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.
Roman Abramovich Closes on Third UES Townhouse for His $80M Makeshift Mansion

Roman Abramovich; View of the three townhouses — 11, 13, 15 (from L to R)

July 24, 2015

Roman Abramovich Closes on Third UES Townhouse for His $80M Makeshift Mansion

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At the beginning of the year, news broke that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich had secretly bought a townhouse at 11 East 75th Street for $29.7 million, which followed his purchase of a townhouse two doors down for $18.3 million a month earlier. So, of course, we all assumed that he would snatch up the townhouse wedged in between to create his very own makeshift mansion. And now it's official, as the Daily News reports today that Abramovich has closed on the townhouse at 13 East 75th Street for $30 million, bringing his total up to nearly $80 million.
Find out more here
Union Square Cafe Isn’t Leaving the Neighborhood; Stay in a Rural Tiny House for $99/Night
July 23, 2015

Union Square Cafe Isn’t Leaving the Neighborhood; Stay in a Rural Tiny House for $99/Night

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Forced to relocate due to rising rents, the iconic Union Square Cafe is moving just a stone’s throw away to 19th Street and Park Avenue South. [6sqft inbox] Never drive around the block looking for a spot again. A new app called Luxe matches users with parking valets. [Business Insider] This cabinet was inspired by mid-century modern architecture. [Design […]

City Will Have to Pay Another $368M for Hudson Yards
July 23, 2015

City Will Have to Pay Another $368M for Hudson Yards

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In November, 2014, we reported that the 26-acre Hudson Yards mega-development had cost the city nearly $650 million in subsidies, coming straight out of the pockets of taxpayers. We also noted that it wasn't going to stop there; a review by the city’s Independent Budget Office said even more would be needed through 2019 to complete the “next great commercial district.” And now the new figures are in. According to DNAinfo, the city will shell out an additional $368 million through 2019, bringing their total payout for Hudson Yards to more than $947 million.
Find out more here
July 22, 2015

FAO Schwarz and the End of an Era: Looking Back at the World’s Most Famous Toy Store

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When Frederick August Otto Schwarz immigrated to Baltimore from Germany in 1856, he dreamed of opening "a magical toy emporium that featured extraordinary, one-of-a-kind toys from all over the world, while creating a theatrical experience to showcase merchandise in a way that would bring it to life." Six years later, he and his two older brothers opened "Toy Bazaar," a small fancy-goods store that sold stationary and toys. 150 years later, their store, having long since moved to New York City and been renamed FAO Schwarz, would be known around the world and crowned the oldest toy store in the United States. But all that changed last week, when the toy wonderland closed its famous Fifth Avenue doors for good. Its current owner, Toys "R" Us, cited rising rents as the reason for the departure, but tried to assure the public that they'd find a new location (they reportedly checked out a space in Times Square). For many of us, though, a different address–perhaps one without the giant floor piano that was immortalized in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie "Big"–will be a huge blow to our childhood nostalgia. So, while the fate of FAO Schwarz is still up in the air, let's take a trip down memory lane.
Learn the history of the toy store here
Lauren Bacall’s $23.5M Dakota Apartment Finds a Buyer
July 22, 2015

Lauren Bacall’s $23.5M Dakota Apartment Finds a Buyer

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Ever since Lauren Bacall passed away last summer, it's been all eyes on her longtime Dakota apartment. First, in November, we learned that the actress's Central Park West home would list for a jaw-dropping $26 million. Then, less than two weeks later, the listing hit, a bit disappointing to many as the photos were the newly-staged versions. But this past March, interior photos of how the place looked when the movie star resided there for more than 50 years were dug up, revealing a treasure trove of antiques and artwork and showcasing beautifully intact original details like fireplaces with carved mantles, huge mahogany doors, and crown molding. In April, the price was reduced by $2.5 million, but now, the Daily News reports that Bacall's wood-paneled apartment has been purchased by a mystery buyer.
See inside the legendary apartment here
Weekend House in the Berkshires is Part Glass House, Part Japanese Kimono
July 21, 2015

