Is Joseph Rose the new Rosie O'Donnell? And by that, we mean is the former director of the Department of City Planning about to become Donald Trump's #1 enemy? Trump, as well as an army of Hudson Square/West Soho locals and leaders, has been up in arms over the proposed massive garbage garage at Spring and Washington Streets. The negative impact on Trump Soho's views aside, the sanitation plan is also rumored to be affecting the condo values at the nearby Urban Glass House, thereby endangering its Urban Ass House classification. Which brings us back to Joseph Rose, and the little matter of a new 800-foot-tall hotel.

  Comments

What can happen when the city tries to rezone a neighborhood, but the rezone takes a long time? In the case of part of Long Island City known as Dutch Kills the answer is: it leads to a hotel boom. Today's Daily News offers up a rundown on the eleven hotels--yes, eleven--that are going up as the city works on a rezone that would allow residential development, but ban tallish hotels. (Click on the image to see all the hotel goodness in detail.) One resident, who is apparently not a fan of the hotels says, "It's like fiddling while Rome burns. They're allowing all the hotels to come in and destroy the neighborhood they are trying to save." The city started working on the rezone almost three years ago. All the hotels have broken ground since then. There's some sense, though, that the developers will convert some of the hotels to condos. Or maybe they won't. There's a separate Japanese hotel boom underway on Jackson Avenue near Court Square that has nothing to do with Dutch Kills. Either that, or our tourist friends will be wandering around some far flung spots.
· Rezoning delay in Dutch Kills draws ire [NYDN]
· Dutch Kills=Hotel Land [OuterB]

  Comments

Yesterday, we received a Valentine's Day love note from Donald Trump, and by "love note from Donald Trump" we of course mean "formal letter from a Trump Soho lawyer." It came as a response to our publishing a quote from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation's recent update on the legal challenge to the Trump Soho. It read, "Following the deadly construction accident at the Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel earlier this month, the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals has FINALLY scheduled the hearing on the legal appeal of the city's approval of this project. That hearing is currently scheduled for Wednesday, February 27th at 10 am." According to the Trump folks, the hearing was scheduled before the accident, so the "two events are mutually exclusive." Noted, but what makes the letter interesting is that it's the first time we can recall Team Trump publicly acknowledging the Trump Soho "incident."

  Comments

The only thing slightly more ridiculous than the preservation of the flimsy façade of 211 Pearl Street (while its historic neighbors were obliterated) is what Rockrose Development Corp. plans on doing with it. A Curbed tipster dropped by the Financial District/Seaport area yesterday and snapped a couple pictures of the Pearl Street scene, and it looks like Rockrose isn't wasting any time in building that new behemoth. Of course, we're still waiting on renderings of the Lam Group's massive double hotel just down the block, what is sure to be another tranquil addition to what was once Manhattan's first World Trade Center. That'll be a fun one, for sure.

  Comments

[Photo: Carlo Allegri/Reuters]

The loved/hated Hotel Pennsylvania across the street from Madison Square Garden on Seventh Avenue is currently fighting for its life, but one thing that's probably not helping the landmarking cause is the hotel's willingness to be shat upon. Oh, we're just kidding, big guy! But when The Real Estate ran a press release announcing that one of the amenities the hotel was adding for the convenience of Westminster Dog Show attendees was a "his/her's relieving area," we thought, "Hey, that would make an amusing picture." Sure enough, the Times' photo essay reveals the basement boudoir. And yes, we're as surprised as you are that they bothered putting plastic down.
· Slide show: Westminster Dog Show [NYT]
· Merrill Lynch Staying Put; Hotel Pennsylvania Safe? [Curbed]
· Hotel Pennsylvania Gets Another Landmarking Nod [Curbed]

  Comments

UPPER EAST SIDE—A fan of our column writes: "Your column has had some stories on 78th btwn 3rd and 2nd. The building at 205 E 78 can not be to thrilled with losing their lot line windows. The 79 corner has a permit for fencing and notices about asbestos removal (right). Let's all take a deep breath." [CurbedWire Inbox]

HARLEM—Some dirt is getting moved uptown. Writes a tipster, "I live on 125th St. between 5th & Lenox. Construction has started in a long-vacant lot next to my building. Word on the street has it that it's going to be a hotel. If so, it would be the first new hotel in Harlem in decades (since Harlem Park has morphed into a retail space)." Indeed, it's supposed to be this crazy thing. [CurbedWire Inbox]

WILLIAMSBURG—Because we need a 10,000th Williamsburg item of the day, we point you to this Craigslist listing for a "beautiful house on a quiet residential block" that's "primed for knockdown." A 'Burgite writes: "if this craigslist ad doesn't describe Wburg to a T, I don't know what does. note unintended (but prophetic?) use of 'homely.'" [CurbedWire Inbox]

  Comments

Is it strange that every morning we wake up and check the weather conditions outside by loading The Standard's updated-every-15-minutes construction photo? Yes? Well, buddy boy, when it comes down to getting a heads up on wearing snow boots vs. ruining a perfectly good pair of Dunks, Andre has got our back. AB has your back, too. That's just the kind of guy he is.
· The Standard [Official Site]
· Construction Watch: The Standard Welcoming Voyeurs [Curbed]

  Comments