The Commercial Observer » Elsewhere

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: St. Marks Books Closing?; Beating Back Starbucks; Surveying Columbus Ave. Bike Lane

Matt Chaban — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:49:17 -0400

Beloved St. Marks Books begs Cooper Union for rent breaks to stay open. [DNAinfo]

Up the block, East Village coffee shop fights back against Starbucks [NY Times]

It will be years before the 9/11 Memorial is really a part of the city, like 2014 maybe. [Journal]

Bumper crop! Neighbors dump construction debris onto garden in Prospect Heights. [Daily News]

Sony boss Tomy Mottola's old Hamptons home on the market for $22 M. [Journal]

"American-Idol-style competition" will help Brooklyn pols pick community construction projects. [BK Paper]

Industrial real estate popular again. [NY Times]

9/11 hero spends anniversary helping clean-up from a flood. [Daily News]

Councilwoman Gale Brewer wants to survey UWS on Columbus Ave bike lane now that it's a year old. [Streetsblog]

A controversy in Woodstock? Over affordable housing? What's the world coming to? [NY Times]

The Closing: Stanford Really Wants NY Campus; "Carrie Bradshaw's" Townhouse; Old Skool Tagging Tour

Matt Chaban — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:17:56 -0400

Stanford really wants to set up that tech campus here in New York. [Crain's]

Trump Soho brings that Fashion Week charm. [Daily News]

The Kleiers of reality T.V. real estate fame wrote a book... [Curbed]

Manhattan Aussie eatery opening an outpost in Prospect Height. [Brownstoner]

Amazon takes baby steps away from Midtown. [NY Post]

So-called Sex in the City townhouse hits the market on Perry Street. [DNAinfo]

City still ignoring animal sheleters. [Daily News]

The best old skool graffiti in town. [WNYC]

On the Market: 9/11 Cost America $3.3 Trilion; Irene Hurts Property Values; M.T.A. Debt Downgraded; Architecture of Burning Man

Matt Chaban — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:56:01 -0400

9/11:

City on high alert after possible 9/11 plot revealed. [NY Times]

Muslim family still feels the pain of that day a decade ago. [Daily News]

9/11 has cost America $3.3 trillion. [NY Times]

The voices of 9/11, including neighbors, the priest, and, of course, "the Developer," Larry Silverstein. [Journal]

Graphic images will be on display at the 9/11 Museum. [NY Post]

Window graffiti at St. Peter's Church becomes permanent memorial. [NY Times]

Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver praises Lower Manhattan's revival. [Crain's]

Everything Else:

President Obama promises $10 billion infrastructure bank. [WNYC]

Irene reminds us that living in a flood plane can be bad for your property values. [NY Times]

Bikers worried about anti-bomb barricades at base of Williamsburg bridge. [Daily News]

Bed-Stuy is on the upswing. [Journal]

The peculiar stretch of Rhinelander Row. [NY Times]

Douglas Elliman expands upstate. [Crain's]

City College solar roofpods debuting at national architecture competition. [DNAinfo]

M.T.A. debt downgraded, threatening fares. [Streetsblog]

The architecture of Burning Man. [ArchPaper]

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the cost of 9/11 as "$3.3 billion."

The Closing: Doorman Debate; 3 Columbus Circle; Night at the Apthorp

Tom Acitelli — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:32:58 -0400

Jonathan Miller breaks down Manhattan housing, pre- and post- 9/11 and Lehman Brothers. [Journal]

How the Lower Manhattan skyline changed—slowly—over the last decade. [Curbed NY]

3 Columbus Circle ready for its close-up. [Crain's]

Mayor Bloomberg's ex- goes to contract at One Kenmare. [NY Post]

Ralph Gardner Jr. sleeps with the Apthorp, tells. [Journal]

Resolved: the doorman is pointless. [Real Deal]

Avenue U out of juice because of a fire. [Sheepshead Bites]

And this Fort Greene house made us pause and stare wistfully out the window. [Brownstoner]

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:Bronx Backyard's 12-Foot Twin Towers; Ladies, Bachelors Love Eately; Prohibition-Era Subways

Matt Chaban — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:30:48 -0400

9/11:

Bronx man builds 12-foot Twin Tower replicas in backyard. [Daily News]

Picking the appropriate relics for the 9/11 museum. [NY Post]

Chinatown never really recovered from 9/11. [Daily News]

Covering the anniversary carefully, the media tries to avoid the crass and commercial while still cashing in. [NY Times]

