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.

February 22, 2017

Developer will turn Connecticut lighthouse into a giant playroom for his grandkids

By Dana Schulz

In 2004, New York-based developer and builder Frank Sciame paid $6 million for the 3.4-acre waterfront Connecticut estate of the late Katharine Hepburn. In late 2015, he also dropped $290,000 at auction for the Old Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, which is within walking distance to the estate. The 131-year-old lighthouse was built in 1886 to mark a sand bar on the west side of the Connecticut River, but it will soon see a new life as a giant children's playroom. The Post reports that Sciame asked yacht-design architects Persak & Wurmfeld to redesign the structure as a clubhouse for his grandkids, complete with the original cast-iron windows and portholes, watch room and lantern room, and upper wrap-around deck.
Get the full scoop

Architecture And Design

February 22, 2017

Get ‘healthy’ frosting shots at Gwyneth Paltrow’s midtown cafe; L train replacement to be announced this fall

By Dana Schulz

The Driverless Future Challenge seeks proposals that actively shape the city’s response to driverless cars. [Blank Space] Gwyneth Paltrow is opening her second 3 Green Hearts cafe in Midtown, which will serve gluten-free kale ravioli and “healthy” frosting shots and offer a meal delivery service from partner Tracy Anderson. [Eater] Find out how to win an unlimited MetroCard […]

Uncategorized

February 22, 2017

Jeanne Gang’s ‘Solar Carve Tower’ begins its rise on the High Line

By Dana Schulz

For an architect who had yet to break into the NYC scene, Jeanne Gang is now moving full steam ahead. Her firm, Studio Gang, received LPC approvals back in October for their much-hyped, $340 million Museum of Natural History expansion, and now, CityRealty tells us that construction has begun on their razor-edged glass tower along the High Line. Dubbed "Solar Carve Tower" for the firm's strategy that "uses the incident angles of the sun’s ray to form the gem-like shape," the 12-story office building will be Gang's first ground-up project when completed.
Find out more

February 21, 2017

Grand Central gets the LEGO treatment; 86 percent of $2 million+ home sales are in Manhattan

By Dana Schulz

Vote to have this LEGO version of Grand Central Terminal made into a real block set. [LEGO Ideas] To fill the gap left when Cobble Hill’s beloved BookCourt closed, local novelist Emma Straub is opening Books Are Magic on Smith Street. [Gothamist] Eighty-six percent of all $2 million+ home sales over the past three years […]

Uncategorized

February 21, 2017

Astoria is NYC’s top ‘hood for millennials seeking roommates

By Dana Schulz

Roommate app Roomi recently compiled data based on the 20 to 36-year-olds searching for someone with whom to split the rent, and the top neighborhood for this trend is Astoria. DNAinfo shared the analysis, which found that nearly 38 percent of Roomi's users looked for housing in the up-and-coming Queens 'hood, and each applicant in this area gets about 20 applicants, almost double all other neighborhoods.
What other 'hoods top the list?

Real Estate Trends

February 21, 2017

New bill would calculate AMI for affordable housing based on zip code, not region

By Dana Schulz

To set qualification guidelines for its affordable housing lotteries, the city turns to the set area median income (AMI), basing annual household income and rents off this figure. However, as The Real Deal explains, "the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development calculates AMI regionally, "using a formula that lumps the five boroughs together with Putnam, Westchester, and Rockland counties." For 2016, this equated to $65,200 for a single person and $90,600 for a family of four, but a new bill proposed by Democratic State Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Brian Barnwell would require developers of new 421-a projects to calculate AMI based on the specific zip code in which the building is going up.
More info ahead

February 18, 2017

Weekly highlights: Top picks from the 6sqft staff

By Dana Schulz

Hamptons home prices sag as luxury buyers head to hipper Hudson Valley Meg Ryan lists her impossibly chic Soho loft for $10.9 million 432 Park owner attempts to sell $20M apartment with iPhone photos 143 chances to live in Downtown Brooklyn from $897/month, lottery open at 33 Bond Street LOT-EK erects a stunning single-family mega-home […]

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February 17, 2017

Everything in this 432 Park model apartment is for sale; Meet the last original Frank Lloyd Wright owners

By Dana Schulz

Designer Kelly Behun created a completely shoppable model apartment on the 92nd floor of 432 Park. [Arch Digest] How the MoMA Store has become an unlikely champion of products that got their start on Kickstarter. [Fast Co. Design] Only five original owners from the ’50s remain in their Frank Lloyd Wright homes. Meet the young couples who […]

Uncategorized

February 17, 2017

A photo-luminescent, solar canopy is coming to MoMA PS1 this summer

By Dana Schulz

It never hurts to think of warmer months on days like today, and MoMA PS1's announcement of whose design will fill their courtyard this summer certainly does the trick. The winner of their 18th annual Young Architects Program is Jenny Sabin Studio. The Ithaca-based experimental architecture studio created "Lumen" in response to the competition's request for a temporary outdoor installation that provides shade, seating, and water, while addressing environmental issues such as sustainability and recycling. The result is a tubular canopy made of "recycled, photo-luminescent, and solar active textiles that absorb, collect, and deliver light."
More renderings and info on Lumen

