The Real Estate

While we certainly appreciate the infusion of European tourism money, the lost-looking foreigners blocking the city's sidewalks are an unnecessary intrusion. Here are some tips for visitors on what to do, and more importantly what not to do, during your stay here. [Big Picture via City Room]

Here is a list of urban blights that can officially be blamed on Sex and the City. No. 1: "The douchification of the Meatpacking District and the West Village." [Time Out NY]

The executive producer of The Real World reveals the Brooklyn neighborhoods being eyed for the upcoming summer season. Not many surprises here, but we imagine community groups are already working themselves into a tizzy about a possible hipster invasion. [amNY]

In certain neighborhoods gangs actually boost property values. [Curbed]

Harrah's Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City unleashed a bevy of scantily clad women on Wall Street this morning to distribute keys to free hotel rooms. Klassy with a capitol K. [Eater]

Once again the Empire State Building is refusing to pick sides for the upcoming Subway Series. [Gothamist]

A look at six New York City homes, each of which is the "manifestation of an intensely (insanely) personal vision." [NY Magazine]

Governor Paterson is moving closer to picking a chief for his main economic development agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, a body that has sat without a clear leader since its downstate chairman under Governor Spitzer, Pat Foye, announced his resignation two months ago. The agency oversees many of the state’s large, high-profile development projects including Moynihan Station, Atlantic Yards and the Javits Center.

A committee of mostly business leaders and led by Sandy Weill is due to recommend a new chairman to Mr. Paterson in one to two weeks, at which point the governor will have the final say, according to multiple people familiar with discussions.  read more »

One of the remaining bidders for the West Side rail yards, a team of the Durst Organizaiton and Vornado Realty Trust, said it is expecting that S.I. Newhouse’s Condé Nast will remain part of its bid as an anchor tenant.

“We expect that Condé would be our partner,” said Durst spokesman Jordan Barowitz.

However, Condé, which began a new search for space after Tishman Speyer was named the winner over the Durst/Vornado team in March, did not make clear its plans, as a company spokeswoman, Maury Perl, declined comment.  read more »

It’s hard to tell we’re in an economic contraction – or, dare we say, recession (cue scary music) – what with retail rents continuing to rise along prime New York shopping corridors.

Haven’t the landlords paid any heed to Ben Bernanke? Or to the plight of their colleagues in commercial real estate who, as this paper has reported, are hiking up the amount of goodies they’re giving renters in exchange for signing leases?

Apparently they haven’t.

According to the Real Estate Board of New York’s annual spring retail report, released today, ground-floor rents along Third Avenue, between 60th and 72nd streets, rose 51 percent to $329 per-square-foot compared to the same time last year. On Fifth Avenue between 14th and 23rd streets, rents rose 50 percent to $401 a square foot.  read more »

Yesterday, we got some of the details wrong about Mathew Broderick's new apartment. City records show that Mr. Broderick did indeed take over the title of the fourth-floor co-op at 360 West 36th Street that belonged to his late mother Patricia. But it's unclear whether Mr. Broderick has put his new property on the market.

Mrs. Broderick passed away in 2003, leaving her son responsible for her estate. He lives on MacDougal Sreet, according to the transfer deed, with his wife Sarah Jessica Parker.

"This is an awesome space, an awesome location," chef Scott Conant said, during a packed-house grand opening party at his new digs in the meatpacking district--er, at least, sort of in the meatpacking district.

"It's not really in the meatpacking, it's on, you know what I'm saying?"

The former L'Impero and Alto cook's latest restaurant Scarpetta opened Monday evening in the former Gin Lane and old Village Idiot space at 355 West 14th Street, just east of Ninth Avenue.

"A lot of the core clientele, a lot of Upper East Siders and a lot of people from Uptown, they're not going to be kind of spooked by going too much into the meatpacking. Too far inside of it, it might scare 'em off. But because it's on it, they feel comfortable coming down.

