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.
Gracie Mansion’s new exhibit tells the story of NYC during World War II
March 2, 2017

Gracie Mansion’s new exhibit tells the story of NYC during World War II

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In honor of the residence's 75th anniversary, the Gracie Mansion Conservancy has announced a new art installation titled "New York 1942," a collection of World War II-era objects that tell the story of New York City during this time, as well as of the period when Gracie Mansion became the official mayoral residence under Fiorello La Guardia. The exhibit will display more than 50 artifacts, documents, and pieces of art, including a signed World Series Yankees baseball, the Jacob Lawrence painting "The Migrants Arrived in Great Numbers," a photo from Weegee, ration tokens, and a first-edition print of "The Little Prince."
READ MORE
Live in a hip DUMBO warehouse conversion for $895/month, lottery opening at 181 Front Street
March 2, 2017

Live in a hip DUMBO warehouse conversion for $895/month, lottery opening at 181 Front Street

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Back in 2012, Megalith Capital Management and Urban Realty Partners bought two neighboring DUMBO sites from the Jehovah’s Witnesses for more than $30 million. They then tapped Aufgang Architects to design both warehouse conversions: a landmarked former Brillo factory at 200 Water Street was transformed into 15 boutique condos; 181 Front Street into a 105-unit rental. Twenty percent of apartments in the latter development are reserved as affordable, and as of tomorrow, New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for these 21 units, which range from $895/month one-bedrooms to $1,247/month three-bedrooms.
Get all the info here
Lottery opens for first affordable units at Essex Crossing, from $519/month
March 2, 2017

Lottery opens for first affordable units at Essex Crossing, from $519/month

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It's been almost exactly a year since Beyer Blinder Belle released renderings of Essex Crossing's site 5, a $110 million, 15-story mixed-use building that will give way to 73,000 square feet of retail space, where Trader Joes and Planet Fitness will move in, and a 15,000-square-foot adjacent park. Located just a block southwest of the Manhattan entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge at 145 Clinton Street, it will have 211 rental units, half of which will be reserved for low- and middle-income individuals. These 104 affordable apartments are now available through the city's online housing lottery, the first of the mega-development's 561 affordable residences to come online. They're set aside for those earning 40, 60, 120, and 165 percent of the area media income and range from $519/month studios to $3,424/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
In black neighborhoods, 74 percent of Airbnb hosts are white
March 1, 2017

In black neighborhoods, 74 percent of Airbnb hosts are white

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Watchdog group Inside Airbnb released a new report, which shows that across 72 predominantly African-American neighborhoods in New York City, 74 percent of Airbnb hosts are white--a startling figure considering only 14 percent of the total population in these areas is white. As outlined in the Daily News, these white hosts earned $160 million from Airbnb rentals, compared to just $48 million for black hosts.
Which neighborhoods are most affected
Lavish $65M penthouse unveiled at Robert A.M. Stern’s 70 Vestry
March 1, 2017

Lavish $65M penthouse unveiled at Robert A.M. Stern’s 70 Vestry

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After selling the $50 million penthouse at the beginning of the year and celebrating the building's topping out last month, the Related Companies has unveiled the $65 million penthouse atop their Tribeca condo 70 Vestry, the largest apartment listed in New York this year. The massive, incredibly luxurious home is the crowning jewel of the Robert A.M. Stern-designed project, boasting close to 8,000 square feet of interior space designed by Daniel Romualdez and 3,687 square feet of private outdoor space across three levels and including a rooftop terrace. Benjamin Joseph, Executive Vice President at Related Companies, said in a press release, "A penthouse of this caliber has never before been offered in Tribeca, and may never be again."
See what all the fuss is about
Jacques Torres opening a chocolate museum; Danny Meyer’s FiDi restaurant will have city’s highest ballroom
March 1, 2017

Jacques Torres opening a chocolate museum; Danny Meyer’s FiDi restaurant will have city’s highest ballroom

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Jacques Torres will soon open “Choco-Story New York, The Chocolate Museum and Experience with Jacques Torres” at his Hudson Square location. [Eater] The city is seeking proposals for the first publicly-funded virtual reality and augmented reality lab. [DNAinfo] Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group is opening a $30 million restaurant at 28 Liberty Street; its 60th-floor […]

How Aaron Burr gave the city a faulty system of wooden water mains

In 2006, construction crews discovered a 13-foot section of the wooden water mains under Beekman Street near the South Street Seaport, photo courtesy of Chrysalis Archaeology

