June 15th - June 19th, 2009

LMDC Program Expanded

June 15- The Board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation moved to increase the number of businesses in Lower Manhattan that can be eligible for grants. It will triple the number of blocks in the Financial District that are affected by construction. The proposal, which has to be approved by the City, is a response to pressure from the community, which criticized LMDC for giving out only $1 million from the program since it was created in early 2008.  Many merchants say their businesses have been adversely affected by all the construction work.

Bovis Head Resigns

June 16 – James Abadie, the head of Bovis Lend Lease in New York, has suddenly left the company. Several published reports say Abadie resigned as Bovis is being investigated for overbilling and bribery on several large construction projects in NYC including the decontamination/deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank Building. Abadie had worked at Bovis since 1980.

WTC Tower Talks Stalled

June 16 – There’s still no progress reported on the WTC talks. Sources told The New York Times representatives for Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority continue to balk at each other’s proposals; Deputy Mayor Lieber says some headway has been made. Monday, June 15^th was the third deadline set by the Mayor. Lieber says the talks will continue until a consensus is reached.

Bomb Scare on the Brooklyn Bridge

June 16 – The Brooklyn Bridge was shutdown yesterday for about an hour because of a bomb scare. The NYPD closed the span around 11:15 am until 12:30 pm because of a suspicious package which turned out to be several empty black suitcases.

Mayor Supports All the Towers on the WTC Site

June 17 – Mayor Bloomberg and Assembly Speaker Silver issued a joint statement, accusing the Port Authority of dragging its feet in the negotiations with Larry Silverstein.

They said they are disappointed that an agreement hasn’t been reached. The Port Authority responded by saying they will continue to work with all parties to rebuild the site. Sources say the Mayor and Assembly Speaker want the PA to provide the financing for all of the buildings at the site.

34 Leonard Street Defaults on Loan

June 17 – iStar Financial is suing R Square Real Estate over the conversion of 34 Leonard Street. The Real Deal reports R Squared defaulted on a $29.2 million dollar building loan and an $8.3 million project loan to convert the building into a 16 unit co-op. Construction at the building was recently completed.