Gantry Plaza State Park: you had us at hammocks. Seriously, the people in charge of the Williamsburg waterfront park need to take a cue from the Queens West waterfront, which Curbed reports took a big step today from "casually-accepted planned community to, dare we say, desired urban oasis." Alongside the aforementioned hammocks are lounge chairs, a promenade, the Pepsi sign, and sweet lush green grass. Now if only the fireworks were on the East River this year, we'd suggest staking a spot out now. more ›

Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who was in charge of Economic Development and Rebuilding in the Bloomberg administration, announced he would resign by the end of the year. The Post called the news "stunning," but we'd like to call it "classic," because his new job will be president of a little company called Bloomberg LP. At a City Hall press conference, Mayor Bloomberg said, "As a result of Dan's efforts, we've allowed for the creation of... more ›

Most New Yorkers love the Pepsi-Cola sign in Long Island City. But the for the new Queens West residents, the neon can be annoying. The NY Times spoke to tenants who live behind the sign:

Like many of his neighbors in this new glass high-rise in Long Island City, Queens, [Yo Han] Cho is a newcomer to New York. When he first moved into his “humble room,” as he calls it, he did not quite understand. more ›

It was inevitable. The NY Times City section has a little feature about the Long Island City vs. Williamsburg as better place to live debate that emerged on the Queens West discussion board last month. more ›

What an embrace of Long Island City! The city announced that it will buy waterfront property in Long Island City to build up to 5,000 units of affordable housing for families. The city is paying the Port Authority a total of $146 million for the 24 acres - $100 million for the property and $46 million for "remaining obligations" to the site. From the press relase:

Mayor Bloomberg: "Middle-income families are facing housing affordability challenges as a result of New York's success, and we have to make strategic, long-term investments to ensure that New Yorkers of all incomes can work and live in our City. This development will build on New York's grand tradition of major middle-income communities, but updated for the 21st century. We will work quickly to turn this into homes for thousands of teachers, police officers, firefighters, nurses and other moderate- and middle-income New Yorkers. I want to thank the Port Authority for its continued collaboration and support." more ›

Metro has an interview with ESDC chairman Charles Gargano, who says he wants to get "Brooklyn Bridge Park up to a level where work can begin in early ’07." Interestingly enough, a bunch of civic groups and the Sierra Club have joined together and sued to stop construction of Brooklyn Bridge Park over the inclusion of high-end real estate. Originally, the plan was to put 700 condos in to offset some of the park's operating expenses - but then the number of condos went to 900, and now the plan has 1200. The lawsuit claims that the Empire State Development Corporation has been "rewriting" the rules when it comes to planning the park. more ›

- Curbed has renderings of Queens West... no word on developments called "Queens East/North/South" (we'd dig a "Queens North by Northwest") more ›