For years we've been discussing the fate of the Brooklyn Navy Yard's beloved 19th-century houses that make up Admiral's Row. Our own Jake Dobkin even risked life and limb to get inside and document the houses in their beautiful decay, as the city talked of plans for leveling them. Despite protests to salvage the Row, it looks like its destiny is destruction, and this Monday nine of the eleven structures will be cleared, with two—the Timber Shed and Quarters B—being restored "for daily use," according to the NY Times. These have now been "transferred by the federal government to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which manages the old 300-acre yard, now an industrial park of 275 businesses." more ›

Downtown Brooklyn doesn't exactly have the best reputation for dining out ("this is a vast wasteland when it comes to good food," writes one hungry Chowhounder), but that could be changing in the next year, if a handful of new restaurateurs play their cards right. more ›

There are currently more than 600 stalled construction sites around NYC according to the Department of Buildings, and given the moribund economy, it doesn't look like they'll unstall anytime soon. So in the meantime, why don't we do turn lemons into lemonade, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer wants to know! He's shining a spotlight on the 129 stalled construction sites in Manhattan, and according to his new "Arrested Development" report, 37% of these sites had problems with litter, 60% had fencing that was in disrepair or vandalized, and half of the sites had sidewalk obstructions. 100% of them are butt ugly. more ›

With the tenth anniversary just days away, World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein has created a video that shows the progress (which has been remarkable) at the site and what the site and One World Trade Center (the former Freedom Tower) eventually will look like, courtesy of some CGI. more ›

Undermining the belief that children will "grow into" enjoying things like brussels sprouts and pickled beets, research shows that what pregnant mothers eat while expecting can actually influence the baby's palate once it's born. So start pounding those organic, free-range vegetables, moms-to-be! more ›

In an effort to make people remember that New York is a coastal city and revitalize the lower lower east east side (i.e., LES, Chinatown, Financial District), the city has been pouring money into extending the East River Esplanade as part of the Vision 2020 project. In a reverse-High Line situation, Bloomberg's "newest jewel on New York City's magnificent harbor" utilizes the shade provided by the underside of the FDR as a platform to enjoy the East River. The newly opened parklike public space starts at Pier 11 between Wall Street and Maiden Street and marks the completion of Phase One of the $165 million project. Described as the "missing link in the City's greenway," the goal is to make the East River, like the Hudson, a destination spot and breathe life back into the area, also reminding New Yorkers that the city even has water in the first place. more ›

Jesse L. Martin, who will remain forever in our hearts as Detective Ed Green, chatted with Daily Intel about his alma mater's seemingly insatiable appetite, "Everything can't have a purple flag on it. I'm just a New York resident, so I see the things in a bigger picture. You know, I love NYU, I owe them my career, but the truth of the matter is, it doesn't mean that they get to have every building in the Village." On the other hand, NYU President John Sexton said, "NYU is not gobbling up; NYU is enhancing the Village... Every day I get stopped on the street and thanked by people who are neighbors of ours for what NYU does in the Village." more ›

According to The Local East Village, BFC Partners are presenting plans to Community Board 3 to build low-income housing on 9 and 11-17 Second Avenue. The project would operate under the inclusionary housing program, where permanently affordable housing would be created with a tenant's option to buy for $1 and $10. And while we're all for $1 apartments in the East Village, is the project worth it if we're going to lose the inimitable dive Mars Bar for two years, only to see it reopen without the decades of beloved, accumulated... shit. more ›

Crying poor environmental review seems to be the hot way to try and stop Brooklyn developments of late. Just as Develop Don't Destory Brooklyn is attempting to slow the Atlantic Yards project because of misrepresentations in its enviromental impact statement another group of Brooklynites is using a similar tactic to try and halt the massive development planned for the old Domino Sugar refinery (which got City Council approval back in June after much community opposition). more ›

New York University has decided to relocate its proposed 38-story tower from the controversial location in the middle of the landmarked Silver Towers complex and will instead attempt to build the tower in the Morton Williams supermarket space on Laguardia Place. Did the intense community opposition change the school's mind? Not so much—but famed architect I.M. Pei, who designed Silver Towers, seemed to! more ›

It's trite to call NYU's 2031 expansion plans "ambitious" at this point, given that the school wants to add 3 million square feet in the Village alone. The school is feeling the full opposition of Village locals and the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation says that the plan is “a little like BP saying they show respect for the environment.” We don't know if that's completely apt, but in a New York Magazine feature, there is a NYU President John Sexton/Robert Moses parallel to mull over. The center of this controversy lies at the proposed 400 foot tower on Bleecker Street, which would be lodged alongside the I.M Pei designed Silver Towers. more ›

Some Brooklyn residents and politicians are hoping that the sprawling Jehovah's Witnesses complex in DUMBO can prevent further high-rise condo development. A member of the city board overseeing Brooklyn Bridge Park development, Paul Nelson, told the Post, "There’s a growing sentiment that the Jehovah’s Witnesses buildings are the magic bullet to keep more housing out of the park." See, over 1,200 condo units were proposed to help support the park's $16 million annual maintenance budget (the money being tax revenue from the condo units). The Jehovah's Witnesses didn't comment, but they are looking to get out of Brooklyn—they currently own dozens of properties. more ›

