 20 years ago, the Knitters get In The Loop the attentions of the dozens of men she one female carpenter, according to a PAGE 10 works with. 2008 U.S. Dept. of Labor study. Other Continued on page 14 2 July 24 - 30, 2009 downtown express NEWS . .1-15, 18-19 NDER Transit Sam . 9 Ucover Mixed Use . 18 there was Avram Turkel, a strong advocate of incumbent STILL IN THE RACE Councilmember Alan Gerson. (Silvera supports Gerson EDITORIAL PAGES . 16-17 Arthur Gregory, a City Council candidate, started a challenger Pete Gleason.) phone conversation with us recently by saying, “In case you Then Newell joined the fray last month. Also a Gleason heard the rumors, I did not drop out of the race.” supporter, Newell had made an unsuccessful bid last year to YOUTH . 20-22 We actually hadn’t heard that rumor yet, but it quickly topple Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver. became clear why it had sprung up. Gregory waited until 10 Silvera said he made the decision not to run while on the minutes before the midnight deadline last Wednesday night trail collecting petition signatures, and he said in some ways ARTS . 23-26 to fi le his petitions with the Board of Elections, so other can- he felt relieved to be done. didates fi gured he was a no-show. He also has not registered Turkel and Newell, the remaining candidates, both shied any campaign contributions with the city. away from criticizing each other in the press, but after Silvera Listings . 25-26 Gregory said he likes being the last person to do some- challenged the signatures Turkel collected, Turkel is challenging thing — for example, he claims that he was the last person Newell’s. Turkel said he collected just over 900 signatures and in Manhattan to vote for Obama on election night. As for Newell said he got about 1,200. They each needed 500. CLASSIFIEDS . .27 the lack of campaign contributions, Gregory says he has about $35,000 in undeposited checks. He didn’t want to take people’s money until he was sure he would qualify for the ballot, he said. VACANT LOT Gregory admits that he was considering dropping out Good news for the people who are tired of staring at the C.B. 1 because he has to have surgery on his ankle, but that can wait garbage-heaped vacant lot at Greenwich and W. Thames Sts.: It until after the primary. If he had dropped out, he would have could soon be cleaned up and home to construction trailers. MEETINGS given his vote to incumbent Alan Gerson, he said. Pat Moore, a Cedar St. resident, has been railing against the The fi ve-way race is still without a clear overall frontrun- lot for months, calling it an eyesore totally out of keeping with the ner this week — at least in terms of the candidates’ petition neighborhood just south of the World Trade Center site. A gap The upcoming week’s schedule of Community signatures and quarterly fundraising stats. in the lot’s fence is wide enough for people to squeeze through, Board 1 meetings is below. Margaret Chin is leading the way in fundraising, hav- and the lot is fi lled with empty beer bottles, discarded fast-food ing brought in nearly $114,000 so far. But PJ Kim is close wrappers and even some threadbare items of clothing. ON TUES., JULY 28: The Community Board 1 behind, with just over $91,000, and he has more money The city was apparently having trouble getting the owner monthly meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Museum still in the bank than Chin, about $41,000 compared to her to fi x up the lot, but now it looks like Bovis Lend Lease, of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl. $37,000, their campaigns said. The city’s generous matching which is managing the work at the Deutsche Bank build- funds make small fundraising differences nearly irrelevant. ing, wants to use the site for construction trailers. John De Gerson has raised $54,000 and his campaign manager Libero, spokesperson for the Lower Manhattan Development would not say how much he has left. Another candidate, Pete Corp., said Bovis is in negotiations to take over the site for Gleason, has raised $37,500 and has about $11,000 left, his the next six months. SEND YOUR campaign said. When Moore heard, she was happy, but not thrilled. “So, None of the candidates challenged the others’ petition it’ll be a trailer park,” she said. signatures, though many of them privately questioned each Letter to other’s numbers. Gerson indisputably came in with the most, a total of 7,100 and far more than the 900 needed. Kim said he had just under 5,500, Chin’s campaign said she had nearly SCAFFOLDING SALE the Editor 4,700, Gleason’s campaign said 4,500 and Gregory said he There are plenty of recession specials popping up at shops EWS OWNTOWN XPRESS COM would up with nearly 1,600. all around the city, but here’s one that was new to us: A value N @D E . mart on Chambers St. is advertising a “Super Scaffolding Sale,” using signs dangling from said scaffolding to boast 145 SIXTH AVENUE, NYC, NY 10013 discounts of 25 percent or more. THREESOME NOW A TWOSOME The scaffolding covering the RHX Super Value, and PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER While the First District City Council battle rages on, a less much of its block on Chambers St. between Church St. and well-known race got a little simpler this week when Adam Broadway, went up a couple months ago, partially hiding the FOR CONFIRMATION PURPOSES ONLY Silvera stopped campaigning for Democratic district leader store from view. Sale specials at the store include bottled and endorsed fellow candidate Paul Newell. water for 19 cents and rolling suitcases for $19.99. Silvera has been district leader for 16 years, but he said he’s ready to try something new. “It shouldn’t be a life term,” Silvera told UnderCover. “There should be movement, opening up the opportunity for KEY ST. JAMES PERFORMANCE other people.” This year’s July 25 celebration of the Feast of St. James District leader is an unpaid position and doesn’t usu- won’t be limited to a feast for the appetite; locally renowned ally engender so much interest, but this year Silvera organist Jonathan B. Hall will perform in Lower Manhattan found himself facing not one but two opponents. First for the day’s ceremonies. Hall, who was a former dean of the American Guild of Organists and is one of the premier organists in the metropolitan area, will play a special concert at 8 p.m.