Latest news with #MatthewMcDermott
New York Post
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
Shuttered NYC migrant shelter slated for luxury conversion — with 249 apartments and a coveted indoor pool
A former hotel that once catered to tourists — and more recently to asylum seekers — is now preparing for a more permanent kind of guest. The Watson Hotel, a 19-story, two-tower property at 440 W. 57th St. in Hell's Kitchen, is slated for a full-scale residential conversion, according to a recent filing with the Department of Buildings. Yellowstone Real Estate Investments, which acquired the 600-room hotel for $175 million in 2021, plans to transform it into 249 apartments — complete with an indoor pool, a rooftop terrace, a gaming room, a pet playroom and a cellar-level parking garage, Crain's first reported. Many other details are not yet known. Advertisement 3 The Watson Hotel in Hell's Kitchen, once used as a temporary migrant shelter, is slated for conversion into a 249-unit residential building. Matthew McDermott The property, which opened in 1964 as a Holiday Inn, was rebranded as the Watson in 2017 and remained popular until the pandemic forced a citywide hospitality slump. During the COVID-era emergency and amid a surge of migrants arriving in New York City, the hotel was repurposed by the Adams administration as a temporary humanitarian relief center. Advertisement 3 Developer Yellowstone Real Estate Investments, which bought the two-towered property at 440 W. 57th St. for $175 million in 2021, filed plans with the city to transform the former 600-room hotel into apartments ranging from six to 15 per floor across both wings. William Miller 3 The hotel, originally a Holiday Inn built in 1964, was rebranded as the Watson in 2017. Facebook/The Watson Hotel That use officially ended in June, one of dozens of such sites to close as the migrant population in city shelters began to decline. Yellowstone, led by CEO Issac Hera, has been expanding its residential footprint across Midtown. Advertisement In March, the firm filed plans to convert 1730 Broadway, a 26-story office tower purchased from Blackstone for $185.9 million, into approximately 400 apartments. A spokesperson for Yellowstone did not respond to The Post's request for comment.
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Old-school NYC toy store will close after 44 years, neighbors crushed as ‘magic disappears'
This Toy Story's coming to an end. An old-school Upper West Side toy store is closing its doors after 44 years — with its owners blaming online shopping and tariff chaos for delivering a fatal double whammy. West Side Kids, on West 84th and Amsterdam Avenue, announced this week it would cease operations at the end of July — with long-time shoppers complaining 'the magic' is disappearing as buyers turn to Amazon instead of in-person shopping. 5 West Side Kids is located on West 84th street and Amsterdam Avenue. Matthew McDermott 'We have seen families raise their children,' said owner Jennifer Bergman, 58, whose mother opened the shop. 'Those children now have children. We're now helping them raise their children,' Bergman told The Post. 'You walk into my store, I'm going to tell you exactly what I recommend for that child that likes that specific thing. I'm going to remember that child's name. That child's gonna come in when they feel unsafe on the street and we're gonna make sure they're OK.' Bergman said she was forced to make the tough decision when she discovered business in June was down 43% from the previous year — which was down 20% from 2023. The family-run shop — which celebrated its 44th anniversary last September — had been outrunning closure for the last decade, just outpacing the pandemic and inflation. The toy store — which sells everything from Legos to clothes and books — had been in constant competition with online retailers but was able to stay above water thanks to the loyalty of its neighborhood clientele. 5 Jennifer Bergman, 58, is the owner of the toy store West Side Kids, a local fixture in the upper westside of Manhattan, which is closing after 44 years of serving fun to city kids. Matthew McDermott That neighborhood loyalty ultimately fizzled in recent years when customers could no longer turn up their noses at Amazon's marked-down prices. 