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]

The elevator in Mayor Bloomberg’s five-story Upper East Side townhouse has received an “unsatisfactory” rating from building inspectors five times in the last 10 years for housekeeping and maintenance conditions, according to the Daily News. In 2007, the Department of Buildings issued a code violation, asking Bloomberg to “repair seal and clean” and “replace damaged” parts, though it was resolved a month later and Bloomberg didn’t have to pay a fine. He was also issued a violation late last year for skipping his annual inspection, though a spokesperson for the DOB said that was merely a computer glitch and that the violation would be dismissed. Bloomberg’s 8,516-square-foot home on East 79th Street, near Central Park, is appraised at $16 million. [NYDN]

Rendering of Flushing Commons

A proposed $850 million mixed-use development was approved for
Flushing, Queens today, after fierce debate between small business
advocates and the pro-development set. The project — known as Flushing
Commons — is spearheaded by developers the Rockefeller Group and TDC
Development and Construction Corporation and will bring 600 units of
luxury housing, a hotel and 420,000 square feet of retail space to
Downtown Flushing. It has met with controversy
in the area, particularly among community groups that fear big
businesses will push out neighborhood-based retailers. Daniel Kung,
co-president of Union Street Small Business Association, said that not
enough provisions have been made to ensure the [more]

New York City homeowners facing foreclosure will be temporarily relieved of their overdue water and sewer bills under a new city initiative announced yesterday. Roughly 2,000 homeowners will be eligible for the program, which will allow those who have owed $1,000 or more for at least one year to freeze penalties and unpaid interest on their water debt, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Once the property is sold, transferred or refinanced, owners will be required to repay the water debt as well as all future water bills. “We’re offering a financial lifeline to many homeowners that need help now more than ever,” Bloomberg said. “We’re taking the immediate pressure off one front in their struggle and in many cases that will then help them get back on their feet and stay in their homes.” TRD