This Week in Brooklyn: Mourning Jerry Fuchs
This week in Brooklyn, we heard of the untimely passing of drummer Jerry Fuchs in a freakish accident involving an elevator shaft. RollingStone reports Fuchs (pictured), a drummer for indie-rock bands like !!!, the Juan MacLean and Maserati, was at a benefit with a friend Sunday in a Williamsburg warehouse when the freight elevator they were riding got stuck between floors. Fuchs’ friend made the four-foot jump out of the elevator safely, while the drummer snagged his jacket and fell backward into the crevice. He was 34.
In other shoddy construction news, Bruce Ratner remains tight-lipped about Atlantic Yards, refusing to disclose to Crain’s what it will look like. "This isn’t a public project," he told the paper. "We will follow the guidelines." Brownstoner gathered a few statements that seem to imply Ratner will return all the public money he has gotten and plans to receive. The developer is waiting to see if eminent domain can be used for the site.
Save Coney Island says New York City’s 7-acre purchase of real-estate speculator Joe Sitt’s land is a critical first step toward the amusement park’s revitalization, the blog McBrooklyn reports. Still, the grassroots community organization says it is not enough. “Unless the City purchases the rest of Thor Equity’s land, a large portion of the amusement area will remain subject to the whims of real estate speculation and the future of Coney Island will remain at risk.” Sitt plans to build hotels on the rest of the land.
Curbed has posted the results from Wednesday night’s auction of The Locale in Greenpoint. Four units were sold at absolute prices, with the highest bid at $387,500 for a first-floor 984-square-foot duplex featuring a private patio and yard. A fourth-floor 726-square-foot one-bedroom with a private rooftop deck sold for $312,500, with reserves, meaning it is unknown whether the seller will accept the bid. The original prices for the 16 units ranged from $445,000 to nearly $600,000. Check back with BrooklyntheBorough.com next week for a follow-up.
(Photo by kubacheck via Flickr)
