Category: Linked

One of Williamsburg’s true architectural gems – and a landmark twice over – is changing hands. No word on what the new owner has planned for the building or the vacant lot next door. But apparently “Apple wasn’t interested” in moving in to a large landmark interior space with poor transit connections and little foot traffic nearby. Go figure.

Aaron Short follows up on the Greenpoint Hospital story, and discovers that HPD is not, was not and will not be reconsidering its award of the project to TNS-Great American Construction. This comes after Greenline, a local paper run by St. Nick’s Alliance (which, in turn, is a partner with GREC in their competing proposal for the Hospital site), had reported that HPD had agreed to reconsider the award.

So at this point, unless they can’t negotiate the final agreement with HPD or don’t have the funding to do the project, TNS-GAC will be the developer.

The Brooklyn Paper is out with its endorsements for tomorrow’s primary (and a very good rundown of the pros and cons on each candidate). Some of their highlight picks in North Brooklyn are:

Joe Lentol, 50th Assembly District
Lincoln Restler, 50th AD Male District Leader (“strongly” endorsed)
Kate Zidar, 50th AD Female District Leader
Esteban Duran, 53rd AD Male District Leader

Some of the hardest fought races for Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Brooklyn are for jobs most people have never heard of and know nothing about.

The Daily News has a good, comprehensive summary of who running for what at the Brooklyn level.

Primary day is this Tuesday, September 14.

VOTE!

Aaron Short follows up on the Greenline’s story on the Greenpoint Hospital RFP. Greenline had reported that – in response to community outrage over the award of the project to a Bronx developer – the City had put a hold on the project in order to “reconsider” a neighborhood proposal for the site. Now Short has the City walking back that claim, saying that “the ‘hold’ was merely a rumor”.

It will be interesting to see where this leads. (And I guess that “line of communication” that HPD promised to open with community is still a little backed up.)

[Greenline is published by St. Nicks Alliance, which is a partner in GREC, the local development group fighting for reconsideration of the RFP.]

11 Broadway was originally slated to be a luxury hotel (with lofty ambitions and delusions of waterfront views). Now, L+M Development Partners, with financing from Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, is developing the site. The project will be mixed use, retail and residential, with 20% of the residential portion set aside as affordable housing (I’m not sure if this is in or out of the inclusionary housing zone – it is definitely not in the height-restricted contextual zone). The architect for the project is Greenberg Farrow (who were also the architects for the most recent hotel scheme).

via The Real Deal

Desk space for start-ups and freelancers will be available in the former Hot Potato offices (the Northpoint Lofts on North 11th and Driggs).

Things might be heating up at the Greenpoint Hospital:

Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-Williamsburg) is vowing to fight a plan to build housing at the site of shuttered Greenpoint Hospital after a private Bronx-based developer was picked to build the housing over the coalition of local nonprofits she favored.

This is a couple of weeks old, but Aaron Short has written one of the best pro/con analyses of the new loft law that I have seen.

As you’ve probably heard, Relish closed last weekend (we happened to be there for dinner the Wednesday before it closed, so we (unwittingly) had a last meal there). For many years, Relish’s diner was a ghost ship in the neighborhood – this cool old building that sat vacant and unused. I guess now it will go back to being a ghost ship.