All articles by Devin Gannon

Jersey City takes back the Hudson with massive July 4th fireworks display and a Snoop Dogg concert

July 3, 2018

Jersey City takes back the Hudson with massive July 4th fireworks display and a Snoop Dogg concert

By Devin Gannon

Photo by Jennifer Brown for Jersey City A bigger, louder and longer Fourth of July celebration is coming to Jersey City this year. Beginning at noon on Wednesday, a 10-hour free festival will hit the Hudson River waterfront, featuring several beer gardens, food trucks, a concert headlined by Snoop Dogg and the state's largest fireworks display. The all-day event, called 50STAR FIRESHOW, is estimated to welcome more than 200,000 people to Exchange Place. Jersey City brought back its own fireworks event in 2014 after NYC moved its display to the East River, and the size of celebration has grown each year. "I think the Jersey City side of Hudson River is going to be the place that people want to be for the 4th of July this year. Period. Between Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Grucci, and Snoop, we are raising the bar," Mayor Steven Fulop said.
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Events & Things To Do

Billionaires’ Row coalition sues NYC to keep homeless men out of their neighborhood

July 3, 2018

Billionaires’ Row coalition sues NYC to keep homeless men out of their neighborhood

By Devin Gannon

Image © 6sqft A group of New Yorkers who live near Billionaires' Row, an area with some of the most expensive residences in the world, filed a lawsuit on Monday to block a homeless shelter from opening in the Midtown West neighborhood. The West 58th Street Coalition sued New York City to stop the conversion of the old Park Savoy Hotel at 158 West 58th Street into a homeless shelter for men, a plan announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio in February. The coalition claims the shelter, which would house 140 single men, would have "an enormous impact on our densely populated, narrow, high-pedestrian-traffic street." While describing themselves as a group of "compassionate New Yorkers," the Change.org petition says instead of the city paying $50,000 per person to stay at the Park Savoy, "a homeless man could have his own apartment, living in the neighborhood where he came from." The new shelter sits behind One57, a known for the city’s most expensive residential sale ever: a penthouse that sold for $100 million in 2015.
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Policy

MTA launches streamlined app that provides service updates in real time

Via MTA on Flickr

July 2, 2018

MTA launches streamlined app that provides service updates in real time

By Devin Gannon

After a six-month development process, which included working with over 2,000 commuters, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched on Monday a smartphone app that offers real-time updates for the subway, buses and trains, as well as trip planning options and service updates. Because the app, called MyMTA, is a beta version, the MTA is asking for feedback from straphangers about the app's functions and what needs to be added or improved. The authority also gave their website a much-needed upgrade, with a more sleeker web interface.
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‘For Lady Liberty’ campaign launches to help fund the Statue of Liberty’s new museum

Rendering by FXCollaborative

July 2, 2018

‘For Lady Liberty’ campaign launches to help fund the Statue of Liberty’s new museum

By Devin Gannon

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation this week will launch a fundraising campaign to help finish construction on its new $70 million museum. The foundation's campaign, "For Lady Liberty," seeks to raise $10 million to "add the finishing touches" to the 26,000-square-foot museum on Liberty Island. When it opens in May 2019, the space, designed by FXCollaborative and ESI Design, will feature an immersive theater and gallery that showcases the statue's original torch and the Liberty Star Mural, a panoramic display with the names of donors.
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Historic fireboat gets marbled ‘dazzle’ design before it sets sail around the NY Harbor this summer

Photo by Nicholas Knight

June 29, 2018

Historic fireboat gets marbled ‘dazzle’ design before it sets sail around the NY Harbor this summer

