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.
Lotto opens for Bushwick church conversion, 20 units available from $822/month
April 10, 2017

Lotto opens for Bushwick church conversion, 20 units available from $822/month

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It's been two years since Cayuga Capital's "horizontal addition" to the former St. Mark’s Lutheran School and Evangelical Church in Bushwick topped out, and now the 20 affordable apartments at the site are up for grabs through the city's housing lottery. The new, seven-story structure, along with the preserved 1890 Victorian Gothic church, and four-story former school building in between, will offer 99 rentals in total and have been dubbed The Saint Marks. The below-market rate units range from an $822/month studio to $1,071/month two-bedrooms, available to individuals earning 60 percent of the area median income.
Find out if you qualify
Why you shouldn’t walk on escalators; Manhattan’s most expensive townhouse will become offices
April 7, 2017

Why you shouldn’t walk on escalators; Manhattan’s most expensive townhouse will become offices

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Slow turn boxes, aka curb extensions, are part of a new pilot program at intersections where turning drivers are known to injure pedestrians. [Planetizen] Research finds that it’s more efficient if everyone stands on an escalator instead of some people walking on it. [NYT] Postal workers in Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens are among the most attacked […]

The Urban Lens: Sid Kaplan shares historic photos of the Third Avenue El coming down
April 7, 2017

The Urban Lens: Sid Kaplan shares historic photos of the Third Avenue El coming down

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6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. This week’s installment comes courtesy of a new exhibit at the Transit Museum, "Deconstruction of the Third Avenue El: Photographs by Sid Kaplan." Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. After the city consolidated its underground subway lines in 1942 (they were previously owned by private companies), fewer New Yorkers were riding the elevated lines. This decreased ridership, along with the fact that the Els ate up valuable street-level real estate and created dangerous dark spaces, led to the city taking down the Second Avenue Elevated line in 1942. In 1955, the Third Avenue Elevated came down as well, catching the eye of a then 17-year-old Sid Kaplan, whose photos of the dismantling are currently on display at the Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery Annex. The museum tells us, "From his perch on the roof of an apartment building, or leaning out the window of an office, his images capture a unique perspective of the removal of a hulking steel structure, the hard-working people who dismantled it, and the ever-changing landscape of New York City."
More on the El history, Sid's work, and all the amazing photos
50 percent fewer homeless families being admitted to shelters after new requirements
April 7, 2017

50 percent fewer homeless families being admitted to shelters after new requirements

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In February Mayor de Blasio announced that he plans to open 90 new homeless shelters, but during this same month, only 38 percent of families seeking shelter through the Department of Homeless Services were approved, reports the Daily News. This is a 50 percent drop from the same time last year, which comes after the agency's Commissioner, Steven Banks, received approval from the state in November to require families seeking shelter to present "clear, convincing and credible evidence" that they absolutely have nowhere else to go.
Find out more
REVEALED: Inside the model residences of Zaha Hadid’s 520 West 28th Street
April 5, 2017

REVEALED: Inside the model residences of Zaha Hadid’s 520 West 28th Street

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Just a few days after the first anniversary of Zaha Hadid's death, developer Related Companies has revealed the first look inside the apartments at 520 West 28th Street--the Pritzker Prize-winning architect's first (and possibly only) NYC project. The first is a 4,500-square-foot, $15 million four-bedroom designed by Jennifer Post, combining her signature elegant, minimal aesthetic with Hadid's futuristic, architectural vision. The other is a 1,700-square-foot, $4.9 million unit from West Chin who employs his signature modern style in a way that complements the building's signature curves and organic indoor and outdoor architecture. Both spaces will serve as the building's sales gallery before the anticipated June 2017 move-in.
See all the renderings here
Taxi medallions reach lowest value of the century; Tupac-inspired restaurant popping up this weekend
April 5, 2017

Taxi medallions reach lowest value of the century; Tupac-inspired restaurant popping up this weekend

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The American Copper Buildings welcome their first residents. [CityRealty] A taxi medallion sold for $241,000 last week, less than one-fifth of what the tags were going for just four years ago. [NYP] Powamekka Cafe is popping up on the LES this weekend. It’ll be inspired by Tupac Shakur’s own restaurant vision, offer his favorite foods, and […]

Where I Work: Go inside Square Roots’ futuristic shipping container farm in Bed-Stuy
April 5, 2017

Where I Work: Go inside Square Roots’ futuristic shipping container farm in Bed-Stuy

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6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we take a tour of the Bed-Stuy urban farm Square Roots. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! In a Bed-Stuy parking lot, across from the Marcy Houses (you'll know this as Jay-Z's childhood home) and behind the hulking Pfizer Building, is an urban farming accelerator that's collectively producing the equivalent of a 20-acre farm. An assuming eye may see merely a collection of 10 shipping containers, but inside each of these is a hydroponic, climate-controlled farm growing GMO-free, spray-free, greens--"real food," as Square Roots calls it. The incubator opened just this past November, a response by co-founders Kimbal Musk (Yes, Elon's brother) and Tobias Peggs against the industrial food system as a way to bring local food to urban settings. Each vertical farm is run by its own entrepreneur who runs his or her own sustainable business, selling directly to consumers. 6sqft recently visited Square Roots, went inside entrepreneur Paul Philpott's farm, and chatted with Tobias about the evolution of the company, its larger goals, and how food culture is changing.
Take a tour of Square Roots and get the full story from Tobias
City spends nearly $7M a year on 15,000 rarely-used alarm boxes
April 5, 2017

