New developments in Alphabet City enticing more buyers, developers of the developments say

[Marketing materials for 277 E. 7th St.]

The Wall Street Journal checks in with an article titled "New Units Start to Spell Luxury in Manhattan’s Alphabet City," basically a free plug for the developers trying to move the condos at 277 E. Seventh St. near Avenue D.

To the article!

More restaurants and boutiques, long common on First Avenue and Avenue A, are opening on Avenue C. Lower prices than can be found closer to First and Second avenues in the East Village are enticing more buyers farther east, developers say.

“You’ve certainly got all the elements there — the park, the restaurants, pretty blocks, a lot of stuff within walking distance — it’s also very bike-friendly,” says Steve Ferguson, co-founder of Saddle Rock Equities, who with his partner Joe Eisner developed 277 E. Seventh St., a six-unit condominium between Avenues C and D. “It feels a little slow-paced — it almost feels like Brooklyn in a way.”

Today in The Wall Street Journal not liking Citi Bikes

Well, this piece is actually from the paper's weekend edition... in which reporter Anne Kadet bought a 24-hour access pass... She wasn't a big fan:

The trip home was worse. Upon docking in the East Village to avoid overtime charges, I discovered the station's kiosk screen was cracked; it wouldn't give me another bike. The station at First Avenue and Third was down. The kiosk at Houston and Allen wouldn't read my card.

That's when it started pouring. I cursed the system: "I hate Citi Bike! I hate Citi Bike! I hate Citi Bike!"

The nice lady who answered the Citi Bike hotline was sympathetic, but couldn't direct me to a functional station. Finally, after trying one last kiosk, I gave up and took the F train home.

I hate to say it, but if Citi Bike were NASA, there'd be a lot of dead astronauts. Of the 10 trips I took, eight had significant snafus. Yes, the system's launch was initially delayed due to software issues; perhaps they should have delayed a bit longer.

The whole article is here ... though you may need a subscription to access it... A few weeks back, Wall Street Journal editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz ripped Mayor Bloomberg and the entire bike-share program. Ripped it good.

The Wall Street Journal does not care much for Citi Bikes

Several readers have pointed us to this video from The Wall Street Journal, in which editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz rips Mayor Bloomberg and the entire bike-share program.

The ABCs of Alphabet City today

[Play-fighting in Tompkins Square the other day, by Bobby Williams]

East Village Week continues at The Wall Street Journal ... On Wednesday, there was the piece on the growing number of bars and all that. Today, there's a piece titled "Contrasts Grow as Alphabet City Evolves," focusing on Avenues A-D.

To the article!

Alphabet City has capitalized. Recently, it has become the go-to neighborhood for franchise extensions from fancier parts of town — the West Village's Westville, Park Slope's Fonda and Chelsea's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre — rendering it a kind of Epcot version of the city's coolness.

And!

Perhaps the most telltale sign of the brighter days for Alphabet City came last year, when Tompkins Square Park, which for decades was a seedy, drug-addled tent city for the homeless, installed permanent ping-pong tables, a nod to the changing demographics swinging toward both affluent hipsters and young families.

And the quote of the day goes to!

"We're seeing a lot more young women come to the neighborhood, I'd say a 70/30 split," said Arik Lipshitz, president of DSA Realty, a local firm started by his father in 1986. New residents work in fashion, tech and media. "Not so much finance," he said. But also not just waiters and bartenders and that kind of thing. These are proper professionals now."

'Making or breaking dreams' at Community Board 3

Here are excerpts from today's Wall Street Journal article on Community Board 2 and 3....

The owner of a new tea lounge in the East Village wanted a liquor license. After her community board denied the request, she started crying, "shocked by the backlash," according to one board member.

Welcome to Community Board 3. The restaurant and night-life industry may be buzzing downtown, but some of the biggest fireworks take place in dreary meeting rooms where tempers flare, tears are shed and the back and forth can stretch on for up to eight hoTrs. Confrontations have gotten so bad that some businesses have just given up and withdrawn applications.

Now, a group of high-profile restaurateurs are trying to form a trade association. One of their main gripes: Community boards are unfair.

"In a way, we're making or breaking dreams," said Ariel Palitz, who has straddled two roles, as nightclub owner and member of Community Board 3's committee. She said she was speaking as an individual, not for the committee.

And!

Some restaurateurs say community boards can be the biggest obstacle to doing business in the city. "They should call them communist boards instead of community boards," said Keith Masco, whose application for a liquor license for a proposed seafood restaurant and market in the Lower East Side was denied several months ago. "What they're doing is really unfair."

And!

Community Board 3 District Manager Susan Stetzer says a real concern of residents in her district is having a diversity of businesses, not just bars and restaurants. "It's about having services for people who live here," she said.

The Wall Street Journal on Avenue C

As The Wall Street Journal notes today:

[W]hile the night life has turned Avenue C into a top party destination for young professions and college students, the added noise and traffic is causing increased friction between residents and revelers.

Older residents who moved to the neighborhood in the '60s are now trying to keep out new bars. They have taken their complaints to the Community Board 3, which is restricting the number of new establishments that can sell alcoholic beverages.

According to the community board's website, Avenue C between Houston and 14th streets, an area with 23 liquor licenses, is deemed to have "greatly diminished the quality of life" for residents.

Some say the night life helps the area. "I understand sometimes there is too much noise," said Benjamin Alter, owner of Arcane, "but to me, the more business you have in the neighborhood, the better it makes the economy for the neighborhood."

Yes! Woo!



Anyway, let's flashback via the Times to 2005:

"C will keep its edginess for five more years," predicted Melvina Goren, a partner at Porch, 115 Avenue C (Seventh and Eighth), a candlelit bar known for its large backyard. "And then the scene will move on to Avenue D."

Well, any thoughts on that prediction?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves: Stuy Town mistaken for Lillian Wald housing projects

From the Corrections & Amplifications in The Wall Street Journal:

A Tuesday Money & Investing article about New York's Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village apartment complex was incorrectly accompanied by a photo of the Lillian Wald housing project on Manhattan's Lower East Side, which was misidentified as the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper property.

[Avenue D photo via Flickr. Stuy Town photo via.]