The Commercial Observer » Thornton McEnery

On The Market: The Necessity of Brokers; 'The Low Line;' Bye-Bye Borders

Thornton McEnery — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:56:46 -0400

Traffic in Midtown today will be a UN-sanctioned congestion mess. [NY Post]

The worst thing about Hurricane Irene? There's a pumpkin shortage. [Daily News]

All these natural disasters—remember the earthquake?—is causing a boom in renter's insurance. [Journal]

A full-throated defense of real estate agents. [NY Times]

What's the better tool to soothe over-angry neighbors, cash or booze? [UrbanBaby]

DUMBO's art festival will, apparently, be a three-day bacchanalia of creativity. [Brooklyn Paper]

Ugly start to St. Vincent's public review. [DNAinfo]

The MTA's newest toy to show us all that they're trying: the interactive "On the Go Travel Station" (we hope it's better than the useless "The Weekender). [Daily News]

The dogs ruled in Gramercy Park this weekend. [DNAInfo]

It seems that Stuyvesant Town has come to resemble a refuse-strewn shanty town. [NY Post]

Meet "The Low Line." [Curbed]

Century 21 goes for that boutique feel. [DNAinfo]

New York's last Border's closed yesterday. [Daily News]

On The Market: Happy Park(ing) Day!; Big 'Uh Oh' for Bolt Bus; Jersey City Is Still the New Brooklyn

Thornton McEnery — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:48:44 -0400

Another assault on cars, as citizens turn spaces into parks for "Park(ing) Day". [Curbed]

Man arrested for breaking into his own home. [NY Post]

Fellow mayors say bike share bound to be a hit. [Daily News]

The Brooklyn-side of bike share. [BK Paper]

With mortgage rates in a historically deep crater, where is all the refinancing action? [MarketWatch]

How is 83rd Street like "Sesame Street?" Here's how. [NY Times]

Brooklyn tenants fear the end of Section 8 in their development. [Daily News]

Bolt Bus is about to get a much closer look from NYC authorities. [DNAInfo]

Poor attendance spells out a fuzzy future for Boerum Hill pool. [Brooklyn Paper]

The shifting perceptions of "Brooklynizing" in Jersey City. [Journal]

Finding that perfect share: two bedrooms and room for dinner parties. [NY Times]

The sleeping giant: Laureate sells almost 50 apartments for more than $6.5 million. [Daily News]

The Closing: Brooklyn and Its Bikes; NYU's Mutating Expansion; The Door Loosens at The Gramercy Park Hotel

Thornton McEnery — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:37:30 -0400

170 Broadway sale breaks nine figures. [Crain's]

Chalk one up for Mayor Mike, smoking is down 14% across the five boroughs. [NY Times]

DOT is going "open-source" with its bike share station placements plan. [StreetsBlog]

... and Brooklynites have just the spot. [Brooklyn Spoke]

NYU plans to green-up its much reviled Washington Village Superblock. [Curbed]

... but it's not being entirely unreasonable about over-spreading the "Purple Fog" of its 2013 expansion. [Crain's]

One infamously decrepit Cobble Hill brownstone is getting a much-needed facelift. [Brownstoner]

The DOT is getting a rap on the knuckles from AAA over tunnel fare hikes. [The Journal]

Local pols are agreeing on one thing; Delancey Street is a death trap. [StreetsBlog]

Tonight's unveiling of his wife's carousel is just a little tease of David Walenta's plan for the Brooklyn Waterfront. [Brooklyn Eagle]

The Gramercy Park Hotel releases plan to ease access for the disabled (no word yet on its plans for admitting the poor, uncool or ugly). [NY Times]

On The Market: 9/11 Memorial Relief; Your Doorman Hates our Kids; What Is a 'Pothole?'

Thornton McEnery — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:03:04 -0400

9/11:

How tight was security at yesterday's memorial? Former Governor (and father of current Governor) Mario Cuomo had problems getting into it. [NY Post]

Some odd, scary moments took place on board some passenger flights yesterday and resulted in fighter jet escorts. [The Journal]

Victims families found some solace and relief at the almost-completed memorial. [Crain's]

Ribbons and lawn chairs honor the victims. [Daily News]

Twin Towers erased from Downtown Alliance logo. [Journal]

Everything Else:

It looks like "curtains" for Billyburg's "Monster Island." [NY Times]

An ugly tragedy at Penn Station. [NY Post]

Turnstile jumping is not just illegal... it's fiscally responsible. [Daily News]

