City Living

Though they once had ambitious plans to expand beyond New York City, Fairway Group Holdings Corp. is struggling with debt instead, reports Bloomberg Business. The company has incurred massive debt in order to finance its expansion plans and is in danger of default, according to analyst reports, and its "capital structure remains unsustainable." In addition to putting the brakes on expansion plans, the company has been advised to close some stores outside New York. Known for quality produce and well-curated private brands, Fairway Market stores are seen as perhaps the most representative of New York City when conversations turn to regional grocery loyalties. The gourmet grocery's original store at 74th and Broadway on the Upper West Side, with its cramped-and-bustling atmosphere, is a cult favorite for Manhattanites. The 52,000-square-foot Red Hook location in an historic coffee warehouse, opened in 2006, is credited in part with anchoring that neighborhood's renaissance.
Competition and bad timing

City Living

February 18, 2016

Common’s Shared Living Concept Brings $3,000 Bedrooms to Williamsburg

The perpetual waves of recent graduates and other young professional hopefuls streaming into New York City seem to be finding themselves stuck when it comes to finding a place to bunk between cubicle and pub. So it's no surprise that a growing field of enterprising entrepreneurs--after observing the moderate success of the co-working model and the mind-melting success of Airbnb–have stepped in with a hybrid of all of the above. 6sqft previously noted the Wall Street launch of co-working startup WeWork's communal living concept. Now, another co-living player, Common, who recently brought upscale shared housing to Crown Heights, will be opening the doors on a communal residence in prosaically trendy Williamsburg at the corner of South 3rd Street and Havemeyer. Common CEO Brad Hargreaves with partner Henry Development is building a 12-suite, 51-bedroom, 20,000-square-foot residence, the company's first ground-up effort here. The most buzz-worthy bit about this new addition is that members will pay $1,800 to $2,700 a month for a bedroom in one of 12 duplex suites, with one, two or three other roommates. The higher-end numbers represent rooms with a private bath–essentially a studio with friends with benefits.
What's the story here

February 17, 2016

INTERVIEW: Micro-Housing Architect Michael Chen Shares His Thoughts on the Tiny Trend

It's hard to flip through the home and garden television channels these days without seeing a program about tiny homes. But the trend has been gaining momentum for years, long before it made its way onto our TV screens. One of the creative forces behind this revolution is Michael Chen, firm principal of Michael K. Chen Architecture. With design offices in New York and San Francisco and 14 years of experience, Michael is considered a pioneer of innovative micro-housing. Not only does he share his "love of tinkering, of drawing, of discourse, and of making" with his clients, but he teaches at Pratt Institute School of Architecture in Brooklyn. Having recently finished the 5:1 Apartment–a compact, 390-square-foot space that fits all the functional and spatial elements for living, working, sleeping, dressing, entertaining, cooking, dining, and bathing–MKCA is taking the design world by storm with their thoughtful approach and clever product design. 6sqft decided to pick Michael's brain on just how he packs so much into such small footprints, where he thinks the micro-housing movement is headed, and the secrets behind some of his most spectacular spaces.
The interview, this way

February 17, 2016

POLL: Is IKEA a Blessing or a Curse for Relationships?

By now, we’ve all heard the jokes about IKEA breaking up relationships–whether it’s getting lost in the store’s maze, figuring out how to pronounce a word with ten consonants in a row, agreeing upon one of 400 throw pillows, or putting together an entire entertainment center with one Allen wrench. To poke fun at the common […]

City Living

February 12, 2016

Spotlight: Jacques Torres Takes Us Into His Whimsical World of Chocolate

On Valentine's Day, couples often express their love for each other with chocolate. And here in New York, acclaimed chocolatier Jacques Torres is naturally part of the conversation. Since 2000, Jacques has been sharing his chocolate creations through his company Jacques Torres Chocolate, which over the years has grown to nine shops around the city. But it all began back in his native France, where in 1986 he was the youngest pastry chef to be awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France) medal in pastry. Soon after, he moved to the United States, and a few years later began working as a pastry chef at famed restaurant Le Cirque. After making his mark in the restaurant industry, he devoted himself to chocolate full time, a decision that has certainly benefited those of us with a sweet tooth. With Valentine's Day this Sunday, 6sqft spoke with Jacques to learn more about his world of chocolate, how real estate has been an important part of it, and just how busy he gets around the holiday.
Read the interview this way

February 12, 2016

Office Romance by the Numbers: Which Professions Are Pairing Up

If you’ve got the urge to merge, it might be time for a career change. With the romance-obsessed holiday around the corner, the folks at Bloomberg Business delved into the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey to find out which professions are pairing off. To that end, they've created a fascinating interactive chart that reveals the most common occupation/relationship marriage matchups for any selected occupation. Some findings aren’t surprising: "High-earning women tend to pair up with their economic equals, while middle- and lower-tier women often marry up. In other words, female CEOs tend to marry other CEOs; male CEOs are okay marrying their secretaries."
So Who's Marrying Whom?

