All articles by Devin Gannon

For artists by artists: Inside the landmarked studios of the 144-year-old Art Students League of New York

January 31, 2019

For artists by artists: Inside the landmarked studios of the 144-year-old Art Students League of New York

By Devin Gannon

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and businesses of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re going inside the landmarked building of the Art Students League of New York in Midtown. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! In 1875, a group of young students broke away from the National Academy of Design and founded the Art Students League of New York to pursue a new and more modern method of art education. What started as a small group of rebellious artists in a 20-foot by 30-foot space, turned into an internationally-recognized, landmarked institution, which continues to set the standard for art training today. In its 144th year, the Art Students League’s mission has remained unchanged since its founding: to spread the language of art to anyone interested in learning. The nonprofit has been located in the American Fine Arts Society Building at 215 West 57th Street since 1892. A designated New York City landmark, the French Renaissance-style building was designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh, the architect behind the Plaza Hotel and the Dakota. Ken Park, the director of marketing and communication for the League, recently gave 6sqft a behind-the-scenes tour of the historic building and shared some insight into this storied establishment.
See inside

City releases Gowanus rezoning draft with a focus on waterfront resiliency

Via NYC Planning

January 30, 2019

City releases Gowanus rezoning draft with a focus on waterfront resiliency

By Devin Gannon

The Department of City Planning on Wednesday released a draft of its plan to rezone Gowanus as a way to bring more affordable housing, jobs, and community resources to the Brooklyn neighborhood. In the works for nearly three years, the proposal includes a waterfront access plan that creates public walkways centered around the canal, as well as builds a more resilient shoreline.
See the proposal

Policy

One Times Square owner looking to construct observatory for prime New Year’s Eve views

January 30, 2019

One Times Square owner looking to construct observatory for prime New Year’s Eve views

By Devin Gannon

The most looked-at building in the world is getting a makeover. According to Crain's, Jamestown will redevelop One Times Square, the 23-story building that garners the attention of millions for its famed ball drop every New Year's Eve. The owner plans on installing 32,00 square feet of new signage, including a 350-foot-tall digital sign. To cash even further on its prime location, Jamestown may construct an observatory for NYE revelers to be at the heart of ball-drop festivities.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

Co-working firm The Wing to lease the East Village’s former Stuyvesant Polyclinic building

The Wing will move its headquarters to 137 Second Avenue (on the right); via Wikimedia

January 29, 2019

Co-working firm The Wing to lease the East Village’s former Stuyvesant Polyclinic building

By Devin Gannon

Co-working network The Wing is moving its corporate headquarters to the former Stuyvesant Polyclinic building in the East Village, the Real Deal reported Monday. The space on Second Avenue is connected to the Ottendorfer Public Library, the first free public library in New York City. The adjoining buildings are both designated city landmarks, built as a pair in 1883 by German-born architect William Schickel. The Wing will lease all of the 22,000-square-foot building at 137 Second Avenue, which spans four floors.
See inside

Real Estate Trends

BQE repair plan could block view of NYC skyline from Brooklyn Heights

Rendering courtesy of A Better Way NYC

January 28, 2019

BQE repair plan could block view of NYC skyline from Brooklyn Heights

By Devin Gannon

One of the city's plans to rehabilitate a 1.5 mile stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) includes building an elevated highway next to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. But opponents of the repair plan, which requires the pedestrian promenade to close during construction, say the roadway would block views of the Manhattan skyline. Renderings created for activist group A Better Way NYC shows how an overpass would block sweeping views of the city, as the New York Post reported.
More here

Transit

MTA is paying outside contractors $9.5M to deep clean subway cars and stations

Via MTA on Flickr

January 28, 2019

MTA is paying outside contractors $9.5M to deep clean subway cars and stations

By Devin Gannon

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is paying outside contractors $9.5 million to clean 3,000 subway cars and 100 stations, the Daily News reported last week. While the transit agency currently employs thousands of station cleaners, the MTA is contracting the dirty job out because the cleaning, as an MTA spokesperson told the News, is a "level of work that our maintenance employees do not perform."
Details here

Transit

See how the redevelopment of Union Square’s Tammany Hall is shaping up

Construction progressing on site; photo via 44 Union Square on Instagram with permission and Newmark Knight Frank

