1. Report: multiple stabbing on 11th Ave early sunday morning

    Hudson Terrace

    Because 11th Ave didn’t already have a bad enough image late at night… At around 3:15am on Sunday morning, three people were left injured – one critically – after a dispute outside the Hudson Terrance Club on W 46th St, just west of 11th Ave, WABC 7 reports.

    Apparently, after an argument on the dance floor, a car pulled up as the victims were leaving the club and attacked. Fortunately all the victims were stabilized on the scene, and quickly taken to nearby hospitals.

    This is just the latest in late-​night 11th Ave crime. Just two months ago, a gang of youths beat and robbed a man between 11th & 12th Aves late at night, ten streets north of this latest incident. Not a good place for a midnight stroll, it seems…

  2. Winter miracle: Manhattan Bicycles back from the dead

    Manhattan Bicycles

    Phew. Last week, after several days of being shuttered, we wrote about how it looked like Manhattan Bicycles had closed. Given the decrease in cycling winter brings (especially with the weather we have to look forward to tomorrow), it made sense, despite how popular the place is. Well, good news, because today they were back open, just like nothing had happened:

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    Sigh of relief.

    Manhattan Bicycles

    791 9th Ave

Sunday, Jan 19th

  1. Around the web: Development edition

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    Never-​ending scaffolding

    • Sigh, Another Gene Kaufman Hotel Is Coming to Midtown (Curbed)

      Yep, another one. To top it off, the site – on W 38th, between 8th & 9th – is apparently contaminated?

    • New Renderings: 605 West 42nd Street (Curbed)

      New renderings of the second of the “Atelier” towers, on the corner of 42nd & 9th, which will be “one of the largest apartment buildings in NYC” once finished. Daunting.

    • Huge Affordable Housing Development Proposed for Hell’s Kitchen (DNAinfo)

      Catching up a bit, there’s plans for a 210-​unit affordable housing development on W 52nd between 10th & 11th, just around the corner from DeWitt Clinton Park It would be an interesting contrast to the luxury Mercedes House directly across the road, even though the design mimics its future neighbor’s “stepped” appearance.

    • Block-​Long Development Site For Sale Beside Hudson Yards (Curbed)

      A development list wouldn’t be complete without some mention of Hudson Yards. Since the development, various buildings and vacant lots have been scooped up, some for crazy numbers. Now the latest: a block along 10th Ave between 34th & 35th is up for grabs. Start placing bets on the final sale price.

Saturday, Jan 18th

  1. Last night for TGI Fridays

    W 34th St & 8th Ave

    News that will no doubt devastate millions: tomorrow is set to be the last day for the 8th Ave location of TGI Fridays, as reported by Eater several months ago. This particular outpost, right on the corner of 34th & 8th, posted notice of the planned closure back in October.

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    Source: Ralph R/​Yelp

    The place was, unsurprisingly, not terribly well liked, earning itself a whole one-​and-​a-​half stars on Yelp. Still, sad news for the 77 employees who’ll be out of a job. There’s the narrow chance the closure will just be for extended renovations, but that’s probably just “wishful” thinking.

Friday, Jan 17th

  1. Roseland’s future revealed: another high rise

    Back in October, we heard that iconic venue Roseland Ballroom would be closing this year. Speculation at the time assumed that the spot would be replaced with – what else – a giant, glassy tower. Now, BuzzBuzzHome have discovered the details and rendings for the new building, and it’s exactly what you’d expect:

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    Source: CentraRuddy
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    Source: CentraRuddy
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    Source: CentraRuddy

    The information from the project’s site:

    This new 59-​story mixed-​use tower in Manhattan’s Theater district will redefine the midtown skyline. The as-​of-​right development will encompass some 468,300 SF. The three-​story base will accommodate luxury retail space along one of New York’s most prestigious shopping streets. The two upper floors will contain 30,000 SF of indoor and outdoor amenities for residents and below grade valet parking. The tower above will house approximately 426 luxury studio, 1 bedroom, and 2 bedroom residences along with a 4 bedroom penthouse with uniquely expansive views over Central Park. A rooftop veranda will offer all residents an outdoor pool and lounge overlooking both Central Park to the North and Midtown Manhattan to the South.

    Look forward to that towering over you in the distant future.

Thursday, Jan 16th

  1. A lot of public space coming to Manhattan West

    Manhattan West

    Catching up on some news from the past few weeks, Curbed is reporting on new details have been released about Manhattan West, the next megadevelopment we can look forward to after we move on from Hudson Yards.

    The development, which will bring two 65-​story office towers, along with a 60-​story residential tower – all giant walls of glass, of course… – to the area between W 31nd & 33rd St from 9th to Dyer Aves, have announced the latest information on the open space. Manhattan West’s plaza will be 2.11 acres – almost double the required amount by the city and a big step up from their initially-​announced 1.5 acres – which will connect the various streets surrounding the development.

