Sorry, Mayor Bloomberg, even your wheeling-dealing couldn't stop this: The MTA's deal with Tishman Speyer to develop the West Side rail yards is dead. Here's the statement:The MTA met today with Tishman Speyer. Despite the best efforts of both sides, a final agreement could not be reached. The MTA has now re-entered discussions with other interested developers and remains committed to timely development of these unique and valuable parcels of land on Manhattan's Far......

Mayor Bloomberg tried to rally hopes for a happy ending to the saga of the West Side rail yards by telling reporters, "The plan isn’t dead by any means. Hudson Yards is the most exciting opportunity New York has.” On Thursday night, the MTA issued a statement saying that negotiations wit developer Tishman Speyer had "reached an impasse" and that Tishman "no longer" had "development rights" to the 26 acres a few blocks west......

This evening, the MTA released a press release signaling that the plan to turn the West Side Rail Yards into Hudson Yards won't be happening any time soon. Apparently, developer Tishman Speyer, which won the bidding with a $1.004 billion proposal, got too grabby. At least, that's what the MTA"s statement seems to suggest:Late this afternoon, negotiations between the MTA and Tishman Speyer over the development of the Rail Yards on Manhattan's Far West......

Last month the city announced that the space dedicated to amusements in the latest Coney Island rezoning plan would be cut from 15 acres to 9 acres. City officials explained that the downsizing was necessary to accommodate “local landowners” – the biggest of those is developer Joe Sitt, whose glitzy plans were previously derailed by the city for the express purpose of devoting larger space for the amusement park. Now Sitt’s Thor Equities stands to......

Rendering courtesy of Municipal Art Society; original aerial photo by Jonathan Barkey. As a counterpoint to the new renderings of Frank Gehry's redesign for the Atlantic Yards flagship tower, here's a different perspective on the project's future look. The Municipal Art Society [MAS] has assembled a compelling slideshow that serves as a sort of dystopian crystal ball, depicting what could come come if Bruce Ratner moves forward with his development on 22-acres of land in......

Developer Bruce Ratner and architect Frank Gehry have announced that ‘Miss Brooklyn,’ the 620-foot residential and commercial tower planned for the 22-acre Atlantic Yards project, has been scrapped. In its place they’re proposing a building called ‘B1’: a 511 foot tall structure that will now house commercial tenants only. If they can be found – Forest City Ratner has yet to secure an anchor tenant for what will now be 650,000 of commercial space. B1’s......

Rumors of the Atlantic Yards mega-development's demise have been greatly exaggerated...at least according to the Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner. He may have been gloomy about the mega-project's prospects last month, but now Ratner has an opinion piece in today's Daily News, pledging to forge ahead with his eminent domain plans to take over Atlantic Ave. He writes:Yes, it's true that construction hasn't happened as fast as we would have liked...[but] Finally, the delays have......

Yesterday, the police were called during a charged meeting that saw the City Council approve Harlem rezoning in a 47 to 2 vote. Opponents of the plan yelled "sellout" and "liar," prompting their removal from the Council's balcony. The plan will usher in new development around 125th Street, with denser and taller buildings. City Council member Inez Dickens, who represents the area and decided to approve the plan after the Planning Commission agreed to make......

In response to complaints about out-of-scale development, the Department of City Planning is proposing a zoning amendment to six streets in Carroll Gardens. This would classify certain streets in Carroll Gardens as narrow streets for zoning purposes and “limit the size and configuration of new buildings and enlargements to more closely match the area's prevailing character.” Many of the 19th century homes have coveted deep front yards, thanks to the Brooklyn Law of 1846 that......

Earlier there was news of a luxury condo leveling a church and digging up graves, now word is in that the South Williamsburg power plant on Kent Avenue will meet the same fate. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Con Edison has finally admitted its plan to demolish the defunct power plant and neighborhood landmark.Neighbors of the abandoned Kent Avenue power plant knew something was up back in March, when workers started tearing holes into the......

The Gowanus Canal Conservancy held a public meeting in Carroll Gardens this week to unveil renderings for a park and esplanade that would run along the Gowanus canal. The project’s dubbed Sponge Park because planners hope it will help absorb some of the raw sewage that currently contaminates the canal during heavy rainfall. (Brownstoner believes oily runoff from the nearby Gowanus Expressway is another big problem.) The idea is that when the canal is finally......

With Patricia Lancaster's resignation as Buildings Commissioner after a series of high-profile construction-related fatalities and department snafus, the reaction is one of relief from some politicians while developers are sad. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who has been unhappy with the DOB for a while, said, "The time had come for new leadership at this department," and City Council member Jessica Lappin said, "I think it was appropriate and necessary...I want to thank her for......

During a conference call with investors yesterday, Forest City Enterprises CEO Charles Ratner acknowledged that a window of opportunity had all but closed for the ambitious, 22-acre housing, retail and stadium project proposed for Brooklyn. But he also insisted that the delay – brought on by recession and dogged opposition from community groups – was just temporary: The economy sometimes alters the timeline, but we have demonstrated our ability to see these projects through to......

Brownstoner has done the math and concluded that there are a ridiculous number of hotels going up near Brooklyn’s lovely Gowanus Canal. The latest new development will be a nine story Fairfield Inn on Third Avenue between Douglass and Butler streets; construction will begin once existing buildings are torn down. So that makes a future grand total of 7 hotels in the Gowanus neighborhood; three already built and four more on the way. With a......

The NY Sun reports Madison Square Garden officials will just renovate the existing arena instead of being a part of the city and state's ambitious Moynihan Station plans. An MSG spokesperson said, "Madison Square Garden has decided to move forward with our renovation previously announced in 2004. After exploring several alternatives, it has become clear that the only viable option is a renovation. Details will be available in the coming days. Madison Square Garden......

