1) The leading concrete testing company in the New York area, Testwell Laboratories, is under investigation for failing to perform some tests and falsifying others on some major construction projects, including the Freedom Tower and the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees and the Port Authority both say the concrete used for their projects is sound and poses no safety threat, but yikes! Investigators took 200 boxes of documents and computers from a pair of Testwell offices, as well as from a trailer at Yankee Stadium. ['Company Hired to Test Concrete Faces Scrutiny']
2) The condo conversion of the Apthorp is a go, and when the 163 apartments in the Astor-built complex at Broadway and West 79th Street (right) hit the market, they will average about $3,000/sqft, more than the initial offering at 15 Central Park West. The average apartment price will be about $6.5 million, and current Apthorp tenants are not getting any insider deals, though they do have an early crack at any apartment in the building they want. Sales open to the general public in the fall. It's Manhattan's second-most-expensive condo conversion, behind Manhattan House. [Big Deal/Condos at Pedigree Prices]
3) Rumors of Hoboken's demise have been greatly exaggerated: "Average sales prices are still increasing for downtown condominiums in Hoboken, although most asking prices are open to negotiation these days, as several developers acknowledged in interviews. Developers say that their new buildings are still selling out, if somewhat slower than in the past." Take that, supposed down market! ['Hoboken Weathers the Market']
4) If you want to know how the rest of the country lives, look to Staten Island, where income and homeownership figures are similar to those icky other places. And in Staten Island, foreclosures are a "grimly familiar tale." ['Fighting Foreclosure on Staten Island']
HUDSON SQUARE—On this glorious Spring day, a reader sends a photo of the New Museum as seen from a distance. He writes: "Just digging the New Museum in this April mid-day light. View looking east from Hudson Square." Hell yes. [CurbedWire Inbox]
BRONX—For those that recall the disappearance of parks and upset about distribution of community benefits associated with the building of the new Yankee Stadium, there was a ribbon cutting today to promote the opening of a renovated playground and playing fields. The city wants everyone to know that "the $2.4 million playground and ballfield renovation marks the first completed permanent project associated with the Yankee Stadium Redevelopment" and that it "covered a formerly barren asphalt yard" with synthetic turf, etc. About 21 acres of Macombs Dam Park and Mullaly Parks went for the stadium and associated facilities. [CurbedWire Inbox]
[Hope you had fun. The photos have been removed at the request of the photographer.]
We've been monitoring the outside of the new Yankee Stadium, and we've seen the gorgeous renderings of the luxury experience to come, but finally, we have an extensive look at how construction is progressing on the inside. These photos come to us from Lucas Roberts, a lucky devil who got into the work-in-progress, snapped away, and posted the set on his Flickr page. He's kindly allowed us to throw them into a gallery and present them up above these words. Sure, it'll be sad (to some) to see the House that Ruth Built go the way of the wrecking ball, but these pictures should get any Bombers fan sufficiently amped to shell out those season-ticket deposits.
· Yankee Stadium [Lucas Roberts/Flickr]
· Glam Slam! Yankees Show Off New Stadium's Bling [Curbed]
· Yankees Deflect Negative Attention With Shiny Gold Letters [Curbed]
· City Giving Bronx Land Near Stadium to Developers? [Curbed]
The Stadium War is heating up, and we have to say that this round goes to the Yankees. Not long ago the Mets unveiled some new Citi Field renderings, proudly displaying the stadium's new corporate logo. This could have been a response to the Yankees' surprising move to hoist their own new stadium sign into place, despite the somewhat early stage of construction. Now the Yankees have struck back with some new renderings of their own, and they are quite revealing—and blingtastic! The new designs were released on a website meant to market the Yankees' "premium seating," so of course the team had to show off the goods to get corporations to write the checks. While the view of the field from the seats is very similar to the old Yankee Stadium—blue seats with a white façade ringing the park—it's all the other innards that are getting tricked out, from the entrance (Great Hall, above) to the concessions (martini bar, steakhouse) to the luxury suites (more flatscreens than a Tokyo electronics factory). The "cheapest" premium plan is for the 1,300 Terrace Level Outdoor Suite seats in nine higher sections behind home plate, which start at $100 per game. Skip these and go right for the $700/game Club Suite seats, which include food and beverages, indoor and outdoor seating and concierge service. Your move, Mets!
