Goldman Sachs recently moved into new headquarters on West Street. It’s a swell building, but there’s basically nowhere around there to even get a decent sandwich, especially since the Applebee’s and Chevy’s nearby are going to close. So, they’re working with some retailers to bring places into the neighborhood, they explained at a community-board meeting this week. They’ve got Conrad slated to take over the crappy Embassy Suites hotel next door, and they’re bringing in Danny Meyer to open a Shake Shack, a Blue Smoke, and another, “fancier” restaurant in their building. On the surface, this is good news for the area: Not only will these places breathe life to the neighborhood, they will provide jobs for many ordinary New Yorkers. Still, community-board member Linde Belfer is skeptical. She’s heard about these guys — the kind who will stroke your hair with one hand while stealing your wallet with the other. Sure, their plan looks good on paper, she tells the Times cautiously, but what are they really after?
“They feel that they are creating a commercial hub, a retail hub,” Ms. Belfer said of Goldman Sachs. “If we as a residential neighborhood can benefit from it, that’s wonderful,” she said. But, she added, “if all they’re going to do did increase the cost of everything, then it’s not so wonderful.”
Looks like someone’s got her thinking cap on. If only ACA had had Linde Belfer when they were deciding whether or not to buy into Abacus.
For Goldman Sachs, Remaking a Hub in Battery Park City [City Room/NYT]
