SOHO—The streets of Soho have its many protectors, especially around Howard Street. Today's gripe from a Curbed reader has nothing to do with Canal Street spillover, and everything to do with ConEd's recent underground repairs: "Where can someone like me denounce this scarring crime on Crosby Street between Howard and Grand? It is ridiculous how ConEd just removes the cobble stone and replaces it with asphalt. How can they get away with this! This is ridiculous!" We thought chicks dig scars? [CurbedWire Inbox]
UWS—Anger seems to be a common thread running through the CurbedWire today, as another reader writes, "OK. SO THE 20TH FL PENTHOUSE IN THE 'HOUSE' PORTION OF 15 CPW IS FEATURED IN THE APRIL 2010 ISSUE OF ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST. WHY HAVEN'T YOU REPORTED THIS !!!!" We're sorry! Our only magazine subscription is to Cracked. The AD website still has the March issue stuff up, which happens to include a rather lovely 45th floor apartment somewhere on the Upper West Side. Anyone care to identify that one while yelling at us? [CurbedWire Inbox]
EAST HARLEM—Work was supposed to begin on the city-spearheaded redevelopment of East 125th Street last year. Is 2010 the charm? The site of the East Harlem Media, Entertainment and Cultural Center is newly active, a tipster writes: "I've noticed a lot of new restaurants, grocers, and quality small businesses popping up lately in East Harlem, but what I saw this morning was a real shocker. Work on the East Harlem mixed-use development on 125th and Third Avenue has actually begun. These pics are of the vacant lot on the SE corner. It's been boarded up, there are hard hats on site, and that tractor is busy digging. Nothing so far on the more substantial work planned for the NE corner, but not surprising since demolition is required there." Please note that the sign says work will be done on 9/1/11. Let the countdown begin! [CurbedWire Inbox]
FIDI—Is it just us, or have all those Diaper District developments been awfully quiet lately? Here's the latest regarding former rental 99 John Street, now known as 99 John Deco Lofts. About a month ago, brokerage Nest Seekers International took over sales, and a rep tells 10 contracts have been signed since, lifting the building out of a sales funk. Listings in the building range from a $495k studio to a $3.2 million penthouse. [CurbedWire Inbox]
LES—After a year on the market, 217 East Houston Street—the five-story walk-up building that houses famed concert venue the Mercury Lounge on its ground floor—has been been sold, according to Massey Knakal brokers Philip Huang and Michael DeCheser. The amount paid was $5.275 million (the original ask was $6.5 million), and a local investor snapped it up. Don't worry, indie rock fans, the Merc is safe for a while. [CurbedWire Staff]
GRAMURRAY—When will Park Avenue South game-changer the Gansevoort Park hotel open? "Summer 2010," according to a not-very-specific press release from ownership (rooms will start at $495 per night). What are 29th Street neighbors looking forward to more, the light show or the tri-level rooftop pool/lounge? [CurbedWire Inbox]
GREENWICH VILLAGE—Park-loving dogs just can't seem to catch a break. First it was the Inwood Hill Park goldendoodle getting nailed by cops, and now a Washington Square Park four-legged friend got busted for leaving a present in the park. And here's a tipster's gripe: The park is already a shithole! Rant ahead...
As anyone who frequents Washington Square Park in the mornings knows, the park is quite often strewn with garbage. There are not nearly enough trash cans and trash is not picked up at the end of the day, only the following morning. This morning (3/7), the park was covered in garbage as trash cans overflowed and visitors attracted by the beautiful weather yesterday had nowhere to dump their trash. Yet with the garbage all over, I passed an officer giving a ticket to a young woman whose puppy had pooped for a second time but who had unfortunately only brought one bag to clean up after her dog. The ticket was for $250.
Dog owners need to be responsible but accidents happen. In the context of how filthy the park was this morning, there was absolutely no reason for the young woman to be ticketed. At the very least, the city needs to put more trash cans in the park and add a second trash pickup late in the day. After all the money that will be spent to renovate the park, the fact that is quite often covered in trash is just pathetic.
