January 30th - February 3rd, 2012

Court Rules Against MTA Over Fulton Transit Center Property

January 31 -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority undervalued a Lower Manhattan building it demolished to make room for the Fulton Street Transit Center the State Supreme Court ruled last Thursday. In addition, the agency owes the tenants of the building damages for fixtures it lost in the condemnation, reported The Real Deal.

After the MTA took over and demolished 194 Broadway, the restaurant tenants filed claims for compensation for their destroyed materials. The tenants included KFC and TGI Friday’s franchises and a Pizza Hut-Dunkin’ Donuts food court that were affiliated with the Riese Organization, which was the parent of building fee-owner DLR Properties.

According to the court decision, the MTA argued that because the tenants and fee-owner shared ownership elements, the sum it paid to DLR for the demolition should cover the claims made by the tenants.

The MTA declined to comment because the litigation is ongoing.

The tenants claim they are owed about $15 million, according to Rosenberg & Estis, which has represented the Riese Organization throughout the litigation process.

World Trade Center Design Flaw Could Cost Millions

January 31—ABC News reports, the agency building the new World Trade Center says a design flaw could add millions of dollars to the cost of the complex's signature tower.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Tuesday that the loading dock under One World Trade Center won't be finished in time for tenants to move their equipment into the 104-story tower. So it's building five temporary loading bays above ground. Because of the temporary PATH Station, the underground freight area can’t be connected to the tower until the new station is complete.

NYPD investigating burglary pattern

February 1 --  The NYPD is looking for the thief responsible for 15 residential burglaries in Lower Manhattan between September and last month, reported the Wall Street Journal. Police say the burglar gains entry into the building through the rooftop or the fire escape and then enters apartments through a window. The first burglary occurred on Sept. 28, 2011, on Wooster Street where jewelry and a laptop were taken. The suspect last struck on Jan. 17, taking a laptop from a Bleeker Street apartment.

ESC Requests Proposals to Light Up Lower Manhattan

February 3 -- A new project that will bring innovative light shows to lower Manhattan is attracting attention from the city's top designers and architects. David Rockwell's Rockwell Group, Hugh Hardy's H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and many others sent representatives to a recent meeting on the city's "Illuminate Lower Manhattan" project, records show.

The EDC is offering up to $1 million to the best proposal for a regular outdoor light show in the Financial District — an offer that drew more than 100 people to an informational meeting on Jan. 13.

The city proposed the light show as a way to draw more people to the Financial District after dark, enlivening the streets and boosting local businesses. Design teams can pick any location east of Broadway and south of Fulton and Ann streets, but the EDC is encouraging them to consider lighting up buildings along South Street or near the New York Stock Exchange in particular.

Design teams must submit their proposals to the EDC by March 13, and the agency hopes to pick a winner by early summer so the light shows can begin by the end of the year.