All articles by Devin Gannon

March 30, 2021

Tribeca Film Festival returns this summer with 12 days of outdoor screenings in every borough

The Tribeca Film Festival first launched in 2002 following the September 11 terrorist attacks, part of an effort to fuel Lower Manhattan's comeback. Now after a devastating year for New York, the film festival hopes to bring the city together once again for its 20th anniversary. From June 9 to June 20, there will be 12 days of outdoor, in-person screenings with events taking place in every borough.
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March 30, 2021

West Elm opens first NYC outlet store at Industry City

Furniture and decor retailer West Elm on Monday opened its first outlet store in New York City. The store occupies 15,000 square feet in Sunset Park's Industry City complex, which already houses the company's massive "Makers Studio" workshop. The six million square foot Brooklyn campus is home to a number of furniture and design outlets, including ABC Carpet + Home and Design Within Reach.
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March 30, 2021

96 affordable apartments available for seniors in the South Bronx

A lottery opened this week for nearly 100 affordable units set aside for seniors at a newly constructed building in the South Bronx. Located at 1080 Washington Avenue in Morrisania, the development features a 5,400-square-foot community facility space, on-site social services, fitness center, laundry, and a sunroom with plantings. Applicants must have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older, qualify for Section 8 benefits, and earn $51,200 or less, annually. Eligible New Yorkers will pay 30 percent of their income for the studio and one-bedroom apartments.
Do you qualify?
March 26, 2021

Broadway stars to perform in NYC rooftop concert series

Welcoming back the return of live performance in New York City is an outdoor concert series featuring Broadway stars. Next month, ticket-selling company TodayTix will host in-person performances by Lauren Patten and Derek Klena from Jagged Little Pill, Ana Villafañe from On Your Feet!, and The Lion King's Bradley Gibson on the rooftop of a Manhattan building. The shows mark one of the first live ticketed events to take place in the city after over a year.
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March 26, 2021

Lottery opens for ‘affordable’ units at luxury Union Square rental, from $2,523/month

Here's an opportunity to live in a luxury Manhattan rental at a discount. A housing lottery launched this month for a dozen middle-income units at One Union Square South, a Related Companies-developed building most recognizable for the massive electronic clock art piece on its facade. While it's hard to call this lottery affordable, the available apartments do offer significant savings compared to the building's market-rate units. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, which include $2,523/month studios, $2,700/month one-bedrooms, and $3,235/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
March 26, 2021

Mary Tyler Moore’s former upstate estate turned equestrian center asks $3.9M

An 85-acre estate with one of the best equestrian facilities in Dutchess County is on the market for $3.95 million. Not only is the property at 23 Altamont Road in Millbrook a haven for horse lovers, but part of it also once belonged to late actress Mary Tyler Moore. Now known as Grace Hill Farm, the estate includes a barn with an indoor heated arena, a 14-stall stable, a viewing lounge, an outdoor jumping area and field, as well as a four-bedroom farmhouse.
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March 24, 2021

Hudson River tow pound at Pier 76 to open as a public park in June

A former New York City Police Department tow-pound on the Hudson River will open as a public park this summer, more than 20 years after the state designated the lot as future open space. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said work at Pier 76 has already begun, with an expected opening date as early as June 1. The plan for the 5.6-acre park aligns with the governor's ambitious $51 billion redevelopment of over 100 acres of Midtown West, announced earlier this year.
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March 23, 2021

The best websites for buying and selling used furniture in NYC

Spring is the perfect time to reset, rearrange, and reimagine your living space. In addition to the annual deep clean that commences as the weather warms, updating the style and decor of your New York City apartment provides a much-needed physical and mental refresh for the months ahead. Whether this means selling furniture you're tired of looking at or buying gently used designer and vintage items to personalize your abode, there are several websites to help New Yorkers in the process.
Full list here
March 22, 2021

