City Living

Number of elderly Airbnb hosts jumps 60 percent in NYC
April 11, 2017

Number of elderly Airbnb hosts jumps 60 percent in NYC

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To make money and stay social after retirement, older New Yorkers are turning to Airbnb. According to a report by the company, the population of senior citizens hosting visitors through the website continues to grow faster than any other demographic in both New York State and City. The Daily News reports that in NYC, the number of elderly Airbnb hosts jumped 60 percent in the last year. Specifically, the Bronx saw a 120 percent leap and Queens a 199 percent increase. While this shows a clear boost, senior citizens still only make up about four percent of the city’s total listings, or about 1,043, up from 649 the year before.
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Contest winners suggest a car-free 14th Street with shuttles and bike lanes during L train shutdown
April 11, 2017

Contest winners suggest a car-free 14th Street with shuttles and bike lanes during L train shutdown

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Advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has been trying to stay focused on grounded solutions–literally, as opposed to the tunnel and skyway ideas that are also being discussed–to mitigate the anticipated possible chaos when the dreaded 15-month L train shutdown hits. The organization is aiming for the ear of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the MTA which control street design and bus expansion, respectively. The group recently held an "L-ternative" contest seeking pedestrian-centered proposals for main transit corridors along the L line, such as 14th street, Gothamist reports. The winning proposal, called 14TH ST.OPS, imagines a (car) traffic-free 14th Street with a six-stop shuttle bus using dedicated lanes, plus protected bike lanes.
Check out the winning post-L-Train vision
INTERVIEW: Paula Scher on designing the brands of New York’s most beloved institutions
April 11, 2017

INTERVIEW: Paula Scher on designing the brands of New York’s most beloved institutions

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Paula Scher is one of the most recognizable names in the design world, considered legendary in the industry for creating the identities of major New York institutions. Scher moved to New York in the 1970s to begin her design career and got her start in the music industry. As art director for CBS, she designed around 150 albums a year and produced numerous ads and posters. Her record covers include everything from the Rolling Stones' Still Life to Leonard Bernstein's Stravinky, four of which were recognized with Grammy nominations. As a record designer, Scher was credited with reviving historical typefaces and design styles—and typefaces still play heavily in her work today. Scher left Atlantic Records to begin her own design firm in 1982, and in 1991 she joined her current firm, Pentagram, as the company's first female principal. Although Pentagram is an international design company, its New York office is behind the identities of some of the city's most beloved establishments. It was at Pentagram Scher established her reputation as a New York designer who created unique, lasting identities.
more with Paula Scher here
Boom in TV and film is lucrative for some New Yorkers, a nuisance for others
April 10, 2017

Boom in TV and film is lucrative for some New Yorkers, a nuisance for others

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In response to the state’s film production tax break, a record number of TV and movie crews have scouted NYC locations for shoots. The mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment issued 149 location permits for 72 projects to film between March 9 and March 15 alone. And as reported by Crain’s, studios will pay residents hefty sums to rent their apartments or homes for shoots. While this can be quite profitable for those occupying the property, with location managers doling out anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000 per day, some neighbors are tired of the inconveniences these projects create on their block.
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How much do amenities impact rent prices in NYC?
April 7, 2017

How much do amenities impact rent prices in NYC?

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When looking for that perfect city abode, apartment hunters often create a list of must-have amenities that also fit within a budget. Now, thanks to Priceonomics and Renthop, you can determine which apartment features have the greatest impact on the overall rent. While the number of bedrooms and bathrooms drive up rent prices the most, the research found that having a doorman, an elevator, available parking and/or laundry-in-building most likely would increase the total rent. In a closer look at NYC, the data shows having a doorman creates the biggest increase of rent in the city, adding about $260 each month.
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Rockaway Ferry to take off in May, one month ahead of schedule
April 6, 2017

Rockaway Ferry to take off in May, one month ahead of schedule

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Mayor de Blasio announced today that the Citywide Ferry Service, now officially named “NYC Ferry,” will be launching two routes on the first day of May: the new Rockaway Route and the existing East River Route. As DNA Info learned, the Rockaway route takes passengers from the new dock on Beach 108th Street to the Brooklyn Terminal, and then Wall Street’s Pier 11. Expect service on the South Brooklyn Route with stops in Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Red Hook and Brooklyn Bridge Park to begin on June 1. The Astoria Route will be launched sometime in August and the Lower East Side and Soundview Routes have a launch date set in 2018.
Find out more here
Habitat for Humanity will build 48 affordable homes for New Yorkers
April 5, 2017

Habitat for Humanity will build 48 affordable homes for New Yorkers

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In New York City, and the rest of the country, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find affordable housing. To combat this, the Habitat for Humanity NYC announced a plan to build affordable houses for buyers in Brooklyn and Queens. The organization, aimed at constructing quality housing for families in need, will bring 48 units of affordable homes to these boroughs by redeveloping abandoned or foreclosed properties. Since most of these homes have been left vacant for decades, many are run-down and have negatively impacted the surrounding neighborhoods. As Brick Underground learned, the city’s Housing Authority first acquired these properties and then sold them to Habitat for Humanity at $1 each.
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Where I Work: Go inside Square Roots’ futuristic shipping container farm in Bed-Stuy
April 5, 2017

