Williamsburg waterfront — prophecy fulfilled?

The Williamsburg waterfront

From the November issue: Five years ago, the possibilities on the Williamsburg waterfront seemed endless to developers following a massive rezoning in the neighborhood in the midst of a bull market. In response, residential developers like Jeffrey Levine and Louis Kestenbaum leapt into projects. The sentiment was so cheery that Developers Group president and CEO Elan Padeh predicted that, in 2010, residential sales on the waterfront “should easily get $1,000 to $1,100 a square foot.”
It’s easy to see why developers would have felt that way. On a clear day, the waterfront affords a showstopping view of Manhattan, and the only crowds to contend with are flocks of seagulls — a far cry from the louder, trendier Bedford Avenue scene.
Of course, after a fiscal meltdown, the optimism dulled somewhat. “If there’s something we’ve learned in these five years, it’s that prophecy [is for] Nostradamus,” Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, joked of the post-rezoning waterfront development. [more]