[De Minimis NY]

The New York Times

At Junior’s Site, Bidders See Brooklyn, Too, as a City of Spires

By MATT A.V. CHABAN, June 9, 2014

...But as in all things these days, it will soon be hard for Manhattan to ignore Brooklyn. The county of Kings has seen a skyscraper boom over the past decade, but hardly one to rival that across the river. Now, Brooklyn partisans may soon extol heights rare even in Manhattan, in the form of a 1,000-foot tower...

The plans remain tentative. Bidding on the Junior’s property kicks off this week and should conclude by month’s end, but a number of prominent developers are already salivating over the possibilities. If the right firm can buy up the land and air rights for the entire triangular block, it would be quite possible to reach a height as yet unheard-of in Brooklyn...

The team most likely to lead this charge — Michael Stern and Joseph Chetrit — knows a thing or two about tall towers. Mr. Stern, a 35-year-old developer, has already made his name with plans to turn the Steinway Hall site on West 57th Street in Manhattan into 1,350-foot tower. Mr. Chetrit, most famous around these parts for residential conversions of the Chelsea Hotel and the Sony Building, owns what is now America’s second tallest building, the Willis Tower in Chicago.

In December, they went to contract on 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension, a squat six-story office building next door to Junior’s. If they can win the bidding for Junior’s, and get Chase to sell them the air rights it owns above the Dime Savings, a landmark, there would be at least half a million square feet at their disposal, enough to carve a knife blade of a tower onto the skyline. Mr. Stern declined to comment and Mr. Chetrit did not respond to a request for an interview.

Others bidding on the Junior’s site could always try to buy out the pair, seeking the same end. Dozens from around the city and the globe have inquired about the property, according to the broker, Robert Knakal of Massey Knakal.

In February, Alan Rosen, the third-generation owner of Junior’s, said any deal would have to grant the restaurant a space inside the new building, but on Monday he said that he would consider moving if the price was sweet enough. His family had already received several offers that surpassed the historic Brooklyn high of $350 a square foot for commercial space, Mr. Rosen said, but none were high enough for him to sign a deal.

The borough president, Eric L. Adams, said that with Brooklyn’s newfound international stature, a thousand-foot tower (of which there are now only six citywide) is inevitable. “We’re not anybody’s little brother anymore,” Mr. Adams said. “Don’t mess with the new address: Brooklyn.”

Although this most of what is written here is speculative, it's great news to hear that Chetrit/Stern own the parcel next door. I remember when they went into that JV together to buy a space in downtown Brooklyn, but I had no idea that it was a zoning lot that could be merged with the Junior's site.