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.

July 11, 2016

Mark Cuban Opening Upscale Movie Theater at Bjarke Ingels’ Via 57 West

By Dana Schulz

The lucky residents of Bjarke Ingels' Via 57 West tetrahedron will not only get starchitecture bragging rights and access to the 22,000-square-foot courtyard and amenities such as a swimming pool and gold simulator, but they'll also have a state-of-the-art, eight-screen movie theater right in the building. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Durst Organization has teamed up with Landmark Theatres, owned by billionaire entrepreneurs Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban of "Shark Tank" fame. The 30,000-square-foot theater will take up residency within the 45,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space in Via, which will also welcome the American Kennel Club’s dog-care center and a location from Livanos Restaurant Group.
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July 11, 2016

Lottery Opens for 110 Affordable Units at Former Site of Kings County Hospital Psych Ward

By Dana Schulz

Several years ago, plans were revealed for CAMBA Gardens, an affordable housing complex set to rise on the campus of the Kings County Hospital, located on the border of Crown Heights and East Flatbush. The buildings were constructed by the city's Supportive Housing Loan Program in conjunction with non-profit CAMBA, which provides employment, education, health, legal, social, business development, and youth services to New Yorkers. CAMBA Gardens I opened in the fall of 2013 with 209 residences spread across two buildings. Now, a lottery for CAMBA Gardens Phase II has just come online and is offering 110 newly constructed units in the LEED Gold building for individuals earning 60 percent of the AMI. These range from $822/month studios to $1,228/month three-bedrooms for households earning between $29,692 and $63,060 annually.
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Affordable Housing

July 11, 2016

Camp Out in a Sioux Tipi on a Woodstock Waterfall for $168/Night

By Dana Schulz

Forget the hassle of pitching a flimsy tent, and camp out in an authentic, 18-foot Sioux Tipi. Located along a waterfall on the Sawkill Creek in Woodstock, this tipi was handmade and painted by artists at the Nomadics Tipi Makers and features a cozy stone fireplace right in its center, as well as another one outside near the river. Intrigued? It's up for rent for $168/night on Airbnb.
Find out more about the camping rental

July 11, 2016

Germantown NYC: Uncovering the German History of Yorkville

By Dana Schulz

If you read 6sqft's post about Kleindeutschland, or "Little Germany," you know that in 1885 New York had the third largest German-speaking population in the world, outside of Vienna and Berlin, and the majority of those immigrants settled in what is today the heart of the East Village. You also know that the horrific General Slocum disaster in 1904 pushed the last of the Germans out of the area. And as promised, we're here to tell you where that community went-- Yorkville, then commonly known as Germantown. The Upper East Side neighborhood, bounded by 79th and 96th streets and running from the east side of Third Avenue to the East River, exploded with immigrants from the former Prussian Empire in the early 20th century. Those looking for a fresh start after the tragedy saw opportunity in the many available jobs in Yorkville. Like the East Village, Yorkville still has many reminders of its German past, as well as still-thriving cultural spots.
Take a tour of Yorkville's German history

History

July 11, 2016

Proposed Site of Queens’ Once-Tallest Tower Will Be Sold By Developers

By Dana Schulz

Just about a year ago, 6sqft revealed renderings for Queens Plaza Park, an 800-unit 70+ story, 915-foot tall skyscraper planned for Long Island City's Clock Tower Building site (it would've encircled and incorporated the 88-year-old structure). At the time, this proposed height would've made it the tallest tower in Queens, as well as the tallest building outside Manhattan. However, it's now not only lost its superlatives (it's since been outdone by the 964-foot Court Square City View Tower in LIC and JDS' 1,066-foot 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn), but the project is being scrapped altogether (h/t Curbed).
More details

New Developments

July 11, 2016

Last Two Chances to See Manhattanhenge; Prospect Park Dog Beach Getting a Makeover

