All articles by Devin Gannon

February 12, 2018

Interactive map identifies the New York City neighborhoods most underserved by transit

Nearly 29 percent of New York City households are underserved by transit, according to data from the Center for Neighborhood Technology and TransitCenter. In a joint project, called AllTransit, the team put together a collection of transit data that includes 15,000 routes and 800 agencies in the United States. A tool called Gap Finder identifies gaps in U.S. cities where underserved communities would benefit from improved service.
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February 12, 2018

Trump’s long-awaited infrastructure plan won’t fund Gateway project

President Donald Trump on Monday released his $200 billion infrastructure plan and it does not look good for New York and New Jersey. Because the plan shifts the financial burden from the federal government onto states and localities, relying on incentives to spur private investment, major projects will struggle to find funding. This includes the Gateway Tunnel project, a proposal to construct a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River and repair the existing one. As the only intercity passenger rail crossing into NYC from NJ, the tunnel is a critical link for nearly 200,000 daily passengers. While the Obama administration considered Gateway a priority and committed half of the project's cost in 2015, the Trump administration has scoffed at the idea.
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February 9, 2018

New renderings revealed for SCDA’s flashy 11-story condo on the High Line

A swath of new renderings of SCDA Architects' condo tower was released this week, more than three years after the project was first announced in 2014. As Curbed NY learned, the new renderings of the building, located, at 515 West 29th Street, show a glass fin facade and the interiors of the 15 planned apartments, including five penthouses. Forum Absolute Capital Partners is developing the tower, dubbed Five One Five, which will contain two- and three-bedroom units ranging from $4.3 million to $8.5 million. CORE is handling sales and marketing.
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February 9, 2018

Google to expand footprint at Chelsea’s Pier 57

Earlier this week, Google entered into a contract with Jamestown LP to buy the Chelsea Market building for nearly $2.5 billion, the second largest single sale in New York City's history. And on Friday, Google reached a tentative deal to expand its footprint at Pier 57, adding another 70,000 square feet of space to its prior 250,000-square-foot agreement. According to Crain's, the lease will include an additional 50,000 square feet of educational activities and a new ferry landing.
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February 8, 2018

A Queens festival will reimagine the World’s Fair with 100+ food vendors representing over 100 cultures

Experience "diversity through cuisine" at CitiField this spring at an event paying homage to the iconic 1964 New York World's Fair. Dubbed the World's Fare, the event will feature over 100 food vendors from more than 100 cultures, as well as live music and art (h/t QNS). Highlights include an international beer garden that will offer tastings of 80 craft beers from 45 breweries and exhibits of LEGO Art and 4-D drawings.
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February 8, 2018

Live above Target in Extell’s new East Village rental, from $1,114/month

An Extell Development rental building in the East Village is now accepting applications for 50 newly constructed, middle-income units. Not only does the chic building at 524 East 14th Street boast amenities like a fitness center, pool and rooftop deck, it will also have a two-level Target, the chain's first location in the neighborhood. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 70 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from $1,114/studios to $2,733/month two-bedrooms.
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February 8, 2018

Find and apply for current affordable housing lotteries in NYC with this new map

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development on Wednesday released an interactive map of housing lotteries currently accepting applications. Users can click icons displayed on the NYC Housing Connect Map for more information on a lottery, including required income levels, household size and the application deadline. Earlier this week, the department launched a map that displays all of the affordable housing units, buildings and projects which count towards Mayor Bill de Blasio's Housing New York 2.0 plan.
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February 7, 2018

Passing $2B in sales, 432 Park becomes highest selling building in NYC ever

CIM Group and Macklowe Properties announced on Wednesday that the world's tallest residential building just broke another record: the single best-selling building in New York City. According to the developers, they have sold $2 billion in luxury condominiums at 432 Park Avenue, a 1,396-foot tower designed by renowned architect Rafael Viñoly. The building's most significant closings include 48 residences selling for more than $20 million each.
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February 7, 2018

Live around the corner from Central Park in a renovated Harlem rental, from $675/month

Applications are now being accepted for 106 newly constructed, affordable units at Central Harlem's Randolph Houses. Named in honor of civil rights leader, Phillip Randolph, the houses consist of 36 buildings along West 114th Street, between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 50 and 60 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from $675/month studios to a $1,289/month three-bedrooms. Located at 265 West 114th Street, the building is just a five-minute walk to Central Park.
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February 7, 2018

