Ira Shapiro and One Madison Park One Madison Park, the embattled, 50-story condominium tower at 22 East 23rd Street, has been hit with yet another lawsuit, this time by the owner of the next-door property, which developers Ira Shapiro and his partners have been in contract to buy for $13.8 million since 2007. According to Crain’s, Abe Shrem’s Flamingo LLC, which, despite the signed contract by Shapiro, still owns 26 East 23rd Street, is claiming that the developers forged signatures and posed as the owners of the site in order to demolish part of the structure there and install a duct on a support structure there without permission. [more]

For the third year in a row, Dunkin’ Donuts has come out on top amongst national retailers in New York City, with 466 store locations across the five boroughs, up from 429 last year and 341 in 2008, according to a new ranking from the Center for an Urban Future, out today. Subway came in second with 389 stores and Starbucks came in a distant third, with 256. (Starbucks still beats Dunkin’ Donuts in Manhattan, though, with 194 to its 115 stores). On the whole, the survey found that national retailers have increased their presence in New York City this year in spite of still-sluggish consumer spending; they have an average of 4.1 percent more stores here now than they did a year ago. For more survey results and rankings of the top national retailers in New York City by borough and zip code, click here. TRD [more]

McDonald’s at 1499 Third Avenue

Most visitors to Rome rejoice in such ageless monuments as the Trevi Fountain, Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Colosseum. They’re okay, I guess, but what really impressed me on a recent visit was the McDonald’s near the Spanish Steps. Unlike the twice warmed-over, late-1970s functionalism — with a dash of color — that we New Yorkers have come to expect, this eatery boasts mosaics, waterfalls and classicizing murals that bring [more]

More than four dozen national chain retailers have taken advantage of low rents to expand in New York City over the past year, according to Bloomberg’s Patricia Wu. Some of the stores with the most significant expansion plans include Dunkin’ Donuts, Subway, McDonald’s and Starbucks. Jonathan Bowles of the Center for an Urban Future said those stores have had deep enough pockets to survive the recession so far and see it as an opportunity to expand. But Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said he is not seeing this kind of retail expansion outside of New York. [more]

Thirty percent of top national retailers expanded their presence in New York City over the last year, according to an annual report released by the Center for an Urban Future today. The report, which tracks 277 retailers with two or more stores in the city, looks at data from July 2008 through July 2009. In addition to the 30 percent of retailers that expanded despite the poor economy, 30 percent of the stores listed maintained the same number of locations they had in the five boroughs the year before.

TRD [more]

Some businesses might bemoan their inability to open new locations during the recession — not McDonald’s. The brand’s existing locations (those that have been open for 13 months or more) proved a boon for the company, according to McDonald’s July financial report. McDonald’s same-store sales rose 4.3 percent last month, marking a stronger than expected showing from the fast food chain. While Manhattan hasn’t always been amenable to McDonald’s expansion, there are more than 250 franchise locations in the five boroughs.

Residents of Harlem’s most expensive condo building, 111 Central Park
North, are considering banding together to rent or buy the building’s
ground-floor space to prevent a McDonald’s from moving in, the New York
Post reported. Residents are concerned about the fast-food joint’s
potential effect on property values and about odors that might travel
up to the building’s terraces, said Gary Davis, president of the
building’s board. The commercial space on the building’s ground floor
has been empty since it opened in 2007. Tom Shapiro, the owner of the
space, said he has been talking with McDonald’s and other fast-food
chains about moving into the building. [more]