Youth athletes fi nd a new fi eld to play: The Hudson
BY SALLY CURTIS
As more families move into
Lower Manhattan, there is an
ever-increasing demand for
ballfi elds for youth team sports. Ballfi
eld advocates are pitted against real
estate interests and developers who
want commercial development and
tourist attractions like the Highline.
The confl ict is all the more acute since
it is taking place in Community District
2 that has one of the lowest open space
ratios in New York City at 0.58 acres
per 1,000 residents. The citywide standard
is 2.5 acres.
Amidst the controversy over balancing
the needs of the community with
the need for commercial development,
an important resource is being overlooked:
The Village Community Boathouse
(VCB) where a diverse group of
New York City high school students
row wooden rowboats in the vast and
underutilized open space of the Hudson
River and compete in open water rowing
races throughout the Northeast.
On a sunny and cold Saturday in November,
VCB hosted its annual Youth
Race at Pier 40. Rowers came from four
different rowing groups: Stuyvesant
High School and Urban Assembly New
York Harbor School, the Sound School
in New Haven, and Cortlandt Community
Rowing. All the groups walked
away with some prizes. In the words of
announcer Michael Anton, “There are
no losers today.”
More than 160 enthusiastic rowers,
coaches, and volunteers gathered at the
boathouse in the cold to share food and
Rowers racing past Pier 40.
their love of rowing. The crew names
were the best part, refl ecting a competitive
spirit tempered by a teenage sense
of humor: The Wet Sox (Stuyvesant);
Eat My Bubbles (Sound School); Kiss
My Aft (NYHS); DeeDahs (Cortlandt),
among others.
VCB is an all-volunteer, donationbased
nonprofi t organization. Incorporated
in 2008, VCB occupies a space
on the south side of Pier 40 where it
COURTESY VILLAGE COMMUNITY BOATHOUSE
had operated as a downtown chapter of
Floating the Apple since the establishment
of Hudson River Park in 1998.
Utilizing a fl eet of more than a dozen
traditional wooden boats called Whitehall
gigs, VCB volunteers take thousands
of local residents, students, and
international visitors out rowing for
free all over New York Harbor every
year.
High school rowers are VCB’s most
enthusiastic and numerous constituency.
Rowing clubs from Urban Assembly
New York Harbor School, City
As School and Stuyvesant High School
meet several times a week for rowing
during the school year at the VCB boathouse
on Pier 40.
Many of the young people who began
rowing with VCB in high school return
after college as volunteers, bringing
with them valuable maritime skills,
learned over their years of involvement
with VCB.
Pier 40, located in Hudson River
Park, has four ballfi elds that are heavily
used by children of all ages from local
schools and athletic clubs. The legislation
that created the park calls for using
the pier to generate funds to support the
rest of the park. However, the dilapidated
pier is in need of adaptive reuse or
demolition. Advocates for youth athletics
have been working with The Hudson
River Park Trust and elected offi cials to
address the needs of the community
for ballfi elds and boathouses. Unfortunately,
team sports don’t generate much
revenue, creating confl ict between the
need to generate revenue to support the
park and the needs of the community.
Like the ballfi elds, the boathouse on
Pier 40 has nowhere else to go in Lower
Manhattan. Advocates for youth athletics
should recognize and value the high
school rowing programs run by VCB.
The boathouse on the south side of Pier
40 should be included in discussions
of preserving and expanding space for
youth athletics in lower Manhattan.
Sally Curtis is President of the Village
Community Boathouse.
Star Wars exhibition opens at Dolby SoHo this Friday
BY ALEX MITCHELL
This is where the fun begins for
Star Wars fans.
Star Wars is teaming up with
Dolby to turn the surround sound empire’s
Manhattan fl agship store into an
intergalactic, interactive installation.
That’s where you’ll travel through
hyperspace and have another happy
landing at 11 immersive exhibits that
chronicle the galaxy from Coruscant all
the way to outer rim territories.
It’s here that you’ll relive some of the
most iconic, dismembering, light saber
duels throughout the days of the Old
Republic and Galactic Civil War “as
you explore the iconic sights and sounds
of the Star Wars universe through the
ultra-vivid picture of Dolby Vision and
immersive sound of Dolby Atmos,” according
to the company that’s been a
part of the Star Wars alliance from the
very beginning.
A long time ago in a decade far, far
away (1977, to be exact), Dolby fi rst
The Dolby SoHo storefront decked out for its Star Wars exhibition.
partnered with George Lucas to provide
sound for the fi rst Star Wars movie,
now called A New Hope.
“The force brought us together and
PHOTO COURTESY OF DOLBY
we are thrilled to open the doors of
Dolby SoHo so Star Wars fans can experience
their favorite franchise like
never before,” said Stuart Bowling,
Content and Creative Relations Director,
Dolby Laboratories.
Some of this one-of-a-kind experience
comes by the way of movie props
on display, along with memorabilia
that will make many fans jump for joy
around the galaxy.
No credits are needed to see the exhibit,
as its open to the public for free
starting Friday, Dec. 6 through Sunday,
Jan. 5. It’s open Wednesdays through
Sundays (except Christmas and New
Years Day) from 1 to 8 p.m.
Fans can also win a speeder’s load of
prizes ranging from posters, exclusive
items, and many more giveaways in the
immersive space.
The interactive exhibit will span from
iconic moments of all nine episodes of
Star Wars — including the soon-to-bereleased
“The Rise of Skywalker.”
Check out the exhibit at 477 Broadway
in Soho to witness the fi repower of
this fully armed and operational battle
station.
4 December 5, 2019 Schneps Media