All stories about "Sheldon Solow"

Some selections from "The Center of Something," a new exhibit of fake NYC souvenirs created by artist Chris Rubino. How long until Sheldon Solow sues?
· Exhibits: The Center of Something [Chashama via Gothamist]

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What would a humongous $4 billion development plan with 3,000 apartments, a million square feet of commercial space and buildings up to 595 feet all along the East River be without a lawsuit? Absolutely nowhere, of course. And so, developer Sheldon Solow's recently-approved, scaled-down plan is facing a lawsuit from residents of Tudor City. Today's amNY has the rundown, noting that "Fearful that their urban Eden will be buried under darkness and dirt, residents of bucolic Tudor City" announced the suit Wednesday. The suit says the development was approved against the wishes of the local community board. Resident of Tudor City, which runs from 40th Street to 43rd Street and First and Second Avenues say the Planning Commission "arbitrarily and capriciously" disregarded the community's plan for the site. Specifically, the lawyer bringing the suit tells amNY that "The planning department pays lip service to community-based planning and then they spit in the face of community based planning." A Solow spokesperson says he's "confident" the development will go forward.
· Residents fight Tudor City development [amNY]
· Solow's East River Waterfront Gets a Pat on the Behind [Curbed]

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The Post's Steve Cuozzo reads the tea leaves on the commercial and residential real estate markets, and he says that we're in for some troubled times. Not a shocking declaration given the level of panic out there concerning the credit crunch and Wall Street layoffs, but Cuozzo does not concern himself with paltry matters of the present. No, the Cuozz has his eye on 2010 as the winter of our discontent, because "an unusually high percentage of office leases will roll and many glamorous new condo projects will open their doors." In the meantime, Cuozzo writes that the current climate will make it difficult for certain far-fetched ideas to get realized, like the office tower that's supposed to sprout from the Port Authority bus terminal or even Sheldon Solow's East River waterfront plan. But all is not doom and gloom. In comes Curbed Network BFF Jonathan Miller to point out that the credit crunch may actually limit future damages to the market, because fewer apartments and buildings will be built due to a lack of financing.
· A Discouraging Word [NYP]

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There's a war a brewin' right now, and the battles are being fought not in the trenches, but in poorly-lit meeting rooms during marathon sessions of boring back-and-forth. On one side, you have the community boards and local activists who will stop at nothing to prevent that new restaurant next door or the 12-story building down the street. In the other camp, developers and entrepreneurs and citizens who aren't afraid of the occasional new skyscraper. The former have had their way for a while, but now the other side is striking back via some genuine community board backlash. Fans of Jean Nouvel's 75-story proposed skyscraper near the MoMA have even posted an online petition to gain support. And now, the latest barb, via the Curbed inbox:

First I saw that the Solow development on the East River, a location that was begging for a 21st-century icon, has officially been punched down into a Hartford-within-Midtown. Then I read on Curbed that Community Board 5 has unanimously (!) voted against a transfer of air rights to the MoMA Tower of Awesomeness.

I went to a few CB6 meetings about the Solow development back when it still could've been a slice of Dubai in New York (pathetic we're reduced to saying that, ain't it?). I was the only person under the age of 80 and not in a cruise-ship blazer and bow-tie, and the old-timers lambasted me when I gave one of two speeches in favor of the project. (The other was an architecture professor's speech.)

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The public approval process is strangling the economic development of New York. Or not. Everyone has their own take on this hot topic, but what can't be argued is that community boards and the citizenry are truly flexing their muscles this week. On a plot of land begging for something iconic, developer Sheldon Solow was forced to dramatically scale back his East River waterfront plan because local residents were worried about shadows. He was able to fight to keep the one office building planned, even though locals said it didn't belong in a residential neighborhood. By the way, the plot of land is a stone's throw from the UN, which apparently is an apartment building of some sort? Then, Community Board 5 unanimously voted to deny the air rights transfers needed for Jean Nouvel's dazzling 75-story MoMA skyscraper, with one neighbor calling the building "inappropriate in a low-rise area." Midtown, apparently, being the "low-rise area" discussed. The restaurant scene is also suffering under the grip of community boards, as our friends at Eater have taken the time to point out. Now, though, it may be going too far.

