6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

A prime Lower East Side location for under $1 million, a top-floor duplex layout with lots of windows, and a super-low maintenance fee of $498/month--no, it's not too good to be true. This charming unit at 208 Forsyth Street is an HDFC co-op, meaning that prospective buyers can't make more than a certain amount in order to qualify. And with loads of exposed brick and wood ceiling beams, an adorable spiral staircase, and a country-chic kitchen, this $850,000 is even more of a deal.
Check it out and learn the income requirements

Distinctive Homes

Kushner Cos., Michael Cohen accused of falsifying construction permits at rent-controlled NYC buildings

237 Henry Street via Google Earth

August 28, 2018

Kushner Cos., Michael Cohen accused of falsifying construction permits at rent-controlled NYC buildings

Kushner Companies, run by the family of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, allegedly falsified construction permits as a way to remove rent-regulated tenants from their New York City buildings, the New York Times reported. The city's Department of Buildings on Monday fined the Kushner Cos. $210,000 for 42 violations of submitting false applications across 17 buildings. According to a tenant activist organization, Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney, also falsified documents at three of his properties in Manhattan at 237 Henry Street, 172 Rivington Street and 235 East 27th Street.
More this way

Policy

Via Wiki Commons

August 28, 2018

Apply for 83 affordable units in the South Bronx, starting at $929/month

Via Wiki Commons The second housing lottery to open today in the South Bronx's Longwood section is at Thessalonia Manor, a two-building affordable project adjacent to the Thessalonia Baptist Church. The 120-unit development, from Urban Builders Collaborative and CMC Development, was announced two years ago, and now households earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for 83 of the units, ranging from $929/month one-bedrooms to $1,289/month three-bedrooms. Like the earlier lottery, the buildings at 960 Prospect Avenue and 961 Reverend James A. Polite Avenue are right near the family-friendly Bill Rainey Park and the 2 and 5 trains at Intervale Avenue. The buildings offer on-site laundry, a community room, courtyard, and roof top terrace.
See if you qualify

Affordable Housing

In the 1890s, New Yorkers took a bicycle railroad to Brooklyn’s beaches

Boynton’s Bicycle Railroad, via Wiki Commons

August 28, 2018

In the 1890s, New Yorkers took a bicycle railroad to Brooklyn’s beaches

By Lucie Levine

As Labor Day draws near and New Yorkers run to squeeze a few more beach days into the end of the summer, packed trains and ferries carry crowds to the city’s sandy shores. But, beachgoers of yore weren’t simply piling onto the Q train to get out to Coney Island. They reached the southern tip of Brooklyn via a much more zany (or visionary?) mode of conveyance: Boynton’s Bicycle Railroad. In the summer of 1890, Boynton’s Bicycle, so named because it featured two rails, one beneath the train and one above it, shuttled passengers between Gravesend and Coney Island via an abandoned section of the Sea Beach and Brighton Railroad.
The Story Rolls on This Way

August 28, 2018

Nine middle-income apartments up for grabs in a family-friendly South Bronx corner, from $1,404/month

A recently completed 29-unit rental at 915 Dawson Street in the Longwood section of the South Bronx has opened up an affordable housing lottery for nine middle-income units reserved for households earning 130 percent of the area median income. The 1,404/month one-bedrooms and $1,575/month two-bedrooms not only offer the chance to live in a lovely new building, complete with a recreation room, laundry room, and parking, but the location just off Bill Rainey Park is the perfect enclave for families. The park has a baseball field, football field, and playground, and just a few blocks away are the 2, 5 trains at Intervale Avenue and the 6 at Hunts Point Avenue. Plus, the New York Public Library's Hunts Point branch is close, as are a myriad of schools, including Longwood Preparatory Academy, Success Academy Middle School, PS 333 The Museum School, PS 39, and PS 130.
See the income breakdown

