All articles by Devin Gannon

April 27, 2021

See the new $7M park coming to the Williamsburg waterfront

Construction officially kicked off this month at a new section of the Bushwick Inlet Park in Williamsburg. The long-awaited two-acre green space, dubbed 50 Kent, is scheduled to open in April 2022. Designs of the parkland, which was promised by the city as part of the 2005 rezoning of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg waterfront, were approved in 2018, but work stalled due to COVID-related budget cuts, as Brooklyn Paper reported.
Get the details
April 27, 2021

With a tourism comeback expected in NYC, the Plaza sets reopening date

A sign of New York City's recovery, The Plaza Hotel will reopen next month after closing its doors to guests for over a year. The iconic Central Park South hotel announced it will open its luxury rooms again on May 20, about 14 months after it first suspended services due to the pandemic. "For the past year you've been asked to stay home, The Plaza is now extending its formal invitation to return to New York," the hotel's website reads.
Find out more
April 26, 2021

Effort continues to restore New York’s Titanic Memorial Lighthouse to its original 1913 condition

The campaign to landmark and restore the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, a monument in New York City built in 1913 to honor those who died aboard the Titanic, continues. Designed by Warren and Wetmore, the architecture firm behind Grand Central Terminal, the 60-foot-tall lighthouse originally sat atop the roof of the Seamen's Church Institute and featured a working time ball that dropped down the pole each day, along with a green light. Preservationists are now raising funds that would help restore the lighthouse, currently located at the entrance to the South Street Seaport, to its original condition.
More here
April 26, 2021

Cuomo expands capacity at museums, movie theaters, and sports arenas

Entertainment and cultural venues in New York will soon welcome more visitors. Starting April 26, capacity limits at museums and zoos will be raised to 50 percent and to 33 percent at movie theaters. Starting May 19, large indoor sports arenas can increase capacity from 10 percent to 25 percent, and outdoor venues from 20 to 33 percent. In addition, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that as of May 15, offices can increase capacity from 50 to 75 percent, casinos and gaming facilities from 25 to 50 percent, and gyms outside of NYC from 33 to 50 percent.
Get the details
April 26, 2021

41 affordable South Bronx studios available for $843/month

A new rental building in the South Bronx is now accepting applications for 41 affordable studio apartments. The 12-story project at 972 Washington Avenue is located in the Morrisania neighborhood, about a mile east of Yankee Stadium. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income, between $31,406 and $50,160 annually for a one-person household and between $31,406 and $57,300 annually for a two-person household, can apply for the $843/month apartments.
Find out if you qualify
April 26, 2021

Classic Upper East Side cocktail bar Bemelmans to finally reopen in May

One of New York City's most storied bars will reopen next month following a year-long shutdown. Located inside the historic Carlyle Hotel on the Upper East Side, Bemelmans Bar will welcome guests back to the iconic mural-covered watering hole on May 11, the first time since last March. And for the first time in its nearly 75-year history, Bemelmans is now accepting online reservations.
Find out more
April 23, 2021

$3.9M penthouse sold at NJ’s tallest tower sets record in Jersey City

A penthouse at New Jersey's tallest residential building has sold for $3.9 million, setting a record for the priciest condo closing in Jersey City's history. As CityRealty reported, the 2,473-square-foot home sits on the 75th floor of 99 Hudson, an 889-foot-tall tower designed by Perkins Eastman and located on the waterfront.
Get the details
April 22, 2021

New details for 100% affordable housing complex planned for historic hospital site in Brooklyn

New details and images of an affordable housing development planned for the site of an abandoned hospital in Brooklyn were released earlier this month, ahead of the project's expected public review. During an April 13 meeting, Hudson Companies and St. Nicks Alliance presented Brooklyn Community Board 1 with an updated proposal for Cooper Park Commons, a four-building 100 percent affordable complex that will be built at the long-vacant Greenpoint Hospital site at 288 Jackson Street in East Williamsburg.
Learn more
April 22, 2021