Weekend House in the Berkshires is Part Glass House, Part Japanese Kimono

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Prior to starting his own firm, architect David Jay Weiner worked in Tokyo under Arata Isozaki, who is known for infusing Eastern influences into his modernist structures. He also spent time in the New York offices of James Stewart Polshek and Partners and John Burgee Architects with Philip Johnson. So it's no wonder that his award-winning Weekend House in Stephentown, New York fuses the principles of a Japanese kimono with the simplistic transparency of Johnson's Glass House. The small house (1,200 square feet to be exact) overlooking the Berkshire Hills was designed for a Japenese client as an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Learn all about the house here
GROWTH Is an Origami-Based Pot That Expands with the Plant
July 19, 2015

GROWTH Is an Origami-Based Pot That Expands with the Plant

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We've taken a look at geometric planters and vases with a bit of origami flair to them before, and while they're quite lovely, they're missing one key element of the GROWTH pot–they don't expand as the plant grows. Created by London- and Istanbul-based Studio Ayaskan, GROWTH transforms in a folding pattern to accommodate the life cycle of a plant. Not only is this fun to watch, but it's sustainable, as it reduces the need for multiple pots.
Learn more about GROWTH
Weekly Highlights: Top Picks from the 6sqft Staff
July 18, 2015

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks from the 6sqft Staff

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Tetra-Shed: A Portable Wooden Home Office with a Rubber Skin Brand New Photos for Bay Ridge’s Gingerbread House, Now Back on the Market for $11M Day vs. Night: What NYC’s Population Looks Like In New York City Your $100 Is Really Worth Just $81.77 New Video Reveals How SHoP’s 626 First Avenue Will Dance into […]

Grim Map Shows the Relationship Between Poverty and Pollution
July 17, 2015

Grim Map Shows the Relationship Between Poverty and Pollution

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EJSCREEN is a new online mapping tool from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). What makes it different than other pollution maps, though, is that it also includes census data to show the relationship between negative environmental factors and demographic indicators like low-income and minority populations. As Gizmodo reports, "The maps are color-coded to show poverty, and pollution (as measured by fine particle density). Grey is in area that’s below the 50th percentile, with the colors going up to yellow then red as the poverty (and pollution) increases." And as is clear in the animated image above, high-poverty areas like East Harlem, Washington Heights, and much of the Bronx are among the most polluted in the city.
More on the map here
New Map Shows Where More Than 50,000 Rent Stabilized Apartments Have Been Lost
July 16, 2015

New Map Shows Where More Than 50,000 Rent Stabilized Apartments Have Been Lost

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At the end of last month, the Rent Guidelines Board voted to freeze rents for the first time on one-year leases for the city's more than one million rent stabilized apartments, which make up about 47% of the city's total rental units. They also increased rents on two-year leases by only two percent, the lowest in the board's 46 years. While this historic ruling is a huge win for tenants, it doesn't bring back the astonishing number of apartments that have been deregulated. Since 1994, nearly 250,000 units have lost rent regulation protections, and over these past eight years alone, New York City has lost more than 50,000 rent stabilized apartments. To put that staggering number into perspective, cartographer John Krauss has put together a handy map that shows where all of these 50,000 apartments are located (h/t Gothamist). Using scraped tax bills, he plotted changes in the number of rent-stabilized units, building by building.
How did your neighborhood fare?
New Initiative Rethinks Lower Manhattan Streetscape to Clear Tourists and Congestion
July 16, 2015

New Initiative Rethinks Lower Manhattan Streetscape to Clear Tourists and Congestion

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If you've ever attempted to go shopping at Century 21 on a weekend or take a selfie with the Charging Bull, you know very well the perils of tourist-laden lower Manhattan. The confusing street layout, lack of open gathering spaces, and non-pedestrian-and-cyclist-friendly thoroughfares make the historic neighborhood a bit of a jumble, especially as it's currently undergoing a huge development boom and both residential population and tourism have more than doubled since September 11th. But a new initiative called Make Way for Lower Manhattan hopes to change all this. As DNAinfo reports, the plan's goal is to "highlight tourist areas, like the Seaport, the 9/11 Memorial, The Battery, Wall Street, and connect the dots better for tourists — giving them a means to find their way, stay and spend money without completely congesting the neighborhood." The group presented at this week's Community Board 1 meeting, unveiling ideas like creating a more accessible entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge that also connects people to the nearby South Street Seaport and moving the bull across from the New York Stock Exchange, its original home and much less congested site.
Find out more right here
190 Bowery Is Already Back on the Market, Aby Rosen Attempts a Flip

EDITOR’S NOTE: An RFR Realty representative reached out to Curbed to say that 190 Bowery is NOT for sale. The listing is not current and will be removed from Cushman & Wakefield’s site. 

