Latest news with #KatherineDonlevy
New York Post
21-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
NYC luxury condos in gutted beloved church are a holy mess, with windows that are an OCD nightmare: locals
Beauty is in the eye of the checkbook holder. Developers gutting a beloved church and community space in Greenpoint for luxury condos have stripped away the regal façade in favor of what neighbors are calling 'horrendous.' The construction fencing surrounding the former Park Church Co-op on Russell Street was dropped last week, revealing that the stunning stained-glass archway was removed, the ornate stairway demolished and the entire face of the brick building painted over with muted white paint. Advertisement 6 The former Park Church Co-op is being gutted and transformed into a condominium. Katherine Donlevy 'It's made me furious to see this. This is horrible,' said Michael Malhas, 66, an architect with a specialty in historic restoration. But maybe the biggest sin in the entire design is an OCD-triggering, off-center window just above the front entrance of the former church — taking the place of a gorgeous, stained-glass masterpiece that once adorned the church. Advertisement The original ornate detailing of the church was also not restored, and some pieces of the brick and moldings were crumbling. 'You have to be a horrible architect to do this. They have no respect for anything except for money. This is so cheap, it's the easy way out. It's all about money.' 6 Michael Malhas, a Greenpointer and architect, said he was 'furious' to see the ugly project. Katherine Donlevy 'Whoever did this — the architect should really lose their license over this.' Advertisement Other neighbors with zero expertise in architecture easily agreed that the new condos were just plain ugly. 'It's just horrible, everyone hates it,' Maria Surawaska, 38, said, with partner Keith Willmann, 44, adding: 'It looks fake. It just looks like a s–tty new building.' The pair was under the impression that the developers would try to preserve some of the gorgeous building, which overlooks Msgr. McGolrick Park. 6 The church pictured before the renovations. Google Maps Advertisement Instead they got a biblically-bad design, they said. 'They took what was a really pretty building and put the most topical, Band-Aid solution on it,' Willman said. 'It's gross … It's all disappearing. It's all turning into these cookie-cutter, fly-by-night buildings that have no soul whatsoever.' A mock-up of the finished building that hung up on the construction fencing included red brick, some of the stained glass and the original moldings — all of which were overhauled. 6 A mock-up of the project that was previously posted outside the church looks very different from the muted, white building. Katherine Donlevy 'It's just a symbol of the gentrification that's kind of creeping up to Greenpoint,' said Surawaska, who has lived in the neighborhood for eight years. Matt Basso considered buying a unit in the building after hearing it would be transformed into condos, but quickly abandoned the plan when he saw the result. 'This was my favorite building here, or at least it was. It was so pretty before,' said Basso, 28, who works in property management. The aesthetics of the building is just the latest gripe the community has had over the former church, which served as a beloved community space before it was sold last year for $4.7 million to a Dutch social media influencer, Sara Rottenberg, and Brooklyn-based GW Russell LLC. Advertisement 6 Maria Surawaska and Keith Willmann, who moved to the neighborhood eight years ago, said the renovation was a sign of gentrification. Katherine Donlevy Neighbors frantically tried to save the church, which hosted after-school programs and dance troupes. It was also the first Big Apple church ever to host a drag story time. Locals tried to crowdsource funds to permanently establish the church as a community center, but simply couldn't compete with the deep pockets of real estate developers. 'My biggest frustration is this overarching one of there's this fabulous community venue that has served so many irreligious purposes over the years, and all of those purposes are simply thrown out to the highest and the most liquid bidder who's able to bid on this property,' said Jamie Hook, an activist who has lived in Greenpoint for two decades. Advertisement While there is a demand for housing in the neighborhood, Hook stressed that there is also a need for public space. 6 'This was my favorite building here, or at least it was. It was so pretty before' local Matt Basso said. Katherine Donlevy 'People always say, 'Oh, there's a housing crisis in Brooklyn. This is going to help.' I don't believe that luxury housing for 5 or 6 extremely wealthy people helps that housing crisis any more than building massive buildings on the waterfront that have a very small parcel of affordable housing preserves the housing prices in Greenpoint.' Plus, the idea of living in a former church just seems wrong: 'I'm not even religious, but I would never want to live in a church just in case I'm wrong.' Advertisement Representatives from GW Russell LLC did not respond to The Post's request for comment, but told Greenpointers this week that it did its best to keep the church's unique aesthetic intact. 'From the beginning, the group was committed to preserving the building's unique character and long-standing presence wherever possible, since it's a building with such a long and meaningful history. They kept the structure as much as possible as is,' said Noëlle Cathari, a representative for the project. The project is still awaiting window placements, exterior painting and interior renovations, she continued, placing an anticipated construction completion date at the end of the summer.
