SOHO—Earlier today, we noted that Soho Mews is now looking abroad for buyers. So, it's no surprise that its website is now multilingual. Per a tipster: "The Soho Mews website now comes in English, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and what appears to be Korean and Chinese. Also, included is a schedule of upcoming Soho Mews-sponsored cocktail parties in Milan and Rome. Looks like the new marketing strategy has the developers pulling out all the stops to get the international money. Very interesting. Is Soho Mews in trouble?" Well, it's definitely speaking many languages. [CurbedWire Inbox]
PROSPECT HEIGHTS—There has been some reaction today from Atlantic Yards biggest supporters to the Supreme Court decision not to hear the eminent domain appeal brought by opponents. From developer Bruce Ratner: '“We believe, and the courts have repeatedly agreed, that Atlantic Yards provides significant public benefits, including thousands of affordable homes and much needed jobs for Brooklyn. We are gratified that the Supreme Court has decided to put an end to this lawsuit. The opponents have now lost 20 court decisions relating to Atlantic Yards..." From Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz: "“The U.S. Supreme Court has correctly and wisely chosen not to hear the appeal from the lower court, thereby affirming the public benefits of the Atlantic Yards project for Brooklyn...This is a major victory for the futures of Brooklyn and New York City.” [CurbedWire Inbox]
They've been arguing, on and off, for the last 30 years in Washington about whether tax-free financing for stadiums and arenas should be limited. Now, the issue is coming home to roost at Atlantic & Flatbush Avenues. New IRS rules barring the use of tax-exempt financing for sports facilities would present a huge problem for the nearly $1 billion Barclays Center, given that developer Forest City Ratner wants about $800 million in tax-free bond funding, give or take. In the meantime, there's been furious lobbying in Washington to try to talk the IRS into killing the rule (which effects a lot of stadiums, including added financing for Yankee Stadium) or, at least, talking it out of applying the rule to Atlantic Yards because the project was "in the development pipeline before 2006." In the now famous Atlantic Yards Stall interview with the Times, developer Bruce Ratner said "the tax changes would make it more difficult" to do the project, but still said he was hoping for a fall 2008 groundbreaking. Others are suggesting 2009. The Frank Gehry-designed arena--which would be the costliest in the world--was originally supposed to open in 2006, but 2010 is the most frequently heard year if the project moves forward, with 2011 also being heard.
· A Question Mark Looms Over Three Expensive Projects [NYT]
· Atlantic Yards 'Stall': Timeline of Despair [Curbed]
The "Brooklyn Day" Atlantic Yards rally sponsored by Forest City Ratner happened yesterday afternoon. Curtis Sliwa showed and spoke, but Rev. Al Sharpton was said to have been stuck in transit trying to get back to New York and was a no show. The developer's crowd estimate, quoted in the Daily Newswas 3,000 and it jumped to 3,500 in the Post, but Atlantic Yards Report noted it might actually have been 2,000 and suggested that it included people shopping at the Greenmarket. Many people working in the area might have been drawn by free food and Nets freebies. As for the party-like atmosphere, AYR writes:
Despite decent weather, free t-shirts, a full-page ad in the Daily News, an E-newsletter, requests from union bosses to attend, and promises of free food, free transportation, and “international recording artist Maxi Priest,” the disparate and soon-diminished crowd was often subdued, even bored, and a passel of Forest City Ratner operatives monitoring the event looked somber, despite the billing as a “fun day.”
