REAL ESTATE
Ferry big deal!
Renovated Battery Maritime Building
opens with hotel, restaurants and more
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A historic building in Lower
Manhattan has been
restored to preserve its
legacy in the city while creating
new job opportunities.
The Battery Maritime Building
underwent extensive renovations
amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The building now serves
as a symbol of economic recovery
in New York City, as the renovated
space now includes multiple
grand event spaces, a hotel,
spa and wellness center, as well
as restaurants, bars and lounges.
The building brings with it 150
full-time jobs and 200 part-time
jobs.
The project was spearheaded
by Cipriani, Midtown Equities,
and Centaur Properties, who
joined New York City Economic
Development Corporation
(NYCEDC), elected offi cials
and community partners at The
Battery Maritime Building in
Lower Manhattan on Dec. 14
to celebrate the completion of
the renovations with a ribboncutting
ceremony.
“We are proud to join with
our partners tore-introduce
New Yorkers to the great architectural
gem that is the Battery
Maritime Building, which has
been transformed as a symbol
of the recovery,” said NYCEDC
President and CEO Rachel
Loeb. “We want to thank all of
our elected offi cials for supporting
this magnifi cent project, and
the team from Midtown Equities,
Centaur Properties, and
Cipriani for forging ahead with
the work despite the challenges
brought on by the COVID crisis,
including delays and higher
costs across the board.”
The design, restoration, and
construction of the redevelopment
project were overseen by
Marvel Architects and Thierry
W. Despont Ltd. Operated by
Cipriani, the space has reopened
under the name Casa Cipriani
and features a 30,000-squarefoot
event space centered
around the historic Great Hall
on the 2nd fl oor that provides
a location for both private and
public events; a 47-key hotel on
the third and fourth fl oors with
a spa and fi tness center; and a
spacious club with restaurants
and lounges on the 5th fl oor
with panoramic views of the
Statue of Liberty, Governors Island,
and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Under an agreement made
with NYCEDC and the
developer, the spaces on the
second fl oor will have designated
public hours and will be made
available for public events
and programming.
“The Battery Maritime Building
is a beautiful reminder of
the rich maritime history of
Lower Manhattan,” said Manhattan
Borough President Gale
A. Brewer. “I encourage all New
Yorkers to take the ferry to Governor’s
Island from the Battery
Maritime Building and to visit
the newly restored Great Hall
while there.”
The original Battery Maritime
Building was designed by
architects Richard Walker and
Charles Morris and was built
in 1909. The building is the last
surviving East River ferry building
from an era when 17 ferry
lines traveled between Manhattan
and Brooklyn. The ferry had
shut down in 1938, but has since
reopened with ferry service running
between Manhattan and
Governors Island to and from
the Battery Maritime Building.
The building was designated
a landmark in 1967 and was
added to the National Register
of Historic Places in 1976.
New York City began to invest
millions of dollars to renovate
portions of the pier and the
building’s exterior to attract
investment into the project
in the early 2000s, with the
current investors joining the
project later.
Protesters call
for an end to
winter evictions
Protesters looked to prevent winter evictions on Dec. 11.
BY DEAN MOSES
With the clock ticking
toward the expiring
eviction moratorium
on Jan. 15, hundreds took to
the streets of Manhattan this
weekend begging for relief
and a stay of removal.
On Dec. 11, housing rights
activists gathered at the
Manhattan Housing Court,
at 111 Centre St., where they
demanded the abolishment of
winter evictions.
With the eviction
moratorium set to expire on
Jan. 15 — an extension put in
place to prevent mass evictions
from occurring during the
height of the COVID-19
pandemic — countless will
be susceptible to losing their
homes next year.
However, it isn’t just the
evictions advocates are
concerned about, but also the
time which they are set to take
place.
Anxious that hordes of
New Yorkers will be made
homeless during the year’s
harshest and most frigid
months, housing rights groups
marched in the streets from
Foley Square to Wall Street
chanting: “We are the tenants
fi ghting for justice!” and “End
all evictions now.”
Stopping at the New York
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
State Assembly offi ce–250
Broadway—they bellowed that
“Housing is a human right.”
In addition to demanding an
extension to the moratorium,
they also pushed for the
passage of the “Good Cause”
bill, which would allow
tenants to renew their leases–
preventing the landlord from
removing the tenant without a
court order–as well as capping
rental increase to 3% of the
rent (and permitting tenants
to challenge unfair increases).
Attendees held signs,
“Honor Ms. Noel and all of our
elders–no winter evictions,”
citing the case of Joy Pearl
Noel, an 85-year-old woman
who passed away homeless.
Activists say Noel was
wrongly evicted from her
home of 20 years and charge
the landlord for her health
deteriorating due to the court
stress and she passed away in
a nursing home.
Blocking traffi c, the
protesters paused for a
moment of silence for all of
those who have lost their lives
due to evictions.
The demonstration ended
outside of Trinity Church on
Wall Street, where organizers
said they prepared a letter for
the clergy to sign that supports
their cause for an eviction
moratorium extension.
8 December 16, 2021 Schneps Media