All articles by Aaron Ginsburg

MTA installing LED lights in every NYC subway station

Image courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

February 21, 2024

MTA installing LED lights in every NYC subway station

By Aaron Ginsburg

Bright LED lights will be installed in every New York City subway station in a new effort to make the system safer for commuters, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced this week. The project includes replacing all 150,000 fluorescent lights across the city's subway system with LED lighting by the middle of 2026. Officials say the lights will enhance safety on the subway by brightening every platform and mezzanine and improving the visibility of the 15,000 security cameras found throughout the transit system.
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Lottery opens for 83 mixed-income luxury apartments near Times Square, from $934/month

Rendering courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

February 21, 2024

Lottery opens for 83 mixed-income luxury apartments near Times Square, from $934/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

A housing lottery opened this week for 83 mixed-income apartments at a new rental in Midtown West. Located at 312 West 43rd Street on the border of Times Square and Hell's Kitchen, the 33-story building offers 330 luxury apartments with high-end finishes, state-of-the-art amenities, and a central location. New Yorkers earning 40, 60, and 120 percent of the area median income, or between $32,023 for a single person and $183,000 for a household of five, can apply for the apartments, which range from $934/month studios to $3,813/month two bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

Annie Leibovitz sells UWS home for $2M over asking price

Photos courtesy of Evan Joseph for The Corcoran Group

February 20, 2024

Annie Leibovitz sells UWS home for $2M over asking price

By Aaron Ginsburg

Annie Leibovitz has sold her Upper West Side co-op for nearly 24 percent over the asking price. The duplex, located in the star-studded Brentmore building at 88 Central Park West, fetched $10,625,000, roughly $2,000,000 more than what it listed for in October. But the sale was still a loss for Leibovitz, who paid about $11,250,000 for the home in 2014. The Brentmore is known for its high-profile residents, including Robert DeNiro, Paul Simon, and Sting. Kim Cooper, a general counsel at Apple, and Gregg Zehr, the creator of the Kindle, are listed as buyers of the residence, as Curbed first reported.
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All-electric affordable housing project planned for Mott Haven parking lot

Renderings courtesy of STAT Architecture PC

February 20, 2024

All-electric affordable housing project planned for Mott Haven parking lot

By Aaron Ginsburg

A project that will bring an all-electric affordable housing development and a new community theater to Mott Haven is moving forward. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) last week selected the team that will convert a city-owned parking lot at 351 Powers Avenue into a 90-unit, fully-electric affordable housing development dubbed the Powerhouse Apartments. The South Bronx development is part of Mayor Eric Adams' "24 in 24" plan, which calls for two dozen affordable housing developments on public land to advance this year.
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Affordable Housing

21 middle-income luxury apartments available in the South Bronx, from $1,800/month

All renderings courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

February 16, 2024

21 middle-income luxury apartments available in the South Bronx, from $1,800/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Applications are now being accepted for 21 middle-income apartments at a new rental development in the South Bronx. Located at 2976 Third Avenue in Melrose, the 15-story building offers residents newly constructed luxury units with spacious open layouts. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income, or between $61,715 for a single person and $198,250 for a household of five, can apply for the apartments, priced at $1,800/month for studios, $2,250/month for one-bedrooms, and $2,600/month two-bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

Vornado floats temporary outdoor event space at site of demolished Hotel Pennsylvania

All renderings are conceptual. Courtesy of Vornado

February 16, 2024

Vornado floats temporary outdoor event space at site of demolished Hotel Pennsylvania

By Aaron Ginsburg

Vornado Realty Trust may bring an outdoor event space to the site of the former Hotel Pennsylvania as it delays constructing a 56-story office tower there. As first reported by Crain's, the developer has floated the idea of "Penn Platform," an 80,000-square-foot space for U.S. Open tennis matches, New York Fashion Week shows, concerts, soccer matches, and other events, in addition to giant billboards, as seen in conceptual renderings published in a marketing brochure. Located on 7th Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets, the site sits across from Penn Station and was once home to a 100-year-old hotel, which was demolished last year.
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Architecture And Design