WILLIAMSBURG—Things are moving quickly at Bedford Avenue's Urban Legend Lot, which was previously a parking lot and, before that, the site of manufacturing uses that left it with some toxic issues. A tipster sends the photo above of ground being broken and also writes: "There was some digging today at the site on the corner of Bedford and N12/N11. If neighborhood lore is even partially true, that is a very toxic site. It is also close to (among many things) where my community garden has been growing away for the past decade...The site was an ink factory for the treasury, and the ink products left serious contamination in the soil? Supposedly it was to be capped and left still for several years? Also, that site was allowed higher density in the rezoning, perhaps to provide additional benefits to whomever would clean it up and develop there?" An eight-story Karl Fischer with 180 units is going on the site. [CurbedWire Inbox]
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN—We also had Rev. Al Sharpton pegged as a Knicks fan, but it turns out he's into the Nets. He and Curtis Sliwa will be among those at Brooklyn Day, a Forest City Ratner-sponsored rally for Atlantic Yards tomorrow. Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn finds it interesting enough that it's been emailing around the Ratner press release announcing the event. [CurbedWire Inbox]
Today at noon, Frank Gehry's 76-story rental building—the Beekman Tower—was supposed to be officially unveiled (after previously showing it off to locals) at a press conference down on Spruce Street just east of City Hall. The event was canceled in the wake of the crane collapse uptown. At least, that's what we were told. Apparently, some sort of event went on, because both The Real Deal and The Architect's Newspaper have first-hand accounts of the proceedings. The Architect's Newspaper also has the renderings of the Forest City Ratner-developed FiDi building, seen above. No signs of that graffiti logo (phew), and here are some more details on the 903-unit building:
EAST VILLAGE—It seems like every empty lot in the East Village is sprouting, except for the Milstein's of course (although...). Here's the latest one: "Anyone have info on the development at 315 East 11th Street b/w 1st and 2nd? The parking company moved to the formerly underused garage across the street and recently began demo work on this garage, here's the demo permit. The only info I've been able to dig up is that they're planning to build an 8 story, 36 unit residential building there. The building is gone and it looks like they've started digging the foundation." Well, that's already a lot of information, but according to another permit, the Stephen B. Jacobs Group is involved. [CurbedWire Inbox]
FINANCIAL DISTRICT—Even though in essence it has already been unveiled, Frank Gehry's Beekman Tower, the 76-story rental building that's #1 with all the kidz, will officially be revealed following a Forest City Ratner "construction ceremony" on Friday afternoon on Spruce Street. On hand: color renderings, models, Bruce Ratner and the Gehrmeister himself. [CurbedWire Inbox]
The gang from developer Forest City Ratner met last night with folks living near their new Frank Gehry-designed luxury rental tower—the crinkled steel colossus at 8 Spruce Street also known as the Beekman Tower—and they brought along a nifty PowerPoint presentation to share more info about the underway project. Lower Manhattan's wavy wonder has already picked up a major endorsement, so it was nice to get the full scoop. But before getting into the nitty-gritty of the construction and the community benefits and the move-ins and all that fun stuff, can we take a moment to reflect on that Beekman/Gehry logo seen above? It was strange enough when Ian Schrager unveiled his high-brow interpretation of graffiti at the trés chic 40 Bond, but now Bruce Ratner and Frank Gehry want street cred? Guys, at least save it for Brooklyn!
The $950 million Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards may be moving full steam ahead or may be stumbling, depending on which side is telling the story (the developer is saying it will open by December 31, 2010). But a key part of the financing strategy are the luxe suites, and they went on sale yesterday prices ranging from $300,000-$540,000 give or take. (Jay-Z took the first super luxe one.) No worries about paying, though, only five percent is due at signing and the rest can be paid in three installments through 2010. In addition to the new sales office in the NY Times building, the center's website has gotten a full redo to reflect the new Frank Gehry design for the building.
· No Nets Arena Yet, but Suites Are On Sale [NYT]
· Suites go on sale, timing unquestioned [AYR]
· Troubled Nets Arena in Brooklyn Selling Luxury Suites [Gothamist]
1) There's an interesting compare and contrast for those who like to do such things between the 2006 Atlantic Yards photo gallery and the current post-new renderings one. Atlantic Yards Report pulls them down and compares. (The 2008 gallery is the only one still online at the project's website.) [AYR]
2) Presumably Frank Gehry has put his battle helmet on or doesn't read the reactions to his buildings, but if he looks at today's Daily News he might feel sad. People are not loving his design. Reaction in Brooklyn ranged from "you're kidding" and "it's awful" to "ugly" and "a post-apocalyptic Earth." The News headlined it the 'Lego' Building. In our own Curbed poll, 29% percent said they liked it versus 19% that like the original Miss Brookliyn, with "non e of the above being the resounding winner with 52% [NYDN]
On the left, we have Frank Gehry's original Miss Brooklyn, released almost exactly two years ago. On the right, is the new contender, the unfortunately named B1, released this morning. Whether B2 or Mr. Flatbush are coming in 12-24 months is unknown, but B1 is the latest Atlantic Yards thinking.
