New Chief for Downtown Alliance
The Alliance for Downtown New York has a new president. Eric Deutsch, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, will cross the river and take the helm of the alliance on Nov. 1, replacing former president Carl Weisbrod.

Weisbrod, who was head of the Alliance since 1995, resigned in July to take the position of executive vice president of Trinity Church and president of the Trinity Real Estate division.

"It is an honor to be chosen to serve as the Downtown Alliance's next president," Deutsch said in a statement. "I look forward to working with business and community leaders, and all levels of government to continue moving the revitalization process forward."

At the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Deutsch managed the 300-acre, 3.5-million-square-foot industrial park since 2002. He oversaw the creation of a plan to expand the the yard to include 1 million square feet of commercial, industrial and retail space and spearheaded the development of a film and television studio at the yard that is now the largest sound stage on the east coast.

Deutsch is a former senior vice president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where he also held the title of executive director of the New York City Industrial Development Agency.

"We are tremendously pleased to have Eric Deutsch assume the helm of the Downtown Alliance at such an important time in Lower Manhattan's history," Robert R. Douglass, the Alliance's chairman, said in a statement.

Day of the Dead
Dance performances and hands-on workshops will be a part of the “Day of the Dead”—a Mexican tradition that remembers the dead and celebrates the continuity of life—at the National Museum of the American Indian, One Bowling Green, Oct. 29 from 1 to 4 p.m.  

The events begin with a procession led by the Danza Mexica Cetiliztli Nauhcampa dance group to a special altar in the museum’s Rotunda. Following the procession, there will be free workshops to create papel picados (ornate tissue-paper cut-outs), paper flowers, and to decorate paper-mache skulls. Aztec storyteller, Michael Heralda will share traditional stories at 1:45 and 2:45 p.m. A dance recession will end the day’s activities.

Museum admission and all events are free. Call 212-514-3700 for general information.

Animal Benefit
A benefit for the animals of Katrina will be held at DEKK Restaurant, 134 Reade St., on Monday, Oct. 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. The event, which will include food, entertainment and a raffle, is a fundraiser for Noah’s Wish, an organization dedicated to keeping animals alive during disasters. Cost of admission is a $10 cover charge and minimum $25 donation. For more information call 212-577-1357. 

Taste of Chinatown
From the Bowery to Baxter Street and Canal Street to Worth Street, restaurant, bakeries and teahouses will be offering tasty treats for $2 per plate at Taste of Chinatown on Oct. 15 from 1-6 p.m. More than a half dozen Asian cuisines will be represented, including Shanghainese, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Thai and Korean.

For more information, go to www.explorechinatown.com.


Open Auditions
The Living Word Players will hold auditions during the week of Oct. 17-22 for an original production of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Performances will be in December at the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St.

All ages are needed, especially children ages 10 and up. Call Tommy Nichols, 212-966-6070 ext. 14 for information.


Fall Youth Fair
A youth fair, which gave Downtown parents a chance to learn about local youth services providers and to meet the people that run them, drew more than 50 people on Sept. 28.

"Seems to be a bigger turnout each time," said Paul Hovitz, a Community Board 1 member and head of the board's Youth and Education Committee, which organizes the semi-annual event. "There were a lot of parents with strollers pushing up to the preschool providers."



Help Save the Trees
Lack of rain is threatening the lives of the trees on Greenwich Street, between North Moore Street and Washington Market Park. Friends of Greenwich Street, the volunteers who care for the greenery along the street, is looking for volunteers to help with watering. For more information, contact Steve Boyce at minamist@earthlink.net

Wine Tasting
A wine tasting fund-raiser for Habitat for Humanity will be held Oct. 26, from 6 to 9:30 p.m., at the Broker's Loft and Unity restaurants at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 102 N. End Avenue. There will be 30 to 40 wines available for tasting, as well as a silent auction. The event is sponsored by Battery Park City Cares. Admission is $55. For more information, visit www.bpccares.com

Big Top for Trapeze
In Trapeze School New York's final year in Tribeca before it moves to Pier 40, the school hopes to keep flyers in the air through the winter.

The school, on the waterfront at West and Desbrosses Streets, sought and won Community Board 1 approval last month to install a 40-foot-tall tent over its trapeze rig. The vinyl tent, which will be transparent over two-thirds of it's surface, will only partially obscure neighbors views of the river, said Jonathan Conant, the school's director. He said the school could be moved "a few feet" if it blocks someone's view.

Plant and Vote
Board elections for the Washington Market Park board of directors will take place Oct. 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m, in front of the park. Inside the park, kids and adults join gardener Billy Fahy to plant some 10,000 flower bulbs. At noon, Fahy will give a talk on how to plant and care for flowers and differences between gardening here and in his native Ireland.