All articles by Diane Pham

Diane is the founder and Editorial Director of 6sqft. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Real Estate Finance & Development and a minor in Architecture, she enjoyed stints at SCI-Arc, the A+D Museum Los Angeles, Perkins Eastman Architects and Resolution 4: Architecture. She also previously served as Senior Editor of Inhabitat.com and spent several years as an analyst at CB Richard Ellis Investments in Milan, Italy.
The UWS Apartment Babe Ruth Once Called Home Is Selling for $1.595M
August 31, 2015

The UWS Apartment Babe Ruth Once Called Home Is Selling for $1.595M

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This apartment may not look like much, but baseball greatness once slept within its walls. The Upper West Side abode Babe Ruth called home at the end of his epic career is now on the market for $1.595 million. According to the Post, an open house held this weekend at the 345 West 88th Street address drew in over 50 people—a mix of folks looking buy, and surely those simply hoping for a glimpse into The Bambino's former digs.
More inside the Sultan of Swat's former home
Whimsical Map Colorfully Details 400+ New York Icons
August 31, 2015

Whimsical Map Colorfully Details 400+ New York Icons

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A couple weeks ago we dug up a map from the 1950s that offered up a mind-boggling menagerie of all things New York. With over 300 points of interest hand-illustrated in painstaking detail, we found ourselves overtaken with with awe. Now, comes yet another marvelous map courtesy of Rafael Esquer, founder of Soho’s Alfalfa Studio. His stunning depiction—aptly named Iconic New York™— is made up of over 400 hand-drawn city icons. A labor of love, the piece took Esquer an incredible two-and-a-half years to complete.
more on iconic New York™ here
Decorate Your Home With Paintings of Hipster Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
August 28, 2015

Decorate Your Home With Paintings of Hipster Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

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Show your support for the Democratic party, or the presidents of Republican past, by outfitting your walls with these inked canvas prints from artist Amit Shimoni. In what he calls "Hipstory," Shimoni takes iconic political figures and gives them a complete makeover that dresses them in the clothing and hairstyles of today's trendiest millennial. In addition to a purple ombre-haired Hillary and tatted up Barack, others like JFK, George Washington and the Dalai Lama sport everything from nose rings to hoodies and gold chains–the typical hallmarks of the Bedford Avenue crowd.
See more of your favorite politicians hipsterized here
Here Is New York City Transformed Into a Colorful (Scale) Landscape of LEGO Blocks
August 27, 2015

Here Is New York City Transformed Into a Colorful (Scale) Landscape of LEGO Blocks

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Click here for a bigger version >> LEGO has for years been turning NYC landmarks into scale models that allow us to enjoy their architectural splendor at a more human scale. But here's an artist that's morphed the entire island of Manhattan, its surrounding boroughs, and all of its structures into a trippy visualization that lets us take in the city's topography from another vantage.
More on the image here
How to Deal with a Break-Up When You Share Real Estate; Penthouse Sale in Williamsburg Sets a Record
August 27, 2015

How to Deal with a Break-Up When You Share Real Estate; Penthouse Sale in Williamsburg Sets a Record

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Things that you shouldn’t waste your money on. [BI] Dealing with a break-up in NYC when you share a home with your partner. [BU] The city will spend $100M to stormproof lower Manhattan. [NYDN] A $6.5M penthouse sale at the Oosten has set a record for Williamsburg. [Curbed] Bill Ackman—a.k.a. the owner of NYC’s second most expensive […]

See NYC’s Subway Lines Superimposed Over an Aerial Photo of the City
August 26, 2015

See NYC’s Subway Lines Superimposed Over an Aerial Photo of the City

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When we head underground and board the subway, most of us don't give much thought to all the streets and landmarks we'll be zipping past as we move along to our destination. But here’s an incredible mash-up from map enthusiast Anorian that offers a much different perspective on exactly where the subway travels. An amalgamation of digital photos taken from a commercial plane and the expert mapping of each line, this beautiful image is far more captivating and insightful than any printed or online map out there.
See more views here
Is the U.A.E. Building a Massive Uptown Mansion?; The Priciest Cities for Singles and Families
August 26, 2015

Is the U.A.E. Building a Massive Uptown Mansion?; The Priciest Cities for Singles and Families

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The most expensive U.S. cities for single folks and families. [Wonkblog] Is the United Arab Emirates building a mega-mansion on the Upper East Side? The Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations has just closed on two neighboring buildings worth $47.25M. [NYDN] Here’s where Red Hook and Buttermilk Channel draw their names from. [Brownstoner] The world’s […]