'I can't compete with those prices, I don't want to compete with those prices. I run a really ethical place: I treat my staff well, I pay them well, I pay health insurance, I pay vacations,' Bergman said. The high price of tariffs was the last straw, she continued. The small profit Bergman was taking home was eliminated, she said. Bergman's mother and her best friend opened the shop as a children's consignment clothing store in 1981, which slowly started selling other goodies for kids. 5 Neighborhood locals Liv, 7, Ella, 4, Vera, 17 months and Sara (mom) visit West Side Kids. Matthew McDermott By the 1990s, there were 10 toy stores in the Upper West Side, but all slowly shuttered their doors over the years. West Side Kids held on until this week's announcement — which sparked regular customers to visit the store to relish in their fond memories one last time. 'It makes me sad, it's all part of an era of New York City that's no longer that same,' said Sue Woodman, a New York Public Library employee who stopped in the store Wednesday to purchase a puzzle for her grandkids. 5 Bergman explained how the rise of Amazon and online shopping contributed to the store's eventual closure. Matthew McDermott 'I've noticed over the last 15 years, the Upper West Side has changed a lot — Gentrified out of existence for many people,' Woodman said. 'Full of restaurants and nightlife that seems so disconnected from the neighborhood I brought my kids up in.' Silvia Parker, who owns a nearby gift shop, lamented the 'interesting stores' that are no more. 'You can see if you walk up and down Broadway, basically all around the neighborhood, there's empty storefronts,' Parker, 65, said. 'I just remember the way, as I'm sure everyone's saying, the way the neighborhood used to be. 5 There were previously 10 toy stores in the Upper West Side in the 1990s. Matthew McDermott 'As a store owner myself, it's very very difficult,' Parker added. 'Between rents, and what's going on with the tariffs, it's impossible to plan a business properly. We don't know what's coming for the fall and the holidays. Neighborhood mom Sarah, who didn't want to share her last name, feared the closure means she will lose some of her fondest memories with her daughters, aged 7, 4 and 1: bringing them to West Side Kids to pick out their Christmas and birthday gifts. 'It's not the same online. The magic disappears,' Sarah said. 'Coming here takes me back to my own childhood, being able to actually go to the stores and put things on my wish list and hope my parents make those dreams come true.'
New York Post
30-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
NYC bodega owners worry Zohran Mamdani will put them out of business with his city-run grocery store plan: ‘I don't want to lose my job'
Bodega owners and workers on Monday sounded the alarm over Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's plan to launch city-owned grocery stores — claiming it'll put them out of business. 'Competing with the city having business is not going to be something that we can support,' Radhames Rodriguez, president of United Bodegas of America, said during a press conference outside a Gristedes supermarket in Midtown. Rodriguez, 62, who owns four bodegas in the Bronx, said his stores and others won't be able to compete with prices at the city-run stores — which would be exempt from paying rent or property taxes under Mamdani's plan. 7 Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis and New York City bodega owners held a press conference to raise concerns about Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's plan for city-run grocery stores on June 30, 2025. Matthew McDermott 7 Radhames Rodriguez, president of United Bodegas of America, said bodegas won't be able to compete with the prices at the city-run grocery stores. Matthew McDermott 'Let's say they sell a dozen eggs for $1 and the cost to us is $4 … that is going to destroy our business,' he said. Miguel Valerio, 51, who owns two bodegas in the Bronx, said he worried for the welfare of his dozen employees — and pointed out government workers may not be suited to running a business like his. 'I don't want to lose my job,' Valerio, a dad of two, told The Post. 'The government doesn't want to do the same thing I do everyday. I wake up at 5:00, I go to sleep by 11:00 every day,' he added. 'What is going to happen to people running their business?' Valerio asked. 'I have 12 people working for me, that's what I care about.' 7 Bronx bodega owner Miguel Valerio said he is worried about his employees if Mamdani is elected. Matthew McDermott The pilot program is part of Mamdani's 'affordability' platform, aiming to provide New Yorkers with cheaper prices for food and other necessities to customers. But merchants complained the government-run stores could undercut the prices of privately-run bodegas that are required to pay tax and rent or mortgages, siphoning off customers. During a podcast interview Monday, Mamdani emphasized the program is a $60 million experiment — one city-owned grocer in each borough, or five total. 