"I looked everywhere," Mr. Conant said. "But I really wanted it to be a West Village restaurant. It's probably one of the last neighborhoods that is pure New York."  read more »

The number of apartment buildings sold in Manhattan above 96th Street in the second half of 2007 dropped 29.5 percent from the first half of the year, according to a new report. The report, prepared by appraisal firm Miller Cicero for investment-sales brokerage Massey Knakal, shows also that the number of walk-up and elevator apartment buildings in Upper Manhattan fell by 30.8 percent from the first half of 2007.

Apartment building sales also dropped in Manhattan below 96th Street. Sales of walk-ups were down almost 50 percent from the first half of 2007. Sales of elevator buildings, however, increased 13.5 percent.

Sales of apartment buildings borough-wide fell 27.5 percent from the first half of 2007 through the second.  read more »

On a recent Saturday night, I did a little experiment: I broke the rules of youthful social engagement and went to a bar by myself. I sat in the dimly lit courtyard behind Union Pool in Williamsburg. I made myself available, quietly sipping a pint of Blue Moon.

By 11, small groups had perched themselves all around me on wooden benches chatting about their lives, jobs and families. A group of three pretty ladies gossiped vehemently about their film industry jobs. I sat nearby in my frilly dress eavesdropping. After an hour of enjoying the warm weather, and having not made any new acquaintances, I made my way to sit at the bar. Again, no luck. Rarely are Brooklyn's local watering holes a place to meet new people these days. The age-old complaint of post-college social isolation was now fresh in my mind.

While advising me about my love life, my mother always likes to tell stories about her youthful evenings spent at her local singles bar. The rules of engagement are much different now. It's been a long time since there were social mores about which gender approaches the other, pays for dates or makes the first move on a first date. A cursory glance at Craigslist's missed connections section proves that many 25- to 35-year-olds, especially recent transplants, don't necessarily have the stones to introduce themselves in person.  read more »

A study conducted on behalf of the Bloomberg administration finds that synthetic turf fields in the city pose no health risk. [NY Times]

The MTA is giving 30 buses a makeover as part of its new Select Bus Service trial to streamline service. [NY Times]

New Jersey residents want a Powerhouse Arts District not a Toll Brothers development. [NY Times]

Alternate side parking is suspended indefinitely in Park Slope. [NY Times]

As foreclosures mount, condo owners in the buildings hit hardest find themselves arguing over maintenance costs. [NY Times]

"If you prick a contractor does he not bleed, hopefully not on the white marble counter?" [NY Times]

Gimme Shelter: Dick Cavett is selling a 77-acre tract of ocean front property in Montauk for $30 million; Bob Weinstein has paid $1 million for an apartment near his home at the Beresford. [NY Post]

Renovations begin at 100 Church Street, a commercial building that has been half vacant since September 11. [NY Sun]

New York City luxury buildings are flaunting "abs of steel." [NY Sun]

The Bronx Tourism Council launched a new Web site today to lure visitors to New York City's most overlooked borough. [City Room]

Harper's Bazaar unveils a new anti-counterfeiting campaign, which they insist is motivated by altruism not profit. [NY1]

A new monstrosity will rise in the meatpacking district. Developers say it's designed to "echo and honor the neighborhood's grittier past, harmonizing with the adjacent industrial vernacular." [Jeremiah's Vanishing New York]

Mermaids, roller girls, circus freaks and the like will gather at Coney Island USA's annual fundraiser next Wednesday. [Runnin Scared]

A look inside the MoMA Store's Destination: Kitsch--er, Japan. [Racked]

Toll Brothers boss Robert Toll admitted that sales in Brooklyn have "faded" just in time for the nation's largest luxury developers to launch another mega-project in Gowanus. [Curbed]

Rockefeller Center's private roof deck will open to the public for two nights only this evening. Guests are invited to sip champagne, enjoy the view, and listen to a pitch from the Canadian Tourist Board. [Gothamist]