City Living

Throughout the 1970s and '80s, New York City struggled with infrastructure failure, poverty, crime and garbage. One front in what seemed like a constant battle against total chaos was the attempt to keep subway cars graffiti-free. Inspired by a single white car sitting in a train yard in Corona, Queens that somehow managed to remain tag-free for two months (behind a security system that included a chain-link fence, barbed wire and guard dogs, but never mind that) in September 1981, the MTA rolled out one dozen all-white 7 trains–7,000 cars in all. The new program was dubbed “The Great White Fleet,” and officials hoped the bright white cars would do their part to keep graffiti at bay.
A rolling canvas

INTERVIEW: Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver is making NYC parks accessible for everyone

Park image via Elliot Scott on Flickr; image of Silver via NYC Parks

August 10, 2018

INTERVIEW: Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver is making NYC parks accessible for everyone

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Mitchell J. Silver, the commissioner of the New York City Parks Department, tells us he’s 58 years old. But with his vibrant enthusiasm and energy for parks, fitness, and life in general, it’s hard to believe. Only as he details a list of his achievements and accolades over the years does his age show. Silver, who oversees the management and operations of nearly 30,000 acres of city parks, calls himself the “commissioner of fun,” a title he strives to live up to every day. This summer, Silver launched “Cool Pools,” an initiative to renovate public pools, celebrated making Central Park car-free, and increased accessibility to parks for all New Yorkers. If you want to feel good, follow his Instagram and see him sliding, swinging, running, jumping, swimming, kayaking and more. Silver is training for his first marathon this November (with his best friend from college) after completing four half marathons. 6sqft jogged beside the commissioner and got his running commentary on the biggest challenges facing NYC parks, what he attributes his success to, what we can expect for the future and where he buys his running gear.
More here

The best affordable and student-friendly off-campus neighborhoods in NYC

Columbia campus, via Pixabay

August 9, 2018

The best affordable and student-friendly off-campus neighborhoods in NYC

By Cait Etherington

If you can’t bear the idea of living in the dorms for another year, you’re not alone. Unless you happen to go to Columbia where over 90 percent of students live on campus, there's a high likelihood you’ll be searching for your own apartment at some point during your college years, just like 57 percent of students at NYU and 74 percent at The New School. And if you're like most students, you’ll be looking for an apartment far from downtown that strikes the right balance between affordability, commutability, and access to services. To help you make the smartest decision possible, 6sqft has compiled a list of affordable, student-friendly neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn. By New York City standards, all of these are both safe (e.g., reported fewer than 1.5447 crimes per 1000 people in June 2018) and within reach (e.g., on average, three-bedroom units can still be rented for less than $5,000 per month). Using July 2018 City Realty data on average neighborhood rents, we've broken down how much you’ll pay on average to live in a three-bedroom shared unit in each of these neighborhoods. We’ve also provided average commute times to both Union Square, which is easily walkable to NYU, The New School, and Cooper Union, and to the Columbia University campus.
Get the guide

Queens shows how diversity is driving NYC’s economic boom

Elmhurst’s Chinatown. Image: Wiki Commons.

August 7, 2018

Queens shows how diversity is driving NYC’s economic boom

Recent economic snapshots issued by the state comptroller show that New York City has continued to experience record economic expansion in the past three years. This growth has been led by notable gains in the economies of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx (Staten Island's report is expected later this year), which since the 1990s have seen an economic boost from a large increase in their immigrant populations, Crain's reports. The revitalization of these immigrant-rich areas has led to an uptick in the number of businesses as well as sales and job growth. Unemployment is at its lowest rate since 1990. Queens, the borough that is home the city's most diverse population and becoming more so, is clearly one to watch.
More jobs, great food

City Living

August 6, 2018

College students and children as young as 10 can now apply for IDNYC

Since its inception nearly four years ago, IDNYC has seen more than 1.2 million New Yorkers enroll for the free card, making it the largest local identification program in the nation. And now, Mayor de Blasio has announced three updates that will even further expand the program's reach--the minimum age has been lowered from 14 to 10, students living in local college housing can now apply, and technological updates allow the application system to pull from existing city agency records to streamline the process.
All the details this way

Is there a 200th Street in Manhattan or the Bronx? Yes and no.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

July 31, 2018

Is there a 200th Street in Manhattan or the Bronx? Yes and no.

