Giant Carnival in the Works
It will be a day like no other in Tribeca.

On Saturday, May 11, 10,000 to 20,000 visitors are expected to pack the neighborhood for the Tribeca Family Festival, a carnival extravaganza meant to help local businesses and liven the area with jugglers, clowns, arts and crafts activities and more. The event is part of the five-day Tribeca Film Festival coordinated with the Taste of Tribeca, and will be on the same day. A 1,100-square-foot stage will be set up at Greenwich and North Moore street.

"Tribeca will be a very happening place for an entire day," said Peter Downing, the festival’s creative director, promising "minimal community impact with maximum effect."

At press time, the details of that impact, including a number of street closings, were a matter of discussion between Community Board 1 representatives and festival organizers, who were scheduled to present their plans to the board’s Tribeca Committee on Thursday, April 4.

CB1 assistant district manager Judy Duffy, who met with the organizers, said that Washington Market Park’s Puppet Festival, scheduled for that day, would likely be rescheduled and the park may be closed to protect the grass.

The Greenwich Divide?
The board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. is responsible for deciding on how the Trade Center’s 16-acre site will be divided between commercial uses and a permanent memorial. There appears to be some agreement among board members that Greenwich Street, which many people want to see restored through the site, would be a logical dividing line between the two uses.

"Greenwich Street will be the natural division on the site," said Madelyn Wils, an LMDC board member. "Therefore it makes sense to consider commercial uses on the east and the memorial park on the west. But nothing is concrete."

Wils added that it would be logical to put the memorial on the western section of the site because both of the towers stood west of where Greenwich Street once ran. A little more than half of the site lies to the west.

New CB1 Members
Four new members, including two Tribeca residents, were named to Community Board 1 last month.

Jeff Galloway, a commercial litigator for a Downtown law firm, has lived in Battery Park City for 20 years. He has two children who attend P.S. 234, and is a founder of the BPC Dog Owners Association.

Paul Glass, an account executive with Verizon, is a 20-year resident of Independence Plaza and serves on the tenant association’s executive board. He is interested in tenant issues and post-9/11 environmental issues.

Rick Landman, a two-term CB1 member in the 1990’s and a former CB2 member, has lived in Tribeca for 22 years. He is a land use attorney and NYU administrator who has worked extensively on Downtown zoning and planning issues.

Rebecca Skinner, a 17-year resident of lower Broadway is a Brooklyn school district administrator and a former teacher. She is a member of the Residence Advisory Council of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
More CB1 members will be appointed this month by Borough President C. Virginia Fields and City Councilman Alan Gerson.

School Registration Is April 9 to 19 for Pre-K through 5th Grade

Fall registration for kindergartners and new students in higher grades will be held Tuesday, April 9, through Friday, April 19, at P.S. 89, P.S. 234 and P.S. 150.

P.S. 89 (201 Warren St., at West Street) accepts students for pre-kindergarten and grades K–5 who live in Battery Park City or the area south of Liberty Street and west of Broadway. For K-5, register between 9 and 10:30 a.m. in the cafeteria. Pre-K registration will take place on April 18 and 19 only, from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

P.S. 234 (292 Greenwich St., at Chambers Street), which includes pre-K through 5th grade, accepts children who live in Tribeca and the financial district east of Broadway. Register between 9 and 11 a.m. for K-5, and on April 18–19, same hours, for pre-K.

P.S. 150 (334 Greenwich St., in Independence Plaza), also known as the Tribeca Learning Center, was created last year by the merger of the Early Childhood Center and the Bridges school. The school comprises pre-K through fifth grade and accepts students from all of School District 2.

Registration for K-5 at P.S. 150 will be April 9–19, 9–11 a.m., and pre-K registration will take place on one day, probably April 9. For all grades, parents should stop by the school on April 8 to make an appointment.
To register, you must bring your child, a utility bill for proof of address, and the child’s birth certificate and immunization records.

Applications for zoning variances will be accepted starting May 1. For more information, call P.S. 89 at 571-5659, P.S. 234 at 233-6034, or P.S. 150 at 732-4392.

Future of Our Rivers
A special call to those who were evacuated by water on September 11: IMAGINE NY, a project of the Municipal Art Society, is holding a free workshop aboard the historic ferry Yankee to discuss visions for rebuilding New York and its waterfront. Attention will be given to water transportation and the evacuation of some one million people by boat on 9/11. The event, open to the public, is on Saturday, April 13 at 3 p.m., and is sponsored by the North River Historic Ship Society and NY Windstar. The Yankee is at Pier 25 at the end of North Moore Street. Call 267-7236.

Garden Volunteers
Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, which maintains the parks and gardens in BPC, is looking for volunteers to work with horticulturists on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon, from May 1 to Oct. 30. Volunteers will be taught to prune, water, weed and plant. Call 267-9700, ext. 364.

Business Conference
"Hands on Hope: A Post-9/11 Survival for Business Owners and Employees" is an all-day conference for local business proprietors. The conference is Wednesday, April 10, at Audrey Cohen College, 75 Varick St. Call Arlene Costa at 343-1234.

Alliance News
The Downtown Alliance will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, April 18, at 3:30 p.m., at 14 Vesey St. The meeting is free and open to the public. Call 566-6700 for more information.

Last month the Alliance launched its new website, which lists hundreds of places to go Downtown. The address is www.DowntownNY.com.