All articles by Dana Schulz

Dana is a writer and preservationist with a passion for all things New York.  After graduating from New York University with a BA in Urban Design & Architecture Studies, she worked at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, where she planned the organization's public programs and wrote for their blog Off the Grid. In her free time, she leads walking tours about the social and cultural history of city neighborhoods. Follow her on Twitter @danaschulzNYC.
Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion Debuts Its ‘American Cheese Yellow’ Paint Job

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

October 16, 2015

Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion Debuts Its ‘American Cheese Yellow’ Paint Job

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After 8,000 hours and 1,600 gallons of paint, the New York State Pavilion's Tent of Tomorrow is camera-ready for its spot on Open House New York Weekend. The Daily News reports that Philip Johnson's iconic World's Fair structure in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is now sporting a fresh coat of "American Cheese Yellow" paint. The job "included power-washing off decades of rust, applying primer and the historically accurate paint while working on a platform suspended 100 feet in the air," and it cost $3 million. It'll certainly be all over Instagram tomorrow and Sunday, but some ambitious architecture lovers have already gotten up close to the landmark.
Have a look at the pictures here
6sqft’s Must-See Recommendations for This Weekend’s Open House New York
October 16, 2015

6sqft’s Must-See Recommendations for This Weekend’s Open House New York

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This year's Open House New York takes place this weekend on October 17th and 18th. A full roster of sites was revealed just over a week ago, and there is certainly plenty to see. But how will you prioritize? To help make planning your itinerary a bit easier, 6sqft has put together a list of recommendations for not-to-be-missed sites, from Google's headquarters to a food factory tour at Industry City to the 1920s gilded Loew's Kings Theatre.
See our picks here
Pollution Cleanup Park Taking Shape at Gowanus Canal
October 15, 2015

Pollution Cleanup Park Taking Shape at Gowanus Canal

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The Gowanus Canal isn't the first place that comes to mind when one thinks about lush waterfront parks, but that's exactly the vision behind the long-planned Gowanus Canal Sponge Park, an 18,000-square-foot public space that will be built with engineered soil to absorb (hence "sponge") stormwater that would otherwise pollute the canal, as well as plants to break down toxins and floating wetlands. It was first conceived back in 2008 by the Gowanus Canal Conservancy and Susannah Drake, principal at the landscape architecture firm DLANDstudio (who's also responsible for the Queensway). Now, seven years later, DNAinfo reports that state officials announced on Tuesday that construction has officially commenced on the $1.5 million project at the notorious Superfund site. The park will sit on city-owned land at the point where Second Street dead-ends at the canal. Workers are on site, digging out five feet of contaminated soil that will be sent to a special facility that handles toxic materials; during the next 90 days, the metal walkway will be installed; and plants will arrive in the spring.
More on the park and the Gowanus Canal cleanup
Gracie Mansion Reopening for Public Tours Next Month With a New Art Collection
October 14, 2015

Gracie Mansion Reopening for Public Tours Next Month With a New Art Collection

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Gracie Mansion will reopen for public tours starting next month, and visitors will be welcomed with a new, diverse art collection. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Mayor Bill de Blasio’s wife wanted the art and objects inside the 1799 home where her family now lives—one of the oldest surviving wooden structures in New York City—to be a broader and more accurate reflection of the city as it looked in the late 1700s and early 1800s." She therefore brought in 49 new works that include "portraits of freed slaves, historic documents, imported goods and items traded to American Indians." The new installation is called "Windows on the City Looking Out at Gracie’s New York" and will be unveiled at an open house on October 25th.
READ MORE
This $30/Week Grimy Lower East Side Bar Bathroom Is a Hot Ticket
October 13, 2015

This $30/Week Grimy Lower East Side Bar Bathroom Is a Hot Ticket

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There's not a lot we haven't seen in terms of less-than-ideal but overpriced real estate, from an $1,800 Manhattan rental with a shower in the kitchen to a $1.2 million trailer in the Hamptons. And just last week, a story surfaced about a cupboard-like rental underneath a London stairwell going for $750 a month. To poke fun at the absurd lengths people go to in order to live in the city's best neighborhoods, Alana Reali, a bartender at Lower East Side dive bar Local 138, posted an ad on Craigslist advertising the bar's 15-square-foot graffiti-covered bathroom as a $30/week rental, reports the Post. Calling it a "hip artist loft," the listing says "room includes a window, a door, your very own bathroom and walls dressed with authentic NYC street art. Hot water included. I provide a space heater for the winter months." Shortly after posting, Reali was inundated with requests, like this one from a gullible NYU student: "This place is perfect for me and I am interested, only I did not really understand how the situation works. Can you please elaborate a bit?"
Read the full
Historic Ship May Become Real Estate Development in Gowanus; Halloween Windows at Bergdorf
October 13, 2015

