Neighborhood Chatter

LOWER MANHATTAN DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE UNVEILS WEB PROMOTION TO SUPPORT LOCAL RETAILERS With more than 1,100 retailers and restaurants and 18 hotels based in Lower Manhattan, it's hard to keep up with all the diverse merchants-new and old-below Chambers Street. The Downtown Alliance announces its new web-based promotional initiative, "Downtown Deals," which spotlights the newest deals and special offers available from Lower Manhattan's growing retail and cultural communities. Downtown Deals is a free place for Lower Manhattan businesses and organizations to publish and promote special offers, discounts or free services. Business owners, museums and other organizations-as long as they are south of Chambers Street-can submit deals directly online. "A global model for a 21st-century central business district, Lower Manhattan truly has something for everyone, and the Downtown Alliance is excited to support our retailers and museums and showcase the fabulous deals our growing neighborhood as to offer," said Elizabeth H. Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance. "Through supporting our local businesses, we are creating a 'must-see' and 'must-do' venue for Lower Manhattan's 309,000 workers, 57,000 residents and 9.8 million annual visitors." Some exciting deals that are already available include introductory weekend rates at the Conrad Hotel, two-for-one general admission at the South Street Seaport Museum and a free six-piece maki roll at Koodo Sushi with a purchase of $25 or more, among many others. To see the Downtown Deals, go to www.downtownny.com/downtown-deals. 9/11 Health Bill Authors Hail Progress Toward Adding Coverage for Cancers Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Peter King, authors of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, issued the following joint statement in response to the recent publication of email communications by members of the World Trade Center Science/Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) that show that the Committee is making progress toward advocating that cancers be covered under the Zadroga Act: "The materials posted today on the NIOSH website show that we are making real progress in adding coverage for cancers under the Zadroga Act, and that the process created under the bill to evaluate emerging 9/11-related conditions is working. We are grateful to the members of the Science Advisory Committee for their hard work on this issue and their dedication to the health of those who fell ill because of their service to America in the aftermath of 9/11. "Once the Committee's recommendations are finalized later this month, we are sure that [Program Administrator Dr. John] Howard will render quickly a final decision on adding coverage for 9/11-related cancers." This Wednesday, March 28, the STAC held a public conference call to discuss its plans and to accept public comment. The World Trade Center Health Program, headed by Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, provides medical monitoring and treatment for those who became ill as a result of the 9/11 attacks and conducts research into emerging 9/11-related health conditions. The STAC was created under the Zadroga Act to advise Howard on the implications of 9/11-related medical research and to issue recommendations on adding coverage for new conditions under the bill. GREENWICH VILLAGE NYU FACULTY, STUDENTS, TENANTS AND ALUMNI URGE STRINGER TO VOTE "NO" ON EXPANSION PLAN Leaders of community groups throughout Lower Manhattan and representatives of NYU faculty, students, alumni and tenants gathered on the steps of City Hall last week to call upon Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to hold a public hearing and to vote "no" on the NYU 2031 Village Expansion Plan, according to a release distributed by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP). Stringer has until April 11 to issue his recommendation on the plan. While the borough president is not required to hold a public hearing, he has done so with similar land use applications, such as the Columbia expansion plan and the Solow development in the East 30s. The GVSHP delivered more than 2,500 petition signatures to Stringer urging him to reject the plan following the press conference. NYU is seeking to build 2.5 million square feet of new space on the blocks south of Washington Square Park. However, the university is currently prohibited from adding any new buildings to these blocks due to zoning restrictions and urban renewal deed restrictions.