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The new ‘Miss Brooklyn’

“Miss Brooklyn” is dead — but Bruce Ratner has released new renderings (above) of the 511-foot tower that he hopes will take her place.

Ratner has said he won’t build the Frank Gehry–designed tower, now called “Building B-1,” until he finds an anchor tenant. And he told the New York Times last month that the entire Atlantic Yards project consists of the publicly financed basketball arena (which has taken on even more of Gehry’s signature look) and two smaller buildings around it.

Source: brooklynpaper.com

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Delays in $4 Billion Brooklyn Development Are Challenged in Tenants’ Lawsuit

Seems that mega developer Ratner has abandoned his mini city project and has left things worse then they were. Now blocks and blocks of  demolished buildings will just remain undeveloped few the next several years.

The ever-lengthening timeline for completing the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project near Downtown Brooklyn is not just bad news for those who hoped to see the project’s basketball arena, office towers and apartment blocks completed quickly.

It is also, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday, illegal.

The suit challenges an agreement between the project’s state sponsor, the Empire State Development Corporation, and the developer, Forest City Ratner, that gives Forest City at least 12 years to complete just the first phase of the project and an unspecified amount of time after that to build the second, final phase.

The agreement, the suit says, violates a provision in the state’s eminent-domain law, under which the state agency intends to seize private buildings on Forest City’s behalf. The law says a seized property must be offered back to its prior holder if it is not “materially improved” in 10 years.

Source: nytimes.com

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Zillow Signs Deal With Newspapers

A very good tool that can only get better. Any homeowner interested in getting a ballpark home valuation should check it out.

In what Zillow.com President Lloyd Frink is calling a “groundbreaking partnership,” the Seattle online real estate startup has signed a deal to provide its home valuation and neighborhood information to 282 newspapers.

In return, the newspapers — including large papers such as the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News — can post classified listings and open-house information on the Zillow Web site.

The alliance is to kick off early next year, with other newspaper companies expected to join.

The launch partners include some of the biggest newspaper chains in the country: Journal Register Co.; Lee Enterprises; MediaNews Group; Morris Communications Co.; Paddock Publications; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; The E.W. Scripps Co.; and Hearst Newspapers, publisher of the Seattle P-I.

Starting in the first half of next year, newspapers’ ad-sales teams will offer advertisers the chance to buy home-for-sale listings and open-house notices on Zillow in addition to print and online classifieds. The newspapers and the Web company will share revenue from the Zillow listings.

Source: hispanicbusiness.com

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Brooklyn Municipal Building to convert 2 floors into shops

BY JOTHAM SEDERSTROM

Downtown Brooklyn planners are pushing an idea to outfit the borough’s staid, 80-year-old Municipal Building with two floors of shops, Brooklyn News has learned.

The first two levels of the Joralemon St. building, which now house city agencies, would be turned into 22,000 square feet of retail space.

“It’s a no-brainer from a retail perspective,” said Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Joe Chan, who pitched the idea to city officials this month.

Chan wouldn’t say whether he had ­begun wooing businesses to lease in the Art-Deco building, but pointedly ­suggested the space could accommodate an Apple store or a Bed, Bath & Beyond.

He also envisioned houseware, ­clothing or lifestyle shopping as well as a restaurant or an entertainment venue.

Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff told Brooklyn News that City Hall was ­seriously considering the proposal, but one challenge would be relocating displaced city agencies like a Finance Department payment center and the Brooklyn office of the City Clerk.

Lisa Kersavage of the Municipal Art Society was cautiously optimistic about the plan but feared the changes would impact the building’s character — from authoritative to airy.

“The place where you once went to get your public documents is now where you’re going to buy your latte,” Kersavage said. “That changes the character. That’s not always a tragedy, but it’s something we all need to consider.”

The Municipal Art Society and the Brooklyn Heights Association have proposed a new landmarked historic district in downtown Brooklyn called the Borough Hall Skyscraper District.

The proposed historic district would feature 28 downtown buildings, along with the Municipal Building.

Association President Judy Stanton was receptive to the retail plan, but she warned against introducing so-called big-box stores to the area. “I would rather see a lot of smaller shops,” she said.