· Yankees Premium [yankees.mlb.com]
· It Luxe Like a Winner [NYP]
· Yankees Deflect Negative Attention With Shiny Gold Letters [Curbed]
According to the Mets' Citi Field website, in January 85% of the stadium's structural steel frame was in place. But because percentages are boring and the Yankees have already slapped a name on their new ballpark, the Mets have unveiled some fresh renderings featuring Citi Field's new logo to get folks excited. The Postreports on this exciting development, and points out that the "citi" is accurate to the logo of the corporate overlords, and "FIELD" is in the same style and lettering as old Ebbets Field, the design inspiration for the new park. The Mets have a slideshow of the renderings that should get you in the spring training frame of mind.
· Mets are Citi Slickers [NYP]
· Construction Watch: Mets Looking Good in Stadium Race [Curbed]
· Yankees Deflect Negative Attention With Shiny Gold Letters [Curbed]
The Yanks have been showing off the new Yankee Stadiun and its shiny gold lettering (and ballooning costs) to anyone who asks, but the Mets have been keeping things relatively quiet out there in Queens. Luckily for us, Curbed Photo Pool contributor AllWaysNY has uploaded some recent construction photos of Citi Field, and wow! The Mets are really building this thing! Both stadiums look to be in fairly good shape, so this game is going to come down to the bottom of the ninth. Or a play at the plate. Or some other dumb metaphor.
· Photos: Citi Field [Flickr/AllWaysNY]
· Yankees Deflect Negative Attention With Shiny Gold Letters [Curbed]
· Stadium Showdown: Mets Finally Beating Yankees [Curbed]
Leave it to those dastardly Yanks to get a leg up in the stadium-building deathmatch against the Mets. By most accounts, the Mets' Citi Field appears to be ahead in the race to the finish line, and the new Yankee Stadium has suffered a bit of badpress lately. So, how to win back hearts and minds of New York's baseball-obsessed media? Obvs: Prematurely hoist the new stadium sign into place and invite photographers along to document it! That's why they're the masters of the back page, Mets fans.
· Sign-ing Up [NYP]
· City Giving Bronx Land Near Stadium to Developers? [Curbed]
· Stadium Showdown: Mets Finally Beating Yankees [Curbed]
The Mets and Yankees are currently locked in a death match to see which team can complete its expensive new stadium first (combined price tag: $2 billion) in advance of both parks' April 2009 openings, and the Sun has an update on both as construction ramps up in advance of winter. The Mets' Citi Field seems to be ahead, as the brick, limestone and steel stadium already has half its bricks, 65% of its concrete foundation and 75% of its steel installed. But, much like the team, be wary of a late-season collapse. As for the new Yankee Stadium, the facade has large swaths of nothingness, the interior looks bare, and the team is denying interview requests on the topic. Hmm. But, much like the team, it'll probably all come together in the end. For visual confirmation, we decided to check out Flickr and grab some of the most recent shots of both projects. The Mets are definitely looking good, but we're not ready to call this race just yet.
Comments
1) The leading concrete testing company in the New York area, Testwell Laboratories, is under investigation for failing to perform some tests and falsifying others on some major construction projects, including the Freedom Tower and the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees and the Port Authority both say the concrete used for their projects is sound and poses no safety threat, but yikes! Investigators took 200 boxes of documents and computers from a pair of Testwell offices, as well as from a trailer at Yankee Stadium. ['Company Hired to Test Concrete Faces Scrutiny'] 