Historic Ship May Become Real Estate Development in Gowanus; Halloween Windows at Bergdorf

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Department store windows aren’t just for Christmas anymore. Bergdorf Goodman has created a spooky Halloween display inspired by the horror film “Crimson Peak.” [Town & Country] Inside this massive Gowanus garage, a man is collecting and repairing 58 classic cars from the ’40s and ’50s. [Core 77] Two years after the Village Voice moved from its […]

October 13, 2015

Mayor de Blasio Supports Plan for $11B Underground Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel

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Now that he's done battling the state for MTA funding, perhaps Mayor de Blasio can set his sights on the Port Authority and the long-proposed Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel. Representative Jerrold Nadler has been pushing for the freight rail tunnel for three decades, but the Bloomberg administration was strongly against it. Now, Nadler has a supporter in de Blasio, and the Port Authority is even studying the plan, which calls for a tunnel running from Jersey City to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and another into Queens and Long Island. Why do politicians feel a multibillion-dollar tunnel is necessary? WNYC points out that NYC is the most truck-dependent city in the nation. Ninety percent of the 400 million tons of freight that come through the city each year travel by truck. The reason is that "New York City has no direct link to the national freight rail network, so goods coming into the ports and rail yards in New Jersey mostly cross the river by truck." Nadler has claimed that the new tunnel would take 2,500 trucks off the Hudson River crossings every day, thereby reducing pollution and the price of goods.
Find out more
Landmarks Gets Started on 25-Year Backlog; A Manhattan Studio Asking Less Than $1,000/Month
October 12, 2015

Landmarks Gets Started on 25-Year Backlog; A Manhattan Studio Asking Less Than $1,000/Month

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After withdrawing its plan to de-calendar 95 historic sites that had been on backlog for 25 years, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has begun public hearings for these places. [WSJ] A new report shows that NYCHA residents see little benefit from gentrification in their neighborhoods. [NYDN] The 1920s Green Point Savings Bank in Prospect Heights will be […]

Supertall Towers Getting Multimillion-Dollar Antenna Systems to Ensure Good Cell Reception
October 12, 2015

Supertall Towers Getting Multimillion-Dollar Antenna Systems to Ensure Good Cell Reception

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"If I can't text, I'm moving" is the title of a New York Times article that looks at the growing issue of cell phone reception in supertall towers. Of course, the main problem arises in sky-high units that are above cell tower antennas or are in the path of other signals, but new construction methods are also getting in the way. Thick concrete walls, reinforced steel floors, and low-emission windows all can weaken, if not altogether block, wireless signals. "To correct this issue, developers are installing elaborate in-house wireless networks to boost coverage within projects ranging from new rental towers in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to condominium conversions in the 1913 Woolworth Building in Manhattan," the paper explains.
More on the trend
State and City Finally Agree on Funding Plan for the Debt-Ridden MTA
October 12, 2015

State and City Finally Agree on Funding Plan for the Debt-Ridden MTA

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After months of squabbling over who's responsible for funding repairs and expansions of NYC's transit system, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio reached an agreement on Saturday to keep the MTA's $26.1 billion, five-year capital plan on track. The state will put in $8.3 billion and the city $2.5 billion (much more than de Blasio's original $657 million planned contribution). However, Cuomo was clear that their commitment won't come from increasing taxes and that he's confident the money can be found in the existing state budget. The city, too, said it would not raise taxes, but rather take $1.9 billion from city funds and the rest from sources that could include development rights or rezoning. The agreement still leaves the MTA $700 million short of its total, but the agency hopes to close the gap by finding "further efficiencies."
READ MORE
Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff
October 10, 2015

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff

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New Video Takes Us Inside Anderson Cooper’s Converted Village Firehouse October 18th Is Your LAST CHANCE to See the TWA Flight Terminal In All Its Glory You Can Live in Daniel Radcliffe’s Soho Apartment for $19,000 a Month Watch New York City Get Blown Up With the ‘Every Demolition in Manhattan’ Map The Liberty Bridge […]

1970s Documentary Shows Tribeca Skybridge and Vintage Subway Cars
October 9, 2015

1970s Documentary Shows Tribeca Skybridge and Vintage Subway Cars

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"News from Home" is a 1976 documentary by filmmaker Chantal Akerman that uses New York City as a backdrop while she reads aloud letters her mother had written her while she was living in the city. The film wasn't groundbreaking by any stretch, but 40 years later, it provides a glimpse into a bygone era in New York. Tribeca Citizen unearthed a digital version of the documentary on Hulu and took some great stills, including those of vintage subway cars and Tribeca's Staple Street skybridge. The latter (which is actually where the film begins) has made headlines recently as it's one of Manhattan's last skybridges and the two residences on either side of it (one a townhouse, one an apartment) are currently for sale for $30 million, meaning one lucky buyer can claim the historic structure as part of their home.
See more of 1970s NYC
NY Historical Society Opening a Women’s History Center; Buy Fall Leaves From New England for $20
October 9, 2015

