City Living

Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to open four new jails as replacements for the Rikers Island complex has officially entered the public review process. The City Planning Commission on Tuesday certified the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application from the city's corrections department to open new facilities in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens as part of the city's 10-year plan to close Rikers. The rubber stamp from the CPC comes after the project's draft environmental impact statement, which was released last week, found no significant adverse impacts.
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March 25, 2019

See how NYC’s urban density stacks up against other major cities

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

As part of their larger report "Developing Urban Futures," the Cities Urban Age Program at the London School of Economics created a new series of digital density diagrams, 3D models that visually demonstrate the density of people in cities around the world. The maps combine a range of socio-economic data, including where people live, work, and commute to capture the key spatial dimensions of urban economic life. The taller spikes represent larger concentrations of people, while the flatter zones represent lower density concentrations, for example, residential or suburban neighborhoods.
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City Living

Find your favorite spring blooms in Central Park with a map and interactive guide

Background image: Shinya Suzuki via Flickr

March 20, 2019

Find your favorite spring blooms in Central Park with a map and interactive guide

Spring is officially here, and there's no better place to confirm the good news than Central Park, where the season brings a burst of color to every corner of the park's 840 acres. Warmer weather brings beautiful blooms and a flurry of activities and events along with photogenic landscapes. The park's Spring Guide has all you need to know about the park's prettiest places to visit; a handy map points out where the blooms are, and you can search for your favorites and learn more about them. There are also events for families, Conservancy members and the general public that will help you make the best of the season's beauty.
Where the blooms are, this way

Brooklyn Botanic Garden fights against shadow-casting Crown Heights towers

Image courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning

March 12, 2019

Brooklyn Botanic Garden fights against shadow-casting Crown Heights towers

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is voicing concern over a proposal that would allow real-estate developers to amend the area’s zoning—which currently caps building heights at 75 feet—in order to build two 39-story towers close enough to the botanic grounds to obstruct sunlight in key parts of the garden, including the bonsai collection and desert pavilion. The proposal is subject to city approval and a public hearing will be heard today, with officials from the BBG in attendance, as the Wall Street Journal reported.
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City to build four new statues honoring women who have shaped NYC

Via Women.NYC

March 6, 2019

City to build four new statues honoring women who have shaped NYC

New York City is commissioning four more statues of trailblazing women as part of a campaign to address the inequity of the city's public spaces. First lady Chirlane McCray and Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen announced on Wednesday plans to honor Billie Holiday, Elizabeth Jennings Graham, Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías, and Katherine Walker with monuments. In November, the city announced it would commission a statue of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, to be built outside of the entrance to Prospect Park.
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City Living

Does the subway ‘Pizza Principle’ still hold?

Image via Flickr

March 4, 2019

Does the subway ‘Pizza Principle’ still hold?

For decades some New Yorkers have believed that the price of subway fares and pizza slices are linked. Known as the “Pizza Principle,” the economic theory/urban legend tries to account for the fact that, for the past 40 or so years, the cost of a plain slice of pizza has pretty much tracked with the cost of a single ride fare. So far nobody has been able to provide a clear explanation of why that might be—or if there’s more to it than coincidence. The latest MTA board vote on fare increases may have severed the connection between subway and pizza before we could fully understand it. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the “Pizza Principle” doesn't hold now that gourmet offerings have bumped the average cost of a slice to the $3-$3.50 range while the MTA is maintaining the base fare at $2.75.
More on New York's strangest economic theory

March 4, 2019

City launches campaign to support women-owned businesses in NYC

New York City is home to more than 350,000 women-owned businesses, which generate more than $50 billion in revenue each year. But because women face bigger barriers when starting or growing a company, the businesses fall behind in size and employment compared to businesses run by men. A new campaign launched last week that aims to bring attention to the many women-owned businesses located across the five boroughs. In a partnership between women.nyc, a city initiative to help women navigate careers and finances in NYC, and American Express, the month-long campaign "Shop Women-Owned NYC" kicked off on Friday, coinciding with the start of Women's History Month.
Here's where to shop

Area median income: What it means and how it’s calculated

Photo via Flickr cc

February 26, 2019

Area median income: What it means and how it’s calculated

If you’ve ever applied for affordable housing in New York City, you’ll know that it is all about the area median income, or the AMI. If you make too little or too much, you won’t qualify at all for affordable housing. Even if you do qualify, however, your AMI will impact your likelihood of actually acquiring a unit since most buildings have more units available in some AMI bands than others. For most New Yorkers, this is one of the most confusing aspects of affordable housing, so we've broken it down, from how AMI is calculated and what the current NYC parameters are to the many controversies surrounding the guidelines.
Everything you need to know

INTERVIEW: Architect Nancy Ruddy on 30 years in NYC, adding to the skyline, and restaurant design