See what a renovated Penn Station could look like

A dark and cramped Penn Station could soon be replaced with a light-filled transit hub with more space for commuters. Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled on Wednesday two possible options for the reconstruction of the Midtown train station as part of his broader Empire Station Complex project, which would unify an upgraded Penn Station and the new Moynihan Train Hall. The interconnected station would increase train capacity at the site, which is considered the busiest in the country. It could serve 830,000 daily passengers by 2038, up from 600,000 the station served each day before the pandemic.
More here
April 21, 2021

With panoramic views and rooftop observatory, this $4M Hamptons home resembles a lighthouse

A truly unique home in the Hamptons has just hit the market. Located at 14 Water Mill Heights Drive in the Southampton hamlet of Water Mill, the five-bedroom property sits nestled among trees, while also boasting panoramic water views thanks to its creative design. Asking $3,995,000, the home offers several living and dining areas, a curving wraparound deck, a heated outdoor pool, and a wine cellar.
See inside
April 21, 2021

Here’s where to volunteer to keep NYC parks clean this Earth Day

This Earth Day, New Yorkers can give back to the green spaces that gave us so much during the last year by volunteering to help keep them beautiful. Several organizations and community groups are hosting cleanup sessions at parks across the five boroughs this week, allowing city residents to nurture their green thumbs, enjoy the springtime weather, and connect with nature. "There is no single greater resource than the natural world around us," Mitchell J. Silver, NYC Parks Commissioner, said in a press release. "The Earth offers us so much; it is our home and it is imperative that we work to protect, beautify, and preserve it." Ahead, find an Earth Day event happening in your neighborhood.
Get the details
April 20, 2021

Another Yayoi Kusama exhibition will be on view in NYC this summer

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's popular polka-dot pumpkins and grand floral sculptures have taken over the New York Botanical Garden this month as part of a new six-month installation. This summer, an exhibition featuring new paintings by the celebrated artist will open in Chelsea, providing New Yorkers another opportunity to enjoy Kusama's iconic work. Starting June 17, David Zwirner will display the latest art from her ongoing My Eternal Soul series, which first began in 2009.
Learn more
April 20, 2021

$350M redevelopment of century-old Textile Building reimagines office space with fresh air and greenery

A 100-year-old property in Midtown South will be reimagined as a modern office building with courtyards and terraces, flexible workspace, and lots of greenery, amenities the owners hope will draw tenants back to in-person work post-pandemic. Tribeca Investment Group, PGIM Real Estate, and Meadows Partners announced this week plans for a $350 million redevelopment of 295 Fifth Avenue, also known as the Textile Building. The owners acquired a 99-year ground lease for the 17-story building in 2019 for $375 million.
Find out more
April 19, 2021

Bette Midler sells palatial Upper East Side penthouse last listed for $50M

Bette Midler has sold her massive Upper East Side penthouse, which was last listed for $50 million. The entertainer and her husband, Martin von Haselberg, first bought the 14-room triplex at 1125 Fifth Avenue in the late 1990s, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the sale. Taking up the top three levels of the Emery Roth-designed co-op, the residence measures 7,000 square feet with an additional 3,000 square feet of outdoor terraces.
Find out more
April 19, 2021

New Yorkers 50+ can now get vaccinated at NYC sites without an appointment

New Yorkers aged 50 years and older can now get vaccinated without an appointment, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Saturday. Previously, these no-appointment slots were set aside for those 75 years old and above. The walk-up shots are currently available at 31 city-run sites; pharmacies and mass vaccination sites run by the state still require advance registration. On Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced walk-in vaccinations would be open to those aged 60+ at 16 state-run sites starting Friday, April 23.
Get the details
April 15, 2021

The Met’s latest rooftop installation features a swaying Big Bird overlooking Central Park

A 26-foot-tall moving sculpture featuring the Sesame Street character Big Bird has been installed atop the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the museum's annual Roof Garden Commission series. Created by Philadelphia-based artist Alex Da Corte, As Long as the Sun Lasts exhibition includes a blue-feathered Big Bird sitting on a floating crescent moon and holding a ladder, gazing out at Central Park and the massive towers that dot the skyline. The exhibition will open at the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden on April 16 and be on view through October 31.
More details here
April 15, 2021

