By Matt Chaban 10/11/11 11:00pm

Greensward

Idyllic. (Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

Park Life: The East Side’s Landless Gentry Fight for Every Scrap of Open Space

Think of the perfect Saturday on the East Side. Brunch with your friends and the kids at, say, Fig & Olive, Artisinal or—the mayor’s favorite—Viand. Maybe a stroll along Madison for a little shopping and errands, and then off to Central Park to let the little ones wear themselves out before a nap. Or maybe it’s the other way around, soccer and softball in the park, a little tennis with friends or just some sunning on one of the lawns, then a late lunch.

Living East of Eden sure can be nice, but just like Adam and Eve, it always seems like there is more outside the garden gates.

Not satisfied with their proximity to one of the loveliest parks in the world, East Siders have been lobbying for decades for more leisure land, particularly along the river. They look jealously on at their West Side brethren, with Riveside Park and Hudson River Park—and even the green shoots along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront. Thanks to rampant development, from Robert Moses’ FDR Drive up through the Bloomberg Building on 59th and Lexington, the East Side has grown more crowded every day, and yet access to the water, a mere mile away, has been all but impossible. Read More

By Azi Paybarah 4/05/11 11:44pm

The Budget

New York's New Governor Leaves Bloomberg Begging

At the Somos el Futuro legislative conference in Albany this weekend, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli could be seen hugging Senator Charles Schumer-not because he was feeling particularly affectionate, but because Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, chairman of the conference, which gathers top Democratic officials to discuss issues of concern to Hispanic New Yorkers, had urged attendees to Read More

By Michael Gonda 7/29/10 5:50pm

Endorsements

Schneiderman Locks Down Manhattan

Eric Schneiderman completed his sweep of Manhattan’s City Council delegation Thursday, securing the straggling endorsement of New York City Councilman Dan Garodnick in his quest to become Attorney General.

Gardonick, who represents the East Side of Manhattan and parts of midtown, credited Schneiderman for being a go-getter, do-gooder–the kind of progressive that, well, you just Read More

By Eliot Brown 1/08/10 8:45pm

Stuy Town Owners Triggering Default, Officially

When Tishman Speyer and BlackRock assembled $6.29 billion from a long roster of investors and lenders to bid on Stuveysant Town in late 2006, their prize was the biggest sale ever by price of an individual property. (The complex was sold for $5.4 billion, and another $900 million was rounded up for reserves and capital Read More

By Reid Pillifant 11/03/09 4:40pm

A Stuy-Town Simile

It looks like the elected officials who represent Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are bracing for the complex to default, and they’re already reminding the complex’s lenders–Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–about how the lenders themselves needed a bit of help last year.

In a letter to Fannie and Freddie, the electeds–U.S. Representative Carolyn Read More

By Reid Pillifant 10/29/09 6:49pm

MoMA Tower Sails Through Council, On to the Courts

To the courts!

The City Council approved the controversial MoMA tower yesterday afternoon by a vote of 44-3, which is supposed to be the last step in the approval process, but is really just the last step before the inevitable lawsuit challenging the approval process.

So it’s just barely even news that an opposition group Read More

By Azi Paybarah 4:32pm

De Blasio and Company Seek Changes to Civilian Complaint Review Board

Here’s Bill de Blasio, joined by two Manhattan district attorney candidates, Richard Aborn and Cy Vance, during a press conference outlining changes to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, including giving the Board an independent revenue stream and authority to initiative investigations.

The other Manhattan D.D. candidate, Leslie Crocker Snyder, did not attend the event.

De Read More