Mod Squad Walks Off Job at Atlantic Yards Throwing Her Voice
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Yo u r Neighborhood — Yo u r News® BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2014 Serving Brownstone Brooklyn, Williamsburg & Greenpoint AWP/20 pages • Vol. 37, No. 37 • September 12–18, 2014 • FREE HERE TO STAY Junior’s owner says he turned down $45 million in hot market, won’t sell By Matthew Perlman The Brooklyn Paper Junior’s is off the block. 14 7 The iconic, original Junior’s Res- JOHNSON ST taurant is Downtown to stay after a GOLD ST six-month-long flirtation with devel- PRINCE ST opers eager to take a bite out of the MetroTech prime real estate it sits on at Flatbush Center 1 Avenue Extension and DeKalb Ave- FLATBUSH AVE EXTENSION nue, owner Alan Rosen said this week. MYRTLE AVE 6 Rosen put the 64-year-old family res- 9 11 10 8 taurant and bakery up for sale in Feb- ruary but announced this week that he 13 simply could not part ways with the place, even for $45 million. “Junior’s is part of Brooklyn’s his- WILLOUGHBY ST NAVY ST tory,” Rosen said just before receiv- BRIDGE ST 2 LAWRENCE STLAWRENCE DUFFIELD ST 5 ing a high-five from a customer show- 12 ing her appreciation for his decision to stay put. “Junior’s and Brooklyn go 4 Long Island together.” University ALBEE ST Rosen, a third-generation owner of FULTON MALL the building and establishment, was angling to secure the business a spot 3 J in whatever tower got built on the site. DEKALB AVE Offers reached as high as $45 million but the top bids did not include room for a new Junior’s and the two years Junior’s (shown at red J above), has new neighbors Downtown. Light the others would have shuttered it for blue circles mark new arrivals, while dark blues show buildings now were too long to bear, Rosen said. under construction. Heights in stories follow project names below. “When push came to shove, I just 1. Avalon Fort Greene, 42 8. The Andrea., 37 couldn’t do it,” he said. Peter Tyson, who has worked at Ju- 2. Avalon Willoughby West, 57 9. The Giovanni, 15 nior’s for 30 years, said he breathed 3. City Point Phase I, 4 10. 180 Myrtle Ave., 15 a sigh of relief when he heard the 4. City Point Phase II, 19 and 30 11. 86 Fleet Pl., unknown news. 5. City Point Phase III, unknown 12. 388 Bridge St., 53 “I was disappointed that we could 6. Toren, 37 13. The Brooklyner, 51 have been losing our home,” he 7. Bklyn Air, 40 14. Oro, 40 said. “Now my shoulders are much lighter.” Rosen over to thank him. “I bleed orange and white,” Rosen Robin and Butch Young booked it “Hey Mr. Junior’s,” said Ingrid Lock- said, referring to the eatery’s iconic to Junior’s from Crown Heights when hart. “Today’s my birthday! This is a logo. “Or maybe cheesecake.” they heard the news. great present.” Landmarking Junior’s would make “This is like an icon in Brooklyn,” Harry Rosen opened a restaurant it very difficult to tear down and build said Robin, who remembers coming called Enduro at the corner back in over, but Rosen said he has no interest to Junior’s after her high school grad- 1929. After a renovation, he reopened in pursuing the designation. uation in 1982. “We didn’t want to see as Junior’s on Election Day in 1950. “I’m not interested at all in land- it go.” His sons ran the place starting in the marking the building,” he said. “Then Photo by Elizabeth Graham Another group sitting in a booth next 1970s, and Alan, Harry’s grandson, every time I changed a lightbulb I’d Junior’s Restaurant owner Alan Rosen says he is no longer interested in selling the Downtown icon — to the windows lining Flatbush called took over in the 1990s. have to get it approved.” but he’s not trying to get it landmarked either. Mod squad walks off job at Atlantic Yards By Matthew Perlman thorized, forced furlough that you, of details about a contractor and low-market rates. When ground The Brooklyn Paper as managing member, have im- an owner, in many ways, point- broke on the building in Decem- Work on the first building in posed on them,” Forest City head ing fingers at each other.” ber 2012, Forest City said it would the development formerly known MaryAnne Gilmartin wrote in a Local pols took Forest City’s be finished by this August . The as Atlantic Yards has stalled amid letter to Skanska. side in the dispute, saying Skanska building currently stands 10 sto- controversy. A Skanska honcho griped that should let the company take over ries tall. The Swedish construction com- the takeover offer was a “propa- the operation to keep the affordable The quarrel could also affect pany Skanska