Proposal to build luxury hotel in wealthy part of Los Angeles "pits celebrities against celebrities"

LAT:

Among the project supporters, according to letters written on behalf of the project, are actors Mark Wahlberg, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Gerard Butler, Orlando Bloom, Adrien Brody and Jon Lovitz, plus rock musician Gene Simmons. The celebrities or their representatives could not be reached for comment.

Several hundred neighbors have signed testimonials in opposition to Safady’s project, including such notables as Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, television host Phil McGraw and actors Jacqueline Bisset and Stefanie Powers. 

...

Opponents created a website, Saveourcanyon.la. Supporters launched Enhanceourcanyon.org.

...

The project was originally proposed in 2018 with 99 rooms and branded “The Retreat.” It has since been revised with fewer rooms and dubbed “The Bulgari Hotel.”

New York's "mayor estimates there are 50,000 illegal basement units with more than 100,000 residents"

CBS:

A majority of the storm-related deaths happened in Queens in basement units, and despite the tragedies, they’re here to stay.

“I don’t think it’s realistic to say ‘Let’s just have no one live in them’ because I don’t know where all those folks are going to end up who need a place to live,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

From July:

Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams, the man who is all but guaranteed to be our next mayor, has voted against a proposed 18-story tower on the corner of Atlantic and Vanderbilt Avenues in Prospect Heights, citing (among a few other things) the project’s density.

...

But as Curbed has pointed out, Prospect Heights is home to only 83.6 people per acre, compared to 108.1 in neighboring Crown Heights and 94.4 in a nearby section of Bed-Stuy. And it’s hard to think of a better place to add density in the neighborhood: The site is at the intersection of two wide and busy thoroughfares, one of them lined with low-rise auto shops and car washes, and it’s across the street from the Atlantic rail yards and kitty-corner from the 17-story 550 Vanderbilt Avenue, part of the Pacific Park (formerly the Atlantic Yards) project. It’s also a short walk from multiple train lines and the LIRR at Barclays Center. Setting aside the social functions of a McDonald’s, which are intricate and considerable in American communities, is a one-story structure with a drive-through the best deployment of a corner like this?