44 affordable senior apartments available at new rental in Williamsburg

Applications are currently being accepted for 44 affordable units in Brooklyn that are designated for seniors. The Debevoise Senior Housing building, located at 40 Debevoise Street on the border of Williamsburg and Bushwick, rises eight stories and includes on-site laundry, a recreation room, community center, and common outdoor space. To apply, applicants must have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older, qualify for Section 8 benefits, and earn $51,200 or less, annually. Eligible applicants will pay 30 percent of their income for the studio and one-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify
March 22, 2021

New Yorkers aged 50+ will be eligible for the COVID vaccine

The group of New Yorkers eligible for the coronavirus vaccine is set to expand again this week. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that New Yorkers aged 50 years and older will be able to sign up for a vaccine appointment starting 8 a.m. on March 23. "We are dropping the age as we're vaccinating more people," the governor said during an event at the Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon.
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March 22, 2021

New York pharmacies can now vaccinate those with underlying conditions

New Yorkers with certain underlying health conditions can now receive the coronavirus vaccine at pharmacies across the state, greatly expanding the number of people these stores are able to serve. Previously, pharmacies in the state were only able to administer the vaccine to those 60 years and older and teachers. The state's eligibility expansion comes as more than 7.5 million total COVID vaccine doses have been administered across New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday.
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March 19, 2021

A former brickyard in Kingston is now luxury hotel cabins on the Hudson River

For years, New Yorkers have been drawn to the Hudson Valley city of Kingston for its rich history, arts and culture, and proximity to nature, ideal for both a weekend getaway and year-round residence. A new hotel just north of New York City is set to open this spring that will offer 31 individual cabins across 73 acres of lush landscape, providing a coronavirus-safe escape for city dwellers. Located on the site of a former brick factory, Hutton Brickyards has been transformed from a manufacturing property into a laid-back but luxurious riverfront resort with private cabins, a spa, restaurant, and events space.
Details here
March 19, 2021

NYC’s ‘Open Culture’ program kicks off this weekend with outdoor performances

More than 100 streets in New York can become stages under the city's Open Culture program that launched this month. Modeled after the Open Streets and Open Restaurant initiatives that close some streets to cars and let restaurants set up creative outdoor dining seating, this new permit type allows ticketed, socially distanced performances, rehearsals, classes, and workshops to take place on blocks in every borough. Mayor Bill de Blasio this week said the first three performances under the program would take place on Friday, with events in Mott Haven, Williamsburg, and Harlem.
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March 18, 2021

Design concept transforms shipping containers into outdoor stages for NYC

As the weather warms up, so will New York City's arts and culture scene. The city's Open Culture program that allows institutions to put on ticketed shows and events kicked off this month, preceded by the state's NY PopsUp initiative, which promises to present over 300 unannounced concerts and performances statewide. Providing another way for New Yorkers to safely enjoy live performances again, architecture firm Marvel has developed a concept that converts portable shipping containers into stages for outdoor theatrical and musical productions.
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March 18, 2021

Plan for massive towers and public beach in Williamsburg moves ahead with new looks

The proposal to construct two mixed-use skyscrapers and a public beach on the North Brooklyn waterfront is moving forward, although with an updated design, timeline, and name. As first reported by Brooklyn Paper, Two Trees Management is preparing to start the city's uniform land use review procedure (ULURP) in the coming weeks for its project "River Ring," which includes two huge towers designed by Bjarke Ingels with more than 1,000 units of housing, a YMCA, and an environmentally-conscious park with a cove and beach.
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March 16, 2021

Shakespeare in the Park will return to NYC this summer

Bringing some much-needed sunshine on this dreary March day, the Public Theater on Tuesday announced plans to bring back its free Shakespeare in the Park program this summer. As first reported by the New York Times, the Theater is preparing to present just one production at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park for an eight-week run beginning in July. The news comes after Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this month announced live performances and events could resume in New York as early as April 2.
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March 16, 2021

Radio City Music Hall is getting a rooftop park and skybridge

A skybridge that leads to a landscaped rooftop park is coming to Radio City Music Hall. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved plans from G3 Architecture Interiors Planning and Tishman Speyer to construct a simple pedestrian bridge clad in statuary bronze that would connect the building at 1270 Avenue of the Americas to the planned roof garden atop the historic theater, which will be amenity space for Rockefeller Center tenants. Interconnected green terraces were part of the original architectural vision for the Rockefeller Center complex and this project, to be called Radio Park, will finally bring the plan to fruition.
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March 16, 2021

