“From coastal resiliency and sustainable green practices to the preservation of affordable housing, world-class public art, and vibrant, year-round programming in award-winning public spaces, Battery Park City leads the way in many of the measures that makes cities livable."
Nicholas T. Sbordone
Title: Director of Communications & Public Affairs
Favorite BPC spot: North End Way
(aka “Goldman Alley”), looking North to Ball Fields
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York – with an involuntary sojourn in New Jersey – Nick Sbordone joined the Battery Park City Authority in April 2016 as Director of Communications and Public Affairs. Nick comes to BPCA after serving for many years in New York City government, under Mayors Giuliani, Bloomberg, and de Blasio.
“I’m honored to join an organization in the vanguard of lower Manhattan development and rebuilding for the past three decades,” said Nick upon his arrival. “Battery Park City has long been among the City’s best-kept secrets; now Shari and the entire BPCA team have embarked on an ambitious program of modernization to make it the premier downtown destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike.”
Nick began his career in 2001 as a Public Safety Policy Analyst at the Mayor’s Office of Operations, where he helped prepare the Mayor’s Management Report (a bi-annual “report card” on City service delivery) for the departments of Correction, Probation, and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
From there, he went on to the Taxi & Limousine Commission in 2002, where he worked on a range of issues affecting the industry, such as the sale of new taxicab licenses or “medallions” – including those designated for both wheelchair-accessible and alternative fuel vehicles.
In 2005, Nick moved on to the City’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications, or “DoITT” as it is affectionately known, where – much to his own amazement – he remained for the next decade. As Director of Communications and Intergovernmental Affairs, he served as spokesman for the City’s 311 non-emergency information and services hotline, for 911 system modernization, cable television and broadband, cybersecurity, and most recently, the LinkNYC program to replace payphones with a free, citywide, public network of high-speed Wi-Fi kiosks. He also worked with the City Council, good government advocates, and civic technologists to pass the City’s landmark Open Data Legislation, which now serves as model to cities across the country.
“Now, at the Battery Park City Authority,” Nick added. “I look forward to cultivating strong and deep relationships with the BPC community, elected officials, and a broad group of stakeholders – all of whom play a role in the future of what truly is a world-class neighborhood.”
When not thinking about or working in government, Nick is usually thinking about baseball and his beloved, if underachieving, New York Yankees. His passions also include history, architecture, sports and U.S. presidential trivia, and all things New York City.
Upcoming Events
MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE
The 2016 Same Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature
36 Battery Place Wednesday, May 18, 2016 7:00PM
This year’s best emerging Jewish writers discuss their latest works.
Winner of the 2016 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature:
The Archive Thief: The Man Who Salvaged French Jewish History in the Wake of the Holocaust by Lisa Moses Leff
Choice Award Recipient: Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution by Yehudah Mirsky
Fellows: Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel by Dan Ephron
The Grammar of God: A Journey into the Words and Worlds of the Bible byAviya Kushner
The Rag Race: How Jews Sewed Their Way to Success in America and the British Empire by Adam D. Mendelsohn
The event is free and open to the public, however pre-registration is required.
Click here for additional information.
Book Launch
36 Battery Place
Wednesday, June 8
East West Street: On the Origins of “Genocide” and “Crimes Against Humanity” (Knopf, 2016)
Author and international lawyer Phillipe Sands in conversation with Nadine Strossen, former president, American Civil Liberties Union Sands, a world-renowned commentator on the BBC and CNN, investigates the precedent-setting legal concepts for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals. The event is free and open to the public, however pre-registration is required.
Blood of the Sun: A Bilingual Reading with Salgado Maranhao and Alexis Levitin 10 River Terrace
Wednesday, May 18
7:00PM
Winner of the 2011 Brazilian Academy of Letters Best Book of Poetry award, Salgado Maranhão reads with Alexis Levitin, who translates Maranhão’s poems from Portuguese into English. The two have collaborated to produce two bilingual volumes: Blood of the Sun (2013) and Tiger Fur (2015). Clickhere for additional information.
Poets House Emerging Poets Fellowship Reading
10 River Terrace
Tuesday, June 7
7:00PM
Ten poets from our Emerging Poets Fellowship read breathtaking new work that promises an exciting future for poetry. The fellowship, now in its fifth year, assists poets by providing writing instruction, mentorship, and access to Poets House’s world class poetry resources and programming. Hosted by 2016 Emerging Poets Fellowship workshop leader Adam Fitzgerald. Free & Open to the Public.
Click here for additional information
PS/IS 276
Neighborhood Classics Presents: Classical Mix at 276 55 Battery Place
Saturday, May 14 7:00PM – 9:00PM
This concert is a joint presentation with the Battery Park City School and “Neighborhood Classics,” a program created by Simone Dinnerstein in collaboration with conservatory students at Mannes School of Music. Proceeds from this concert go to the Battery Park City School. Tickets- $13.65
Click here for additional information.
SKYSCRAPER MUSEUM
Greenest City
39 Battery Place
Saturday, May 14
10:30- 11:45AM
After a tour of our exhibit on tropical towers in Southeast Asia, kids will work together as they plan to make New York a more green, sustainable city. Learning about the effect of the environment on the city, kids will be challenged to make New York sustainable and resilient for generations to come. Are you up for the challenge! Ages 5+. RSVP required.
To sign up for the Family Program newsletter, or for more information and to RSVP, emaileducation@skyscraper.org or call 212-945-6324. Or visit the website by clicking here.
Sidewalk Art
39 Battery Place
Saturday, May 14
10:30- 11:45AM
People look up to see a skyline, but after this workshop, visitors to the Museum will be able to view skyscrapers by looking down. Intended for visitors 4 and older, the program will have each child sketch a blueprint for a familiar building, then go outside to draw their designs in colorful chalk on the sidewalk: an instant cityscape. All ages.RSVP required.
Registration is requested by Friday at 5 PM.
To sign up for the Family Program newsletter, or for more information and to RSVP, email education@skyscraper.org or call 212-945-6324. Or visit the website by clickinghere.
One World Trade Center: Biography of the Building
39 Battery Place
Saturday, May 14
6:30- 8:00AM
Best-selling Skyscrapers author Judith Dupre chronicles the rise of One World Trade Center from the building’s groundbreaking design and engineering, through the initial excavation to the final placement of the spire. For this first “authorized biography” of the emotion-charged and technically complex project, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey granted Dupre access to the World Trade Center site, suppliers, and archives. Rich with hundreds of photographs, drawings, models, and plans, including a timeline of construction milestones and annotated 360-degree views from the One World Observatory, the book captures the hope, resilience, and pride of those who built it.
All book talks are free and open to the public. The gallery opens at 6:00pm.
All guests must RSVP to programs@skyscraper.com
Click here for additional information.
