All articles by Devin Gannon

15 Underground Railroad stops in New York City

Photo of Harriet Tubman statue in Harlem via denisbin on Flickr

February 9, 2023

15 Underground Railroad stops in New York City

By Devin Gannon

For over 200 years, most of New York City favored slavery because the region's cotton and sugar industries depended on slave labor. During the colonial era, 41 percent of NYC's households had slaves, compared to just six percent in Philadelphia and two percent in Boston. Eventually, after the state abolished slavery in 1827, the city became a hotbed of anti-slavery activism and a critical participant in the Underground Railroad, the network of secret churches, safe houses, and tunnels that helped fugitive slaves from the south reach freedom. While some of these Underground Railroad sites no longer exist or have relocated, a few of the original structures can be visited today, including Brooklyn's Plymouth Church and the Staten Island home of staunch abolitionist Dr. Samuel Mackenzie Elliott. Ahead, travel along the Underground Railroad with 15 known stops in New York City.
See the stops

History

See the new customer service centers replacing token booths at NYC subway stations

Photo courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

February 9, 2023

See the new customer service centers replacing token booths at NYC subway stations

By Devin Gannon

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week unveiled its new "customer service centers," which are replacing the glass token booths seen at every subway station. Station agents at the new centers will help commuters switch to OMNY, apply for the Reduced Fare program, and generally navigate the system. The new stalls are part of the MTA's plan to change the duties of subway station agents, who once managed cash and subway tokens from inside the locked booth. Now, in addition to the workers stationed at the centers, agents will walk around the stations.
Get the details

Transit

Queens Night Market returns this April with $6 price cap on all food items still in place

Queens Night Market, Photo by Storm Garner

February 8, 2023

Queens Night Market returns this April with $6 price cap on all food items still in place

By Devin Gannon

While the price of food continues to increase at grocery stores and restaurants, one market in New York City is keeping consumer costs low. When the Queens Night Market opens for its eighth season this April, the open-air food market will maintain its popular price cap of $5 or $6 on all food items. Vendors will be able to stay affordable this year because of a sponsorship from Citizens bank, according to John Wang, the founder of the Queens Night Market.
Details here

Events & Things To Do

Brooklyn Heights rental with rooftop terrace launches housing lottery, from $1,528/month

Photo Credit: 200 Montague Street, Courtesy of MNS Real Estate

February 7, 2023

Brooklyn Heights rental with rooftop terrace launches housing lottery, from $1,528/month

By Devin Gannon

A 20-story rental in Brooklyn Heights has opened a housing lottery for 38 mixed-income apartments. Designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, 200 Montague Street features a unique dark facade with a polished granite base and bronze-tone metal detailing, an interpretation of the neighborhood's historic architecture. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, priced from a $1,528/month studio to a $3,918/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Proposed 13-story Soho building designed by Morris Adjmi is first to need LPC approval after rezoning

Streetview of 277 Canal Street; © 2023 Google

February 7, 2023

Proposed 13-story Soho building designed by Morris Adjmi is first to need LPC approval after rezoning

By Devin Gannon

A New York City developer on Monday unveiled plans for the first development in Soho under new zoning rules approved by the city in 2021. United American Land (UAL) announced a proposal for a 13-story mixed-use building with 100 units of housing at 277 Canal Street, a landmarked three-story building on the corner of Broadway. The Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to begin its review process of the project this summer, as Commercial Observer first reported.
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Bjarke Ingels to design production studio and waterfront park in Red Hook

All renderings courtesy of Samson Stages

February 6, 2023

Bjarke Ingels to design production studio and waterfront park in Red Hook

By Devin Gannon

Architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is designing another film studio in New York City. Production company Samson Stages announced plans for a new 330,000-square-foot production facility on the waterfront in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Designed by BIG, the firm also behind Robert De Niro's under-construction Wildflower Studios in Astoria, the Samson Stages Red Hook Studio will include a building with eight stacked stages and a public park.
Learn more here