Affordable Housing

August 28, 2018

Take a tour of Dead Horse Bay, Brooklyn’s hidden trove of trash and treasures

By James and Karla Murray

Dead Horse Bay is a small body of water in Brooklyn that got its name from the horse rendering plants that were on the former Barren Island in Jamaica Bay near the shoreline of Flatlands. In the late 1850s, Barren Island was the site of the largest dump in New York City, fed by barges carrying garbage and animal remains. Factories on the island used the carcasses of horses, which were put in large vats and boiled until the fat could be removed, for use in fertilizer, glue, and oils. The bones of the horses were then chopped up and dumped into the water. Starting in 1930, the island also became the site of the first municipal airport (Floyd Bennett) after the city filled in marshland to connect it to the mainland. The last horse rendering factory on the island closed in 1935 and in 1936, the island’s final 400 residents were evicted to make way for the creation of the Belt Parkway. The City continued using the area as a garbage dump until 1953 when the landfill was capped. Since 1972, the area surrounding Dead Horse Bay has been part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. We joined Robin Nagle, NYC Department of Sanitation’s Anthropologist-in-Residence for an exclusive exploration of Dead Horse Bay earlier this year with the City Reliquary Museum and had a chance to speak with her about this mysterious area, which is strewn with glass bottles, fragments of centuries-old horse bones, and mounds of trash.
Have a look around

August 28, 2018

$3M Gramercy apartment is a Gilded Age fantasy in NYC’s oldest co-op

In 1876, Philadelphia hosted the Centennial International Exhibition, the country's first official World's Fair, which brought new technologies and European styles to the forefront. One outcome was a new interest in Aestheticism, especially in New York City. As The Met explains, the "cultural phenomenon" was "the flourishing of an artistic culture and lifestyle" with "an intense interest in collecting and decoration." And if you want to see a modern-day display of this more-is-more trend, look no further than this opulent co-op at 34 Gramercy Park East. Listed for $2,950,000 (including a coveted key to the Park), the home underwent a recent renovation that looked towards the Aesthetic Movement, restoring period details of the city's oldest co-op
You have to see the rest

Travel on a 1920s ocean liner in the historic Cunard Building’s new multimedia event

Photo courtesy of D.S. DestiNY

August 28, 2018

Travel on a 1920s ocean liner in the historic Cunard Building’s new multimedia event

By Emily Nonko

One of Lower Manhattan's most stunning interiors is getting a moment in the spotlight, thanks to a Montreal-based multimedia company. The building in question is 25 Broadway, also known as the Cunard Building or Standard & Poors Building. The 1920s office was designed with an extravagant great hall for Cunard Line and Anchor Lines. The nautical-themed space, where cruise-goers would purchase tickets, became an interior landmark in 1995. Moment Factory, a multimedia company known for creating immersive environments, felt the hall would be the perfect place to debut its work in New York City. The design team studied just about every inch of the elaborate room, boasting murals, domed ceilings and marble work, to transform it for visitors while remaining true to the original architecture. The result, as the company puts it, is a "massive 360-degree digital canvas, enveloping its audience in light, color and sound." 6sqft got a sneak peek of this unique show, which brings you aboard a classic ocean liner and reveals the hall in all its glory by the end of the show.
Check out the incredible space

Distinctive Homes

This $3.75M Lefferts Manor townhouse has well-preserved historic details and every modern luxury

Behold the breathtaking views from this $18M home on the Montauk coastline

For $6.9M, this Scarsdale mansion is a true 21st-century estate

This $8.75M Village townhouse is a downtown dream home with an elevator, three terraces, and a rooftop office suite

For $700K, this parkside Brooklyn co-op adds dramatic design details to classic pre-war bones

This $3.6M Spuyten Duyvil home is a tranquil refuge indoors and out, within New York City limits

This $6M Arts & Crafts estate is like having your own private summer camp in the Hamptons

For $2.5M, this laid-back Ditmas Park home is historic, lovely and livable

SHOP THE LISTING: Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy's $9.75M West Village townhouse is an all-season urban refuge

This colorful $575K co-op is New York City chic in the heart of Bay Ridge

VIEW ALL

LinkNYC announces new campaign to celebrate ‘City of Immigrants’

Photo courtesy of LinkNYC

August 27, 2018

LinkNYC announces new campaign to celebrate ‘City of Immigrants’

The city's 1,742 LinkNYC Wi-Fi kiosks are the site of a new campaign to highlight facts and photographs related to immigrants' impact on New York City's life and culture. "City of Immigrants" will feature historic photos from the Associated Press, along with facts from the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs' annual report. For example, did you know 52% of NYC businesses are immigrant-owned, or that nearly half of the city's population speaks a language other than English at home?
Find out more