New York Post
25-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Last magazine shop on NYC's Upper East Side to close as readers buy up final X-rated fare
It was a mag-nificent run. The Upper East Side's last print magazine shop — and hotspot to get X-rated mags — will close its doors for good as the building's landlords aim to convert the building to luxury condos, its owner said. International News and Magazines Inc will be forced out of the East 86th Street storefront at the end of June, said owner Zofar Ahmed — who claims city policy is blocking him from finding a new shop. Advertisement 7 Zofar Ahmed is 'in limbo' because city law is preventing him from transferring his tobacco licenses to a new storefront before he is evicted this month. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post 'I feel like I'm in grief. I feel like I've been left alone,' Ahmed, who has run the shop for 28 years, told The Post. Ahmed and his convenience store have been a beloved staple of the neighborhood since he first began hawking cigarettes, candy, magazines and more in 1997, but the cracks started to form in 2020 — and it had nothing to do with the pandemic, he said. Advertisement His longtime landlords sold the building, and the new owners are planning to raze the building and replace it with luxury apartments, he said. Ahmed, 68, claims his new landlords terminated his lease on a technicality more than two years early this spring. They claimed the insurance the store held for years was insufficient according to their contract, despite his previous landlords being content with his choice, according to Ahmed. 7 Ahmed has been operating the Upper East Side store for 28 years. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post The Pakistani immigrant began scouring the Upper East Side for new storefronts, several of which were interested in taking him on as a tenant — until he learned that he would not be permitted to move his tobacco license to a new address. Advertisement City law prohibits such licenses from being transferable between locations and places a cap on how many permits can operate within council districts at a time. Business owners like Ahmed have the opportunity to apply for the license lottery just twice a year — in April and October. 7 It is the last magazine shop in the Upper East Side — and one of the last places in the city to sell X-rated mags. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post In the Upper East Side's District 5, there are already 12 more licenses operating than is technically allowed, and no openings for a new business to grab one — squashing Ahmed's hopes of starting fresh. Advertisement Because cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco products are the bulk of Ahmed's profit, there's no point in trying to find a new home for his longtime business while he waits for a new license. 'I'm in limbo. It's not only my problem if some other people, the workers depend on this,' Ahmed noted while holding back tears. 'These are my family, and the local community, they love me a lot. They have tears in their eyes and they hug me and say they can't believe it … This law was not well thought.' 7 Ahmed doesn't make a profit on the magazines, but continues to sell them because his customers love them. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post 7 More than 12,000 customers signed petitions for the city to allow Ahmed to continue his business from a new storefront in the community. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post Neighbors rallied around Ahmed, and sent a physical petition with 12,000 signatures to the city's Department of Consumer Affairs begging them to help the store owner survive the transition. A second online petition garnered nearly 300 additional signatures. The district's City Council member Julie Menin is actively pushing a bill that would amend the 'overly draconian' law so that electronic cigarette and tobacco licenses, which are separate, could be transferred within a community. Advertisement 'I have requested my legislation that reforms bureaucratic red tape for many licenses be brought to a vote by the City Council as soon as possible,' Menin said in a statement. 7 'I feel like I'm in grief. I feel like I've been left alone,' Ahmed told The Post last week. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post The store continues to be flooded with longtime customers, many of whom grab stacks of magazines from the shelves — Ahmed's shop is the last in the neighborhood to sell a sweeping array of fashion, nature, architecture, pop culture and even X-rated magazines. 'Old people' still buy the nudie mags, one of the workers told The Post, saying the store ran out of copies just a few days earlier. Advertisement Ahmed sells the magazines at cost and makes just a few pennies in profit, making it nearly pointless to continue to peddle them — but he continues to do what makes his customers happy. 'Many times I thought I should renovate the place, but then I would have to close, and if I close then the 70-year-old lady who comes from four blocks to get the paper — she would get disturbed,' Ahmed said. 'Sometimes in very harsh weather, we deliver papers to their homes free of cost. 'During COVID, I worked seven days and I told my customers I would be open for them in that difficult time when everyone was in a state of shock,' Ahmed said. 'In the scary time, I was here for my people and they are with me right now. But the government is not with us, unfortunately.' Advertisement Several customers reiterated the same idea when approached by The Post as they bought magazines, lotto tickets and more. 'It is a loss for the community. I'm disappointed,' said Edie, who buys 'every' kind of magazine Ahmed has to offer. 'I don't know what I'll do, I'm getting ready to get a [digital] subscription.' 7 'From the very first day, they decided not to have this small business over here,' Ahmed said of his landlords. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post Advertisement Tom Petito, who has been patronizing the shop since it first opened, said the shuttering was unfair to Ahmed and his staff: 'They're good people. He's a nice guy, he works hard for a living.' Ingrid, who has lived in the Upper East Side since 1986, said the loss is reflective of the changing neighborhood. 'I don't think that it's very fair to just say, 'Well, get lost,'' she said as she picked up a few lottery tickets. 'It's been that way here in New York for a while, unfortunately. It used to be a friendlier place to be, but money is always the object. They want more and more money, it's a shame.'
