Mini golf and an urban farm will be stand-ins for the River Ring site: "Two Trees plans to open a climate change-themed miniature golf course and a small urban farm at a vacant industrial lot along the Williamsburg waterfront — before eventually developing the space into the towering 'River Ring' development and beach park." (Brooklyn Paper)

Cuomo's plan for a Penn Station revamp — which includes 10 new skyscrapers, among them the ill-named "PENN 15" — gets a line in the state budget... but with a huge asterisk: "Language in the budget bill set for approval Tuesday authorizes a $1.3 billion loan to fund Cuomo’s 'Empire State Complex' revamp of the railway hub — but explicitly restricts use of the money to transportation. Instead of being spent on land for new office towers, the money 'shall only be used in furtherance of [expanding Penn Station] or other transportation improvement projects and not for above-grade development,' according to the bill." (NY Post)

Citi Bike officially completes its Manhattan expansion: "The New York City Department of Transportation and Lyft today joined City Council Transportation Chair Ydanis Rodriguez and Upper Manhattan community organizations today to celebrate the launch of a Citi Bike expansion in Inwood and Washington Heights that will extend the bike share service area from the Battery to 220th Street, covering the entire island of Manhattan. With the 36-station expansion and the addition of Citi Bike’s 20,000th bicycle, Citi Bike will surpass Paris’ Velib as the largest bike share system in the world outside of China, based on the number of bike docks with more than 42,000 overall." (NYC DOT)

Andrew Yang x Open Streets: "In a plan set to be announced on Sunday, Yang said that as mayor, in addition to providing barricades, benches and signage for open streets, he would 'provide funding so that open streets programming does not have to solely rely on local donations,' something that he suggested would help support the program in areas with fewer resources. He also said that in areas without established volunteer groups or business improvement districts to manage open streets, Department of Transportation, Parks Department or other city employees would provide workers to man barricades." (Streetsblog)

MTA ridership will see a permanent 20 percent drop: "Demand for subways, buses and commuter rails will fail to rebound to pre-pandemic levels as commuting into New York City for work is expected to decrease over the long term, Moody’s analysts wrote in a report released Thursday. That could reduce revenue by 8%, according to the report, which also addressed the finances of the transit systems in London, Paris and Vancouver." (Crain's)

Small landlords may benefit from marijuana legalization: "Because federal law still restricts the use and sale of pot, properties with loans or mortgages from federally chartered banks are barred from renting to weed dispensaries, whereas small landlords who own their properties outright or only do business with local banks are better positioned to take advantage of the new law, real estate sources said." (Crain's)

200 Amsterdam

Embattled luxury tower 200 Amsterdam restarts leasing: "After a year of court battles, the condos at 200 Amsterdam Avenue are back on the market. Developer SJP Properties and partner Mitsui Fudosan have resumed marketing 112 units in the controversial Upper West Side tower, the New York Post reported. Brown Harris Stevens will market the apartments, per the report, with units starting at $3.1 million, according to listings on StreetEasy." (TRD)

Historic Windermere Building could become a hotel: "The Windermere, a red-brick giant on Ninth Avenue that has languished in disrepair for years, could return to its former glory as a hotel or office building under a new proposal submitted to the city on Monday [...]  the owners have submitted a 200-page Environmental Assessment Study laying out two possible uses for the eight-story building: a 174-room hotel with a rooftop restaurant and shops, or an office complex that would also include 20 affordable apartments." (Patch)

NYC's public beaches will reopen on Memorial Day: "Beaches will open on Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday, May 29, and outdoor pools across the city will open the day after the last day of school on Saturday, June 26. Openings will follow heath guidance on COVID and safety protocols." (Office of the Mayor)