Volunteers Needed For Aug. 3 Bike Race
Organizers of the second annual New York City Cycling Championship, which takes place on Aug. 3 in the Financial District, are looking for hundreds of volunteers to help out with the event. Volunteer are needed to act as marshals, keeping the race course safe for compeitors and spectators, to protect race equipment and to check credentials to restricted areas. Volunteers are also needed for hospitality, media coordination, event administration and other areas. To sign up as a volunteer, contact Threshold Sports at 610-676-0390 ext. 113 or email cspaeth@thresholdsports.com. You can also get information at the event's website, www.nycbikerace.com.

The championship is a 100-kilometer professional criterium race with more than seventy top international pro cyclists. Last year's inaugural race, which drew 100,000 fans, was won by Ivan Dominguez, who beat a field that included Lance Armstrong.

The race course begins and ends at the intersection of Wall and Water streets and circles through the streets of the Financial District. The day of cycling will begin at 7:30 a.m. and will include the Junior PCT Grand Prix for riders 18 and under, a corporate challenge race, an amateur team cycling event and a bike messenger race.

The featured men's championship will start at 12:15 p.m. and end at approximately 3 p.m. Spectator admission is free.
 
Tennis Courts and Ice Rink Coming
Downtown tennis players, who have lamented the loss in recent years of Battery Park City’s tennis courts and the two tennis bubbles that used to be on the East River at Wall Street, should soon have a new place to play.

Three new public tennis courts are being constructed in the Hudson River Park near the end of Canal Street and should be open by the end of August. The Hudson River Park Trust, which is building and operating the waterfront park, was still working out rules for getting court time and whether there would be a fee, said Chris Martin, a Trust spokesman.

Iris Kimberg, who lives on Hudson Street and is an avid tennis player, said she was happy that new courts were on the way and planned to play there often. “We only have one court now Downtown, in Washington Market Park, and it’s overbooked. It’s almost impossible to get playing time,” she said.

Ice skating is also coming to Tribeca’s portion of the park. This winter, the Trust plans to install a temporary rink on the esplanade next to Stuyvesant High School.

The tennis courts and ice rink will join what has become a virtual athletic complex on Tribeca’s waterfront.

Last month six batting cages and a basketball court were opened just south of Pier 25, an inline skate park opened a little farther north on the esplanade earlier this year and the trapeze school is back after its successful debut last summer.
 
Free Sailing Program for Downtown Teens

Downtown teenagers have an opportunity this summer to learn how to sail, close to home and for free.

The New York Harbor Sailing Foundation, which is tied to the Manhattan Sailing Club based at North Cove marina in Battery Park City, is offering the free sailing classes on weekends in July and August for teens 13 to18 years old who live south of Canal Street. Students can sign up for one session that will consist of three consecutive Saturday or Sunday classes, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The three-day, 21-hour course will teach the basics of sailing, including knot tying and water safety, with at least 10 hours of instruction time on the water in the sailing club’s J/24 boats. Students will be eligible to receive certification at the American Sailing Association’s “Basic Sailing” level.

Registration, on a first-come, first-served basis, will begin on June 12 at 4 p.m. at the sailing club’s dock in North Cove, at the kickoff of the Omega Fantasy Regatta, a fundraising race for the teen sailing program. The race will include two world-class sailors--Dean Barker, skipper of Team New Zealand's America's Cup boat, and Ellen MacArthur, winner of the 2002 Route de Rhum and runner-up in the 2000-2001 Vendee Globe Challenge, a round-the-world solo race.

For more information or to inquire about registering for the teen sailing program, email Wayne Turett at wturett@turettarch.com or go to www.nyharborsailing.com.
 
BPC Association Events
The Battery Park City Neighbors and Parents Association has several activities on its summer calendar. July 9, from 6:30–8 p.m., is Ladies’ Night Out, at the Rise Bar in the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, 2 West St., 14th floor.

Moms can bring their children and enjoy free coffee and muffins while chatting at the “Moms’ Network Meetings” on July 15 and Aug. 19, 10:30 a.m.–noon, at the Garden Cafe Bar and Grill, 301 South End Ave. (corner of Albany Street). And there are Weight Watchers meetings every Thursday, from 7–8 p.m., at Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers St., in the teachers’ cafeteria on the fifth floor. For more information, call Teresa Sellinger at 212-217-0022.

The Association also seeks volunteers to help plan the second annual Battery Park City block party on Saturday, Sept. 20. Volunteers should call Tammy Meltzer at 866-841-9139 ext. 3126. Anyone interested in joining in the talent show or pie contest should contact Rosalie Joseph at 212-456-4622, and vendors who want to participate can call Janet Berka at 212-912-0812.
 
Crab Crunch
Like crabs? Like sitting on the waterfront on a nice summer day? On Saturday, August 16 from 3–6 p.m., at the River Project on Pier 26, Christopher Letts and Tom Lake from the Hudson River Foundation will prepare and serve crabs while giving a presentation about the commercially fished Hudson River invertebrates and instruction on the proper way to eat them. There will be free samples, or you can enjoy all you can eat for $15 at the door, or $10 in advance.
 
Energy for Businesses
The city’s Economic Development Corporation has extended its “Power Downtown” program that provides discounted electricity to businesses affected by Sept. 11. The program, which the EDC says can cut utility costs up to 15 percent, is open to businesses south of Houston Street with electricity usage between 10 and 400 kilowatts. For information, call 866-227-0458.
 
Yankee Tours
Catch a free tour of the Yankee, the historic ferry docked at Pier 25 at the end of North Moore. Tours are every Sunday during the summer, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the hour. Meet at the gangplank.
 
WTC Redevelopment
Community Board 1’s WTC Redevelopment Committee will discuss options for West Street’s reconstruction and plan for a new Vesey Street pedestrian bridge and walkway at a public meeting on July 24 at 6 p.m. in the Assembly hearing room at 250 Broadway, 19th Floor.