All articles by Devin Gannon

August 5, 2019

De Blasio secured mortgages for his Park Slope homes from bank tied to dubious deal with city

The mortgages secured by Mayor Bill de Blasio for his two Park Slope homes came from a bank linked to a firm that received millions of dollars from the city in a controversial housing deal. The Daily News reported on Monday that the founder of the bank that gave the mortgages to de Blasio is Abraham Podolsky, the brother of Jay and Stuart Podolsky, whose firm sold 17 buildings to the city for $173 million earlier this year. Critics have questioned the deal with the Podolsky brothers, who are known for owning poorly maintained properties, and City Comptroller Scott Stringer called on City Hall to release the deal's appraisals.
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August 2, 2019

Demolition of debated vacant oil tanks in Williamsburg begins

Ten decommissioned tanks located along the Williamsburg waterfront will get demolished by the city this week, quashing plans from organizers to transform the silos into public space. Over the last four years, a team of designers and park advocates, led by Karen Zabarsky and Stacey Anderson, has pushed for adaptive reuse of the vacant 50-foot tanks into possible performance space, greenhouses, and art galleries. But without enough support from public officials, the team's project, The Tanks at Bushwick Inlet Park, now comes to an end as the city begins razing the oil tanks.
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August 1, 2019

Camp for free under the stars in The Battery

It's your chance to have a free quintessential summer experience, albeit not typical a New York City one. The Battery Conservancy on Thursday will open a lottery for free tickets to camp at the historic 25-acre public park. As part of the Battery CampOut, families are provided with tents, campfire singalongs, s'mores, and a lightning bug show. But remember to bring your own sleeping bag.
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August 1, 2019

MTA board members are wealthier and whiter than straphangers

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which has the power to increase fares and approve service changes, looks nothing like the straphangers who use the transit system it oversees. A report released this week by the government watchdog group Reinvent Albany found MTA board members are richer, whiter, and more likely to live outside of New York City than riders.
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July 31, 2019

Real estate investors buy $1.2B worth of NYC market-rate rentals with plan to make them affordable

A group of real estate investors is buying 2,800 New York City rental apartments for $1.2 billion. But instead of keeping with the industry's custom of converting affordable units into market-rate homes, L+M Development Partners and its partner Invesco Real Estate plan on returning a chunk of those units to long-term regulation. The venture involves the purchase of five former Mitchell-Lama buildings in Manhattan, with four in Harlem and one on Roosevelt Island.
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July 31, 2019

NYC financed a record number of affordable homes for seniors and homeless New Yorkers this fiscal year

New York City added a record number of supportive housing units and affordable homes for homeless New Yorkers and seniors this fiscal year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday. While the total number of affordable units preserved or created is down to 25,299 this fiscal year from last year's 32,444, the city said it still expects to meet the mayor's goal of creating 300,000 affordable homes by 2026.
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July 31, 2019

Brooklyn Botanic Garden ramps up fight against proposed Crown Heights towers with new exhibit

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's fight against two high-rise towers in Crown Heights continues this week with the opening of a new educational exhibit. The display is part of the garden's larger "Fight for Sunlight" campaign opposing a proposal from developers to amend the area's current zoning and build two 39-story towers across the street. The garden argues the proposed towers on Franklin Avenue would obstruct necessary light from shining on the garden's 23 greenhouses, nurseries, and growing spaces, putting rare plants at risk.
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July 30, 2019

Monument honoring 19th century investigative journalist Nellie Bly coming to Roosevelt Island

An investigative journalist who exposed the horrible conditions of a New York City insane asylum will be honored with a memorial. In 1887, reporter Nellie Bly went undercover at the Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum, located on what is now Roosevelt Island, and documented the cruel treatment of women being held there. Her six-part investigative piece, "Ten Days in a Mad-House," led to major changes, including increased funding for the asylum and removal of abusive staff members. To recognize her achievements, a monument will be erected next year on Roosevelt Island.
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July 29, 2019

Trump’s labor relations board continues fight against Scabby the Rat

The giant inflatable rodent set up by unions outside of New York City construction projects is getting challenged in court. An advice memo from the general counsel at the National Labor Relations Board says inflatables, including famed Scabby the Rat, should be illegal for unions to use in protest. As Gothamist reported, Peter Robb, the President Donald Trump-appointed general counsel for the NLRB, said the big balloons like Scabby are "coercive" and "unlawful."
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July 26, 2019

A weed dispensary is opening in Williamsburg

Williamsburg is getting its first weed dispensary. According to the Commercial Observer, Remedy will open its first New York City location at the ground floor of the Pod Hotel on North 4th Street. Valley Agriceuticals, which manages the dispensary, is one of 10 companies licensed by the state to grow and sell marijuana.
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July 26, 2019

How much do you need to earn to afford a two-bedroom in NYC?

