Category: Linked

Greenpoint Hospital Redevelopment Plan Flatlines

The Great American Construction Corp. pulled out of the $52-million redevelopment of the vacant medical building this summer after its senior executive William Clarke was indicted on bribery charges at a separate job.

The news halts any development at the main hospital building, which was slated to become 240 units of below-market rate apartments.

Apparently the project will go back out to bid, meaning that St. Nick’s and GREC – the local groups that have been trying to do this project for years, won’t be getting it. The city should make the two other bids public before going back to the well and wasting another year or three.

Court Nixes Domino Suit

One of Isaac Katan’s two suits seeking to block the sale of the Domino site to Two Trees has been thrown out.

In the decision on Friday, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Kings County dismissed Katan’s suit against CPC for, among other things, “breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith.” According to court documents, the decision was based on the fact that Katan “did not have right of first refusal on the property, a contract provision that was not a part of the second operating agreement.”

Why You Hate Cyclists

I’m an asshole cyclist. I’m that jerk weaving in and out of traffic, going the wrong way down a one-way street, and making a left on red. I’m truly a menace on the road.

But it’s not because I’m on a bike—I’m an asshole on the road no matter what. I’m also a stereotypical Jersey driver, someone who treats speed limits as speed minimums and curses those who disagree. And I’m just as bad as a pedestrian, another jaywalking smartphone zombie oblivious to the world beyond my glowing screen. If I’m moving, I’m an accident waiting to happen.

Inductive fallacies, affect heuristics and assholes from Philly. Good stuff.

Hoping to Lure Riders With Scenic Commutes

Even at the start of the 5 p.m. rush hour, the commuters getting off and on [at India Street] could be counted on one hand. Though the numbers are more robust during the morning rush hours — on Monday, 14 people caught the 8:39 ferry to Pier 11 near Wall Street and 21 caught the 8:40 to East 34th Street — they still raise questions about the popularity and profitability of the service as a whole. The ferries can hold 149 passengers.

Anecdotally (which is the best this article can muster too), the number of people getting on the ferry at North 6th Street every morning (going in either direction) is certainly much higher, and the number of passengers at the end of the day at Wall Street is as well. Most boats that I ride are comfortably crowded – not packed, and not at capacity, but they sure don’t feel like ghost ships.

It is not news that the ferry requires subsidies to survive, and that the ferry “functions especially well for residents of Brooklyn and Queens who [like me] live a short walk from the ferry and have jobs or attend schools near the ferry’s two stops in Manhattan” and don’t have to pay two fares.

It is also not news that the ferry is a very nice way to commute (and, if you can afford it, well worth the extra $1.75 each way to avoid the subway at rush hour).

Daily News Endorses Otaño

Speaking of politics, the Daily News happens to think very highly of Jason Otaño (as do I):

Jason Otaño resigned as counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz to take on incumbent state Sen. Martin Dilan, an undistinguished soldier of scandal-scarred county Democratic boss Vito Lopez. Otaño, who lives in Southside, has support among community groups independent of the Lopez empire.