Category: Noted

Getting to Work

11/04/2012 | Comment

The L train is still out, but getting to Manhattan from North Brooklyn should be a little bit easier tomorrow. The M and the J trains are both going over the Williamsburg Bridge. The J will only go as far as Essex Street, but the M will have its full route through midtown reinstated. The 7 train is also running to Manhattan, though you’ll have to a bus to L.I.C. to pick it up – the G train remains suspended (the only line completely out of commission now). The full rundown of service changes is posted at the MTA website.

If you need to get downtown, the East River Ferry is probably your best bet, what the the shortened J and no L service to Manhattan. With the exception of Greenpoint’s India Street landing, the ferry was running regular service as of today (Sunday), and they expect to have India Street open Monday morning. Expect long lines at the ferry, but if it is like last week, everyone will get on.

Corner Store: 1937

09/15/2012 | Comment

1028 third ave

1028 Third Avenue, 1937
Photo: via Shorpy

Great Shorpy photo of an Italian grocery on Third Avenue, circa 1937 (as always with Shorpy, click through to see the high resolution version in all its glory). The building still stands, stripped of its decoration and given the dreaded styrofoam stucco treatment (in sea foam green, no less).


1028 today

1028 Third Avenue, 2012
Photo: Google street views


Speaker Says He Asked Assemblyman to Resign

09/04/2012 | Comment

Let me get this straight – Silver first heard of allegations of impropriety on Vito Lopez’s part in January, signed off on a confidential settlement with two accusers in June, received a report from the Assembly ethics committee corroborating more accusations of impropriety from two new accusers in August, stripped Lopez of his leadership positions in the Assembly on August 24th – and it only occurred to him to suggest that Lopez resign last Friday?

Profiles in courage, Shelly Silver-style.

J. Crew for the Bagel Shop?

07/17/2012 | Comment

In an article that is sure to be gasoline to the ever-smoldering Williamsburg-is-over fire, The Real Deal is reporting that “upscale clothier J.Crew is among the prospective tenants of a retail space coming online”.

But before everyone gets too worked up over this, it is worth emphasizing the squishiness of The Real Deal’s lede – “among the prospective tenants” – whose prospective tenants? A wish list put together by the broker? Remember that Bedford Avenue (and this site in particular) has had a long history of “prospective” tenants floated for it (including the perennial Bedford bogeyman Starbucks). Further down in the article, the broker says that they “are in talks with and interested in signing [more squishiness, ed.] restaurants as well as fashion and home furnishings retailers”. (Assuming all this is just primping up the property, let’s give the broker some credit for not saying that they are talking to Apple – as a rumor, J. Crew is at least creative.)

In terms of actual news, look further down in the article at what is said and not said. First, and not surprisingly, the broker has a rosy picture of the retail market on Bedford Avenue, noting that retail rents on the avenue are between $185 and $200 psf (that’s at least 50% higher than what a previous tenant was asked to pay less than two years ago – Bedford Avenue is hot, retail-wise, but that hot?).

The broker says that they “are also willing to re-sign tenants currently located at 247 Bedford, which include the bagel purveyor the Bagel Store and the health food shop Millennium Health”. That statement would indicate that the broker has a rather loose grip on the reality of current retail on Bedford Avenue – both the Bagel Store and the Millenium Health have long-since left the building and are happily ensconced in new digs further south on Bedford.

The big question here (and what is not said in the article) is what happens to King’s Pharmacy? They occupy a third to half the retail space in this building, and their lease is probably among those that are up in the next “six to 18 months”. Judging by the mooderific rendering provided by the broker (complete with a Shelby GT parked in front of King’s), I’m guessing that renewing the local pharmacy’s lease is not a high priority.

As for J. Crew, they actually might be a good fit for the neighborhood (their design aesthetic certainly fits in with – or even draws from – local fashion trends, and I seem to recall that their chief designer even lives here). But I bet that they’d go for a smaller, boutique space (a la the Liquor Store or their Soho spot) rather than a shopping center like this. And, if nothing else, a J. Crew at this location would lay to rest (once again) the 15-year old recurring Starbucks-is-coming-to-Bedford-Avenue rumor. We can’t kill it, but we can put another fork in it.

TONIGHT: Sunset Cocktail Armada

07/12/2012 | Comment

This evening, there is a cocktail boat cruise on the East River Ferry to benefit the Northside Town Hall and a local bar and restaurant owners’ group. Tickets are $125 for three hour cruise (nothing ominous about that!) featuring food and booze from local establishments*, all for a good cause. Details on the event can be found here (and I hear that discount tickets may be available).