By Dana Schulz

Visiting Angelica, New York, a quaint village named for Alexander Hamilton’s sister-in-law. [Atlas Obscura] Manhattanhenge returns tonight and tomorrow. [TONY] The Prospect Park Alliance announced the start of a restoration of Dog Beach—a popular swimming area for dogs during off-leash hours. [6sqft inbox] Junior’s, the Downtown Brooklyn restaurant famous for its cheesecakes, is opening a second […]

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July 9, 2016

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff

By Dana Schulz

Competition Reimagines New York State Pavilion As a Cheeseburger Museum, Hanging Meadow Lottery Opens for 259 Affordable Units in East New York, Starting at $494/Month NYC May Get a Big Ugly Wall Instead of Bjarke Ingels’ Storm Protection System New Jersey’s Oldest and Largest Frank Lloyd Wright House Listed for $2.2M Rare Opportunity to Apply […]

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July 8, 2016

TBD Design Studio Converted a 19th Century Williamsburg Firehouse Into a Live/Work Haven

By Dana Schulz

When a photographer recently bought this 19th century firehouse in Williamsburg, its interior was in a complete state of disrepair, though the historic facade was intact. To transform it into a live/work home, the owner brought on Josh Weiselberg and Selin Semaan of TBD Architecture + Design Studio, who turned the garage into a ground-floor photo studio and gallery, created a second-floor residence, and added a rooftop penthouse, lounge, and terrace (h/t designboom). The result is an open and airy haven that's sensitive to the original firehouse, but is also functional for its modern use.
See the entire home

Architecture And Design

July 8, 2016

App Alerts Beachgoers of Shark Sightings; Museum of Ice Cream Opening in Meatpacking

By Dana Schulz

Steve Saling, an architect and engineer with ALS, designed a home controlled by blinks. [PBS] Sharktivity is an app that lets beachgoers report shark sightings and then sends out alerts. [Boston Globe] The story behind the gold wall at Herald Square subway stop. [NYDN] A pop-up Museum of Ice Cream is opening in the Meatpacking District. […]

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July 8, 2016

Go Glamping in a Geodesic Dome on a Catskills Farm for $350/Night

By Dana Schulz

Looking for an upstate weekend getaway, but don't want to deal with the mosquitoes and unpredictable weather that often go with traditional camping? This geodesic dome in the Catskills promises to be an "incredible glamping space," and its funky design and foodie-focused community only sweeten the deal. Available on Airbnb for $350/night, the dome is located on a farm in Sullivan County. It has wooden floors and screened-in windows, but you'll need to BYObed if you have more than two guests. There's also outdoor double hot showers, a sink, and a clawfoot tub, as well as a full outdoor kitchen with a grill, fridge, sink, and fire pit.
Get the full experience

New Jersey’s Oldest and Largest Frank Lloyd Wright House Listed for $2.2M

By Dana Schulz

During his prolific career, Frank Lloyd Wright built four houses in the Garden State, the first and largest being the 2,000-square-foot James B. Christie House in Bernardsville, which dates to 1940. At the time, Wright, who coined the term "organic architecture," told his client to find a site with "as much individuality as to topography and features—stream, trees, etc. and as much freedom from adjacent buildings as is possible." Christie obliged, and the resulting home sits on seven acres of secluded woodland. For the physical architecture, Wright employed his Usonian principles of simplicity, practicality, and a connection to nature. As Curbed reports, after selling in 2014 to a private buyer for $1,700,000, the Christie House is now on the market for $2.2 million after receiving a new roof and heating system.
Tour the property

July 7, 2016

Conserve and Reuse Pre-Shower Water With Aguawell

By Dana Schulz

On days like today, a cold shower is often the only way to cool down, but this overindulgence can get quite wasteful, especially if you're guilty of letting the shower run before hopping in. In fact, designboom tells us that those moments of adjusting the temperature can add up to 12 liters of lost water per minute. That's where Aguawell comes in. The simple, practical unit catches clean water before it hits the drain, so you can then use it for everything from watering plants to keeping pets hydrated.
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July 7, 2016

The Class Issues of the Tiny House Revolution; Checking in on Zaha Hadid’s High Line Condos

