How bad do developers want to take over the Greenpoint waterfront these days? Bad enough to pay the city $400,000 to cut down three elderly trees that were in their way. From Brooklyn Paper: The department said it is not in favor of felling mature foliage, but five trees at Newtown Barge Park — at […]
Forget poor doors, Greenpoint developers building segregated poor buildings
The last time we checked in with the progress of the 10-tower Greenpoint Landing waterfront development — aka Stephen Levin Towers — we were hearing concerns from the community about the decision to dig in a polluted Superfund site. Now, that they’ve officially broken ground — don’t breathe until they’re done — they’ve released more details about […]
Hooker aficionado, Eliot Spitzer, plans to screw South Williamsburg with three enormous high rises
That’s right, Client 9 is building these three enormous towers, described as “molded iceberg, sculpted to create the maximum number of views,” just blocks from the HUGE Domino Sugar complex in South Williamsburg. What’s more, he’s doing it quickly to dodge laws that would force him to provide more affordable housing: In customary fashion, Mr. […]
Bushwick's Rheingold Brewery development to have a rooftop hiking course
10 Montieth Street (credit: ODA New York) No word on when construction will begin, but this thing looks as tacky as it is ambitious: Plans for one of the buildings in the housing development on the former Rheingold Brewery site include amenities like an expansive green roof, urban farming areas and a library. The unique […]
Williamsburg bar to have 150 rooms and bar inside a water tower
How long do we have to wait before we get a rollercoaster in Williamsburg? Via Eater: Hotel developer Toby Moskovits is planning to open an 150-room hotel just down the street from the Wythe Hotel, and with it the most twee bar to ever come to the hipster capital of NYC. If the hotel gets […]
The vintage diner most fondly remembered as Relish soon to be demolished
The pummeling continues. According to Brownstoner, the lovely diner on Wythe Ave (currently home to La Esquina) is about to be demolished to make room for, you guessed it, CONDOS. Ugh. We’re lukewarm on La Esquina, but have fond memories of Relish, one of Williamsburg’s best restaurants in the late 90s. New building applications were […]
Nearly one hundred sites including Green-Wood Cemetery could lose their landmark preservation status without public hearings
Of course, this is just confirmation that developers call the shots in New York these days. We’ve already lost The Domino Sugar factory to the whims (and wallets) of Two Trees. Green-Wood Cemetery and Long Island City’s iconic Pepsi sign could be next: The Landmarks Preservation Commission plans to remove almost 100 sites and two historic districts […]
Infamous developer Robert Scarano planning another hotel in Greenpoint
One of Brooklyn’s most notorious developers, Robert M. Scarano, has filed paperwork to open a hotel on 214 Franklin Street in Greenpoint. His latest projects in Greenpoint include the Box House Hotel and the Henry Norman Hotel (which incidentally is open now and has a penthouse room that costs $600 per night with a lovely […]
Spike Hill, Tai Thai, Pinkyotto and Bedford Ave deli may get torn down by highest bidder
Because we absolutely would prefer a Zara or Banana Republic showroom in Williamsburg! From Crain’s: In a harbinger of major change in the area near the L-train stop in the heart of Williamsburg, two prime Bedford Avenue development sites recently hit the market there. The first site at 184-186 Bedford Ave. between North Sixth and […]
First Domino Sugar condostrosity to be six stories taller than the Edge
On Sunday, we bid adieu to Domino once again with the closing of the Kara Walker installation. Now we find that Two Trees, run by the insane Walentas family, have filed permits for the first building to be constructed on the site: DOB filings indicate that 320 Kent Avenue will span 470,106 square feet and […]