'If it isn't effective at a pilot level it doesn't deserve to be scaled up,' the Democratic Socialists of America candidate said on the 'Plain English' podcast with Derek Thompson. 7 Mamdani said he only is planning on creating one city-owned store per borough to start. Stephen Yang But bodega and grocery store owners and workers called it a rotten egg, Soviet-style plan that pits the government against small private sector merchants. 'It's going to be a huge problem. You can't force us to pay taxes and then be our adversary,' Rafael Garcia, owner of La Economica Meat Choice store on University Avenue in The Bronx, told The Post. In some bodegas, about two-thirds of the business is from customers with government-financed food stamps and Garcia said there was no doubt those shoppers would flock to the lower-cost, city-run grocery stores. Francisco Marte, the president of the Bodega and Business Association, said at Monday's press conference: 'Socialism hasn't been successful anywhere in the world. Even China has turned to capitalism. Come on, this is stupid.' 7 Rafael Garcia, owner of La Economica Meats Choice in The Bronx, predicted Mamdani's plan would be a 'huge problem' for his store. Stephen Yang Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis, who also spoke at the event at Second Avenue and East 40th Street said, 'City-owned supermarkets don't work. Cities do not know how to run a business.' Progressive Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson had considered launching a municipal grocery store in the Windy City after a study concluded it was 'not only feasible but necessary.' But Johnson said he put the plan on hold after companies reached out and asked to join the venture, suggesting a public-private partnership to improve access in so-called food desserts or a public market instead. Government-owned grocery stores have been tried in smaller towns in rural America that lost their last grocers — with mixed results at best. A town-owned grocery store in 1,400-resident Baldwin, Fla. opened in 2019. The store operated at a loss and closed in March. A city-owned store set up in Erie, Kan., didn't attract enough customers and sales to break even and was forced to change its approach. To lower costs, it leased out the building to a private operator to be the grocer, while the city retained ownership, Governing Magazine reported. Not every municipal grocery has gone belly up. Another Kansas town, 600-person St. Paul, bought its own store in 2013 after the last supermarket closed and nearest grocer was 17 miles away. The government-owned grocer is still operating there, a success story cited by Mamdani. 7 Fernando Mateo, the spokesman for the United Bodegas of America, speaking at the press conference. Matthew McDermott The Queens assemblyman, during the lengthy podcast interview, defended his own plan, noting that prices have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic. 'There is a sticker shock that New Yorkers tell me about all the time,' he said. 'And the most obvious examples here are eggs and milk and bread that have been cited again and again.' Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Mamdani — who will face off against Mayor Eric Adams and other candidates in the November general election — said poorer residents of color suffer from living in 'food deserts' that lack access to affordable produce. 'This is a proposal of reasonable policy experimentation,' he said. The estimated price tag for the program is less than the $140 million the city spends on supermarkets for participation in the city's Food Retail Expansion to Support Health Program or FRESH to sell food in underserved areas. Mamdani, the frontrunner for the mayoralty, also claimed the city's response to the pandemic, including quickly setting up testing and vaccination sites, showed that the government could run a few grocery stores efficiently. 7 Catsimatidis said the plan won't work because the city can't successfully run the businesses. Matthew McDermott 'Food is non-negotiable. It's not a luxury item,' he said. Mamdani also took a shot at Catsimatidis. 'It's funny even to hear some of the critiques – especially from John Catsimatidis, the owner of Gristedes – is to completely miss the fact that many New Yorkers can't even afford to go into those types of stores today,' he said.
