Perhaps you’ve noticed or heard about the new public Wi-Fi kiosks being installed around the city, often replacing payphones? Well, they’re called Links (the operation is LinkNYC) and the plan is for many many more. Before they are installed in historic districts, the Landmarks Preservation Commission must rule, and a public hearing on the issue was held Tuesday.
In June of 2015, slight changes to Pier55’s design were revealed as the park project was making its way through the approval process. Now, the Hudson River Park Trust has announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has green-lighted the project, according to Crain’s. The 2.7-acre, 62-foot-tall structure, to be built off the Meatpacking District in the Hudson River, will include grassy hills, recreational event space, and an amphitheater. It will connect to Manhattan via a pedestrian bridge at West 13th Street. The bridge will be funded with federal money, but the park itself is being financed by a non-profit partnership between Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg. The duo have already contributed $113 million, and construction is expected to kick off in early May.
SEF Industries is proposing a floating six-story, 79-megawatt electrical plant in the Wallabout Federal Navigation Channel, located right off the coast of South Williamsburg and north of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The facility would measure 100-feet-wide and 220-feet-long, and would feed directly into Brooklyn’s power grid. The natural gas-powered plant would be able to store three days’ worth of fuel, and would be refueled from the East River. The developer has submitted plans with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a permanent barge where the facility would go. SEF apparently has all of the remaining approvals, the Brooklyn Daily Paper reports. Comments on the proposal are due April 30, and the Army Corps will subsequently green-light or disapprove the project later this year.
Back in December of 2015, Alloy Development proposed to build two 104,000-square-foot office buildings, along with 138,000 square feet of public park space, at 234 Butler Street and 242 Back in December of 2015, Alloy Development and the property owners of 234 Butler Street and 242 Nevins Street proposed to build two 104,000-square-foot office buildings and, along with a 50,000 square-foot public park, in northern Gowanus. The proposal aimed to convince two city agencies, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Parks Department, to build two underground sewage tanks mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency under Thomas Greene Park—instead of seizing, through eminent domain, the properties currently ground-leased by Alloy. The EPA has been pushing to install the tanks beneath the park, because it’s already owned by the city and will need to be excavated eventually to clean up contaminants.
Sometime next spring, the landmarked Bronx General Post Office, located in the borough’s Concourse Village neighborhood, will start a new life as retail, office space, and a restaurant. Interior demolition work is underway and we got a peak inside last week, with Brendan Murray, vice president at Hollister Construction Services, and he pointed out an incredibly creepy aspect of the building’s history.