1,000 new affordable homes for NYCHA seniors coming to Central Brooklyn

Photo of Bed-Stuy via Wikimedia

August 27, 2018

1,000 new affordable homes for NYCHA seniors coming to Central Brooklyn

New York State will finance 1,000 affordable homes for seniors who are residents of the city's public housing system, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday. The 100 percent affordable units will be constructed on underutilized land in Central Brooklyn that is owned by NYCHA. The $15 million plan falls under the governor's $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn initiative, which aims to bring affordable housing, open space and recreation, new jobs and better healthcare services to the area, which includes the neighborhoods of Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, Ocean-Hill, Bushwick, Crown Heights and East New York.
More here

Affordable Housing

Airbnb sues NYC over new law mandating disclosure of host data

Photo via Airbnb

August 27, 2018

Airbnb sues NYC over new law mandating disclosure of host data

Airbnb filed a lawsuit against New York City on Friday, following the passage of a law that requires the website to disclose the names and addresses of hosts. The lawsuit claims the new law is an "extraordinary act of government overreach" and violates the U.S. Constitution. The new law, passed by the City Council last month, makes it easier for the city to regulate illegal units, or apartments rented for less than 30 days without the permanent tenant present.
Find out more

Policy

August 27, 2018

Behind the scenes at Williamsburg’s abandoned Bayside Oil Depot, set to be NYC’s next public park

We first learned about the proposal to turn Williamsburg's former Bayside Oil Depot into a public park nearly two years ago. Since then, co-founders Karen Zabarsky and Stacey Anderson have been working tirelessly with a team of designers and environmentalists to refine their plans to be something both true to the site's history and representative of where the neighborhood is heading. Part of the larger Bushwick Inlet Park, a 28-acre open space along an unused waterfront industrial stretch, the plan is unique in that it plans to adaptively reuse the 10, 50-foot decommissioned fuel containers, transforming them into everything from performance spaces to greenhouses. With a fresh name--THE TANKS at Bushwick Inlet Park--Karen and Stacey recently took 6sqft on an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the abandoned site, giving us a glimpse into how this incredible industrial relic is poised to become NYC's next anticipated park. Get a rare, up-close look at the tanks, hear what these powerhouse women have been up to, and learn what we can expect in the near future.
You won't believe these photos

City kicks off Governors Island rezoning process

Photo of Governors Island via simplethrill on Flickr

August 27, 2018

City kicks off Governors Island rezoning process

The city has launched the public review process for rezoning Governors Island, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday. A notice announcing the first public hearing for the plan was posted by the city, a critical part of the environmental review process (h/t Crain's). The rezoning would create 4.5 million square feet of commercial, academic and cultural development, part of an endeavor to turn the 172-acre island into a 24/7 community.
Get the details

Policy

August 27, 2018

Six middle-income units up for grabs across from Crown Heights’ Lincoln Terrace park and tennis courts

Just 10 days ago, an affordable housing lottery opened across from the Lincoln Terrace/ Arthur S. Somers Park in Crown Heights. These units are available to households earning 60 percent of the area median income, but a new lottery right around the corner will provide middle-income New Yorkers the opportunity to get into the neighborhood, too. As of today, those earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for six apartments at 1764 Union Street, a new, boutique rental building just two blocks from the 3, 4, and 5 trains at Utica Avenue. The units up for grabs range from an $1,800/month studio to $2,500/month two-bedrooms, and residents will have easy access to the park's two tennis courts, two playgrounds, basketball and handball courts, baseball field, and beautiful wooded lawns.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

August 27, 2018

Top-floor Tudor City studio can be your ‘sun-drenched jewel box’ for $424K

What it lacks in space, this Tudor City studio makes up for in views and location. The 600-square-foot, top-floor, corner apartment has a compact kitchen and a Murphy bed, but it's also lined floor-to-ceiling with built-in shelving and cabinetry. And the huge pane-glass windows not only let in tons of light, but provide incredible views from the 23rd floor of the UN, East River, and Long Island City.
See what else $424,000 gets you

Distinctive Homes

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): The Rheingold, The Colorado, The Niko and The Ashland

August 25, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): The Rheingold, The Colorado, The Niko and The Ashland The Top 10 Rental Concessions of August 2018 [link] Leasing Launches at The Rheingold; Bushwick Rentals Offer 9 Months Free Amenity Access [link] Live at The Colorado: No-Fee Upper East Side Rentals with 1 Month Free [link] Live at Gotham West: New […]

Real Estate Trends

‘Affordable’ middle-income apartments in Bushwick are only $150 cheaper

682 Chauncey Street via Alley Property Management

August 24, 2018

‘Affordable’ middle-income apartments in Bushwick are only $150 cheaper

Sure, you can do a lot with $150 a month, but does that level of savings really constitute as "affordable?" According to the city, yes. The latest housing lottery to come online, reserved for households earning $130 percent of the area median income, is for three $2,450/month two-bedrooms at Bushwick's 682 Chauncey Street. By comparison, market-rate two-bedroom units in the new, 10-unit building go for $2,599 or $2,650.
What's the deal?