Brooklynites on Joralemon St. were not thrilled with the idea last week, most declaring their distaste for the borough’s rapid influx of luxury condos and high-end retailers.

“Economically, I believe it would not be feasible,” said Abu Ali, 60, who sells flowers to recently wed couples outside the Municipal Building. “People go here to get their marriage licenses or pay a parking ticket.

“They shop at the Fulton Mall.”

SOURCE: NY Daily News

In Iraq, Soldiers Honor a Brooklyn Pizzeria

By David Gonzalez

Some guys spend their tours of duty thinking of their sweethearts. Sgt. Abel Torres, a Sunset Park native serving in Iraq, dreams of baked ziti and a slice from Johnny’s Pizza, the neighborhood joint that has been feeding him since he was 3 years old.

This is the same family-owned pizzeria that faces the prospect of having a Papa John’s franchise open up right next door.

SOURCE: The New York Times

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Proposal Presented for Greenpoint Park

A team of volunteer urban planners and landscape architects debuted their proposal for the new state park on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg that utilizes the former industrial space as an ecologically sustainable riverside park.

The proposal, which was shown to the public last Thursday night, is the result of a contest that challenged local designers to create a waterfront park that incorporated several key design features, including green technology, water interactivity, and educational components, as well as meeting the needs of the community and the expanding East River waterfront.

The contest to create a proposal for the waterfront space was started by the Friends Group of the Williamsburg Waterfront Park in 2005 as a way to determine what the community wants out of the open space.

“We wanted the design for the park to come out of the heart of the community,” said Cathleeen Breen, a member of Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG), which led the call for open submissions for the park’s design. “As long as the designer was someone affiliated with the Williamsburg/Greenpoint community, they were welcome to submit a design.”

Source: greenpointstar.com

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100 Units Close to Completion at One Brooklyn Bridge

“With the interest rate drop, this is the time to get things going,” said Robert A. Levine, president and CEO of RAL Companies and Affiliates.

Levine is the owner and developer of the controversial One Brooklyn Bridge Park, the former Jehovah’s Witness factory in Brooklyn Heights. The new waterfront residential complex, converted from the 12-story concrete factory building, will have 449 luxury units. Of those, 100 units are nearing completion. They expect the closings to commence by the end of October or early November.

“The project itself has a buzz,” added Levine. “When people come in and compare our offering to what they’ve got, they find ours is better.”

Source: brooklyndowntownstar.com

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How Sweet It Is! Brooklyn Sugar Plant Gets Landmark Status

The Domino sugar factory, a towering brick presence along the Brooklyn waterfront since the mid-19th century and a reminder of the city’s great manufacturing past, has been granted landmark status.

The 13-story refinery, shuttered in January 2004 after 148 years of operation on the East River, was unanimously approved Tuesday for the designation by the city Landmarks Preservation Commission.

“The refinery is the oldest intact structure on the site and the most iconic symbol of Brooklyn’s industrial heritage on the waterfront,” Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney said after the vote.

The new status won’t affect the planned development by the site’s owner, CPC Resources, which hopes to put in 2,200 residential units with a breathtaking view of Manhattan. Thirty percent of the units would be categorized as affordable housing, CPC spokesman Richard Edmonds said.

But the landmark status ensures that CPC can’t alter the existing exterior of the architecturally important factory. The project, dubbed The New Domino, will feature two 30-story towers and two 40-story towers flanking the landmarked property.

Source: 1010wins.com

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Frustrated New Yorkers Grapple With Loan Rates

A MONTH after the mortgage markets started to crumble, mortgage brokers and lawyers say that New Yorkers are finding it harder than ever to get mortgages and are increasingly backing out of deals. This lending slowdown has seemed to affect a broader segment of New York City apartment hunters, many of whom are now waiting to see if prices drop because of the mortgage crisis before they commit to buying.

Buyers affected by these changes include younger New Yorkers with
short credit histories and, interestingly, professionals who buy
apartments with small down payments and nearly 100 percent financing
and count on end-of-year bonuses to pay down the loans.

Source: nytimes.com

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