The city has been abuzz with news of the Bloomberg administration’s $95.6 million deal with Thor Equities for 6.9 acres in Coney Island. Read about the details in the city’s press release or the New York Times, and then check out the land in question from a bird’s-eye view (toy helicopter’s-eye view, actually) in this lovely video tour of Coney by Jason Lam (embedded above, via Gothamist). Now that the announcement has been made, the city is charging forward – requests for proposals are already going out.
Things aren’t quite as busy everywhere – Brownstoner tells us that the Department of Buildings’ stalled construction site count is continuing to climb. The latest report lists 527 dormant lots across the five boroughs.
Coney Island isn’t the only competing plan Bloomberg has been advocating for. The mayor is also fiercely defending his plan to clean up the Gowanus without the need for Superfund designation. Matt Chaban at the Architect’s Newspaper breaks down the city’s plan and looks at what it might mean for the city.
Karrie Jacobs, who was kind enough to join in on the fun at last month’s Atlantic-Pacific meet-up, also has some ideas for the highway system. Read her editorial in the Times where she imagines “a kind of adaptive reuse” for the Interstate.
On Tuesday the 17th Transportation Alternatives kicks off its new campaign at BAMCinematek with Biking Rules PSA Film Festival, a night of films that promote safe, civic-minded cycling in NYC, with prizes for jury-selected winners and free beer from Brooklyn Brewery for all.
The Roundup keeps you up to date with topics we’ve featured and other things we think are worth knowing about.