CH Commercial Real Estate Group, LLC announced that Ecser Holding Corporation, Ltd. has leased 4,000 square feet of space on the ground floor of 768 93rd Street, Brooklyn, NY. The corporation has signed a five-year lease at the property.

The tenant was represented by David Shorenstein and Michael Forrest of CH Commercial, a division of Citi Habitats, Inc.

The building is owned by Richard Logiudice.

The partnership was represented by Anthony Musto of Crosstown Companies.

The new space will serve as the office, laboratory and warehouse headquarters for Ecser Holding Corporation.

It will be the first commercial space that the corporation will occupy since it launched its United States branch. Ecser Holding Corporation is a new US company established in May 2001, with a diverse management comprised of a balance of scientists, business professionals and specialist expert consultants, led by Moses Gutman--an experienced and successful international businessman of many years standing, with an outstanding reputation for entrepreneurial flare and vision. Ecser is the holder in the United States of the revolutionary patent "Chambient Technology" for the non-toxic devulcanization of used rubber.

"This transaction speaks volumes about the future success of Ecser Holding Corporation," said Michael Forrest, Executive Managing Director of CH Commercial.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

The City's $100 million redevelopment proposal for downtown Brooklyn will bring the area just what it needs--a kick in its economy.

Last week, City officials finalized a plan first announced in April. The proposal is to include 4.5 million s/f of commercial office space, including five new office towers; 900,000 s/f of retail space, 1,000 units of mixed-income housing; a new arts library, performance spaces, galleries and rehearsal near the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The plan is based on the projected need for commercial office, with expectations that the additional space will stop the gravitation pull of jobs and taxes to New Jersey.

"We are hoping this will be a win--win situation for everyone," said Rachaele Raynoff, Department of City Planning press secretary. "We excited about the possibilities to capture the demand for office space that is anticipated in the future."

Some in the real estate industry say this is the first plan that addresses all the needs of the downtown area that has suffered from economic decline.

"It is a well thought through plan that attempts to create a real 24-hour-a-day community in and around downtown Brooklyn," Steven Barshov, a real estate attorney at Sive, Paget & Riesel and expert in real estate development. "Combing residential commercial and retail is what distinguishes this plan. There is a high likelihood that this plan will make a real transformation of the downtown area."

The plan will also compliment the $1 billion MetroTech Business Improvement District already underway since the early 90s, which has attracted high-technology businesses and back office operations. The MetroTech complex has generated more than $1 billion in new investment, with 5 million s/f of new space.

"The Bloomberg administration's vision is now one step closer to reality and we at KeySpan look forward to being a part of this exciting new project," said Robert Catell, the Chairman and CEO of KeySpan. "We've been headquartered in MetroTech since 1991 and we're happy that many others will soon understand what we've known for decades-downtown Brooklyn is a great place to do business."

The Metropolitan Transit Authority also intends to make upgrades to some subway stations in the area.

Flatbush Avenue Extension will also be transformed into a thriving, pedestrian-friendly gateway to the borough serving the area's workers and residents. The thoroughfare is now largely viewed as a vehicular route linking the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges to other areas of the borough.

The City Council must approve the plan.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

The New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC), The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), elected officials, and Fleet Bank celebrated last week the opening of The Fountains at Spring Creek. The development, located in East New York at 922 and 1101 Forbell Street, consists of two newly constructed three-story buildings containing a total of 102 affordable apartments.

Located near the new Gateway Plaza Shopping Center, the Fountains at Spring Creek, is part of the quality of life initiatives and economic revitalization efforts underway in East New York. A partnership between the public and private sectors enabled the development, which cost $15.5 million to construct, to be financed as an affordable housing for low-income residents. Monthly rents range from $586--$753 for the studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

HDC provided a $7.8 million construction loan through its Low-Income Affordable Housing Marketplace Program (LAMP). Through this program tax-exempt bonds are issued to make a low-cost loan and qualify a development to receive Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. WNC and Associates acted as the tax credit investor and Fleet Bank provided the Letter of Credit necessary to secure the bond financing. This combination reduces development costs and allows the rents to be more affordable.

"We are delighted we could play a pivotal role in supporting development of this attractive affordable housing," said Philip Grossman, Executive Vice President and Market Manager, Community Real Estate Finance at Fleet. "These kinds of creative partnerships are providing decent housing for low-income families while continuing to restore neighborhoods and communities across the city." Since 1998, Fleet has provided nearly $50 million in financing for the creation of affordable housing in East New York resulting in over 703 residential units.

