By Matt Chaban 5/30/12 6:22pm

Under Development

16 Photos

Hunting for Affordable Housing

At Least One Huge Housing Development Is Still on Track: Hunters Point South Will Break Ground This Fall

Yesterday, The Journal (rightly) complained the lack of progress at two major affordable housing projects, Hudson Yards and Willets Point. This got The Observer wondering about another, though: whatever happened to Hunters Point South, which was approved the same day almost four years ago as the Willets Point project.

Things are moving along quite nicely, it turns out.

It may seem as though there has been limited tangible progress since Related Companies was tapped to develop the project in February of last year, but that is because most of the work is being done below the surface—with on the banks of the East River and the banks of housing finance. Read More

By Matt Chaban 5/17/12 11:17am

manifest destiny east

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Citi Field’s Suicide Squeeze! Redone Willets Point Will Bracket Stadium With Huge Malls

It may be a strike for the mayor, but Steve Ross and Fred Wilpon have scored big time with the latest Willets Point do-over.

It was revealed earlier this month that after a year of weighing competing proposals, the city had selected the Related Companies and Sterling Equities to redevelop the Iron Triangle, albeit in vastly revised form. Housing and other development would be put off in favor of a large mall.

Make that two malls, surrounding the new-ish throwback stadium, a veritable retail double play. Read More

By Matt Chaban 5/02/12 5:02pm

manifest destiny east

From muck to mall. (Getty)

Related and Wilpons Win Willets Point, Plan Mall [Update: Defendents 'Ecstatic' City Abandoning Eminent Domain]

Willets Point has long been one of the most neglected corners of the city, famously appearing in The Great Gatsby as “the valley of ashes.” The Bloomberg administration has been working for years to redevelop the 62-acre Iron Triangle, long home to auto body shops and a handful of heavy industries nestled between the Mets stadia and downtown Flushing.

Today, City Hall took a step toward spiffing up the site, if not quite in the direction it had hoped.

The administration withdrew its eminent domain case, known as a determination of findings, from state appellate court, halting takeover proceedings against a handful of holdout property owners in the area. This paves the way for the project to move forward, albeit in an altered form from the 2008 rezoning, which called for a mixed-use development on the site.

According to people familiar with the situation, the city is close to reaching a deal with the Related Companies and Sterling Equities to build a mall on the site. The exact details are still being worked out, and an official announcement is expected in the coming weeks. Read More

By Matt Chaban 3/30/12 2:03pm

Mr. Ross' Neighborhood

The eastern section (at right) would be exempted from the living wage bill. (Related)

Speaker Quinn Gives Steve Ross a Hug? Hudson Yards Bounced from Living Wage Bill to Help Build Commercial Towers

Steve Ross sure knows his way around City Hall (part of the reason he has become one of the most successful developers of his generation). From his start in affordable housing to megadevelopments like the Time Warner Center, Hunter’s Point South in Queens and Hudson Yards, Mr. Ross, chairman of the Related Companies, always seems to get just what he wants when the city is involved. One sore spot was the fight over the Kingsbridge Armory, in the Bronx, which was unexpectedly rejected by the City Council three years ago.

The fight centered around whether workers at the armory project, which was to receive a considerable amount of public subsidies, would have to be paid more than minimum wage, something labor unions were lobbying heavily for. That fight led to the eventual proposal of a living wage bill. In an unexpected, if unsurprising, twist, it now turns out City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has carved a portion of Hudson Yards out of the living wage bill, according to The Times. Read More

By Michael Ewing 3/26/12 5:05pm

Walmart Wars

Can a smiley face even stand up? (Courtesy of Consumerist)

Walmart Calls for Community Input Everywhere But New York [Updated]

Oh, Walmart. Your time might be running out, but your efforts are no less persistent. The boxing gloves have been long thrown to the side, but New York’s bare knuckles have delivered some blows lately.

The problems aren’t limited to New York, either. Walmart is facing resistance in the Chinatown district in Los Angeles. The LA Times reported that City Council outlawed big box chains from opening up in the neighborhood last week.

But Walmart responded, quite shockingly, by saying that “it speaks volumes that the community was not consulted in the writing of the motion.” Riding the wave of input outcry, Walmart even called for community input in Aspen Hill, Md. last October.

But community input in New York? Walmart wants nothing of the sort. Read More

By Matt Chaban 2/27/12 4:02pm

Walmart Wars

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Hate Mail: Anti-Walmart Group Sends Postcards Slamming Steve Ross to All 7,200 Related Residents [Updated]

While Walmart refuses to say if, when or where it might finally open a store within the five boroughs, one of its favored sites is the Related Company’s Gateway Center Mall in the far reaches of Brooklyn. The area is economically depressed, meaning the cheap jobs and cheap merchandise are (theoretically) desirable. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union sees Walmart jobs as junk, and they have been campaigning against the store since it resurfaced a two years ago.

Today, they made things personal, not just with Steve Ross, Related’s founder and CEO, but also his more than 7,200 tenants in the New York area. Read More

By Matt Chaban 1/31/12 5:19pm

Starchitects

Pop would be so proud. (William Alatriste)

Term Limits: Mayor Bloomberg Wants 10 New Gehry Buildings in Two Years

Mayor Bloomberg has set an ambitious agenda for his final two years in office. No, not finally fixing the schools, reforming the pensions or redeveloping Willets Point. Those are the easy ones.

“You should know that Frank and I had a conversation backstage,” the mayor said at the opening of the Signature Theater today, “and we both committed to each other that we would get 10 more Frank Gehry projects going here—in the next 700 days. If my math is any good, Frank, that is one every 70 days, so we should meet some time later today to get going.”

New York has actually faired quite well in the Frank Gehry department. Read More

By Robert Sammons 1/31/12 3:01pm

Stat of the Week

stat

Stat of the Week: 82

The number of Manhattan buildings with at least 100,000 square feet of (potential) availability (contiguous or noncontiguous) has climbed over the past year to 82 from 77, though it is down from 84 two years ago. The figures quoted are a catch-all including space currently vacant, known to have a tenant moving out or that is new construction with a completion date.

Read More

By Michael Ewing 1/31/12 10:43am

Walmart Wars

A brownstone Walmart? (WWD)

Is Walmart’s Time Running Out for a New York Store?

The Walmart saga continues as it tries to open in New York yet again. Despite Walmart’s frugal lunch policy, the company has poured millions of dollars on New York City programs and charities over recent years to garner support. They mass-mailed residents last spring claiming that “Walmart wants to come to New York City and New York City wants Walmart.” Rightfully so, a clear majority of New Yorkers want Walmart.

But is time running out? Read More

By Matt Chaban 1/20/12 6:20pm

Greensward

Think of the children! (Save Ruppert Park)

Time Out! Speaker Quinn Wants a Closer Look at Related’s Ruppert Playground Plan

Upper Upper East Side residents have been locked in a development death match with The Related Companies for a few months now, ever since the company decided to exercise its right to build a residential tower on the site of a playground it has maintained for the past 25 years. Actually, 28 years.

Recently, Related decided to close Ruppert Playground, but the community is fighting back because there are no immediate plans to redevelop the site. Rather than let Related take its ball and go home, though, Council Speaker Christine Quinn has stepped up to the plate and potentially throwing up some hurdles that could bring greater oversight, and possibly concessions, to the site. Read More