Inside look at planned Disney HQ in Hud. Sq.
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Hudson Square will soon be
fi lled with the magical ongoings
of Disney.
The mega media conglomerate,
which now owns 20th Century Fox,
Marvel, and Star Wars, announced
plans to break ground on its new, 22-
story New York City headquarters and
studio space come early 2020.
Designed by One World Trade Center
architects Skidmore, Owings &
Merrill, the new HQ is currently called
“4 Hudson Square” and will command
1.2 million square feet over an entire
block between Hudson and Varick
streets and the parallel of Vandam and
Springs streets also.
After its estimated four-year completion,
ABC World News and ABC 7,
which are both owned by Disney, will
be relocated to the new facility. Their
audience programming such as “Live
With Kelly” will be taped in the basement
of the new headquarters, offi cials
on the project said.
At the time of announcement, which
came on the same day as the debut of
the Disney+ streaming service, design
partner Colin Koop said that the
4 Hudson Square is one of the “most
important projects happening in New
York City.”
While the headquarters announcement
wasn’t planned to coincide with
the launch of Disney+ syncing, Koop
said it just happened that way.
“We were ready to show and they
were too,” he joked.
One of its unique features is the
tenth fl oor atrium that will sit 155 feet
above ground. It’s there where the upper
fl oors will part into twin spires between
an extensive rooftop atrium.
“You get rooftop space here that you
Base renderings of Disney Hudson Square.
couldn’t get in a skyscraper,” Koop said,
noting that the comparatively low roof
will be looking toward water towers
nearby and skyscrapers at a distance,
giving the building a “romantic” feel.
The rooftop space, which is reminiscent
of one Marvel’s Spider-Man might
swing through, was heavily inspired by
the central space at Pixar Animation
Studios in California, project offi cials
said.
Koop said that the feel of the building
will be “truly modern while inspired
by the past,” explaining that 4
Hudson Square’s terracotta facade will
be surrounded by masonry style buildings
and will appear to change color
based on the lighting surrounding its
connected glass panelling.
4 Hudson Square also plans on beating
the NYC energy code by at least 25
percent while also working out a collaborative
plan with the Hudson Square
BID to beautify surrounding sidewalks,
RENDERING COURTESY OF SOM
project offi cials explained.
The as-of-right project will also dedicate
much of its ground fl oor to non-
Disney retail.
“Right now we’re thinking of something
continuous like a food hall,”
Koop explained, though no retail tenants
have been committed at this time.
He and the SOM team said that Hudson
Square aims to be a counterpoint
of recently developed Hudson Yards,
just 15 blocks north.
Iconic B&H Photo sued by state for unpaid taxes
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
New York State is suing the owners
of iconic B&H Photo Video
Electronics Store in Manhattan
for allegedly failing to pay millions of
dollars in sales taxes over a 13-year period.
According to the suit that state Attorney
General Letitia James fi led on
Thursday, B&H (which operates under
B&H Foto & Electronics Corp.) allegedly
failed to submit taxes on tens of
millions of dollars received from electronic
manufacturers as reimbursement
for instant rebates provided to
customers.
“B&H proudly claims that it puts
principles over profi ts, but for 13 years,
the company actually chose profi ts over
principles by defrauding New York taxpayers
out of millions of dollars owed
to the state,” said Attorney General
James. “B&H deliberately chose not
to pay the sales tax it knew was due to
New York State in order to gain a competitive
edge over companies that chose
to follow the rules.”
Jeff Gerstel, a spokesperson for B&H
Photo, fl atly denied the accusations in
the state’s lawsuit.
“B&H is not a big box store or a faceless
chain; we are a New York institution,
having operated here for nearly 50
years with a stellar reputation,” he said
in a statement. “The tax department
has done countless audits and never
once – not a single time – mentioned
this widespread industry practice.
B&H has done nothing wrong and it is
outrageous that the AG has decided to
attack a New York company that employs
thousands of New Yorkers while
leaving the national online and retail
behemoths unchallenged.”
Instant rebates, when offered, are
given to customers at the point of sale;
under state law, these arrangements are
subject to state sales tax. James’ suit
alleges that, since 2006, B&H offered
the rebates and received compensation
from various electronics manufacturers,
but allegedly did not pay the sales
taxes on them.
The lawsuit indicates that B&H “received
at least $67 million in instant
savings reimbursements between 2006
and July 2017,” all of which were to
be taxed under the state sales tax law.
Furthermore, the company allegedly
“falsely understated its taxable sales
on all” quarterly returns fi led with
the state Tax Department “from June
2006 through the fi rst three quarters
of 2019.”
It’s estimated that B&H allegedly deprived
the state of $7.3 million in tax
revenue as a result.
The Attorney General’s offi ce
launched an investigation into B&H
based on claims made in a lawsuit fi led
under seal by an anonymous whistleblower.
James’ lawsuit alleges that
B&H violated New York’s Tax Law,
False Claims Act and Executive Law.
The West 34th Street store has
grown into one of the most renowned
electronics dealers in the city, and has
further grown its business online. In
2018, Consumer Reports named B&H
as the leading online electronics retailer.
Forbes magazine also recognized
the store as one of the best mid-size
employers in America.
4 November 21, 2019 CNW Schneps Media