By Dana Schulz

Zaha Hadid‘s High Line condo gets its lavish, chevroned skin of metal and glass. [CityRealty] What it’s like to spend summer at The Silver Gull, a private waterfront beach club in Queens that’s part of a dying breed. [NYT] Could floating airports finally become a reality? [CNN] Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown’s pink penthouse in the […]

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July 6, 2016

The History of Bowery Bay Beach, the ‘Coney Island of Queens’

By Dana Schulz

This past holiday weekend, New Yorkers flocked to Coney Island for the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, the fireworks display, and to enjoy the beach and boardwalk. For some, though, traveling all the way out to the end of Brooklyn with beach chairs and coolers is daunting, which is why it's sad to learn that back in the 19th century, there was another amusement destination in the city, at the site of present-day LaGuardia Airport. Bowery Bay Beach (later named North Beach) opened in 1886 on the shores of Bowery and Flushing Bays. Built by noted piano manufacturer William Steinway in partnership with brewer George Ehret, it included beaches, swimming pavilions, a huge beer hall, zoo, and the Gala Amusement Park. At one time it was more popular than the parks in Brooklyn, earning it the moniker "the Coney Island of Queens."
So what happened?

History

July 6, 2016

LES Residents Propose Turning Lowline Site Into a Bus Depot During L Train Shutdown

By Dana Schulz

There's been no lack of ideas for how to deal with the impending L train shutdown, from realistic proposals like the East River Skyway to some more out-there concepts like a giant inflatable tunnel. The latest suggestion was presented at a recent public meeting between the MTA and Manhattan's Community Board 3. DNAinfo reports that local residents discussed taking the old underground trolley station at Delancey and Essex Streets (the same site that's been long proposed for the Lowline) and turning it into a transportation hub for the B39 bus that operates between Williamsburg and the Lower East Side.
Find out more

Transit

July 6, 2016

Mapping the Shortest Path Through Every U.S. Zip Code; New York’s Finally Not the Rudest City!

By Dana Schulz

There are nearly 37,000 zip codes in the lower 48 states. This doodle plots the shortest path through each one. [Washington Post] A 26-foot replica of One World Trade Center is now the tallest Lego model in the country. [Curbed] Developer Mitchell Moinian talks about how he got into the family business, their latest project […]

Uncategorized

July 6, 2016

POLL: Should the New York State Pavilion Get a Creative Makeover?

By Dana Schulz

Yesterday, 6sqft shared some of the best and wackiest proposals from an ideas competition reimagining Philip Johnson's iconic New York State Pavilion. Built for the 1964-65 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, it's struggled in recent years to find financial support, and the competition is a way to drum up enthusiasm for the necessary $52 restoration. The ideas ranged from the expected (elevated parks, event spaces) to the socially conscious (refugee housing, a homeless shelter) to the totally out there (a cheeseburger museum, a UFO landing pad). And while a new incarnation for the historic site would certainly draw visitors and interest, is that the appropriate way to honor the cultural and architectural merit of a structure that was built for a specific purpose at a very special point in time? Plus, preservationists have already secured close to $6 million for repairs, and the structure got a $3 million paint job last year.
Tell us what you think

Architecture And Design

July 5, 2016

Competition Reimagines New York State Pavilion As a Cheeseburger Museum, Hanging Meadow

By Dana Schulz

Philip Johnson's iconic New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was built for the 1964-65 World’s Fair, but has struggled in recent decades to find its purpose. Because of its architectural and cultural merit, however, preservations have made great strides in the past several years: a restoration task force secured $5.8 million for repairs in 2014; it received a $3 million paint job last fall; and now it's creating quite the buzz thanks to an ideas competition put on by the the National Trust for Historic Preservation and People for the Pavilion (h/t WSJ). The competition, which organizers hope could help drum up enough enthusiasm to aid in the $52 million total restoration, has drawn more than 250 submission, including wacky ideas like a cheeseburger museum, a giant time-telling machine, and a UFO landing pad to more practical functions like a brewery, hanging gardens, live-work space for artists, and event venues.
See some of the entries here

Architecture And Design

July 5, 2016

Amazon Opening a Bookstore in Hudson Yards; The Reason There’s a Hole in Your Spaghetti Spoon

