Amazon takes over K-Mart/Toys 'R' Us former spaces at the Renter Plaza Mall

QNS

Just over a year after Amazon scuttled its plans to build a massive HQ2 campus in Long Island City, and create 25,000 jobs, the e-commerce giant has signed a new lease for space in Middle Village.

Amazon is taking roughly 300,000 square feet of space in Rentar Plaza, located at 66-26 Metropolitan Ave., according to the loan database TreppWire.

“I am thrilled to hear that Amazon has signed a lease at Rentar Plaza, which is in desperate need of revitalization,” Councilman Robert Holden said. “I actually suggested this location to Amazon two years ago. My hope is that this brings hundreds more jobs and renewed commercial activity to the area, which will be extremely valuable to our community for years to come.”

The Real Deal reports that Amazon will be taking over the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 109,000-square-foot space, plus the remaining 190,000 square feet of vacant space on the property.

QNS reached out to Amazon and is awaiting its response. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s lease was set to expire in July, and the Amazon lease brings Rentar Plaza to full occupancy, the Real Deal reports.

The city of New York is the property’s largest tenant with more than 500,000 square feet of space occupied by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

Amazon is also in talks for a giant distribution center in Maspeth at the old Cascades 

Containerboard factory on Grand Avenue. That property was recently acquired by a California-based company called LBA Realty for $72 million and the deal involves a partnership with RXR to build a four-story warehouse that would be ideal for the “last mile” of logistics for the e-commerce company.

Not your routine stop work order

In the 12 years we've been at this (has it really been that long?) we've come across a number of SWOs posted on buildings. But the story behind this one at 64-00 Metropolitan Ave is like none ever profiled here before.

You can learn a new way to get an ECB violation every day around these parts.

And wait, there's more! The plot thickens...

There are a slew of complaints about this building, and they're interesting to read.

New contractor for belated bridge project

From the Queens Chronicle:

A new contractor has been selected to pick up where the old one left off at Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road on the Middle Village-Ridgewood line.

Almost three months after the city’s contract with Mugrose Construction to replace the bridge deck below the intersection defaulted, the Department of Transportation announced Monday that New Jersey-based Beaver Concrete Construction has been tapped to finish the long-delayed project.

“In business since 1946 and a member of the General Contractors Association of New York, Beaver Concrete Construction has completed several bridge rehabilitation projects for the DOT, including repairs to the Trans-Manhattan Expressway Connector Ramp in Manhattan,” the agency said in a press release. “It is also currently under contract for a multi-bridge component rehabilitation project for bridges in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.”

Looks like work may have started:

Dumb DOT decision destroying small businesses

From Eyewitness News:

A group of small businesses in Queens are furious that a construction project outside their doors is delayed, costing them customers.

Cars seem to sit forever idling away the time, waiting for the traffic agents to finally wave them through.

The construction started more than a year ago, and a few months ago work just stopped. Nobody knows when it might start up again.

The Department of Transportation issued a statement about the construction project:

"As you know, safety is our number one priority. Mugrose was determined to be the lowest responsible bidder per NYC PPB rules, and their experience and qualifications were deemed satisfactory per NYC PPB rules. Mugrose also explained their bid numbers to DOTs satisfaction; therefore they were awarded the bid. The contractor was in default of the terms of performance in the contract, and the contractor's bonding agency is in the process of rebidding the project to a contractor who will complete remaining work. Discussions continue with all involved parties and a new schedule will be submitted after the new firm is under contract."


From PIX11:

“The contractor was suspect because of not having done contracts like this, not having the staff to do this, we felt,” Queens City Councilman Robert Holden said. “When you have a low bidder that’s $3 million less on a $20 million job, that has to send up a red flag.”

Tony Nunziato, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said the DOT "should have done more research on the contractor."

Mugrose Construction, based in West Caldwell, New Jersey, is listed on some websites as primarily a home builder with a staff of five employees.

Two New Jersey bridge projects it’s worked on were both late in being finished.

In the meantime, conditions are deteriorating on the 100-year-old bridge above the Long Island Railroad tracks.

Concrete is buckling and crumbling, and metal plates cover the many holes in the pavement. The replacement of the bridge deck is an emergency, according to the DOT.

Local officials say they’ve heard that for years.

“It is a nightmare and it's ongoing,” Holden said. “I’m calling for an investigation.”

We’ll keep you posted.

Contractor defaults on Fresh Pond bridge replacement project

From QNS:

For residents of Ridgewood and Middle Village, the reconstruction of a railroad bridge in a high-traffic area has caused headaches for commuters after repeated delays to the project, and things just got worse.

On Friday, a Department of Transportation spokesperson confirmed to QNS that its contract with Mugrose Construction to rebuild the Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road bridge over the Montauk line of the Long Island Rail Road has defaulted. The project that was once projected to have its first phase completed by January 2018 has now been completely stalled.

The DOT cited delays that were beyond its control, and is now working closely with the bonding company to get the project completed as quickly as possible, the spokesperson said.