City spends nearly $7M a year on 15,000 rarely-used alarm boxes

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To date, close to 700 LinkNYC Wifi kiosks have been installed throughout the five boroughs. Among their features are an app that lets users make free calls anywhere in the U.S., as well as a dedicated red 911 button for emergencies. Coupled with the fact that most New Yorkers have cell phones on them, it seems that the city's 14,813 red alarm boxes serve basically no purpose anymore. In fact, as Crain's tells us, last year, the boxes were used only 11,440 times to call the FDNY, which is an average of less than once per box. And, of these calls, only 13 percent were for actual emergencies and just 1.5 percent for fires. But yet, the city spends a whopping $6.8 million annually paying electricians to repair the call boxes and others to paint over graffiti.
What's the deal?
‘World’s first’ avocado bar headed to Brooklyn; take a helicopter to house hunt in the Hamptons
April 4, 2017

‘World’s first’ avocado bar headed to Brooklyn; take a helicopter to house hunt in the Hamptons

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It was inevitable–Industry City is getting an avocado bar that’ll serve toasts, salads, bowls and smoothies. [Gothamist] New Yorkers share their love of athleisure. [Business Insider] Meet the 21-year-old NYU student running for City Council. [NYP] Corcoran teamed up with helicopter company BLADE to fly prospective renters out to the Hamptons to look at properties. […]

Alexis Bittar, Clara Sunwoo ink leases at Industry City, bringing total fashion space to 350,000+ square feet
April 3, 2017

Alexis Bittar, Clara Sunwoo ink leases at Industry City, bringing total fashion space to 350,000+ square feet

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There's been much talk in the past couple months about the city's push to drive the fashion industry from its long-time home in the Garment District to new, lower-cost space in Sunset Park. The new, $136 million, 200,000-square-foot "Made in NYC Campus" has become synonymous with the shift, but the adjacent Industry City mega-development has been at the forefront since even beforeBelvedere Capital and Jamestown Properties took over in 2013. With tenants such as the Gap, Bauble Bar, and Rag & Bone, they've now announced that internationally known jewelry company Alexis Bittar will lease an additional 10,000 square feet (they already have 17,000), and a source tells us that women's apparel label Clara Sunwoo is leasing 14,000 square feet of space, moving completely from the Garment District. This brings Industry City's total space leased to fashion companies to 350,000 square feet, more than 200,000 of which is manufacturing space.
READ MORE
11 New York-based firms bid to build Trump’s border wall
April 3, 2017

11 New York-based firms bid to build Trump’s border wall

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Despite the fact that Donald Trump received only 18 percent of presidential votes citywide, he's getting a surprising show of NYC support when it comes to his $20 billion border wall. Crain's reports that 11 New York-based firms, including contractors, architects, and "little-known small businesses," have expressed interest in the project, seemingly undeterred by legislation proposed last month that would bar the city from signing contracts with companies involved in the wall. Though some of these applicants support Trump's true intentions, others have taken a more creative approach, using the submission process as a way to support immigration and co-existence.
Hear from four of the applicants about their proposals and stances
Morris Adjmi reveals ‘The Warehouse,’ High Line-adjacent office complex
March 31, 2017

Morris Adjmi reveals ‘The Warehouse,’ High Line-adjacent office complex

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Morris Adjmi is no stranger to converting and reinterpreting industrial architecture, so it's fitting that Elijah Equities tapped the "contextual king" to redevelopment the Carolina Manufacturing Company's former distribution facility and apparel-manufacturing space at 520 West 20th Street, right next to the High Line in Chelsea (h/t ArchDaily). For the project, known as "The Warehouse," Adjmi will add a three-story, steel-framed addition to the current 65,000-square-foot structure, resulting in 100,000 square feet of office and retail space with more than 18,000 square feet of rooftop and outdoor amenity space.
All the renderings and details ahead
Kirsten Dunst chops price of Soho penthouse; Anthony Bourdain has no lease, no CEO for SuperPier food hall
March 30, 2017

Kirsten Dunst chops price of Soho penthouse; Anthony Bourdain has no lease, no CEO for SuperPier food hall

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New stormproof plans released for Battery Park City, including a new pavillion building designed by Perkins Eastman. [Tribeca Citizen] Kirsten Dunst first listed her vintage-cool Soho penthouse as a $12,500/month rental in 2014, and then as a $5 million sale last month. She’s now lowered the price to $4.5 million.  [Mansion Global] The CEO of […]