Architecture And Design

Lower East Side icon Economy Candy is opening new store in Chelsea Market

Photo of Economy Candy on Rivington Street by Cory Doctorow on Flickr

February 6, 2023

Lower East Side icon Economy Candy is opening new store in Chelsea Market

By Devin Gannon

New York City's oldest retail candy shop is expanding for the first time in its over 85-year history. Economy Candy, which has been satisfying sweet tooths on the Lower East Side since 1937, will open a new location in Chelsea Market this week. Called "A Taste of Economy Candy," the store is a mini version of the original sweet shop, offering a selection of vintage treats and classic candies on rotation every month.
Sweet deets here

Uncategorized

New open gangway subway cars to debut on the A and C lines this year

All photos courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

February 6, 2023

New open gangway subway cars to debut on the A and C lines this year

By Devin Gannon

Starting this year, commuters on the A and C subway lines will be able to easily walk from one train car to the next. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week unveiled one of the "open gangway" subway cars, which are undergoing testing and are expected to carry passengers by the end of the year. The open gangway cars, which feature accordion-like walls that connect the entire train, are part of an order that includes 535 subway and Staten Island Railway R211 cars, 20 of which will have the open gangway design.
More this way

Transit

A pop-up roller disco is opening at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal Mall

Rendering courtesy of The Roller Wave

February 3, 2023

A pop-up roller disco is opening at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal Mall

By Devin Gannon

An indoor roller rink is coming to the heart of Brooklyn. Set to open on February 11 at the Atlantic Terminal Mall, The Roller Wave will offer a 24,000-square-foot venue with skating, live performances, DJs, food and beverage options, and an arcade. Founded by NYC native Harry Martin, the Roller Wave is a traveling pop-up roller skating experience. The rink, which will be open through June 4, will be the Roller Wave's first true location.
Get the details

Events & Things To Do

For $2.4M, this Park Slope home is renovated with an enviable rooftop

All photos courtesy of Lesley Semmelhack Team

February 2, 2023

For $2.4M, this Park Slope home is renovated with an enviable rooftop

By Devin Gannon

This Park Slope apartment is just a quarter of a mile to the tip of Prospect Park. But with a private finished roof deck that runs the length of the building, who needs Brooklyn's backyard, anyway? Asking $2,395,000, the top-floor co-op at 801 Union Street has undergone a recent renovation inside and out, including the landscaped roof deck that is a paradise of leisure and entertainment.
Look inside

Distinctive Homes

Popular Articles

Heart-shaped hedges blossom with real roses as part of Valentine’s Day installation in Times Square

Photo by Jonathan Hokklo

February 2, 2023

Heart-shaped hedges blossom with real roses as part of Valentine’s Day installation in Times Square

By Devin Gannon

Love is in bloom in Times Square this February. As part of its 15th annual Love & Design competition, Times Square Arts on Wednesday unveiled a new public art installation on Duffy Square that invites visitors to get lost in love. This year's winner, Almost Studio, created an interactive configuration of four artificial hedge rows that form a maze-like structure with heart-shaped interiors. Called Love’s h|Edge, the sculpture features illuminated benches and trellises, the latter of which will be filled with fresh roses by passersby.
Take a look

Events & Things To Do

Anish Kapoor’s bean sculpture is finally complete in Tribeca

February 1, 2023

Anish Kapoor’s bean sculpture is finally complete in Tribeca

By Devin Gannon

New York City finally got its bean. About five years and several delays later, Anish Kapoor's mirrored sculpture was unveiled to the public this week, seemingly propping up Tribeca's "Jenga Building" at 56 Leonard Street. As first reported by Tribeca Citizen, and confirmed by 6sqft, the longstanding barriers and scaffolding have been removed, with the monumental permanent public artwork taking its rightful place on the corner of Church and Leonard Streets.
See the sculpture