COBBLE HILL—Decrepit Kane Street eyesore the Rat-Squirrel House (our 10th most frightening building in NYC!) has been infested, squatted and raided over the years, and now it's getting ... repaired?. A tipster sends along a photo of 149 Kane Street with some fresh scaffolding and netting that went up this week. A permit was granted in February for some remedial repairs, and there's still a hardcore vacate order on the building. [CurbedWire Inbox]
SOHO—It's been an open secret that the Trump Soho hotel is finally opening on April 9, and now word has come from the hotel itself via a tweet at a bride spending her honeymoon in the hotel. Trump Soho, where dreams are made! [Twitter/@TrumpSoho]
SOUTH BRONX—Holy moly, checked in on the Yankee Stadium demolition lately? It's like one of those Discovery channel specials on how the world will look when humans become extinct. Full gallery here. [WCBS 880]
WEST VILLAGE—We always enjoy the antics of West Village superbroker Darren Sukenik, but one Curbed reader is not really feeling the brokerbabble on this $1.995 million 1 Morton Square listing: "'This is the ONLY line at Morton Square that has a Ballroom sized entertaining space.' Ballroom sized? He's talking about the 20’ x 20’ living room I assume? Other highlights: 'This sprawling space is sunblasted by floor to ceiling windows and hosts 2 exposures! ... Morton Square is the West Village's ONLY 6 star full service condo.' It goes on and on… also recently pricechopped." [CurbedWire Inbox]
LIC—That fuzzy cam-phone shot at right of a crate filled with rolling pins is not just any crate filled with rolling pins! Those are some of the ornaments that will soon be affixed to the facade of the Breadbox, the ODA-designed bakery that took the place of an old Long Island City auto body shop. We're getting pumped! Er, pinned! [CurbedWire Staff]
JERSEY CITY—Two things we're not used to seeing in the same sentence: The Trump name and FHA mortgages. But these are strange times for the Trump Plaza Jersey City (now known as Trump Plaza Residences Jersey City), the 55-story waterfront luxury condo tower—a second planned tower got scraped—that is now moving units thank to the availability of FHA-insured loans and the 3.5% down payments they allow. According to a press release, over half of the building's 443 units have sold (1BRs start in the mid $400,000s; 2BRs in the mid-$600,000s). Though the Trumps don't have much to do with the actual building, Ivanka is splashed all over the website. [CurbedWire Inbox]
NYC—The AIA New York Chapter has announced the 34 winners of its 2010 Design Awards, and—hometown bias alert!—NYC projects are well represented among the winners. All winning work, divided into four categories (interiors, architecture, unbuilt work, and urban design) will be exhibited at the Center for Architecture at 536 LaGuardia Place from April 15 through July 3. Local winners include completed stuff like Morphosis' new Cooper Union building and the High Line, the yet-to-be-built Korean Cultural Center by OBRA Architects (top left) and the in-our-dreams BQE Trench by dlandstudio (top right). Full list of winners after the jump! [CurbedWire Inbox]
Winners of the 2010 AIA New York Chapter Design Awards
ARCHITECTURE
Architecture Honor Award Winners:
Architect: Steven Holl Architects
Project: Knut Hamsun Center
Location: Hamarøy, Norway
Architect: Steven Holl Architects
Project: Vanke Center / Horizontal Skyscraper
Location: Shenzen, China
Architect: Peter Gluck and Partners
Project: East Harlem School
Location: New York, NY
Architect: Marble Fairbanks
Project: Toni Stabile Student Center
Location: New York, NY
Architect: Thomas Phifer and Partners
Project: Fishers Island House
Location: Fishers Island, NY
Architect: Morphosis Architects
Project: 41 Cooper Square
Location: New York, NY
Architect: Toshiko Mori Architect PLLC
Project: The Eleanor and Wilson Greatbatch Pavilion
Location: Buffalo, NY
Architecture Merit Award Winners:
Architect: STUDIOS Architecture
Project: 200 Fifth Avenue
Location: New York, NY
Architect: Handel Architects LLP
Project: New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion
Location: New York, NY
Architect: SAA/Stan Allen Architect
Project: Salim Publishing House
Location: Paju Book City, Korea
Architect: Phillip Wu Architect
Project: 39 East 13th Street
Location: New York, NY
Architect: Garrison Architects
Project: Koby
Location: Albion, MI
Architect: Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Project: Carrasco International Airport New Terminal
Location: Montevideo, Uruguay
INTERIORS
Interiors Honor Award Winners:
Architect: Peter Marino Architect
Project: Chanel Robertson Blvd.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Architect: Butler Rogers Baskett
Project: Trinity School - Johnson Chapel
Location: New York, NY
Interiors Merit Award Winners:
Architect: Lyn Rice Architects
Project: The New School Welcome Center
Location: New York, NY
Architect: Garrison Architects
Project: Slocum Hall
Location: Syracuse, NY
Architect: STUDIOS Architecture
Project: Dow Jones Offices
Location: New York, NY
Architect: Shelton, Mindel & Associates
Project: Manhattan Rooftop Duplex
Location: New York, NY
UNBUILT WORK
Unbuilt Work Merit Award Winners:
Architect: Della Valle Bernheimer
Project: R-House
Location: Syracuse, NY
Architect: Ginseng Chicken Architecture P.C.