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Sometime today, and perhaps as soon as RIGHT NOW, two City Council subcommittees—the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and the Subcommittee on Land Use—will vote on wacky developer Sheldon Solow's East River waterfront proposal just south of the UN. The much-delayed decision will come following weeks of negotiations between Solow and local officials, who are worried about the scale of the six proposed residential towers as well as the giant office building (some would also like a big new park to be part of the plan). The Sun's Peter Kiefer reports via "sources" that a modified version of the plan is expected to be approved. The curveball is that no one seems sure about the concessions that Solow will make to get this pushed through. Reduced building heights? More affordable housing? The world's biggest waterslide? Please please be that last one.
· Sources: Modified Version of Solow Project To Pass Council [Sun]
· Solow's East River Waterfront Gets a Pat on the Behind [Curbed]
· Solow's Eastern Promises: Affordable Housing! Schools! [Curbed]

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A while back, the Municipal Arts Society unveiled its dreamy vision for a waterfront park within developer Sheldon Solow's massive East River project just south of the UN. Yesterday, they went all official with it, as the new Coalition for an East Side Waterfront Park held a press conference to re-unveil the renderings and show off the future site of the proposed park in all of its rubble-strewn, freezing-winds-off-the-river glory.

Given the costs involved, the East Side Waterfront Park is a long shot, but Coalition members were optimistic as they discussed the steps they need to take to make the plan a reality, and positively giddy when bantering about the idea of gearing up and riding bikes together (yeah, we were confused, too). The steps involve getting Solow to grant an easement, raising around $100 million, and working out the simple matter of getting the Department of Transportation to realign the FDR Drive so a big ol' deck can be built over it for optimal frolicking. The Coalition folks seemed pretty confident that Solow would grant the easement, but all seemed wary of the bureaucratic mess inherent in asking the DOT to move a highway.

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It's looking like developer/mad man Sheldon Solow's massive $4 billion East River waterfront project—a mix of residential and commercial highrises on nine acres of land just south of the United Nations—is a go. The city's Planning Commission is expected to give the plan its blessing today, the Sun reports, as long as Solow agrees to some height and density reductions and commits to including affordable housing. Next up, the City Council will have its say, but the council is also expected to approve the project. They may require Solow to make some more concessions in terms of affordable housing, but he's already proven that he'll do whatever it takes to reshape the former Con Ed land. And so, progress at Ground Zero North! In fact, this is the closest progress has come to the UN in some 48 years.
· $4B Solow Development Faces Panel Vote [Sun]
· Solow's Eastern Promises: Affordable Housing! Schools! [Curbed]
· Solow's East River Waterfront Moves Forward [Curbed]

Many power players in the commercial real estate field think Sheldon Solow is a little off his rocker, and it's not just because of his crazy East River plans or the pose he's striking above. It's because Solow, NYU dropout and 746th richest man in the world, files lawsuits like most people use up toilet paper. And one of his recent suits threatens to derail what could be the biggest office building sale ever. When Harry Macklowe purchased the GM Building on Fifth Avenue in 2003, Solow called the sale a "sham auction," and argued he was the rightful owner for putting in the highest bid. Somehow, a court recently ruled that Solow's suit over the matter can proceed, and the litigation could seriously affect Macklowe's sale of the building, which he's relying on to bail him out of some serious debt. The Times has dubbed this feud part of the "blood sport" of real esate, but we're not ready to award it Jean-Claude Van Damme quite yet. For now, it's more like an old man slap fight.
· Rewards, With Risks, Go Into the Sale of the G.M. Building [NYT]
· Big Mack's Burden Affecting Hot New Developments [Curbed]

Developer Sheldon Solow's vision for seven new gigantic mixed-use towers along the East River waterfront near the United Nations is gaining steam. The latest, reported by Charles Bagli in the Times today, is an agreement between Solow and officials to set aside 20% of the planned apartments for affordable housing. With over 4,000 apartments planned, thats a fairly sizable chunk, especially when those low-income units will be in buildings designed by starchitects like Richard Meier and the gang at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Solow is also working with the city to figure out how to stick a new school on the property, adding to the feelings of goodwill now suddenly directed straight him. Say what you will about the litigious Sheldon Solow and his First Avenue crazytown, but he is playing this thing like Mozart tickling the ivory. What's next, promising that the skyscrapers will suck up all the pollution from the East River and turn it into five-course meals for the homeless?
· Developer Would Include Low-Cost Units in East Side Towers [NYT]
· Solow's East River Waterfront Moves Forward [Curbed]
· East River Waterfront Dreaming in Midtown [Curbed]

Now that the Con Ed buildings are gone and the activists have had their fun, it's time for developer Sheldon Solow to get down to the nitty gritty of getting his massive East River hole-in-the-ground filled with the mixed-use towers we all know and love. The Sun reports that a Community Board hearing is scheduled tomorrow for the First Avenue development plans, and it's no surprise that since this is what could be the biggest privately owned piece of developable land in Manhattan, there may be some hang-ups in the public approval process. Some officials believe the six buildings and 5 million square feet of development are too dense for the UN-dominated neighborhood. The above image comes from the environmental impact statement (warning: PDF), and while this does look like the biggest set of dominoes ever constructed, a Curbed reader did randomly email us saying that Whole Foods wants to stick a store somewhere in the complex, so hey, that's something.
· The New Gold Coast [NYSun]
· East River Waterfront Dreaming in Midtown [Curbed]