By Devin Gannon

Marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, local artist Tauba Auerbach has transformed a historic fireboat into a modern "dazzle" ship. First invented by British painter Norman Wilkinson during WWI, dazzle camouflage patterns were painted onto ships to distort their forms and confuse enemy submarines. The Public Art Fund and 14-18 NOW, a U.K.-based art program, commisioned the painting of the John J. Harvey fireboat, which first launched in 1931 and helped the FDNY extinguish fires until it retired in the 1990s. "With Flow Separation, I didn't want to ignore the John J. Harvey's identity, so I took the boat's usual paint job and scrambled it. Dragged a comb through it," Auerbach said. "The palette also exaggerates the fact that 'dazzle' was more about confusing and outsmarting, than about hiding."
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Apply for a $960/month one-bedroom apartment in colorful Bushwick

June 29, 2018

Apply for a $960/month one-bedroom apartment in colorful Bushwick

By Devin Gannon

Photo via bslax28 on Flickr An affordable housing lottery launched this week for just two one-bedroom apartments in the heart of hip Bushwick in Brooklyn. Located at 176 Knickerbocker Avenue, the newly constructed rental sits just off bustling Flushing Avenue, as well as near beloved spots like pizza place Roberta's, Art Deco cocktail bar The Narrows and music venue House of Yes. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the two available $960/month one-bedroom units.
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Affordable Housing

MoMA PS1 unveils interactive exhibit of moving mirrors for its summer music series

June 29, 2018

MoMA PS1 unveils interactive exhibit of moving mirrors for its summer music series

By Devin Gannon

Photo by Pablo Enriquez In MoMA PS1's temporary exhibit at its sprawling outdoor courtyard in Long Island City, people become the art. Hide & Seek, created by Jennifer Newsom and Tom Carruthers of Dream The Combine, features moveable mirrors that offer surprising and dislocating perspectives of the courtyard and the crowd looking into them. Newsome and Carruthers were named the winners of the 2018 Young Architects Program, which challenges emerging architects to design a creative, sustainable outdoor installation. Hide & Seek will be on view at MoMA PS1 between June 28 and September 3.
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Events & Things To Do

Nearly 200 affordable apartments up for grabs in the South Bronx, from $548/month

June 28, 2018

Nearly 200 affordable apartments up for grabs in the South Bronx, from $548/month

By Devin Gannon

The Mulberry via PRCNY & Camber Property Group Across two brand new affordable housing buildings in the South Bronx, there are 191 units available. The Hemlock, at 1000 Fox Street, and the Mulberry, at 960 Simpson Street, have a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments as part of a newly launched housing lottery. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, which range from a $548/month studio to a $1,831/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Live across from Crown Heights food hall Berg’n, from $1,769/month

June 27, 2018

Live across from Crown Heights food hall Berg’n, from $1,769/month

By Devin Gannon

Photo via Berg'n An affordable housing lottery launched Wednesday for four newly constructed, middle-income apartments in Crown Heights. Located at 916 Bergen Street, the rental building sits directly across from local favorite, Berg'n, a beer/ food hall from the founders of Smorgasburg. Residents will have access to a bike room and the building's rooftop. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, including one $1,769/month studio and three $2,635/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

PHOTOS: Phase two of Hunter’s Point South Park officially opens on the LIC waterfront

June 27, 2018

PHOTOS: Phase two of Hunter’s Point South Park officially opens on the LIC waterfront

By Devin Gannon

Photo © 6sqft The Hunter's Point South Park extension officially opened Wednesday, over three years after construction began at the Long Island City site. The second phase adds 5.5 acres south to the existing park, which currently has a basketball court, playground, two dog-runs, and a volleyball sand pit. The city's Economic Development Corporation and Department of Parks and Recreation developed the project, which measures 11-acres from 50th Avenue to Newton Creek on the East River. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, local officials and community members gathered to celebrate the project's opening. "This is a beautiful park," State Sen. Michael Gianaris said. "Enough to make our friends across in Manhattan look over and be jealous that they don't have anything as beautiful on their side of the River."
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Architecture And Design

Popular Articles

Plan released for a seven-building, 800+ unit affordable development in Brownsville

Rendering via L+M and Curtis+Ginsberg Architects

June 26, 2018

Plan released for a seven-building, 800+ unit affordable development in Brownsville