Project: Open Paradox
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Architect: EASTON+COMBS
Project: Lux Nova
Location: Queens, NY
Architect: OBRA Architects
Project: Korean Cultural Center New York
Location: New York, NY
Architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Project: Transbay Transit Center
Location: San Francisco, CA
Architect: H Associates
Project: Chungnam Government Complex
Location: Hongsung, South Korea
Architect: Konyk Architecture PC
Project: Urban Aeration
Location: Dallas, TX
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC
Project: Tianjin Hang Lung Plaza
Location: Tianjin, China
Architect: Architecture Research Office
Project: On the Water: Palisade Bay
Location: New York – New Jersey Upper Bay
Architect: OBRA Architects
Project: The Great Hall at Grace Farms
Location: New Canaan, CT
MEPA/WEST CHELSEA—On Friday we announced our High Line haiku contest for Curbed Newsletter subscribers, with a High Line gift pack up for grabs. Here's the winner! "High Line in new dress! / Mischievous spring winds taunting / All can see my tush." Gripping! The gift pack includes a High Line t-shirt, booklet and a botlle of Bond No. 9's new High Line scent, the "world's first railroad perfume!" Smell that? It's meatpacking history! It's not too late to sign up for the Curbed Newsletter to be eligible for future giveaways. Just enter you email address in the box over on the right. [CurbedWire Staff]
CENTRAL PARK—Pastry chain Le Pain Quotidien won a heated competition to open some new concessions in Central Park, and the Historic Districts Council is not pleased with the company's café plans for the Mineral Spring Comfort Station near the Sheep Meadow. The proposal goes before the Landmarks Preservation Commission tomorrow, and here's some of what the HDC will say: "The bright signage along with the fussy wall planters would call too much attention to this structure, a stark service building constructed in 1959 amidst Olmsted and Vaux's world-famous, Romantic design. The installation of such a sign would start an uncomfortable precedent of brightly branding Central Park with corporate logos. Doing so stands in stark contrast to the idea of a public park created so that citizens could retreat from the glare and bustle of daily life and into the beauty and serenity of nature." Let's see this sign of horrors! [CurbedWire Inbox]
CHELSEA—The Eventi, the 292-room hotel portion of the new 54-story tower at Sixth Avenue and 29th Street, has an opening date, a website, a Facebook page and now—tada!—interior renderings! There's a couple of bigger bathroom renderings and updated facade shots on the hotel's Facebook page. [CurbedWire Inbox]
SOMEWHERE IN MANHATTAN—Jonathan Miller asked us if we'd seen the two feet of snow in Manhattan. Duh, JMillz, we have windows! But he didn't meant those two feet of snow...