March 1, 2017

How Aaron Burr gave the city a faulty system of wooden water mains

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At the turn of the 18th Century, New York City had a population of 60,515, most of whom lived and worked below Canal Street. Until this time, residents got their water from streams, ponds, and wells, but with more and more people moving in, this system became extremely polluted and inefficient. In fact, in the summer of 1798, 2,000 people died from a yellow fever epidemic, which doctors believed came from filthy swamp water and led the city to decide it needed a piping system to bring in fresh water. Looking to make a personal profit, Aaron Burr stepped in and established a private company to create the city's first waterworks system, constructing a cheap and ill-conceived network of wooden water mains. Though these logs were eventually replaced by the cast iron pipes we use today, they still live on both under and above ground in the city.
The whole history here
Report says having a roommate can save a New York millennial $728/month
March 1, 2017

Report says having a roommate can save a New York millennial $728/month

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We tend to think of New York as a hub for millennials living paycheck to paycheck, hindered by a higher-than-average cost of living coupled with their average yearly salary of $64,000. But young professionals are struggling throughout the nation. A new report detailed in the Washington Post looked at 25 major cities across the U.S. and found that in nearly half of these locales, "a millennial living alone in a one-bedroom apartment would need to spend more than 30 percent of his or her income on rent — surpassing the threshold for what financial experts say is affordable." The solution, though, could be to get a roommate. Take New York, where millennials spend about 34 percent of their income on rent. By shacking up with a buddy, they can save $728 a month, or 14 percent of their income.
READ MORE
Sales launch at Lenny Kravtiz-designed Nolita condo; capturing the historic smells of the Morgan Library
February 28, 2017

Sales launch at Lenny Kravtiz-designed Nolita condo; capturing the historic smells of the Morgan Library

By

Did you know Pleistocene-era mollusks have been discovered in Manhattan? This interactive map plots every dinosaur fossil found on Earth. [Popular Mechanics] Philip Johnson’s Wiley House in New Canaan, CT gets a $2 million price chop. [Inhabitat] This Williamsburg speakeasy is hidden by the freezer door in a Mexican bodega. [Untapped] Sales launch at 75 […]

My 680sqft: A staging professional mixes family heirlooms and eclectic finds in a modern Harlem condo

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Harlem apartment of realtor and interior staging professional Ellen Silverman. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

February 28, 2017

My 680sqft: A staging professional mixes family heirlooms and eclectic finds in a modern Harlem condo

By
Ellen Silverman grew up in the large apartment complexes along Eighth Avenue in Chelsea with "three mothers"--her grandmother who worked at Macy's for 40 years, her aunt who worked for Butterick Patterns, and her mother who loved browsing furniture stores. Needless to say, decorating and design have been in Ellen's blood from the beginning. After moving out on her own, she lived for 20 years in the architecturally rich pre-war co-ops of Washington Heights, but five years ago, she found herself in a brand-new condo in burgeoning Harlem. Determined to bring that old-warm charm into an otherwise "white box," Ellen used her upbringing to influence the design of her new home, blending family heirlooms, eclectic and colorful accessories and art, and plenty of personality--all of which led her to start her own staging company, Staging With Style.
Take a tour of Ellen's home
City’s planned Garment District rezoning will reduce protections for fashion companies

Image via Wally Gobetz/Flickr CC

February 28, 2017

City’s planned Garment District rezoning will reduce protections for fashion companies

By
Just two weeks after the city announced that they'd spend $136 million to create the "Made in NYC Campus," a hub in Sunset Park that will provide affordable space for film and fashion companies, it's come to light that the de Blasio administration has been planning a rezoning of Manhattan's Garment District. As Crain's explains, this could potentially roll back rules that require landlords to rent a portion of their buildings to fashion companies, a clear push to drive these businesses toward lower cost space in Sunset Park.
More info ahead
Greenpoint creative hub gets a funky clay factory from design collective Assemble
February 27, 2017

Greenpoint creative hub gets a funky clay factory from design collective Assemble

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London-based collective Assemble works across art, architecture, and design "to address the typical disconnection between the public and the process by which places are made." They've employed this philosophy at their first U.S. project--a temporary clay-extruding factory in the courtyard of Greenpoint's A/D/O creative hub, known as "A Factory As It Might Be." As Dezeen explains, the firm first built only a steel roof on top of the brick walls, but after acquiring an industrial clay extruder and electric kiln and finding that of all the vessels and homewares being created the tiles were the most successful, they decided to use the ceramic tiles to create a colorful, geometric facade.
Find out more about the project here
Jared Kushner keepings parts of real estate empire; Frank Gehry teaching a $90 online architecture class
February 27, 2017