Not only did we wake up to new Frank Gehry renderings of Atlantic Yards in the Daily News this morning, there was a competing "nightmare vision" of the project as an office building and arena surrounded by parking in the Post. The mini-tabloid war over Brooklyn's most controversial development follows a weekend that saw a rally calling on a "time out" on Atlantic Yards demolitions and a counter-demonstration that appeared to have been somewhat orchestrated by Forest City Ratner, not to mention a column in the Daily News bearing developers Bruce Ratner's name that said there is no such thing as an Atlantic Yards Stall and that the entire project would be completed by 2018. The Municipal Art Society helped prepare the "nightmare vision" renderings that form a dramatic counterpoint to Mr. Gehry's new "festive" Atlantic Yards vision. The Post's Rich Calder calls the possible future "Atlantic Lots," writing that "this vision of the state-approved project isn't attractive - unless parking spaces turn you on." Meanwhile, there is a back and forth over Mr. Ratner's 2018 scenario, with opponents saying that it's "pie in the sky."
There is nothing like opening one's eyes to a new set of Frank Gehry renderings of the Atlantic Yards development. This morning brings the death of Miss Brooklyn and its reemergence as B1 or Building 1, a shorter, radical remake of the glass tower that would have dominated Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. In its place is a 511-foot steel-and-glass structure that the Daily News' Jotham Sederstrom describes as "an asymmetrical design that rises like a spiraling Lego structure, edges askew." It will hold 650,000 square feet of office space and none of the condos that were originally planned. Gehry says that he new design is "more festive":
"My enthusiasm for Atlantic Yards has grown and grown until arriving at our current design, which works better with the surrounding area than it ever had before. Miss Brooklyn, now called Building One, has been slimmed down and has become more festive, resulting in a very unique office building."
First things first: Developer Bruce Ratner says he has fished in the East River and eaten the fish. Well, what he told NY1 last night was that "I have fished for striped bass in the East River with a great success on one occasion...I would say that I did eat it!" Which does leave some wiggle room. The Atlantic Yards developer also refers to himself as "progressive" a number of times, recalling the glory days of law school at Columbia in the 1960s: "I remember doing a march on a Wall Street," says Ratner. "It was all power to the people and workers – and the workers were on buildings throwing things at us. So I'm not sure, you know, whether we were really representing who we thought we were representing." And, then, come comments like "architecture is important, but it's not that important."
It hasn't been a good few weeks for Atlantic Yards and, now, a prominent Brooklyn City Council Member is calling for a moratorium on demolition for the project in Prospect Heights until the developer can come up with a timetable for the project and guarantees about affordable housing. City Council Member Bill de Blasio, who has supported the project, says he's "livid" that developer Bruce Ratner told the New York Times the project had stalled and that plans had radically changed before telling anyone in the community. He said the changes put "the entire community benefits agreement up for question." Yesterday, the Post detailed more than $2 billion in public subsidies the project would need, accounting for about half its cost. The Council Member says that "we need to revisit" the project if the developer indicates the project has changed, for instance to include limited affordable housing and just a basketball arena. In the meantime, he says there should be "a moratorium on demolition until there is a written plan" that "confirms what will be built when." Last week, some neighbors of the project called for a halt to demolition too. Control of the project is at the state level and there will be little left to stop demolishing in 4-6 weeks, but it's still another entry on the Atlantic Yards Timeline of Depair.