COLUMBUS CIRCLE—The extreme facade facelift at Newsweek's old haunt of 1775 Broadway, rebranded as 3 Columbus Circle, is coming along. The latest, via a special Curbed tipster: Check out that entrance! [CurbedWire Inbox]
WILLIAMSBURG—Last winter, Williamsburg's waterfront East River State Park was temporarily closed to save $40,000. With the state eying cuts to park services to save money this year, it would've been a natural thought to assume ERSP could be on the chopping block again. But wait! Assemblyman Joe Lentol announced today that the Northside's patch of green will not be a victim of budget cuts, in part because of revenue generated by the recently-saved summer concert series known to one and all as the Pool Parties. And who said hipsters are good for nothin'? [CurbedWire Inbox]
UPPER WEST SIDE—A Curbed tipster thinks there's an unannounced superpenthouse-in-the-making at Extell's "21st century pre-war' blockbuster: "I was walking by the new development at 535 West End Avenue (the one with the massive full floor spreads) which is almost done. I counted the number of floors and noticed that the highest full floor apt they have listed (#19), has two more full floors on top of it which are the only apts in the buildings not listed yet. This leads me to believe that those two top floors plus whatever space there is on the roof is reserved for the penthouse which will be ... 13,000 square feet + more!!! I think that's gotta be the largest apartment I've ever seen in nyc, I wonder if Extell is waiting for the market to clear up before listing it... if any takers come. Otherwise they will probably split it up into 2 separate full floors." [CurbedWire Inbox]
LONG ISLAND CITY—Two Gotham Center, the 21-story office building that's been wowing many a 7-train rider zipping through Queens Plaza, has topped out. (That's a recentish photo above.) Will the rest of Tishman Speyer's ambitious Gotham Center get built? Baby steps, people. Two Gotham Center will house the city's Department of Health when completed in early 2011. [CurbedWire Inbox]
HIGH LINE—Friends of the High Line has announced the second project curated by arts group Creative Time that will soon grace the rails. Following up artist Spencer Finch's colored glass tiles will be Stephen Vitiello's sound installation in the High Line's 14th Street Passage entitled A Bell For Every Minute. What is it? Bells! Want to know more than that? Click here. Debuts in June. [FHL]
LOWER EAST SIDE—Noticed that the New Museum's scrolling sign that usually blasts the slogan "New Art, New Ideas" to the Bowery suddenly says things like, "A lot of professionals are crackpots" and, "A sincere effort is all you can ask?" That's the work of artist Jenny Holzer, whose LED sign magic also graces the lobby of 7 WTC. It's part of the museum's new Skin Fruit exhibition curated by Jeff Koons. [CurbedWire Inbox]
BATTERY PARK CITY—Remember the Lower Manhattan skyline in a time before the new Goldman Sachs HQ, the rising Liberty Twins and more? Luxury BPC rental tower The Verdesian certainly does. A tipster writes: "Check out the Verdesian website, under 'the views'. Notice anything missing from 'Looking East' and 'Looking Southeast'? Well just about everything is missing... A nice 700 foot tall building behind the Embassy Suites, Liberty Luxe & Liberty Green (at least they are somewhat new additions to the 'view'), 200 Chambers, 101 Warren... I won't even complain about TriBeCa Green and the old folks home not being there.... or the Beekman for that matter. Looks like these pictures are circa 2004 MAYBE 2005. I wish I had a good picture of the real view, but I'm sure you guys can understand the ridiculousness of what they are showing." So much hostility! We consider it a nice pre-building boom time capsule. [CurbedWire Inbox]
UES—Holy crap did today's Tuesday Townhouse strike a nerve! Among the feedback, a fairly epic reader rant we'll condense into this brief takedown: "They paid $1K a foot back in 2007. This place is right near 2nd ave, right where the subway construction is roaring right now… The 'garden' that they need 2 laundry rooms for?? It’s a concrete hole in back that reminds me of the scenes in movies where 23 hour lockdown max security inmates get let into a 10 foot square 'outdoor' area for exercise. Only difference is this hole has a outdoor grill... The interior sucks just as much... The door to the wine fridge looks like a walk in cooler at a deli. And who gives a shit about LEED?" Polarizing! [CurbedWire Inbox]
WILLIAMSBURG—North 8th Street's infamous Finger Building, now under new ownership as The Albero, is on its way to climbing from 10 to 14 stories. It will accomplish this feat with the assistance of the giant crane now at the site. That hopeful spring 2010 completion is looking a bit out of reach. [CurbedWire Inbox]
STUY TOWN—Sometimes it seems like the sole purpose of the 73-year-old Citizens Housing and Planning Council is to occasionally publish awesome old materials from its vast archives online. The CHPC already made available some original advertising materials for Stuyvesant Town as well the relocation plan for the 11,000 people that got booted from their homes to build the complex. Now some more history: Hit up the homepage to find the 1947 Supreme Court brief filed by Thurgood Marshall tsk-tsking Met Life's discrimination against non-whites at Stuy Town. [CHPC]