January 25, 2019

See how the redevelopment of Union Square’s Tammany Hall is shaping up

By Devin Gannon

Construction of the glassy turtle shell-shaped dome on top of Union Square's landmarked Tammany Hall building is officially underway. The building at 44 Union Square, formerly home to NYC's Democratic party machine, is being transformed into modern office and retail space. New construction photos provided to 6sqft show the start of the unconventional dome's installation, with the diagonally intersecting glass and steel now visible from the street.
Construction shots this way

New Developments

All of the places in NYC offering perks to furloughed federal employees

January 25, 2019

All of the places in NYC offering perks to furloughed federal employees

By Devin Gannon

New York City is stepping up to help furloughed federal employees who have been affected by the government shutdown, now on its 35th day. Federal workers who have missed paychecks due to the shutdown, the longest ever in history, qualify for perks at various spots across the five boroughs. With a valid government ID, federal workers can enjoy complimentary goodies, including free admission to museums, a free Broadway show, free food, and even free hotel rooms. And after filling up on freebies, join federal employees and their supporters at a rally to end the shutdown on Friday in Lower Manhattan.
See the list

First look at Amtrak’s new amenity space in revamped Moynihan Train Hall

Rendering of Metropolitan Lounge via FXCollaborative

January 24, 2019

First look at Amtrak’s new amenity space in revamped Moynihan Train Hall

By Devin Gannon

New renderings, as well as additional details, were released this week of Amtrak's new amenity space in Moynihan Train Hall. ClubAcela is getting rebranded as the Metropolitan Lounge and moving across the street from Penn Station to the new train hall, which is set to open in early 2021. Designed by FXCollaborative, the sleek new space offers more room, private restrooms, free WiFi, and better food and drink options.
See the renderings

MTA board delays vote on proposed fare hike

January 24, 2019

MTA board delays vote on proposed fare hike

By Devin Gannon

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted on Thursday to table making a decision on a proposed fare hike until February. The board was set to vote on two proposals to raise NYC subway and bus, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North fares. But board member Peter Ward said he was worried about increasing fares without looking at alternative revenue options. "I'm concerned we're making a decision today when we need to be a little bit slower, a little more thoughtful, and consider a few more options," Ward, who was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said during the board meeting.
More here

Popular Articles

Billionaire Ken Griffin buys $240M NYC penthouse, the most expensive home sold in the U.S.

Via Vornado Realty Trust and Robert A.M. Stern Architects

January 23, 2019

Billionaire Ken Griffin buys $240M NYC penthouse, the most expensive home sold in the U.S.

By Devin Gannon

Update 1/29/19: The penthouse officially closed on January 23, 2019, for $239,958,219, more than was originally reported. Billionaire Ken Griffin has closed on a penthouse at 220 Central Park South for $238 million, setting the record for the most expensive home ever sold in the United States, as the Wall Street Journal first reported. Griffin, who founded Citadel, first signed the contract to buy a 24,000-square-foot unit at the under-construction tower in 2015. The hedge fund mogul reportedly picked up the pricey digs as "a place to stay when he's in town," since his company is looking to expand its footprint in New York City.
More on record-breaking deal

Real Estate Trends

Late playwright Neil Simon’s three apartments at the Ritz Tower are for sale

January 23, 2019

Late playwright Neil Simon’s three apartments at the Ritz Tower are for sale

By Devin Gannon

A group of apartments in Midtown owned by late Broadway playwright Neil Simon are on the market, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The three apartments are in the Ritz Tower, an Emery Roth-designed 42-story building in Midtown East and range in price from $1.5 million to $2.8 million. Simon, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who was best known for plays like "The Odd Couple," died at age 91 last August.
Take a look around

Second-tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere may rise across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Tower Fifth rendering by TMRW courtesy Gensler

January 23, 2019

Second-tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere may rise across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral

By Devin Gannon

The developers behind the distinct supertall at 432 Park Avenue want to take a second shot at altering New York City's skyline. Harry Macklowe submitted a preliminary application to the city's planning department for a 1,551-foot-tall skyscraper between 51st and 52nd Streets in Midtown across from St. Patrick's Cathedral, the New York Times reported. If the city approves the project, Tower Fifth, the name given to the proposed tower by Macklowe Properties, would become the second-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
See inside the proposed supertall

