City Living

It definitely seems that every day, more of New York City is covered by the ubiquitous wood and steel building shed scaffolding, making daily life an urban obstacle course of weaving and tunnel trekking. It's not just your imagination: Currently there are almost 9,000 sheds camped out over city streets, reports Crains, based on numbers from the Department of Buildings, up from around 3,500 in 2003. That adds up to 190 miles–one million linear feet—worth of sheds, enough to encircle Manhattan six times. The city’s maze of construction sheds are the result of a 1980s law and a billion dollar industry that keeps growing. "New York is insatiable right now when it comes to sheds," says George Mihalko, a shed-equipment supplier. "I've never seen anything like it in 30 years." This demand is driven in part by the new wave of construction spurred by the city's building boom. But there is apparently another, more important reason.
Why don't the sheds ever go away?

January 22, 2016

Spotlight: Author Gay Talese Reflects on More Than Sixty Years in the NYC Journalism World

"I was very curious as a grade school kid and that curiosity never abated," explains renowned writer Gay Talese. This curiosity has been both a driving force and a constant throughout Gay’s more than 60-year writing career; a career in which his observations and discoveries have been widely read and published. Gay’s first forays into writing were for his hometown of Ocean City, New Jersey’s local paper in high school. After graduating from the University of Alabama, where he had written for the school’s paper, he was hired as a copyboy at the New York Times in 1953. For Gay, this job laid the groundwork for a career in which he was a reporter for the Times, wrote for magazines such as Esquire (where his most famous pieces on Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio were published) and The New Yorker, and published books on a wide variety of topics including the construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. 6sqft recently spoke with Gay about his career and the changing landscape of journalism.
Read the interview here

January 21, 2016

Broker Ipsum: The Real Estate Babble Generator

You may have heard of Lorem ipsum, the placeholder text commonly used in design and publishing, but have you heard of Broker ipsum? The new tool, a brokerbabble generator, comes from NeighborhoodX and pokes fun at the sometimes rambling jargon used in real estate listings. Simply tell Broker ipsum how many paragraphs you need and you'll get a mashup of common listing terms and Latin words such as "Stunning views commodo ligula eget dolor" or "Classic 6 quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque one-of-a-kind, pretium quis, sem."
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Are Shuttle Buses a Viable Alternative to the L Train During a Shutdown?

Image via Allen1628famm/YouTube

January 20, 2016

Are Shuttle Buses a Viable Alternative to the L Train During a Shutdown?

The MTA’s announcement of possible plans to close the L train for months or even years at a time to repair the Hurricane Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel has businesses scrambling and commuters (the train has 300,000 riders on the average weekday) fearful. Data mapping company CartoDB offers a bit of “location intelligence” to better understand the consequences of a shutdown for people living in Brooklyn and, more importantly, what some realistic alternatives to the L train might be. For example, shuttle buses: "If the shuttle bus takes 20 minutes, we are able to calculate the best choices for riders along the L needing to get to Manhattan. Should they go all the way to Lorimer and take the shuttle bus or should they transfer earlier at Myrtle-Wyckoff to the M train or at Broadway Junction to the A?"
Will shuttle buses save the day?

January 15, 2016

Get This Rusty ‘West Village’ Trashcan for a Mere $100 at Anthropologie

Want to bring a piece of NYC nostalgia into your home? Look no further than this "handmade" pre-rusted trashcan, available for the very reasonable price of $99.95 (down from $148!) at Anthropologie. Benjamin Miller, former planning policy director for the city sanitation department, told DNAinfo that the "West Village Corrugated Can" resembles the metal trash receptacles the entire city used (i.e. not just the West Village) up until 1969. They were called "ash cans," as they collected the wood and coal used to heat homes at the time, and were certainly not trendy or valuable.
Is it worth $100?

