••• “Ben Joseph—of Bridge Land Vestry LLC—has filed applications for a 13-story and 47-unit residential building totaling 154,188 square feet at the lots of 264 West and 70-74 Vestry Street [the yellow buildings above]. The two-story structure at No. 264 passed pre-demolition inspection yesterday; Ismael Leyva is designing.” That’s actually the Related Companies project known as 268 West, which includes those two addresses (as well as 39 Desbrosses, where Ponte’s restaurant was). Anyway, it’s news that the building with be 13 stories. Demolition permits were filed in July for 268 West and 39 Desbrosses. —New York YIMBY

••• The Wall Street Journal goes deep into the World Trade Center Transportation Hub mess: “the terminal connecting New Jersey with downtown Manhattan has turned into a public-works embarrassment. Overtaking the project’s emotional resonance is a practical question: How could such a high-profile project fall eight years behind schedule and at least $2 billion over budget? An analysis of federal oversight reports […] and interviews with current and former officials show a project sunk in a morass of politics and government. Those redesigning the World Trade Center—destroyed by terrorists in 2001 [No, really?!]—were besieged by demands from various agencies and officials, and “the answer was never, ‘No,’ ” said Christopher Ward, executive director from 2008 to 2011 of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the project’s builder.

••• “A pair of incidents in which ambulances took longer than expected to reach medical emergencies in Battery Park City have raised concerns about response times.” —Broadsheet

••• “Alex Birkenstock, whose last name and personal fortune is familiar to anyone who wears sandals, is one such ‘apartment hoarder.’ The multimillion-heir inked a deal to buy a penthouse on Broad St. in the Financial District for $5.87 million in 2007 […] But before he even saw them in place or enjoyed the view from the top floor, Birkenstock bolted. He has visited the property only once and he hasn’t rented it out. Not even once.” —New York Daily News

••• The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, “a federally-funded corporation formed to manage Downtown’s post- 9/11 recovery, owns the World Trade Center Tower 5 site, and [LMDC president] Emil said the Port Authority wants to take it over without paying any money. The problem, Emil said, is the site is worth $300 million to $500 million, and in addition, the LMDC spent hundreds of millions to get the site ready for development—a figure that ballooned because of the plagued and long-delayed demolition of the Deutsche Bank building.” —Downtown Express

••• Don Hill’s, at Spring and Greenwich, which everyone assumed would be demolished, will be reborn as the Hills NYC (does that not make anyone think of Lauren Conrad?!): “The Hills NYC is here to bring back Don’s original vision of a legendary venue which showcases Rock and Roll icons and NY talent,” says the website. —Grub Street

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