••• “A longtime commercial tenant of 24 Murray Street [a.k.a. 111 Church and 27 Park Place], the five-story Tribeca building that on Friday evening, Sept. 1, became engulfed in flames and heavy smoke, told the Trib that he had complained ‘for a while’ to the building’s management about what he described as dirty ductwork in the building that ‘needed to be cleaned and they were never cleaned.'” —Tribeca Trib

••• “A formal lease and purchase agreement has finally been signed with the Port Authority for what is to be known as The Saint Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center. […] According to the church, the rent is a mere $1 per year.” It’s shooting to open in November of 2018. —New York Post

••• “Cape Advisors pulled off a $52 million construction loan from Bank of the Ozarks to build a boutique Tribeca condominium at 65 West Broadway [a.k.a. 59-61 Warren] sources told The Real Deal.” I wouldn’t normally include an article about a loan, but it’s good to know that Cape Advisors will be able to build there, now that it has torn all those buildings down.

••• City councilmember Margaret “Chin introduced legislation last month to let city officials apply for small zoning changes without going through a behind-the-scenes vetting process with the Planning Department—which can take up to a year. If that passes, she plans to introduce a bill that would allow her to tinker with the proposed Two Bridges towers before they get the green light. The August legislation could upend other projects that largely conform to existing zoning.” I have qualms about rampant development, but I have bigger qualms about Chin and other councilmembers screwing with zoning to suits their own purposes/political bases. —Crain’s

••• “Mourning Lam Zhou was apparently a bit hasty. You’ll recall that the beloved Chinatown noodle house departed 144 East Broadway in August after its lease expired. […] Indeed, if this latest signage at 40 Bowery is to be believed, the business will reopen here next month.” —Bowery Boogie