Photo courtesy of CetraRuddy

February 22, 2019

INTERVIEW: Architect Nancy Ruddy on 30 years in NYC, adding to the skyline, and restaurant design

By Dana Schulz

When Nancy Ruddy and her husband John Cetra formed architecture firm CetraRuddy in 1987, they wanted to "create inspirational spaces and buildings based upon the ideas of craft and the human touch." Thirty-one years later, and the 100-person firm has achieved this goal and then some, marking the skyline with their soaring One Madison tower, transforming Tribeca's 443 Greenwich Street into the hottest celebrity residence, and adapting historic buildings by prolific architects such as Ralph Walker and Rosario Candela. They've also distinguished themselves by combing architecture and design practices, which was most recently showcased at their designs for the new Time Warner Center restaurant Bluebird London. Ahead, 6sqft talks with Nancy Ruddy about how all of these successes came to be, where she sees the architectural landscape of NYC heading, and what it was like creating a destination dining space overlooking Central Park.
Hear from Nancy

City Point’s Dekalb Market adds a performance space and speakeasy

Downtown Brooklyn's City Point is pulling out all the stops to boost its cool factor. The 1.8-million-square-foot mixed-use development at 445 Albee Square West is already home to the subterranean food mecca known as Dekalb Market Hall as well as the popular dine-in cinema-slash-supper-club Alamo Drafthouse. City Point recently announced the additions of a speakeasy-style cocktail bar called Understudy within the food court and Dekalb Stage, a 7,500-square-foot events and live entertainment space just next door.
More fun per square foot, this way

City Living

Hope Street, Love Lane, and more: The stories behind NYC’s most optimistic street names

Photo via Flickr cc

February 4, 2019

Hope Street, Love Lane, and more: The stories behind NYC’s most optimistic street names

Short on hope? Wondering where to find love? Craving the promise of Utopia? If you are, you’re likely not alone. What you may not realize is that a few New Yorkers have these things on the street where they live, or at least on the street signs where they live. While most New Yorkers, especially Manhattanites, are relegated to living on numbered streets and avenues, in a few city neighborhoods, streets do have names and just a few of these streets--Hope Street, Love Lane, Futurity Place, and more--are especially uplifting.
Learn the story behind NYC's most optimistic addresses

City Living

February 4, 2019

Trader Joe’s is ending grocery delivery in Manhattan

Grocery mecca Trader Joe's has been posting signs in its Manhattan stores to let shoppers know it will end delivery service as of March 1, the New York Post reports. The quirky discount chain store known for its unique grocery items and clever crowd-control strategies cites escalating service costs as the reason for what a West Side Rag reader called an "unspeakable tragedy." To be fair, the California-based chain is known for encouraging thrifty shoppers to buy in bulk, making the need for schlepping assistance a real concern.
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City Living

New report says Bushwick tops the list for heat violations

Photo courtesy of Roman Kruglov’s Flickr

January 31, 2019

New report says Bushwick tops the list for heat violations

As frigid temperatures descend on NYC once again, real estate database provider Localize.City has produced a report showing which (non-NYCHA) buildings and neighborhoods have racked up the most heat violations in recent years. Bushwick, Brooklyn tops the list, followed by Van Nest in the Bronx. Read on to find out if your neighborhood–or building–made the list–and find out what you can do if your building has no–or not enough–heat.
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City Living

St. Mark’s Comics to close after 36 years

Google Street View of St. Mark’s Comics

January 30, 2019

St. Mark’s Comics to close after 36 years

After 36 years as a cultural anchor of what was once an alternative lifestyle mecca, St. Mark's Comics will be closing up shop at the end February. As Gothamist reports, the cluttered and beloved icon is among the rear guard of an exodus in recent years–Trash & Vaudeville and Kim's Video have also vacated the neighborhood-defining strip–that basically ends an era on St. Mark's Place.
Read on

City Living

Amazon will fund computer science classes at 130 schools throughout NYC

Students learning how to code at Monsignor Scanlan High in the Bronx. Image courtesy of Amazon.

January 30, 2019

Amazon will fund computer science classes at 130 schools throughout NYC

As part of ongoing campaigns and efforts to ease fears about the tech giant’s controversial arrival to New York City, Amazon announced yesterday that it will start offering computer science courses at 130 high schools throughout the boroughs. With funding from Amazon’s Future Engineer program, the company will start providing introductory and Advanced Placement Computer Science courses through the New York-based curriculum provider, Edhesive, as early as this fall. The plan covers 37 schools in Queens (the most of any borough), 27 high schools in Manhattan and the Bronx, 35 in Brooklyn, and 6 in Staten Island.
About the program

City Living

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

Via Pexels

January 25, 2019

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

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

Rebranded WeWork opens an on-demand workspace and cafe in Flatiron

Images courtesy of The We Company; Photography by Dave Burk.

