• Say Goodbye to the Salvation Army

    Brownstoner notes that the demolition of the Salvation Army building at Bedford and North 7th Street is imminent (the site appears to include the stucco building adjacent at 153 North 7th Street too). What will go in its place, though, remains a mystery. Brownstoner has an image of a zoning diagram showing a two-story commercial structure – which could be for a new Salvation Army or could be for another retailer. No clue on what it will look like, either, though a promising sign is that the architect is Fradkin McAlpin, whose portfolio includes the recent renovation of the Brooklyn Brewery.

    Cue the Apple Store rumors. Or perhaps the architect is a clue?!

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  • Domino Falls Down

    Molly Heintz, in A|N:

    [New CPC head] Cestero will be responsible for addressing Domino’s future as well as the bigger question of whether, given its mission, CPC-CPCR should have been involved with such a project in the first place.

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  • CPCR Donated Over $100k to Local Supporters

    According to the Brooklyn Paper, Community Preservation Corporation Resources, the for-profit developer leading the effort to redevelop the Domino Sugar site, paid out at least $100,000 to local groups over a two-year period. The neighborhood groups, which include El Puente, Los Sures, and Keren Ezer, received $10,000 each. (A fourth neighborhood group – Churches United – which is now defunct, received $30k.)

    Not surprisingly, each of these groups was among the most vocal and active supporters of the Domino rezoning.

    This really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone – CPCR surely spent more than that on “public reputation” over the 5 or 6 years they spent getting the rezoning approved (including, for instance, T-shirts, box lunches and buses for the supporters they brought in from places like East New York). The period during which these payments were made (February 2008 through December 2009) doesn’t even cover the public review process in 2010, in which CPCR was able to bring out large blocks of supporters to a series of public hearings before CB1, the Borough President, City Planning and the City Council.

    The article certainly seems to indicate that CPCR spent more than this, as it cites at least $20,000 (or maybe two $20,000 payments – the editing is not clear) going to Churches United for Fair Housing in late 2010 and 2011. (CUFH is a different entity from the defunct Churches United that received $30k from CPCR. CUFH’s members were also the most vocal supporters of the project.) If CPCR didn’t spend any more money than the article documents, they got a very good deal.

    The recipients of CPCR’s largesse are, of course, vigorously contesting all assertions of impropriety, saying that this type of thing happens all the time (which is certainly the case), that they supported the project before any money changed hands, and that, of course, they would never sell their support. All this may be (and probably is) true, but whether or not anything improper did happen, the taint of impropriety is redolent.

    As Norm Siegel told the Brooklyn Paper:

    If the developer was giving community groups money five or 10 years before their mission, that would be one thing, but if the developer is giving money for the first and perhaps the last time, it raises the question whether the donor is buying recipients support and it raises questions about the community groups themselves.

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  • Zach Galifianakis’ First Video

    Via Huffington Post, here is Zach Galifianakis’ acting debut, in a student short shot on the Northside in the early 1990s. Worth a look to see old shots the L Cafe (and the apartment listings there) and Teddy’s in an earlier (but not too different) incarnation. Oh yeah, and goatees – I forgot about those.


    And this one, which was shot in the ruins of the old Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal (somewhere between the Edge and the Bushwick Inlet soccer field today):


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  • Stores Go to the Edge

    The Wall Street Journal has details on the new retail that is coming to the Edge. These include a name for the grocery store we learned about last month (“Brooklyn Harvest Market, which will focus on organic produce” – seriously, who doesn’t focus on organic produce in Brooklyn?), a bike store and a “contemporary Italian restaurant, espresso bar and bakery called Fabbrica, run by Alberto Baudo, owner of the Acqua restaurant and wine bar” in the Seaport district.

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  • Brooklyn 11223

    Can I sue over this?

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  • Domino Fight Turns Sour

    Eliot Brown, in the Wall Street Journal fills in a few important blanks on the Domino saga:

    [After defaulting a $125 million loan] CPC cut a tentative deal with [lender] Pacific Coast Capital, in which CPC agreed to give the company an 84% stake in the property in exchange for forgiving the debt… Under the deal, CPC would have day-to-day control over the project for now. But Pacific Coast Capital would have final say over major decisions such as sales and new partnerships…

    And then there’s this:

    The financial troubles of the Domino project also raise questions about some of the pledges CPC made when it won city approval for the project. According to city officials and [CPC CEO Rafael Cestero], the developer’s commitment to fulfill its pledge with regard to affordable housing isn’t binding… Mr. Cestero said CPC is still committed to developing the project as pledged. But he also acknowledged that the owners would be open to selling the project if the price were high enough. He said he doesn’t expect this to happen.

    Reading between the lines, it sure sounds like Pacific Coast is in control of which entitlements will be taken (and which promises are fulfilled).

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  • Domino is Not For Sale

    CPC Resources tells the Brooklyn Paper that they are not selling out, just looking for a “reputable developer” experienced in waterfront development and affordable housing to partner with on the project. Which is to say, they want to sell part of the project. CPCR also acknowledged that they are working to renegotiate a $120 million loan – the same loan they apparently defaulted on in late 2011.

    Meanwhile, the developer has officially pushed back the start date for phase one of the project to a very squishy “end of 2013”. That puts it a full two years behind the original schedule, and a year and half behind the most recent party line.

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  • Things Get Worse at Domino

    Crain’s reports this morning that the partners in the Domino project are in court, with Isaac Katan, the long-silent partner in the deal, alleging mismanagement, “misdirection and inaction” on the part of CPC Resources. According to Katan, CPCR has nothing to show for the over $100 million in equity and financing that the project has received. Now CPCR is trying to restructure the project’s $120 million in debt, in a deal that (according to the plaintiff) leaves Katan out in the cold:

    Last month, CPC Resources told Katan it would enter a Letter of Intent that would allow Pacific Coast to restructure its debt. Under the arrangement, Pacific Coast would be able to convert its loan into an equity interest in the project, therefore reducing Katan’s interest in the project to 8% from 50%. Katan said in the filing that it never consented to such an agreement. Also, the new structure would give the lender the right to remove the current partners in the development from the project at any time and without reason.

    But, at the same time, leaves CPCR with a guarantee of something:

    But CPC Resources would still be paid an annual management fee of about $750,000, plus expenses.

    Suddenly, even CPCR’s supporters seem to be having second thoughts:

    “The tenants associations and the area residents, who worked hard to support Domino with its 660 affordable housing [units], are shocked that this project is now in jeopardy of collapse because of the spending spree and unaccountability by CPC,” said Isaac Abraham, a Williamsburg community leader and housing advocate. “Residents hope and pray that 660 affordable units and the entire Domino project doesn’t go up in the refinery smokestack.”

    Of course, the 660 units were never guaranteed, and are certainly not part of the entitlements that CPCR has been looking to protect.

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  • Developer Lands $50m Loan for North 10th Street Project

    North10th slce

    Rendering: SLCE via Crain’s

    LCOR, the developer behind 34 Berry, has secured financing for its next big Williamsburg project, a 234-unit rental development on North 10th between Roebling and Union (curvalicous rendering below).


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