The Curbed Cup, our annual award for the New York City neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 16 areas vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. This week we'll have two matchups per day, and all the results and the full tournament bracket will be reviewed on Friday. Voting for each pairing ends 24 hours after it begins. Let the eliminations commence!
In the final first round contest, behemoth Downtown Brooklyn takes on Mott Haven, a small section of the South Bronx that's seen rapid changes as of late.
Manhattan's supertalls may get all the press, but Downtown Brooklyn may soon be home to its own 1000-foot tower, the borough's tallest, that will feature 550 apartments and 140,000 square feet of commercial space. Until that happens, Extell's 610-foot tower will lay claim to the title of tallest building in the borough when it tops out, which will happen soon. Meanwhile, the neighborhood megaproject, City Point, saw rapid progress this year: construction wrapped up on two residential buildings, and began leasing its 440 rental units. Plus, designs were revealed for the Brooklyn Greenway, a 21-acre open space and park project, and the borough president, Eric Adams announced an overhaul of the Brooklyn War Memorial, 25 years after it was shut down.
Moving north from Brooklyn to the southern edge of the Bronx, real estate developers made some big moves in Mott Haven this past year. Somerset Partners and the Chetrit Group purchased five acres of waterfront land in the neighborhood, with plans to construct six towers at 2401 Third Avenue and 101 Lincoln Avenue at a total cost of $58 million. This new plan comes in addition to the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.'s push last year to see a large area of the neighborhood redeveloped, with the goal of adding as many as 1,500 new apartments. The neighborhood also made some large strides in regards to public green space: Plans were announced to turn abandoned rail tracks in the neighborhood into a High Line-style park. The connector between Randall's Island and the Bronx opened to the public, and plans were announced for the creation of a new waterfront park at 134th street.
Does the upstart Mott Haven have the power to trounce heavyweight Downtown Brooklyn? You decide!
· All Curbed Cup Coverage [Curbed]
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