Manhattan requires the second-highest income in the country to afford an average two-bedroom apartment. A new report from SmartAsset analyzed how much a household needs to make in order to afford rent in the 25 largest cities in the United States. In Manhattan, New Yorkers would need to earn an annual salary of at least $162,857 to afford the average two-bedroom rent in the borough, currently around $3,800 per month.
Dig into the data
July 25, 2019

Renderings revealed for Manhattan’s first public ‘beach’

The Hudson River Park Trust unveiled on Wednesday a preliminary concept for its plan to bring a public beach to Manhattan. The Meatpacking District site, known as the Gansevoort Peninsula, measures about 5.5 acres on the waterfront and formerly served as a parking lot for the city's sanitation department. The new park will feature a beach area with kayak access, a sports field, a salt marsh, and areas to picnic and lounge.
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July 25, 2019

De Blasio to announce $58.4M bike safety plan after uptick in cyclist deaths

Update 7/25/19: De Blasio unveiled on Thursday his "Green Wave" plan, which includes spending $58.4 million over the next five years on making city streets safer for bikers. In addition to adding more protected bike lanes and redesigning intersections, the plan calls for a media campaign on cyclist safety, as well as community engagement programs.  Following a recent spike in cyclist deaths, Mayor Bill de Blasio will unveil on Thursday a $58.4 million plan to make streets safer. As first reported by the New York Times, the plan includes constructing more protected bike lanes, redesigning intersections, and hiring 80 new transportation workers over the next five years. The proposal comes after 17 cyclists were killed in New York City so far this year, seven more fatalities than all of 2018.
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July 25, 2019

First database in the country to track retail vacancies gets green light from NYC Council

The New York City Council on Tuesday passed legislation that requires the city to establish a public database of commercial properties and vacancy rates across the five boroughs. Introduced by Council Member Helen Rosenthal, the "Storefront Tracker" bill aims to provide information on current vacancies and those small city businesses most at risk. The database, the first of its kind in the country, will list the occupancy status of retail spaces online.
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July 24, 2019

NYC Council approves pilot program for air-conditioned ‘pet harbors’ outside of Brooklyn shops

Pets in Brooklyn may soon be able to wait more securely outside for their owners. The New York City Council on Tuesday approved a bill that asks the city to create a program for "pet harbors" on sidewalks next to commercial establishments. This will allow pet owners, for a fee, to leave animals in the climate-controlled, enclosed container, for no longer than an hour as they shop or get a cup of coffee.
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July 24, 2019

My 800sqft: See inside the memory-filled, minimalist Village pad of Museum Hack founder Nick Gray

A few years ago, a date brought Nick Gray to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and showed him all of the pieces she really loved. Something clicked. “The passion was contagious,” Nick said. “I went back to the museum dozens of times, iPad in hand, doing a deep dive into the pieces I found most interesting.” As this became a serious hobby, Nick, who has no background in art or history, began inviting friends to join him at the Met to teach them fun facts about lesser-known works of art and artifacts. What started as a new obsession with museums, grew into Museum Hack, a million-dollar company that leads “renegade” small-group tours of museums in New York City and four other cities. Nick’s enthusiasm follows him into his Greenwich Village apartment, where its minimalist design comes packed with memories. On a recent tour of his apartment--which boasts super tall ceilings, a skylight, and a wood-burning fireplace--he eagerly showed us a wall covered with polaroids of friends, his blue velvet couch inspired by a piece of furniture at the Met, and a large photo of "the craziest party" he's ever thrown. Ahead, tour Nick's bright pad, take his advice for museum newbies and learn about what he has planned next (it involves guacamole).
Meet Nick and see inside his apartment
July 23, 2019

A new seven-acre park will open under the Kosciuszko Bridge in Greenpoint

Plans to build a new seven-acre public park under the Kosciuszko Bridge in Greenpoint are moving forward. Last month, the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance unveiled designs for "Under the K," a linear public space that will feature four distinct spaces and stretch to Newtown Creek. Designed by Toronto-based architecture firm Public Work, the new park will feature access to the waterfront, public art installations, performances, and areas for recreation on land currently vacant.
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July 19, 2019

Construction of affordable housing complex on former juvenile jail site in Hunts Point set to begin