Portraits of 200 Brooklynites on view at Industry City

All photos courtesy of the Free Portrait Project

February 15, 2024

Portraits of 200 Brooklynites on view at Industry City

By Aaron Ginsburg

The portraits and stories of 200 South Brooklyn residents will be on display in Sunset Park later this month as part of the Free Portrait Project. During a year-long residency at Industry City that began in January 2023, artist Rusty Zimmerman selected Brooklynites to be the subjects of oil paintings and share their oral histories. The portraits, which will be given to participants for free, will be on view from Saturday, February 24 through March 25.
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Events & Things To Do

Walk the runway at the New York Botanical Garden’s fashion-forward orchid show

The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion, Collina Strada by Hillary Taymour. Photo courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden

February 15, 2024

Walk the runway at the New York Botanical Garden’s fashion-forward orchid show

By Aaron Ginsburg

The New York Botanical Garden's beloved orchid show returns this weekend, bringing the catwalk with it. Designed by artists Hillary Taymour, Olivia Cheng, and FLWR PSTL (a.k.a. Kristen Alpaugh), "The Orchid Show: Florals in Fashion" is transforming the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory into a picture-perfect fashion show with stylish creations made with thousands of orchids and accessory plantings. Tickets are now on sale for the show, which opens on Saturday, February 17, and runs through April 21.
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Events & Things To Do

Wegmans may open on the Upper West Side

Photo of the Wegmans at Astor Place. Courtesy of Wegmans

February 14, 2024

Wegmans may open on the Upper West Side

By Aaron Ginsburg

Wegmans may be continuing its foray into Manhattan with a new space on the Upper West Side. As first reported by the New York Post, Danny Wegman, chairman of the Rochester-based grocery store, recently signed a long-term lease for the former 58,900 square foot space of Bed Bath & Beyond at 1932 Broadway between 64th and 65th Streets. While the exact amount Wegman paid for the space isn't known publicly, sources told the Post that it was a "blended $3.5 million."
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Food & Dining

Free Shakespeare in the Park program traveling to all five boroughs this summer

The company of Mobile Unit’s “The Comedy of Errors,” touring the five boroughs May 2-21 and returning to The Public May 25-June 11. Photo credit: Peter Cooper

February 14, 2024

Free Shakespeare in the Park program traveling to all five boroughs this summer

By Aaron Ginsburg

Shakespeare is coming to a park near you this summer. The Public Theater on Tuesday announced its free Shakespeare in the Park program will travel to all five boroughs while its Central Park home, the Delacorte Theater, undergoes a renovation. Kicking off on May 28, "Go Public! A Festival of Free Shakespeare in the Park" includes a citywide tour of "The Comedy of Errors" by the theater's mobile unit at parks and plazas across the city, including on the Fifth Avenue Terrace at the New York Public Library and Bryant Park and in Hudson Yards.
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Events & Things To Do

Popular Articles

$19.5M Tribeca townhouse of late designer Thierry Despont sells after three years

Photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

February 13, 2024

$19.5M Tribeca townhouse of late designer Thierry Despont sells after three years

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Tribeca townhouse of late French architect Thierry Despont, best known for renovating New York City landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Carlyle Hotel, has finally sold after three years on the market. The five-bedroom townhouse at 182 Franklin Street entered contract with an asking price of 19.5 million, according to CityRealty. Despont, who died in August at the age of 75, listed the property in 2021 for $25 million.
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Real Estate Trends

Crown Heights townhouse seized from slumlords available for $678K through lottery

Photos courtesy of NYC Housing Preservation and Development

February 12, 2024

Crown Heights townhouse seized from slumlords available for $678K through lottery

By Aaron Ginsburg

A Crown Heights townhouse owned by an infamous slumlord duo and seized by the city is for sale. The home at 1214 Dean Street was turned over in 2022 after a $2.25 million settlement between the city and the previous owners, who tried to illegally evict tenants during the pandemic and ran an illegal hotel. Following a restoration, the property is now accepting applications as part of the city's affordable housing lottery system. First-time homebuyers with at least a four-person household earning 110 percent of the area median income can apply to buy the home, which is listed at $678,000.
HOW TO APPLY