From the Westside Cowboys to the Oreo cookie: 10 Secrets of Chelsea Market

Image courtesy of Chelsea Market

March 30, 2017

From the Westside Cowboys to the Oreo cookie: 10 Secrets of Chelsea Market

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Today it seems like there's a new food hall popping up every day, but one of the first incarnations of this trend was at Chelsea Market, when Irwin Cohen and Vandenberg Architects transformed the former Nabisco factory in the 1990s into an office building, television production facility, and food-related retail hub. New York City history buffs likely know that this is where a certain famous cookie was invented, but there are plenty of other fun facts about the location that are much less well known. Therefore, 6sqft has rounded up the top 10 most intriguing secrets of Chelsea Market.
Find out everything here
Anbang taps Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for Waldorf Astoria renovation

Proposed rendering of the Park Avenue foyer, via Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

March 29, 2017

Anbang taps Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for Waldorf Astoria renovation

By
On March 1st, the Waldorf Astoria closed its doors to the public so that its new owners, Chinese insurer Anbang (who just today backed out of an even larger project to redevelop the Kushner Companies' 666 Fifth Avenue) can undertake a two- to three-year renovation to convert 1,413 hotel rooms into 840 renovated hotel rooms and 321 condos, as well as spiff up the public spaces. This last part was worrisome at first, but earlier this month, these iconic Art Deco interiors were designated an official city landmark, meaning Anbang will need to preserve them and receive approvals for any work from the LPC. Wasting no time, they've now released plans for both the interior and exterior renovations and announced that architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and renowned interior designer Pierre Yves Rochon (PYR) will "protect [the] beloved spaces and restore original features of the Waldorf not seen for decades."
See all the renderings
Chinese company Anbang backs out of 666 Fifth Avenue deal with Kushner Cos.

A rendering of 666 Fifth Avenue. Credit: Kushner Companies/Zaha Hadid Architects

March 29, 2017

Chinese company Anbang backs out of 666 Fifth Avenue deal with Kushner Cos.

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"Kushner Companies is no longer in discussions with Anbang about 666 Fifth Ave.’s potential redevelopment, and our firms have mutually agreed to end talks regarding the property," a spokesman for the developer told the Post. The timing of the Chinese insurance company backing out of the deal--which the Kushners hoped could increase the Midtown's skyscraper's value to a whopping $12 billion and include a flashy new Zaha Hadid design--is uncannily timed with investigations into Jared Kushner's supposed meetings with a scandalous Russian bank. But despite the controversy surrounding ex-CEO and current White House advisor Jared, Kushner Cos. "remains in active, advanced negotiations around 666 Fifth Ave. with a number of potential investors."
The full story ahead
‘Cash Cab’ will return later this year; Paul Manafort’s shady NYC real estate dealings
March 28, 2017

‘Cash Cab’ will return later this year; Paul Manafort’s shady NYC real estate dealings

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New York-based designer (and 13-year U.S. citizen) Karim Rashid said he had a “crazy journey” getting by US Border Control at JFK. [Dezeen] Discovery’s trivia show “Cash Cab” hasn’t aired new episodes since 2005, but it’ll return later this year with a series of guest hosts. [Huffington Post] 10 lost or never-built structures in Prospect Park. [Untapped] An […]

World Trade Center Performing Arts Center may be delayed again
March 27, 2017

World Trade Center Performing Arts Center may be delayed again

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It's been almost 13 years since Frank Gehry initially designed the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center (PACWTC). After his plans got shelved in late 2014 due to fundraising issues and construction delays on the transit hub below, it seemed like the last vacant site at the complex would forever remain that way. That is until this past fall when a $75 million gift from billionaire businessman and philanthropist Ronald O. Perelman brought the $243 million project back to life and made it possible to proceed with new designs. Despite this new optimism, it looks like the Center will be delayed yet again, as Crain's reports that unresolved issues between the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and the Port Authority are setting things behind schedule, which could cost the project $100 million in federal funds.
Get the full scoop
‘Fearless Girl’ statue will remain through 2018; Alligators delay first Citywide Ferry boat’s journey
March 27, 2017

‘Fearless Girl’ statue will remain through 2018; Alligators delay first Citywide Ferry boat’s journey

By

The owner of the illegal Trump Tower Airbnb listing was fined $1,000. [NYT] And the investor who bought Donald Trump’s childhood home in December for $1.4 million has already flipped it for a 50 percent profit. [NYP] 80-year-old art supply store Pearl Paint closed three years ago to make way for “bespoke” lofts, which are now up […]

Ai Weiwei will bring over 100 fence art installations to NYC this fall
March 27, 2017

Ai Weiwei will bring over 100 fence art installations to NYC this fall

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Internationally renowned Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei was banned from leaving his home country for more than four years, but this past fall, a year after his passport was returned by police, he returned to New York with an unheard-of four gallery shows that all opened on the same day. As a metaphor for his personal travel ban--as well as the current political climate of the U.S., particularly as relates to immigration, and the global migration crisis--the Times shares news that Weiwei has been commissioned by the Public Art Fund for a major art installation opening in October. Titled "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors," the piece will be one of his most large-scale public art projects ever. He'll place 10 large fence-themed works and more than 90 smaller installations across Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, all in an attempt to bring attention to "a retreat from the essential attitude of openness in American politics," as he explains.
Get more details ahead
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