The first phase of a project that will bring more than 700 units of affordable housing to the Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point will get underway in the coming weeks, developers announced Tuesday. Dubbed the Peninsula, the mixed-use complex will rise on the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, which closed in 2011 after the city recognized its awful conditions and treatment of children. The first phase, costing about $121.5 million, includes the construction of 183 affordable units by 2021.
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July 18, 2019

LPC approves Bjarke Ingels’ plan for a rooftop addition at a Brooklyn Heights landmark

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved plans from starchitect Bjarke Ingels to build a rooftop addition at a landmarked building in Brooklyn Heights. As part of a penthouse renovation of the 29th and 30th floors of the St. George Tower at 111 Hicks Street, Ingels would construct a fake water tower to hold a new elevator shaft, raise the roof deck, and add a pool. As first reported by Brownstoner, the Danish architect, whose firm is known for New York City projects like The Eleventh and the Spiral, presented his plan to the commission as a personal project. "I have a massive self-interest because I hope to make it my home," he said.
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July 17, 2019

Queens’ priciest condo ups asking price to $3.9M

The most expensive condo in Queens just raised its asking price. The penthouse at 46-30 Center Boulevard in Long Island City made news last year when its price actually dropped from $4.25 million to $3.65 million during the so-called Amazon effect, a time when condo prices soared in the neighborhood as the tech giant prepared to move there. Sticking with its outlier trend, the penthouse is now listed for $3.988 million, despite Amazon pulling out of its planned headquarters in LIC earlier this year.
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July 16, 2019

NY real estate groups file lawsuit challenging new rent laws, calling them ‘unconstitutional’

A group of real estate groups and individual property owners filed a lawsuit Monday, challenging newly passed laws that strengthen rent and tenant protections in New York City. Last month, Democratic officials in Albany passed a landmark package of bills that close loopholes that have allowed landlords to increase rents and deregulate stabilized apartments. The lawsuit, filed by the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA), the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), and seven individual property owners, claims that the laws, as well as the entire rent regulation system, violate the 14th and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, as reported by The Real Deal.
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July 16, 2019

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory proposes new stand just steps from old Fulton Ferry spot

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory will open a new stand in Dumbo, just steps from its former home at Fulton Ferry Landing. After 17 years of operation in the landmarked Marine Fire Boat Station, the ice cream shop was not chosen by the Brooklyn Bridge Park during last year's request for proposals process. Instead, the organization went with Ample Hills Creamery as the building's new tenant. But according to Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory filed plans with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to open a new stand across the street from its old home.
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July 16, 2019

My 600sqft: How interior designer Habiba Koroma keeps her grown-up Harlem home kid-friendly

Habiba Koroma always had an eye for design, but she never imagined her passion could be pursued professionally. It was not until her mother became ill that she gained the courage to follow her decorating dreams. But it wasn’t simple. After leaving her job at a nonprofit, Habiba went on many informational interviews, held an internship at a residential firm, and received her degree from the Parsons School of Design. Now as an interior design consultant for Restoration Hardware, Habiba has been able to surround herself with the latest trends, all while learning about materials and getting inspiration for her own place. Both Habiba's skill set and enthusiasm for design are on display in her Central Harlem apartment, which has been featured on Apartment Therapy and wallpaper company Spoonflower. Not only has she expertly mixed colors and patterns, but she's also created a special--and kid-friendly--space for her three-year-old son Miles. Habiba transformed an IKEA bunk bed into a fun hideout for Miles, filled with books, toys, and a whiteboard. There's even a colorful ball pit on the top bunk. Ahead, meet Habiba, tour her apartment, and learn how she keeps things Miles-friendly without ever sacrificing style.
Meet Habiba and tour her pad
July 15, 2019

City presents new design for its East Side Coastal Resiliency Project following community feedback

The city unveiled last week an updated design for its plan to protect an area stretching from the Lower East Side to East 25th Street from flooding. The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) presented on Thursday its preliminary design for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) to Community Board 3, as Curbed NY reported. In response to concerns from residents about the closure of East River Park during the construction period, the city's updated design incorporates community suggestions, including a new amphitheater and an outdoor fitness area.
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July 11, 2019

Hundreds of bone fragments to be reburied under Washington Square Park

While upgrading water mains under Washington Square Park in 2015, city workers unearthed two 19th-century burial vaults containing the skeletal remains of at least a dozen people. As part of Landmarks Preservation Commission protocol, intact burials were left untouched, but the city had removed several hundred bone fragments. Four years later, plans to rebury the remains under the park are moving forward as the Parks and Recreation Department presents its idea to place the fragments in a "coffin-sized" box, according to the Villager.
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