VIDEO: See a time-lapse of the TWA Hotel being constructed at JFK

Photo by Max Touhey

January 23, 2019

VIDEO: See a time-lapse of the TWA Hotel being constructed at JFK

By Devin Gannon

Officially in its final months of construction, the TWA Hotel is nearing touchdown at John F. Kennedy Airport. Led by MCR and Morse Development, the repurposing of Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center into a 512-room hotel and event space is set to wrap up this spring. And while 6sqft has followed the exciting project's progress since it broke ground in 2016, a time-lapse video recently released by the developers show how the two, six-story hotel wings have taken shape behind Saarinen's iconic TWA Flight Center over the last two years.
Watch the time-lapse

Thousands of NYCHA residents had no heat or hot water on dangerously cold day

Over 2,800 residents at the Bushwick Houses in Brooklyn lost heat and/or hot water on Monday; via Flickr

January 22, 2019

Thousands of NYCHA residents had no heat or hot water on dangerously cold day

By Devin Gannon

In what has become an all-too-familiar story, thousands of public housing residents in New York City were without heat and hot water on Monday, when temperatures dropped to single digits. On the coldest day of the year, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) reported nearly 12,000 residents were experiencing heat and hot-water outages. A similar service disruption occurred roughly one year ago; during two weeks of brutal cold and a major snowstorm, the city had received 22,000 heat and hot water complaints, with a majority of those from NYCHA developments.
More here

Bronx icons radiate light in Rico Gatson’s murals at reopened 167th Street station

Beacons (2018) © Rico Gaston, NYCT 167th Street Station. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Audre Lorde portrait derived from a photo by Jack Mitchell

January 22, 2019

Bronx icons radiate light in Rico Gatson’s murals at reopened 167th Street station

By Devin Gannon

A series of bright mosaic murals created by artist Rico Gatson was revealed last week at the 167th Street B, D station in the Bronx, which recently reopened after months of repair work. The artwork, "Beacons," features eight portraits of figures who have contributed to culture and society and who also have a special connection to the broader New York City community. Figures honored include Gil Scott-Heron, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Reggie Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor.
See the artwork

NYC will lose $500M monthly if government shutdown continues

Via Michael Appleton/ Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

January 18, 2019

NYC will lose $500M monthly if government shutdown continues

By Devin Gannon

If the federal government shutdown continues into March, the city will lose $500 million monthly, Mayor Bill de Blasio warned Thursday. Without funding for federally funded government programs, more than two million New Yorkers could lose access to vital benefits, including food stamps, Section 8 vouchers, and public school lunch. The shutdown, now the longest in history, began last month after Congress failed to reach an appropriations deal and as President Donald Trump refuses to withdraw his request for a $5.6 billion border wall.
More this way

L train shutdown is really cancelled this time, MTA says

January 18, 2019

L train shutdown is really cancelled this time, MTA says

By Devin Gannon

"The total shutdown of both tunnels and all service scheduled for April 27 will not be necessary," reads a statement from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released Thursday. The announcement comes just a few days after the MTA held an "emergency" meeting to present the agency's board with information about the new L train plan ahead of a vote on the project. But it appears the MTA will argue that the new plan, which would not require a total shutdown of subway service, does not need board approval to move forward after all.
More here

LPC approves sky bridge between landmarked Williamsburg church and new residential tower

Via Syndicate Architecture and Li/Saltzman Architects for LPC

January 17, 2019

LPC approves sky bridge between landmarked Williamsburg church and new residential tower

By Devin Gannon

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved a plan to build a sky bridge between a historic 19th-century church in Williamsburg and a neighboring residential tower. The new mixed-use building is currently under construction at 304 Rodney Street, next to the landmarked St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church. As Brownstoner reported, commissioners expressed concern over the financial feasibility of the project and whether proceeds from the sale of the church's air rights would be enough to cover the substantial work planned.
More here

Where I Work: How design firm ICRAVE makes memorable experiences at its Nomad studio

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and businesses of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re going inside innovative design firm ICRAVE’s Nomad studio. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch!