NY Historical Society Opening a Women’s History Center; Buy Fall Leaves From New England for $20

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The New-York Historical Society plans to open the Center for the Study of Women’s History in early 2017 on the building’s fourth floor. It will cost $31 million. [NYT] Portraits of nine NYC carriage drivers and their horses. [DI] Fashion designer Rachel Roy picks two local foodie entrepreneurs, one being Jessica Siskin of Misterkrisp, to model her new […]

Starchitect Rafael Viñoly Will Donate Services to Design Science Center at Tribeca’s Pier 26

Pier 26 image via Curbed

October 9, 2015

Starchitect Rafael Viñoly Will Donate Services to Design Science Center at Tribeca’s Pier 26

By
When he's not designing the city's tallest towers, starchitect Rafael Viñoly has a philanthropic side. The New York Times reported that he'll be donating his services to the Hudson River Park Trust to design the long-planned science education and research center on Pier 26 in Tribeca (famous for serving as the location of the Village People's 1978 "Y.M.C.A" video). Known as an estuarium, the project is part of a larger redevelopment of the pier, which will include a new park by landscape architects OLIN, the current free kayaking program and dog runs, and a City Vineyard restaurant, according to Curbed.
READ MORE
Long Island City ‘Micro’ Units Will Have Three Bedrooms
October 8, 2015

Long Island City ‘Micro’ Units Will Have Three Bedrooms

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To date, the city's biggest and most news-worthy micro housing complex, My Micro NY, has offered only studios, which makes sense considering a micro apartment is typically defined as encompassing less than 350 square feet. But the term "micro" is getting an expansion (figuratively and literally) in Long Island City, where a new rental complex will offer 57 two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 490 to 735 square feet, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project at 37-10 Crescent Street is being developed by Ranger Properties, whose managing principal Sheldon Stein said, "Our concept is we can offer really high-quality public amenity space, and better value with smaller private spaces, and bring the rental cost down."
More details
Hudson River Cottage That Was Home to Orson Welles and John Steinbeck Goes Into Contract
October 8, 2015

Hudson River Cottage That Was Home to Orson Welles and John Steinbeck Goes Into Contract

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This Medieval Tudor-style cottage in Palisades, NY had a pretty impressive roster of residents in the 1940s, including Orson Welles (he lived here while working on "Citizen Kane"), John Steinbeck, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Vivian Leigh. Perhaps this celebrity cache is what helped the $2.25 million Hudson River-front home attract a buyer, as the Post reports today that it's gone into contract. Known as "House in the Woods," the three-bedroom stone cottage sits on a bluff overlooking the river, encompassing 2.4 acres of land. It's located in the upscale hamlet of Sneden Landing, where Angelina Jolie’s mid-century modern childhood home is currently for sale and other past and presents residents include Mikhail Baryshnikov, Al Pacino, Lorraine Bracco, Bill Murray, and Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. But name dropping aside, the 2,245-square-foot home is truly charming with open hearths, pitched beamed ceilings, original wood floors, and a stone back house.
See more here
The Liberty Bridge Would Connect Jersey City to Battery Park City in High Line-esque Fashion
October 7, 2015

The Liberty Bridge Would Connect Jersey City to Battery Park City in High Line-esque Fashion

By
Jersey City resident Kevin Shane was sick and tired of the traffic and faulty mass transit that impeded his trip into the city. Like many Jerseyites, he longed for a way to get across the river by foot or bicycle. But unlike everyone else, he stopped complaining and enlisted Jeff Jordan Architects to get the ball rolling. The firm has envisioned a 5,000-foot pedestrian bridge between Jersey City and Battery Park City. The proposal is certainly ambitious, but as Curbed notes, not entirely far-fetched considering the Hudson River is only about a mile wide. Dubbed the Liberty Bridge, it touts High Line-like features such as views from 200+ feet, plantings, ADA-compliant access points, integrated seating, public art, solar panels, free wifi, and cafes and shops.
More details and renderings right this way
October 7, 2015

POLL: Is NYC the New Florida for Grandparents?

By

The New York Times recently explored the trend of grandparents relocating to New York City. For many, it starts as a temporary move to help out with the grandkids, but more and more retired folks are finding themselves enamored with city life. “Not for them the early-bird special when dinner awaits at the latest hot […]

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