GOVERNORS ISLAND PAVILION; NYC GETS $176 MILLION FOR STORM PROTECTION; 70 PINE ST. STARTS TO RECEIVE TENANTS; 1 WALL ST.    

Cunard's ocean liner, Queen Mary 2, docked in Red Hook, Brooklyn, with a Red Hook ferry passing by. A baby had been born aboard the ship just a few hours before this picture was taken at noon on Sunday, Jan. 17. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

"Coming to Governors Island: A Pavilion Made of Coat Hangers," Curbed.com, 1/20/16. "The newest sculpture to go up on Governors Island this summer will be a pavilion made entirely out of coat hangers," says Curbed.com. "Yes, that's right, 'Hanger Barn,' as the art project is titled, is the winning entry for this year's City of Dreams Pavilion competition, which is an annual, participatory art event that calls for submissions of environmentally friendly designs. The competition is organized each year in collaboration between Figment, a non-profit arts organization, the Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA), American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY). Each year the competition calls for the submission of designs that are sustainable with a focus on the materials used, and how they can be reutilized when the installation is taken down. This year's winner is the team of Youngsu Lee and Bosuk Hur who represent the design firm Folio." For the complete article, click here.

"Landmark 70 Pine St. begins a new life in 21st century," New York Post, 1/25/16. "The makeover of 1932-vintage 70 Pine St. from insurance company offices to chic, contemporary apartments cost $50 million more than planned, and took a year longer to complete than expected, says the New York Post. "For a project which mere 'conversion' seems inadequate to describe, owner Rose Associates had to come up with creative solutions to bizarre challenges - which included a deal with a private club to swap a whole floor for an easement that Rose needed to put bedrooms on one side of the tower. But quietly, over the past few months, 70 Pine St. - a landmarked, 66-story Art Deco skyscraper dark since AIG moved out in 2009 - finally got a new heartbeat. It welcomed its first new life in November - guests at Q&A, a 132-room apartment hotel designed for stays of up to 30 days on floors 3 to 6. And this month tenants began trickling into the first wave of 612 luxury rental apartments designed by Deborah Berke & Partners Architects, of which 150 will have private outdoor space. A stroll through finished units revealed spacious layouts, hardwood floors, thermopane operable windows and washer-dryers in every unit." For the complete article, click here.

"New York City to Get $176 Million From U.S. for Storm Protections," New York Times, 1/19/16. "New York City may soon be one step closer to building a new flood protection system around Lower Manhattan to guard against another storm like Hurricane Sandy," says The New York Times. "Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said on Monday that the city would be awarded $176 million in federal funding for the proposed project, through a national contest created by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help communities recover from disasters and better prepare for them. The money would be used to help fortify a stretch of shoreline from Montgomery Street on the Lower East Side to the northern tip of Battery Park City. Specific measures have not yet been determined, but could include adding sea walls and temporary flood walls that could be deployed before a storm, and building grass berms that could double as recreational areas." For the complete article, click here.

"Fox, News Corp. to keep HQs in Midtown," New York Post, 1/15/16. "21st Century Fox and News Corp. won't be moving to the World Trade Center after all," says the New York Post. "Real estate sources told The Post, and the companies later confirmed, that the separate media giants controlled by Rupert Murdoch have decided to keep their headquarters on Sixth Avenue in Midtown. The companies' leases run through 2020." According to the Post, "Fox and News signed a non-binding letter of intent last June to lease 1.3 million square feet of office and studio space at Larry Silverstein's planned 2 World Trade Center. The 2.8 million-square-foot tower was to be designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels." For the complete article, click here.

"Landmarks Approves Changes To 1 Wall Street To Allow For Residential Conversion," New York YIMBY, 1/20/16. "A big change for a Lower Manhattan landmark is one step closer to becoming a reality," says New York YIMBY. "On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved modifications to 1 Wall Street, paving the way for its conversion from bank headquarters to residential condominiums with ground-floor retail. One Wall Street, bounded by Broadway, Wall Street, and New Street was designed by Ralph Walker and completed in 1931 as the Irving Trust Company Building." For the complete article, click here.

"Woman gives birth to baby boy on board Queen Mary 2," New York Post, 1/18/16. "The world's largest ocean liner docked in Brooklyn on Sunday with precious cargo - an infant born aboard," says the New York Post. "A doctor on the famed Queen Mary 2 sprang into action to deliver the baby boy - appropriately named Benjamin Brooklyn - on Saturday night, before the ship pulled into Red Hook on Sunday morning." For the complete article, click here.

New chairman for Alliance for Downtown New York:  On Jan. 19, the Alliance for Downtown New York's Board of Directors unanimously elected Alan Scott, Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, as its new chairman. Scott is the Alliance's third chairman, replacing most recent Chair Dennis Friedrich. Previously, Scott had been an Executive Board Member of the Downtown Alliance.

Friedrich had been appointed Downtown Alliance chairman in June 2015. At the time, he was CEO of Brookfield Property Partners' global office division. He resigned from that position on Jan. 5, 2016, effective Jan. 15.
 
Alan Scott, who currently serves as Managing Director, Corporate Services at Deutsche Bank,  has overseen significant work on the bank's real estate portfolio, as well as assignments in project management and strategic planning. Prior to his work at Deutsche Bank, he worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. and American Express.

"Dennis Friedrich to resign as CEO of Brookfield Property Partners' global office arm," The Real Deal, 1/5/16. "Dennis Friedrich, CEO of Brookfield Property Partners' global office division, plans to step down next week," The Real Deal announced on Jan. 5.  "The executive, who oversaw the firm's 115 million-square-foot international office portfolio, saw his future role at the firm diminishing in the face of its rising complexity and interconnectivity, sources told the New York Post." The article said that the split was amicable. Friedrich "oversaw the creation of the the more than 7 million-square-foot mixed-use complex in the Financial District known as Brookfield Place. He also oversaw preparations for Manhattan West, a 5.4 million-square-foot mixed use development planned for Hudson Yards." For the complete article, click here.

"Protected Buildings Fraudulently Marked For Destruction," Chelsea Now, 1/20/16. In a story that has implications for all New York City communities trying to protect their historic buildings, Chelsea Now reported that, "A set of residential buildings in the middle of W. 38th St. became an unassuming battle site in preserving the character of Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen, as well as a telling example of how vigilance and activism can yield results. The buildings - two of them standing four stories tall and one at three stories - were acquired by an entity controlled by Peter Poon, who bought out the tenants living in the building in order to demolish the complex. Poon hails from Peter F. Poon Architects, known for developing budget hotels - and applied to do just that. His Dec. 2014 application indicates that he planned a 22-floor hotel on the W. 38th St. site." The only problem was that there were falsifications in the demolition application that went unnoticed. In addition, said Chelsea Now, "The buildings should never have been able to be marked for demolition in the first place, as they fall within the boundaries of the Special Garment Center District - a zoning district that makes them subject to particular restrictions with regards to demolition." Chelsea Now noted that, "This victory for a community trying to protect the character of its neighborhood is a welcome, albeit rare, example of cooperation between residents, elected officials and the DOB - which has come under fire in recent months, due to similar incidents in which application fraud slipped through the cracks in the system - making clear the Department's need for increased funds, and, more importantly, a centralized system." For the complete article, click here.

Downtown bulletin board