Jared Kushner keepings parts of real estate empire; Frank Gehry teaching a $90 online architecture class

By

Exploring the recovery and development boom of Newark. [Bloomberg] Documents from the White House show that Jared Kushner retains some real estate holdings associated with Kushner Companies, despite stepping down as CEO. [TRD] The city, who owns the trademark for Tavern on the Green, is taking legal action against a NJ firm that wants to franchise the […]

Interactive 3D map of Lower Manhattan updates new developments daily
February 27, 2017

Interactive 3D map of Lower Manhattan updates new developments daily

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Lower Manhattan is the nation's third-largest business district and in recent years its residential building stock--both conversions of historic structures and new developments--has exploded. To track this booming urban landscape, the Alliance for Downtown New York launched an interactive 3D map to serve as a "comprehensive visualization" of the area, tracking all current and future developments within the square mile below Chambers Street. In addition to residential, office, and hotel properties, LM3D also breaks down restaurants, retailers, transit, parks and open space, landmarks, and vacant land.
Learn more about the map
Maya Lin-designed Tribeca mansion lists for $35M
February 27, 2017

Maya Lin-designed Tribeca mansion lists for $35M

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Despite the claim by some preservationists that the building looked like "a block of swiss cheese," back in June the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Maya Lin Studio's design of a contemporary mega-mansion in the heart of Tribeca's historic district. The plans call for a five-story, 20,000-square-foot home at 11 Hubert Street--including incredible amenities such as an 82-foot swimming pool, basketball/squash court, four-car garage, and an open-air courtyard--and, as the Post reports, the corner site has just hit the market for $35 million, though this doesn't include the $15 million it'll cost to actually build the house.
Find out more about this opportunity
Weekly highlights: Top picks from the 6sqft staff
February 25, 2017

Weekly highlights: Top picks from the 6sqft staff

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Jason Biggs and Jenny Mollen list uber-stylish Tribeca loft for $3M Jeanne Gang reveals sparkly new renderings of High Line-hugging Solar Carve Tower Astoria is NYC’s top ‘hood for millennials seeking roommates Oldest home in Brooklyn Heights is on the market for $6.65M Supreme branded Metrocards bring mayhem to NYC subway stations Richard Meier’s mixed-use […]

Every NY Times front page since 1852 in under a minute; Brooklyn’s evil eye mecca
February 24, 2017

Every NY Times front page since 1852 in under a minute; Brooklyn’s evil eye mecca

By

Disney Research created a new technology that can wirelessly power an entire room and charge devices. [Travel + Leisure] Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart are donating $1.6 million to send the graduating class of Red Hook’s Summit Academy Charter School to any SUNY school on four-year scholarships. [DNAinfo] See all 60,000+ New York Times front pages since 1852 […]

The Urban Lens: Will Ellis explores the relics and ruins of Staten Island’s remote edges
February 24, 2017

The Urban Lens: Will Ellis explores the relics and ruins of Staten Island’s remote edges

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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. In this installment, Will Ellis takes us through the relics and ruins of Staten Island's Arthur Kill Road. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Step into the New York section of any bookstore these days and you'll likely see front and center "Abandoned NYC" by Will Ellis, which puts together three years of his photography and research on 16 of the city's "most beautiful and mysterious abandoned spaces." Will's latest photographic essay is titled "Arthur Kill Road," an eerily handsome exploration of the "quiet corners" and "remote edges" of Staten Island. He decided to focus on this thoroughfare as it winds through some of the NYC's most sparsely populated areas, including the defunct waterfront, remnants of historic architecture, and desolate industrial complexes. Here, as Ellis describes it, "the fabric of the city dissolves, and the past is laid bare through the natural process of decay."
See all the photos this way
South Harlem community board wants brokers to stop calling it ‘SoHa’
February 24, 2017

South Harlem community board wants brokers to stop calling it ‘SoHa’