Treat your sweetie (or yourself) to a chocolate tour of Brooklyn this Valentine’s Day

This Valentine's Day, leave the heart-shaped candy box at Duane Reade and enjoy locally-made chocolate instead. Explore Brooklyn released their "Brooklyn Chocolate Trail Map" this month with 12 must-eat delicious destinations in the borough. The list includes chocolatiers, factories and tasting rooms. Follow the chocolate trail and taste-test your way through Greenpoint, DUMBO, Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn. What could be sweeter?
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February 7, 2018

A glamping retreat will open on Governors Island this summer

Tired of the bitter cold? Already devising warm-weather activities for the summer? Thankfully, the Trust for Governors Island just made planning a lot easier. The Trust announced on Wednesday its plan to open a temporary glamping retreat to the Island from Collective Hotels & Retreats, a group that brings the accommodations of a five-star hotel to the outdoors. As part of a three-year license, the company will transform six acres of the 172-acre island into an "environmentally-friendly overnight lodging retreat with unobstructed views of the Statue of Liberty."
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February 7, 2018

97 affordable apartments up for grabs at FiDi’s latest glassy skyscraper, from $788/month

A 762-foot skyscraper in the Financial District is now accepting applications for 97 affordable apartments. Developed by Carmel Partners and designed by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel and SLCE Architects, the residential development at 118 Fulton Street (also known as 19 Dutch Street) contains 483 rental units. The glassy tower will have over 8,000 square feet of retail space on the cellar, first and second levels. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from $788/month studios to $1,025/month two-bedrooms.
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February 6, 2018

Lottery launches for 258 rentals at TF Cornerstone’s West 57th tower, from $613/month

The lottery for TF Cornerstone's massive building at 606 West 57th Street officially launched on Tuesday, offering 258 mixed-income rentals in the brand new 42-story tower. Designed by Arquitectonica, the rental, dubbed 606W57, boasts a unique, boxy design and will hold over 1,000 apartments. It sits near other West Side architectural standouts like the pyramid-shaped, Bjarke Ingels-designed Via57 West, as well as the Helena. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 60 and 120 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from a $613/month studio to a $2,902/month three-bedroom.
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February 6, 2018

Google to buy Chelsea Market building for $2.5B, the second largest single sale in NYC history

Editor's Note: The New York Post reports Google will buy Chelsea Market for $2.5 billion, which would make it the second biggest single sale in the city's history. It closely follows the $2.8 billion purchase of the GM Building in 2007. Google has entered contract with Jamestown LP to buy the Chelsea Market building for over $2 billion. As 2018's first billion dollars plus transaction in New York, the deal is expected to close sometime in the next two months, according to the Real Deal. This will further the tech giant's presence in the Manhattan neighborhood; it is currently the biggest tenant at 75 Ninth Avenue and its headquarters are located across the street at 111 Eighth Avenue.
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February 6, 2018

As New York struggles with basic maintenance, global cities build cheaper, better infrastructure

The exorbitant construction costs of building transit projects, coupled with project delays, could make the New York region lose jobs and businesses to other global cities that are completing transit projects in a more timely, and economical, fashion. A report released on Tuesday from the Regional Plan Association (RPA) says high-costs and delays are ingrained in every part of the public-project delivery, including too-long environmental reviews, inaccurate project budgets and timelines and a lack of communication with labor unions. In their report, the RPA analyzed three projects and their costs and delivery issues: the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access and the extension of the 7-train.
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February 5, 2018

City releases map with all of the affordable housing units created or preserved since 2014

In addition to upping the number of affordable housing units created or preserved in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing for greater transparency of his ambitious plan to bring 300,000 affordable units to the city by 2026. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) launched an interactive map on Monday that displays all of the units, buildings, and projects that count towards the mayor's Housing New York 2.0 plan (h/t Curbed NY). The counted units, with data starting with units from January 1, 2014 on and will be updated quarterly, are shown by the number of units and occupancy size.
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February 5, 2018

Largest timber-constructed office building in the nation planned for Newark’s waterfront

