When the City Council rejected the application to landmark 184 Kent at the end of last year, we thought the thing stank of dirty politics and backroom deals, but reserved most of our ire for Simcha Felder, even wondering out loud about the size of 184 Kent owner Moishe Kestenbaum’s campaign contributions. We lost a lot respect for Yassky (who we used to sorta like for no particular reason) at that point, too, mostly for having the arrogance to presume he had the knowledge and taste to be passing judgment on a building’s historic and architectural merit. “This is simply not worthy of landmarking,” he said at the time. Oh really? Based on what? Now the Daily News is reporting that, surprise, surprise, both Kestenbaum and Joshua Guttman, the shady owner of the Greenpoint Terminal Market, have recently written checks to Yassky. This is hardly ground-rattling news, as these guys have probably lined the pockets of every pol in town, but still, the squeaky-clean image that Yassky tries to project is forever tarnished in our minds.
Real Estate Biz Boosts Yassky Run [NY Daily News]
City Council Rejects 184 Kent [Brownstoner]