New York Post
16-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Knicks fever hits NYC as ‘styling and profiling' locals, tourists gear up in hopes of Cinderella run to topple Celtics: ‘This is very exciting'
In the words of Clyde, the whole city is styling and profiling. Knicks fever was visible across the Big Apple this week as locals and tourists geared up at the Midtown NBA Store and fans tried will the underdog team to finish off the hated Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The team's jerseys, hats and other swag were flying off the shelves at the NBA's Midtown store, as the orange-and-blue wave become the trendy colors of the spring and casual fans are suddenly die hards. 5 The Knicks improbable run to have the Celtics on the cusp of elimination has energized the fanbase. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post 5 New York has a 3-2 series lead on Boston with Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday, which has fans excited. David McGlynn 'It's been crazy here — the day after Game 3 was the biggest day,' one employee told The Post, pointing out that that was coincidentally the first playoff game the Knicks lost against the Celtics. 'They buy everything. Shirts, hats, jackets. Anything.' The Knicks are up 3-2 in a playoff series against the defending champion Celtics — despite many basektball fans and oddsmakers believing New York didn't have a chance in the series. They went up 2-0 with back-to-back comeback wins in Boston, fueling a wave of optimism before trading wins with Boston in the following three games. Friday they'll have a chance to win the best-of-seven series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 — and keep alive the city's dreams of a Cinderella-run straight to an NBA championship. The possibility that the Knicks could beat the Celtics in a playoff series — a feat they haven't accomplished since 2013 — is enough to turn any New Yorker into a Knicks fan this spring. 5 Umut and Elif Sevgi turned into Knicks fans for the week despite typically cheering on the Houston Rockets. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post 'It's not my favorite team, but we're in New York!' said Umut Sevgi, who was visiting from Turkey with his wife, Elif. The pair typically follow the Houston Rockets in support of Turkish player Alperen Sengun, but Sevgi traded in his red and black colors this week for a blue and orange cap and a New York T-shirt. It was a coincidence that the Sevgis were in the Big Apple in time for the landmark occasion, but they promised they'd wear their new gear and settle into a barstool to watch the Knicks take on the Celtics Friday. 'The New York name seems good to me!' said Elif, pointing to her husband's shirt. 5 Clarissa Solone bought Jalen Brunson jerseys for her sons and husband back home in Argentina. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post Clarissa Solone also dropped a few hundred dollars on Knicks jerseys — with star point guard Jalen Brunson's name stitched on the back — as a souvenir for her sons and husband, who were stuck back home in Argentina. The family are massive Knicks fans, she explained, adding that it was a coincidence that her trip to New York City with her parents coincided with the playoffs. 'They hate me right now, oh my gosh!' Solone said of her husband and sons. 5 Knicks fan Kevin Shah outside TD Garden after the Knicks' Game 5 loss, which did not deter many supporters' confidence in a series win. David McGlynn 'I would like to go to Madison Square Garden, but I couldn't find tickets. Very excited, like $1,000,' she added, saying she was happy enough relishing in the excitement in the air. Similarly, Eva popped into the store to buy a Knicks quarter zip for her uncle, who was eagerly following the games from his home in Africa. One man, who didn't give his name, said his home was filled to the brim with Knicks regalia from his nearly five-decade career as a mega fan. When asked if he minded seeing other people piggyback onto the team's success, the Manhattanite said he didn't mind: 'It's exciting, it's fun. It's in the air.' 'I grew up watching the Knicks during the '78 season,' he said, referring to the year the team finished in second place after falling short to the Philadelphia 76ers. 'So this is very exciting. It feels like coming home.'
