Square Feet @ New York City

Laurence Roberts, A Principal @ Arch Brokerage Ltd. & Washington Square Partners, sharing New York commercial real estate news.

By Laurence Roberts

Laurence Roberts
Brooklyn, NY
A guide to a spending the day in Downtown Brooklyn
amny.com - By Courtney Iseman Special to amNewYork
When it comes to contemplating how to spend a Saturday or Sunday in Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO tends to get all of the attention. But the neighborhood …
Laurence Roberts
New York City
Community Bank Stocks Hit by New York Rent Reform
The Wall Street Journal. - Konrad Putzier
The fallout from New York’s rent reform reaches community banks Stock investors are dumping shares of community banks with big real-estate lending businesses that could suffer from New York’s stricter
Laurence Roberts
New York City
Midtown’s beloved Paris Theater in danger of closing
Curbed - Amy Plitt
Cinephiles may soon be saying goodbye to yet another of the city’s threatened independent theaters: Deadline reports that the Paris Theater, a single-screen movie house on 58th Street, is “expected to
Laurence Roberts
Brooklyn, NY
Would You Pay $5.5 Million to Live in Shipping Container Luxury in Williamsburg?
brownstoner.com - Stephen Zacks
The slanted, corrugated townhouse at 2 Monitor Street, completed three years ago and built from 21 shipping containers, is now for sale. From the …
Laurence Roberts
Movies
NY Losing Another Prestige Palace As Signs Grow Ominous For Paris Theater – Deadline
Deadline - Mike Fleming Jr
EXCLUSIVE: The Paris Theater, the last great single-screen prestige picture palace in New York, is expected to shutter in late July, according to the …
Laurence Roberts
New York City
St. Mark’s air rights deal approved by landmarks commission
Curbed - Caroline Spivack
The Landmarks Preservation Commission reluctantly approved a developer’s plan to enlarge a 10-story East Village office building in order to ensure the preservation of a neighboring landmark through an
Laurence Roberts
New York City
Sunset Park has four new historic districts
Curbed - Valeria Ricciulli
Four areas in Sunset Park are now official city historic districts, following years of advocacy. On Tuesday morning, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Sunset Park North, Central Sunset Sunset
Laurence Roberts
New York City
Plans for Tower Fifth in Midtown include Venezuela consulate
New York Post - By Lois Weiss
The current Venezuelan consulate on East 51st Street is supposed to be incorporated into Harry Macklowe’s proposed Tower Fifth skyscraper, and any …
Laurence Roberts
Real Estate
Starrett-Lehigh building gets major upgrades — and new name
New York Post - By Lois Weiss
The Starrett-Lehigh building is getting street cred with a new entrance, retail, restaurants and food hall under the new moniker Starrett-Lehigh …
Laurence Roberts
Allianz
CoStar News - Allianz Takes $383 Million Bite of the Largest US Real Estate Development
costar.com - DIANA BELL
Global insurance company Allianz is signaling bullishness on the success of widescale development on New York City's Far West Side with another deal …
Laurence Roberts
New York City
Iconic costume, beauty store Ricky's fading fast in Manhattan
New York Post - By Lisa Fickenscher
Dry your eyes, drag queens and club crawlers: Ricky’s will soon be down to its last pair of stores — and they may not last long. The New York …
Laurence Roberts
Carbon
Landlords must spend $20 billion for carbon cuts
crainsnewyork.com
Laurence Roberts
Another pre-IPO concern for the We Company: lease debt
therealdeal.com - kevin-r
We Company CEO Adam Neumann (Credit: iStock and Getty Images) It’s been a year of ballooning financial numbers for the We Company, which has seen both …
Laurence Roberts
Anbang looks to sell 5th Ave office condo at steep discount
therealdeal.com - Rich Bockmann
Anbang Insurance Group has decided to sell off another one of its pricey Manhattan properties. And this one could go at a steep discount.The …
Laurence Roberts
Brooklyn, NY
Neighbors Gather To Learn “What’s Next For Atlantic Yards?”
bklyner.com - Pamela Wong
FORT GREENE – The Fort Greene Association, Boerum Hill Association, North Flatbush BID, and North Prospect Heights Association co-hosted a panel …