Lotus Equity Group announced on Monday plans to bring the largest mass timber office building in the United States to the Newark waterfront. Michael Green Architecture has been tapped to design the 500,000-square-foot office building made with a wooden structure for Riverfront Square, a massive mixed-use development proposed for the Broad Street corridor of the Jersey neighborhood, according to the Wall Street Journal. The building will rise in three separate sections to six, eight and 11 stories tall and have a concrete foundation. Its columns, exterior panels,  elevators, stairwells and floor systems will be made of mass timber. Interiors will boast exposed wood with a facade covered in metal panels, brick or wood.
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February 2, 2018

John Jay’s new database provides 35,000+ records of slavery in New York

Typically seen as a beacon of freedom and diversity, New York also served as the capital of slavery in the United States for nearly 200 years. Before the American Revolution, more enslaved Africans lived in New York City than every city except South Carolina, with over 40 percent of the city's households owning slaves. However, the state eventually became an epicenter for abolition efforts, as well as a destination for many slaves escaping enslavement in the south. To further the public's understanding of New York's relationship with slavery, the John Jay College of Criminal Justice has created a searchable database of slaves and their owners (h/t WNYC).
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February 2, 2018

State risks $14M in road and highway funding for keeping flashy ‘I Love NY’ signs

Despite demands from the federal government for over two years to remove the "I Love NY" highway signs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo refused to comply. Now, the state of New York could lose up to $14 million in federal funding for not taking down the more than 500 big blue signs found along the state's highways, considered to be distracting to drivers. According to the New York Times, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) first raised concerns in 2011 when the signs were still an abstract idea. The state installed them anyway.
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February 2, 2018

Empire State Building looking for tenants to fill 50,000 square feet of retail space

The landlords of New York City's most iconic skyscraper are looking to fill 50,000 square feet of retail space by 2020, even as brick-and-mortar businesses in Manhattan have struggled to stay open. According to Bloomberg, owners of the Empire State Building are marketing the tower's ground-floor, concourse and second-floor real estate, as the building undergoes a retail renovation for the first time since opening in 1931. Plus, the tower's observatory entrance will be moved from Fifth Avenue to 34th Street.
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February 1, 2018

Live off of bustling Broadway in Bushwick, from $2,726/month

A housing lottery launched on Thursday for three middle-income units in the Brooklyn artist enclave of Bushwick. The five-story building at 22 Melrose Street sits just off of Broadway, a busy thoroughfare that offers lots of restaurants, bars and galleries. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for two-bedroom apartments for $2,726/month and just one three-bedroom apartment for $3,143/month.
Find out if you qualify
February 1, 2018

A $2.5B plan will bring an additional 5 million square feet to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

The transformation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard from a warship building site into an industrial tech-hub got an extra boost this week after a non-profit announced a $2.5 billion building plan that would quadruple its current workforce. As Bloomberg first reported, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which serves as the site's property manager on behalf of the city, plans to add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space to the site, with a little over half of it going towards one large complex.
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January 31, 2018

Fresh renderings revealed of 99 Hudson Street, the soon-to-be tallest building in New Jersey

When construction of 99 Hudson Street wraps up in Jersey City next year, the 889-foot condominium tower will become the tallest building in all of New Jersey. While that title alone is impressive, new renderings of the Perkins Eastman-designed tower show an equally profound modern interior with a swath of amenities (h/t Curbed NY). Developed by China Overseas America, 99 Hudson will rise 79 stories and contain 781 units, while boasting 15,000 square feet of retail space and 14,000 square feet of public space.
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January 31, 2018

Whole Foods Market’s first 365 store on the East Coast opens in Fort Greene

Whole Foods Market 365 opened its first East Coast location in Fort Greene on Wednesday, further cementing Downtown Brooklyn as a burgeoning commercial hub. The 30,000-square-foot store is located in Two Trees' 300 Ashland Place, a mixed-use development with 379 amenity-rich rentals above it. As the seventh 365 location in the country, the lower-priced grocery store will offer high-quality products free of artificial flavors, sweeteners and preservatives.
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January 30, 2018

Proposed congestion pricing in Manhattan would have little impact on commuters, study says

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo's task force, Fix NYC, released its congestion pricing plan last week, critics were quick to say the fees would most burden commuters who live outside the city and drive into Manhattan for work. However, a new report from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign found that less than 4 percent of residents in most districts commute by car into proposed congestion zones. In their report, the transportation research group analyzed the community patterns by looking at state Senate and Assembly districts; they found that a majority of commuters rely on mass transit, rather than cars, to commute.
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