The latest version of the fencing surrounding Chase Manhattan Plaza.

Open space advocates fighting against the fencing off of Chase Manhattan Plaza in Lower Manhattan will have their day in court next month.

The open space advocates, led by Richard Nagan, an expediter licensed by the Department of Buildings, first raised alarms when JP Morgan Chase erected barriers completely surrounding the historic landmarked plaza the day before Occupy Wall Street began.

But the court won't actually be hearing the question of whether Chase went through the proper channels before fencing off public art and a historically public plaza for more than seven months. Instead, lawyers will be arguing about when the specter of terrorism can be used justify suppressing information that would otherwise be public.

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Francisca Benitez

The plaza is still fenced off, but apparently just why is a state secret.

The ongoing fight to reopen Chase Manhattan Plaza in the Financial District has taken a strange turn.

The nation's biggest bank has undertaken a (possibly imaginary) waterproofing repair project in the plaza. But this is no ordinary (possibly imaginary) waterproofing repair project; this one is so critical, so high-stakes, that the NYPD and the Buildings Department say details of the plan must be kept top secret, because people's lives are on the line.

First, a quick recap: For more than six months, ever since the day before Occupy Wall Street first kicked off, the plaza has been mysteriously surrounded by fencing, closing off the popular lunch spot, historic landmark, and home to significant public art.

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Stephan von Muehlen

Six months and counting, the historic landmark is still fenced off.

In January we told you about the fight over Chase Manhattan Plaza, an architectural landmark and one of the few open spaces in Lower Manhattan, which has been completely fenced off for six months.

Back in January, there wasn't any obvious reason for closing off the plaza, a popular lunch spot and home to some significant public art. JP Morgan Chase, which owns the property, wouldn't comment, but security guards on site confirmed that the fencing was there to keep Occupy Wall Street protesters at bay.

A group of open-space advocates called #whOWNSpace questioned whether fear of public protest was a legitimate reason to wall off a publicly-used resource and officially designated city landmark, and challenged the city to make JP Morgan Chase take the fences down.

Nearly two months later, the fences are still up. But that's not to say that nothing has changed.

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via Wikimedia Commons

Looks like East Village residents aren't happy with their newest celebrity neighbor. The New York Post was able to confirm that David Schwimmer, one-time Friends star, is the owner of a historical East Village townhouse which was recently demolished to make way for a six-story mansion. As can be expected, fellow Sixth Street denizens are not pleased about it.

Schwimmer bought the building, at 331 E. 6th St., in 2010 for $4.1 million. Built in 1852, it was one of the oldest structures on the block.

Of course, old buildings are bought and sold and remodeled in the Village all the time. The area is hugely popular with students and celebrities, and developers and real estate agents know they can get more money for a nicer building.

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Following up on the elevator tragedy that caused the death of Suzanne Hart, a Y&R ad executive working at 285 Madison Avenue, the New York Post reports that Transel, the elevator maintenance company responsible for the elevator (work was reportedly done hours before the accident that killed Hart), has been sued at least eight times from people who say they were injured in its various -- some 2,500 in the city -- elevators.

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A Dutch architecture firm has designed a building in Seoul that has offended some because of its uncomfortable resemblance to the World Trade Center in a cloud of dust and smoke:

MVRDV

The project, called "The Cloud," is the work of MVRDV, a firm in Rotterdam. It's intended to be luxury high-rises. This week the firm has issued a statement apologizing for "any connotations The Cloud projects evokes regarding 9/11."

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Scaffolding, pre-makeover.

What is the true blight of New York City? The awful, industrial scaffolding that crops up to hide the beauty of attractive things and make ugly things uglier, usually when you least expect it, truly ruining any photo op you might be planning on having. Just a fact of life in a city, and something we have to get used to, grin and bear, and ignore? No longer! The New York Times reports that a new, prettier scaffolding prototype will soon be enjoying itself on a street near-ish you. One will be installed in December in front of 100 Broadway, an office building in Lower Manhattan. This is very exciting.

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via @Durrellojello

A man is attempting to jump off the 70th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the FDNY confirmed. There is currently a fire engine and EMS on the scene. People at NBC have been discussing the situation on Twitter -- including @Durrellojello and Luke Russert. @Durrellojello explained that a photo he tweeted was from a "rooftop cam."

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Dear Empire State Building,

Happy 80th! Wow, that's old. You were born (completed, really, is the word) on May 1st, 1931, during the Great Depression. Standing 1,454' 8 9/166" tall, you were the tallest building in the world for forty years! A masterpiece of Art Deco design (although -- let's just face it -- not as pretty as your sister, the Chrysler Building), you've been attracting hordes of clueless tourists for years and years.

Empire State Building, this is your life.

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More than a thousand Bronx tenants in 10 of the city's most rundown apartment buildings got some hopeful news yesterday in the form of a new landlord who looks likely to make desperately needed repairs. In an unusual move, the city helped broker the deal.

This is at last a favorable development in the gloomy history of these buildings, which had been purchased by high-profile Los Angeles-based company Milbank (one of the Voice's 10 Worst Landlords last year) at the height of the real estate boom. When the market crashed, the buildings fell into foreclosure and further disrepair.

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