Construction contracts typically involve a contract surety bond to protect the owner of the property (DOT, in this case) from the risks associated with construction projects. The bonding company assumes that burden, and in the event of a defaulted contract their options are to re-bid the job for completion, bring in a replacement contractor, provide financial or technical assistance to the existing contractor or pay the penal sum of the bond.

Therefore, a defaulted contract doesn’t necessarily mean the contractor has been ousted, but the DOT offered no further details.

Beware of the Metro Ave ticket trap

From CBS 2:

On Thursday night, CBS2 shared a story about drivers in Queens who felt they were being forced into a ticket trap, with police standing by to write them up for blocking the box.

In the 24 hours since, more drivers have come forward with the same complaint. So CBS2’s Jessica Layton demanded answers from the NYPD.

The corner was empty of the NYPD traffic enforcement officers Friday, which came as a welcome sign for drivers like Angela Taveras, who said for weeks the agents have been pouncing on people who get caught in the chaotic intersection while doing nothing to help traffic move along.

Prime location that no one wants

So this eyesore on Metropolitan Avenue was originally slated to become a "World Financial Group" location as reported back in 2013 on this blog. However, that never happened, and the building has continued to deteriorate for 4 years. There was a change in the sign to indicate that "Legacy Panning Solutions" would be moving in, but that also never occurred.

Would someone please buy this building and fix it up?

Fedderization along Metropolitan Avenue

This was an empty lot used primarily for parking cars. Now it's a development site.

55-35 Metropolitan Avenue is ugly as hell, Fedders and all, but its saving grace is that it is only dumping 2 more units into the mix instead of 8 or 10.

Why match the existing rowhouses on either side when you can just dump a big steaming pile in the middle and make your development stick out like a sore thumb?

Block the air and light of the tenants to the east and make sure the people living to the west are greeted by a giant wall as they exit their homes.

And why would this development qualify for an after hours variance permit? It's a standard development project.

And why do they need pile drivers?

Naturally, NY Yimby is cheering this on. (Their commenters aren't, however.)

Not what we crave

This one is just over the county line in Brooklyn, but it's a pretty good example of the nutty overdevelopment going on across the city. Naturally, there is a partial stop work order.

The building here is bringing 80 units of housing where there was a fast food restaurant, which means a huge tax on infrastructure. It sits above a "major road" which is down to one lane in each direction at this particular spot. And it's going to regularly send hundreds of people onto the L train, which will be going down for an extended period of time.

What could possibly go wrong?

Aigner Chocolate to reopen

From DNA Info:

Aigner Chocolates, a much loved Forest Hills store which closed earlier this year, will reopen next week under new ownership.

The shop, at 103-02 Metropolitan Ave., known for its homemade pistachio marzipans, peanut butter cups and almond clusters, closed after the Aigner family, which had run the store for decades, decided to remodel it.

The family was initially planning to reopen the store for its 85th anniversary, but then they decided to retire and sell it instead.

The shop was purchased several weeks ago by Mark Libertini, 42, whose lifelong dream has been to open a chocolate store.

In August, Libertini, a trained pastry chef, who also co-owns a deli in Midtown Manhattan, was in Forest Hills on an unrelated matter and spotted the shop.

He wanted to buy some chocolates for his fiancée, Rachel Kellner. But the store, which Libertini, who lives in Bayside, had never heard about before, was closed.

When he saw the sign that it was for sale, he instantly felt it may be his chance to fulfill his goal.

Two weeks later, he bought the store.

Realtor pushing for hotel by Newtown Creek

From the Queens Courier:

Today Newtown Creek stands as one of the “nation’s most polluted waterways,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as a result of industrial contamination from nearby factories and raw sewage dumping that dates back to the 1800s.

But listed as a Superfund site since 2010 and with an ongoing remedial process, brokers at Greiner-Maltz Investment Properties are marketing a site across from a section of the infamously contaminated body of water that could be in high demand after the grimy, toxic 3.8 mile creek is cleaned up.

The site sits at the edge of Ridgewood near the border of East Williamsburg and Maspeth to the north. It begins where Metropolitan and Onderdonk avenues intersect, and is surrounded by various factories in the neighborhood.

An existing 4,225-square-foot building with the address 46-00 Metropolitan Ave. is on the site, which is being used as an auto junk yard. The property has up to 40,720 square feet of buildable space zoned for manufacturing, but an investor could redevelop it into a hotel with — views of the now-mucky creek — brokers said.

See that off-color section of water? That's poop, folks.

The Sizzler fizzles out in Forest Hills

From the Queens Chronicle:

Forest Hills residents looking for a meal at the closest Sizzler eatery now have quite a long drive ahead of them.

The chain restaurant located at 100-27 Metropolitan Ave. closed on Monday after over two decades in business, according to a Sizzler spokesman.

The franchise was just one of two left outside the western third of the country.

The only other Sizzler east of New Mexico is located approximately 1,000 miles away in Kissimmee, Fla.