· De Blasio Calls for a Moratorium on Atlantic Yards Demolition [Gowanus Lounge]
· De Blasio Blasts Ratner on AY Obfuscation [Brownstoner]
The subject of how much Atlantic Yards will cost the public has always been a political football. Supporters have said the support would be modest. Opponents have argued that taxpayers would get taken to the cleaners. Today, Rich Calder takes a swipe at the topic in the Post and finds that the project is "boosted by so many sweetheart deals that the public stands to pay for more than half the cost of his controversial $4 billion plan." The public tab, per the Post, which has not been overly critical of the project, comes out to $2,139,890,000. The tab could climb because "the developer is gearing up to ask for even more corporate welfare." Nearly half the total is $1 billion in tax payments that will be diverted to pay debt service for the Nets arena, which developer Bruce Ratner will lease for $1 per year.
After a couple of weeks of headlines about how his Miss Brooklyn tower is dead, Frank Gehry has spoken. He told the Brooklyn Paper at the Brooklyn Museum's Gala last night that Miss Brooklyn isn't dead and that it will be built and "look better than anyone imagines." He also said of Bruce Ratner: "He really does want to build it...But he can’t get the financing. I don’t know why he would tell the papers that, but it is true." Mr. Gehry said he's confident that "Bruce will have a tenant soon — and then he’ll begin construction." In the meantime, the starchitect said he's tweaking the design of the 511-foot tower and that the design is "better than ever." Of Miss Brooklyn, he says, "We've made some adjustments that people will absolutely love. This is the part of the process I enjoy — tinkering, making things better."
· EXCLUSIVE: Miss Brooklyn ain’t dead [Brooklyn Paper]
About 100 or so people showed up at the Brooklyn Museum's Gala honoring developer Bruce Ratner last night. They are described as being "angry" and they certainly had a lot of photogenic signs. The Museum may be the one crying all the way to the bank, however, as the $500-$1,000 a plate dinner was sold out.
First, came the initial pre-Atlantic Yards Stall announcement that Bruce Ratner was being honored at a Brooklyn Museum Gala. Then, came the reactions, including an angry "open letter" to the Museum accusing it of embracing "a bad neighbor." Tonight, comes the protest outside the $5,000-$75,000 per table gala featuring a Kanye West performance. A spokesperson for the developer tells the Daily News, which notes that foes are "raging" about the Ratner honor, that it's "an honor and a thrill to be part of such important cultural institutions" and notes his support of other Brooklyn entities like BAM and the Botanic Garden. Atlantic Yards Report finds $200,000 in contributions in 2005-06 to the museum from Forest City Ratner's foundation, but that he's actually given more money to BAM. A release about the demonstration says it's "expected to be a photogenic event." No word on whether the Atlantic Yards backwash will splatter on artist Takashi Murakami or on (please say it ain't so) Louis Vuitton, which is opening a temporary boutique connected to the new Murakami show.
· Atlantic Yards foes rage at Brooklyn Museum over Bruce Ratner honor [NYDN]
· Brooklyn Museum Ratner Gala Continues to Stir Anger [Gowanus Lounge]
· How much has FCR given the Brooklyn Museum? [AYR]
As if the troubled Atlantic Yards project doesn't have enough problems, the property owners and tenants fighting the use of eminent domain on the project have filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition asks the Court to hear the appeal of the eminent domain case, which was dismissed on February 1. Goldstein v. Pataki was originally filed in October 2006. The Atlantic Yards opponents argue that hearing the case "provides the Court with an important opportunity to address the appropriate constitutional limits on the government's power to seize private homes for the benefit of powerful real estate developers like Bruce Ratner. The group's legal argument is that there is only a "pretext of a public purpose" for taking land for Atlantic Yards via eminent domain where the "actual purpose" is "to bestow a private benefit." Fans of legal documents can find the full petition and other paperwork here. The Court only accepts a handful of cases each year, but the appeal lengthens the time line for the developer.
