Everybody Wants a Bailout
Money pits: World Trade Center and Atlantic Yards.
With the news today, reported by The Observer, that Larry Silverstein has begun legal proceedings against the Port Authority to end the gridlock at Ground Zero, as well as the developments two weeks prior at Atlantic Yards, it seems obvious to us what’s going on here. Having witnessed the financial titans across town receive hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout money, these developers now want theirs. Granted, so did Larry Flint and the porn industry, but the comparison bears consideration. Read More
Still Waiting
Back on April 19 LA County Auditor-Controller Wendy Watanabe told the Los Angeles Times that she was investigating the January 16 firing of former LA County Planning Chief Bruce McClendon. McClendon told the Times that he was probably fired for protecting his staff from the efforts of County Supervisors’ aides to influence zoning and development decisions in the county. Watanabe told the Times that the results of that investigation would be released “in the coming weeks.” Well it’s now been almost three months and the results of that investigation are apparently still not available. So what’s the wait? A call to Watanabe’s office referred us to her web site, where we found no documents relating to the investigation. So until then, we’re just left to wonder what’s going on…
Prospecting for Landmarks
Last week, Prospect Height’s became the city’s newest landmark district. At 850-odd buildings, it is the largest district to be created since the Upper West Side Historic District was created in 1990. Clearly, a lot of work went into the three-year effort championed by locals and the Municipal Art Society and driven largely by the nearby Atlantic Yards project and the undue development it spurred on one of Brooklyn’s last unprotected brownstone neighborhoods. To highlight just how hard it is, but also what a triumph, MAS put together this thoughtful little video. Hopefully it will inspire you to do something civic minded as well on this patriotic weekend or beyond.
Eminent Decision at Coney?
How much longer will Coney Island lay in ruin? (TheMikeD/Flickr)
When the City Planning Commission barely altered the city’s plans–plans that remain diametrically opposed to those of chief landholder Joe Sitt–we couldn’t help but wonder whether the Bloomberg administration would some how grossly undermine its plan, or let it fall on the sword at the City Council, at least part of which is firmly under the sway of Sitt. Thus far, the Bloomberg administration has yet to allow a single one of its nearly 100 rezoning fail at the council, often crafting 11th hour deals. Would, could things be different this time? Read More
The Bigger Apple?
(sabatoa/flickr)
Lately, it seems like there have been a lot of going away parties for friends leaving New York to escape the high cost of living or to find jobs elsewhere. But maybe that’s just me. Yesterday, the Census Bureau released figures from 2007-2008 showing a surge in new residents in New York, as well as in other cities. Read More
FOGA Cut by How Much?
A model of Gehry's new offices in El Segundo
We knew that Gehry Partners had trimmed its staff recently due to the recession. But according to a story in Architectural Record, the cuts are much worse than we thought. Tony Illia writes that the company has reduced its staff from 250 a year ago to 112 now. That’s more than a 50 percent chop! Many of the cuts are due to the losses of projects like Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, and the delay of projects like Grand Avenue in Los Angeles. Still the firm is still set to move into roomier new digs in El Segundo (pictured above) later this year. Should be.. spacious. Still the story says the firm is working on new projects like a Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi, the Beekman tower in Lower Manhattan, and the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington.
Cooper-Hewitt Director-in-Waiting
Smithsonian Sec Wayne Clough, Design Award winner Scott Stowell, Cooper-Hewitt trustee John Maeda, then deputy director Caroline Baumann, design award winner Charles Harrison, and chairman of the board Paul Herzan at October's gala for the Natinal Design Awards.
Last November, Paul Thompson announced he was giving up directing the Cooper-Hewitt and heading back to London to take over at the Royal College of Art. Ever since then, the speculative interest has been anything but wild, and frankly tepid, about who was going to lead the nation’s only and reputedly arduously bureaucratic National Design Museum, the only New York museum in the Smithsonian’s crown. MoMA’s Paola Antonelli? Cincinnati’s Aaron Betsky? Design’s Everywoman Chee Pearlman? Why not, Mark Robbins? Those who have been watching were expecting an answer, after hearing for months about the interviews. Well, we can now wait some more as the museum has just announced that longtime deputy director Caroline Baumann, who joined the museum as development director in 2001, has been named acting director, effective July 13.
The Ledge
Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high.
In our pilot Midwest issue, I wrote about The Ledge, a new viewing platform at the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago. At the time, only renderings were available of the SOM-designed all-glass cubes that protrude off of the tower’s west face, and the project was expected to open in mid June. Well, it appears that the dizzying new viewing experience is now accepting visitors, as a whole rash of pictures have popped up on flickr. Among them is the above image, which reminds us that sometimes the highest achievement that architecture can aspire to is to fuel the dreams of a child.
Cap + Trade = Green Building?
The House’s passage of new Energy and Climate legislation (HR 2454: the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009) on Friday means more than just the possible institution of a new cap and trade system for the U.S. According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the act includes several elements that should spur green building as well. These include: Read More
Washington Lights
The Port Authority has swapped the bridge's mercury vapor lamps for more energy-efficient LED fixtures (Courtesy sharpshoota.com)
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has completed the installation of LED fixtures on the necklace of the George Washington Bridge. The 156 light emitting diode fixtures replace the span’s mercury vapor lamps and are expected to save $49,000 in energy and maintenance costs annually. The LED fixtures have 80,000-hour, or 15-year, life spans, while the mercury lamps only lasted one year on average. The Port Authority also expects the new energy-efficient fixtures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 220,000 pounds per year. The capital project was approved by the authority’s board of commissioners in 2007 as part of an initiative to reduce green house gas emissions at Port Authority facilities.
Stuytown Gets Reatard-ed
Jay Reatard comes to, of all places, Stuytown. (Courtesy Brooklyn Vegan)
Among the amenities–Oval Lounge, Oval Kids, lots and lots of trees–Tishman Speyer has rolled out at Stuytown to justify the ever-higher rents is a new summer concert series. And performing tonight is none other than… Jay Reatard? Kaki King and Budos Band we kinda get, though really, wouldn’t the Klezmonauts have made more sense? Or perhaps that is the genius behind bringing in this would-be-Ozzy Memphis garage punk Jay Reatard (the name alone says it all). This is a man, after all, who punched a fan for being too rowdy at a Toronto show, who regularly poses for pictures drenched in blood. What better way to drive out what’s left of Stuytown’s intractable, crotchety, and old (i.e. rent-controlled) residents than to have hundreds if not thousands of sweaty hipsters descend on your quaint little park and cause mayhem. Video evidence after the jump. Read More
The Emerald Coast of Queens
A view of the new section of Gantry Plaza State Park in Queens. (Images courtesy ESDC)
On Thursday, we wrote about a new park that had been unveiled as part of the city’s plans for Hunter’s Point South. Not to be outdone, Gantry Plaza State Park, Queens West’s original greenway, is expanding, with a new 6-acre stretch opening tomorrow. Designed by Abel Bainnson Butz, the new section of park brings Gantry Plaza to 10 acres of waterfront open space. With Macy’s fireworks moving north up the Hudson this year, those new lounge chairs and hammocks could be a perfect place to watch. Check ‘em out after the jump. Read More
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