Photo courtesy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Last December, construction on the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at the World Trade Center stopped due to lack of funding. The Archdiocese has remained committed to finishing the construction of the church, which was destroyed during the 9/11 attacks. Recently, the Port Authority — who owns the land on which the church is sited at Liberty Street — said that it wants to help the church with its rebuilding efforts, as the New York Post first reported.

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Via Wikimedia

Despite recently ranking as the most expensive zip code for renters in the United States, Battery Park City experienced the greatest influx of millennial residents in New York City over a period of five years. The Lower Manhattan neighborhood, with the zip code 10282, saw a population increase of over 54 percent, according to report released this month by RentCafe. Out of the top 20 zip codes with the highest increase in millennials, Battery Park City, with 2,300 Generation Y residents, ranks third in the country, falling slightly behind two downtown Los Angeles neighborhoods (h/t amNY).

Where are millennials moving?

Actor Ben McKenzie has come a long way since his teen-drama days on “The O.C.” After adding producer to his resume, starring in the hit television series “Gotham,” and moving from southern Cali to NYC, McKenzie is now looking to make another change and find a larger home for his growing family. The Post reports that he and his wife, fellow “Gotham” star Morena Baccarin, have put their Battery Park City condo on the market for $2,675,000. Clearly, the couple has good taste, as the sunny, stylish pad at 2 River Terrace is decorated with Scandi-chic furniture, boho accents, and contemporary light wood finishes.

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Battery Park City via Flickr cc

To mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria last week–along with new reports that confirm 3,000 Puerto Ricans lost their lives in the third-most-powerful storm to ever hit the U.S.–Governor Cuomo signed an executive order establishing a new Hurricane Maria Memorial Commission to provide recommendations pertaining to the site, design, and installation of a permanent memorial in Battery Park City. New York City has the largest number of Puerto Rican residents in the U.S. mainland and, to date, Cuomo has set aside $13 million to aide the more than 11,000 displaced Hurricane Maria victims living in New York state.

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Via Wiki Commons

Despite a year-over-year decrease in its average rent, Battery Park City ranks as the most expensive zip code for renters in the United States, according to a RentCafe report. In 2017, the average rent in this downtown neighborhood was roughly $6,000/month. And while it experienced a nearly two percent decrease this year, with average rent falling to $5,657/month, Battery Park City is still the not-so-winning winner. Not surprising but still bleak, 26 out of the 50 zip codes with the most expensive average rents in the U.S. are located in Manhattan.

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Rendering via WXY Architecture

After two Battery Park City bridges were destroyed during the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the city quickly built the Rector Street Bridge, a temporary solution to let pedestrians safely cross West Street. The state’s department of transportation released a proposal in 2006 to reconstruct the promenade but opted to renovate the bridge in 2009 instead. WXY Architecture released a new proposal in 2013 to replace the Rector Street Bridge with a 230-foot-long light-filled, permanent pedestrian walkway at West Thames Street. But, as Crain’s first reported, the project won’t meet its fall deadline and the project’s budget has grown from $20 million to roughly $40 million.   Find out more

Courtesy of Charles Urdstadt

After landing on Amazon’s list of 20 potential cities for its second headquarters in January, New York City is one step closer to securing $5 billion in city investment and 50,000 high paying jobs. Although the city pitched four neighborhoods for the tech-giants’ HQ2 (Midtown West, Long Island City, the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, and Lower Manhattan), one investor has a different, less grounded location in mind. Real estate mogul Charles Urstadt took out an ad in the New York Post on Friday detailing his plan to bring Amazon to a landfill in the Hudson River. More here

Photo of the Statue of Liberty courtesy of the NPS

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said the state of New York will pay $65,000 per day to reopen the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island during the ongoing federal government shutdown, which forced the park to close over the weekend. Cuomo said the state made an agreement with the Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, to keep New York Harbor’s landmark open. The government closed midnight on Saturday after Republican and Democrats in Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill.

“The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and opportunity for all, and it is a gross injustice that this administration’s dysfunction caused it to shut down,” Cuomo said. “When this administration tries to deport immigrants, when they close down the Statue of Liberty, they are attacking who we are.”

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