City Living

February 9, 2016

Student Project Gets Subway Riders to Scratch and Sniff

"If You Smell Something, Smell Something Else." Those words introduce a handful of signs that have been popping up at a few subway stations around the city, including Canal Street, Herald Square and Union Square. And most people, quite frankly, would rather do just that, if they had a choice...and now they do. School of Visual Arts graphic design student Angela Kim was acutely aware of this fact, and she decided to add a few more to the collection.
What's that smell?

February 9, 2016

Mapping 22 Million Citi Bike Rides Across NYC

Software Engineer Todd W. Schneider is a super data geek in his spare time, analyzing New York City’s publicly available stats on topics like the transportation system. Recently, he took a closer look at the Citi Bike system (h/t Untapped), which clocked over 10 million rides in 2015–22.2 million rides from July 2013 through November 2015–making it one of the world's largest bike share systems. Schneider's findings spotlight general trends in Citi Bike usage and give us the big picture, via charts, maps and some fascinating animation, on the migrations and tendencies of our busy population of blue and white bikes.
See where all those bikes are going

Spotlight: Erika Chou Brings the Flavors of China’s Yunnan Province to the Lower East Side

If you're looking to celebrate the Lunar New Year with Chinese food, you'll likely end up with Cantonese or Szechuan cuisine, those most popular in the city. But if Erika Chou has anything to do with it, New Yorkers will soon be adding to their repertoire the flavors of China’s Yunnan province. Erika, who studied art and formerly worked in fashion photography, was introduced to the Yunnan culture and flavors several years ago on a trip to China. By 2012, she made the decision to start a restaurant celebrating this province and opened Yunnan Kitchen on the Lower East Side with esteemed chef Doron Wong in the kitchen. This past fall, Erika reopened the restaurant as Yunnan BBQ and revamped the menu with Doron to offer small plates like a Chrysanthemum Salad made with asian pear and large, barbecue-focused plates such as Pecan-Smoked Chicken Wings and Yunnan Curry Beef Brisket. Earlier this week, Erika and Doron’s efforts were celebrated when the New York Times included Yunnan BBQ in an article discussing Chinese-American chefs and restaurants. On the eve of Chinese New Year, 6sqft spoke with Erika to find out what drew her to the Yunnan province, how her background in art helps as a restaurateur, and to find out about a misconception surrounding Chinese food.
The delicious interview right this way

February 3, 2016

Interactive Website Lets You Listen to New York City in the Roaring ’20s

We love looking at footage from 1920s New York City and watching the bustling street life from a bygone era, but we aren't nearly as familiar with its sounds. The Roaring Twenties, "an interactive exploration of the historical soundscape of New York City," created by historian Emily Thompson, compiles a wealth of historic data to re-create and share the city's sonic history, giving context to the sounds of the city in the 1920s and '30s. In an introduction, there’s a quote from a 1920 New York Times article that speaks of how the city was “defined by its din."
Learn what the site has to offer

January 29, 2016

Interactive Graph Compares L Train Commute Times and Rents With Other NYC Neighborhoods

We're hearing lots of anguish and anxiety over the possibility of an L subway shutdown for repairs for as long as a year or more, and we've taken a look at some possible solutions. Now, we've asked the real estate data geeks at NeighborhoodX to go a little deeper beneath the grumbling to find out just how much convenience can be had along that thin grey line, and how it stacks up against other neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. So which other neighborhoods offer commute times similar to the L train stops—and—just as important when choosing a neighborhood–how do their rents compare? And if you're living along the L, in light of the shutdown, what neighborhood alternatives do you have in the city that provide a similar commute?
Find out here

Spotlight: Rita McMahon Brings Avian New Yorkers Back to Health at the Wild Bird Fund