January 17, 2019

Where I Work: How design firm ICRAVE makes memorable experiences at its Nomad studio

By Devin Gannon

According to the founder of hospitality design firm ICRAVE, Lionel Ohayon, it’s not about the materials used in a project, but the memories created. “I always say, people may hate or like our spaces, but the most important thing is that they remember them,” the Toronto-native told us. Through design, the innovative studio focuses on creating memorable experiences for its clients, a long and varied list that includes the Dallas Cowboys and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The firm’s mission is ingrained in the culture at ICRAVE, a 40-member team consisting of graphic designers, architects, and public relations pros, an office where creativity is fostered through a mixture of collaboration and independence. The open layout of the studio makes this work culture possible, with custom-designed doors and partitions to transform the space into however necessary. On a recent tour of ICRAVE’s studio near Madison Square Park, Ohayon told 6sqft about the firm's wide range of projects and how his team turns ideas into unforgettable adventures.
See iCRAVE's studio and meet Lionel

Where I Work

NYC added a record-breaking 34,160 affordable homes in 2018

Via CC

January 16, 2019

NYC added a record-breaking 34,160 affordable homes in 2018

By Devin Gannon

The city created and preserved 34,160 affordable homes in 2018 alone, 40 percent more than the record set last year, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday. And, according to the mayor, 10,099 new homes were financed last year, another record for new construction in the city. The additional homes fall under de Blasio's Housing New York 2.0, which aims to create and preserve 300,000 affordable homes by 2026. To date, the housing plan has helped finance nearly 122,000 affordable apartments since 2014.
Get the details

Pay tribute to your family’s heritage at Ellis Island’s American Immigrant Wall of Honor

January 16, 2019

Pay tribute to your family’s heritage at Ellis Island’s American Immigrant Wall of Honor

By Devin Gannon

There's a steel wall in the Hudson River that celebrates immigrants, the only place in the United States where heritage can be honored at a national monument. The American Immigrant Wall of Honor first opened on Ellis Island in 1990 to recognize the country's many immigrants and to raise money for the site's National Museum of Immigration and the Statue of Liberty. Currently, there are 770 panels engraved with the names of nearly 775,000 immigrants. But spots on the wall are filling up, as the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Just five panels remain empty, enough space for roughly 3,300 names.
No, not that wall

City Living

Five years ago, transit officials rejected L train plan similar to Cuomo’s over safety concerns

January 15, 2019

Five years ago, transit officials rejected L train plan similar to Cuomo’s over safety concerns

By Devin Gannon

Earlier this month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo shocked New Yorkers when he called off the 15-month shutdown of L-train service, part of the plan to fix the Canarsie Tunnel which had been in the works for years. Instead, the governor, along with an expert panel of engineers, presented a new, never-been-done-before plan that would require less construction in the century-old tunnel. But the New York Times reported on Tuesday that a similar plan was rejected by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority nearly five years ago over safety and feasibility concerns.
More here

173-unit project planned for the Greenpoint waterfront moves forward

Previous rendering by Young Kim for Atlantis Arts Studio/ Quadrum Global

January 15, 2019

173-unit project planned for the Greenpoint waterfront moves forward

By Devin Gannon

New permits were filed this month for a 14-story development on the Greenpoint waterfront, a residential project 6sqft first reported on over two years ago. According to the documents filed with the city's Department of Buildings, 173 units are planned for the Brooklyn development at 53 Huron Street, which faces the East River and stretches a block to West Street (h/t YIMBY).
Details here

Emergency MTA meeting on Cuomo’s L train plan set for Tuesday

Via Gov. Cuomo’s Flickr

January 14, 2019

Emergency MTA meeting on Cuomo’s L train plan set for Tuesday

By Devin Gannon

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday will hold an emergency public meeting for its board to review Gov. Andrew Cuomo's L train reconstruction proposal. Earlier this month, the governor unexpectedly presented a new plan to fix the Carnasie Tunnel that would not require it to close for 15 months and halt L train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, but instead be repaired on nights and weekends. The MTA board is expected to question the agency on the feasibility of the new plan, which was announced by Cuomo just three months before the shutdown was set to begin in April.
Find out more

Transit

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