February 17, 2017

Port Authority approves $32.2B capital plan, will include new bus terminal and airport upgrades

By Dana Schulz

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners yesterday approved a $32.2 billion, 10-year capital plan--the agency's largest ever. The major allocations include: $3.5 billion to begin the planning and construction of a new Port Authority Bus Terminal; $10 billion towards improving trans-Hudson commuting, including a $1.5 billion Goethals Bridge replacement, completion of the $1.6 billion Bayonne Bridge rebuilding, and a $2 billion rehab of the George Washington Bridge; $11.6 billion in major airport upgrades, which factors in $4 billion for the new LaGuardia Terminal B, a plan to extend the PATH train from Newark Penn Station to the Newark Airport, and the beginning of Cuomo's JFK overhaul; and $2.7 billion towards the Gateway rail tunnel project.
More details ahead

This 100-year-old subway sign can be yours for $150,000

By Dana Schulz

We already know that the MTA holds monthly online sales of ephemera--including everything from retired subway cars to vintage tokens--but apparently individuals with their own collections of transit collectibles can also make a pretty penny selling the goods. Take for example this 100-year-old subway sign that Gothamist spotted for sale on Etsy for $150,000. Sure, the price tag may seem fair for a century-old relic, but the 8' x 11" piece is a simple white sign with black letters that read "Times Square." And it's authenticity isn't actually confirmed...
READ MORE

Transit

February 16, 2017

Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh sells Tribeca loft; FBI releases docs on Trump’s apartment discrimination

By Dana Schulz

Less than a month after listing it for $5.75 million, Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh sold his Tribeca loft that’s directly below Taylor Swift’s abode. [LL NYC] FBI releases 400 pages of records from an investigation into racial discrimination at Donald Trump’s apartment buildings in the 1970s. [Politico] The Chelsea townhouse where Clement Clarke Moore wrote […]

Uncategorized

February 16, 2017

Homeless spending in NYC doubles over three years, likely to hit $2.3B

By Dana Schulz

Back in November, the Wall Street Journal reported that Mayor de Blasio had spent a record $1.6 billion on homeless services since taking office three years prior, a 60 percent increase that came with 20 percent more New Yorkers in city shelters. Now, as shared by the Post, Comptroller Scott Stringer says that homeless spending will reach a whopping $2.3 billion when this fiscal year ends on June 30th, almost twice the $1.2 billion spent three years ago. "We have to pause and ask ourselves, are we seeing results?" he said.
Find out more on this growing crisis

Policy

February 15, 2017

Ta-Nehisi Coates sells Brooklyn brownstone; SHoP’s Domino tower gets 87,000 applications for 104 affordable units

By Dana Schulz

Governor Cuomo signed a bill that squashed a law that would have imposed a five-cent fee on plastic bags in NYC. [NYT] After citing safety concerns when the media reported his new Prospect Lefferts Gardens address, Ta-Nehisi Coates has sold the brownstone for $2.1 million. [NYP] NYU is ready to start construction on its $1 billion, […]

Uncategorized

February 15, 2017

WXY reveals renderings of the city’s just-announced $136M fashion and film complex in Sunset Park

By Dana Schulz

Last week, 6sqft took an in-depth look at how Sunset Park has become the new frontier for the city's garment industry, thanks to "several industrial conversions [that] offer cheaper rents, better equipped real estate, and a creative, collaborative community." Part of the city's push to revitalize the fashion trade in the burgeoning Brooklyn nabe is a collaboration with its "Made in New York" marketing campaign, which has previously been geared towards promoting film and television productions and technology companies. They'll also be investing $136 million to create the "Made in NYC Campus," a renovation of two waterfront Bush Terminal structures that will provide affordable space for film, fashion, and virtual reality tech companies, as well as a new pedestrian-friendly plazas and streets. The city's Economic Development Corporation has tapped WXY architecture + urban design to design the complex, and the firm has revealed a batch of renderings that showcase the project.
All the renderings and more details ahead

February 15, 2017

Removing garbage cans in subway stations led to more trash and track fires

By Dana Schulz

For those who thought removing subway station garbage cans as a means to decrease litter and rats seemed counterintuitive, you were right. The Post looks at how things have fared since the MTA took out cans in 39 stations in 2012, and since this tactic was nixed by the state Comptroller’s Office in 2015. Despite the latter attempt to course correct, a new state report shows that the situation is still just as bad in many stations, with the amount of litter on the upswing and an increased number of track fires.
What's the solution?