In addition to the low cost financing the Arker Companies received funding through the sale of HPD's 421-a Negotiable Certificates. Developers of low-income housing receive these certificates from HPD and, in turn, sell them to developers of market-rate housing in mid-Manhattan. The proceeds from the sale of these certificates enable the low-income developers to pay off the debt on their projects. With no permanent debt left on the property, the developers are able to charge less for rents, making the apartments more affordable.

This development will provide 421-a partial tax exemption benefits for 520 eligible units in the Manhattan geographic exclusion area.

HPD commissioner Jerilyn Perine said, "This development demonstrates the effectiveness of public private partnerships in financing affordable housing. Mayor Bloomberg's housing plan, The New Housing Marketplace: Creating Housing for the Next Generation, will rely on such partnerships to increase housing investment in neighborhoods with the greatest need like East New York."

The developers for The Fountains at Spring Creek, the Arker Companies, fully owned by Sol, Allan and Alex Arker, have developed and built over 3,000 apartment units throughout New York City over the last 25 years. With HDC financing, the Arkers have completed fifteen developments with a total of 783 apartments.

"Throughout the years of our involvement in affordable housing we continue to develop projects that contain building and tenant amenities which maximize the use of government assistance and private equity providing a quality product with maximum curb appeal--something which goes far beyond the stereotypic 'subsidized housing'--something we are all proud of," said Sol Arker, Principal of Arker Companies.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Pfizer began operations in 1849 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Today, Pfizer's Brooklyn facility is still one of the company's largest manufacturing sites, with approximately 1,150 employees. In addition to manufacturing, the plant houses 14 packaging lines: three tablet filling; two liquid filling; two powder filling; four blister packaging; and three blister card sealing. The packaging operations run three shifts, five days a week.

The plant processes liquid, powder and solid oral drugs for the company's pharmaceutical business. Annual volumes exceed 2 billion tablets and capsules, which translates to more than 50 million blisters and 50 million bottles a year.

The packaging lines are on the building's fourth floor. Elevators deliver materials to a staging area, from which they're taken to the lines. Following Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Pfizer uses plastic pallets for better pest control. If a vendor does use a wood pallet, material is transferred to a plastic one before entering the manufacturing area.

Most of Pfizer's U.S. bottling lines (including those in Brooklyn) are now set up to run the Squeeze & Turn package, a child-resistant bottle/closure system from Owens-Illinois that is also senior friendly (see "Are changes to C-R protocols needed?" on p.34). According to O-I, the one-piece closure is less expensive than typical two-piece C-R closures and requires no retorquing on-line. The square bottle--available in a variety of sizes--also stacks, ships and stores more efficiently.

When it switched to the new package in 2002, Pfizer cut the number of bottle sizes to help minimize changeovers on its packaging lines. Now the company uses four bottles for the majority of its package presentations (down from 15) and two closures (down from eight). The containers have just two footprints and two different heights, which enables their packaging operations to run more efficiently.

Pfizer worked hard with O-I to ensure that the container molding process was optimized by using an innovative approach in laying out the cavity tool. For the most frequently used bottle size, a 20% increase in throughput was achieved through this. According to Rich Hollander, senior director of packaging services, Pfizer has smoothly run approximately 100 million bottles on packaging lines across eight manufacturing sites this past year.

Pfizer continually evaluates its packaging operations for technology and process improvements, as well as to optimize capacity. For example, the company installed a new rotary bottling line from Aylward in October that will provide extremely accurate fills at high speeds. The system can also handle a variety of products and package sizes, giving Pfizer the three features it wants most in a bottle filling machine: fill count accuracy, high efficiency and flexibility.

An eye on ergonomics

In addition to the traditional pills-in-a-bottle package, Pfizer continues to develop unit-dose packages for prescription and over-the-counter products, as well as for its booming business in physician samples.

Bill Alexander, packaging director for Pfizer's Brooklyn site, explains one difference between the bottle filling and blister card sealing packaging operations is the level of automation. The blister card sealing lines require significantly more manual labor for card folding and packing into cartons or displays by hand. Pfizer plans to automate a majority of these tasks to improve the ergonomics of the operation and increase overall efficiencies. While the schedule for automating the packaging lines in Brooklyn is not yet finalized, Alexander says the goal is to finish by the end of 2004.

Pfizer is No. 1 in its markets and is determined to stay there by always striving to be better. Nat Ricciardi, vice president of Pfizer Global Manufacturing, explains how this affects the entire organization: "The best way to improve the productivity of our manufacturing organization is to ensure that we're meeting our customers' needs by making products of the highest quality through science-based systems; capable and robust processes; and the application of advanced technology."