January 23, 2019

Rebranded WeWork opens an on-demand workspace and cafe in Flatiron

Recently re-branded as the We Company, the juggernaut formerly known as WeWork has introduced Made By We, an "on-demand workspace," event space, retail shop and cafe at 902 Broadway in the Flatiron district. Manhattan's largest private office tenant adds the new retail and no-membership-required co-working concept to a growing list of conquests that includes the landmarked Lord & Taylor building which they've tapped starchitect Bjarke Ingels to restore and co-living (WeLive) and childhood education (WeGrow) ventures as well as their better-known co-working brand.
More We this way

City Living

Closet photo via Flickr cc; Photo of Karin and Marie courtesy of Karin Socci

January 23, 2019

Ready to ‘tidy up’ your apartment? Meet NYC’s master KonMari consultant

Between her best-selling book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing," and new Netflix show, "Tidying Up," over the past five years, Marie Kondo—a diminutive Japanese organizing guru—has changed how people around the world think about decluttering their homes. But Kondo isn’t just another interior designer offering tips on storage. She believes that one’s home has a direct impact on their lives and even their personal relationships. This is why she approaches tidying from the heart and not simply the mind. As she says on her website, “Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.” With so many of us living in homes that are almost as tiny as those in Tokyo where Kondo is based and developed her method, it's no surprise that New Yorkers have been eagerly embracing Kondo’s advice. It is also likely no coincidence that one of the only certified Master KonMari consultants in North America, Karin Socci, happens to serve the New York City area. 6sqft recently reached out to Socci, founder of The Serene Home, to learn more about the KonMari method and how she helps New Yorkers put it into practice.
Hear from Karin here

In 2018, NYC drew a record 65 million tourists—and that number will keep rising

Via CC

January 16, 2019

In 2018, NYC drew a record 65 million tourists—and that number will keep rising

NYC & Company, the city's tourism and marketing agency, announced on Wednesday that the number of visitors to the city rose to a record high of 65.2 million in 2018, as the New York Times first reported. This is a notable jump up from 2017's 61.4 million and the ninth straight annual increase. Most visitors still come from within the United States, but the number of tourists from China saw an uptick from 1.04 million in 2017 to 1.1 million. The agency was expecting an overall drop in tourism numbers, and particularly from China, due to President Donald Trump's trade battle with the country and "America First" rhetoric, but the industry continues to thrive in the president's hometown.
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Pay tribute to your family’s heritage at Ellis Island’s American Immigrant Wall of Honor

Via Flickr

January 16, 2019

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

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

January 16, 2019

Amazon fuels HQ2 buzz with shiny new job postings

A pair of job postings listed by online retail giant Amazon kicked the excitement level up a notch in anticipation of the company's new "HQ2" headed for Long Island City, Queens. According to Bloomberg, the ads, seeking a software development manager and software engineer, referred to the company's impending New York expansion by saying the new HQ would be the site of a 50-person team starting in 2019 as part of its Intelligent Cloud Control group. Following a flurry of press inquiries, Amazon quickly added that though they would begin hiring for HQ2 later in 2019, the listings were for positions in an already-existing office.
More Amazon excitement this way

City Living

Stuff you should know: What’s really in your water tower and what to expect when it’s replaced

Photo via Flickr cc

January 14, 2019

Stuff you should know: What’s really in your water tower and what to expect when it’s replaced

One of the most distinctive architectural features of New York City buildings is their water towers. Many New Yorkers assume these towers are a relic of another era—a time when people did store water in wooden barrels. In fact, nearly all of the city’s wooden water towers are still in use, and many are newer than one might expect. If a building is actually following city guidelines, their water tower should be no more than three decades old. Unfortunately, compliance is an ongoing problem when it comes to water tower inspections and maintenance. In fact, many of the city’s charming water towers aren’t so charming when you take a look inside the barrel.
Everything you need to know

Court order stalls progress on De Blasio’s new horse carriage rules

A carriage near Central Park South, amongst traffic, via Flickr cc

January 9, 2019

Court order stalls progress on De Blasio’s new horse carriage rules

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur F. Engoron ordered Tuesday that Mayor De Blasio can't “take any action or inaction that would interfere” with the horse carriages operating in Central Park until a subsequent court order is issued, according to the New York Daily News. The court order is the result of a complaint filed in October by horse carriage hack Giovanni Paliotta, whose attorney says the process was being done in the wrong order: New rules regarding the carriages should come from the City Council rather than the mayor, and legislation should be passed.
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City Living

New 2019 NYC laws ban foam, restrict cigarettes, address paid family leave, minimum wage and more

Photo via NYC.GOV

January 2, 2019

New 2019 NYC laws ban foam, restrict cigarettes, address paid family leave, minimum wage and more