New York-based developers Ron Hershco and Dean Palin, along with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, have officially broken ground on a $400 million, two-tower project that will showcase the tallest new construction tower in Brooklyn.

Rising to 400 feet, 306 Gold Street, and its slightly smaller sister building, 313 Gold Street, are the first ground-up residential high-rise projects underway following the approval of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan in 2004, which rezoned the area to permit larger residential as well as commercial developments.

"306 Gold Street and 313 Gold Street will completely transform the urban streetscape of Downtown Brooklyn," stated Hershco. "The rezoning was a major step forward for Brooklyn and our projects mark the beginning of many extraordinary buildings that will rise in this neighborhood."

When completed in January 2008, 306 Gold Street will be a 400,000-square-foot tower topping out at 40 stories--making it Brooklyn's tallest new construction building. Designed by the award-winning architect, Ismael Leyva Architects, the glass and brick tower will feature 303 condominium homes ranging from studios to three-bedroom penthouses. A 50-foot lap pool, squash court, indoor basketball court, fully equipped fitness center and screening room are part of the deluxe amenities that will be offered at 306 Gold Street. The building will also feature 24-hour doorman and concierge services, and an on-site parking garage, as well as 10,000 square feet of commercial space.

Also designed by Ismael Leyva Architects, 313 Gold Street, a 250,000-square-foot tower, reaching 35 stories, with 214 condominium homes, is slated to begin construction in August 2006. The building will also feature a 50-foot lap pool, fully equipped fitness center and screening room. Demand for condominiums at the towers is expected to be brisk, due in large part to development's close proximity to many subway lines, bus routes and the LIRR, the BQE, and Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.

Sales for 306 Gold Street are expected to begin fall 2006, and occupancy is scheduled for late 2007. Plaza Construction Corp. will serve as construction manager for 306 Gold Street. Hershco purchased both parcels of land in February 2005 following the rezoning, which made downtown development friendlier to developers.

PUBLISHED IN: Real Estate Weekly DATE: April 12, 2006


SOURCE http://www.plazaconstruction.com/news/whats-new/fullstory/work-gets-underway-on-brooklyns-tall-towers

Yesterday Phil Bryant set off a hullabaloo when he answered a question about children’s’ literacy during a Washington Post Live discussion panel. The question was about how things got to this point: that so many children just aren’t that good at reading. The Mississippi governor responded that the problem of poor reading results from having both parents working, especially “Mom.”

Bryant knew right away he was saying something unpopular and said he knew he was going to be flooded with emails the next day.

It would be nice to say that Bryant is wrong about working mothers and literacy, since according to a recent Pew Research poll, women are the major breadwinners for 40% of families with children in the United States. That’s compared to just 11% of breadwinners back in 1960. That’s an astonishing figure on its own, irrespective of the effects of this arrangement on children. A few decades ago, no one could have conceived of a world in which so many women would be supporting their families.

It Depends

But what is the effect on mom not being home on kids and literacy? Could a working mother be a factor in a child’s literacy skills or lack of them? The answer? It depends.

It’s certainly critical for children to hear conversation, to partake in conversation, and to be read to prior to first grade. In fact, by the time a child reaches school age, he better have a pretty good handle on basic literacy skills if good academic outcomes are to be expected. In the years before school, a child needs someone to play rhyming games with him and he needs to hear the cadence of speech in all its most interesting forms. When Mom plays, “This Little Piggy” with baby, it’s not just about having fun. It’s about developing literacy skills.

That said it doesn’t have to be Mom playing the games. It could be Dad. It could be a grandparent. It can be any caring adult.

Mother Child Bonding

What about a preschool teacher? In theory, there’s no reason on earth why a warm preschool teacher, devoted to her work, couldn’t further her charges’ literacy skills. Of course, that’s not the same as having the mother-child bonding thing as an aid to teaching verbal and other literacy skills, but it should do the trick nicely.

The bottom line is that Mom doesn’t have to be afraid to be out there in the workplace for the sake of putting bread on the table, as long as her child is in a suitable environment during the time that Mom is at work. It doesn’t hurt to have extra support, whether its an afterschool program sponsored by Kars for Kids, or a program funded by the Bill Gates Foundation, reading events like those held at Ron Hershco schools, or reading at a public library.

Kids need all the help they can get. And it doesn’t have to be from Mom.


SOURCE http://everything-pr.com/working-moms-and-literacy/243062/