Events & Things To Do

Savannah Guthrie is selling her full-floor Tribeca loft for $7.1M

Photos © Travis Mark for Sotheby’s International Realty

January 31, 2023

Savannah Guthrie is selling her full-floor Tribeca loft for $7.1M

By Devin Gannon

"Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie and her husband, communications pro Michael Feldman, have put their turn-key Tribeca loft on the market for $7,100,000. The full-floor four-bedroom received a modern renovation by AD100 architects Ike Kligerman Barkley and AD100 interior designer Monique Gibson. After calling the apartment home for over five years, the couple has decided to sell because they have a "vision and dream of living in a townhouse," Guthrie told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the listing.
Get a better look

New Jersey home seen in ‘The Amityville Horror’ sells for $1.5M

Photos courtesy of Motion City Media/ Childers Sotheby’s International Realty

January 30, 2023

New Jersey home seen in ‘The Amityville Horror’ sells for $1.5M

By Devin Gannon

The New Jersey home seen in the 1979 film "The Amityville Horror" has found a buyer. Located in Toms River in Ocean County, the waterfront property at 18 Brooks Road was used as a stand-in in the horror movie for the real-life "haunted" house on Long Island. After first listing for $1.7 million this past September, the four-bedroom home recently closed for $1.46 million.
Details here

Real Estate Trends

Pretty pre-war co-op on a tree-lined Park Slope block asks $1.75M

All photos courtesy of Russ Ross for The Corcoran Group

January 26, 2023

Pretty pre-war co-op on a tree-lined Park Slope block asks $1.75M

By Devin Gannon

This Park Slope co-op is what real estate dreams are made of. Located on the third floor of a 120-year-old building a block from Prospect Park, this updated three-bedroom at 259 Garfield Place offers the best of Brooklyn living. Asking $1,750,000, the home is where gorgeous parquet hardwood floors and original woodwork meet a modern kitchen and renovated bathroom.
Details here

Distinctive Homes

Sunset Park senior rental launches lottery for 57 affordable apartments

Rendering courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

January 26, 2023

Sunset Park senior rental launches lottery for 57 affordable apartments

By Devin Gannon

A housing lottery launched this week for 57 affordable apartments at a new senior housing project in Sunset Park. Located at 6309 4th Avenue on the site of the former Zion Lutheran Church, the Sunset Ridge Senior Apartments comprises a new nine-story building and two existing adjacent townhomes. Applicants must have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older, qualify for Section 8 benefits, and earn no more than $60,500 as a family of three. Eligible New Yorkers will pay 30 percent of their income for the available studio and one-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

$27.5M palatial penthouse has a front-row view of Central Park and beyond

All photos courtesy of Stefano Ukmar

January 24, 2023

$27.5M palatial penthouse has a front-row view of Central Park and beyond

By Devin Gannon

You can wake up to picture-perfect New York City views every day at this regal penthouse on the Upper West Side. Not only does the apartment at 115 Central Park West offer sweeping park and city vistas from nearly every room, but the home also boasts a whopping 900 square feet of outdoor space, including a 100-foot-long terrace that appears to hover over the world's most famous green space. Asking $27,500,000, the corner penthouse measures 6,000 square feet inside and has five bedrooms and five and a half baths.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

Latest luxury rental on the Lower East Side has three floors of ‘micro-units’

All renderings courtesy of Conway and Partners, unless otherwise noted

January 23, 2023

Latest luxury rental on the Lower East Side has three floors of ‘micro-units’

By Devin Gannon

A big new residential development on the Lower East Side is going small. When it opens this spring, the 30-story 55 Suffolk Street will offer three floors of "micro-units," apartments that measure between 315 and 350 square feet and feature space-saving built-in furniture and storage. Developed by the Gotham Organization, the building, dubbed The Suffolk, includes 378 total residences, indoor and outdoor amenities, and a new home for the Chinese-American Planning Council. This week, the building released a teaser site and 6sqft got a first look at the unique new development.
More here