HUDSON SQUARE—Finally, a celebrity takes the side of the city in the Tower o' Garbage controversy! Check it out, Oscar the Grouch is rolling with Team DSNY! Dude's an even bigger name than James Gandolfini. [CurbedWire Inbox]
WILLIAMSBURG—Bigfoot spotted on Berry Street last night! Yeesh, and we thought Professor Thom's had a Lost obsession. [CurbedWire Inbox]
GRAMERCY—Remember how awesome Rem Koolhaas's cantilevering building at 23 East 22nd Street was before the economy killed it and its big bro One Madison Park got swept out to a sea of lawsuits? No? Well the website is surprisingly still around, and don't worry about that password protection, a tipster writes: I went to check out the website for my favorite defunct building that stalled out (hopefully not forever), and I was pissed because you cannot proceed into the actual site without first entering a username and password. I typed in a bunch of things at random, and then tried an old web developers trick that they use during the testing phase of web site development. Yup, simply entering the word 'test' for both fields and hitting 'submit' gives you full entry into the entire website. Heh. Anyway, it's cool that the site is still available… maybe that means the building may someday actually happen. Hope so." Don't stop...belieeeeeevin'. [CurbedWire Inbox]
EAST VILLAGE—After what feels like an eternity (though permits were issued only 16 months ago) the Village East movie theater at 181 Second Avenue has lost its scaffolding and netting and unveiled its restored look. The East Village movie palace was a Yiddish theater back in the day, and has a fairly detailed facade that need fixing. Work included rebuilding masonry and parapets, as well as new roofing. The place was looking a bit sickly a few years back. [CurbedWire Staff]
ARCHIGEEKISTAN—Our homeys at the Municipal Art Society are seeking ideas from Curbed readers on nominees for the group's MASterworks, the annual doling out of awards for achievements in architecture and urban design. The deadline for nominations is in 10 days, and you can add your two cents on the MASterworks website. Last year's Best New Building was the Standard, so clearly they're doing something right over there at MAS. [CurbedWire Inbox]
MIDTOWN—Glassy facade facelifts of office towers were all the rage when commercial rents were soaring, but economic meltdown has a way of slamming the breaks on costly renovations. Still, Vornado appears to be going ahead with the makeover of 330 Madison Avenue, if the renderings and signage that recently popped up around the building are any indication. Then again it's been about 10 months since plans were announced and all we have to show for it are a few signs, so we'll see. [CurbedWire Staff]
HELL'S KITCHEN—"For the last at least 5 years," a Curbed reader writes, "there has been a mega Sanitation Department building under construction that spans 56th Street at the West Side Highway. On most weekends 56th St is closed off between 12th and 11th Avenues for construction on this building causing massive delays on the southbound West Side Highway approaching the light at 56th Street. Plus every car that does go under this building dodges pot holes, construction debris etc. This seems to be the project that never will end?" Our expertise on Towers o' Garbage is limited to what's going on down in Hudson Square, so we can't offer any intel. Anyone wanna talk trash? [CurbedWire Inbox]
CONEY ISLAND—Coming hot on the heels of the city's official unveiling of Luna Park, the temporary amusement park that will occupy the former Astroland spot in Coney Island, the EDC has posted early renderings of the park entrance and some of the 19 rides. The whimsical designs won't come as a surprise to those of us who have been supplied with countless crazy Coney renderings in recent years, but to everyone else, "WTF?" might be the popular reaction. [EDC]
CHELSEA—According to a press release, Eventi, the hotel portion of the eye-catching new 54-story tower at Sixth Avenue and 29th Street, is now taking reservations via its website for stays arriving June 1. The 292-room hotel is managed by Kimpton Hotels, and will feature a Blade Runner-inspired high-end food court of awesomeness. [CurbedWire Inbox]
NOHO/CENTRAL VILLAGE—A tipster forwarded along this photo of the new coverings someone put on Houston Street's bell-shaped barriers. Our tipster writes, "Howww awwweeesssoooommmmmeeee." Perfect location for a Valentine's Day stroll? [CurbedWire Inbox]
WEST VILLAGE—The Post reported yesterday that Alec Baldwin was seen checking out a $13.75 million duplex penthouse at 34 Greene Street. Now a tipster adds another stop to Baldwin's ever-more-epic house hunt: apparently the actor's been spotted looking at an apartment at 40 Fifth Avenue. StreetEasy shows three units for sale in the building, all between $4.2 million and $4.999 million. And hey, what's the Friday before a three-day weekend for if not a little rumormongering? [CurbedWire Inbox]
[Renderings and photos via Jonathan Kirschenfeld.]