    While most of the plaza looks like it’ll be paved, there’s fortunately a decent amount of greenery spread throughout it from the renderings. It’ll also probably be filled with your usual cafés, stores, etc…

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    Source: Manhattan West
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    Source: Manhattan West/​Curbed

    When the development finishes up, it looks like it could make a great addition the summer movies series venues, as their rendering suggests:

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    Source: Manhattan West

    The big picture:

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    Source: Manhattan West

    Anyway, still years to go on the development, but it’s good to see a lot more open space coming to an area overflowing post offices, trains, and stadiums. Head over to Curbed for more on the development.

Wednesday, Jan 15th

  1. Winter claims Manhattan Bicycles on 9th Ave

    Manhattan Bicycles

    The last thing you’d want to do in the middle of winter – let alone last week’s Polar Vortex™ – is ride a bike through the ice wind, so unsurprisingly bicycle stores tend to struggle a bit while the temperatures are down (plus Citibike no doubt took a big chunk of the rental market away…). It looks like Manhattan Bicycles, near 53rd & 9th, couldn’t make it through the winter, and has closed for good. The shutters have been down for the past few days:

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    And they’ve already covered up the sign…

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    You can still just make out the always-​humorous open-“Sonday” message on the shutters:

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    It’s disappointing to see what many seemed to consider to be a good, reliable bike shop close down. Manhattan Bicycles even was picked as the “Best Reasonable Bike Shop” in 2012 by the Village Voice. It’s not all bad news for bike shops though – Danny’s Cycles relocated to a big new spot on 10th Ave in September – but it looks like at least 9th Ave has gotten too expensive (as if that’s a surprise to anyone) for them to stay.

    Manhattan Bicycles

    791 9th Ave

Tuesday, Jan 14th

  1. All aboard at Marston Station

    Marston Station

    It’s been a long time coming, but new spot Marston Station is now open on W 53rd St. Seemingly named after a train station in England, the new place is a night spot – only open from 5pm to midnight – which should line up well with the crowds from the neighboring comedy club.

    Unfortunately, that strip of the sidewalk got covered with a sidewalk shed just in time for their opening, and they haven’t put a main sign up above the doors (yet?), so it’s a very unassuming entrance:

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    …but inside is a different story:

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    A “unique” alternative to the traditional sandwich board out the front:

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    Way back in June of 2013 we saw the applications filed under the then-​name Marston’s, but the place sat dormant for a while after that. A few months later though, construction got underway, and now fast-​forward to today and they’re open. Progress.

    It’s still all very new, so there’s nothing on their site yet, but being just off 8th Ave with the comedy club next door they shouldn’t have much trouble bringing people in. At least once the scaffolding clears up.

Monday, Jan 13th

  1. Silent opposition against incoming Clubhouse BBQ

    Clubhouse BBQ

    Looks like some residents aren’t too thrilled about the incoming Clubhouse BBQ to W 53rd St. An anonymous neighbor (who clearly isn’t impressed with the idea of the outdoor back area of the future spot being filled with people) has plastered this warning next to Clubhouse BBQ’s application notice:

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    While this is literally a NIMBY attitude, it’s easy to sympathize with the mystery resident (residents?) – they’ve had a peaceful back area for a few months since La Silhouette disappeared mysteriously, and an unknown new place opening would be worrying. Who knows, maybe Clubhouse BBQ will be quiet and peaceful?

    Update: There’s more:

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    A printout of a photo of their printed application. Which we’ve now photographed. If someone wants to print this page out, we’ll have gone full meta.

    Clubhouse BBQ

    362 W 53rd St

Sunday, Jan 12th

  1. Turco 2 open, two blocks closer

    Turco 2

    Those of you living above 45th St now don’t have to trek a whole two and a half blocks extra south to get your gyro fix, with the second outpost of Turco now open, on 9th Ave between 45th & 46th. It’s straight into business-​as-​usual at the new spot:

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    The spot used to be a Verizon store, but had been sitting dormant for a while until the Turco banner was put up:

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    September 2013

    Gyros.

Saturday, Jan 11th

  1. Party cruise ship docking this month for SU-​PER-​BOWL

    Pier 88

    Bud Light are taking over the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship at the end of this month, and turning it into the Bud Light Hotel, which will be docked at our very own Pier 88 for a few days into February during the Super Bowl. If that alone isn’t enough to get you pumped, they’ll be holding performances across the few nights it’ll be here for with artists including the Foo Fighters and The Roots a few streets down.

    Here’s the ship…impressive. Just imagine this with BUD LIGHT:

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    Source: IB Times/​Norwegian Cruise Line

    Surprisingly, the plans took the community board by surprise, even though we first heard of this back at the start of November from the International Business Times. Unsurprisingly, though, they’re not impressed, and want more information about the plan. This also isn’t the first time Bud Light has run this type of thing – they’ve been doing it since the Super Bowl four years ago – but it’s ten times bigger than ever before. Be warned.