By Dana Schulz

Amazon plans to open a brick-and-mortar book store and cafe in Hudson Yards. [NYP] Ever wonder what that hole is in your spaghetti spoon? Turns out it measures portions. [Popular Mechanics] Buffalo (not Brooklyn) is hosting a kale eating competition. [Mashable] The adult coloring book craze has led to a global pencil shortage. [Independent] Images: […]

Uncategorized

July 5, 2016

Lottery Opens for 259 Affordable Units in East New York, Starting at $494/Month

By Dana Schulz

As part of his city-wide campaign, Mayor de Blasio has made a push for affordable housing in East New York, where the City Planning Commission recently approved a controversial rezoning. Local residents cited concerns that the changes would lead to displacement and gentrification in a neighborhood where the median income is $35,000 annually. But the city's latest housing lottery offers a whopping 259 units for households earning between $18,275 (single persons) and $71,760 (eight people). The apartments, 50 percent of which are reserved for local residents, range from $494/month studios to $1,322/month four-bedrooms. These units are within the third phase of Gateway Elton Street, a new multi-building affordable housing development with ground-floor retail and community facility space in the Spring Creek section of East New York. In total, it will offer 659 apartments and roughly 70,000 square feet of commercial space. Phase three, located at 1062 Elton Street and 475 Locke Street, was designed by Dattner Architects, who organized the two-building site around a central courtyard with parking and outdoor recreation areas.
More on the development here

Affordable Housing

July 1, 2016

Find Peace and Quiet at Home With the Whisper Noise Canceler

By Dana Schulz

Noisy neighbors keeping you up at night? Garbage trucks blaring before the alarm? Drunk revelers making it hard to hear the television? Soundproof your apartment by installing the Whisper Noise Canceler, an innovative acoustical system that promises to silence indoor noise. It works with an outdoor unit that is mounted on the exterior of a wall, door, or window and detects external noise. A corresponding indoor device emits anti-phase sound waves to counterbalance this and reduce the noise.
Learn more about Whisper

Policy
Shop

July 1, 2016

The Perils of Sidewalk Gridlock; $10M Lawsuit Over Sean Lennon’s Tree Ongoing

By Dana Schulz

New York’s sidewalks are so packed, pedestrians are taking to the streets. [NYT] Obama chooses NYC-based architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien to design his presidential library. [ArchDaily] Marisa Tomei’s parents and John Lennon’s son are still fighting over a tree. [NYP] SKY, Manhattan’s largest rental building opens, offering one month free rent and spectacular amenities. [CityRealty] Old-school […]

Uncategorized

June 30, 2016

Court Temporarily Stops Construction on Barry Diller’s Futuristic Offshore Park

By Dana Schulz

Last summer, a civic group known as City Club of New York slapped Barry Diller's Pier 55 with a lawsuit, claiming he and the Hudson River Park Trust had failed to thoroughly evaluate the environmental impact of the 2.7-acre offshore park. In April of this year, the Manhattan Supreme Court dismissed the case, and later that same month news broke that construction on the $130 million project would begin this summer after gaining regulatory approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, DNAinfo reports that today an appellate court issued an injunction that says work must temporarily stop until at least September when the opponents present their case again.
More details ahead

World Trade Center Performing Arts Complex Gets $75M Gift From Billionaire Ronald Perelman

Image pointing to the site of the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center. Rendering by DBOX

June 30, 2016

World Trade Center Performing Arts Complex Gets $75M Gift From Billionaire Ronald Perelman

By Dana Schulz

Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Ronald O. Perelman has made a $75 million gift towards the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center (PACWTC) reports the New York Times. The donation will finally make one of the last unfinished projects at the site a reality, and the Center will therefore be named for Perelman. "I think that this is a project that must happen. It is more than just a pure artistic center to serve a community. It is that, but at the same time it’s much more than that," he said. This is not Perelman's first time donating to the World Trade Center site. Under the Bloomberg administration he gave $5 million for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum and said then that he was interested in making the lead gift for a performing arts center at the site.
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