138-28 Queens Boulevard, image via Google Maps

Permits Filed: 138-28 Queens Boulevard, Briarwood

Briarwood, a low-slung and middle-class neighborhood in central Queens, was largely downzoned to prevent development in 2008. But the developer-friendly zoning along Queens Boulevard was left in place. There, not too far from the Briarwood stop on the E and F trains, one builder plans to replace a small roadside diner with a seven-story, mixed-use apartment building.

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SS United States on her sea trials, June 10, 1952. Photo courtesy of Charles Anderson and the SS United States Conservancy

SS United States Won’t Be Converted Into A 400-Suite Luxury Cruse Ship

Earlier this year, Crystal Cruises proposed to transform the re-commission 12-deck passenger liner SS United States as a 400-suite luxury cruise ship. Sadly, the ship’s conversion is now being abandoned followed a feasibility study that indicated the project would be too challenging, the New York Times reported. After an inspection of the ship, it was found that roughly 25 percent of the hull would have to be replaced, in addition to new mechanical equipment and engine infrastructure. Also, since Crystal Cruises is owned by a foreign entity, the Jones Act would have made it challenging for the liner to operate as a United States-flagged ship. That means much tougher travel regulations, which is a significant disadvantage in the industry.

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43 Broadway

Reveal for Six-Story, 156-Key Marriott Hotel Proposed at 43 Broadway, Lynbrook, Long Island

A preliminary rendering has been revealed of the proposed six-story, 156-key Courtyard by Marriott hotel at 43 Broadway, located on the corner of Broadway and Langdon Place in downtown Lynbrook. That’s in Nassau County along the South Shore of Long Island. It was reported a year ago that Browning Hotel Properties signed a tentative ground-lease with the village for the project, although the actual building has not yet been approved. The village board is expected to make a final decision this fall, once all studies have been reviewed and public hearings have been held, LI Herald reported. The hotel would include a built-in 306-car parking garage, where 96 spaces would be used by the hotel and the remaining for municipal and commuter purposes. The village’s Long Island Rail Road station is located two blocks away.