COPYRIGHT 2003 Stagnito Communications
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

The Danspace Project has announced awards of $300,000 from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and $50,000 from the New York Community Trust. Both awards will help launch a multiyear initiative that will increase the capacity of the organization to serve the New York City dance community. Danspace will also look at some possible alternate locales to St.

Mark's Church-in4he-Bowery ... BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, located in Park Slope, has received two dance initatives: a $35,000 Dance in NYC grant from the Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, and a $5,000 two year grant from the Altria Group, Inc. For more information, visit www.bax.org.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Dance Magazine, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Architect Frank Gehry and developer Bruce C. Ratner, President and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies, last week unveiled a $2.5 billion master plan for the arena that will house the Nets basketball team that Ratner is seeking to bring to downtown Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Arena will be the centerpiece of a mixed-use development called Brooklyn Atlantic Yards.

The 800,000 square-foot Brooklyn Arena will be the focal point of Brooklyn Atlantic Yards, an urban complex of housing, commercial and retail space, as well as six acres of landscaped public open space--including a park on the Arena's roof, ringed by an open-air running track that doubles as a skating rink in winter with panoramic vistas facing Manhattan year-round.

"The Nets will be a huge draw for sports fans from throughout the borough and all of the New York metropolitan area, and we intend to give them a first-class team to root for--in a Frank Gehry Arena as dynamic and remarkable as the borough it's named after," said Ratner, who is leading a group of investors bidding to purchase the NBA franchise.

"This is an important opportunity for everyone," said Gehry. "Our goals are to create a great Arena for a great team, and to create something really special for Brooklyn."

Forest City Ratner has been working to revitalize downtown Brooklyn for nearly 20 years--from its 1988 construction of One Pierrepont Plaza, the first office building built in downtown Brooklyn since the 1960s, to the billion-dollar-plus MetroTech Center--developed over a period of 15 years--which is now home to major companies such as Chase Manhattan, Morgan Stanley and Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The commercial space constructed at Brooklyn Atlantic Yards will be attractive to companies seeking high-quality commercial space, and to residents seeking a vibrant, 24-hour community. The site for Brooklyn Atlantic Yards is adjacent to the third-largest transportation hub in New York City--Atlantic Terminal, where nine different subway lines and the Long Island Railroad converge. These modes of transportation will make visiting the Brooklyn Arena easy for fans, whether they're coming from other boroughs or from the surrounding suburbs--drastically reducing the vehicular traffic that would be expected at a site that lacked mass transit.

The site has long been defined by transportation; its current primary use is as a storage yard for Long Island Railroad trains. Three blocks of exposed tracks lie between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street. The Brooklyn Atlantic Yards master plan proposes to relocate the storage tracks to the eastern part of the site, freeing the western part for the Arena. Decking over the new, relocated yards, will allow the architect to build the complex's public open space and residential buildings on the eastern portion of the site.

Some arenas shut themselves off from the outside world, but the Brooklyn Arena invites the outside in: the Arena's Atlantic and Flatbush Avenue facades will be made of glass, allowing patrons on the concourses inside the Arena to glimpse the vibrant life of downtown Brooklyn and flooding the inside with natural light during the day. At night, the pedestrian experience on the street will be enlivened by what's going on inside the Arena, with the lights and the excitement clearly visible to passers-by.

Inside, fans will have excellent sightlines from all locations, whether the Arena is configured for a professional basketball game (19,000 seats) or some other event (the maximum seating capacity will be 20,000). The seating bowl transitions from the rectangular shape required for basketball into an oval as its sides rise, bringing the corner seats closer to the action. With a total of 2,000 club seats and 125 luxury suites--some nestled between the upper and lower seating tiers, some suspended above the upper tier--the Arena will offer many opportunities for corporate entertaining. In addition, the team's prospective owners are committed to having a significant number of $10-$15 seats available for every Nets game.

Gehry's master plan for the area surrounding the arena also addresses articulated community needs by adding six acres of new public open space, imaginatively landscaped by award-winning landscape architect Laurie Olin of Olin Partnership, new housing, much of which will be affordable, 3,000 new parking spaces, and a significant influx of new retail and commercial office space.

The project is designed to grow as the neighborhood surrounding it grows. The first phase to be built will contain the arena, a small commercial office tower, rental apartments, and 1,100 underground parking spaces. Additional phases will follow--including commercial, retail and residential space that will attract a diverse community of homeowners and renters--providing affordable and market-rate housing. The complex has been planned to look whole and complete at each phase of construction.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group