Yesterday, architect Gene Kaufman, developer Sam Chang and Hotel Le Bleu GM Robert Gaeta sat on a panel to discuss Brooklyn hotel development. As a preventative measure, Robert Scarano and Karl Fischer were whisked off to underground bunkers so that if someone from Wired New York tried to firebomb the building, there would still be people left to ruin the city. Brownstoner has the full report of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce-sponsored affair, and it's absolutely spectacular. In fact, we're giving it the numbered list treatment...
1) Sam Chang on Brooklyn: "I don’t like it. It’s enough. I’ve stopped buying in Brooklyn." That's bad news for Manhattan, where his McSam company is already building roughly 10,000 new eyesores. Give us more, Sammy!
2) The Le Bleu team expects people to pay $200-$350 per night to stay at their new Le Jolie Hotel, described as "Williamsburg's first hotel" and located on Withers Street, gloriously snuggled up next to the BQE.
3) Gaeta on criticism of Le Bleu and its fabulous views: "I think some of the people writing these blog sites may not be able to afford $400 a night."
4) Gaeta again, this time saying Fourth Avenue “will become a boulevard for Brooklyn." As opposed to what is not just a boulevard in Brooklyn.
5) Kaufman said the credit crunch will have an effect, and projects "that don’t make sense won’t get built." Unfortunately, this Kaufman still seems to make sense, somehow.
· Brooklyn Hotel Buzz: Boom and Doom [Brownstoner]