Zach Galifianakis’ First Video

03/27/2012 | Comment

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):


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.

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).

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.

Things Get Worse at Domino

03/21/2012 | Comment

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.

Sweet Movie

Aaron Short interviews the makers of the Domino Effect, a (still) topical documentary about the New Domino approval process. I’ve seen the picture in preview, and it is very well done and quite powerful.

Heart the G

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is joining the effort to continue the G train extension. Unless the MTA decides otherwise, the extra stops on the Crosstown Local into south Brooklyn are scheduled to go away very soon.

Now that the construction is nearing completion, the M.T.A. is considering discontinuing the G-train extension that enabled riders in Greenpoint to go all the way to Kensington without switching trains.

heart-the-G.jpg


[Via Brownstoner]