Crain's New York Business

22/10/2025

New York’s trains run the city’s economy. But too often, they don’t run on time.
Subway delays don’t just frustrate riders, they affect employers, productivity and the city’s financial ecosystem. Crain’s reviewed MTA data from the first half of 2025 to understand where delays are most common, what causes them and how the authority plans to address them.

The findings reveal a system that is improving in some respects but still struggling with recurring problems, from aging equipment to unruly riders.

With a $68 billion capital program for mass transit upgrades in motion — including more than $5.4 billion for new signals and $10.9 billion for new subway cars — the stakes for improving service are high.

See more data here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/data-behind-new-york-citys-subway-delays?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

21/10/2025

A popular West Coast doughnut shop will soon make its debut in the city with a new Union Square location, the Portland-based eatery recently announced.

Voodoo Doughnut, founded by Kenneth Pogson and Tres Shannon in Oregon in 2003, plans to open its latest storefront at 41 Union Square West after inking a 10-year lease with landlord Brause Realty. The asking rent was $300 per square foot, according to Newmark's Jeffrey Roseman, who represented the landlord along with Newmark's Craig Slosberg. Jeremy Ezra, also of Newmark, represented the tenant.

Known for its pink spinning doughnut cases and zany fried dough treats — such as its namesake Voodoo Doll, which is a raspberry-filled, chocolate-frosted doughnut with a pretzel stake through its heart, and the Portland Cream, which is a raised shell filled with Bavarian cream, topped with chocolate and decorated with a set of eyes — the chain will occupy 2,800 square feet of space on the ground floor of the 17-story boutique loft building at the corner of East 17th Street.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/voodoo-doughnut-announces-plans-open-union-square-manhattan?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

20/10/2025

A Nolita building that produced perhaps the greatest investment return ever in New York real estate has landed a new long-term tenant.

Industrious, an office co-working firm, has committed to a seven-year lease at 190 Bowery for 33,000 square feet, or about 90% of the building at the corner of Spring Street, according to an announcement today from landlord RFR Realty. The Beaux-Arts property was developed in 1899 as a bank and over the years held studio space for artists including Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein.

“The building itself is an evolving work of art situated in the heart of one of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods,” said AJ Camhi, RFR’s director of leasing. Industrious’ director of real estate, Natalie Levine, said 190 Bowery’s architecture and fascinating history “make it an inspiring choice” for their new location.

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The office co-working firm Industrious is moving in at 190 Bowery.

17/10/2025

A 20th-century building home to a beloved Brooklyn bakery that's nearing its centennial has hit the market for just under $10 million, according to Compass.

The 4-story building located at 192 Union St., where old-school Italian baked goods shop Mazzola Bakery has done business since it opened at the corner of Henry Street 97 years ago, is looking for a buyer for the first time in decades. It is being marketed along with the neighboring building at 194 Union St.

The asking price for both properties is about $9.8 million. The lots span about 5,700 square feet and contain seven residential units combined. The buyer of the properties will also gain the right to own and operate the nearly century-old bakery, which has become a neighborhood institution.

"You can't just have our dirt in prime Carroll Gardens," said Compass's Nicole Galluccio, the listing agent for the property, which was built in 1900 in what was then known as South Brooklyn. "The bakery is tied to the sale of the land."

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/mazzola-bakery-and-its-building-carroll-gardens-brooklyn-are-sale?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

16/10/2025

Twelve New York City restaurants that opened within the last two years just earned Michelin's stamp of approval — and could be in the running for stars come November.

The French tire company added nine spots in Manhattan and three in Brooklyn to its list of "recommended" New York restaurants. Michelin adds restaurants to the list on a rolling basis, and the new names are considered informal finalists for the star awards at the end of the year.

The Michelin guides were created more than a century ago by French tire manufacturers. The coveted Michelin stars are considered the crown jewels of the restaurant industry.

As for how the guide is determined, Michelin says their inspectors always dine anonymously, pay for their own meals and rate their experience on the quality of the products, mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, personality of the chef in his or her cuisine, value and consistency between visits.

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Michelin adds restaurants to the list on a rolling basis, and the new names are considered informal finalists for the star awards at the end of the year.

15/10/2025

Now that outdoor retailer REI has announced its plan to leave its longtime flagship store at SoHo's historic Puck Building late next year after 15 years in the berth, landlord Kushner Cos. is hanging a "for rent" sign on the massive retail space.

Richard Skulnik, vice chairman and partner at Ripco Real Estate, which is representing the Midtown-based developer in the tenant search, told Crain's that the intention is to maintain the existing multilevel configuration of the retail space, which is being offered at just under $6.3 million in rent annually, which works out to roughly $158 per square foot.

The goal is to sign a contract by the end of the year, Skulnik said, and his firm is already in conversations with a number of interested parties, ranging from the luxury world to the experiential world, and even big-box retailers, though he wouldn't name names.

"We're not required to divide the space up because we have a lot of interest for the whole space as it stands," he said. "We haven't picked a horse just yet. We're deciding between a lot of great concepts."

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The asking rent for the 40,000-square-foot retail space is $6.25 million.

14/10/2025

Few development sites in the city have a history as complex or as contentious as that of P.S. 64 in the East Village.