Where I Work: Go inside Square Roots’ futuristic shipping container farm in Bed-Stuy

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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 take a tour of the Bed-Stuy urban farm Square Roots. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! In a Bed-Stuy parking lot, across from the Marcy Houses (you'll know this as Jay-Z's childhood home) and behind the hulking Pfizer Building, is an urban farming accelerator that's collectively producing the equivalent of a 20-acre farm. An assuming eye may see merely a collection of 10 shipping containers, but inside each of these is a hydroponic, climate-controlled farm growing GMO-free, spray-free, greens--"real food," as Square Roots calls it. The incubator opened just this past November, a response by co-founders Kimbal Musk (Yes, Elon's brother) and Tobias Peggs against the industrial food system as a way to bring local food to urban settings. Each vertical farm is run by its own entrepreneur who runs his or her own sustainable business, selling directly to consumers. 6sqft recently visited Square Roots, went inside entrepreneur Paul Philpott's farm, and chatted with Tobias about the evolution of the company, its larger goals, and how food culture is changing.
Take a tour of Square Roots and get the full story from Tobias
City spends nearly $7M a year on 15,000 rarely-used alarm boxes
April 5, 2017

City spends nearly $7M a year on 15,000 rarely-used alarm boxes

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To date, close to 700 LinkNYC Wifi kiosks have been installed throughout the five boroughs. Among their features are an app that lets users make free calls anywhere in the U.S., as well as a dedicated red 911 button for emergencies. Coupled with the fact that most New Yorkers have cell phones on them, it seems that the city's 14,813 red alarm boxes serve basically no purpose anymore. In fact, as Crain's tells us, last year, the boxes were used only 11,440 times to call the FDNY, which is an average of less than once per box. And, of these calls, only 13 percent were for actual emergencies and just 1.5 percent for fires. But yet, the city spends a whopping $6.8 million annually paying electricians to repair the call boxes and others to paint over graffiti.
What's the deal?
Explore the homes of NYC’s notable writers with an audio-narrated tour
April 4, 2017

Explore the homes of NYC’s notable writers with an audio-narrated tour

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Some of the greatest literary giants of all time lived and wrote in New York City. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of HarperCollins, which was founded in NYC, the publishing company created an interactive walking tour map that narrates the history of each author as you walk (h/t DNAinfo). Just a few of the famed Big Apple authors include Harper Lee, Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright.
Find out more
The 10 best neighborhoods for New York City artists
April 4, 2017

The 10 best neighborhoods for New York City artists

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Like most things in New York, creative communities come and ago as new development and rising rents force artists to move on to the next best, or cheaper neighborhood. While 6sqft found 'hoods like the Upper East Side, Harlem and Long Island City to be the best places for artists a few years back, we've updated our top-10 list to reflect the changing times. Ahead you'll find some areas you may expect--Sunset Park and Bushwick, for example, along with more up-and-coming artsy enclaves like Newark, Washington Heights, and the South Bronx.
The full list right this way
April 4, 2017

MTA Board officially approves 15-month shutdown of L train

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It’s official. The Metropolitan Transit Authority board voted to approve a 15-month shutdown of the L train on Monday, instead of the originally proposed 18 months. The Board also awarded a $477 million contract to Judlau Contracting and TC Electric, who will responsible for repairing the train’s Canarsie Tunnel, which suffered severe flooding damage after Hurricane Sandy (h/t WSJ). The planned shutdown is set to begin in April 2019 and cuts all L train service between Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.
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Outer borough creatives earn significantly less than their Manhattan counterparts
March 29, 2017

Outer borough creatives earn significantly less than their Manhattan counterparts

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Data shows the borough in which you work could decide what income you bring home. CityLab looked at the city’s divided class structure in three main classes of employment--creative, service, and working--and in which borough these workers reside. The data shows that the creative class, made up of tech workers, artists, designers, and educational professionals, cluster in Manhattan, which employs nearly 70 percent of the city’s entire creative class. On top of that, clear income discrepancies exist among boroughs with the average salary for a creative class worker iat $96, 970 in Manhattan, $79,248 in Queens, $77,875 in the Bronx, and $76,565 in Staten Island. Surpisingly, Brooklyn's creative class earns the least, with an average of $74,963.
Find out more here
Noise pollution is worse in Jersey than NYC according to new DOT map

The map, the first of its kind, highlights the intensity of noises made by cars and airplanes across the country through geospatial data.