BROWNSVILLE—Speaking of Common Ground and funky metal siding, a tipster points us to another of the nonprofit developer's in-the-works projects, this one in Brownsville. The Domenech (named for a late community activist) will have a mix of studios and one-bedroom units for the homeless and low-income seniors. The seven-story building will also have a library/lounge, and its U-shape creates a nice rear garden. The architect is Jonathan Kirschenfeld, and his website has some renderings and progress shots, some seen above. The building will be done this year. [CurbedWire Inbox/Common Ground]
NYC—Complaining about a lack of heat and hot water is as much an NYC pastime as mocking the G train, but the city's new public advocate, Bill de Blasio, is drafting new legislation to punish negligent landlords. The very appropriately named H.E.A.T. Act (Heat Enforcement for All Tenants) would impose mandatory minimum fines and increase maximum fines for repeat offenders. In 2008 the average fine paid by landlords was $588, and there were over 230,000 complaints fielded by the city about having no heat or hot water. Runnin' Scared has more. [CurbedWire Inbox]
SOHO—A tipster hooked us up with a fresh photo of Soho's new Mondrian Hotel, which is now pretty heavily glassed. The luxury boutique hotel at 150 Lafayette was supposed to be open this summer, but that's been pushed back to fall. The glass doesn't look very crazy in the progress shot, but check out how it looks up close. Fritmania! [CurbedWire Inbox]
UPPER EAST SIDE—One could say the chips were stacked against 255 East 75th street, the new 30-story, 76-unit "super luxury" condo building. Sales began in November '08, not a happy time for the real estate market. And the tower, designed by Hugh Hardy's H3 and SLCE, was the subject of one of the most legendary archicritic rants in recent history. But despite all this, building reps inform us the development is now more than 90% sold. Among the units still on the market is a three-bedroom penthouse asking $12.75 million or, brace, $3,935 per square foot. [CurbedWire Inbox]
MIDTOWN—West 34th Street is always in need of cosmetic upgrades, and commercial megalandlord SL Green just announced it finished one at 333 West 34th Street, an office building the company purchased in 2007. The landlord enlarged and renovated the lobby and created a new 21,000-square-foot retail space, all through "recapturing cafeteria and other underutilized space." There's now an 18-foot-high glass wall wrapping the front of the building, the perfect sheltered and safe hangout to meet the guy you found on Craigslist to buy your Rangers tickets. [CurbedWire Inbox]
HELL'S KITCHEN—More proof from a tipster that Related's massive tower rising at 440 West 42nd Street will look like those leaked renderings: "I spoke to one of the construction guys and he told me the building would have two heights; the west side of the block would be 25 stories and the east side would be a whopping 60 stories tall. Holy moly, that's as big as the Silver Towers." True, but this one's all laid back about getting stoned and stuff. Awww yeah. [CurbedWire Inbox]
HELL'S KITCHEN—Did we speak too soon when we said Related's massive condo/rental tower at 440 West 42nd Street might end up matching the disavowed renderings of the project. A tipster writes: "I keeping a close eye on your coverage since that building's going to block my kick ass view. Attached is an aerial view of the construction. You can see it's not quite matching up to Related's 'leaked' plans." Still looks like the early stuff to us, with that setback above the stone-covered base. Are we seeing things? [CurbedWire Inbox]
HARLEM—Thanks to a wave of new development Frederick Douglass Boulevard has been called Harlem's Gold Coast, and every Gold Coast needs some fabulous, er, groceries. Enter the Best Yet Market, which one very enthusiastic tipster fills us in on: "You may want to check out the new Best Yet Market that opened Thursday afternoon on Fredrick Douglass and 118. Its a great grocery store and will mean all the folks in the new condos on Fred Douglass have a place to shop. Its large with 3 levels. Mezz level has coffee and desert bar with comfortable chairs and couches. It was already busy and folks are talking about it."