Carroll Gardens keeps blossoming for the BroBos. [Journal]

Your doorman knows your kids, and he probably doesn't like them very much. [BrickUnderground]

As U.S. Open comes to an end, the challenge to keep kids interested in tennis begins. [WNYC]

Sometimes a pothole is just a sinkhole says DOT. [NY Post]

Big names lined up for Brooklyn Book Festival. [Brooklyn Paper]

The Closing: Brooklyn Gets a Marathon; The Hudson River has Apparently Turned Red; Madonna is Still a Young, Rocking Rebel (and Civil Defendant)

Thornton McEnery — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:43:04 -0400

Crain's is asking which NYC neighborhood is "the hottest" (Meanwhile, Mayor Mike & Co. are crossing their fingers and looking skyward for FiDi to win). [Crain's]

Launching its own marathon is yet another sign of Brooklyn's inevitable, creeping secession plan. [NYC Runs]

Here's a feel good story: The Hudson River seems to be running red like a signal of the apocalypse. [Gawker]

Volunteers picking up glass in Ft. Greene Park picked up some broken glass... fifty pounds of broken glass! [Brownstoner]

You know it's a trend when East Harlem wants bike lanes. [StreetsBlog]

NYC real estate bloggers rejoice! A Karl Fischer building is facing foreclosure. [Curbed]

So the Germans won't give Greece any money, but they are giving us a new supermarket chain? [Crain's]

Sentencing is over in the Riverdale Temple trial. [NY Post]

Some love for the model apartment decor at Long Island City's "The Yard." [ApartmentTherapy]

A new beer garden for South Brooklyn (are these still newsworthy?) [Brownstoner]

The rationale for why Obama is still pushing more, bigger and better infrastructure projects nationwide. [StreetsBlog]

Madonna's newest ploy to prove she's not getting too old is brilliant; she's getting sued by her neighbors for making too much noise. That youthful scamp. [NY Post]

The Closing: 'Ratner Heights'; Attack on 'Al Fresco' Crown Heights Hipsters; 'Corcoran: The Video Channel'

Thornton McEnery — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:32:26 -0400

"Ratner Hights" sounds about as nice as it's meant to sound. [AY Report]

Another week of rain means even more flooding for our neighbors in New Jersey. [NY Times]

So far, this is all we can see of the Second Avenue Subway. [ObserversRoom]

Courtesy of YouTube: "Corcoran, The Channel." [Curbed]

Is "Rooftop Hipsterism" becoming illegal in Crown Heights? [Brownstoner]

Three separate burglaries at one Brooklyn Heights building. [NY Post]

...and more of the same at The Old Stone House, is no one safe? [NY Post]

While everyone else sees disaster, soundproof window installers see growth along Second Avenue during the subway construction. [BrickUnderground]

Karl Fischer's got a brand new bag. [Curbed]

The definition of "White People Problems?" = Issues between the Spence School and its UES neighbors over potential exapansion plans. [Crain's]

On the Market: How Jane Got Her Carousel; Donna Karan's Hamptons Spread Spreads; 'Brain Drain' at M.T.A.

Thornton McEnery — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:03:40 -0400

9/11:

No more "Ground Zero" at WTC site say construction workers. [NY Post]

Chuck Schumer wants everybody flying flags on 9/11. [Daily News]

Jennifer Egan, Geoffrey Canada, old NYCLU, NYPL boses share 9/11 recollections. [Journal]

Congressman Michael Grimm wants to make "9/11 cross" a national monument. [NY Post]

Muslims tense as 9/11 anniversary returns. [Daily News]

Everything Else:

Downtown trains will once again stop at Cortlandt Street. [Daily News]

More on Jane Walentas and "her" carousel opening September 16. [Brooklyn Paper]

Donna Karan's newest purchase means her Hamptons compound is now worth $20 million. [NY Post]

There is already flippage at the Strong Place Church condos. [Curbed]

Citibank leaving 111 Wall Street and might move to Jersey. [NY Post]

George Soros' charities consolidate into 57th Street building. [Journal]

The Times explores another city region that is totally foreign to them: Staten Island. [NY Times]

Apparently, there is a troubling trend of "brain drain" taking shape at the top of the M.T.A. [NY Post]

On The Market: Manhattan Dominates U.S. Shopping; Brooklyn Ain't No Disaster Area; Co-Op City Hates Pets So Much It's Illegal

Thornton McEnery — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:50:15 -0400

The sad case of a Broad Channel bungalow that has been lost to the bay. [NY Times]

