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.

Lord & Taylor’s iconic Fifth Avenue building will become WeWork’s global headquarters

Photo courtesy of Lord & Taylor

October 24, 2017

Lord & Taylor’s iconic Fifth Avenue building will become WeWork’s global headquarters

By Dana Schulz

With rising rents and a national shift towards e-commerce, retail vacancies in NYC have continued to rise, especially in affluent areas like the Fifth Avenue corridor. Old-school department stores, which once served as cultural destinations where shoppers would spend entire afternoons, have been hit especially hard since they occupy such large sites. One of Midtown's most iconic, the 103-year-old Lord & Taylor flagship at Fifth Avenue and 39th Street, has decided to stay afloat by selling its 676,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance building to WeWork for $850 million. The co-working company will relocate its global headquarters to the landmark, reports the Times, leaving less than a quarter of the space, roughly 150,000 square feet, to Lord & Taylor.
Get the whole scoop

Uncategorized

October 23, 2017

Hamptons’ infamous Grey Gardens estate sells for the first time in 40 years

By Dana Schulz

After two years as a rental and seven months on the market, the infamous Grey Gardens Estate has gone into contract for the first time in 40 years. The 28-room mansion was last listed for $18 million, but according to the Washington Post, the exact sales price and buyer haven't yet been revealed. Though now a stunning Hamptons home, as 6sqft previously explained, it gained notoriety as a "decrepit, crumbling, cat-infested, overgrown horror," after its isolated residents, Edith wing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale (the aunt and cousin to Jackie O), were featured in the 1975 documentary "Grey Gardens."
READ MORE

How an 1894 Hangover Created an Eggs Benedict Controversy in New York City

Image via Wiki Commons

October 20, 2017

How an 1894 Hangover Created an Eggs Benedict Controversy in New York City

By Dana Schulz

Brunch is inarguably one of New Yorkers' favorite pastimes, and if there's one dish that represents the lazy, and perhaps boozy, Sunday afternoon meal it's Eggs Benedict -- poached eggs and Canadian bacon on an English muffin, topped with hollandaise sauce. Which is why it's not surprising to learn that the egg creation originated right in our fine city. There is however, a bit of controversy over just who gets the credit for inventing it. Was it the Wall Street bigwig who was looking for a hangover cure at the Waldorf Hotel? Or was it Charles Ranhofer, the legendary Delmonico’s chef who published a recipe for it in his cookbook "The Epicurean?"
The mysterious case of Eggs Benedict unfolds this way

October 19, 2017

$30M Hamptons estate where Jackie O summered as a child goes into contract

By Dana Schulz

The childhood homes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis are quickly being snatched up. Just three months after her one-time Upper East Side residence sold for $25 million, the equally impressive Hamptons estate where she summered has gone into contract, reports the Post. The 100-year-old, Arts and Crafts-style mansion is known as Lasata (a Native American word for "place of peace") and is currently owned by fashion designer and former Coach executive Reed Krakoff. He bought it for $20 million back in 2007 and first listed the 7-acre property for $40 million a year ago, then reducing the price to $30 million.
See the whole property

October 18, 2017

Construction kicks off on Trinity Church’s Pelli Clarke Pelli-designed community center and office tower

By Dana Schulz

One year ago, Trinity Church Wall Street revealed plans for a $300 million mixed-use tower designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli that would link to the historic Neo-Gothic church by a footbridge over Trinity Place. Earlier plans for luxury condos were squashed by the community, so Trinity decided instead to build an office tower and community space that will "allow the church to continue to shape the area and advocate for the community in the future," as the Rector, Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, explained. And it looks like the future is now; according to CityRealty, the Department of Buildings approved plans for the 26-story building and construction is underway.
READ MORE

October 18, 2017

Where I Work: Inside the plaster and mural studios at Evergreene Architectural Arts