By Devin Gannon

Plans for a seven-building affordable housing development in Brooklyn's Brownsville were released this week, as part of the city's revitalization effort in the neighborhood. As part of the "Brownsville Plan," the proposed project includes eight-to nine-story residential buildings with new retail and community space along Livonia Avenue. The project would extend the existing Marcus Garvey Apartments, a housing complex built in the mid-1970s that currently has many underutilized parking lots (h/t YIMBY). Overall, the more than 900,000-square-foot development will bring over 840 affordable apartments, currently estimated to be set aside for New Yorkers earning 80 percent or below the area median income.
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NYC needs to invest nearly $6B over the next decade to fix aging park infrastructure, report says

June 26, 2018

NYC needs to invest nearly $6B over the next decade to fix aging park infrastructure, report says

By Devin Gannon

Photo via Geoff Stearns on Flickr A report released Tuesday by the Center for an Urban Future found that while city parks are seeing record use by the public, officials have underinvested in their basic maintenance and infrastructure for decades. The average city park underwent its last major renovation in 1997, despite being on average 73 years old. The think-tank estimates an investment of $5.8 billion over the next decade is needed to address the repair and replacement of existing infrastructure, a number which does not include the cost of constructing new structures. "The subway system isn’t the only vital piece of infrastructure in New York that is aging and in need of investment,” Jonathan Bowles, executive director of CUF, said in a statement. "Parks in every borough are experiencing infrastructure problems brought by age and magnified by record usage and decades of under-investment in parks maintenance."
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New renderings and a 2022 deadline for Cuomo’s AirTrain to LaGuardia

June 25, 2018

New renderings and a 2022 deadline for Cuomo’s AirTrain to LaGuardia

By Devin Gannon

Via Governor Cuomo's office Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday signed legislation that jumpstarts the construction of the AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport by letting the state use eminent domain to secure land for the project. Passed by the state legislature last week, the bill permits the state to acquire parcels of land already owned by the City or MTA between Willets Point and the airport, allowing the train to run along Grand Central Parkway. LGA is the only major airport on the East Coast without a rail connection, with 86 percent of travelers using cars to access it. "How can you not have a rail train to the city from a New York airport? I mean, it's just incomprehensible, right?" Cuomo said at the bill signing event. According to the governor's office, the train could bring passengers via the 7-train or LIRR trains between Midtown and the airport within 30 minutes.
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PHOTOS: NYC’s first LGBTQ monument opens in Greenwich Village

Photo by Tia Richards for 6sqft

June 25, 2018

PHOTOS: NYC’s first LGBTQ monument opens in Greenwich Village

By Devin Gannon

New York's first public monument to the LGBTQ community opened Sunday in the Greenwich Village, a historically significant neighborhood for the gay rights movement. Located in Hudson River Park and designed by local artist Anthony Goicolea, the monument honors the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, as well as all victims of hate and violence. "This memorial saddens us, when we think about the Orlando 49 senseless deaths, but it also enlightens us, and it also inspires us," Cuomo said on Sunday. "It inspires New Yorkers to do what New Yorkers have always done - what Anthony was referring to: to push forward, to keep going forward on that journey until we reach the destination that the Statue of Liberty promised in the first place."
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Roast, record, repeat: How Toby’s Estate brews the perfect cup of coffee at its Brooklyn cafe and roastery

June 25, 2018

Roast, record, repeat: How Toby’s Estate brews the perfect cup of coffee at its Brooklyn cafe and roastery

