Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning announced that renovations have started at Federal Building #2 in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, as part of a $35 million plan to transform the 1.1 million-square-foot vacant warehouse into a state-of-the-art industrial center.

In May, the city had selected developer Salmar Properties, which bought the property for $10 million, to oversee the project.

“Federal Building #2 is well suited for industrial and manufacturing uses, with 23 elevators banks, multiple loading docks and parking that will enable tenants to easily move raw materials and finished goods in and out of the building,” said Marvin Schein, co-owner of Salmar Properties in a statement. “Salmar looks forward to developing this site into a Class A building that will help generate jobs and keep industry in New York City.” – Miranda Neubauer [more]

From left: Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David Burney and the Children’s Library Discovery Center

The 22,000-square-foot sleek glass box the city built for a children’s center next to the main branch of the Queens Public Library in Jamaica is now open, and according to the New York Times architecture critic, it serves as the most recent example of the city’s shifting attitude towards designing public buildings.

Designed by 1100 Architect, the $30 million, two-story Children’s Library Discovery Center takes the place of a nightclub on a corner lot next to the main branch. It is meant to serve children ages three to 12, and encourage them to read, learn and enjoy scientific exploration, according to the library’s website. [more]

Twitter opened its first office in New York City at 340 Madison Avenue, between 43rd and 44th streets, this morning.

At its official East Coast headquarters in the 22-story building, the social media company will have 40 full-time employees, with plans to expand in the coming months, according to a press release from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who officially opened the headquarters this morning with Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chairman, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

“We are proud to welcome Twitter to New York City’s growing technology sector,” said Bloomberg, whose own Twitter account @MikeBloomberg has 168,922 followers. “New York City has always been a place where big ideas are born, and we are working to ensure it’s the place where the next great tech success story is written — from incubating dozens of start-up ventures to bringing a new Applied Sciences school here. — Miranda Neubauer [more]

Rendering and map of Manhattan Greenway plan

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the heads of the State Assembly and State Senate have agreed on a memorandum of understanding that will provide the financing framework to close the gap in the Manhattan Greenway on the East Side of Manhattan through a land deal with the United Nations, according to a statement released by Bloomberg this afternoon. The deal involves the sale of a portion of Robert Moses Playground to the U.N. for construction of a new building.

The complicated land deal was first put into motion by legislation signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in July, but the city and state government leaders still had to come to an agreement on details by Oct. 10. Since then, city and state officials have been holding public forums about the plans, where they have addressed concerns from residents about the height of the new U.N. building and the loss of the playground space. — Miranda Neubauer [more]

The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development is looking for a developer to build up to 225 affordable housing units and 68,000 square feet of retail space along a vacant strip on Livonia Avenue, between Pennsylvania and Williams avenues in the East New York area of Brooklyn, Crain’s reported, issuing a request for proposals today.
The request is the first phase in what the department has dubbed the Livonia Avenue Initiative, a plan to revamp the strip.
“This retail corridor has been defunct for a long time,” said RuthAnne Visnauskas, deputy commissioner for HPD. The site’s proximity to the elevated L train line meant there was a lot of noise, which discouraged developers in the past, but building materials can keep out noise, she said. [more]

The city is issuing a request for expressions of interest, or RFEI,  as
it seeks to redevelop two parcels of land on Staten Island’s St.
George waterfront, according to a statement released by the city
today.

The two sites, located close to the St. George Ferry Terminal, are
currently used as parking for the Richmond County Bank Ballpark and
the St. George Ferry Terminal. Combined, the two sites will provide
more than 14 acres of waterfront development, with the site
to the north of the ballpark totaling approximately 7.4 acres and the
site to the south approximately 6.7 acres. — Miranda Neubauer [more]

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has submitted an official challenge to New York
City’s 2010 census results to the U.S. Census Bureau, according to a
letter released by the mayor’s office today. In the letter to Census
Bureau director Robert Groves, Bloomberg states that the city believes
housing units in Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst as well as in Astoria and
Jackson Heights were erroneously counted as vacant. Rather, Bloomberg
writes, data shows those neighborhoods are growing and vibrant parts of
the city.
– Miranda Neubauer [more]

Deputy Comptroller Alan van Capelle said he plans to vote against Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s representatives to the city’s Banking Commission today to protest the slow rate at which banks are modifying mortgages for struggling homeowners, City Hall News reported. Van Capelle asked in March that the commission require banks to detail the measures they have taken to to modify such loans, but the other two members of the commission, Andrew Salkin of the Finance Department and Eugene Lee, senior policy adviser for economic development, voted against that proposal. [more]

Harvard graduate Jukay Hsu and the city’s plans for Willets Point

City Council members are encouraging the city to consider a Harvard University graduate’s plan for a so-called Silicon Valley 2.0 at Willets Point in Flushing. The city had previously dimissed Jukay Hsu’s proposal, saying that it strayed too far from the city’s plans for affordable housing near Citi Field, the New York Daily News reported.

Hsu said the area, in close proximity to the 7 train and LaGuardia Airport, presents the perfect opportunity for a university campus and space for tech startups.

Council member Dan Halloran called Hsu’s plan “phenomenal,” but said it wouldn’t be easy to convince the city Economic Development Corporation to change its strategy for the area. [more]

Mayor Bloomberg and the Ballyshear estate

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has signed a contract to purchase a $20 million Hamptons estate overlooking Peconic Bay, sources told the Post. Those sources also said that there were pages upon pages worth of confidentiality agreements involved in the deal, but apparently that didn’t help to quiet the rumor mill, as it seems the cat’s out of the bag on Bloomie’s future home at 119 Whites Lane. The historic, 35-acre Shinnecock Hills property, called Ballyshear, borders the posh National Golf Links of America golf course and has the touches of several noted architects. The 22,000-square-foot Georgian mansion has 11 bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms. It was built in 1910 by F. Burrall Hoffman and is surrounded by English gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Rose Standish Nichols, according to the listing by Paul Brennan and Ronald White of Prudential Douglas Elliman, which was last priced at $22.5 million. [more]