· Supreme Court Asked to Hear Eminent Domain Case [DDDB]
· Atlantic Yards Stall: Timeline of Despair [Curbed]
The reverberations from the Atlantic Yards Stall that made headlines on Good Friday continue, with the developer announcing that luxury suites at the (not canceled) Nets Arena are going on sale on May 15. There will be a new Manhattan showroom and they'll be priced from $300,000-$540,000 a year. They'll include flat panel TV, access to an "exclusive" lounge and "personal servants." As for when the suites will be available for actual use, given the turmoil for the project, Atlantic Yards Report notes today that developer Bruce Ratner has six years from the time litigation is settled and the site is acquired to actually build the arena.
PROSPECT HEIGHTS—The reactions have been rolling in today about the Atlantic Yards Stall in the form of delays, cancellations and a doubling of the cost of the Nets arena:
"I am obviously disappointed that some key components of the Atlantic Yards project may not be completed on the timetable we had envisioned...I remain confident that Forest City Ratner...will fulfill its vision of bringing the Nets, affordable housing, and a new city center to Downtown Brooklyn."--Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz [CurbedWire Inbox]
"Atlantic Yards cannot be built as planned, and was never financially feasible...We call on the city and state to work with the community to develop the rail yards in a responsible manner, without destroying the existing neighborhoods in the process." Also, the arena "would now cost $950 million...and therefore is subject to new governmental review."--Daniel Goldstein DDDB [CurbedWire Inbox]
"Forest City Ratner made a commitment to ACORN and to the people of Brooklyn to deliver on a historic plan for affordable housing...we continue to have every confidence they will live up to their commitment."--Bertha Lewis ACORN [CurbedWire Inbox]
The road from the announcement of the Atlantic Yards project in 2003 through the possible "stall" making headlines today has not been a simple one to follow. The arena, many will recall, was originally supposed to have been finished in 2006, but along the way there have been delays, controversy, fierce opposition, lawsuits, financial revelations and everything that a New York City megaproject could be expected to have. For those who've forgotten some of the twists and turns, here's a very selective Atlantic Yards timeline touching on some of the, uh, highlights:
December 10, 2003: "Forest City Ratner officials publicly unveiled the Atlantic Yards plan—millions of square feet of office, residential and arena space to take over the Vanderbilt Rail Yards in Prospect Heights." Bruce Ratner predicts his Nets arena will open in 2006. June 9, 2005: Check out the photo of ACORN's Bertha Lewis kissing Bruce Ratner on the lips after a Community Benefits Agreement is reached. September 9, 2005: "All systems are go" as the MTA is ready to approve a deal with Mr. Ratner for the Atlantic Yards site. Things are "looking pretty damn good."
Among the many negative reactions to developer Bruce Ratner's bombshell about the Atlantic Yards "stall" is a blistering, if not withering, analysis by the Times' Nicolai Ouroussoff, who attacks the possible changes in Atlantic Yards on many fronts. In a nutshell, Ouroussoff thinks that an arena without the tall towers designed by Frank Gehry will be an "eyesore." So, while Atlantic Yards opponents may be amused by the venom directed at possible changes, they may be less tickled that his major criticism is that the project would be too small and denuded of its boldest elements. Nonetheless, Mr. Ouroussoff
Comments
First things first: Developer Bruce Ratner says he has fished in the East River and eaten the fish. Well, what he 
It hasn't been a good few weeks for Atlantic Yards and, now, a prominent Brooklyn City Council Member is calling for a 
The subject of how much Atlantic Yards will cost the public has always been a political football. Supporters have said the support would be modest. Opponents have argued that taxpayers would get taken to the cleaners. Today, Rich Calder takes a swipe at the topic in the Post and finds that the project is "boosted by so many sweetheart deals that the public stands to pay for more than half the cost of his controversial $4 billion plan." The public tab, per the Post, which has not been overly critical of the project, comes out to $2,139,890,000. The tab could climb because "the developer is gearing up to ask for even more corporate welfare." Nearly half the total is $1 billion in tax payments that will be diverted to pay debt service for the Nets arena, which developer Bruce Ratner will lease for $1 per year.
After a couple of weeks of headlines about how his Miss Brooklyn tower is dead, Frank Gehry has spoken. He told the Brooklyn Paper at the 
We thought it a little odd when the Museum of the City of New York 
Among the many negative reactions to developer Bruce Ratner's