Starting tomorrow and in effect through January 2, 2012, the rules prohibit construction projects from blocking streets and walkways in various areas of the city, including 30th to 60th Streets river to river in midtown.

Construction at Ground Zero will be allowed to proceed through the holidays.

The embargo has been in effect for years and is implemented to help relieve congestion in areas during one of the busiest times of the year, when the city is hoping its main arteries will already be snarled with shoppers and visitors who pour money into the economy.

The embargo prevents construction or delivery vehicles from double parking or taking up areas of the street and also prevents sites from doing work that will block off portions of the sidewalk. A full description of the geographic boundaries of the embargo are available on the DOT’s website at:

http://home2.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2011_holidayemb.pdf.

Construction projects can receive waivers through the DOT that allow work to be exempted from the embargo’s prohibitions. Some people familiar with the rules though say these exemptions are difficult to secure.

“It’s hard to get a variance on the embargo, the city wants what it wants, they don’t give many variances John Cavanagh, a construction expert who operates the construction management firm Cavanagh/Stewart.

“Everyone knows about it, you can’t bring deliveries or do certain work that takes up room in the street. It’s just another among the many rules and regulations in the city. You plan for these things and try to schedule around it.”

The embargo will not impact work at the World Trade Center site, one of the city’s largest construction projects, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority, which own the site and is rebuilding it.

"We anticipate that the final transfer will occur later this year," Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris said in a statement.

Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman likened the agreement that was signed between the two entities to a contract on a house, as opposed to an actual closing.

Still, it does seem like the city has advanced its cause considerably since Mr. Shorris told reporters three weeks ago he was "looking at what should happen."

Democratic lawmakers had been pushing Mr. Shorris to hold off on the transfer since the city would move, or maybe even eliminate, the Red Hook container port in favor of a mixed-use, marine-dependent development.

And what a development that will be. Ever considered how highly hops figure into the Economic Development Corporation's plans for the piers? a A brewery, a beer garden and a beer distributorship are all in the cards.

Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who signed the agreement, did a good job of negotiating. For one, the transfer is off if the city fails to change the zoning on the area to permit these new uses. For another, the city will get the piers for a pretty decent price ($1). If the city is not able to cover the costs of maintaining the piers with lease payments from their users, it will be able to draw down on a fund, set at "up to $75 million," that the Port Authority will put forth.

Why? The memorandum of understanding cites a consultant's study that found that the Port Authority would have to spend $130 million over the next 25 years on maintenance otherwise.

- Matthew Schuerman

The agreement approved in September that relieved Larry Silverstein of the burden of leasing up the Freedom Tower still has not been signed, but officials say they are not intentionally waiting for sign-off from the next Governor. The delay is simply due to the volume of papers that must be prepared and checked, according to Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman. "If you were to stack up all of these documents, they would be seven to eight feet high." The agreement will be signed "in a matter of days," Coleman said.

-Matthew Schuerman

The Port Authority owns the site and used to keep its headquarters in the twin towers. When they leased the buildings to Larry Silverstein, they made sure to secure a cheap rent, so they could stay on. That lease remains in effect. Here's Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman in a March 17 e-mail:

But under one of the proposals outlined yesterday, according to The New York Times, "[T]he city and the Port Authority are offering to lease 1.2 million square feet at market rates." At market rates? Downtown space is these days renting for about $35 a square foot annually, according to the latest Cushman & Wakefield figures.

In other words, the Port Authority will be paying about $10 a square foot more than what they are eligible to pay under the current lease with Silverstein.

-Matthew Schuerman