NYC real estate in brief

Williamsburg building closes on refinance loan
The Community Preservation Corp., a non-profit affordable housing
lender, has closed on a $1.265 million loan to refinance a four-story building
at 37 South 3rd Street
in Williamsburg.
The property, between Kent and Wythe avenues, received a CPC construction loan
seven years ago and has been renovated into eight rental loft apartments with
ground-floor commercial space. The building is next door to the Domino Sugar
Factory site, which is being developed by CPC Resources, the for-profit
development division of Community Preservation Corp.

Bloomingdales in Roosevelt Field to be renovated
Bloomingdale’s Roosevelt Field store in Garden City on Long Island is being renovated by design firm Mancini
Duffy Retail Group. The final phase of the work on the 300,000-square-foot
store will be completed in the spring. The location’s design concept follows the
style of Bloomingdale’s Flagship Store On 59th Street in Manhattan,
as well as some of its newer stores in Chevy Chase, Md. and San Francisco.

Municipal Arts Society comes down on sidewalk shed bill
The Municipal Arts Society testified against a bill before the City Council yesterday that would allow advertising on sidewalk sheds. Arts society members said sidewalk sheds — scaffolding mandated by law to protect pedestrians during construction on a building — cause congestion on streets and hurt retailers by covering up their signs. “This legislation is an imposition on public space with little benefit to the city,” said Vanessa Gruen, director of special projects at the arts society. “It would be a gift to landlords and outdoor advertising firms at the expense of New Yorkers.” The city has prohibited advertising on the sheds, and the new bill would remove restrictions on sidewalk shed advertising, providing an incentive for building owners to leave sheds up longer than necessary to extend the advertiser’s presence and increase revenue, the arts society said. TRD