Download free coloring books from the Met, New York Public Library, and more

Cover image (May 29, 1970) from “Black News” via Brooklyn Public Library (L); Arabesques via NYPL (R)

February 14, 2017

Download free coloring books from the Met, New York Public Library, and more

By Dana Schulz

Combining two trends--adult coloring books and open-access digital policies--#ColorOurCollections is a social media event during which 44 libraries, museums, archives, and cultural institutions from around the world are sharing free coloring pages based on materials in their collections. From the Brooklyn Public Library's 1970 "Black News" cover to the South Street Seaport Museum's ship diagrams to the New York Botanical Garden's floral illustrations, there's something for everyone.
More on the project

February 14, 2017

Where bodega flowers come from; Housing Works’ new online history project

By Dana Schulz

How are bodega flowers so cheap when florists are so expensive? The answer lies in their life cycle. [Gothamist] Housing Works History is a new online multimedia exhibition that uses oral histories, archival ephemera, and architecture to tell the organization’s 27-year history helping New Yorkers who are homeless and living with HIV/AIDS. [Fast Co. Design] Just […]

Uncategorized

February 14, 2017

20 New Yorkers tell 6sqft what they love most about NYC

By Dana Schulz

When you couple recent uncertain times with the gray February weather and frigid temperatures, it can be easy to get bogged down in feeling a bit melancholy. But today is the day of love, and in honor of that, 6sqft asked 20 New Yorkers--from fellow reporters and bloggers to architects and urbanists--what they love most about NYC. From big-picture things like the skyline and street energy to smaller fortunes like having tea with friends and spotting an old ad on the side of the building, there's plenty here to lift your spirits and make you fall in love with this great city all over again.
All the responses right this way

Where I Work

February 14, 2017

Repairs to New York state’s water infrastructure could cost $40B

By Dana Schulz

New York City already has planned a $3.4 billion investment over the next five years to repair the decaying infrastructure of the century-old Catskill Aqueduct. As 6sqft previously explained, the 92-mile network of tunnels, dams and reservoirs brings the city's water supply from the Catskill/Delaware and Croton watersheds. If you think this figure is steep, consider the $40 billion that a report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli estimates it would cost to repair and upgrade the entire state's aging water infrastructure over the next 20 years. As the Daily News explains, in NYC alone there were 562 water main breaks in 2015, and throughout the state, contamination is leading to concerns over clean drinking water.
Find out more

Policy

February 13, 2017

ODA’s crystalline 10 Jay Street gets new renderings of retail and office space

By Dana Schulz

It's been eight months since ODA Architecture received its final approvals from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to convert the former Arbuckle Brothers sugar refinery building in Dumbo into a modern retail and office site. We've previously seen renderings of 10 Jay Street's prismatic East River-facing elevation--which was inspired by sugar crystals, the nearby Manhattan Bridge, and the neighborhood's historic steel and brick facades--and now that the rehab is in full swing, CityRealty noticed that the leasing team has debuted a new website with never-before-seen renderings of the brick east wall, adjoining waterfront plaza, retail space, and offices.
See all the renderings ahead

February 13, 2017

The vanishing restaurants of Chinatown; burn calories while taking in the art at the Met

By Dana Schulz

Chinatown’s traditional restaurants are being replaced by “uptown-style” establishments. Is this causing the entire ‘hood to lose its charm? [NYP] 105 Valentines for architects and architecture lovers. [ArchDaily] How the Queens museum supports immigrant communities. [Next City] At 8:30am at the Met, you can partake in the the “Museum Workout,” a dance-art-performance fitness class that goes […]

Uncategorized

February 13, 2017

De Blasio’s 2017 affordable housing plan includes $1.9B for 10,000 new units and Elder Rent Assistance program

By Dana Schulz

In preparation for his State of the City address this evening at the Apollo, the Mayor announced two major affordable housing initiatives. The first will allocate $1.9 billion for 10,000 new apartments reserved for households earning less than $40,000, 5,000 of which will be set aside for seniors and 500 for veterans. The second implements a new Elder Rent Assistance program to provide 25,000 seniors with monthly rental assistance of up to $1,3000, to be funded by the city's proposed Mansion Tax.
More details ahead

February 13, 2017

143 chances to live in Downtown Brooklyn from $897/month, lottery open at 33 Bond Street

By Dana Schulz

A new 25-story rental building in booming Downtown Brooklyn is nearing completion at 33 Bond Street, just a block or two away from almost every subway line and a few blocks from BAM. Developer TF Cornerstone paid $70 million for the site, a former parking garage, in early 2014, partnering with Handel Architects on the rather standard, bulky, glassy design. In total, there will be 714 apartments, 143 of which have been set aside as affordable. These below-market rate units are now up for grabs through the city's affordable housing lottery and range from $897/month studios to $1,166/two-bedrooms for households earning 60 percent of the area median income.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

February 12, 2017

375,000 images now free from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

By Dana Schulz

The Times may have recently questioned whether or not the Metropolitan Museum of Art is "a great institution in decline" (referring to its $40 million deficit and decision to put on hold its $600 million expansion), but the paper is much more positive when reporting on the Met's new Open Access policy. This allows free and unrestricted use of 375,000 high-resolution images of artworks in their collection, ranging from paintings by Van Gogh, El Greco and DeGas to ancient Egyptian relics to classical furniture and clothing.
Find out more

All articles by Dana Schulz

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