November 28th - December 2nd, 2011

Judge Delays Park 51 Eviction

November 29— The Gothamist reports, a judge has blocked Con Ed from evicting the Park 51 community center from its Lower Manhattan buildings. The utility retroactively raised the monthly rent to $47,437 and demanded $1.7 million in back rent. The utility had given Park 51 a notice to pay the $1.7 million by October 4 or face eviction. Judge Braun's order—known as a Yellowstone injunction—gives Park 51 20 days to "meet the deficiencies" alleged in Con Ed's complaint, or challenge them. In the meantime, Braun ordered the community center and its developer Sharif El-Gamal, to put up $881,519, which is the amount that both sides agree Park 51 owes.

Another Walgreens-Duane Reade Opens

November 29 -- Walgreens has signed a deal for 22,000 feet of retail space at 100 Broadway for an annual rent of $2 million, the New York Observer reported.

The downtown space has been vacant since the departure of Borders, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The new store could become a Walgreens or a Duane Reade as both are owned by the same company.

Battery Park Authority Roles Shifts

December 1 -- The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) is finishing work on a $50 million community center in one of the last real-estate development projects planned for the neighborhood, reported the New York Times. Asphalt Green, a nonprofit group, will run the programming at the 55,000-acre space that will offer fitness facilities as well as cooking classes and other services. It is scheduled to open in February.

The development of Pier A, which has been closed to the public for several decades, is the other BPCA project underway. It will include food courts and performance space and is expected to be finished by the fall of 2012.