The local paper for the Upper East Side
WEEK OF JUNE PANHANDLERS AND THE LAW ◄ P. 7
1-7 2017
Rendering of a 47-story tower planned for adjacent to Holmes Towers, off East 92nd Street. Courtesy of NYCHA Mayor Bill de Blasio marches in the Little Neck Memorial Day Parade. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
DEVELOPER CHOSEN FOR YORKVILLE TOWER HOUSING Controversial project, part of NYCHA’s “NextGeneration” initiative, expected to raise $25 million for agency BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
The city has chosen Fetner Properties as the developer of a mixed-use and mixed-income building in Yorkville that generated stinging criticism from residents and elected officials since its announcement nearly two years ago. The 47-story, 330-unit project, to be built on the footprint of a playground
at Holmes Towers, is part of the city Housing Authority’s “NextGeneration” program, launched in 2015 to help the agency generate funds and close endemic and significant budget deficits, which stood at $17 billion in 2015. Money raised from the joint project would then go toward muchneeded repairs at Holmes Towers, at East 93rd Street and First Avenue, NYCHA officials said. The new project, to be built on East 92nd Street between First and York Avenues, is the program’s first. NYCHA anticipates deriving $25 million from the partnership.
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DE BLASIO TAKES HOLLYWOOD FUNDRAISING Mayor’s “tale of two cities” now includes Beverly Hills BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN
Remember the “tale of two cities” and the yawning gap between the haves and the have-nots? The contempt for those millionaire haves and the laserlike focus on income inequality? Those themes were visceral and easy to understand. And Bill de Blasio seized on them, masterfully, to capture City Hall. It was 2013, the dusk of the Bloomberg era, and affordability was back in style. Now, flash-forward four years. The mayor stands for reelection, and naturally, he needs big bucks. So off he goes into the sanctums of the uber-rich he
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so reviled, hat in hand. Destination: Beverly Hills, 90210. In the first five months of this year, de Blasio raked in at least $47,715 in campaign contributions from 15 donors in 90210, 90211 and five other zip codes in Beverly Hills and its environs, according to filings with the city’s Campaign Finance Board. The capstone: A star-studded March 5 fundraiser for de Blasio at Spago, an entertainment-industry mecca and brainchild of celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, who opened its doors in 1982 and was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April. You have to understand that Spago, which billed the campaign $6,545 for the event, isn’t what one would call the solution to income inequality: inevitably, its patrons are one-percenters. No matter how liberal, left or progressive their politics may be, affordability
isn’t really their thing. Consider the fete’s three co-hosts: • Jeffrey Katzenberg, ex-studio chief at Walt Disney and former CEO of DreamWorks Animation. His net worth is about $900 million, according to Forbes. The Katzenberg Family Trust gave de Blasio $4,950, which is the maximum allowable amount. A year earlier, he kicked in another $4,950 from personal funds, CFB records show.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 22 Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, June 2nd – 8:04 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com
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