Sizzler USA spokesman Brad Ritter said the restaurant was operated by an area franchisee and shut its doors over high monthly rents.

“It closed because the lease is expiring and the franchisee cannot afford higher rent and remain in business,” Ritter said in an email to the Chronicle on Tuesday. “The restaurant operated there for more than 20 years.”

The mess on Metro

I must have passed this spot dozens of times in the last couple of years, but it wasn't until I was stuck in a line of cars navigating the slippery snow yesterday that I noticed that this house at 72-55 Metropolitan Ave in Middle Village was abandoned. So I looked it up on DOB's website:

I'm sure that the lack of permits since these violations were issued, along with all the snow we've had this year have served to worsen this disaster.

Chalet Alpina to become Peruvian restaurant

From DNA Info:

A Peruvian restaurant will soon open on Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills, replacing a German eatery that closed last year — the latest addition to the stretch that has come to be known as "Michelin Road," local officials said.

Family-owned La Coya will replace Chalet Alpina, at 98-35 Metropolitan Ave., which closed in November after roughly three decades.

Norman Leibowitz, chairman of the Community Board 6 consumer affairs committee, said that the new owners are planning only minor renovations at the restaurant, which can serve more than 150 patrons.

The restaurant, according to Leibowitz, will be open from noon to 11 p.m., seven days a week, and will serve lunch and dinner.

Dope who threatened cops arrested

From WPIX:

A man who allegedly made threats to kill police officers was stopped in his tracks Wednesday, officials said.

Elvin Payamps, 38, was allegedly on his cell phone at TD Bank on 79-55 Metropolitan Avenue when a male witness overheard him having a conversation about killing cops and having firearms at his house.

The witness notified police who reported to the bank after Payamps left. They transmitted a description of the man over the department radio, and then canvassed the area for him.

During the search, a man fitting the description of Payamps was found entering a vehicle at 66-26 Metropolitan Avenue.

Uniformed officers in a marked patrol car followed him. After a short distance, they conducted a car stop at Metropolitan Avenue and Rentar Plaza. During the stop, they found a small bag of marijuana in plain view in the front seat of the vehicle.

Police identified the man as Payamps, arrested him and brought him to the 104th Precinct in Queens for further investigation.

They went to his home on Edsall Avenue and obtained verbal and written consent from his spouse to search the home.

Police uncovered two firearms, two bullet proof bests, brass knuckles and a holster. Payamps has since been charged with three counts of criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Auf Wiedersehen, Chalet Alpina!

From Edge of the City:

The German restaurant Chalet Alpina on Metropolitan has closed after serving up many a schnitzel over the years.... (Did they actually? I never ate there myself but assuming...) Are there any fans out there that are sad to see it go?

1 down, one to go

From the Daily News:

All traces of a longtime Queens eyesore have been replaced by a smooth, wide sidewalk.

The city has paved over the site of a tattered, shuttered newsstand on the busy corner of Metropolitan Ave. near Fresh Pond Road, which residents and civic leaders have complained about for years.

“Persistence pays off,” said City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who held a press conference at the site to highlight the issue over five years ago.

Wow, congratulations, Liz! It only took you 5 years! I guess she'll need another 5 years in office to demolish the dilapidated former gas station across the street.

Geraldine Ferraro School design is an improvement

The new school on Metropolitan Avenue and Tonsor Street in Ridgewood is coming along and I have to say the design is a step up from the recent school designs built.

The curve is cool.

And there's even a port-a-jane amidst the port-a-johns!

CVS = Crappy Vile Store

I've written about conditions at CVS stores before. Now, every parking lot strip at their Fresh Pond Road store has disintegrated, making it look pretty bad. CVS certainly has the money to keep their properties in tip top condition, so there's no excuse for this.

Vixen vows not to vacate

From the Daily News:

The building is on the market, but the longtime owner of a Ridgewood jiggle joint says he will buy it — before developers swoop in and tell him to bounce.

“That building isn’t going anywhere,” Vixen nightclub owner Anthony D'Amico told The News. “As long as I’m there and my corporation is active, it’s a strip club. Once I’m done, they can turn it into a supermarket if they want.”

The 6,000-square-foot building at 60-07 Metropolitan Ave. has been up for sale since February, said Pat Castellar, the broker handling the transaction.

It has drawn interest from at least four city developers, the realtor said.

But D’Amico, 53, has the right of first refusal, and he said he’ll pay $1.3 million to keep his storied 21-year-old business alive.

Even if he fails to seal the deal, D’Amico says he has 10 years remaining on his lease, though the Daily News was unable to confirm the timeframe.

The landlord, Robert Jeziorski, did not return calls requesting comment.

...neighbors are hoping to say ta-ta to the rack shack, which they say blares loud music until 4 a.m. and produces a steady stream of drunks who urinate in residential walkways.
“I would be so elated if they left, and they’re just not going,” said Margaret Nanke, 75, who lives directly next door. “I hope he doesn’t have enough money to buy it.”