Are You Picking Up After Your Dog? Map Shows Neighborhoods With the Worst Offenders
August 24, 2015

Are You Picking Up After Your Dog? Map Shows Neighborhoods With the Worst Offenders

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Remember: Don't blame the dog, blame its lazy owner. On some NYC streets, navigating the crap that covers the sidewalks can be like running a gantlet. And as this map created by The Economist shows, there are definitely some neighborhoods that have it worse than others. Compiled from complaints submitted across all the boroughs, as seen above, the shittiest nabes of 2014 include Upper Manhattan on the east side, a good deal of the Bronx, Bed-Stuy and, unsurprisingly, Bushwick, where just last year neighborhood artists were glittering the deserted turds of their furry friends in gold.
find out more here
MTA Rolls Out Startling New Campaign to Reduce Railroad Crossing Accidents
August 24, 2015

MTA Rolls Out Startling New Campaign to Reduce Railroad Crossing Accidents

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In response to the tragic Metro-North Railroad crash back in February which killed six and injured over a dozen, this summer the MTA released a new campaign hoping to get pedestrians and motorists to be more aware of their surroundings when around train tracks. The campaign—made up of five posters and three videos—is illustrated in the same vein as the also recently rolled out "Courtesy Counts" posters found throughout the city's subways. But what's most surprising about the agency's railroad crossing adverts is that like those in the subway (e.g. man-spreading and poll hogging), they're all inspired by real life events.
see more of the posters and the videos here
Weekly Highlights: Top Picks from the 6sqft Staff
August 22, 2015

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks from the 6sqft Staff

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VIDEO: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Rats Coming up Your Toilet NeighborhoodX’s 3D Map Reveals the Blocks Where Real Estate Prices Are Soaring 22,000 New Apartments Coming to Northern Brooklyn by 2019 Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo Nabs $18.5M Trump Tower Loft Model and Daughter of Zipcar Founder, Cameron Russell Scoops Up a $1.5M […]

VIDEO: Flashback to When Times Square Was a Car-Filled Hellscape
August 21, 2015

VIDEO: Flashback to When Times Square Was a Car-Filled Hellscape

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There's currently no hotter topic in NYC than Mayor de Blasio's backwards proposal to rid Times Square of its pedestrian plazas. Because how could returning one of the city's busiest areas back to a battle between man and vehicle (and man and man) be a good idea? Let's remember the Times Square of just a few years ago, shall we? In this video filmed back in 2006, Streetsblog publisher Mark Gorton brings Danish architect and urban design consultant Jan Gehl to the center of Times Square to get his opinion on the area and his thoughts on what could be improved. The pair's fascinating conversation is punctuated with cars honking and brakes screeching, but Gehl makes his views clear despite all the distraction: “It would be completely idiotic to chase people away by giving them very poor conditions. If we are to talk about the conditions for pedestrians here, it’s really lousy... The balance is all wrong and something ought to be done to celebrate this unique place, so that more people, in a dignified way, can enjoy it."
watch the video here
Mayor de Blasio Proposes Ripping Out Times Square’s Pedestrian Plazas
August 21, 2015

Mayor de Blasio Proposes Ripping Out Times Square’s Pedestrian Plazas

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There are a lot of nuisances to be found in Times Square, but apparently for Mayor de Blasio, none are as bothersome as the topless women and aggressive Elmos traipsing around the area's overly lit streets. As the NYDN reports, de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton have formed a special task force aimed at ridding the bustling tourist destination of its "jiggly panhandlers." And the solution at the top of their list is tearing up the pedestrian plazas and letting cars back in.
Find out more on the issue here, as well as alternative plans
1920s Popular Science Illustration Stacks the Future American City Like a Layered Cake
August 20, 2015

1920s Popular Science Illustration Stacks the Future American City Like a Layered Cake

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As the automobile became more widely available in the 1920s, the idea of living in the suburbs became far more appealing to Americans. Residents of large cities sought to escape increasingly crowded streets (thanks to industrialization), and with newly paved roads and auto ownership, taking on a commute was well worth the space and comfort that was paid out in return. While many urbanists and architects in the '20s predicted that suburban migrations would give way to sprawl (and it eventually did), other urban "futurists" balked at the idea of decentralization, and believed instead that Americans would be living and thriving in high-density vertical cities. Architect Harvey W. Corbett's “May Live to See, May Solve Congestion Problems” is one such proposal that sees everything from homes, offices, schools, green space and even aircraft landing fields stacked on top of each other for the ultimate metropolis.
Have a closer look at the complete plan here
New Board Game Lets You Raze and Rebuild NY; Citywide Ferry Service Plan to Be Presented Tonight
August 20, 2015