The official word is: There is no 200th Street in the Bronx or Manhattan; Manhattan numbered streets skip from West 196th Street straight to West 201st. But if you happen to be passing through the Dyckman Street station on the Eighth Avenue line, you wouldn't know it. What's up with the phantom 200?
Is there more to the story?

City Living

July 30, 2018

The New York City subway in fascinating facts and figures

When it comes to New York City’s subway system, you may think you know the letters (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,J,L,M,N,Q,R,S,W,Z) and numbers (1 through 7), all too well. But a few of the fun facts and staggering stats that add up to the seventh busiest public transit system in the world might surprise you. From the longest route (the A line is 31 miles) to the world's highest rapid transit station at Smith-9th Streets (it's 88 feet above street level), there are plenty of figures that even the most well-versed New Yorker likely doesn't know.
More stuff you never knew about the subway

Affordable housing 101: The history and future of Mitchell-Lama

Waterside Plaza, a former Mitchell-Lama Housing Program-funded rental project. Photo via Flickr cc.

July 27, 2018

Affordable housing 101: The history and future of Mitchell-Lama

By Cait Etherington

A high percentage of working New Yorkers do not qualify for low-income rentals yet still struggle to pay the city’s exceptionally high rents on the private market. While this may seem like a new problem, in fact, it is something legislators and housing advocates have been attempting to resolve for over 70 years. Indeed, this […]

You can soar down Centre Street on a 165-foot-long zipline this August

2017 Summer Streets; photo via DOT on Flickr

July 25, 2018

You can soar down Centre Street on a 165-foot-long zipline this August

Summer Streets is back! Starting August 4, New Yorkers can enjoy seven miles of car-free fun along Park Avenue, from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge. As part of the Department of Transporation's 11th annual event, activities will be offered on three Saturdays in August, from 7 am to 1 pm. While there's sadly not a dishwasher-looking waterslide this year, there will be a 165-foot-long, 30-foot-high zip line, fun hand-cycles to test out, and an eight-foot-tall bouldering wall.
Plan your summer streets fun

MTA says Uber use is the cause of NYC subway and bus ridership drop

According to the Wall Street Journal, the MTA has presented data showing that lower New York City mass transit use numbers matched up with an uptick in taxi and ride-hailing trips. Even as the city's population grows, subway and bus ridership has been declining. New York City Transit Executive Vice President Tim Mulligan explained in a presentation Monday how dips in weekday subway ridership between 2016 and 2017 coincided with increased use of taxi and for-hire vehicles.
An international phenomenon

Amazon launches same-day delivery from Whole Foods in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan

Image via Whole Foods Market

July 24, 2018

Amazon launches same-day delivery from Whole Foods in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan

You can now have all of your organic needs met within as little as an hour--without waiting in line. Amazon launched on Tuesday "ultrafast" same-day delivery from Whole Foods Market in 24 cities, including Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and select areas of Long Island. The service, for Prime members only, began earlier this year and will continue to expand to more neighborhoods in NYC and in the country throughout 2018. "Today’s announcement is another way that we are continuing to expand access to our high-quality products and locally-sourced favorites," Christina Minardi, executive vice president of operations for Whole Foods Market, said in a statement.
Find out more

City Living

July 23, 2018

One year and $300M in repairs later, on-time subway rates are still awful

Photo via rhythmicdiaspora on Flickr Despite spending over $300 million on system repairs over the last year, the New York City subway is showing little improvement, with its on-time rate just around 65 percent during the weekday, the New York Times reported. Last summer, after a train derailed at 125th street and left 30 people injured, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. And while the MTA and its chair, Joseph Lhota, unveiled an $800 million action plan to fix the subway, and new NYC Transit Chief Andy Byford later laid out an aggressive plan to modernize the system, the subway's "summer of hell" seems far from over.
Find out more

July 19, 2018

New East Village Target store now open in Extell’s EVGB rental building

It might seem like it's been there forever, but the new East Village Target store at 14th Street and Avenue A opened its doors this week ahead of a scheduled grand opening Saturday, July 21. The small-format chain icon occupies the corner spot in the EVGB ("East Village's Greatest Building") rental building that opened at 510 East 14th Street this year and is now stocked and ready to supply residents (the building is 50 percent leased according to a press release from developer Extell) and the rest of the 'hood with everything from cosmetics and cleaning supplies to apples and Amy's Bowls to the cheap-but-funky home goods the store is famous for. Also beer.
Already, complaints about the beer selection