January 15, 2016

Study Suggests Competition From Uber May Curb Cabbie Rudeness

Is the rise of car share services like Uber and Lyft making taxi drivers nicer? The Washington Post reports that according to research presented this week by the Technology Policy Institute's Scott Wallsten, complaints are down in New York and Chicago, including those about general rudeness, busted A/C, and that bit about the credit card machine not working. The drop in complaints corresponds with the rise of availability of Uber and Lyft in those cities, they claim.
What are New Yorkers complaining about less

January 15, 2016

Spotlight: Jason Arthur Sapan Makes Holograms at NYC’s Only Holography Gallery

In an old blacksmith's forge on East 26th Street, there is a subterranean laser laboratory. It's here that Jason Arthur Sapan, also known as Doctor Laser, makes holograms of everything imaginable at Holographic Studios. Jason describes his underground lab as being akin to Doctor Brown’s laboratory in Back to the Future (sans time travel, of course). A hologram, "is a three-dimensional image that is created using laser light," he explains. "We record the surface of an object the way that a piece of Play-Doh pressed up against an object takes an impression of its shape," creating something that's "lifelike and can appear to float in front or behind the film." Jason first became interested in holography in the late 1960s, and has been practicing the medium full time since founding Holographic Studios over forty years ago. He also teaches at NYU Tisch's ITP (Interactive Telecommunications Program), where he works with graduate students. He's created holograms of politicians ranging from President Bill Clinton to Mayor Ed Koch and celebrities such as Billy Idol and Andy Warhol. The studio possesses the world's oldest gallery of holography, which attracts out-of-town visitors, locals, and even youngsters through classes and an internship program. 6sqft recently spoke with Jason to find out about the inspiration for his career in holography and how much joy it brings him to share this medium with the world.
The full interview, this way

January 13, 2016

WeWork’s Communal Living Concept on Wall Street Gets Its First Residents

Co-working space provider WeWork (which has 40,000 members in 19 US, European and Asian cities that share office space with perks like free coffee, cool furniture and a communal atmosphere) has launched their new "co-living" apartment concept, beginning with 45 units in a Wall Street building. FastCompany reports that last weekend, 80 new residents moved into furnished apartments at 110 Wall Street, where the company already runs a co-working space on the building’s first seven floors. They're part of what the company says is the first stage of beta testing for this community-driven concept, with New York City as the guinea pig. The concept is, according to a company spokesperson, "focused on enabling people to live more fulfilling lives. During this testing phase, we’ll be listening to feedback from our community." Plans are in the works to accommodate 600 people on 20 floors of the building.
Find out more about the latest co-living experiment

January 8, 2016

Spotlight: Charlie Todd Gets New Yorkers to Ride the Subway Without Pants

Come winter, many germ-conscious New Yorkers are glad for the opportunity to wear gloves while holding subway poles. However, for a distinct group in the city, cold weather is a chance to engage with the subway in a very unexpected way: by forgoing pants and participating in the annual No Pants Subway Ride. The visionary behind this event is Charlie Todd, the founder of the performance group Improv Everywhere. His first pantless ride was an improv performance in 2002 with himself and six friends. Today, Charlie is at the helm of a yearly gathering where up to 4,000 New Yorkers –from young parents with their newborn baby to a grandmother with her granddaughter–bring joy, humor, and uncertainty to their fellow subway riders by enjoying a commute in their undergarments. On the eve of the 15th annual No Pants Subway Ride this Sunday, 6sqft spoke with Charlie about the lure of riding the subway without pants and what keeps him motivated each year.
Read 6sqft's interview with Charlie

Half of the Earth’s Population Squeezes Onto Just One Percent of Its Land

Click here for a full size version >> It's widely known that most of the world's population is concentrated in and around cities, but this cool map created by Max Galka (h/t CityLab) shows us exactly what that spatial disparity looks like. Using NASA's gridded population data, which zooms in on the number of people inhabiting every nine-square-mile patch of the Earth, Galka colored all the areas boasting more than 8,000 inhabitants with yellow cells, while those with less than that number were marked black. What's visualized with 28 million cells mapped is that half of the world's inhabitants (about 7.4 billion people to date) occupy just one percent of the Earth's land. The rest of the population is sparsely dispersed over the other 99 percent.
See more here

City Living

January 5, 2016

The City’s First Wi-Fi Kiosks Unveiled Today!