HUD is calling out Co-Op City over its apparent unlawfully anti-pet stance. [Daily News]

Another bike tragedy in Williamsburg creates even more calls for even more bike lanes. [BK Paper]

City will screen trucks headed to WTC in a Chelsea lot. [DNAinfo]

Trick or treat! Local preservationists turn NYU into a big purple monster. [Daily News]

Of the Top 10 shopping districts in America, Manhattan is home to four: Madison, Fifth, East 57th Street and Times Square. [Crain's]

Which means it might be the perfect time to buy up a retail strip in Times Square. [Post]

Apparently, breaking into to boutique commercial development isn't as easy as it used to be. [Journal]

Peninsula Hospital might be getting out of intensive care itself. [Crain's]

Hurrricane Irene was just another of hits that seem to keep on comin' for city trees. [Daily News]

Brooklyn a disaster area? Fughedaboutit. [Brooklyn Eagle]

Hurricane ravages covered bridges upstate [NY Times]

The Closing: Irene's NY Tab; FiDi's 'New Golden Era'; Fuzzy Feelings for a Tribeca Reno; and an Important Labor Day Tip

Thornton McEnery — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:49:29 -0400

The Oak Room's new toilets are already backed up with issues, and they haven't even been built yet. [DNA Info]

Will the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 usher in a new "Golden Age" for Downtown real estate? [Crain's]

Bank of America might be looking at amputating some of its toxic (read: mortgage bond-related) extremities. [Bloomberg]

Hurricane Irene's damage might cost New York State a cool one billion dollars. [NY Times]

A salvation in Tribeca. [Curbed]

You know you did pretty well when you sell your place for more than $10 million and you're disappointed in how far you had to come down on your asking. [Curbed]

'A Diatribe on the Uselessness of the Rental Broker.' [The Awl]

The "Carroll Gardens Finger" building is complete and.... well, we'll let you start in with the insults. [Brownstoner]

Jane Walentas carousel is all shined up and ready to go. [McBrooklyn]

Elika Associates is getting into the management game. [The Real Deal]

And finally, in case you get an unwanted thought about pool toys this Labor Day weekend, we pray you're not in Ohio. [NY Post]

The Closing: Fulton Street Hub Rising; Atlantic Yards Sidewalks Shrinking; Home Prices Leveling Off

Thornton McEnery — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:16:00 -0400

The new Fulton Street transit hub is beginning to take shape downtown. [Curbed]

A potential new cause of 'righteous' anger brought to you by Atlantic Yards. [Streetsblog]

Hurricane Irene left WTC construction unscathed. [Globe St.]

This amalgamation of NYC data is a very cool tour de force of information, brought to you by: [Crain's]

The Hotel Williamsburg is already annoying us with all the twee marketing. [Curbed]

Bank of America's bogus journey into litigation over their pre-crisis mortgage lending continues on pace. [Crain's]

A Park Slope church is getting a (not-so) extreme makeover. [Brownstoner]

While an Upper West Side church starts a new life of moonlighting as a theater. [DNAInfo]

The housing market is showing some signs of stabilization nationwide (which pass for signs of life these days). [Bloomberg]

Brooklyn's Hotel Le Bleu made out like a bandit during "the 'cane." [Brownstoner]

On The Market: NYC Services Statistically Sub-Par; NY Transit Is Finally Back; Meet 'The Splitter'

Thornton McEnery — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:24:43 -0400

Good morning, here's a story about a six-year long bedbug infestation. You're welcome. [Daily News]

The Times weighs the pros and cons of co-op living. [NY Times]

As of yesterday, the "Zadroga Zone" expands up to Canal Street. [NY Post]

Bollard Bull! A re-thinking of security measures at the new Atlantic Terminal. [BK Paper]

Meet "The Splitter." It's all the rage amongst mortgage brokers. [BrickUnderground]

NJ Transit finally emerges from the shadow of Irene. [NY Post]

Things are getting sadder and uglier—like, really ugly—at the former site of Gage & Tollner. [NY Post]

It's not your imagination: city services are not performing as well as they should, despite the mayor's promises to the contrary. [NY Times]

Death Knells: 7-Eleven coming to Scarano-on-the-Bowery [Curbed]

Saul opening new "red sauce" restaurant on Atlantic and Clinton [Brownstoner]

Hair metal god Sebastian Bach's Jersey home rocked off its foundations by Irene. [Daily News]

The Closing: Irene Departs But Gourmet Coffee Arrives; the Market Soars on (Lack Of) Post-Hurricane Insurance Claims; Curbed Finds Its Hottest Broker

