Greenwich, Connecticut residents are protesting the building of a 27,000 square foot supermansion by Russian billionaire Valery Kogan in the backcountry.

Kogan is suspected to be the buyer behind the planned teardown of an existing $18M mansion on 18 Simmons Lane in Greenwich. The site will then be used to erect a 27,000 square foot SuperMansion with over 25 bathrooms (!), Finnish and Turkish baths, a dog grooming room, gym with male and female locker rooms, and much, much more.

The new mansion will be the largest home in Greenwich, whose median home price is currently about $2 Million.

His new neighbors are protesting the plans, as although this is a very much an elite ‘hood, there is absolutely no way they will be able to “keep up with the Kogans” on this scale, especially during a hedge fund recession.

In the WCBS-TV interview below, Greenwich resident Morris Sachs expresses worry that the new mansion will be used for large-scale conferences, is out of scale with the neighborhood, and will cause noise issues during construction.

Very little is known about Valery Kogan, who supposedly has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Neither of the builders nor the lawyer will confirm the identity of the buyer.

The Town of Greenwich has 2 months to consider the resident’s objections before deciding to green light the project, although the plans are well within the town’s building ordinances.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Greenwich Residents Protest Russian Billionaire Valery Kogan’s Super Mansion – “Its Too Big!”

Shortly after we first moved to the area, my wife and I decided to go see a movie, so we found one in the paper and decided to go see it at the ‘Bow Tie Cinema’, which had a street address.

We tried to find the theatre and could not, mindlessly driving around downtown Stamford. We called the theatre, and they told us it was in the ‘Stamford Town Center’, which was of no additional help, because we didn’t know what that meant.

Once we actually found the parking entrance to mall, we got lost trying to find the theatre, as there are precious few signs, and you kind of ‘leave’ the main mall to go down some nondescript corridors to find the theatre at streetside. Oh and we missed the movie.

So, although it is far closer to us than White Plains, we just never go to the Stamford Town Center, because in my mind, its kind of a pain in the ass.

All of which is really completely irrelevant babble to today’s news that the Stamford Town Center is up for sale by its owners, that Taubman Group and UBS Realty Investors LLC. From the Stamford Advocate story, the owners are characterizing it it as a portfolio diversity move that has nothing to do with the profitability of the mall. In fact, it sounds like its one of their crown jewels that they would like to cash in on.

No, the mall is not closing and it should have no effect on the stores or shoppers – in fact, Taubman says if it doesn’t sell they will continue to operate it.

However, as the article mentions, the ‘closed’ mall theme so popular years ago has lost much of its popularity:

“enclosed malls receive less than 16 percent of U.S. retail sales, down from 38 percent in the mid-1990s. Smaller, open-air shopping centers, also known as lifestyle centers, have become more popular in recent years, he said.”

(‘Lifestyle Centers’ = ‘Norwalk Strip Malls’)

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Stamford Town Center Shopping Mall For Sale

METRO-NORTH NEW HAVEN LINE COMMUTERS SLOWLY MAKE THEIR WAY HOME.

At 7 PM a New Haven Line StationStops.com reader sent this photo from their train, just prior to stopping in Port Chester:

7 PM: Harlem Building Collapse / Metro-North Grand Central Station Delays TIMELINE:

• Earlier today, a building at 124th st began to partially collapse
• At 3:09, MTA shutdown all service into and out of Grand Central, as the building was a block from the 125th St station, through which all Metro-North lines pass – New Haven, Hudson, and Harlem.
• At 3:10 PM, the building collapsed
• At 4:45 PM, MTA Reports that Metro-North service was ‘fully restored’ but reccommended Metro-North Passengers use the subway to circumvent Grand Central / 125th St
• At 5:10 PM, 1010 Wins reported the tracks at Grand Central Terminal were empty, and there had not yet been any arrivals or departures.
• Sometime between 5:10 and 6PM, Metro-North trains began to arrive and leave at Grand Central
• 6PM Service gradually resumes
• 7PM 101 Wins is still reporting delays of 1 hr- 90 min depending on your line

6:38 PM I am getting reports from New Haven Line passengers that they have been able to get their trains and are on their way home.

6:33 PM reminder: MTA Service metro-North ALERTS (not to be confused with METRO-NORTH SERVICE ADVISORIES)

6:27 PM UPDATE: 1010 Wins reports that Grand Central is a mass of very confused people. It seems that since trains are not running at their regular times, and some trains have been *combined* behind the scenes, that some passengers are just staring at the boards in utter confusion and the information booth is packed.