July 15, 2015

190 Bowery Is Already Back on the Market, Aby Rosen Attempts a Flip

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It seems like the saga of 190 Bowery is never going to be over. As you'll recall, photographer Jay Maisel turned the former Germania Bank Building into his own private mansion and lived there from 1966 until February of this year, at which time he sold it to developer Aby Rosen of RFR Realty for $55 million. Like we previously said, "Since that time, it’s been all eyes on Rosen. Is he removing or preserving that iconic graffiti? What the heck happened with that 'public' art show inside the building?" And though the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved plans in May for a restoration and conversion to an office building with ground-floor retail, it now seems that Rosen may be getting cold feet. Curbed reports that he's taking offers for 190 Bowery in what looks like a very high-profile flip attempt.
See what the listing has to say
For the Price of One Soho Apartment, You Can Buy 38 Homes in Memphis
July 14, 2015

For the Price of One Soho Apartment, You Can Buy 38 Homes in Memphis

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We learned last week that the average sales price in Manhattan has skyrocketed to $1.8 million, and while this figure is definitely newsworthy, it's even more shocking when we look at the average price of an apartment in certain neighborhoods. Take tourist-friendly Soho, for example, where it costs an average of almost $3 million ($2,912,792 to be exact) for a residence. Many New Yorkers may be unfazed by this number–it seems that every day now we're being presented with seven-digit statistics. So the folks over at CityLab, decided to put it in perspective, mapping how many homes in cities across the country that $3 million price tag can buy.
See the breakdown here
Aerial Photos Taken from a Helicopter May Give You Vertigo; The Ultimate Glamping Accessory
July 14, 2015

Aerial Photos Taken from a Helicopter May Give You Vertigo; The Ultimate Glamping Accessory

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Catching up with Jonathan and Drew Scott, better known as HGTV’s “The Property Brothers.” [NYP] These charts show how Americans’ living arrangements have changed since 1967. [BI] A documentary airs tonight on PBS about the 1977 Blackout, when over 1,600 stores were looted and 1,000 fires were started. [Bowery Boogie] Photographer Jeffrey Milstein captures cities using […]

INFOGRAPHIC: What the Top-Paid MLB All-Stars Can Buy in NYC vs. Their Home Cities
July 14, 2015

INFOGRAPHIC: What the Top-Paid MLB All-Stars Can Buy in NYC vs. Their Home Cities

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Last July we took a look at what the world’s top soccer players’ salaries are worth in NYC real estate. This summer, we’re delving into America’s pastime. And since tonight is the 2015 MLB All-Star Game, CityRealty created this fun infographic of the real estate that top-paid All-Stars can buy in NYC versus in their home cities. Considering that the […]

Own an Entire Stone Mini-Estate in Putnam County for $500,000
July 13, 2015

Own an Entire Stone Mini-Estate in Putnam County for $500,000

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Carmel, New York, located in Putnam County just an hour and a half north of the city, was described by the Times as "a quiet hamlet" where "many residents are highly protective of the lifestyle the 10-square-mile, semirural community offers." And just take one look at this historic stone estate and you'll understand why Carmel's residents are so loyal to their charming community. Built in 1935, the 2,050-square-foot home sitting on a full acre has "European Chalet charm" according to the listing, and it's all available for just $495,000.
Explore the estate here
NYC’s Bigbelly Trash and Recycling Bins Double as Wi-Fi Hotspots
July 13, 2015

NYC’s Bigbelly Trash and Recycling Bins Double as Wi-Fi Hotspots

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We've all been that person who puts their Starbucks cup on top of an already heaping and overflowing garbage can, especially since it seems more often than not that this is the state of our city's waste bins. But if you've looked for a trash receptacle downtown recently, you might have been pleasantly surprised with the Bigbelly. These solar-powered "smart" trash and recycling bins are "equipped with a chip that detects when the bin is full or too smelly, allowing trash collectors to make a pick-up where they’re needed most," according to CityLab. And, as if that wasn't enough, Bigbellies can double as Wi-Fi hotspots, providing enough bandwidth to power a small business.
Learn more about the new technology
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