State board approves plans for baseball stadiums
The board of the Empire State Development Corporation announced in late March it had approved the redevelopment plans for the new Yankee and Shea stadiums. The New York Yankees and the New York Mets will finance the stadiums with tax-exempt and taxable bonds from the state and the city. The state will contribute to infrastructure upgrades for the new Shea, including surface parking, and the construction of fresh parking facilities at the new Yankee Stadium. The city will contribute infrastructure improvements at both stadiums as well as parkland replacement and other amenities around the new Yankee Stadium.
Council overrides veto of anti-Wal-Mart bill
The City Council, as expected, last month overwhelmingly overrode Mayor Bloomberg’s veto of the so-called anti-Wal-Mart bill, which means the leading big-box retailer probably won’t be coming to the five boroughs any time soon. The bill requires employers of large grocers to match the average rate of health coverage contributions that other grocers pay in the city, according to the Daily News.
New BID for Brooklyn
A bill to establish the city’s 54th business improvement district was introduced last month in the City Council, and BID services should commence in July, Crain’s reported. Centered at the busy Brooklyn intersection of Flatbush and Nostrand avenues, the district would initially include 235 businesses and eventually add an $80 million mall anchored by Target. Developer Triangle Equities began construction on the 300,000-square-foot mall in late February.
PATH track at Trade Center scrapped
Having started construction last November on a retaining wall for a sixth and temporary PATH track at the World Trade Center transportation hub, the Port Authority has decided not to build that track, the New York Times reported. Eliminating Track No. 6 will create space for construction of the World Trade Center memorial and will save several million dollars.
Go directly to jail — and shop
The city Correction Department may turn part of the Brooklyn House of Detention into a retail hub, the Times reported. Three sides of the block that the jail now occupies along Atlantic Avenue between Smith Street and Boerum Place would be converted starting this summer into a one-story, 24,000-square-foot shopping center.
City selects finalists for re-doing Willets Point
The city has selected eight firms as finalists for redeveloping Willets Point in Queens. Three of the finalists are Forest City Ratner, the Related Companies, and Vornado, the New York Sun reported. The firms will bid for the $2 to $3 billion project that will include about 1 million square feet of retail space, a hotel, and a convention center.
Mayor unveils plans for middle-income housing
Mayor Bloomberg unveiled plans last month for providing more than 20,000 apartments for middle-income New Yorkers. The first phase would put 435 apartments in the West Chelsea and Hudson Yards area on city Housing Authority property by 2009. These apartments would be targeted at households with annual incomes between $50,000 and $100,000, the Daily News reported.
Northeastern Bronx downzoning proposed
The Bloomberg administration has proposed more downzoning for a northeastern corner of the Bronx where residential zoning has already been tightened four times in the past year, according to the Daily News. The downzoning for 58 blocks in the Pelham Parkway/ Indian Village neighborhoods would preserve the area’s low-density residential character while allowing some small apartment buildings along two major corridors.
City launches Greenpoint-Williamsburg fund
The city has launched a fund aimed at stimulating manufacturing in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, where large sections were recently rezoned to allow for residential and retail uses. The $4 million Greenpoint-Williamsburg Industrial Fund will be used to help manufacturing firms relocate, help existing firms cut pollution, and aid nonprofits that want to develop space for industrial uses, Crain’s reported.