Attacks still haunt one construction worker who helped with the clean up. [Daily News]

Preparing the Tribute in Light memorial for the 10th anniversary. [NY Post]

Everything Else:

Three Atlantic Yards panoramas show the progress, expansiveness, emptiness of Bruce Ratner's baby. [AY Report]

City, learning from Irene, begins preparing for the next disaster. [NY Times]

New York's six-figure bachelors love Whole Foods, Eataly. [NY Post]

Toll Brothers unveils a throw-back looking UES tower. [Curbed]

M.T.A. rolling out Boardwalk Empire-themed subway cars. [Journal]

French brothers hope to run new Oak Room. [NY Post]

Carpenters union finally reaches a contract deal, ending last of union talks. [Crain's]

The forgotten story of the memorial in Fort Greene Park. [NY Times]

How Queens could become a haven for bike commuters. [Streetsblog]

Bros set Guinness Book record by drinking at 170 Manhattan bars in 24 hours. [Daily News]

Giant union rats crash Jay-Z's party at 40/40 Club. [Curbed]

After three 100-year floods in the span of a decades, should an upstate town really rebuild itself? [NY Times]

In observance of Labor Day, there will be no closing links today.

The Closing: Super-Late Labor Day Weekend Edition

Tom Acitelli — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:40:37 -0400

Perhaps the most articulate review ever of a carousel: Jean Nouvel's design for Jane Walentas. [NY Times]

It's First Avenue's moment to shine because Second Avenue's so terrible right about now. [Journal]

Five rats go after Jay-Z near Madison Square Park. [Curbed NY]

The $90 million mansion on East 80th Street is off the rental market and, we assume, headed for a mighty, mighty price-chop. [Curbed NY]

Catholic priests sell to Jewish retirement home in Riverdale... there's a walks-into-a-bar joke here somewhere. [Daily News]

The story of 5 Franklin Place and its foreclosure. [NY Times]

'Stoner checks in on new studios rising at Steiner. [Brownstoner]

The Earl of Sandwich is going to eat New York City. [Crain's]

Housekeeping note: We will be blogging only sporadically on Monday. See you in the autumn.

On the Market: High Line Mechanic Out; Second Ave. Sinatra's Swan Song; Irene Uncovers Skeleton

Matt Chaban — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:39:12 -0400

Study finds cancer link with ground zero exposure. [Journal]

Depart of Ed debates teaching 9/11 in the schools. [NY Post]

Thousands of trees brought down by Hurricane Irene. [NY Times]

If we actually invested in infrastructure, the storm damage would not have been so bad. [WNYC]

Receding flood waters turn up skeleton in Staten Island basement. [NY Post]

MetroNorth's Port Jervis line will not reopen for months after Irene devastation. [NY Times]

Politicians want Con Ed to bury its lines, Con Ed says it will mean rate hikes. [Daily News]

High Line mechanic's last rent check rejected. [NY Post]

A look at the 34th Street Uniqlo. [Racked]

Singing ironworker known as Second Avenue Sinatra leaves the subway site for Queens [Daily News]

The five faces of Harry Winston's. [NY Times]

Taking a look at the proposed Downtown Brooklyn skyscraper historic district. [Brownstoner]

Do bed bugs make us more of New Yorkers? [BrickUnderground]

Needing to move because the neighbor kids use your door as a soccer goal. [NY Times]

Inside Donny Deutsch' renovated East Side townhouse. [Curbed]

Billion-dollar Flushing housing complex Sky View Parc stirs anew. [NY Times]

The Closing: Ironworkers Have NYC's Best View; What Recovery?; Cops on Bikes

Matt Chaban — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:38:10 -0400

Watch the ironworkers work their magic at the World Trade Center. [NY Times]

Outlining the extra 9/11 security. [NY Post]

Brooklyn wins Irene relief funds. [Daily News]

City comes up with new emergency preparedness plan due to all the disasters. [NY Post]

New York is recovery, but where are the jobs? [Journal]

The Fed is fining Goldman Sachs over its foreclosure practices. [NY Post]

New art installation for Hudson River Park. [ArchPaper]

You can now by a piece of Brooklyn. Like literally, someone is selling Brooklyn soil online. [NY Times]

Not all cops hate bikes—at least not the ones who ride them on the beat. [Streetsblog]

Take that Tribeca: Hell's Kitchen gets its own film festival. [Journal]

Mentally unstable Upper East Side man burns self, apartment. [NY Post]

Urban Design Week is coming Sept. 15. [ArchPaper]

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]