28 middle-income units available at new West Bronx rental, from $1,650/month

A housing lottery launched this week for 28 apartments in the Bronx set aside for middle-income New Yorkers. The seven-story building, located at 2724 Heath Avenue in the University Heights neighborhood, provides residents with a shared laundry room, gym, and fitness center. New Yorkers earning 120 percent of the area median income (AMI), or between $56,572 and $154,680 annually, can apply for the available units, which include $1,650/month studios, $1,750/month one-bedrooms, and $2,000/month two-bedrooms.
Do you qualify?
April 14, 2021

Super Bowl champ Rob Gronkowski snags a $7M condo at 35 Hudson Yards

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski has scored a new home. As first reported by the New York Post, the Super Bowl champion bought a $7 million three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath luxury apartment at 35 Hudson Yards, the tallest building in the mega-development. Gronk's friend/teammate Tom Brady also owns a home in New York City, a pied-a-terre at 70 Vestry Street in Tribeca.
Details here
April 14, 2021

Lottery opens for 124 apartments at former historic hospital site in Jamaica, from $885/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 124 mixed-income units at the "T building," a former hospital in Jamaica Hills, Queens that has been converted into apartments. Located at 82-41 Parsons Boulevard, the 10-story building features amenities like a library and computer room, outdoor sun terraces, a gym, and a shared laundry room. New Yorkers earning 60 and 100 percent of the area median income (AMI) can apply for the income-restricted units, which range from $885/month studios to $2,215/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
April 14, 2021

Waterfront restaurant and bar approved for the South Street Seaport

While the Howard Hughes Corporation has so far failed to get their South Street Seaport residential project approved, even with a scaled-down design, another plan from the developer in the same neighborhood was given the green light on Tuesday. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve plans for an open-air restaurant and bar that would sit in front of the Tin Building, which was home to the original Fulton Fish Market and is now being reconstructed. The accepted proposal differs quite significantly from the one first presented last July; it's in a new location with a design by a different architecture firm.
Get the details
April 13, 2021

20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out

While visiting the major, most popular attractions of New York City can be fun, it can also be stressful, overwhelming and full of selfie-taking tourists. However, the great thing about the Big Apple is that plenty of other attractions exist that are far less known or even hidden in plain sight. To go beyond the tourist-filled sites and tour the city like you're seeing it for the very first time, check out 6sqft's list ahead of the 20 best underground, secret spots in New York City.
More this way
April 13, 2021

New details for ODA’s curvy condo tower on the Lower East Side

In preparation for a spring sales launch, new details and a teaser website for the 12-floor residential building at 208 Delancey Street on the Lower East Side have been revealed. As first spotted by New York Yimby, fresh renderings of the ODA New York-designed project show a bright lobby with a natural color scheme and an impressive rooftop terrace with plantings and multi-use areas. In total, the building measures 85,000 square feet and contains 85 units, including two ground-floor townhouses.
Details here
April 13, 2021

‘Piazza di Belmont’ returns to the Bronx’s Little Italy with outdoor dining on Arthur Avenue

One of New York City's most famous foodie destinations will once again transform into an outdoor dining hot spot this spring. Starting April 30, "Piazza di Belmont" returns to the Bronx's Little Italy neighborhood, with several restaurants setting up al fresco seating along historic Arthur Avenue. Developed by the Belmont Business Improvement District, the European-style experience first debuted last summer as part of the city's "Open Restaurants" program.
Get the details
April 12, 2021

COVID vaccination site opens in Times Square for theater, film, and TV workers

A coronavirus vaccination site with appointments set aside for theater, film, and television workers opened in Times Square on Monday. Last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to open a vaccine hub on Broadway for the theater industry ahead of The Great White Way's expected reopening later this year. The newly opened site, located at 20 Times Square, will now have vaccine slots designated for TV and film actors and crew members.
Learn more
April 12, 2021

100 mixed-income units next to the New York Botanical Garden available from $1,045/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 101 mixed-income apartments at a newly constructed rental in the Bronx. Located at 2885 Marion Avenue, the building, known as Bronxview, is located just a few blocks from the New York Botanical Garden and Fordham University's campus. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 50, 60, 90, and 110 percent of the area median income (AMI) can apply for the units, ranging from $1,045/month two-bedrooms to $2,159/month three-bedrooms.
Do you qualify?