The former public elementary school, built in 1906, has been at the center of legal and political fights since at least 1998, when developer Gregg Singer bought it at a city auction for $3.2 million and quickly evicted the Charas/El Bohio Community Center, which had operated out of the building for decades.

The next 25 years were filled with lawsuits, red tape and acrimony, as Singer was repeatedly stymied in his attempts to turn the site into a 19-story college dormitory or do much of anything with it. He ultimately sold the derelict building in early 2024 for about $57 million to 605 E. Ninth Community Holdings, a limited liability company funded by Aaron Sosnick, a wealthy hedge fund magnate whom Singer had long accused of attempting to sabotage his development efforts at the site.

Sosnick is now trying to leave that combative history behind and turn the run-down property into what he maintains it should have been all along: a community center meant to benefit the neighborhood.

The project has been dubbed the Creative Community Collective and is still in its very early stages. Sosnick is currently trying to put together a board of advisers to help come up with more specific next steps for the site, but in general he wants the project to serve as an educational, arts and community hub for the East Village. His team expects it to take anywhere from three to seven years to bring the effort to fruition at a cost of about $200 million.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/aaron-sosnick-discusses-plans-ps-64-east-village?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

13/10/2025

Just two weeks after getting the green light to break ground on a long-touted Midtown skyscraper, the developers behind the project have filed plans to demolish two of the buildings standing in its way.

Richard Concannon, vice president of operations at Rudin, and David Bellman, executive vice president at Vornado Realty Trust — the two firms spearheading the project alongside hedge fund magnate Ken Griffin — submitted permits to the Department of Buildings Thursday to demolish 40 E. 52nd St. and 350 Park Ave. on the site of the proposed tower, records show.

The new, 62-story tower would be given the address 350 Park Ave. and replace three existing buildings on the site, including the 31-story building currently located at that address, between East 51st and East 52nd streets, and the 23-story building located at 40 E. 52nd St.

A 5-story building located at 39 E. 51st St. would also need to be demolished to make way for the project, but permits for it have not yet been filed, records show. The majority of the existing footprint is already vacant, and the new building is expected to come online in 2032.

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The City Council two weeks ago voted unanimously to approve plans for the project.

10/10/2025

More than 80% of restaurants that once offered outdoor dining abandoned the practice under the Adams administration's seasonal restrictions, but a new City Council bill aims to restore year-round street dining and expand which businesses can participate.

Brooklyn Councilman Lincoln Restler introduced legislation Thursday that would reinstate year-round curbside dining and reduce red tape to make it easier for restaurants and other businesses to apply for the street seating.

The bill would fundamentally reshape the Adams administration’s Dining Out NYC program, which requires sidewalk seating sheds be disassembled and stored from the end of November through March, a cost-prohibitive stipulation that reduced the number of businesses willing to participate, according to Restler.

“The outdoor dining program is broken,” he told Crain’s. “The data tells us that the vast majority of restaurants have decided not to participate because of the bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the Adams administration. Our legislation fixes that.”

Restler said the legislation looks to correct a "bureaucratic oversight” by making wholesale bakeries, bodegas and other food businesses that are permitted by the state Department of Agriculture eligible for outdoor dining

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-policy/new-york-city-council-bill-would-make-outdoor-dining-year-round-more-businesses?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

09/10/2025

A $3.5 billion project to replace Newark Liberty International Airport's aging monorail system finally broke ground earlier this week — nearly double its original budget and five years behind schedule due to procurement delays.

The Port Authority's long-delayed replacement of the 28-year-old system will boost capacity as airport demand grows and serves as a key piece of Newark Airport’s broader modernization. The new AirTrain, which had an original price tag of $2.05 billion, is expected to be up and running as soon as 2030.

“This program isn't just about replacing infrastructure. It's about building opportunity,” said Ralph Tamburro, a Port Authority executive working on the AirTrain project. “It's about functionality and accessibility for every passenger, and a system the region can be proud of.”

The new AirTrains will hold up to 160 passengers with luggage, more than double the current capacity, and will come with modern touches to improve the passenger experience, including plush seating, new lighting and real-time signage.

Read more here: https://www.crainscleveland.com/real-estate/painesville-seeing-500-million-private-and-public-investments?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

08/10/2025

Crain's New York Business wrapped up its mayoral forum at the New York Athletic Club Wednesday morning, featuring appearances from Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo.

Here is a roundup of some of the most notable comments from each: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-policy/most-interesting-comments-zohran-mamdani-andrew-cuomo-and-curtis-sliwa-crains-forum?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

07/10/2025

Subway riders can finally make phone calls and send texts while traveling between Manhattan and Brooklyn on the 4 and 5 lines — a milestone in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s efforts to end one of New York City’s last cellular dead zones.

The new service is part of a $600 million plan to bring connectivity to all subway tunnels by 2032.

Boldyn Networks and AT&T partnered with the MTA to install the 5G infrastructure in the Joralemon Street Tunnel linking Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. The idea is to give subway riders the convenience of being able to make a call or get some work done while they’re traveling between stations, especially on two of the system’s busiest lines that carry nearly 2 million riders daily.

One of the few other stretches of tunnel that has cell service is the Midtown shuttle between Grand Central and Times Square, which went live in September 2024.

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Riders can now make calls and send texts on a major subway tunnel.