New Board Game Lets You Raze and Rebuild NY; Citywide Ferry Service Plan to Be Presented Tonight

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The de Blasio administration is renegotiating the terms of the redevelopment of Willets Point, Queens. [Crain’s] Why some billionaires are bad for growth. [Wonkblog] Billionaire Ken Griffin may be buying a 220 Central Park South pad. [NYP] The mysterious cottage atop an East Village building is now in contract. [Curbed] For a good time with friends and family try […]

The Final Design of Extell’s Nordstrom Tower Still Undecided
August 18, 2015

The Final Design of Extell’s Nordstrom Tower Still Undecided

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Back in May it was reported that the official rendering for Extell's Nordstrom Tower—a.k.a. Central Park Tower, a.k.a. NYC and the country's future tallest tower (by roof height)—had finally been released by the developer, showing a glassy construction rising 1,523 feet from its 217 West 57th Street address. But now comes news from The Post's Steve Cuozzo that the tower's final design is actually "still up in the air."
Find out more here
August 18, 2015

Donald Trump Reports for Jury Duty; Did Louis C.K. Come to Mayor de Blasio’s Defense?

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Here’s a hilarious (and somewhat poetic) account of what went down when Donald Trump was called into jury duty this week. “He listed his occupation as ‘real estate’.” [NYT] A caller who sounded a lot like comedian Louis C.K. dialed into “The Brian Lehrer Show” this morning to defend Mayor Bill de Blasio. He identified himself as “Louis in the Village.” [Politico] […]

NeighborhoodX’s 3D Map Reveals the Blocks Where Real Estate Prices Are Soaring
August 17, 2015

NeighborhoodX’s 3D Map Reveals the Blocks Where Real Estate Prices Are Soaring

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Click for the expanded version >> We all have a pretty good idea which NYC neighborhoods command top dollar, but this incredible 3D map from NeighborhoodX really puts things into perspective by pinning the city's 325 neighborhoods against one another in a visually jarring side-by-side comparison. Among the most expensive? For Brooklyn, Gravesend beats out our best guess of DUMBO/Brooklyn Heights with its enclave of multi-million dollar, over-the-top mansions; and in Manhattan, Billionaires' Row rises as a whole other beast with prices soaring as high as its supertalls.
get a more detailed look here
FiDi’s 50 West Tops Out; Let’s Build Another Borough
August 17, 2015

FiDi’s 50 West Tops Out; Let’s Build Another Borough

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FiDi’s new luxury tower 50 West has just topped out. [6sqft inbox; Listings] Limited space? Why don’t we just build another borough? [The Awl] Soho’s mom and pop design shops want to stop the infiltration of corporate retailers. [AMNY] There’s a 19th century stable hidden in the heart of Midtown. [Scouting NY] After 30 years, […]

Quirky Taxi Poster Illustrates the Designs of NYC’s Iconic Cabs
August 17, 2015

Quirky Taxi Poster Illustrates the Designs of NYC’s Iconic Cabs

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Although in daily life you're more likely to curse cabs than celebrate them, this cool print by illustrator James Gulliver Hancock highlights the charms of the city's yellow icon. Featuring the cab designs of today and yesteryear, this wonderful print is a work of art and a pretty accurate representation of just how nutty NYC traffic can get.
Where to buy one here
Bring the Elements of NYC Into Your Home (Sans the Grime) With These Printed Pillows
August 16, 2015

Bring the Elements of NYC Into Your Home (Sans the Grime) With These Printed Pillows

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No need to reach for your hand sanitizer after handling these NYC artifacts. Ronda J. Smith's "In the Seam" pillows are meant to spruce up lackluster spaces while celebrating all that makes New York New York. Pigeons, rats and all. Works of art in their own right, each image featured has been shot by Rhonda herself (she's also a photographer specializing in food and still life), then printed on cotton sateen, hand stuffed, and sewn onto cotton-twill fabric in Brooklyn.
Where to get them here
What’s Your Subway Cred? New Game Judges You Based on the Number of Stations You’ve Visited
August 14, 2015

What’s Your Subway Cred? New Game Judges You Based on the Number of Stations You’ve Visited

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Akin to pinning all of the cities you've visited on a world map, "What's your Subway Number?" allows you to visually quantify your worldliness—or in this case your "New Yorkness"—by accounting for every subway stop you've stepped foot in. The game is the clever creation of digital designer Mike Solomon, and breaks straphangers down into four categories: Rich Tourist, Junior Commuter, Official Resident, and NYC Lifer.
Find out more here
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