Thornton McEnery — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:16:24 -0400

With much fewer insurance claims than excepted pouring in after the lackluster lambasting that was Hurricane Irene, the huge sigh of relief coming from investors gave boost to Wall Street. [NY Post]

Without the excuse of a hurricane, NYC union carpenters get back to their labor talks. [Crain's]

NYC now has its own franchise of L.A.-favorite The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. [Gothamist]

Curbed has a winner in their "Hottest Broker" contest—it's Tianna von Johnson of Goldstar Properties. [Curbed]

Another suicide at Trump Place. [NY Post]

Newlywed Kim Kardashian and her husband are renting at The Gansevoort for $7,000 a month. [Curbed]

The incredibly slow-moving development at Carroll Garden's 340 Court has a new—unwanted—feature. [PMFA]

Just why is Brooklyn Bridge Park spectacular? [Capital New York]

Impious Irene: The spire of a church in Park Slope could come crashing down any minute. [Brownstoner]

While the Whitney is still putting together its four-year plan to move Downtown, one thing that is now official: Danny Meyer will handle the food. [Eater]

Mitt Romney isn't out so out of touch that he'd quadruple the size of his La Jolla estate in a recession. He'a only doubling it. [Gawker]

On the Market: 'The Cataclysm That Wasn't' Edition

Thornton McEnery — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:22:29 -0400

While The Times admits some overreaction to Irene... [NY Times]

The News shows a city "flattened" by rain... [Daily News]

And the Post just wants everything back to normal. [NY Post]

Many are finding this morning's commute to be much easier than they'd feared. [City Room]

What will "Hurricane Zone" designations mean for the future of NYC real estate values? [Brick Underground]

Images of Brooklyn in the wake of Irene. [Brownstoner]

The city's only reported hurricane-related fatality occurred on City Island. [NY Post]

Rockaway residents thad to trust their wall as the storm surged towards their homes. [WSJ]

At first glance, Irene might have been good for the economy. [Bloomberg]

Beloved Brooklyn Heights elm felled. [BK Paper]

Gowanus inn Hotel Le Bleu gouges Irene escapees, charging $999 a night. [Daily News]

And life gets back to normal:

Changes to jumbo mortgages won't phase most of America, but in New York, it will be real headaches. [NY Times]

The boom in Union City. [Journal]

How much longer can graffiti mecca FivePointz hang one? [NY Times]

New York real estate bounces back from 9/11 like no one ever thought. [Crain's]

Jaw-dropping Brooklyn Heights before-and-after renovation. [Brownstoner]

Architects in the lead on disaster preparedness. [ArchPaper]

Electric bills out of control for low-income tenants. [Crain's]

The Closing: THE HURRICANE EDITION!

Thornton McEnery — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:58:38 -0400

As the president abandons his hideout on Martha's Vineyard to take control of Irene's violent progress northward... [Gawker]

...NYC is showing how we panic. Which is slowly, combatively, neurotically and drunkenly. [Crain's]

And when we say panic, we mean "shut down mass transit before it really starts to rain"-kinda panic... [NY Post]

"Pull all the taxis from the road"-kinda panic... [WSJ/Metropolis]

"No building of anything at all"-kinda panic... [The Real Deal]

"No baseball"-kinda panic... [NY Mets], [Brooklyn Cyclones]

"No museums"-kinda panic... [The Met]

Even "No Dave Matthews Band"-kinda panic. [Reuters]

Just stay in and "shtup" your landlord. [BrickUnderground]

The Closing: New Moves at the Apthorp; New Snacks in Times Square; New (Belgian?) Streets for Dumbo

Thornton McEnery — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:18:19 -0400

Gird your financial loans, Wall Street is poised to unload $5 billion in commercial mortgage bond securities. [Bloomberg]

A return to flippage at the Apthorp. [Curbed]

A nasty breakup is underway at brokerage the Siderow Organization. [Crain's]

Time Warner Center retail movement: J. Crew expanding slightly after Borders huge departure. [Curbed]

The newest asking price for a place at 740 Park? $29 million. [Post]

St. Ann's Warehouse has announced the schedule for its final season in its Dumbo space. [NY Times]

Times Square is about to have a whole lot more gourmet empanadas. [NY Post]

"Marty Mark" would like to share his thoughts on the new zoning of Fourth Avenue. [Brownstoner]

Traitors: Dumbo's streets are turning Belgian right before our eyes. [DUMBO NYC]