Now that the MTA has selected Tishman Speyer to develop the West Side rail yards into Hudson Yards, a new period of public scrutiny will begin. The developer's plans will need to go through the city's public review process to rezone the western section, leaving plenty of time for potential modifications and opposition. One decided opponent of the plan is NY Times critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. After being depressed by the five proposed designs, Ouroussoff lets......

Dozens of protesters stood inside and out of a Community Board 3 meeting yesterday, claiming that a proposed rezoning plan was racist and could result in the displacement of minority community members. At issue is a rezoning plan that places height restrictions on new buildings going up on the Lower East Side and the East Village. Community board officials claim that the restrictions are necessary for the area to retain its innate character. Critics claim......

MTA officials are reportedly in negotiations with Tishman Speyer Properties this weekend in preparation to award the real estate firm the winning bid on the 26 acre Hudson Yards property. An official announcement is expected at the MTA's board meeting next Wednesday, which will initiate four months of more detailed negotiations about the sale. The winning bidder will acquire the rights to develop commercial and residential properties at the site. A platform will also need......

Photograph by Tien Mao Get ready to ride the Cyclone again - Astroland is opening up for the 2008 season this Sunday! There were worries, due to ambitious plans to redevelop Coney Island, that 2007 was Astroland's last season, but Astroland owners, the Albert family, and Thor Equities were able to come to an agreement last October. As for the future beyond 2008, Carol Albert told amNew York, "There are a lot of unknowns...It's......

Real estate developer Sheldon Solow's plans for a sextet of glass towers along the East River just south of the United Nations complex is rumored to be close to gaining approval of the City Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Subcommittee on Land Use. A following vote by the entire Council will dramatically transform the East Side waterfront below the United Nations. Solow plans on building six massive glass towers for both residential......

City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden was called a "rich, rich, rich horrible person" by an opponent of 125th Street rezoning. The City Planning commission approved rezoning for the boulevard, which means a 21-story building called Harlem Park, which includes new headquarters for Major League Baseball TV, will be one of the many new developments for the neighborood. Burden said the commission wanted to "maintain and enhance 125th Street's unique and varied character and its identity......

Brooklyn College is joining the ranks of other New York academic establishments by adding a dorm next spring (something they've already started, and stopped, work on). The school has a little over 15,000 grads and undergrads, with about 99% hailing from New York and 77% from Brooklyn. The school hopes that by adding a dorm, some out-of-staters will flock to Midwood. The Daily News reports the eight-story Farragut Road building will house about 214 students......

Rendering of proposed Public Place development by The Hudson Companies. Earlier in the week, the department of Housing Preservation and Development [HPD] revealed renderings for a proposed housing development and park on 5.8 acres of heavily polluted land by the toxic Gowanus canal. Located on the site of a former manufactured gas plant, the city has owned the land, which stretches from Smith Street to the canal, for two decades. National Grid, who took over......

Last decade's decrepit property along a foully polluted industrial canal is just next decade's prime waterfront lots, ready for development by one the nation's premiere luxury homebuilders. The Gowanus Lounge uncovered a "scoping" document filed with the Department of City Housing by the Toll Brothers construction company. The early renderings portray a spread of mixed-use development between 2nd and Carroll Sts. and bounded by Bond St. and the Gowanus Canal itself. The project would......

A rendering for a building that will replace a Cooper Union engineering building has emerged (above). Designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, the 440,000-square-foot mixed-use building will replace the brown tribute to banality that currently hunkers across from the historic 1859 Cooper Union Foundation building. The 51 Astor Place building is to be demolished; the fate of the connected Starbucks (between Third and Fouth Avenues) is uncertain. The Observer says the proposed building “will......

Ever since real estate developer Vornado revealed plans for a boxy, glassy skyscraper at 125th Street and Park Avenue last March, people were curious what might companies might lease some of the 640,000 square feet. Now the NY Times reveals Major League Baseball will take a swing at starting its cable network in the building. Wow. The 21-story building, dubbed Harlem Park, would be Harlem's "first prime office to be built" in the neighborhood "in......

What Lower Manhattan will look like after Silverstein's buildings are completed; the Woolworth Building with its ornate green roof is on the left, 99 Church is the tall building to it right (and to the left of what is an illuminated Church street); to the right is the WTC site, with Freedom Tower and the other three towers; image from dbox/Silverstein Properties Developer Larry Silverstein announced yesterday that he will build an 80-story building......

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is in charge of construction on the new 1 World Trade Center – AKA the Freedom Tower – is now seeking developers to design, build and operate a 34,000-square-foot restaurant on the 100th and 101st floors; whoever wins the bid may also win rights to operate the observation deck planned for the 102nd floor. The Authority is gazing into its crystal construction ball and seeing......

Over the weekend, hundreds rallied for Pier 40's next transformation to be a park. This Thursday, the Hudson River Park Trust is meeting to discuss two existing bids for the pier located off Houston Street, but a more recent plan, from a group of local parents who hope their $120,000 study, has been gaining some recent momentum. Previously, the Related Companies had proposed an elaborate plan with a Cirque du Soleil theater and restaurants, while......

The fate of Pier 40, located at West Houston Street on the Hudson, was much discussed and debated last year, and 2008 seems to be a year of further reflection. At one point, there was a $625 million idea for it to become an elaborate entertainment venue with a Cirque du Soleil theater, restaurants, and more, while opposing forces wanted there simply to be more green space. In the waning weeks of December, another......