By Devin Gannon

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring the Williamsburg cafe and roastery of Toby's Estate Coffee. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! When you walk into Toby’s Estate Coffee, the smell of freshly brewed coffee hits you immediately. And thanks to the towering roasting machine in the back of the Williamsburg coffee shop (which roasts about 50 lbs of coffee at a time), the sweet-bitter aroma really lingers. While the location on North 6th Street between Berry Street and Bedford Avenue was the first Toby’s in New York City, the coffee connoisseurs have since sprouted to other boroughs, with three cafes in Manhattan and most recently one in Long Island City. Toby’s, which originated in Australia, has served up specialty small-batch coffee in NYC since 2012, bringing in some eclectic flavors to their roster of roasts. Currently, the shop is offering a Citron Espresso Tonic, with tonic water, ice, handmade citron simple syrup and candied oranges. (We tried it. It was delicious.) On an unseasonably warm day this spring, Toby's gave 6sqft a tour of its Brooklyn shop, which boasts enough square footage to fit its roastery and cafe, as well as plenty of seating. Ahead, see inside the sunlight-filled flagship space and hear from Toby's staff on their "roast, record, taste, adjust, and repeat" process that brews the perfect cup of coffee.
See the cafe and learn more about the roasting process

New renderings and details for Perkins Eastman’s 730-foot tower at controversial Two Bridges site

259 Clinton Street via Perkins Eastman

June 25, 2018

New renderings and details for Perkins Eastman’s 730-foot tower at controversial Two Bridges site

By Devin Gannon

Additional details and a new rendering have been unveiled this week for a 62-story Lower East Side skyscraper designed by Perkins Eastman Architects, nearly two years after 6sqft first wrote about the project. Located at 259 Clinton Street, the tower is a part of a controversial three-building project coming to the waterfront of the Two Bridges neighborhood. According to YIMBY, latest plans for 259 Clinton Street, developed by Starret Development, call for a 730-foot tower, slightly higher than an earlier 724-foot proposal.
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Two affordable one-bedrooms in Bed-Stuy up for grabs for $985/month

June 22, 2018

Two affordable one-bedrooms in Bed-Stuy up for grabs for $985/month

By Devin Gannon

Photo via CityRealty Act quickly: Just two one-bedroom apartments are available at a new rental building in Brookyln's Bed-Stuy neighborhood. The rental at 88 Hart Street sits between Marcy and Tompkins Avenues and only a few blocks from the Kosciuszko Pool and the Herbert Von King Park, a historic green space designed by Frederick Law Olmsted that also has a cultural arts center. Plus, the building includes a laundry room. New Yorkers who earn 60 percent of the area median income, or between $33,772 and $50,100 annually, can apply for the affordable $985/month one-bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

Construction well underway for interactive LGBTQ monument in Greenwich Village

Rendering by Anthony Goicolea via Gov. Cuomo’s office

June 21, 2018

Construction well underway for interactive LGBTQ monument in Greenwich Village

By Devin Gannon

A monument to the LGBTQ community is taking shape in Hudson River Park along the Greenwich Village waterfront. Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo chose Brooklyn-based artist Anthony Goicolea to design the monument, aimed at honoring both the LGBT rights movement and the victims of the 2016 Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Although the Hudson River Park Trust told 6sqft an opening date of the installation isn't known yet, Urban Omnibus reported the monument is expected to be completed this month, coinciding with Pride Month.
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Help preserve the untold stories of the Stonewall Riots by donating personal photos, letters

June 21, 2018

Help preserve the untold stories of the Stonewall Riots by donating personal photos, letters

By Devin Gannon

Via Wikimedia Did you participate in the Stonewall Inn Riots of 1969 and the period of LGBTQ activism in New York City between 1968 and 1971? Do you know someone who did? If so, consider contributing pride memorabilia from that moment in history to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, which is compiling a collection to preserve the history of Stonewall. The project, Stonewall Forever, launched last year after Google granted the LGBT Center $1 million to preserve oral histories and experiences of those present during the riots.
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History

The city wants you to nominate historic NYC women who deserve a public monument

June 20, 2018

The city wants you to nominate historic NYC women who deserve a public monument

By Devin Gannon

Statue of Eleanor Roosevelt on Riverside Drive is just one of a handful of monuments to women in NYC; via Wikimedia City officials announced on Wednesday an initiative aimed at bringing more commemorations of historic New York City women to public spaces. First lady Chirlane McCray and Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen are seeking ideas of women or events in women's history that should be honored with monuments. The Department of Cultural Affairs has committed up to $10 million for the program, called She Built NYC!. "This is a first step to creating a public art collection that more accurately represents the diversity of New York City's history," McCray told NY1.
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Preservationists, architects urge LPC to landmark Philip Johnson’s AT&T Building