New York Post
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Phallic pink sculpture at NYC High Line squirts water, drenches tourists in depravity: ‘Won't be posing in front of it'
The High Line is footing its own Viagra Falls. A very phallic, very pink foot sculpture fountain has aroused curiosity and disgust alike as it suggestively sprays water on passersby at the famous Manhattan elevated park. 'I like that you can turn the water on — but ehh, I won't be posing in front of it. Nope.' said Brooklynite visitor Danny L., 40. Advertisement The 10-foot tall sculpture titled 'Foot Fountain (pink)' by Argentine-born artist Mika Rottenberg was erected in April along the High Line near 30th Street. 4 'Foot Fountain (pink)' is getting a rise out of High Line visitors. Matthew McDermott The public art installation shaped like a pink foot and, um, leg — which is dotted with lurid red-lipped mouths sticking out tongues — quickly drew hard looks from dirty-minded New Yorkers and tourists. Advertisement 'So just so we're clear— nobody saw a foot,' one Instagram commenter insinuated. Another commenter got explicit: 'I clearly saw a pink penis.' 4 Many passersby were gobsmacked by its phallic shape. Matthew McDermott 4 The artwork was erected in April. Matthew McDermott Advertisement Beyond the sculpture's titillating silhouette, there's also how passersby can lend it a hand. The artwork has a cycle across the path that encourages High Line pedestrians to pedal, using their foot power to activate a fountain at the top of its shaft — a feature that could get unsuspecting viewers wet if prematurely activated. Sanjeet Singh, a 46-year-old tourist from India, called the sculpture 'odd.' 'Interesting, but I promise you, you will only see these kinds of things in America,' Singh said. Advertisement 'In my country, this would be consider too much,' though Singh appreciatively added, 'It is funny-looking though.' Several Instagram users opined the scabrous sculpture perhaps inadvertently made a firm case for raising awareness of sexually transmitted infections, with one calling it 'herpetic.' Danny R., 29, who was visiting from San Francisco, called the sculpture 'uncomfortable,' even though she was a fan overall. 'It gives some kind of itchy because of the holes and stuff coming out of it,' she said. 'It's disturbing. But it's cool, really cool.' 4 The 10-foot sculpture sprays water from its shaft. Matthew McDermott Others on the High Line viewed it more innocently. Upper West Side mom Angie R., 35, was delighted to come across the 'funky' artwork while walking with her three kids Monday. Advertisement 'The kids love it because it's really just a tall sprinkler,' she said. 'So they can run around it while one of them is using the bike.' Italian tourist Katie Sareno, 27, also praised it for being fun and kid-friendly. 'Fun for kids, but you know the adults will see the real art,' she said. 'Kudos to the artist.' Advertisement Rottenberg didn't return a request for comment. 'Foot Fountain (pink)' will be on display until May 2026.
New York Post
16-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump to flood big cities like LA and NYC with ICE agents in ‘single largest Mass Deportation Program' in history
President Trump announced plans to flood Democrat-run cities, namely New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, with new, larger waves of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to bring about the 'single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.' Trump highlighted the sweeping change targeting the majority-Democrat cities on Truth Social Sunday night as he praised ICE agents for their 'incredible strength, determination, and courage.' 4 President Trump announced that sanctuary cities in Democratic states will be flooded with ICE agents. REUTERS Advertisement 'In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,' Trump wrote. 4 Trump specifically cited Democratic cities, claiming that their leaders were using illegal immigrants to do things like rig elections. Getty Images 'These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens.' Advertisement Republican-run states like Texas, which is home to five of the largest cities in America, including Houston and San Antonio, were notably left out of the president's post. 4 Undocumented migrants make up half of America's crop workforce. Matthew McDermott None of the Lone Star State's big urban centers, however, call themselves 'sanctuary cities.' 'These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it!' the commander in chief added in his post. Advertisement 'And that is why I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role. You don't hear about Sanctuary Cities in our Heartland!' Trump previously pledged that 'changes are coming' last week after admitting that his administration's crackdown on immigration was massacring key American industries — namely farming and hospitality. The Department of Agriculture estimates that nearly half of the 850,000 crop workers in the United States are undocumented, putting America's food supply chain at risk of total collapse if all are deported. While New York State is home to the largest sanctuary city in the country, it ranks first nationally in the production of many crops and products, including household staples like yogurt and cottage cheese, according to the New York Farm Bureau. Advertisement 4 ICE agents' raids have scared many immigrants into hiding. Matthew McDermott With Trump's focus set on sanctuary cities, it is unclear how other parts of Democratic states may be impacted, or if ICE activity will primarily center on metropolitan areas going forward. Even so, raids have already expanded beyond the fields with ICE agents turning up anywhere from courthouses to schools. The shift quickly scared many immigrant workers away from the public eye. Data cited by the Wall Street Journal showed how immigrants' purchasing habits dramatically shifted online. Large brands also saw a steep decrease in Hispanic customer traffic, with places that have fallen victim to raids like Home Depot seeing an 8.7% drop.