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Harlem's gentrification and increasing real estate prices aren't news at this point, but a local community board thinks certain real estate brokers have crossed a line. As DNAinfo reports, Keller Williams created a separate office for "SoHa," their new branding for South Harlem. Following in the footsteps of NoLo (SoHo + Nolita + Lower East Side), DoBro (Downtown Brooklyn), and Hellsea (Hell's Kitchen + Chelsea), the moniker is seen as an attempt to make buyers and renters feel like they're cashing in on the next trendy 'hood. But residents of the Central Harlem area, roughly West 110th to 125th Streets, feel the marketing tactic is "arrogant" and "disrespectful," and so Community Board 10 has introduced a resolution that would prevent brokers from using the nickname.
READ MORE
120 more affordable units available at the Bronx’s Compass Residences complex, from $822/month
February 24, 2017

120 more affordable units available at the Bronx’s Compass Residences complex, from $822/month

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Back in 2011, Dattner Architects created the West Farms Redevelopment Plan, a rezoning (the largest ever in the Bronx at the time) of a 17-acre, 11-block former industrial area in Crotona Park East. The plan calls for a total of 1,325 affordable housing units, 46,000 square feet of retail, and community facilities. Dattner's first two buildings in the complex are called theCompass Residences, which provide 237 apartments arranged around a series of courtyards. This past December, 114 of these residences at 1544 Boone Avenue came online through the city's affordable housing lottery, and now, 120 more at 1524 Boone Avenue are open to New Yorkers earning 60 and 90 percent of the area median income, ranging from $822/month studios to $1,740/month three-bedrooms.
Find out here if you qualify
Richard Meier’s mixed-use Teachers Village development is revitalizing downtown Newark

Residential Building VII, via Scott Frances

February 23, 2017

Richard Meier’s mixed-use Teachers Village development is revitalizing downtown Newark

By
With Hoboken long gone and Jersey City well in the throes of gentrification, it makes sense that Newark is the next New Jersey city poised for a renaissance. Not only is it easily accessible via both NJ Transit and the PATH, but its wealth of former industrial buildings lend themselves to a DUMBO-esque revitalization. In the up-and-coming downtown area, Newark native Richard Meier is behind Teachers Village, a 23-acre, mixed-use complex that is well on its way to restoring a sense of community to the neighborhood. The $150 million project will encompass three charter schools, ground-level retail, and 204 residential units with a preference given to educators, all located in six new buildings designed in the starchitect's signature style of white materials and gridded facades.
All the renderings and details this way
Health-focused supportive and affordable housing complex breaks ground in the Bronx
February 23, 2017

Health-focused supportive and affordable housing complex breaks ground in the Bronx

By
Yesterday, mental health nonprofit Community Access broke ground on a new, $52.2 million supportive and affordable housing complex in the Mount Eden neighborhood of the Bronx. Located at 111 East 172nd Street, the building has 126 units, 60 of which will be set aside for Medicaid high-need individuals with mental health concerns and 65 for low-income families. It incorporates sustainable elements such as solar panels and a co-generation plant, as well as health-focused amenities like a community garden and kitchen to encourage and teach about healthy eating, outdoor exercise equipment, and a bike sharing program.
Find out more
Jeanne Gang reveals sparkly new renderings of High Line-hugging Solar Carve Tower

Renderings © Neoscape for Studio Gang Architects

February 23, 2017

Jeanne Gang reveals sparkly new renderings of High Line-hugging Solar Carve Tower

By
Renderings © Neoscape for Studio Gang Architects Just yesterday, 6sqft shared the news that Jeanne Gang's first ground-up project in NYC--the Solar Carve Tower at 40 Tenth Avenue--had begun construction along the High Line. Now, the Post shares new renderings of the jewel-like, glassy structure, which is so named for its employment of the firm's strategy that uses the sun's angles to shape a building. Along with these views of its chiseled edges, connection to the park, terraces, and interior spaces, comes word that developers Aurora Capital and William Gottlieb Real Estate have tapped Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield to begin leasing the 139,000-square-foot, 12-story boutique office building in anticipation of its 2019 opening.
Lots more details and renderings ahead
Oldest home in Brooklyn Heights is on the market for $6.65M
February 22, 2017

Oldest home in Brooklyn Heights is on the market for $6.65M

By
Built in 1824, 24 Middagh Street is a charming, wood-frame, Federal house in Brooklyn Heights that has the distinction of being the oldest home in the neighborhood. And it's just gotten a price chop to $6,650,000 (it first listed this past September for the first time in nearly 60 years, asking $7 million). The listing says most of the original interior details--like wood floors, fireplaces, and moldings--are intact, and the five-bedroom residence even comes with a landscaped backyard and separate, two-bedroom carriage house.
More on the home this way
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