Brooklyn Municipal Building renamed after Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Brooklyn Municipal Building on Monday was officially renamed after late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The idea to honor the Brooklyn native was introduced three years ago by Borough President Eric Adams, who launched a campaign in 2018 calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to sign off on the name change. Following Ginsburg's death in September, the mayor agreed to rename the building located at 210 Joralemon Street.
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March 15, 2021

New York City buys Downtown Brooklyn’s abolitionist rowhouse for $3.2M

New York City has officially purchased the property at 227 Duffield Street, a 19th-century rowhouse in Downtown Brooklyn recently designated as a landmark for its ties to the abolitionist movement. The Landmarks Preservation Commission last month granted landmark status to the home, occupied by known abolitionists Harriet and Thomas Truesdell from 1851 to 1863, after years of advocacy and a threat by a developer to raze it and build a mixed-use building in its place. First Lady Chirlane McCray, who has been a vocal advocate for the preservation of the site, announced the purchase during Mayor Bill de Blasio's briefing on Monday and said the deal ensures the property will be "protected and celebrated for a very long time."
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March 15, 2021

Soaring terraces and a hotel-like feel are on offer at new Upper East Side condo The Leyton

Sales have launched at a new condo tower on the Upper East Side that offers large, light-filled residences and hotel-inspired amenities. The Leyton, located at 1059 Third Avenue in the Lenox Hill neighborhood, contains 38 luxury homes, priced from $2.1 million for a one-bedroom to $11.6 million for a four-bedroom, along with a duplex penthouse with the price available upon request. Designed by former Rafael Viñoly architect Manuel Glas, the glass and stone tower features an Art Deco-inspired exterior with chic interiors from Frampton Co and distinctive amenity space by Champalimaud Design.
Details here
March 12, 2021

Just 10% of Manhattan office employees have returned to the workplace

Although New York City entered phase two of the state's reopening last June, which allowed offices to reopen to nonessential workers, just 10 percent of Manhattan office employees have returned to their workplace as of March. The Partnership for New York City this week released a survey of major employers to find out how long the borough's one million office workers will continue to work from home. According to the Partnership, employers expect less than half of their workers to return to the office by September.
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March 12, 2021

Ruth Bader Ginsburg statue unveiled in Downtown Brooklyn

A statue of late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was unveiled in Downtown Brooklyn on Friday. Created by artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, the six-foot bronze statue is located inside the Flatbush Avenue entrance of the mixed-use development City Point. Visitors can "Stand with Ruth" and take photos with the statue, but a timed reservation is required to maintain social distancing, according to City Point.
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March 12, 2021

Lincoln Center marks anniversary of NYC’s first COVID death with memorial events

To mark the anniversary of the first reported coronavirus death in New York City, the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts will host two memorial events this Sunday. At 12 p.m. on March 14, a virtual performance by the Young People's Chorus of New York City singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" will be available to view online. Later that evening, hundreds of candles will be lit around the Revson Fountain to honor the roughly 30,000 New Yorkers lost to the pandemic.
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March 11, 2021

100 new federal COVID-19 vaccine hubs to open in New York

More than 100 new coronavirus vaccine hubs funded by the federal government will soon open in New York, Sen. Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday. During Mayor Bill de Blasio's daily press briefing, the Senate Majority Leader said additional vaccines will be sent directly to sites at existing community health centers (CHC) to "supercharge" the vaccination effort.
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March 11, 2021

The Shed reopens in Hudson Yards next month with live music and comedy shows

As spring returns to New York City, so does its arts and culture scene. The Shed, the Hudson Yards performance center with a distinct moveable shell, announced this week it will reopen with a five-night indoor performance series kicking off on April 2. Following state guidelines, the capacity will be limited to 150 people and all attendees must present confirmation of a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours or vaccination completed at least two weeks before the event.
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