Affordable Housing

WeWork on track to become the biggest private office tenant in Manhattan

If WeWork leases just 74,000 square feet of office space, the co-working space company will become the biggest private office tenant in Manhattan, the blog recode reported Thursday. This means WeWork would bypass JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the largest private office tenant in the borough. WeWork currently has 57 locations in NYC and represents a little under three percent of office space in the city, but is expected to grow to represent between five and 10 percent over the next decade. How are they securing all of this square footage? Offering brokers 100 percent commissions and huge rental discounts for tenants.
More here

Real Estate Trends

August 24, 2018

After five years and a $20M discount, outrageous Mill Basin mansion finds a buyer

Apparently, 257 feet of waterfront, two boat slips, a 1,000-square-foot pool, a “circular meditation room,” and an outdoor pavilion/kitchen with seating for 40 was not enough to make this over-the-top Mill Basin mansion a hot seller. We'll blame it on the Miami Vice-meets-Star Strek design. But for one daring buyer, this made for quite the deal, as The Real Deal reports that after five years on the market, the home at 2458 National Drive has sold for $10, a whopping $20 million less than its original asking price.
Get a look around

Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza to undergo a $9M restoration

Via Wally Gobetz/Flickr

August 24, 2018

Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza to undergo a $9M restoration

The historic entrance to Brooklyn's Prospect Park is getting a makeover. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday a plan to restore Grand Army Plaza and its iconic Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch located in Prospect Heights. The $8.9 million project, overseen by the Prospect Park Alliance and the city's Parks Department, includes replacing the roof of the arch, cleaning and repointing the brick and stone structure, repairing the iron staircases, and updating the lighting. Plus, the plaza-framing landscaped berms will be replanted.
Find out more

Uncategorized

The Battle of Brooklyn 242 years later: Where the fighting played out in present day

Battle of Long Island, 1858 by Alonzo Chappel

August 24, 2018

The Battle of Brooklyn 242 years later: Where the fighting played out in present day

By Emily Nonko

242 years ago on August 27th, less than two months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War played out across Brooklyn. What was first known as the Battle of Long Island (Brooklyn was still just a small town at the time of the attack) was later dubbed the Battle of Brooklyn. On this summer day in 1776, The British took their troops from Staten Island to stealthily attack George Washington and his Continental Army at their Brooklyn camp. Greatly outnumbered in size and skill, Washington sent many of his soldiers on an escape route through Brooklyn Heights and across the foggy East River to Manhattan. To distract the British and buy the rest of the troops time, Washington also sent the entire 1st Maryland Regiment, known as the Maryland 400, on a suicide mission. All 400 soldiers from the regiment were killed in battle with the British, but the Continental Army made its escape and went on to win the war. Not surprising since these harrowing events played out across a good portion of the borough, there are monuments, a museum, and plaques to commemorate it. And then there are popular Brooklyn locales—from Prospect Park to Green-Wood Cemetery—that you might not realize were former battlefields. After the jump, 6sqft rounds up the modern-day locations once crucial to the Battle of Brooklyn, with some tips on how to commemorate the event this weekend.
Keep reading

History

Despite drop in average rent, Battery Park City is still the most expensive zip code in the U.S.

Via Wiki Commons

August 24, 2018

Despite drop in average rent, Battery Park City is still the most expensive zip code in the U.S.