By Dana Schulz

6sqft’s new series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring the Industry City space of Evergreene Architectural Arts, one of the nation's foremost restoration and conservation firms. On Monday evening, the Historic Districts Council will present their 29th annual Landmarks Lion Award to Jeff Greene of EverGreene Architectural Arts, one of the nation's foremost experts in specialty contracting for both traditional and new, innovative techniques for restoring and conserving murals, ornamental plaster, and decorative finishes. "Jeff has been pivotal in restoring some of New York City’s most beloved landmarks to their proper glory," said HDC’s executive director Simeon Bankoff. And indeed, this is true; their commissions include the recent restoration of the New York Public Library’s Rose Reading Room, Brooklyn's Loew’s Kings Theater, the Eldridge Street Synagogue, and the McKim, Mead and White-designed University Club, where the event will be held, and this only scratches the surface of their hundreds of projects throughout the country. In anticipation of Jeff's recognition, 6sqft was given a behind-the-scenes tour of EverGreene's new office and studios in Industry City, where the firm's master artisans were hard at work painting murals, casting plaster moldings, and researching the history of several upcoming projects. We also spoke with Jeff himself about what inspired him to get into the field ("I ate the crayons before marking the walls," he says), how preservation has changed since he started the firm in 1978, and what some of his favorite projects have been.
Hear from Jeff and take a tour of EverGreene's incredible space

David Adjaye reveals designs for an interactive spy museum in Midtown

Renderings courtesy Adjaye Associates

October 17, 2017

David Adjaye reveals designs for an interactive spy museum in Midtown

By Dana Schulz

One of the reasons for Ghanaian British architect David Adjaye's rise to international fame is his work on renowned museums, from Washington D.C.'s National Museum of African American History and Culture to Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art to the recently released plans for the Studio Museum in Harlem. And he'll now add to that list, again in NYC, but this time the project is a bit on the lighter side. The Architect's Newspaper reveals Adjaye Associates' renderings for SPYSCAPE, a spy museum and interactive experience that will open at 250 West 55th Street on February 16th. Spread over two floors in the office building, the exhibitions will be divided among individually designed pavilions, each one exploring one of the seven themes of spying. This format, according to the firm's Associate Director Lucy Tilley, allowed them to "challenge the traditional museum typology with a design that straddles the physical and digital worlds."
More details and renderings ahead

Architecture And Design

Museum of Natural History reveals designs for new Halls of Gems and Minerals

Conceptual rendering of the south entrance to the new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, from the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites. Visitors will be greeted by 9- and 12-foot amethyst geodes. Courtesy of Ralph Appelbaum Associates.

October 16, 2017

Museum of Natural History reveals designs for new Halls of Gems and Minerals

By Dana Schulz

The giant blue whale and equally massive dinos might get all the glory at the American Museum of Natural History, but a new acquisition is bringing another exhibit into the extra-large club. This morning, the institution unveiled a 12-foot-tall, 9,000+ pound amethyst geode from Uruguay (one of the largest in the world) that will anchor its all-new Halls of Gems and Minerals. Ralph Appelbaum Associates is handling the renovation of the 11,000-square-foot space, which is being designed in anticipation of AMNH's upcoming $340 million expansion by starchitect Jeanne Gang. The Halls previously ended in a cul-de-sac but the new Halls will feature a "stunning Crystalline Pass" to connect to Studio Gang's 235,000-square-foot Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.
See all the renderings and watch a timelapse video of the geode's installation

Architecture And Design

The Urban Lens: Go back to the ‘mean streets’ and urban decay of 1970s NYC

The corner of Broadway and 55th Street in 1970

October 13, 2017

The Urban Lens: Go back to the ‘mean streets’ and urban decay of 1970s NYC

By Dana Schulz

6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Edward Grazda shares photos from the "mean streets" of 1970s and '80s NYC. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. When photographer Edward Grazda moved to New York in the early '70s, he was renting a loft on Bleecker Street for $250 a month during a time when the city was in a financial crisis, jobs were hard to come by, and places like the Bowery were facing a huge rise in homelessness. But it was also a time when a new generation of artists were beginning to move in. Instead of the tourist- and millionaire-filled streets we see today, 40 years ago they were teeming with energy. "I felt like there were many possibilities to be creative," Ed says. And with that in mind, he began shooting candids and random street scenes between personal projects in Latin American and Afghanistan. This work abroad taught him "how to make oneself invisible and blend in on the street." Just a few years ago, Ed rediscovered these black-and-white photos and noticed how different things are now, from the physical buildings to the absence of people reading newspapers. He decided to compile them into a book "Mean Streets: NYC 1970-1985," which was just released earlier this week and offers a rare look back "at that desolate era captured with the deliberate and elegant eye that propelled Grazda to further success."
See Edward's photos here

Why are the Second Avenue Subway’s newsstands still empty?

