Macy’s Is On 34th Street . . .

. . . but the wide-open Greenpoint waterfront is a much, much better place to station fireworks barges in front of:

Organizers of the annual pyrotechnics spectacular moved the East River display so far south this year that a horde of sightseers – unaware of the changes – made a last-second dash from Long Island City toward the Brooklyn border to get a glimpse, witnesses said.

Stunned crowds that had waited all day at Gantry Plaza State Park bolted down Center Blvd. and Second St. when they realized the fireworks barges had moved.

“It looked like a slow lava flow of people – thousands of people rushing – women, children, babies,” said Steve Loehner, 45, who watched the scene unfold from his 40th-floor apartment on 48th Ave. near Center Blvd.

“If you’re going to break with the tradition there, you’d like to think that you’re improving upon it, that you’re not really messing it up for a huge amount of people,” Loehner added.

Fikre Ayele, 43, felt sorry for guests at his Fourth of July party, who put up with security checks and parking headaches to get to his sixth-floor apartment.

As it turned out, the best view they got was on TV. “It totally defeats the purpose,” Ayele said.

Equally disappointed were customers at waterfront eateries who hoped to see the fireworks up close.

“We could still see them, but it’s not anywhere near the impact of having them directly in front of you,” said Andrea Botur, 40, vice president of Tennisport, a mixed tennis facility and restaurant at Second St. and Borden Ave.

Macy’s spokesman Orlando Veras explained the move was an attempt to let more New Yorkers — albeit along the FDR Drive and not in Queens — see fireworks that explode only 300 feet high.

Normally, viewing on the FDR Drive is from 42nd St. to 23rd St., but this year it extended down to Houston St. — just a few blocks shy of the Williamsburg Bridge.

. . .

NBC spokeswoman Wendy Luckenbill denied reports the network pressured Macy’s to switch this year’s location.

Hmm.

Gioia, Bemoaning Internet’s Effect On Brick-And-Mortar/Mom-And-Pop Enterprises, Vows To Call For An Investigation

Fearful of the loss of business opportunities at Queens Plaza, Councilmember Eric Gioia turns the attention of his bully pulpit towards Craigslist:

New York City law enforcement officials need to crack down on the new “Wild West” of prostitution, the Internet — and specifically the popular Web site Craigslist, City Council Member Eric Gioia said yesterday.

“What used to happen on seedy street corners and brothels has now moved to the Internet,” Mr. Gioia, who is a likely candidate for public advocate in 2009, said at a news conference.

He drew particular attention to Craigslist, where he said the majority of ads for “erotic services” in New York are thinly disguised solicitations for sex.

Kick Them When They’re Down

A bad week for the MTA means a good time to pull this one out of your back pocket:

A city lawmaker yesterday blasted the MTA for rerouting two bus lines to serve a Queens shopping mall developed by the agency chairman’s son.

Councilman John Liu said the MTA should formulate a new procedure for public input to determine bus routes, citing the controversial effort to extend lines to The Shops at Atlas Park.

“In the case of expanding bus service to Atlas Park, people have every reason to suspect favoritism and nepotism,” Liu said after a City Council hearing.

The Shops at Atlas Park is owned by Damon Hemmerdinger, son of MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger.

But the younger Hemmerdinger and MTA officials countered that they began working on one of the proposed routes years before the father was appointed board chairman in 2007.

“Discussions about rerouting the bus began about five years ago,” Damon Hemmerdinger said.

Atlas Park was served by the Q29, but officials moved the Q54 from a lightly used terminus to the mall.

You Mean You Want To Buy My Business, In The Neighborhood Without Streets, Sewage Or Running Water?

Well, when you put it that way:

Two Willets Point business owners have signed agreements to sell their land to the city, marking the first major property acquisitions the New York City Economic Development Corp. has made in its bid to raze and redevelop the 62-acre industrial district.

The EDC announced Wednesday afternoon that Sambucci Bros. Inc. and BRD Corp. have each reached agreements with the city to sell their combined 74,000 square feet of land if the city wins approval from the City Council later this year to redevelop Willets Point.

“NYCEDC is pleased to have completed the first property acquisition agreements,” President Seth Pinsky said. “They provide tangible evidence that we will make good on our promise to achieve fair, negotiated deals with as many businesses and owners as possible in connection with the Willets Point redevelopment.”

But while the deals were trumped as substantial benchmarks of progress by the city, the excitement was not universally shared.

Shortly after the news was released City Councilmen Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst), John Liu (D-Flushing) and Tony Avella (D-Bayside) sent a letter to Community Board 7, urging its members to vote against the plan when the board issues its recommendation. This is expected to take place June 30.

Location Scout: Iron Triangle.

Unholy Union

Bloomberg and unions, teaming up to force eminent domain on the Iron Triangle near Shea Stadium:

The Bloomberg administration has forged an unusual pact with labor leaders, promising that in exchange for their support of the city’s ambitious plan to transform Willets Point, a 62-acre enclave of auto repair shops and cinder block sheds near Shea Stadium, the project will provide union jobs and good wages.

Union leaders hailed the agreement as a template for similar pacts with city and state officials, even as the Real Estate Board of New York, the industry’s powerful lobbying arm, criticized it.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has promoted a $3 billion plan to raze the area, which is often flooded when it rains, to create a vast neighborhood of office buildings, hotels, parks, restaurants, retail shops and up to 5,500 apartments.

But some local civic groups, property owners and elected officials have opposed the plan because it calls for displacing about 260 small businesses, possibly through eminent domain. Housing groups like Acorn and some union leaders have also pushed for more housing that would be affordable for low- and middle-income New Yorkers.

After months of negotiations, the city recently completed a deal with unions representing construction workers and building service and retail workers. In return for their support, the Bloomberg administration essentially promised to require that developers use union construction contractors and pay union wages to building service workers like doormen and security guards.

The city also agreed to look favorably upon developers who propose job-intensive businesses at Willets Point that would pay at least $10 an hour. At the same time, the city said it would discourage “suburban models of big-box stores,” a reference to Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

“The transformation of Willets Point is one of the city’s most important economic development projects today, and the fact that we were able to come to an agreement on it with organized labor is good news,” said Deputy Mayor Robert C. Lieber. “We’ll continue to work closely with community and advocacy groups, elected officials, labor and the private sector to ensure the transformation of this blighted area results in the right balance of good jobs, affordable housing and sustainable design while remaining economically feasible.”

The support of organized labor for the administration’s initiative is vital because the City Council must approve zoning changes to make it possible. Labor is particularly influential in the Council, providing votes and campaign contributions to many members.

Location Scout: Iron Triangle.

Annotation: When you need something controversial passed, couch it in terms of “jobs for the community.”