6:15 PM: RECAP: Metro-North is back online with 30-60-minute residual delays after a vacant building collapsed in East Harlem near the 125th St station which caused MTA to shutdown Metro-North for about 2 hours. Grand Central Terminal is packed, MTA has suggested rerouting via subway, which will honor your metro north ticket.

On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance

Hilariously, when you go to MTA’s website and select ‘Service Advisories’ and then ‘Metro-North Railroad’, there is absolutely no indication whatsoever that anything has gone wrong on Metro-North today!

It is only by going to the home page and clicking on the service alert icon that you get the latest service alert – gah!

photo: Gothamist WCBS880

Update 6PM: New MTA Service Advisory Reports delays are now reduced to 30-60 minutes from 90 minutes.

“Service on the Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven lines has been restored into and out of Grand Central Terminal.
Customers should expect delays of 30 to 60 minutes and crowded conditions on trains. Please be sure to listen for announcements in Grand Central Terminal and at outlying stations in the event of service changes.”

UPDATE 6PM: GRAND CENTRAL STATION IS A “SARDINE CAN” reports 1010 Wins…

photo: Sonia Rincon1010 Wins

UPDATED 5:06 PM: Kathleen Maloney of 1010 Wins reports people standing at tracks at Grand Central waiting for trains to arrive, there are no trains at the station and none have departed. At this point most people are suggesting you use the subway instructions in the previous MTA alert to get north of 125th St and skip Grand Central altogether, ignoring the last MTA service advisory:

• On the Hudson Line: Take the #1 subway to 225th Street to access Marble Hill Station.

• On the Harlem Line: Take the #2 subway to 241st Street to access Wakefield Station.

• On the New Haven Line: Take the #5 subway to 233rd Street to access Woodlawn Station.

UPDATED 5PM: GRAND CENTRAL STATION TERMINAL IS RESTORED, EXPECT HORRIFIC DELAYS:

MTA:

“Service on the Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven lines has been restored into and out of Grand Central Terminal.

Customers should expect extensive delays (of up to 90 minutes) and crowded conditions on trains as we resume service. Please be sure to listen for announcements in Grand Central Terminal and at outlying stations in the event of service changes. “

For the latest updates from your web browser, we reccommend you tune into 1010Wins on the Internet!

Just to be clear – there is absolutely no indication of any injuries or terrorism – just a decayed vacant building collapse and a bad commuting nightmare! 1010Wins reports neighbors have been complaining about he buildings decay for a while.

4:30 PM MTA Service Advisory Update:

Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Line train service continues to be suspended into and out of Grand Central Terminal.

Customers are advised to use the following subways to reach Metro-North stations in the Bronx, where they can take trains providing local service to outlying stations:

• On the Hudson Line: Take the #1 subway to 225th Street to access Marble Hill Station.

• On the Harlem Line: Take the #2 subway to 241st Street to access Wakefield Station.

• On the New Haven Line: Take the #5 subway to 233rd Street to access Woodlawn Station.

MTA New York City Transit will honor all Metro-North tickets for travel between Grand Central and these stations, and at 125th Street and Fordham stations.

UPDATE: The building was in East Harlem near the intersection of 124th st and park avenue. MTA has suspended all Metro-North service out of Grand Central Station – MSNBC reports that there was no service as of 3:09 PM, StationStops.com received its Metro-North Service advisory at 3:25 PM.

• The building was unoccupied
• There are no known injuries
• Most of the building is still standing, about 1/3 has collapsed
• 124th St is shutdown between Madison and Lex due to debris
• Park Avenue is closed between 122nd and 125th Sts due to debris

Its 4:36 PM on a Tuesday and Metro-North is completely shut down people – HAVE A GREAT COMMUTE HOME EVERYONE

MTA Service Advisory:

“Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Line train service has been temporarily suspended into and out of Grand Central Terminal because of a building collapse in the vicinity of 124 Street and Park Avenue.

We will continue to update you as the situation changes.”

I’m looking into it for more info…

UPDATE: I just scanned all the local news channels – nothing but Obama. Nothing on CNN or NYC paper sites…

reminder: Top Google results for Harlem building collapse is an OLD STORY – no one was reported injured today!

UPDATE: WNBC is on it:

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: BREAKING NEWS: Harlem Building Collapse Shuts Down Grand Central Terminal – UPDATES

In midtown, a Columbus Circle 2700 sf condo sells for $12.5M.

via CNNMoney.com

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: NYC Continues to Buck Housing Slump