By Dana Schulz

TodWhen the city first got a look inside the new Second Avenue Subway stations ahead of the line's New Year's Day 2017 opening, one of the shiniest, most colorful elements was the collection of newsstands. Ten months later, however, the kiosks still sit empty, decked out in the signature marketing of rainbow polka dots. According to the New York Times, the MTA says it's selected an operator for the newsstands, and though they won't reveal who, claim that they'll open soon. But is the fact that Q train riders seem overwhelmingly unaware and unaffected by the lack of newsstands a sign that they're not actually wanted or needed in a time when newspapers and magazines have been replaced by tablets and iPhones and candy and sodas with organic oatmeal and Juice Press?
Get the whole scoop

Transit

Bureau V’s 160-square-foot Urban Cabin is an homage to NYC Immigrants

Photos by Frank Oudeman/OTTO

October 10, 2017

Bureau V’s 160-square-foot Urban Cabin is an homage to NYC Immigrants

By Dana Schulz

MINI has been working for the past couple years to expand its purview from tiny cars to tiny homes. Their endeavor began with a micro-living concept to address a lack of attractive, affordable housing in urban settings, and they've now expanded on this idea with an even more compact and personal model. First revealed at last month's London Design Week, the MINI Living Urban Cabin "fuses clever use of space with insights from local architects to create an area and structure suited for their city." British architect Sam Jacob was inspired by London's decline in libraries, but here in NYC, Greenwich Village-based firm Bureau V responded to larger global issues and based their design around New York’s history as an immigrant city.
See more this way

Architecture And Design

MTA may replace subway booth workers with roaming ‘ambassadors’

Subway booth at the Columbus Circle station, via Wiki Commons

October 9, 2017

MTA may replace subway booth workers with roaming ‘ambassadors’

By Dana Schulz

Fresh off their announcement that they've begun the testing phase of a mobile device scanning and payment system to replace the MetroCard, the MTA has revealed that they're also considering doing away with the ye-olde subway booth worker. According to the Daily News, the latest attempt at modernization will replace the workers with "customer service ambassadors" who will roam stations to provide real-time travel info and answer questions.
They're even getting new uniforms

Transit

The Urban Lens: Documenting NYC’s vanishing ATMs

Outside the Lower East Side club Fat Baby

October 6, 2017

The Urban Lens: Documenting NYC’s vanishing ATMs

By Dana Schulz

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Ivan Kosnyrev shares photos from his Instagram series Unreliable ATM. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. We recently shared photographer's before-and-after photos of Tribeca, a project that helped him learn about the history and present evolution of his neighborhood. Having only moved to NYC three years ago from Moscow, Ivan uses his documentary photography as a way to get acclimated with his new home. And when he wants to go outside his home base, he often does so through the lens of his Instagram account Unreliable ATM, which documents the vanishing street ATM. Not only does this disappearance represent changing times and technologies, but it's a visual reminder of how the city is losing its small businesses and culture. Ahead, Ivan shares some of his favorite ATM photos and talks about his inspiration for the project.
All that, this way

Places

For $1,015/month, live in a new Clinton Hill rental with private balconies

Renderings courtesy of STUDIOSC Architects

October 6, 2017

For $1,015/month, live in a new Clinton Hill rental with private balconies

By Dana Schulz

Move-ins started just a month ago at the new Brooklyn rental 10 Lexington Avenue, and now the lottery is opening for 17 $1,015/month one-bedrooms apartments in the building in the up-and-coming, post-industrial pocket between Clinton Hill and Bedford-Stuyvesant. According to the building website, all units have private outdoor space and amenities include a roof deck, courtyard, laundry room, fitness center, and lounge.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

October 3, 2017

Live in NYC’s highest rental at New York by Gehry for $45K/month

By Dana Schulz

"I designed a building I would want to live in as a New Yorker... you could say this is my love letter to New York City," said starchitect Frank Gehry upon completing his rippling stainless steel rental building at 8 Spruce Street. Officially dubbed New York by Gehry, the 76-story tower is the city's tallest rental building, making its top-floor penthouses the highest rental units in New York. The largest and most expensive, a 3,771-square-foot, five-bedroom spread that occupies its own wing, has just hit the market for $45,000 a month ($40,154 net effective based on the offering of one month free), a unique opportunity to live in the epitome of this romantic notion.
See it all right here

October 2, 2017

Lottery opens for 45 affordable units across from the Empire State Building, from $867/month

By Dana Schulz

Living amongst the hustle and bustle of the Empire State Building may not sound appealing at first, but when you can do it in a brand new, high-end tower for less than $900 a month, the option doesn't look half bad. Starting tomorrow, New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for 45 apartments at Midtown West's sleek new rental 42 West 33rd Street. Not only do prices range from $867/month studios to $1,123/month two-bedrooms, but the 41-story glass building offers a host of amenities including a fitness center, golf simulator, swimming pool and sauna, dog wash, and outdoor terraces and gardens (some of these may require an additional fee).
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Obamas scope out apartments in posh Upper East Side building