Your NYC library card will now get you free admission to 30+ museums

Photo inside the Guggenheim via Flickr cc

July 16, 2018

Your NYC library card will now get you free admission to 30+ museums

For those New Yorkers who haven't gotten their IDNYC, there's now a new way to gain free access to museums across the city--your library card. Today, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), the New York Public Library (NYPL), and Queens Library launched Culture Pass, "a joint library-led, city-wide initiative providing free access to more than 30 museums and cultural institutions across all five boroughs available to every NYC library card holder." According to a press release, all card holders have to do is go online to reserve a free day pass for themselves and up to three guests at 33 cultural organizations, from the Whitney Museum and MoMA (where regular adult entry is $25/person) to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Wave Hill.
All the details

Image via Wikimedia Commons

July 16, 2018

The New York bagel: The ‘hole’ story from history and chemistry to where you’ll find the good ones

A few international symbols of New York City–like the tough cabbie, the expensive apartment and the pizza-snatching rat–need no explanation and are too scary to think about except when absolutely necessary. Others, like the humble-yet-iconic bagel, possess New York City cred, but when asked, most people can’t quite come up with a reason. Bagels weren’t invented in New York, but the party line is that if they're made here, they’re better than anywhere. Some say it’s the water; others chalk it up to the recipe, the method, ethnic preference or all of the above. What’s the story behind the New York bagel? Who are the true bagel heroes? What makes a great bagel great? And those frozen bagels? Blame Connecticut.
Bagel squirrel vs. Pizza rat

Beyond Manhattanhenge: Find mini-henges happening every day across NYC

Photo via d26b73 on Flickr

July 13, 2018

Beyond Manhattanhenge: Find mini-henges happening every day across NYC

While the biannual sunset that aligns perfectly between two skyscrapers in Manhattan is perhaps the best known 'henge,' it's certainly not the only one. Because every neighborhood in New York City features its own pattern of a street grid, each has its own henge days (h/t NY Times). An interactive map called NYCHenge displays where mini-henges happen for every sunset throughout the year, allowing outer-borough residents to snap a solid sunset picture nearly every day.
Find a henge near you

Photo via Corey Menscher/Flickr

July 12, 2018

‘Manhattanhenge’ brings its magic back to the NYC grid tonight

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Coolest astrophysicist on Earth Neil deGrasse Tyson reminds us that the otherworldly phenomenon called "Manhattanhenge" is happening this evening. At two times during the year, New Yorkers can see a full sunset perfectly lined up through the streets and high-rises--Wednesday, May 30th at 8:12pm and Thursday, July 12th at 8:20pm. And two other times, you can see a half sunset perfectly lined up where half the sun is above the horizon and half is below--Tuesday, May 29th at 8:13pm and Friday, July 13th at 8:21pm.
Find out more

INTERVIEW: Meet Mary French, the woman archiving New York City’s 140 cemeteries

Photos courtesy of Mary French

July 11, 2018

INTERVIEW: Meet Mary French, the woman archiving New York City’s 140 cemeteries

By Emily Nonko

In a city as tight as New York, it's no surprise we've long struggled to figure out what to do with our dead, from acres-wide cemeteries to those wedged into forgotten slivers of city blocks. The city now boasts 140 cemetery sites, and Mary French has visited them all. Mary is the author of the New York City Cemetery Project, a chronicler of "the graveyards of this great city." Though cemeteries may come with dark connotations, Mary sees them as prime opportunities to understand the history of New York. As she explains on her website, "For those with a passion for culture and history and a curiosity about the unknown, cemeteries are tantalizing spots that provide a wellspring of information about individual lives, communities, religions, and historic events." On NYC Cemetery Project you can read the histories of existing and long-gone cemeteries and the interesting New Yorkers living six feet under, alongside a trove of historic photos and maps. It's a labor of love (and intense research) for Mary, who has a background in anthropology and library science. With 6sqft, Mary explains what first attracted her to the cemeteries of New York and what it's like delving into their past. She also explains why she thinks many might be lost to the pressures of development in New York.
Read the interview