March 29, 2017

Noise pollution is worse in Jersey than NYC according to new DOT map

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When comparing the perks of NYC to New Jersey, add the adjective “quieter” to the list. According to a noise map released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), noise pollution has been found to be worse in Jersey than it is in Manhattan. However, the density of highways in the city, and sounds from LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airport, do rank the New York metro area as one of the loudest areas in the entire country.
Find out more
Kickstarter campaign raising $10,000 for a 15-foot inflatable ‘Trumpy’ rat
March 27, 2017

Kickstarter campaign raising $10,000 for a 15-foot inflatable ‘Trumpy’ rat

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As a symbol of resistance to the Trump administration, Chelsea-based contemporary art gallery BravinLee created a Kickstarter to raise $10,000 for an inflatable, 15-foot rat sporting a comb-over and an ill-fitting suit (complete with an inflatable piece of scotch tape to ensure his tie won’t blow in the wind) that will be placed outside Trump Tower. As the A.V. Club learned, artist Jeffrey Beebe was inspired by Scabby the Rat, the inflatable rat that attends union strikes to signal unfair and unsafe practices by management. With the deadline to fund “Trumpy the Rat” set for April 19, the project has raked in just over $5,500.
Find out more here
The least affordable U.S. city for public transit isn’t NYC (and more fun facts about the cost of commuting)
March 23, 2017

The least affordable U.S. city for public transit isn’t NYC (and more fun facts about the cost of commuting)

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In light of NYC's recent subway fare hike that bumped the price of a monthly pass to $121, the data jocks at ValuePenguin took a look at public transportation systems throughout the U.S. and ranked them according to affordability, based on the cost of a pass as a percentage of income and the median income of the city's commuters. Among the findings: New York City's transit system isn't the most unaffordable; that honor goes to Los Angeles. Washington D.C. topped the most affordable list among large cities, followed by San Francisco and Boston.
Read on for more insight on the cost of a commute
82 billionaires live in NYC, the most in the world

Photo via Public Domain Pictures

March 22, 2017

82 billionaires live in NYC, the most in the world

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For the second year in a row, New York takes the title of the city with the most billionaires in the world. According to Forbes, NYC is home to 82 billionaires with a total combined net worth of just under $400 billion. In last year's list, the city placed first, but with 79 billionaires and a total net worth of $364.6 billion. Despite gaining a few more wealthy inhabitants, New York's David Koch (worth $48.3 billion) and Michael Bloomberg still rank as the first and second richest in the city, though last year they were flip-flopped.
See the full list of cities here
Is it illegal to swipe someone through with your MetroCard?
March 21, 2017

Is it illegal to swipe someone through with your MetroCard?

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Swiping a fellow New Yorker through the subway turnstile with your MetroCard is practically a New York pastime. But is it actually legal? As DNAinfo reports, the NYPD and MTA say it's completely lawful to help another rider gain access to the subway, as long as you’re not charging them for the swipe. And for those looking for a free ride? Last year, the city changed their policy on “fare-begging,” which lowered the consequence for riders asking for a swipe from an arrest to a ticket or summons.
Find out more here
L train shutdown will be 15 months instead of 18 months
March 20, 2017

L train shutdown will be 15 months instead of 18 months

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Finally, there’s some good news for the nearly 225,000 daily L train riders commuting to Manhattan. This weekend the Metropolitan Transit Authority announced that the Canarsie tube, which carries the L train between Manhattan and Brooklyn, will be closed for 15 months instead of 18, three months ahead of schedule. As reported by the Daily News, the MTA plans to begin rehabilitating the tunnel in April of 2019.
Find out more here
Yellow is the best color to paint a taxi if you want to reduce accidents
March 15, 2017

Yellow is the best color to paint a taxi if you want to reduce accidents

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It’s difficult to imagine the hustle and bustle of New York City without its culturally-iconic yellow taxicabs. And while it’s obvious companies chose the color yellow to be more visible to ride-hailers, a study conducted in Singapore found that not only are yellow cars harder to miss, they get in fewer accidents (h/t Mental Floss).
What are the origins of the famous yellow cab
How to get a tree planted on your block – for free
March 10, 2017

How to get a tree planted on your block – for free

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In 2007, officials launched MillionTreesNYC, an initiative with the aim of greening New York City through the planting and care of one million trees. While the city surpassed its goal in 2015, planting 1,017,634 trees by the year's end, efforts to increase leafy canopy coverage across the five boroughs has not wavered since. With that said, if you're a New Yorker who feels that your street could use a bit more greenery (ahem, Sean Lennon), getting a tree planted on your block is much easier than you may think. By simply filling out a request with the New York Parks Department, you can get a tree planted, for free, so long as the plot you have in mind is suitable for planting.
find out more details here
Hidden underground tunnel will take you from Rockefeller Center to Times Square
March 6, 2017

Hidden underground tunnel will take you from Rockefeller Center to Times Square

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New York City's avenue blocks are long, as are its winters; getting from Rockefeller Center to Times Square can be an unpleasant, cold and crowded experience–unless you take the underground passageway, the city's largest, that spans the entire two-block-plus distance. Below, take a virtual stroll from avenue to avenue (and from the B/D/F/M to the N/R/W subways): Enter on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Street and exit at Seventh Avenue and 49th Street–and buy yourself a few more minutes before you burrow into that parka.
Take a virtual trip through the tunnel
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