Despite a year-over-year decrease in its average rent, Battery Park City ranks as the most expensive zip code for renters in the United States, according to a RentCafe report. In 2017, the average rent in this downtown neighborhood was roughly $6,000/month. And while it experienced a nearly two percent decrease this year, with average rent falling to $5,657/month, Battery Park City is still the not-so-winning winner. Not surprising but still bleak, 26 out of the 50 zip codes with the most expensive average rents in the U.S. are located in Manhattan.
See the list

Real Estate Trends

August 24, 2018

A romantic roof deck atop this $1M Village garret brings you sunshine, moonlight and views

The penthouse at 71 Washington Place may be petite, but it gives you the best of several enviable worlds, starting with Greenwich Village townhouse living. The co-op studio's interiors are freshly-renovated with plenty of charm and good taste. Best of all, top-floor status gives you a nice, big private rooftop paradise from which to gaze out over the city below. It's asking just about $1 million.
Check out all the angles, and the view

Distinctive Homes

M train’s taking a break from the rails this weekend and 167th Street B, D station set to close

Photo by Adam E. Moreira via Wikipedia

August 24, 2018

M train’s taking a break from the rails this weekend and 167th Street B, D station set to close

By Hannah Frishberg

The M train is not running this weekend, a fact the MTA buries in the second sentence of a note about station improvements along the J line. As well, beginning the Monday, the 167th Street B and D station will be joining the slew of other "temporarily closed" stations until January 2019. Strangely, the MTA does not list any service changes for the L train, despite an extended closure of weekend service between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
READ MORE

Transit

Via Wikimedia

August 23, 2018

Another blow to Uber, ride-hailing app launches for NYC yellow taxis

Earlier this month, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a package of bills to limit for-hire vehicles, like Uber and Lyft, by placing a one-year cap on new licenses. And this week the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) approved a pilot program for a new ride-hailing app for yellow taxis, according to Curbed NY. Calling itself the "next generation taxi app," Waave promises to give New Yorkers upfront fares, surge-free pricing and estimated time of arrival before the car arrives, all features currently offered by Uber.
Get the details

Transit

Image: istolethetv via Flickr.

August 23, 2018

Help save Tompkins Square Park’s Halloween Dog Parade

Everything you need to know about affordable housing: applying, getting in, and staying put

One of the city's favorite Halloween diversions for almost 30 years, the annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade, may not happen this year due to lack of funds. As Gothamist reports, the annual celebration of canine (and owner) creativity is facing a financial shortage due to a ballooning budget–mostly due to insurance costs–that has corresponded with growing attendance, according to Garrett Rosso, the parade's organizer and a longtime volunteer at the Tompkins Square dog run. A fan of the parade, Therese Moriarty, has started a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $15,000.
Find out how you can help

Events & Things To Do

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Lottery launches for affordable apartments in Jersey City, from $1,014/month

Rendering via Genesis Companies

August 23, 2018

Lottery launches for affordable apartments in Jersey City, from $1,014/month

Providing Jersey City residents some rental relief as the market continues to grow, a new housing building opened this week and launched a lottery for 100 percent affordable units. Located at 455 Ocean Avenue in the Greensville section of Jersey City, the five-story building includes 64 apartments, with five of the units set aside for homeless veterans and seven reserved for those earning at or below 30 percent of the area median income. Dubbed the Dr. Lena Frances Edwards Apartments, the rental's remaining units reserved for those earning 60 percent of the AMI ($66,500/year for a family of four) include $1,014/month one-bedrooms, $1,217/month two-bedrooms and $1,407/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

August 23, 2018

Rent a designer couple’s dream urban farmhouse in Ridgewood for $5,700/month

On a landmarked cobblestoned street near the border between Ridgewood and Bushwick, 1886 Stockholm Street is one of a row of quaint row houses. The duplex for rent, asking $5,700 a month, comprises the top two floors of the house, which belongs to a couple whose renovation turned the three-story house into a charming reminder of their favorite upstate farmhouse–and led to a career in interior design. The hand-built shiplap kitchen and dreamy garden are only a few highlights.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

August 23, 2018

See the 800-foot indoor ski slope, water park, and observation wheel coming to North Jersey

Earlier this week, we got a sneak peek at the massive food hall coming to the American Dream mega-mall next to Met Life Stadium. The $3 billion, 4.5 million-square-foot shopping mall, which has been 16 years in the making, will also boast the largest indoor ski slope in the western hemisphere, an NHL-sized ice rink, a 4-D movie theater, a LEGOLAND, an eight-acre Nickelodeon water park and theme park, and an Observation Wheel with 26 climate-controlled gondolas overlooking the NYC skyline from a height "nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty." And we've now got a first look at what these other over-the-top amusements will look like.
All the details and renderings