Village Cigars in Greenwich Village closes amid rent dispute

Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim via Flickr cc

February 12, 2024

Village Cigars in Greenwich Village closes amid rent dispute

By Aaron Ginsburg

Village Cigars, the iconic Greenwich Village smoke shop in front of Hess Triangle, New York City's smallest piece of private land, has closed after over a century in business. The shop, located at 110 Seventh Avenue and Christopher Street within a distinctive red triangle-shaped building, shut its doors amid an alleged rent dispute between owner Andy Singh and landlord Jon Posner, as reported by Curbed. Posner claims that he signed a separation agreement with Singh, which required him to vacate the store by February 7.
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Essex Crossing’s Market Line food hall to close in April

Photo courtesy of QuallsBenson

February 9, 2024

Essex Crossing’s Market Line food hall to close in April

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Market Line, the food hall located inside the Lower East Side's Essex Crossing development, is closing its doors on April 1. A spokesperson for developer Delancey Street Associates on Friday announced that the subterranean food hall will close this spring due to pandemic-related difficulties. A majority of the food hall's vendors, including its anchor beer spot the Grand Delancey, have announced their exodus from the space over the last month, as Eater New York reported. Delancey Street Associates said that they're looking at other uses for the space.
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Food & Dining

NYC rental vacancy rate drops to 1.4%, lowest in 50+ years

Photo by Goh Rhy Yan on Unsplash

February 9, 2024

NYC rental vacancy rate drops to 1.4%, lowest in 50+ years

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's net rental vacancy rate has dropped to a mere 1.4 percent, the lowest rate on record. According to a survey released by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development on Thursday, the city had a little over 33,000 vacant rental apartments available between January and mid-June of 2023 citywide, out of a total stock of 2,357,000 units. Despite adding 60,000 units since 2021, the demand for housing in all five boroughs is outpacing the construction of new homes.
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‘Park of Dreams’ brings vibrant public art to Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza during renovation

All photos by Javier Romero courtesy of ART FOR CHANGE

February 9, 2024

‘Park of Dreams’ brings vibrant public art to Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza during renovation

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new site-specific public art installation is livening up Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza during the renovation of its famous Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch. ART FOR CHANGE and the Prospect Park Alliance this week revealed "Park of Dreams," a public art exhibition displayed on the construction fencing surrounding the iconic Arch. The large-scale artworks, created by contemporary artists like Jules de Balincourt, Marcus Brutus, Kelly Beeman, Danielle Orchard, Amy Lincoln, and others, will be on view through the spring.
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NYC real estate developer arrested in $86M+ fraud scheme

Photo courtesy of Nicole Franzen

February 8, 2024

NYC real estate developer arrested in $86M+ fraud scheme

By Aaron Ginsburg

The former executive of a luxury New York City development firm has been arrested for his connection to an $86 million fraud scheme. Nir Meir, the former managing director of HFZ Capital, was taken into custody on Monday along with other high-ranking industry officials, for stealing money from investors, subcontractors, and the city of New York, according to the indictment. Prosecutors claim Meir, who managed the firm's largest projects, specifically The XI (now One High Line), directed more than $253 million of the project's funding to LLCs controlled by HFZ despite being legally required to use the money for the development.
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Fotografiska New York to offer discounted museum admission on second Sundays

Frank Ockenfels’ “Instrospection.” Photo © Leandro Justen

February 8, 2024

Fotografiska New York to offer discounted museum admission on second Sundays

By Aaron Ginsburg

The photography museum Fotografiska New York will soon offer discounted admission on the second Sunday of every month. Starting on February 11, the contemporary museum is offering $10 admission on second Sundays; tickets normally cost $31 for adults. Located at 281 Park Avenue South in Gramercy, the museum offers visitors engaging photography exhibitions, coffee and pastries at its cafe, and a curated retail shop.
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Events & Things To Do

New York lawmakers propose new state agency to build affordable ‘social housing’

Photo courtesy of edwardhblake on Flickr

February 7, 2024

New York lawmakers propose new state agency to build affordable ‘social housing’