In Harlem, controversial truck depot opens on site of failed housing project

Rendering courtesy of SHoP Architects

January 19, 2023

In Harlem, controversial truck depot opens on site of failed housing project

By Devin Gannon

On the Harlem lot where a residential development with hundreds of housing units was once proposed, a truck depot opened this week. As Patch first reported, the first trucks drove on Wednesday to the stop on West 145th Street, the site of the One45 proposal. After the council member refused to support the new mixed-use development, citing gentrification and lack of affordable housing, the developer scrapped the plan in May and moved forward with one that did not require zoning changes. The depot can hold up to 200 vehicles.
Find out more

$17.5M penthouse becomes Dumbo’s most expensive sale

Renderings courtesy of March Made

January 17, 2023

$17.5M penthouse becomes Dumbo’s most expensive sale

By Devin Gannon

A penthouse in Dumbo has sold for $17,500,000, becoming the neighborhood's priciest sale on record. The four-bedroom penthouse sits atop the new 33-story waterfront development Olympia Dumbo, which was recently crowned 6sqft's Building of the Year. At $4,102 per square foot, the deal also marks the most expensive condominium sponsor sale concerning price per square foot in Brooklyn.
Learn more here

Newark Airport’s Jersey-themed Terminal A finally opens

All photos courtesy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Flickr

January 12, 2023

Newark Airport’s Jersey-themed Terminal A finally opens

By Devin Gannon

The new Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport officially opened on Thursday, after several delays and $2.7 billion. Travelers will have no problem knowing where they are, with Garden State-themed artwork, concessions, and digital displays found throughout the one-million-square-foot terminal. The state-of-the-art Terminal A, which replaces a nearly 50-year-old terminal, is the most expensive infrastructure in New Jersey's history, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Find out more

Transit

Hochul proposes new housing targets for every locality in New York

Photo courtesy of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office on Flickr

January 11, 2023

Hochul proposes new housing targets for every locality in New York

By Devin Gannon

To spur housing development in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday unveiled a proposal that would require every locality in the state to meet home creation targets. During her 2023 State of the State address, the governor announced plans to build 800,000 new homes over the next decade to address the current housing crisis. The new initiative, dubbed the New York Housing Compact, requires all cities, towns, and villages to hit home creation goals on a three-year cycle.
Get the details

Civil rights lawyer William Kunstler’s former Village townhouse sells for $6.5M

Photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens unless otherwise noted

January 10, 2023

Civil rights lawyer William Kunstler’s former Village townhouse sells for $6.5M

By Devin Gannon

The Greenwich Village townhouse of late civil rights attorney William Kunstler sold last month for $6,500,000, according to CityRealty. Kunstler, who famously defended the Chicago Seven, Malcolm X, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and others, and his wife, attorney Margaret Ratner Kunstler, paid $225,000 for the townhouse in 1981, as the Wall Street Journal reported. Located at 13 Gay Street, the four-story brick Greek Revival townhouse was built in 1844 and retains the same 19th-century charm of its neighbors.
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Restoration of New York City’s Titanic Memorial Lighthouse moves forward

Photo courtesy of Friends of the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse

January 9, 2023

Restoration of New York City’s Titanic Memorial Lighthouse moves forward

By Devin Gannon

Plans to restore New York City's Titanic Memorial Lighthouse are moving forward. Built in 1913 to honor those who died aboard the Titanic, the 60-foot-tall lighthouse featured a working "time ball" that dropped down the pole each day, along with a green light. After a four-year campaign, a request for proposals has been issued to restore the monument to its original working condition.
Get the details

History

Inside New York City’s first legal pot shop

All photos courtesy of GARY GERSHOFF/WIRE IMAGE.

January 4, 2023

Inside New York City’s first legal pot shop

By Devin Gannon

The first legal cannabis dispensary in the state of New York opened in Manhattan last week. Run by the nonprofit Housing Works, the store, located near Astor Place at 750 Broadway, currently offers products from six New York-based companies, including pre-rolled joints, edibles, vape pens, and flower. When sales officially launched last Thursday, the line to get into the dispensary wrapped around the corner, with eager customers waiting for hours to shop.
See it here

Policy

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