"On a 10 point scale, if Le Bon Marche in Paris is an 11, Whole Food Columbus Circle an 8.5, then this is a solid 7. Better than any Gristedes, C-Town in the city. Its better than the narrow and crowed Fairways which has good stuff but the crowds are a pain. It has a much bigger selection than Trader Joes - but more expensive. Price is the only draw back -- things were less expensive than Whole Paycheck but more expensive than Fairway or Trader Joes." [CurbedWire Inbox]
EAST VILLAGE—After a bit of preservationist outrage back in 2006, artist Frank Stella's former studio at 126-128 East 13th Street was spared from demolition by a developer planning a new condo building. The historic old stable was used as a horse auction mart and a training center for women during WWII. A dance studio signed a lease for the place, and interior work has been going on since 2007. It's been quiet over there for a while, but a GVSHP newsletter points out that the Peridance Studios has opened! Huzzah! GVSHP is upset the building still isn't landmarked. [CurbedWire Inbox]
CRAIGSLIST—A reader's tale of some amusing broker shenanigans: "We know Blackstone Properties as the people posting all sorts of ridiculous prices on downtown and other luxury rentals around the city. The ones with the ridiculous stock photographs and the trains in the ads. The ones that have titles such as SEXY COOL UNITS LIKE JAY Z Heart wingdings... etc The ones that never actually have a real picture of an actual available apartment. WELL...They have a new craigslist monitoring policy. Something tells me they got a stern warning. At the top there is a link to send the manager an email with any fake ad that is spotted. COOL Right?.... WRONG!!! when you click to send an email.... the address is: wait for it... wait for it... AUTODELETE@blackstonenyc.com! A few examples here, here and here." [CurbedWire Inbox]
FLATIRON—Now that creamy-cupola-topped 141 Fifth Avenue is nearly sold out following its condo conversion and looong restoration, neighbors are taking notice. One writes, "So I noticed all the coverage for 141 Fifth and just an interesting point, that little building to the south is my office building and my friend's firm occupies the fifth and sixth (top floor). We also have roof access (which we use extensively for internal and client events). There are many windows along the 141 Fifth wall facing south and I wonder how residents will respond/feel when the weather warms up and we start partying up there daily?" Why do we feel like this won't be the last time we hear about this? [CurbedWire Inbox]
HARLEM—Add Harlem's 2280 FDB to the growing list of new developments that have applied for and received FHA approval. The 12-story building "will now allow qualified buyers to purchase a new home with a down payment between 5 and 10%," according to a press release. Remaining units in the Frederick Douglass Boulevard building range in price from $395,000 to $1.329 million. [CurbedWire Inbox]
FAR WEST SIDE—The Hudson Yards community it's meant to serve may be nowhere in sight, but the 7 Train extension chugs onward! Today Mayor Bloomberg and MTA Chairman Jay Walder toured the cavern being dug out for the new 34th Street station. The mayor's office sent out pictures, and if you think we're going to pass up the chance to run photos of Mayor Bloomberg in rubber boots, you're sorely mistaken! [CurbedWire Inbox]
STUY TOWN—According to a statement from the current owners of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village (whoever the hell that is nowadays) and a bunch of attorneys, the interim agreement keeping rents at stabilized levels calculated by Tishman Speyer has been extended until June, by which point a more thorough apartment-by-apartment review will have been conducted. Also, overcharges paid on Nov. and Dec. 2009 rents by formerly market-rate tenants will be reimbursed, either by a reduction in March 2010 rent or by check (for tenants who have since moved). Tishman Speyer was required to deposit the difference between market-rate rents and the stabilized rates for each of the 4,400 affected apartments into an escrow account while it appealed the J-51 decision. Distribution of that cash has been a post-lawsuit hot topic. [CurbedWire Inbox]
FIDI—Steel installation for One World Trade Center has reached 200 feet above street level, the Port Authority announced. That's equivalent to the 20th floor. The PA has a new Flickr set of photos if you forgot what a big pile of steel looks like. [CurbedWire Inbox]
LES—After a year on the market, 217 East Houston Street—the five-story walk-up building that houses famed concert venue the Mercury Lounge on its ground floor—has been been sold, according to Massey Knakal brokers Philip Huang and Michael DeCheser. The amount paid was $5.275 million (the original ask was $6.5 million), and a local investor snapped it up. Don't worry, indie rock fans, the Merc is 
COBBLE HILL—Decrepit Kane Street eyesore the Rat-Squirrel House (our 
LIC—That fuzzy cam-phone shot at right of a crate filled with rolling pins is not just any crate filled with rolling pins! Those are some of the ornaments that will soon be 
WILLIAMSBURG—Bigfoot spotted on Berry Street last night! Yeesh, and we thought 
EAST VILLAGE—After a bit of preservationist outrage back in 2006, artist Frank Stella's former studio at 126-128 East 13th Street was spared from demolition by a developer planning a new condo building. The historic old stable was used as a horse auction mart and a training center for women during WWII. A dance studio 
FLATIRON—Now that creamy-cupola-topped 141 Fifth Avenue is 