New Developments

August 23, 2018

100 things to do in NYC that are completely free

Despite being one of the most expensive cities to live in, New York City offers many free activities, events, and attractions all year round, letting you pinch pennies when the rent check is due. From free lectures at the Met to free group meditation classes, there are tons of activities that don't cost a dime. To help New York visitors and natives alike, we've put together a guide of the 100 best wallet-friendly things to do in the Big Apple.
See the full list

Image: Luca Vanzella via Flickr

August 23, 2018

New rides and a boutique hotel to help reawaken Coney Island

On the heels of news that Coney Island will be getting its first new hotel in 50 years, plans have surfaced for a 150,000-square-foot expansion of Luna Park that will bring new rides, food and arcade games. The faded but beloved seaside icon has been in the news recently for a renewed pace of development that many see as new promise for the area. A log flume ride, zip lines and a ropes course are coming to the block between Surf Avenue and the boardwalk and between West 15th and West 16th streets, with food, arcade games and seating planned for two more streets nearby. And according to NY1, developer PYE Properties has proposed a boutique hotel in the historic Shore Theater, a 1920s landmark that has fallen into disrepair and has been vacant since 1978, attracting the homeless and graffiti but little attention.
Find out more

You can live in J.Lo and A-Rod’s 15 Central Park West rental for $11,500/month

15 CPW courtyard by Flickr cc; A-Rod and J.Lo via Wiki Commons

August 23, 2018

You can live in J.Lo and A-Rod’s 15 Central Park West rental for $11,500/month

By Annie Doge

Though they recently dropped $15 million on an apartment at 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential building in the Western Hempishere, power couple Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have reportedly been shacking up in a smaller rental at the equally impressive 15 Central Park West. The celebrity-filled building is NYC's most expensive condo, but what really makes this juicy is that A-Rod was allegedly banned from the residence for hosting several hookers while renting there in 2014. Perhaps the board feels he's matured over the years, as he and J-Lo have secretly been renting a one-bedroom there for the past year, and with the lease expiring on September 1st (and the pair likely getting ready to make the move into 432) it's now up for rent asking $11,500 a month.
Get the scoop

Learn about revolutionary New York at Fraunces Tavern’s new ‘Fear and Force’ exhibit

Getting to know a Son of Liberty, via Fraunces Tavern

August 23, 2018

Learn about revolutionary New York at Fraunces Tavern’s new ‘Fear and Force’ exhibit

By Lucie Levine

The Sons of Liberty may be best known for the Boston Tea Party, but Fraunces Tavern, the Revolutionary-era watering hole and museum at 54 Pearl Street, is showcasing the group’s history in New York City. The new exhibit, Fear and Force: New York City’s Sons of Liberty, opened on Wednesday, August 22nd in the Museum’s Mesick Gallery. In 1765, New York’s Sons of Liberty began protesting the Stamp Act, and other measures they believed the King had no right to impose. Their active resistance to the trappings of British Rule makes for an exciting exhibition. The items on display, all culled from the Museum’s own collection, reveal the group’s pivotal role on the road to Revolution. Interactive features, like chests of Bohea tea, which you can sniff, help make visitors feel like a part of that story.
The revolution continues...

August 22, 2018

Empire State Building reveals its new Deco-inspired Observatory entrance

There are two things people remember when they visit the top of the Empire State Building, "the views and the line," said Anthony Malkin, CEO and Chairman of Empire State Realty Trust, at an unveiling this morning of the landmark's new Observatory entrance. As phase one of the decade-long Empire State ReBuilding project to modernize the building, the new entrance will greatly increase space and reduce the wait time for the 4.2 million annual Observatory guests. The space includes a "grand staircase which splits around a two-story architectural model of ESB," along with new self-service ticket kiosks, digital screens showing images of the building over its 87 years, and high-tech "airport-style" security.
Take a tour!

Uncategorized

Apply for 6 middle-income units on the Bushwick-Ridgewood border, from $1,988/month

Image via Mike Sinko on Flickr

August 22, 2018

Apply for 6 middle-income units on the Bushwick-Ridgewood border, from $1,988/month

Located in Bushwick at 387 Bleecker Street, a brand new building is accepting applications for six middle-income units. The rental is near the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenue subway station, right by the quirky Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the three $1,988/month one-bedroom and three $2,436/month two-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