*Hotel Delmano, The Richardson, The Drink, Manhattan Inn, The Shanty, Nitehawk, Cubana Social, The Counting Room, Bellwether, Maison Premiere, Dram, Nita Nita, Dressler, Diner, Cafe Collete, El Almacen, Urban Rustic, Hotel Delmano, D.O.C. Wine Bar, The Drink, Bakeri, Cafe Mogador, Teddy’s Bar and Grill, Nitehawk, Mast Brothers, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Winery & Brooklyn Roasting Co.

Everybody in the Pool

06/28/2012 | Comment

Pool

I’m not prone to hyperbole, so trust me when I say that the refurbished McCarren Park pool is a thing of beauty. Kudos to the NYC Parks, architects Rogers Marvel and restoration architects Jan Hird Pokorny Associates on an amazing renovation.

The pool opens to the public for actual swimming Thursday afternoon. Believe me, you want to check it out.


R.I.P. Rainbow Theatre

06/22/2012 | Comment

rainbow.jpg

Rainbow Theatre
167 Graham Avenue
Photo: Laguardia Archives via Cinema Treasures

This was what the entrance to the Rainbow Theatre on Graham Avenue looked like in 1939. According to Brownstoner, the building is in mid-gut as part of a condo conversion.

The 1,746-seat house of the theatre was back along Meserole Street. Like many movie houses of the day, the public face of the establishment was a small structure with a big presence on a prominent retail strip. The house was on a side street, where real estate was presumably cheaper.

One wonders whether the Rainbow was a conversion of older residential structure such as that seen to the left of the theatre. Based on historic maps (which show a 4-story brick store and tenement at this location as late as 1929), that would seem to be the case.


Domino Sells

06/21/2012 | 1 Comment

DUMBO-based Two Trees has closed their deal for the Domino sugar refinery site, for what appears to be $185 million ($20 million more than the price that Two Trees supposedly went into the negotiations at). According to the Times, the price increase came after co-owner Isaac Katan made an offer with developers Chetrit Group and David Bistricer for $185 million. The price is a handsome return for co-owners CPC Resources and Katan, who bought the property in 2004 for $55 million and spent 6 years securing a rezoning for the residential use of the site (though Katan apparently doesn’t think it’s such a great return).

What does the new owner have in mind for the project? Two Trees principal Jed Walentas is quoted in the Times as saying that there are “probably some opportunities to make improvements on the plans”. The Rafael Viñoly plans shown during the public review for the site’s rezoning are non-binding, so a redesign of the building skin is certainly possible (and I’d bet likely). So too is a redesign of the Landmarks-approved addition to the Refinery building (the current model was designed by Beyer Blinder Belle).

But what of all the promises that CPCR made to the local community during the rezoning process? The open space is largely codified into the zoning for the site (and by general waterfront access plan requirements), as are the building heights and general uses (retail, office, residential).

But the big promise – the one that brought a lot of community into CPCR’s fold – was affordable housing. 660 units of it. Rob Solano, a supporter of the CPCR rezoning told the Times: “It’s extremely important that the Domino project is built with all the affordable housing that was promised”.

The Daily News asked the question that is on the minds of CPCR’s community supporters, and the response should not be reassuring:

The new developer of the iconic Domino Sugar Factory hedged Thursday on whether the new deal would include affordable housing.

“There were promises made by another developer. We literally just brought the property today so I don’t know,” said Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for Two Trees Management Co.

Two Trees is an experienced developer (unlike CPCR), but they are an experienced developer of luxury and market-rate housing. As I’ve said before, they are a good fit for this project in that they have experience with old buildings, experience with big (and complicated) developments, a commitment to good design and a very long-term investment philosophy (and they are certainly better than Katan-Chetrit-Bistricer partnership would have been). But affordable housing is not their thing, and if, after two or three weeks of due diligence on a $185 million deal, they are being coy on the affordable question, that should make people in the community pretty nervous. Maybe Two Trees is thinking about who to partner with to do the affordable housing (a smart move), but it’s a pretty good bet that they are also looking at the number or percentage of units.

Two Trees is right – the promises were made by another developer. That other developer was able to secure a zoning density that far exceeded what any other developer on the waterfront was able to get, and in exchange for that, they promised to build a lot of affordable housing. But those promises were not binding on CPCR and they are not binding on Two Trees.