MAP: See city owners vs. renters, block by block

Renters and owners in Manhattan. Map by Ryan McCullough

July 10, 2018

MAP: See city owners vs. renters, block by block

New York has been called a city of renters and with good reason. The real estate rent vs. own breakdown here is far different than that of other parts of the country, for a multitude of complex reasons. But it's also interesting to take a look at neighborhoods within the city. Ryan McCullough of Mapbox and Tippecanoe, the map geeks responsible for whizzing up this view of the U.S.A., was motivated to dig deeply into this particular data. The result was Owners vs. Renters, an interactive dot map showing every single homeowner and renter in the United States. You can zoom in on a major city hub and to see where more residents tend to be homeowners and where more people rent.
Find out more

Governors Island is now open late all weekend

Island Oyster, via Trust for Governors Island

July 6, 2018

Governors Island is now open late all weekend

In April, the Trust for Governors Island announced extended Friday hours for the 2018 season, allowing visitors to explore the island until 10pm. And now, thanks to a sponsorship from Grey Goose, they'll also remain open late on Saturdays, all the way to 11pm. "Late Saturdays" begin tomorrow and run through September 1st, with all ferries free after 6pm. As Governors Island says, "Visitors can now enjoy stunning sunsets overlooking New York Harbor, take leisurely bike rides around the Hills and visit Island Oyster for a Grey Goose Fair Winds Fizz specialty cocktail."
All the details

Get your NYC subways, buses and ferries sorted for the Fourth of July

Photo via Anthony Quintano/Flickr

July 3, 2018

Get your NYC subways, buses and ferries sorted for the Fourth of July

It happens on every holiday, but a midweek July 4th promises to add an extra layer of confusion to the tourists, crowds and screwy schedules that will inevitably hit the city's public transit system. We hope we can help you get your itinerary dialed in by giving you the low-down on changes to NYC subway, bus and ferry service on the 4th, so you can get to and from that optimal spot to watch the fireworks. The good news: The MTA will be offering extra rail service on Tuesday, July 3 and Wednesday, July 4. The possibly good/bad/mixed news: The MTA’s railroads, subways and buses will operate on weekend schedules...and then some.
More holiday transit schedules, decoded

July 2, 2018

Where I Work: Go inside NYC’s first sake brewery at Brooklyn Kura

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 touring Industry City's Brooklyn Kura, New York's first sake brewery. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! "It was my first ‘oh, my God’ sake which was made in the U.S.A." said Japanese-born sake sommelier Chizuko Niikawa-Helton when he tasted the product of Brooklyn Kura, NYC's first sake brewery and one of only 15 in the nation. And this is exactly what co-founders Brian Polen and Brandon Doughan strive for. They're committed to respecting the thousands-year-old Japanese sake brewing traditions, but they also hope to inspire a new interest in this ancient beverage by using unique American ingredients and engaging New Yorkers in the process at their Sunset Park brewery and tap room. After meeting at a mutual friend's wedding in Japan and developing a passion for sake, Brian and Brandon teamed up and got to work on their 2,500-square-foot space in Industry City, which combines the functionality of traditional Japanese breweries with a contemporary Brooklyn design aesthetic. 6sqft recently paid them a visit and had a drink in the tap room (yes, we agree with Niikawa-Helton that the sakes are "so soft, so gentle"), got a look at the sake making process, and chatted with Brian and Brandon about their journey, life at Industry City, and how they're turning New Yorkers into sake lovers.
Read our interview with Brian and Brandon and see inside Brooklyn Kura

See the colorful makeovers of five NYC public pools

All photos courtesy of NYC Parks

June 28, 2018

See the colorful makeovers of five NYC public pools

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

To coincide with the opening of all 53 public pools yesterday, the city's ever cool and joyful parks commissioner Mitchell Silver launched the Cool Pools NYC pilot program. The initiative gave a colorful makeover to five outdoor pools, one for each borough, in underserved neighborhoods. Prior to Cool Pools NYC, none of these sites had a major renovation since they were built in the 1970s. In addition to the cheery paint jobs, these pools have been outfitted with polar-themed art, lounge chairs, and landscaping and will offer drop-in fitness classes for adults and obstacle courses and scavenger hunts for kids.
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June 26, 2018

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