Barack and Michelle Obama via Wiki Commons; One of 10 Gracie Square’s terraces overlooking the East River, via CityRealty

October 2, 2017

Obamas scope out apartments in posh Upper East Side building

By Dana Schulz

Yorkville's 10 Gracie Square is considered "one of New York City's most prestigious addresses" and "the most desirable residential building overlooking Carl Schurz Park," over the years attracting the likes of Alexander Woollcott, conductor Andre Kostelanetz, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek. And now Barack and Michelle Obama may be added to that list, as "multiple sources" told the Post that the former President and First Lady were seen arriving at the Upper East Side building to view apartments. The co-op, located just down the block from the Mayor's residence Gracie Mansion, has plenty of perks that would likely attract the Obamas, including an indoor basketball court for the hoops-loving Prez, pet-friendly policy (we can't imagine they'd leave Bo behind), and a super-secure underground drive-in garage that would allow them to enter privately.
READ MORE

Celebrities

September 29, 2017

Live among pro athletes at Midtown West’s Sky for just $613/month

By Dana Schulz

Thanks to the building’s Carmelo Anthony-designed NBA regulation-sized basketball court and 70,000-square-foot recreation facility, Midtown West's swanky Sky rental has been attracting pro athletes since it opened under the Moinian Group in 2015. Current residents include the Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis and Sasha Vujacic and Met pitcher A.J. Ramos. And now the 60-story glass slab tower at 605 West 42nd Street is offering 166 low- and middle-income units through the city's affordable housing lottery. Available to New Yorkers earning 40 or 120 of the area median income, the apartments range from $613/month studios to $2,520/month two-bedrooms. Comparatively, market-rate listings in the building range from $2,982/month studios to $4,260/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Donald Trump’s Empire State Building doodle expected to fetch $12,000 at auction

Sketch via Julien’s Auctions; Donald Trump via Wiki Commons

September 28, 2017

Donald Trump’s Empire State Building doodle expected to fetch $12,000 at auction

By Dana Schulz

Update 10/20/17: Crain's reports that Trump’s doodle has sold at auction for $16,000. The buyer has not been named, but a portion of the sale will benefit Connecticut National Public Radio station WHDD-FM. He may not have had any formal political experience before taking office, but Donald Trump was certainly well versed in doodling. In July, a 2005 charity auction sketch he made of the NYC skyline, which not surprisingly depicts Trump Tower front and center among anonymous buildings, sold at auction for an incredible $29,184. And now, as reported by the Guardian, a similarly elementary sketch he did of the Empire State Building is also headed to auction, where it's expected to fetch up to $12,000, a portion of which will be donated to National Public Radio (NPR). Interestingly, Trump did the signed drawing in 1995, the year after he began his fraught attempt to take ownership of the landmark building.
Find out more

My 550sqft: A textile designer fits a studio and warehouse into his railroad Ridgewood home

6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Ridgewood apartment of textile designer Christian Rathbone. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

September 27, 2017

My 550sqft: A textile designer fits a studio and warehouse into his railroad Ridgewood home

By Dana Schulz

For most New Yorkers, 550 square feet would be a fairly comfortable one-bedroom apartment, but for textile designer Christian Rathbone it's that, plus his studio and warehouse. For the past 15 years, Christian has been working with native dyers and weavers in Turkey, who help bring his organic Kilim designs to life, using traditional vegetation dyes and hand-spun wool. And for the past six years, he's been running his business out of his apartment in Ridgewood, Queens. Not only has he built his own extensive shelving systems, but he's done so in a narrow, railroad unit. 6sqft recently paid Christian a visit to get a first-hand look at how he makes this live-work setup work and to learn more about his process and inspirations.
Take the tour and hear from Christian

Map shows less than 1/4 of NYC subway stations are accessible

Maps via The Guardian

September 26, 2017

Map shows less than 1/4 of NYC subway stations are accessible

By Dana Schulz

Out of NYC's 472 subway stations, only 117 are fully accessible, a major problem considering more than 800,000 or one-in-ten New Yorkers have a physical disability (and this doesn't take into account those who get injured or are with a stroller). The reason for this is that our subway system was built starting in 1904, long before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. To highlight the issue, the Guardian put together these startling maps that show worldwide metro systems in their entirety as compared to versions that only include fully accessible stations.
Get all the facts