As Crain's first reported, the first of the city's upcoming 7,500 LinkNYC Wi-Fi kiosks have officially rolled out today. Two new "links" (as they'll be called), have sprouted up along Third Avenue in the East Village, one at the corner of East 15th Street and the other at East 17th Street. Each kiosk measures 9.5 feet tall and will be equipped with a gigabit-speed Wi-Fi connection with a 150-foot range, charging stations, a touch-screen that provides maps and info about city services, and a speaker phone that will let users make domestic calls—and all for free! The kiosks are meant to replace NYC's 6,000 now-defunct pay phones.
more info on what's to come here

December 26, 2015

December 26, 1947: A Record-Breaking Snowstorm Blankets NYC

New York may be enjoying yet another unseasonably warm day, but 68 years ago today, short sleeves and sidewalk dining were completely out of the question. It was December 26, 1947 that the city experienced its biggest snowstorm ever—a blizzard that dumped 26.4 inches of snow on the ground. According to NYC.gov, "the City was paralyzed when the blizzard barreled its way through, stranding cars and buses in the streets, halting subway service, and claiming 77 lives." In the end it took $6 million, nearly 30,000 workers, and weeks of digging and plowing to bring the city back to passable again. You can watch a video of the chaos brought by 99 million tons of snow ahead.
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December 22, 2015

MAP: See the World’s Urban Population Grow Over 2,000 Years

While we all like to think of New York City as the center of the universe, our little metropolis really only started to pulsate in the last couple hundred years. Way, way before this (think 1 A.D.) ancient civilizations like the Mayans experienced "urban booms" of their own. This mind-boggling interactive map made by Esri puts thousands of years of global population growth into perspective, ultimately showing us that NYC is kind of just a blip on the radar—or in this case, the 2,000-year timeline of life.
Access the map this way

December 18, 2015

Spotlight: A Cold Dip With the Coney Island Polar Bear Club’s Dennis Thomas

The city may be having an unseasonably warm December, but it's fair to say most New Yorkers still find it a bit too chilly for the beach. Members of the famed Coney Island Polar Bear Club, on the other hand, relish the drop in temperature as they head out for an ocean swim. The Polar Bear Club is a New York institution dating back to 1903. While the organization is renowned for its annual New Year’s Day swim where New Yorkers gather to welcome the year with a chilly dip, it’s far from the only time the club embraces the cold water. In fact, they meet 12 times throughout the winter months and draw a sizable membership that's a mix of ages, backgrounds, and cultures from the metropolitan area and beyond. At the club's helm is president Dennis Thomas, who fell in love with Coney Island years ago and later discovered the serenity of swimming on brisk days. More than thirty years after he first became a member, Dennis spoke with 6sqft about the Polar Bear Club's history, what a typical swim is like, and what happens when hundreds of New Yorkers turn out for a New Year's Day swim that supports Camp Sunshine.
Read the interview here

December 18, 2015

MAP: How Much Do Murders Decrease Home Values?

We know that in New York City, living next to the deceased does little to earn you a discount on your rent or a price chop on a condo. But when it comes to murders, the story is quite different. Finder.com recently culled data from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and popular real estate websites to find out just how much a murder that occurred on a property can affect the value of a home.
more here

December 15, 2015

NYC Municipal ID Card Holders Will Get Even More Free Stuff in 2016

If you're one of the 670,000 people who took the time to apply for a NY municipal ID last year, give yourself a pat on the back and rejoice, because your industrious spirit will be rewarded for yet another year. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced yesterday that card holders will continue to benefit from free access and discounts to 33 cultural institutions and a slew of New York services through 2016. On top of that, seven top tier names have joined the ID benefits roster, including The Guggenheim, the New Museum, the MoMA, the Metropolitan Opera, the Museum of Chinese in America, BRIC Arts Media and the Pregones Theater. Yay, free stuff!
find out what else was added and how to apply if you haven't already

