City Winery created two barrels of sacramental wine with the help of Trinity Wall Street’s rector and vicar. The kosher wine, known as the Vicar’s Vintage, will be ready for use by Christmas 2011. Collaborating with Trinity on the wine, said City Winery owner Michael Dorf, “is something we can do downtown to show that people can work together nicely and in a human way.”

The New York City Fire Museum recently hosted the city’s fourth Annual Firefighter Cook-Off and Fundraiser. Thirteen competitors from firehouses across the five boroughs cooked their best meals for judges Ted Allen, host of the Food Network’s Chopped, firefighter and cook book author Keith Young, and Hudson Square’s own master chocolatier, Jacques Torres. The cook-off raised $14,500 for a new exhibit about fireboats and marine firefighting.

The Sylvia Center at Katchkie Farm, a nonprofit food education program created by Great
Performances catering company, was a beneficiary of The Art of Farming, an heirloom vegetable auction and fundraiser hosted by Sotheby’s. The Sylvia Center encourages children to eat well by creating hands-on experiences of gardening, farming, and cooking.

Two productions from the HERE Arts Residency Program were honored with 2010 Obie Awards. Steven Dufala and Billy Blaise Dufala were honored for the design and music of Rainpan’s MACHINES MACHINES MACHINES MACHINES MACHINES MACHINES MACHINES, a show about the creators of Rube Goldberg- type machines. Taylor Mac received a special citation for The Lily’s Revenge, a multigenre epic about, as HERE’s website explains, an “uprooted lily…on a quest to wed a human bride and destroy The God of Nostalgia.”

Hudson Square continues to be a hip neighborhood for innovative culture makers. The Writer’s Guild of America recently relocated to Hudson Square. TED (Technology Entertainment and Design), the producers of the popular global conference, has also set up shop in the neighborhood.

Hudson Square participated in openhousenewyork Weekend, America’s largest architecture and design event. The Hudson Square Connection, the neighborhood’s business district management association, led free tours of the area. The tours focused on the neighborhood’s social and industrial history.

Broome Street Academy Charter High School will open in Hudson Square in August 2011. The school is a partnership between the Charter Schools Institute and The Door, a Hudson Square nonprofit that provides comprehensive youth development services. The school will focus on educating students who are homeless, in marginal housing, or involved in the child welfare system. Students will have access to all Door programs, including tutoring, daily meals, job placement assistance, and legal services.

Hudson Square Connection issued a request for proposals for the creation of a comprehensive streetscape improvement plan for the neighborhood.

WNYC Radio and American Public Media announced co-production of Freakonomics Radio, an ongoing series of weekly podcasts, Marketplace segments, and one hour specials hosted by Freakonomics author Stephen J. Dubner.