Transit

Sarah Jessica Parker to lead NYC shoe-shopping tour for Airbnb

Bloomingdales via Wiki Commons; Sarah Jessica Parker via Wiki Commons

September 25, 2017

Sarah Jessica Parker to lead NYC shoe-shopping tour for Airbnb

By Dana Schulz

If there are two things Sarah Jessica Parker loves they're New York City and shoes, and she's now teamed up with Airbnb (yes, you read that right) to share her combined passions with the general public. Last year, the home sharing company launched its Social Impact Experiences, nonprofit-led tours and excursions for which the proceeds go back to the host organization, and recently, they expanded the program in NYC to feature celebrity-hosted events. Parker's October 6th experience--Sole of the City with SJP--will have only four open spots, each for $400 (h/t NYP). Guests will join the actress at Bloomingdales, where they'll get a pair of shoes from her collection that's sold there, eat frozen yogurt at the department store's Forty Carrots, and then head to Lincoln Center for the New York City Ballet. SJP is an NYC Ballet board member and the proceeds will benefit the dance company.
More right here

September 25, 2017

Lottery opens for 47 mixed-income units in East New York, from $558/month

By Dana Schulz

Four years ago, the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation filed plans for a mixed-use building at 2501 Pitkin Avenue in East New York. The seven-story building known as the Pitkin Berriman Apartments has more than 3,000 square feet of street-level retail space that includes a grocery store, outdoor spaces such as a rear yard patio, playground, and garden, and affordable rentals. Those below-market-rate apartments are now available to low- and middle-income New Yorkers earning 40, 50, or 60 percent of the area median income through the city's housing lottery. The 47 available units range from $558/month one-bedrooms to $1,224/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Live a block away from Fort Greene’s DeKalb Market Hall for just $867/month

Via DeKalb Market Hall

September 22, 2017

Live a block away from Fort Greene’s DeKalb Market Hall for just $867/month

By Dana Schulz

With apartments ranging from $867/month studios to $1,123/month two-bedrooms, you might have some cash leftover to splurge on a Katz's pastrami sandwich, frozen key lime pie, or smoked rack of ribs at Brooklyn's largest food hall, DeKalb Market, just around the corner. You'll also be just two blocks from all the action at 9 DeKalb Avenue, the borough's future tallest tower. These 22 brand new residences at 237 Duffield Street, a 105-unit building designed by Karl Fischer, come online Tuesday through the city's affordable housing lottery and are reserved for New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

All articles by Dana Schulz

Lord & Taylor’s iconic Fifth Avenue building will become WeWork’s global headquarters

Hamptons’ infamous Grey Gardens estate sells for the first time in 40 years

How an 1894 Hangover Created an Eggs Benedict Controversy in New York City

$30M Hamptons estate where Jackie O summered as a child goes into contract

Construction kicks off on Trinity Church’s Pelli Clarke Pelli-designed community center and office tower

Where I Work: Inside the plaster and mural studios at Evergreene Architectural Arts

David Adjaye reveals designs for an interactive spy museum in Midtown

Museum of Natural History reveals designs for new Halls of Gems and Minerals

The Urban Lens: Go back to the ‘mean streets’ and urban decay of 1970s NYC

Why are the Second Avenue Subway’s newsstands still empty?

Bureau V’s 160-square-foot Urban Cabin is an homage to NYC Immigrants

MTA may replace subway booth workers with roaming ‘ambassadors’

The Urban Lens: Documenting NYC’s vanishing ATMs

For $1,015/month, live in a new Clinton Hill rental with private balconies

This $839K co-op in an Upper West Side mansion has a presidential connection

Live in NYC’s highest rental at New York by Gehry for $45K/month

Lottery opens for 45 affordable units across from the Empire State Building, from $867/month

Obamas scope out apartments in posh Upper East Side building

Live among pro athletes at Midtown West’s Sky for just $613/month

Donald Trump’s Empire State Building doodle expected to fetch $12,000 at auction

My 550sqft: A textile designer fits a studio and warehouse into his railroad Ridgewood home

Map shows less than 1/4 of NYC subway stations are accessible

Sarah Jessica Parker to lead NYC shoe-shopping tour for Airbnb

Lottery opens for 47 mixed-income units in East New York, from $558/month

Live a block away from Fort Greene’s DeKalb Market Hall for just $867/month

9 DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn

All articles by Dana Schulz

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