Living in a Micro Apartment Could Be Harmful to Your Health

New rendering of Carmel Place interiors, via Monadnock Development/nARCHITECTS

December 14, 2015

Living in a Micro Apartment Could Be Harmful to Your Health

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but living in a micro apartment may drive you to seek professional psychological help. A recent article in The Atlantic takes a look at the tiny living trend that has taken the nation—and in particular New York, with developments like My Micro NY and teeny renovations like this one—by storm, and finds that squeezing into an extra-small space could lead to health risks. “Sure, these micro-apartments may be fantastic for young professionals in their 20's,” says Dak Kopec, director of design for human health at Boston Architectural College and author of Environmental Psychology for Design, to the magazine. “But they definitely can be unhealthy for older people, say in their 30’s and 40’s, who face different stress factors that can make tight living conditions a problem.”
find out more here

Spotlight: Meet Chef Jon Lovitch, Builder of the World’s Largest Gingerbread Village

Portrait of Jon by Keith Hodan, adapted by 6sqft

December 11, 2015

Spotlight: Meet Chef Jon Lovitch, Builder of the World’s Largest Gingerbread Village

Chef Jon Lovitch is no amateur when it comes to building gingerbread houses. In fact, every year Jon constructs an entire village called GingerBread Lane that takes nearly 12 months to make. It's a holiday tradition he first started twenty years ago in Kansas City, Missouri, with just 12 houses, and he's since grown the project into an epic display of sweets shown everywhere from Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, and now New York. Two years ago, GingerBread Lane found a local home at the New York Hall of Science in Corona, Queens, where Jon’s villages set Guinness World Records in 2013 and 2014 for the world's largest gingerbread exhibit. This year's village just set another Guinness record on November 17th with its 1,102 houses. But beyond seeking a world title, Jon hopes his labor of gingerbread love inspires kids and adults of all ages to get creative and start building projects of their own. 6sqft recently spoke with Jon to find out the history behind this tasty tradition, and what it takes to build an enormous gingerbread village each year.
Read the interview with NYC's gingerbread man here

December 10, 2015

POLL: Are You Pro or Anti Santacon?

We know it’s a loaded question, but after all these years of holiday debauchery, the debate surrounding Santacon rages on. The founder of the event recently contacted Gothamist, requesting an interview to set the record straight. He said the press is failing to focus on the notorious event’s “more important messages of anti-consumerism, creativity, jolly gay […]

Where to See the Best Lights in NYC This Holiday Season

Rolf’s Christmas Display via Rolf’s

December 8, 2015

Where to See the Best Lights in NYC This Holiday Season

By Rebecca Paul

It's Christmastime in the city! It's also time to see what New York City has to offer in this year's twinkly lights department. We've seen it time and time again—New York City painted as a romantic holiday backdrop, perfect for evoking the true Christmas spirit. Most of us are already familiar with classic destinations like Rockefeller Center and the Macy's window display, so in lieu of the standard roster 6sqft has put together the following list to help you find some of the less obvious (but no less spectacular) places to see fabulous lights for the 2015 holiday season.
Check out our list of where to see the best lights this holiday season

December 8, 2015

Mapping the Depressing Annual Salaries of Millennials Across the U.S.

This year, snake people became the largest share of the U.S.'s voting-age population, surpassing 76.4 million baby boomers for the title. But while this younger generation (generally defined as those born between 1981 and 1997) may be dominating in numbers, they're trailing when it comes to their median annual salaries. This map created by Business Insider using data from the from the Minnesota Population Center's 2014 "American Community Survey" in the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series reveals just what working snake people are earning annually—and the results are somewhat depressing. While Midwest states showing medians in the low 20s aren't all that shocking given a lower cost of living, it is surprising to see that economic power players like California and New York ring in at just $21,900 and $25,000, respectively.
See the map in detail here

City Living

December 8, 2015

Which NYC Neighborhoods Charge the Most for Christmas Trees?

Just like real estate, the price of a Christmas tree will vary significantly depending on which neighborhood you center your search. DNA Info recently conducted a reader poll to find which local tree dealers are gouging evergreen buyers and which are keeping with a more charitable holiday spirit. Pollsters zoomed in on several neighborhoods across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and found some major price disparities even when it came to minor details like whether a vendor was set up on a street corner or just a typical stretch. Just check out the $50 price difference at two Williamsburg locales ahead...
have a closer look at their findings

Stiletto-Friendly Subway Grates Are Finally Here

Image via MTA

December 8, 2015

Stiletto-Friendly Subway Grates Are Finally Here