The Intrepid Museum Foundation has been involved in a cover-up of the city’s own space shuttle Enterprise.
When Sandy hit town, the Enterprise’s $1.5 million-plus bubble pavilion cover unwrapped itself and deflated — revealing that a small piece of the vertical stabilizer had been torn off in the howling winds.
Post-Sandy, the enormous black-and-white bird has been exposed for all to see for free.
There was an especially awesome view as one drove south on the elevated portion of the West Side Highway where it looked like it was perfectly perched on the top of a low pier.
But yesterday afternoon, a temporary, NASA-like cube-stacked building finally surrounded the Enterprise.
An Intrepid spokesman says the piece of the stabilizer was recovered and will be replaced in what NASA says is a “minor repair” once the temporary covering is complete.
When it reopens, in a new pavilion later this spring, the public will once again get to clamber on a walkway that will go over and look down into the cargo bay — all at a separate admission from the daily Intrepid fee.
If you have any spare change, the Intrepid is also fundraising for a climate controlled annex to properly display Enterprise.
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Upper East Side residents are losing at a Whac-A-Mole-type land game as more and more hospital facilities crop up between York Avenue and the FDR Drive.
The Hospital for Special Surgery has finally closed on a development site now that its approvals are all in place — but because leases for various auto-repair spots are still in force, a spokeswoman says it likely won’t start development for some time.
The $31 million trade will eventually result in a new 207,000-square-foot Ambulatory Surgery Center that will run midblock from 517-523 E. 73rd St. to 512 E. 74th St.
Vincent Carrega and Jon Epstein of Avison Young represented the seller, Hedi White, whose family has owned the ragtag group of properties for many years.
“It’s in an M-zone, so you have to find a use that fits the zone, and the hospital is a great fit,” said Epstein. While many of the residential neighbors and auto-repair tenants that are about to be uprooted would disagree, hospitals keep on poppin’ up, and the community tries to keep them down.
On the same block, CUNY wants to develop a new 18-story Hunter College Science and Health Professions Building of 362,655 square feet — while Memorial Sloan-Kettering would take a slice of the same city site for a mammoth, 23-story 730,133-square-foot ambulatory care center with lots of underground parking.
Both would rise on the space of a city-owned Sanitation garage that the locals wanted moved. Hunter’s project is slated to take the place of its current, antiquated nursing school at First Avenue and East 25th Street, where those locals, of course, are bristling at the swap.
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The Swedish home accessories and fashion company, Gudrun Sjoden, is almost ready to open its first US shop at 50 Greene St. in SoHo.
The 3,600 square-foot space has a rent of about $600,000 per year, or $300 a square foot.
Independent broker Marianne Thorsen represented the company, which has a “green soul” and works with all-natural materials.
Yair Staav of the Lansco Co. represented the building owner, who was also represented in-house by Dario Zar of Zar Property NY.
The new store has a long glass skylight and is across the street from another Swedish apparel tenant, Acne, at 33 Greene St.
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Last week we revealed Jared Kushner had purchased 17 buildings in the East Village for $128 million. We’ve now learned his Kushner Companies is in contract to buy a seven-building package on East 4th Street with 115 apartments and one store for $49 million from Meadow Partners and Magnum Real Estate.
David Ash of Prince Realty Advisors represented the sellers while Aaron Jungreis from Rosewood Realty Group representing the buyers.
Kushner is a long-term owner. No one could be reached prior to press time.
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Starbucks is not only renewing at 55 Broad St. but also growing by 1,000 feet into 3,500 square feet — a size that would make it one of the largest of the city coffee klatches.
David Firestein of the Shopping Center Group represented the Seattle-based company while Michael Rudin of Rudin Management worked in-house for the office building in the 10-year deal.
The asking rent was $140 a square foot.
