1) Dreamland, the Coney Island amusement park set up on the old Astroland site, has been shut down by its landlord Joe Sitt for falling behind on some $570,000 in rent. Dreamland was part of Sitt's plan to show that he, not Mayor Bloomberg, knows what's best for Coney's redevelopment, but with a deal reportedly in place for much of Sitt's land, there's not much of a need to keep up appearances. Dreamland was supposed to close after Labor Day. ['Brakes on Coney Is. Thrill Rides'/NYP]
2) Speaking of controversial landlords, the lawsuit over the de-stabilization of thousands of rental apartments at Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village is screwing with Tishman Speyer's ability to raise money from new investors. The case heads to appeal on September 10, but it could take months for the court to rule, meaning parties that would normally be interested in floating cash to Tishman are not willing to take the risk right now. Meanwhile, Tishman's emergency Stuy Town cash reserve has dwindled from $650 million to $49.6 million, and is expected to go dry in winter. Ruh-roh. ['Stuy Town Cash Crisis'/NYP]
3) Cockroaches and rats? They're practically welcomed NYC houseguests. But bedbugs? Those are the true real estate pests. Can whispers of a building-wide bedbug infestation in a co-op's meeting minutes derail potential deals on for-sale apartments? Yes, and the trend is spreading like blood-sucking fiends that prey on you in your sleep. Says one real estate lawyer, "It's like the dreaded mold that was killing values for a while. People don't want to buy into a building if they find out there are bedbugs." ['Buying and Selling in Bedbug City'/NYT]
4) The Times "Living In" column heads to Bed-Stuy, and it's a little less rah-rah about the neighborhood than the typical Living In feature. Crime and overdevelopment are chief concerns (there is, however, a bread store), and one community boarder snips, "We're not trying to become the new Williamsburg, with all these condos and everything." Still, the gentrifiers?and Italians!?are a comin', and as for real estate prices, "One thing is certain: the era of million-dollar houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant is over, at least for now." ['Living In: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Booklyn'/NYT]
5) Late-night/early-morning reveling leading to fatal shootings on Avenue A and at the South Street Seaport? Too crazy, especially for August. [Ave. A; SSS]
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