June 20, 2018

Preservationists, architects urge LPC to landmark Philip Johnson’s AT&T Building

By Devin Gannon

During a nearly two-hour public hearing on Tuesday, passionate preservationists, architects, and community groups testified in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission in support of designating the postmodern skyscraper at 550 Madison Avenue as an individual landmark. Best known as the AT&T Building, the 37-story tower was designed by Philip Johnson, along with his partner John Burgee, and completed in 1984. As postmodernism's first skyscraper, 550 Madison has stood out for its pink-gray granite facade, arched entryway and Chippendale-inspired crown. A wide range of people on Tuesday voiced support for giving 550 Madison landmark designation, including architectural critic Paul Goldberger. In his testimony, Goldberger cited his own 1978 New York Times review of the building, before it was built, when he called the AT&T Building "a major monument" of postmodernism and "the most provocative and daring skyscraper to be proposed for New York since the Chrysler Building."
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Policy

David Adjaye reveals interiors for luxury FiDi condo, his first NYC tower

Renderings by Binyan

June 19, 2018

David Adjaye reveals interiors for luxury FiDi condo, his first NYC tower

By Devin Gannon

With construction officially underway at 130 William Street and sales launching for the 244 condos later this month, Sir David Adjaye hosted an event last night to reveal the interiors of his 800-foot Financial District tower. And they're just as chic as expected, with finishes made from materials sourced from all over the world and hardware designed by the starchitect himself. Adjaye Associates collaborated with Hill West Architects on the project. "In defining the design for 130 William, I not only sought to celebrate New York City’s heritage of masonry architecture, referencing the historical architecture once pervasive upon one of the city’s earliest streets," Adjaye said. "However, and more importantly, 130 William has been crafted to focus on the new possibilities of urban, vertical living."
See the renderings here

Reaching over 1,000 feet, 35 Hudson Yards tops out as the mega-project’s tallest residential building

Construction photo via CityRealty

June 19, 2018

Reaching over 1,000 feet, 35 Hudson Yards tops out as the mega-project’s tallest residential building

By Devin Gannon

The first residential supertall to rise at the Hudson Yards mega-project officially topped out this week at 1,009 feet. Developed by Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group, 35 Hudson Yards rises 72 floors and is now considered the ninth tallest structure in New York City, YIMBY reported. Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) designed the 1.1 million-square-foot mixed-use tower, which will accommodate 137 private residences, an Equinox-branded hotel and fitness club, office space and ground-floor retail.
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100+ affordable apartments up for grabs at a South Bronx passive house, from $702/month

Rendering via Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

June 18, 2018

100+ affordable apartments up for grabs at a South Bronx passive house, from $702/month

By Devin Gannon

Located between East 151st and 153rd Streets, a 15-story affordable rental is now accepting applications for a whopping 107 units. Dubbed Park Avenue Green, the South Bronx building at 2980 Park Avenue is the second phase of a multi-phase housing project. Designed by Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, the building includes 154 apartments and a 4,300-square-foot community facility. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 50, 60 and 80 percent of the area median income can apply for the units ranging from a $702/month studio to a $1,823/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Live in an affordable three-bedroom near Brooklyn College in Flatbush for $1,279/month

June 18, 2018

Live in an affordable three-bedroom near Brooklyn College in Flatbush for $1,279/month

By Devin Gannon

Via NYC HPD An eight-story affordable rental building in Flatbush is offering up seven three-bedroom apartments for just $1,279/month. Located at 1345 Rogers Avenue, just a short walk from Brooklyn College, Crystal Towers contains 91,100 square feet of residential space with a total of 123 apartments. Residents will have access to amenities like an on-site super, a rear garden, bike storage and on-site laundry. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the seven $1,279/month three-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

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