The Save Coney Island folk have just released a new rendering, showing the Bank of Coney Island as what they call a Bowery Ballroom-style event and music space. Should their vision become reality, this joint would be named The Banker's Ballroom—however, Thor Equities has secured a permit to demolish the ol' gal, so this idea may never make it off paper. The 1920s-era bank hasn't been in operation since the early '90s, and there has been plenty of deterioration inside since that time—check out photos at ScoutingNY. more ›

Do you think that in decades from now we'll look back at these photos by Nate Kensinger the same way we look back now at this last brownstone standing on the Upper East Side in 1959? more ›

Anthony Malkin may have spent most of last week bitching about the City Council-approved 15 Penn Plaza project, but as he said in an ad taken out in the New York Times last week, "There will be taller buildings in New York City than the Empire State Building." And while 1 World Trade Center is the only planned building that will reach higher than the Empire State Building's 1,454 feet, a number of other projects are aiming to drastically change the city's skyline, for better or worse. more ›

After the community board voted down an ambitious $1.2-billion plan to turn the landmark Domino Sugar Refinery site in Williamsburg into a residential complex with 2,200 apartments and four acres of public park, it looked as though the project would collapse, particularly because local councilman Steve Levin was opposed. (The City Council usually defers to the council member whose district encompasses whatever issue they're voting on.) But Mayor Bloomberg offered up enough concessions to win Levin's approval yesterday, and the City Council’s Land Use Committee approved the "New Domino," all but assuring final public review approval from the City Planning Commission. more ›

All these stalled construction projects around town are such a downer, but an international design firm has come up with a cool way to turn the down around, by putting up big fake iceberg facades around the sites... which is somehow less depressing than moribund development? Crain's New York reports that "the angular bright-white structures—which resemble the one that did in the HMS Titanic—are designed for quick and easy assembly and disassembly, once the real estate market revives." Of course, by the time that happens it will be impossible to distinguish between the fake icebergs and the real ones, as hell will have frozen over. more ›

Even though a Community Board and the City Council approved the rezoning an industrial area in Williamsburg for low-rise housing, a judge blocked any development in order to hear a lawsuit claiming that the process to rezone the area favored whites and Hasidic Jews over other minorities. Now, the NY Times reports that Justice Emily Jane Goodman scheduled a hearing next month "to determine whether the city's plan...would essentially foster segregation." more ›

To help finance its $125 million project, the Brooklyn Navy Yard is hoping to lure investors with the tantalizing prospect of permanent residency. The EB-5 visa can be awarded to up to 10,000 foreigners who invest $500,000 to $1 million in American businesses and projects. Once the investors can document that their investments created at least 10 jobs, they are granted green cards. Robert Lieber, deputy mayor for economic development told the Wall Street Journal, "This is a real interesting and clever way to provide financing." more ›

One World Trade Center, better known to most Americans and patriots as "Freedom Tower," the 1,776 foot (including 408-foot spire) tall building rising at Ground Zero, is now a hot property. According to the NY Times, the once "scorned" building "has turned into an object of desire. Four major real estate developers are vying to buy a minority stake in the $3.1 billion project and to take over the leasing and operating of the skyscraper." The Related Companies' CEO Stephen Ross said, "The building has real international significance, and it’s important for New York." more ›

Forget being cast out of Egypt; this year Jews all over Brooklyn can sympathize with the families being evicted from the Atlantic Yards and have a topical Seder with this Atlantic Yards themed haggadah! more ›

The Dutch Kills Advocacy League is speaking out against Developer Steven Bahar, who wants to build a nine-story hotel between two two-family homes on 27th Street. The Daily News reported from a Board of Standards hearing yesterday, where the League cited Bahar's missing a key zoning deadline, but Bahar says stop-work permits kept him from pouring the foundation on time. Bahar, who has already spent about $2 million on the project, said "They're using anything and everything they can to stop these midrise buildings." Neighbors have complained the construction has already damaged their homes, one saying "The damage he will do if he's allowed to continue will be astronomical." more ›

After firing famed architect Frank Gehry in an effort to cut costs, the developer of the controversial Atlantic Yards project is in talks with the man who designed the Freedom Tower. Architect David Childs told the Brooklyn Paper that Atlantic Yards builder Bruce Ratner asked him to give plans for the proposed basketball arena a "once over," and also discussed hiring him to construct one of the 16 skyscrapers that Ratner wants to build on the site. more ›

Two days before the official ground-breaking for the long-delayed Atlantic Yards megaproject, developer Bruce Ratner and the New Jersey Nets unveiled renderings of the interior of their planned Brooklyn basketball arena. After scrapping an original design by Frank Gehry over financial concerns and nixing a second design by the firm Ellerbe Becket after it was derided for being too dull, Ratner tapped Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects to draft up a new plan for the arena, which is dubbed the Barclays Center. more ›