The Real Deal New York

The state of New Jersey

The state of New Jersey has embarked on an ambitious new plan to promote economic growth, encourage residential development near mass transit and existing infrastructure and make its notoriously disorganized state agencies get along better with one another, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The plan, which Governor Chris Christie has been working on since 2010, will be subject to public hearings starting next month and should be implemented in early 2013. [more]

Click on image for crossword

From the January issue: This month’s crossword puzzle is live on our website. You can get hints and see how fast you are with an on-screen stop watch in the interactive version. Play the crossword here. TRD

Bleecker Bob’s, at 118 West 3rd St

Where are the nation’s biggest foreclosure discounts? Cherished record store Bleecker Bob’s could soon be a Starbucks. Video tour of the new Whitney downtown. Final mortgage agreement may not include legal immunity for banks. Flatbush Avenue bar previously full of shady strippers to become Dunkin’ Donuts, Subway. West Village building owned by George Soros’ daughter collapses. Read these stories and more after the jump.

From left: 211 East 13th Street, Jacqueline Urgo, president at Marketing Directors and developer Charles Blaichman

The group of developers building an 82-unit condominium building at 211 East 13th Street has hired Jacqueline Urgo, president of the Marketing Developers, to promote the property, which is slated for groundbreaking this summer.

The project, which will occupy a vacant site between Second and Third avenues, is being developed by Ironstate Development, Charles Blaichman, and Abram Shnay and his son, Scott Shnay. They are anticipating completing the project by late 2013. [more]

The Lobster Inn, at 162 Inlet Road

Beloved Southhampton mainstay the Lobster Inn and the 10 acres surrounding it have been sold for slightly more than $2 million, the Southhampton Press reported.

The new owners of the land, two LLCs, plan to build condominiums, seller Skip Tollefsen told the paper. While the new owners firm up their plans they could lease out the popular restaurant for the next tourist season or the next couple tourist seasons. [more]

943 Madison Avenue

The Whitney Museum of American Art owes almost $160,000 in unpaid property taxes, DNAinfo reported, largely because of confusion stemming from the sale of its properties to developer Daniel Straus.

In 2010, the Whitney sold six brownstones and two townhouses adjacent to its 954 Madison Avenue home in advance of its forthcoming move to a Renzo Piano-designed home in the Meatpacking District, at  820 Washington Street. The museum had used the buildings for its offices, and continued to lease one of the properties, 943 Madison Avenue, after the sale to Straus. Under the lease agreement the Whitney would cover outstanding taxes. [more]

Patrick McMullan and 321 West 14th Street

Celebrity photographer Patrick McMullan’s apartment at 321 West 14th Street is a veritable treasure trove of works by celebrity photographers and even features a secret passageway with a spiral staircase, according to a recent feature in amNew York that shows off the snapper’s abode.

McMullan appears to have purchased the West Village apartment in 2010, according to public records. Meanwhile, the building also houses the offices of his photography business. [more]

Admiral's Row and a rendering of the plans for the site

Admiral’s Row in the Brooklyn Navy Yard has finally been transferred to the city, the New York Times reported, clearing the way for the 74,000-square-foot supermarket residents of the three nearby housing projects have long coveted.

Nine of the 11 homes that comprise Admiral’s Row, on the edge of the Fort Greene neighborhood, have fallen into such disrepair since the Navy Yard was closed in 1966 that even preservationists haven’t attempted to save them. [more]

A block of buildings owned by LaMama E.T.C. on East 4th Street

LaMama E.T.C., the arts organization that runs a theater on East 4th Street and owns a block of buildings it rents to other art organizations along the street, has sent an eviction notice to tenant Millenium Film Workshop, the Village Voice reported.

Millenium Film, at 66 East 4th Street, is a project of director Ken Jacobs, whose film, ”Seeking the Monkey King,” played at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. LaMama cited a “failure to pay rent for 10 months,” as the reason in the notice, the Voice said. [more]