I must say that I find this CityRealty page (screenshot at right) for the 550 Vanderbilt condo building a wee bit slanted. Consider the list of pros and cons--and put aside the coronavirus crisis, which probably makes some people wary of elevators. The Pros include: near public transportation (sure, though no-parking might now be an issue) "near the Brooklyn Academy of Music" (not quite) near Barclays Center (more or less) "adjacent to new park" (not for many years, and open space isn't quite a park) part of a huge project with more than 6,400 apartments (the proofreading on that needs work, but that total is by no means imminent) The listing text, though not the Pros, mentions the key pro: the very advantageous 25-year 421-a tax abatement. Unmentioned, oddly enough, is the fact that Vanderbilt Avenue is a vibrant shopping street, with many food and beverage options, and is now an open street. What are the Cons? The Cons, in toto, consist of "Co...
This watchdog blog, by journalist Norman Oder, concerns the $6B project to build the Barclays Center arena & 15-16 towers at a crucial site in Brooklyn. Dubbed Atlantic Yards by developer Forest City Ratner in 2003, it was rebranded Pacific Park Brooklyn in 2014 after the Chinese government-owned Greenland USA bought a 70% stake going forward. In 2018, once the arena & four towers were built, Greenland bought out most of Forest City's stake, then sold three leases to other companies.