NY Observer > New York City http://www.observer.com/taxonomy/term/24252/feed Articles from Observer.com en Lessons From Cloverfield: Move to Brooklyn, Follow the Rats http://www.observer.com/2008/lessons-em-cloverfield-em-move-brooklyn-follow-rats

Oh, poor New York. It just isn’t getting any better for you at the movies, is it?

After seeing I am Legend, with the haunted empty Manhattan streets, and the rabid virus-mutated zombies, and the German Shepherd, etc., you might think you’d be prepared to watch Cloverfield.

And you’d think wrong!

The top secret J.J. Abrams produced-project has had people speculating for months about just what was going to be destroying New York this time. Weather has been done already. Germs too. And terrorism … oh wait, that was real ... and for anyone who spent time in New York in the fall of 2001, certain scenes in this movie will feel almost unbearably too close.

Do any of us really need to watch a building collapse downtown, only to send up a rolling, menacing thick cloud of dust? Or, to see dazed and traumatized people wandering about with ash on their face?  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/lessons-em-cloverfield-em-move-brooklyn-follow-rats#comments Arts & Culture J.J. Abrams New York City Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:29:15 -0500 Sara Vilkomerson 63648 at http://www.observer.com Cruise Décor Redefines 21st-Century Love Boats http://www.observer.com/node/37107 Ripped open by an iceberg!  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/37107#comments Real Estate Egypt Manhattan New Jersey New York City Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400 Toni Schlesinger 37107 at http://www.observer.com Start Spreading the (Bad) News http://www.observer.com/node/37110 Could New York City be losing its place as the world’s foremost art emporium?  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/37110#comments London New York City NYSE Group Inc. Wall Street Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400 Nicholas von Hoffman 37110 at http://www.observer.com Council: We Want Control Of All School Sites http://www.observer.com/node/37120 Everyone knows that signing a lease in New York City is a lot easier than buying, but that’s d  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/37120#comments Real Estate Carmen Arroyo New York City Ross Holden U.S. Department of Education Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:00:00 -0400 Craig LeMoult 37120 at http://www.observer.com Green Building Rundfunk http://www.observer.com/node/35997 The Observer's and (The Real Estate's) Matthew Schuerman is scheduled to be interviewed this evening on WNYC about the obstacles to green buildings examined in last week's article on microturbines.

A related Observer story on waterless urinals ran last year; the urinals, unlike microturbines, have actually gained a foothold in New York City. (How's that for priorities?)

Tune in to 820 AM or 93.9 FM or via the Web at the bottom of the 5 o'clock hour.]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35997#comments Real Estate Matthew Schuerman New York City Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:20:14 -0400 Observer Staff 35997 at http://www.observer.com City Housing Less Affordable, Study Says; Could It Say More? http://www.observer.com/node/35996 New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy has cranked out another annual State of New York City's Housing and Neighborhoods. The initial focus of the report appears to be on the growing, gnawing lack of housing affordability for much of the city:
The report... finds that the median home sales price in New York City rose by 68 percent from 2000 to 2005, adjusting for inflation. This is welcome news for existing homeowners, but it also means that homeownership is harder to attain. Fewer than 5 percent of home sales in 2005 were affordable to New Yorkers earning the City's median income ($43,434), down from 11 percent in 2000.

One wonders, however, how much worse this affordability crisis has become--but the above statistic and its conclusion, like others throughout the report, come from numbers that are now at least 15 months old. The report, then, for example, pre-dates the subprime-mortgage imbroglio and the cooling of the national housing market.