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York lawmakers want to create a new publicly-funded agency to address the state's ongoing affordable housing crisis. State Sen. Cordell Cleare and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher on Tuesday introduced a bill proposing the creation of the Social Housing Development Authority (SHDA), a new agency that would use state money to finance the creation of permanently affordable, 100 percent union-built housing, instead of relying on private developers. According to City Limits, SHDA would create "social housing," a term used to describe developments typically owned by public entities, non-profits, or the residents themselves.
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Leasing launches at 100% electric Coney Island rental with ocean and amusement park views

All renderings courtesy of LCOR

February 7, 2024

Leasing launches at 100% electric Coney Island rental with ocean and amusement park views

By Aaron Ginsburg

Leasing has launched at New York City's first multi-family geothermal project. Developed by LCOR and designed by STUDIO V Architecture, 1515 Surf Avenue is a 100 percent electric two-tower development steps from the beach in Coney Island. The property contains 463 apartments, 324 of which are priced at the market rate and the rest designated as affordable. The unique development offers a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, and a selection of penthouses, as well as an impressive suite of amenities with up-close views of the Atlantic Ocean and the famous Riegelmann Boardwalk.
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Architecture And Design

70 NYCHA workers charged with bribery and extortion

NYCHA LaGuardia Houses; Photo via Wikimedia

February 6, 2024

70 NYCHA workers charged with bribery and extortion

By Aaron Ginsburg

Dozens of current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) were charged on Tuesday with bribery and extortion offenses. As many as 70 superintendents and assistant superintendents at nearly 100 NYCHA buildings allegedly demanded over $2 million in bribery money from contractors collectively in exchange for $13 million in work, according to charges unsealed by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, the action marks the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the Justice Department. Williams said 66 of the 70 defendants were arrested this morning.
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Policy

Bronx Night Market will return to Fordham Plaza this April

Photo courtesy of the Bronx Night Market

February 6, 2024

Bronx Night Market will return to Fordham Plaza this April

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Bronx Night Market is returning to Fordham Plaza this spring after announcing its permanent closure last October. MASC Hospitality Group (MHG) on Monday announced the beloved market will reopen on April 6 with a new holistic approach designed to address previous issues and make Fordham Plaza a center for "community, culture, and commerce." The revamped market will feature a variety of new programming, including cooking demonstrations and nutrition education, an artisanal cafe, a curated bookstore, live performances, and more.
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116 deeply affordable homes coming to city-owned Prospect Heights site

All images courtesy of HPD

February 6, 2024

116 deeply affordable homes coming to city-owned Prospect Heights site

By Aaron Ginsburg

A project that will bring affordable apartments and a community garden to Prospect Heights is underway. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) last week selected Apex Building Group and Bridge Street Development Corporation to convert a 17,000-square-foot HPD satellite office at 516 Bergen Street into a 116-unit affordable housing development known as "Bergen Green." The project falls under the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan (AAMUP), which in combination with the nearby redevelopment of a Dean Street parking lot, will bring roughly 270 affordable homes to Prospect Heights.
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Affordable Housing

NYC reveals automated, side-loading garbage truck

Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

February 5, 2024

NYC reveals automated, side-loading garbage truck

By Aaron Ginsburg

A revolutionary garbage truck is hitting New York City streets, four years ahead of schedule. Mayor Eric Adams last week revealed a new automated side-loading garbage truck that will allow Department of Sanitation workers to easily collect trash from large containerized bins at high-density residential buildings. With the use of the new trucks and a data-driven containerization model, Manhattan Community Board 9 will be the first district to have 100 percent of its garbage containerized next year.
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Policy

20 best spots to watch the Super Bowl in NYC

Photo courtesy of Bk Backyard Bar in Williamsburg.

February 5, 2024

20 best spots to watch the Super Bowl in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

On February 11, the San Francisco 49ers will face the defending champs the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. In New York City, there is no shortage of exciting ways to enjoy the big game with many of the city's bars and restaurants hosting watch parties with food and drink specials. Ahead, here are some of the best spots to watch Super Bowl LVIII in NYC, from taking a ping-pong break between downs at SPIN to cheering from a heated cabana at Williamsburg's BK Backyard Bar.
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