Laurence Roberts
Harlem
Harlem Sites Nominated For National Landmark Status
Patch - Brendan Krisel
HARLEM, NY — Two Harlem sites have been nominated by the state for placement on the National Register of Historic Places, state officials …
Laurence Roberts
Brooklyn Bridge
Curved Tower Will Rise on Former Jehovah’s Witnesses Lot Next to Brooklyn Bridge in Dumbo
brownstoner.com - Craig Hubert
A tilted, glassy tower is coming soon to Dumbo, where it will be wedged between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Located at 60 …
Laurence Roberts
Brooklyn, NY
Gowanus business owners fear extinction from city's rezoning plan
brooklyneagle.com - ‘A wild place:’ Brooklyn Botanic president looks back on 14 years at the helm June 18 | Alex Williamson
Gowanus merchants met with city officials on Tuesday — the second meeting this month — to discuss the challenges they are experiencing, the …
Laurence Roberts
Analysis: Here’s what the new rent law will do to the average stabilized apartment
therealdeal.com - Kevin Sun
The new rent bill that was signed into law on Friday has already been described as “devastating” and “disastrous” for New York City’s real estate …
Laurence Roberts
Cities
Cities Start to Question an American Ideal: A House With a Yard on Every Lot
The New York Times
Rising concerns about housing affordability, racial inequality and climate change are causing cities nationwide to re-examine their attachment to the detached house.
Laurence Roberts
New York City
Silence at Hard Rock Hotel site as construction stalls
New York Post - By Steve Cuozzo
An eerie silence has fallen over the Hard Rock Hotel site at 159 W. 48th St., which Extell is developing for Hard Rock International. Work has oddly …
Laurence Roberts
New York City
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank leaving vast Financial District spaces
New York Post - By Steve Cuozzo
Citigroup plans to leave 111 Wall St. entirely by the end of the year — an impending 900,000-square-foot vacancy that will leave FiDi with two huge …
Laurence Roberts
New York City
CoStar News - Brooklyn's Freehold Changed the Way New Yorkers Eat, Work, and Play
costar.com - DAWN PAPANDREA
Brooklyn's hip pocket of Williamsburg is lined with a collection of cafés, cool workspaces, and trendy bars filled with live music and game rooms. So …
Laurence Roberts
New York City
Possible Soho, Noho rezoning could broaden the scope of artist live-work spaces
Curbed - Caroline Spivack
Potential zoning changes in Soho and Noho may broaden those who qualify for the neighborhoods’ artist live-work spaces to make those units “more inclusive,” according to the city-hired consultant who crafting
Laurence Roberts
Business
The Boutique Fitness Boom
The New York Times - By KATHERINE ROSMAN
A visit to an upscale suburban mall or a city shopping district used to be marked by stops at Gap, Sharper Image and Barnes & Noble, ending in a pile of shopping bags. Now it’s about taking a $36 Pilates
Laurence Roberts
MTA
MTA wants vendors to transform vacant storefronts at major subway hubs
Curbed - Amy Plitt
As part of its ongoing quest to make its 472 subway stations more appealing to modern commuters—and make some money in the process—the MTA is looking for vendors to transform vacant or outmoded retail
Laurence Roberts
New York City
NYCHA backtracks on 50-story Upper East Side infill tower
Curbed - Caroline Spivack
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has scrapped a controversial private development on an Upper East Side public housing complex after fierce pushback and a lawsuit against the project. NYCHA
Laurence Roberts
New York City
How New York’s Skyline Is Changing to Give the Wealthy a Better View
The New York Times
New Yorkers are witnessing a boom of luxury residential buildings, which some see as a sign of the city’s wealth gap.
Laurence Roberts
The Bronx, NY
Rent Laws’ Impact: Tenant Paradise or Return of the ‘Bronx Is Burning’?
The New York Times - By LUIS FERRÉ-SADURNÍ and STEFANOS CHEN
[What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] When a neighborhood landlord named Stephanie Kirnon learned about the far-reaching changes to New York’s rent laws, she grew