Still, it may be worth your perusal. - Tom Acitelli ]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35996#comments Real Estate Furman Center New York City New York University Tom Acitelli Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:18:03 -0400 Observer Staff 35996 at http://www.observer.com In This Week's Observer... http://www.observer.com/node/35993 Hell's Kitchen Is Too Pretty For Reality TV Hollywood screenwriter Bobby Moresco spoke in Dickensian terms about growing up Irish in Hell's Kitchen, back in the mob-ruled pre-condo era. "For me, it was the greatest life on the face of the earth," he told The Observer. "It turned into the worst life on the face of the earth." Go to story by Chris Shott. Second Avenue Subway Convert Protects First Leg of Biggest Dig Thursday's groundbreaking for the Second Avenue Subway will be a huge victory for the new chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, but the hardest part may lie ahead--finding the money to complete a project that has been abandoned twice before. Go to story by Matthew Schuerman. Council: We Want Control Of All School Sites Everyone knows signing a lease in New York City is a lot easier than buying, but that's doubly true if you're opening a new school. Ordinarily, the city Department of Education needs City Council approval to construct a new school, but council members recently discovered that schools have been opening up in leased buildings for years without anyone even mentioning it to them. Go to story by Craig LeMoult. Macklowes Mull East 57th Street Monster Tower Harry and Billy Macklowe are so busy. Two months ago they more than doubled their New York portfolio with a $7 billion buy from Blackstone. And now here comes their next prize. Introducing Craig Nassi! He wants to buy 3 million feet of Manhattan He said he's serious about Manhattan. He said he's bullish about office space in Manhattan. He said he's going to buy a lot of office towers, that's how serious he is. Welcome to New York, Craig Nassi! Go to Commercial Breaks by John Koblin. Smith & Wollensky Takes It in The Chops The rather crude talk and mere pub fare might not exactly reflect the intended high-end image of such a traditionally refined outfit as Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group. But the more relaxed vibe may represent the future of the now-beleaguered Manhattan-based brand. Go to Counter Espionage by Chris Shott. 'Money Honey,' Hubby Buy $6.5 M. East Side Townhouse Despite her salacious scandal earlier this year, CNBC's top anchor, Maria "Money Honey" Bartiromo, and husband Jonathan Steinberg are settling into domestic bliss: They've closed on a five-level townhouse on East 62nd Street, paying $6.5 million. Time Warner Chief Cedes Tribeca Summit Dominance for $2.2 M. Manhattan tycoons should have bad toupees and bad tempers and badly decorated Fifth Avenue triplexes. But Dick Parsons, the mild chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc., has sold off one of his comparatively modest apartments atop 166 Duane Street. Go to Manhattan Transfers by Max Abelson. Mutual Assured Construction In the first quarter of 2007, the Manhattan housing market notched a record number of apartment sales for a single quarter. In the same three-month period, the Manhattan office market recorded its lowest vacancy rate since early 2001. Is this simultaneous success a coincidence? Maybe. But probably not. Go to The Lab by Tom Acitelli. Cruise Decor Redefines 21st-Century Love Boats Not only are cruising enthusiasts starting younger and long before retirement, but New York City's cruise industry is booming with the 30-year master plan, according to the Economic Development Corporation. Go to Interiors by Toni Schlesinger. Ian Schrager: Viewing Studio 54 From Age 60 The man who forever placed 'boutique' before 'hotel' talks about his High Line plans, Brooklyn dreams, and why he wouldn't mind selling One Madison's clock tower. Go to The Sit-Down by Max Abelson. Deeds and Deals A Week in New York Real Estate]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35993#comments Real Estate Craig Nassi Hollywood Manhattan New York City Wed, 11 Apr 2007 04:29:20 -0400 Observer Staff 35993 at http://www.observer.com The Round-Up: Wednesday http://www.observer.com/node/35992
  • 66 Pearl Street sells for $19 M.
    • [Real Deal]
  • Ethan Allen leasing 37,000sf in 1010 Third Ave. [2nd item]
    • [NY Post]
  • Health Department crackdown snares big-name eateries.
    • [NY Post]
  • City Housing Authority faces $225 M. deficit.
    • [NY Times]
  • Manhattan office rents hit record highs.
    • [NY Times]
  • A look inside retail condos in Manhattan.
    • [NY Times]
  • In the housing slump, maybe it's time to rent.
    • [NY Times]
  • Commission names Jackie Robinson Pool a landmark.
    • [NY Sun]

    Did we miss any New York City real estate news this morning? Please send along tips and links.

    ]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35992#comments Real Estate Manhattan New York City Pearl Street Holdings plc The New York Times Company Wed, 11 Apr 2007 04:09:29 -0400 Observer Staff 35992 at http://www.observer.com Bloomberg and Clinton http://www.observer.com/node/31986 This'll keep that Bloomberg for President chatter going, I think.

    "New York City will serve as the host city for the second C40 Large Cities Climate Summit, May 14-17, 2007. The international conference, which will include sessions at Manhattan venues, will feature keynote addresses by William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America, and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg."

    There's more on the event over here.

    -- Azi Paybarah]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/31986#comments Politics Bill Clinton Manhattan Michael Bloomberg New York City Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:51:58 -0400 Observer Staff 31986 at http://www.observer.com     Welcome to 'The Big Green Apple' http://www.observer.com/node/35988 Get used to it: New York's new moniker. It came up on Tuesday during an announcement of the city's carbon-emissions benchmarks for charting the progress of the whole NYC 2030-PlaNYC thing. (The phrase has been around for a while, though.)

    Some interesting findings:

    • 79 percent of emissions come from buildings;
    • New Yorkers produce less than a third of the pollution that U.S. residents do on a per capita basis;
    • city government emissions have leveled out over the past five years.

      • Press release after the jump.  read more »

      - Matthew Schuerman ]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35988#comments Real Estate New York City NYC Global Partners Inc. Partnership for New York City Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:59:25 -0400 Observer Staff 35988 at http://www.observer.com