The Sites of EXIT STRATEGY – New York City Hall
/New York City is a fascinating place, full of business, entertainment, and history. But to Gemma Capello, it’s home. And as we come closer to the release of EXIT STRATEGY, I wanted to share some of Gemma’s city as it’s highlighted in the book.
New York City Hall is the main location for much of EXIT STRATEGY. As the story starts, a crisis breaks out at City Hall as an armed man gains entrance to the building and takes hostages inside the mayor’s office. It’s this situation which calls the Capellos—Chief Tony Capello, head of Special Operations; Lieutenant Joe Capello of the Manhattan Gang Squad; Sergeant Mark Capello of the 5th Precinct; and Detective Gemma Capello of the Hostage Negotiation Team—away from a family get-together and into the city center. The Capellos scatter to their various roles, and Gemma ends up sitting in a repurposed bank vault near City Hall, on the phone with the hostage taker. But beyond the site of this fictional crisis, New York City Hall is a gorgeous building with a fascinating history.
The third of New York’s city halls, the current building is the country’s oldest city hall still used for its original purpose. In an 1802 competition, Joseph Francois Mangin and John McCombs Jr. won the $350 grand prize for their French Renaissance design (we’ll see more of Mr. Mangin’s work in a few weeks when we talk about Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral). However, due to budget constraints and the resulting requirement for some design changes, construction didn’t start until 1810, with the building officially opening in 1812. It was the first city hall in the country that was part of a city park, a response to Boston’s and Philadelphia’s downtown city halls which were built with no significant greenspace.
New York City Hall, Aquatint by W. G. Wall, 1826.
In modern times, the building isn’t big enough to manage all municipal business (thus the adjacent David N. Dinkins Municipal Building, opened in 1914 following the consolidation of the five boroughs), but early on, the building not only served as the mayor’s office and the associated municipal offices, but it also contained a beer and wine cellar, several small jails, and a chapel. Currently, the building houses the mayor and his staff, as well as the majority and minority leaders and their staffs, and the council chambers for municipal business.
Edited by Jess Danna Photography
The central building is flanked by two wings and is topped by a cupola bearing a statue of lady justice. Thirteen steps, one for each of the thirteen colonies at the time of construction, rise to the five-door entrance sheltered by a portico supported by Corinthian columns. Inside, a statue of George Washington guards the front entryway that opens to the American-Georgian styled foyer.
One of the most notable features of the building is the pairing of a floating double staircase and a coffered rotunda, designated an interior landmark in 1976. The keystone, cantilevered marble staircase, an engineering feat in the early nineteenth century, rises to the second floor. Above it, the coffered dome is supported by ten Corinthian columns. Centered in the dome is an oculus to naturally light the space.
Edited by Jess Danna Photography
The rotunda has been the site of many important events, including the lying-in-state of both President Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and President Ulysses S. Grant in 1885.
At the top of the floating staircase, is the Governor’s Room, both a reception room and the location of many of City Hall’s museum pieces, including their portraiture collection and George Washington’s writing desk from Federal Hall, the seat of the federal government from 1789 – 1790.
Edited by Jess Danna Photography
Also on the second floor are the Council Chambers—still used today for modern municipal business—which boasts a mahogany dais, a mural ceiling, and a balcony for spectators.
Outside, City Hall Park is a public space for residents and tourists alike. Here, George Washington read the Declaration of Independence for the first time on July 9th, 1776; it was also the site of the first protest against the British. A memorial to Captain Nathan Hale stands opposite City Hall, and the beautiful 1871 fountain, designed by Jacob Wrey Mould, the architect of much of Central Park, is located at the southern end of the park.
Edited by Jess Danna Photography
Next week, we’re going to look at a little-known secret below City Hall—the City Hall Subway Station, built in 1904 but abandoned since 1945. It’s a gorgeous piece of architecture from days gone by that has a fascinating tie-in to EXIT STRATEGY. You won’t want to miss it!
EXIT STRATEGY releases on July 28, 2020 and is available for pre-order at these fine retailers: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Indigo, Target, and Walmart.
After her mother’s death during a bank robbery when she was a child, Gemma Capello grew up to become one of the NYPD’s elite hostage negotiators. In a family of cops, there’s rarely a day when a Capello isn’t facing down some form of threat. Still, despite their unpredictable schedules, they always find time for their annual family summer picnic. But this year, a sudden phone call changes everything.
A heavily armed gunman has taken hostages at City Hall. Gemma races downtown to join the rest of the Hostage Negotiation Team as they scramble to identify the captives—fearing the mayor may be among them. But as they scramble for answers and struggle to gain control of the circumstances, it becomes clear that the mayor is at the center of it all, just not in the way they initially believed.
With several lives on the line and a criminal who always seems to be one step ahead, Gemma is the only one able to connect with the suspect. Soon, she finds herself engaging in a battle of wits while enduring a battle of egos in the command center. With time running out and a mastermind who has proven he’ll do whatever it takes to get what he wants, Gemma risks it all—her career and her life—in a last-ditch effort to save the hostages. Now, she needs to figure out how to save herself . . .
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