halted construction ganda exercise” meant to divert housing in the project rising and the timeline of the larger 16-tower last week on the high-rise build- discussion of “commercial and keep the workers working. mega-development, which Forest ing B2 at the corner of Flatbush design issues.” Skanska has so “It is unacceptable that a finan- City and its Chinese-government- Avenue and Dean Street, citing far not elaborated on those issues cial dispute has left more than 150 owned partner Greenland have problems with the tower’s touted beyond a description in the law- workers unemployed, jeopardiz- said will be completed by 2035. modular design. But Forest City suit saying that “numerous de- ing the economic stability of their The latest projected deadline is Ratner claims Skanska is to blame sign errors and omissions exist in families and further delaying the nearly two decades later than For- for schedule and cost overruns and the B2 design, including but not construction of affordable housing est City’s original claim that it sued the builder two weeks ago to limited to, errors and omissions units in Fort Greene,” said Bor- would be done by 2016. try forcing it to restart construc- affecting the modules, the steel ough President Adams, Council- The two companies agreed in tion as it furloughed workers on frames of the modules, the ver- woman Laurie Cumbo (D–Fort June to finish all the promised be- the site and in the Navy Yard fac- tical alignment of modules in the Greene), and Councilman Brad low-market dwellings by 2025 or tory where the units were being field, the facade panels and their Lander (D–Park Slope) in a state- face fines from the state . assembled. The situation is now alignment, and/or the process of ment. “The completion of the mod- A Greenland spokesman broke a standoff with no end in sight, handling and assembling modules ular apartment tower is vital to the company’s silence on Mon- as Skanska has lodged a coun- and other components.” the working families who have day to deny that the feud will af- tersuit demanding $50 million for In its lawsuit, Skanska accuses waited years for promises to be- fect the rest of the project. what it claims are the developer’s Forest City of “providing a de- Photo by Elizabeth Graham come a reality. Forest City Ratner Another building is on track faulty plans. sign for the B2 project which con- The first apartment building in the massive Atlantic Yards project is being built using has proposed reopening the fac- for a December ground-break- Forest City now claims it wants tained errors and omissions.” The modular construction, but because of a dispute between the developer and the contrac- tory immediately and assuming re- ing, he said. to take over the factory that it suit also claims the developer did tor it has stalled out 20 stories shy of completion. sponsibility to resume operations, Greenland owns a 70-percent has shared with Skanska and put not properly set up the modular to keep this job on track and indi- stake in the un-built portion of the out-of-work employees back component factory and has not assigned to this project lacked the The developer’s suit also states A Forest City spokeswoman viduals employed while the courts the project, but does not have a in action. proven that it can pay Skanska skill, experience and diligence that Skanska agreed to the B2 addressing a community meet- hear the broader issue.” say in what goes on with the Bar- “We strongly believe as a joint for building. to complete the project in accor- plans when it took the job and ing on Thursday summed up the The dispute means there is clays Center or B2. venture, we have an obligation to The developer pointed the fin- dance with the promised sched- that it is responsible the build- feud this way: no end in sight to work on the Forest City and Greenland have the 157 workers who have lost ger back at Skanska. ule and price,” says Forest City’s ing’s delays and the higher costs “You can read about it,” rep 32-story, 363-apartment B2, half asked the public to refer to the de- their jobs because of the unau- “Skanska and the personnel it complaint. they caused. Ashley Cotton said. “But it’s lots of which is supposed to rent at be- velopment as “Pacific Park .” of a cohesive geographical mu- sic scene. “I’m hoping to find more Throwing her voice of my niche here,” she said. “I thought I’d enter a big city and see where it brings me.” SoundCloud, Kickstarter enable W’burg Techno Files Raspberry Pi is no deli- electronic musician’s European tour cious pastry — it is a credit-card sized computer.