With neighbors that include the supernova that is North Williamsburg, reigning favorite Greenpoint and burgeoning Bushwick in Brooklyn and understated overachiever Ridgewood in Queens, it’s easy to make the assumption that, like south Brooklyn’s Gowanus, East Williamsburg is the luckier winner-by-proximity than flyover zone. Though, due…
Category: Commercial Real Estate


421a – The Never-ending Wait & a Discussion with David Schwartz
Interview with David Schwartz of Slate Property Group about the state of new development and affordable housing opportunities in Brooklyn neighborhoods since the 421-a tax abatement program expired, given the program’s uncertain future. Despite talk of poor doors and impossible-to-win lotteries for too few spots,…

Neighborhood Report: Red Hook
8 Things You Need to Know about Red Hook

Spotlight on Retail
Much of Brooklyn’s job growth has spiked on retail as a potent combination of critical mass and their spending power is attracting the biggest players to the borough.According to the Center for an Urban Future’s Jonathan Bowles, approximately 11,000 retail jobs have been added there…

Spotlight on Commercial & Office
Ten years ago, when I opened the first office of The Developers Group, which later merged into MNS, in Dumbo, most of the businesses in the neighborhood were arts or art related—architects and business owned by people who lived in the surrounding community. These were…

Spotlight on Light Industrial
Brooklyn is returning to its industrial roots. The manufacturing sector had been primarily concentrated to Greenpoint, Bushwick, Red Hook and Sunset Park. Today, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with nearly 300 tenants—landscape architects, theater and set designers and metal fabricators, employing more than 6,000 employees—is leading…

Brilliant Move by Two Trees
Jason Sheftell of The Daily News just reported that Two Trees may be purchasing the Domino Sugar Factory site on the Williamsburg waterfront. Of the very small handful of developers that could take on a project of this size – and I’m surprised I hadn’t…