August 22, 2018

Middle-income lotto opens at Bushwick’s glass factory-turned-trendy rental

Two months after leasing kicked off at Glassworks Bushwick, the affordable housing lottery is opening for 19 middle-income units, ranging from $2,098/month studios to $2,715/month two-bedrooms. If this doesn't seem so "affordable," keep in mind that these market-rate apartments are going for $2,500 and $3,100. Plus, the trendy new rental, a cool conversion of the former Dannenhoffer Opalescent Glassworks stained glass factory at 336 Himrod Street, offers a fitness center, lounge, laundry room, book-share library, and, best of all, a landscaped roof deck with a barbeque area.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

University in Exile: How refugees at the New School helped win WWII and transform American scholarship

L’Ecole Libre des Hautes Etudes at the New School in 1942, via France-Amerique

August 22, 2018

University in Exile: How refugees at the New School helped win WWII and transform American scholarship

By Lucie Levine

In 1937, the great German writer Thomas Mann suggested “To the Living Spirit” as a motto for the New School’s University in Exile. Since the Nazis had removed the same motto from the great lecture hall at the University of Heidelberg, the phrase would “indicate that the living spirit, driven from Germany, has found a home in this country,” and that home was on West 12th Street. Between 1933 and 1945, The New School’s University in Exile offered asylum to more than 180 refugee scholars from fascist Europe. The exiled academics became the Graduate Faculty of The New School for Social Research and represented the largest contingent of refugee intellectuals in the United States. In the classroom, they made pioneering advances in the social sciences; in the war room, they advised the Roosevelt Administration on economic policy, war information, and espionage. Educating future Nobel Prize winners as well as future Oscar winners, they influenced American scholastic and cultural life to such a degree that even Marlon Brando remembered his émigré professors at the New School, “enriching the city's intellectual life with an intensity that has probably never been equaled anywhere during a comparable period of time."
More living and learning this way!

History

New city-sponsored ‘freelancers hub’ will open in Dumbo

Image via Pexels

August 22, 2018

New city-sponsored ‘freelancers hub’ will open in Dumbo

In a city where two out of five workers is a freelancer, a significant workforce doesn't always have ready access to health care or even a tranquil space to work. The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment hopes to address those needs, among others, with a new freelancer's hub, the first government-backed initiative to help media freelancers across NYC with networking, legal and business assistance and advice on projects. Plans for the new hub, which will be located at the Made in NY Media Center in Dumbo, Brooklyn, were announced this morning by Made in NY Commissioner Julie Menin. The mayor's office is partnering with The Freelancers Union and Independent Filmmaker Project to create and operate the space, which will open in October.
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August 22, 2018

New tool maps every active construction project in NYC in real time

New York City's construction craze just got easier to track, thanks to a new tool that maps every major, active project across the five boroughs. The city's Department of Buildings released this week an interactive map and dashboard that provides real-time information on every active construction site in the city. According to the data, there are currently 7,437 active permits filed and nearly 198,000,00 total square feet of construction, as of Wednesday.
See just how construction crazy NYC is

Uncategorized

August 22, 2018

Massive $39M Trump World Tower ‘sky mansion’ has 16 rooms, 24 hidden TVs, and 20+ closets

The listing for this 7,500-square-foot, 16 room, six-bedroom property in the Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza calls the massive home a "mansion in the sky," and that gives you an idea of just what to expect, though you might already guess what to expect from the (almost) entire 82nd floor of the modern-luxe-encrusted tower. There are, of course, the 360-degree views, which reach to the moon. And a peek at the floor plan affirms a dizzying magnitude of square footage in one single Turtle Bay condominium.
Take the sky mansion tour

Distinctive Homes

August 21, 2018

For $2.5M, a West Soho condo with a peaceful garden sanctuary

With a private garden oasis accessed through floor-to-ceiling glass doors, this ground-floor apartment in West Soho offers a stunning indoor-outdoor balance. Asking $2.5 million, the two-bedroom home located at 22 Renwick Street, a full-service condo boutique building, has plenty of space to entertain. The listing describes the home as "country living in the city," and with its 15-foot tall river birch trees and beautiful flowers, it's not hard to see why.
See the enviable green space

Distinctive Homes

Organization honors 9/11 victims by giving away 500,000 daffodil bulbs

Image: Eden, Janine and Jim via Flickr.

