In the News: No Lions for Library

••• “Bronze lions won’t roar outside the Battery Park City Library anytime soon, after a state agency nixed a proposal to place them there last week. The donated lions, by sculptor Tom Otterness, would violate rules that prohibit the Battery Park City Authority from receiving gifts, President Gayle Horwitz said in a June 29 letter to Community Board 1. […] Horwitz also said the authority could not accept the lions because they did not go through a formal review process and because Otterness is using an anonymous donor to fund them.” Um, if the BPCA wanted the lions, couldn’t Otterness sell them to the organization for some nominal amount, like $1? (DNAinfo)

••• Midtown Lunch explores the food at he new Duane Reade flagship on Wall Street: “While I would like to think anyone reading this site would not be caught dead getting lunch from Duane Reade, know that if you do there’s also a doctor on duty.” Zing!

••• Midtown Lunch has nicer things to say about Koki & Vegi, the nightclub act last of the Municipal Building kiosks to open; it serves Korean food (and California rolls, for some reason). I’ll try to get over there myself soon, but it looks heavy on the meat.

••• “The last of three construction supervisors who were charged in the death of two firefighters battling a blaze at the former Deutsche Bank building was acquitted on Wednesday, bringing a two-and-a-half-year criminal process to a close without any significant criminal penalties to show for it.” (New York Times)

••• Tribeca Trib tweeted that Moran’s on Washington Street is closing Friday.

••• “The Wall Street Burger Shoppe made international headlines several years ago when it put a $175 burger on its menu. Today, the 112-seat joint in the financial district is closed, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, just three years after opening.” (Crain’s, via Eater)

••• There’s hope for the neglected 12 Warren: “Barcelona-based Renta Corporación has sold 12 Warren Street to Spanish banking group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) for $26.16 million, according to city records. A spokeswoman for Renta said the sale was part of an agreement for the company to refinance its long-term syndicated debt, which involves the sale of its assets. […] Ultimately, Renta made an almost $9 million profit on 12 Warren, although the sale came years after its purchase. According to city records, Renta bought the building for $17.35 million from Global Imports Inc., a long-time owner.” (Real Estate Weekly)

••• Broadsheet Daily talks to retailers forced to leave the WFC mall, as well as to Aminah et les Amis, which got out last month.

••• “Goldman Sachs, American Express and other corporate giants are throwing their weight behind the downtown community in a battle over a crosswalk near the World Trade Center site. The companies, which employ thousands of people in Battery Park City, are urging the city to reopen the West Street crossing, at Vesey Street, which has been closed for safety reasons.” (DNAinfo)

••• “Sam Chang’s McSam Hotel Group has unloaded a distressed Financial District development site where it had been planning a 36-story, Gene Kaufman-designed hotel, marking the third New York City project the developer has sold off in the past three months, according to city records made public today. The site, at 33 Beekman Street, sits across the street from Frank Gehry’s brand-new 8 Spruce Street rental tower and traded June 15 for roughly $15.7 million—around 29 percent less than the $22 million McSam paid to acquire it in early 2007 [….] The buyer of the site is Massachusetts-based Jiten Hotel Management, which manages roughly 15 East Coast hotel properties and specializes in renovation and franchise conversion, according to the company website. A representative for Jiten did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” (The Real Deal)

••• “School staff is sorting through countless gifts sent from around the world after Sept. 11, readying for P.S. 234’s 10th anniversary observance.” (Tribeca Trib)

 

2 Comments

  1. “Um, if the BPCA wanted the lions, couldn’t Otterness sell them to the organization for some nominal amount, like $1?”

    Except that “Public Art” means the public pays the artist his millions, the artist isn’t doing any charity work and Dog Killer Otterness would get the inflated price/money from his rich friend if that’s the truth behind this “gift” he isn’t going to part with his precious $$ that he loves to make fun of but is the biggest whore of, this isn’t “free” from Otterness.

  2. What C Merry said