Building 268, a former metal foundry building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, has been gutted as part of the process of becoming a world-class research and development facility by Duggal Visual Solutions. The $7 million project is slated to be completed by the end of 2011, according to Brownstoner.

Duggal founder Baldev Duggal plans to develop the property into the world’s first environment-focused resource center, revolutionizing home boiler systems and removing street lights from the city’s electric grid. [more]

City Point rendering and Aaron Malinsky

A federal grand jury handed down a new 11-count indictment in the state Sen. Carl Kruger ongoing bribery scandal charging the defendants, including real estate developer Aaron Malinsky and lobbyist Richard Lipsky, with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Malinsky was previously indicted for allegedly making $500,000 in bribes to Kruger, a Democrat from Brooklyn, who later stepped in to help move forward several major real estate developments.

Lipsky, who represented various high-profile clients including Forest City Ratner, also allegedly paid off Kruger.

Malinsky, a principal at PA Associates, and Lipsky allegedly funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Kruger through a series of bank accounts set up by Manhattan gynecologist Michael Turano, who was Kruger’s long-time companion. [more]

Government officials are quickly washing their hands clean of indicted developer Aaron Malinsky, who was accused of bribing Brooklyn State Sen. Carl Kruger earlier this month in exchange for his support on two key projects. According to the Brooklyn Paper, Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are each returning the $250 in campaign donations they received from him last August, and New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez said he plans to donate $10,500 of the $33,000 he received to charity. But Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz appears to be the odd man out, and he’s now coming under fire from government watchdogs for delaying his decision about some $21,550 in Malinsky-tied campaign contributions until after he sees the outcome of the bribery case. [more]

The plan to build a grocery store and retail complex at the six-acre site in the
Brooklyn Navy Yard, known as Admirals Row, was dealt a blow earlier this month
after a principal for the designated developer was charged in a federal bribery scandal, and the developer was subsequently removed from the project.
This week on Insights from The Real Deal, we speak with commercial sales and
leasing broker Ofer Cohen, president of Brooklyn-based Terra CRG. Cohen, who
is not involved with the project, talks about the need for a supermarket at the site,
and why the corruption probe may have come at an opportune time.

Brooklyn Navy Yard Development, which oversees the larger 300-acre industrial
site on the waterfront north of Downtown Brooklyn, removed PA Developers
two weeks ago after its principal, Aaron Malinksy, was accused by federal
prosecutors of funneling about $472,500 to Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger.

PA Developers, an affiliate of Midtown-based PA Associates, was picked in
April 2010 to build the 55,000-square-foot grocery store, 30,000 square feet of
retail and 125,000 square feet of industrial space, on the space now occupied by
dilapidated residential and commercial buildings.

The Navy Yard says it will take over the land use process from PA Developers,
which is expected to begin in the coming weeks. The city is expected to take
ownership of the six acres from the U.S. Army National Guard sometime this
summer.

But sources said the process to name a new developer has not yet been
devised.

Kruger’s attorney has said the lawmaker would be “totally vindicated,” and
Malinsky, through his attorney, told The Real Deal that he intends, “to contest the
charges vigorously and work to protect his outstanding reputation.” Neither man
has been indicted and so has not entered a plea.

[more]

[Updated 8:41 p.m.] The founder of a successful Midtown-based real estate firm is accused of funneling nearly $500,000 in alleged bribes to Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger, who in turn took action to benefit that company’s development projects, a complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court says. Prosecutors allege Aaron Malinsky, a principal with PA Associates, made the payments to an entity called Olympian Strategic Development, and that money was used to improperly benefit Kruger (see complaint after the jump). Kruger allegedly received at least $1 million in bribes from Malinsky and others between 2006 and 2011, investigators said. In addition to Malinsky, authorities accused lobbyist Richard Lipsky, a principal with Richard Lipsky Associates, whose clients include Forest City Ratner, of involvement in the alleged bribery schemes. [more]

A $60 million plan to redevelop the historic Timber Shed building on Admiral’s Row in the Brooklyn Navy Yard could be thwarted if the deteriorating building isn’t stabilized soon. According to the Daily News, officials from the city’s Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. have warned that the roof of the 19th-century federal building — one of two on Admiral’s Row that it has agreed to restore — has already started to cave in and that the rest is in imminent danger of collapsing. [more]

Construction is moving forward on BNYC 92, the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s new Exhibit/Visitor Center, according to Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp, with a target opening date set for Veterans Day in November 2011, the Brooklyn Eagle reported. Plaza Construction is the construction manager for the center and Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners and Workshop/APD are the design architects. At last week’s Community Board 2 meeting in Brooklyn Heights, Kimball gave an update on several construction projects at the Navy Yard, including the new center, the rebuilt Sand Street gate and Admirals Row. [more]

The New York City Regional Center has secured $60 million in financing for the Brooklyn Navy Yard through the EB-5 visa program, a federal initiative that allows foreign investors to finance development projects in areas of high unemployment, according to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. The Brooklyn Navy Yard project, which is expected to create 1,200 new jobs, includes the development of a 220,000-square-foot silver LEED-certified manufacturing center and the city’s first building-mounted wind turbines. [more] [more]

The Greene Hill School has selected a permanent home, according to Brownstoner, with plans to move into a one-time rectory at 39 Adelphi Street in Fort Greene in the works. The 11-classroom space is large enough to accommodate the school’s planned program expansion — Greene Hill, currently a Kindergarten through second grade school, has plans to welcome third- and fourth-graders in the fall. The soon-to-be school, located near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, also includes an auditorium and play yard.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is turning out to be a hot ticket for small businesses. Seven new leases were signed at the Fort Greene spot, which is currently undergoing a $16.5 million restoration project for some of its structures, including Building 92 at 63 Flushing Avenue. Atair Aerospace, an engineering research and development company, and a green custom furniture designer are among the 38 businesses that have signed leases at the yard so far this year. Inexpensive rent, which Brownstoner estimates is around $10 cheaper per square foot than comparable space in nearby Dumbo, is named as a key reason for the high leasing activity.