Photo via Charles Chessler Photography

January 29, 2016

Spotlight: Rita McMahon Brings Avian New Yorkers Back to Health at the Wild Bird Fund

When we think of bird life in New York, our minds usually wander to pesky pigeons, but there are actually 355 different species of wild birds who call the city home. A good number (pigeons, mourning doves, and mallard ducks, to name a few) are full-time residents, but there are also many who have the ultimate pied-a-terres, flying north to nest and raise babies in the spring or migrating south from the Arctic for the slightly warmer New York winters. For years, if these birds were injured or sick, there was little help available, but everything changed when Rita McMahon became involved in the rehabilitation of wild birds in 2002. What began for her as caring for pigeons and sparrows as a rehabber, progressively grew into a calling and eventually a career. Through the support and encouragement of the veterinarians at Animal General on the Upper West Side, she co-founded and became the director of the Wild Bird Fund in 2005, which was then located in her apartment. In 2012, the organization opened its own facility on the Upper West Side and last year treated approximately 3,500 birds. 6sqft recently spoke with Rita to learn more about New York’s wild birds, how the Wild Bird Fund helps them, and ways New Yorkers can be more attuned to their avian neighbors.
Read the interview here

January 27, 2016

This ‘Map of Every City’ in the World Is Hilariously Spot On

Click here for the full-size version >> This “Map of Every City,” penned by Chaz Hutton (via Big Think) supplies us with a bite-sized answer to the question we’ve probably all asked at one time or another -- why do all major cities seem to be carbon copies of one another? And chances are there's at least one burg in your borough that fits the description of "Cool Area That Your Parents Would Have Avoided in the '80s."
Look familiar? Check out the full-size map here

City Living

January 27, 2016

POLL: Will Open Gangway Subway Trains Be a Success in NYC?

New Yorkers are notoriously hard to impress, so it’s not surprising that some are finding fault with the MTA’s proposed open gangway subway trains, which are pretty much the norm everywhere else in the world. Despite the fact that they’ll reduce congestion and platform pileups, as well as reportedly increase safety, jaded city dwellers fear […]

January 26, 2016

Mapping World Cities That Already Have Open Gangway Subway Trains

Click here to enlarge map >> Just yesterday, the MTA revealed renderings of what their open gangway subway prototypes will look like. As 6sqft previsouly reported, when it was announced that the new trains got a $52.4 million piece of the MTA's capital plan, "This type of train, basically one long subway car with no doors in between, is popular all over the world, in most cities in China and Japan, in Berlin, Paris, and London, to name a few." So just how far behind the times is New York City? An informative new map from The Transport Politic, which plots the cities in which riders can walk between cars, says pretty far.
Find out more

January 26, 2016

What to Do if Your Sidewalk Hasn’t Been Shoveled

If you're trying to get somewhere this week and there's a mountain of snow left by the weekend storm in your path, Mayor de Blasio wants to help. On Monday, in response to complaints about businesses with unplowed sidewalks, the mayor said that the city would "definitely be focusing today on businesses that aren't doing that–we will be applying fines to any business that does not shovel out” (h/t DNAinfo). City code states that "every owner, property manager, tenant or other individual in charge of a lot or building must clean snow and ice from the sidewalks in front, on the side of and in back of their properties within a certain time frame." The snow officially stopped falling at 3:30am on Sunday, meaning that anyone with shoveling to do had until 11 a.m. Monday to get the job done before the possibility of getting hit with fines.
So whose job is it, anyway?

January 25, 2016

QUIZ: Answer 9 Questions to Find Out Which NYC Neighborhoods Best Match Your Lifestyle

Some of us are all too familiar with matching services where you provide info about yourself and you get back a list of, er, interesting possibilities. But sorting data to find your ideal neighborhood match could be especially helpful when home-hunting in New York City, given the mind-boggling set of choices–it makes sense to get potential picks from things that actually exist (like parks and grocery stores), rather than being hopefully embellished. From the neighborhood data entrepreneurs at PlaceILive comes match.placeilive.com, a newly-launched lifestyle-based home finder that matches you with your ideal New York City neighborhoods based on your answers to nine quick questions.
Find out which neighborhood's right for you

City Living

January 25, 2016

NYC’s 190 Miles of Scaffolding a Result of ’80s Law and Billion Dollar Industry

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."
READ MORE

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