August 21, 2018

Organization honors 9/11 victims by giving away 500,000 daffodil bulbs

New York City non-profit New Yorkers for Parks is getting ready for its annual daffodil bulb giveaway project in tribute to the memories of those who died in the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The annual Daffodil Project distributes 500,000 daffodil bulbs to residents and groups, to be planted in public places throughout the city (h/t AM New York).
Find out where to get yours

August 21, 2018

Compact Greenwich Village studio with sleeping loft asks $850,000

By Hannah Frishberg

In Greenwich Village's 1 Sheridan Square, this fifth-floor studio offers a compact slice of pre-war Manhattan for under $1 million. The lofted condo unit is quite small but would be a quality crash pad for a buyer with a tight budget set on the prime location.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

August 21, 2018

Affordable housing lottery opens for new health-focused complex in the Bronx

A year and a half after breaking ground on the project, mental health nonprofit Community Access has opened the affordable housing for a new, $52.2 million supportive housing complex in the Mount Eden neighborhood of the Bronx. As 6sqft previously reported, "it incorporates sustainable elements such as solar panels and a co-generation plant, as well as health-focused amenities like a community garden and kitchen to encourage and teach about healthy eating, outdoor exercise equipment, and a bike sharing program." The building at 111 East 172nd Street has 126 units, 50 percent of which are set aside for formerly homeless New Yorkers or families with special needs. The remaining half is available as of today through the city's lottery and are reserved for those earning 60 percent of the area median income, including $864/month studios and $1,122/month two-bedrooms.
See the breakdown

Affordable Housing

Spring + Thompson

83 Thompson Street

Soho

Loft-like residences in Soho designed by Selldorf Architects

2 beds starting at $4,975,000
4 beds starting at $14,850,000

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Music fan behind ‘Aretha’ signs at Franklin Ave subway aims for permanent tribute mural

Images: Aretha Franklin, Franklin Avenue subway station via Wikimedia.

August 21, 2018

Music fan behind ‘Aretha’ signs at Franklin Ave subway aims for permanent tribute mural

Upon hearing of the death of Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin last week, music enthusiast and location manager LeRoy McCarthy corralled a street artist friend and got to work on a fitting sendoff–"Aretha," stenciled in magenta sprayable chalk lettering above each sign that identified the Franklin Avenue subway station in Brooklyn. Curbed reports that McCarthy, who was responsible for efforts to name streets for Notorious B.I.G. in Clinton Hill, Phife Dawg in Queens and the Beastie Boys in the Lower East Side, among others, hopes to create a more permanent tribute. The plan is to create the word R-E-S-P-E-C-T in large black letters on a blank wall just south of Fulton Street on the west side of Franklin Avenue.
more than a little respect, hopefully

My 5,400sqft: Inside father and finance pro Stephen Fox’s sprawling Long Island City condo

6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Long Island City condo of Stephen. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

August 21, 2018

My 5,400sqft: Inside father and finance pro Stephen Fox’s sprawling Long Island City condo

No, that's not a typo. Stephen Fox’s home really measures 5,400 square feet. And slightly more than half of that space comes in the form of two terraces--a lower one equipped with a grill and dining area and a huge rooftop area with more room to play and entertain than some city parks. Both spaces boast views of the Manhattan skyline, as well as a front-row seat to the ever-evolving Queens neighborhood of Long Island City. After first purchasing a unit in the building, a former 19th-century factory, in 2006, Stephen and his wife Julie later snagged a larger apartment. The couple, who both work in finance, then bought the unit next door, combining them to make for an even more palatial home. They now share the light-filled space with their two children, three-year-old Mason and two-year-old Logan. Stephen recently gave 6sqft a tour of his home, shared what it was like to settle down in LIC, and told us how he's seen the neighborhood change over the last decade.
Take a look around

A new deal and more construction at Waldorf Astoria, though opening date is delayed

Photo via Wikimedia

August 21, 2018

A new deal and more construction at Waldorf Astoria, though opening date is delayed

When the iconic Waldorf Astoria closed in 2017 for the massive renovation promised when Chinese company Anbang Insurance Group acquired it in 2014, the hotel's future held jumbo condos and massive guest rooms. The fate of the Park Avenue landmark has been a topic of drama and discussion ever since, especially given the takeover of Anbang by the Chinese government after the incarceration of the company's chairman, Wu Xiaohui, last year during a fraud investigation. The New York Post now reports that although contractor AECOM Tishman has signed a deal with Anbang and construction is underway for the promised 350 condos and 350 hotel rooms, the project's completion date has been moved from 2020 to 2021.
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Events & Things To Do

August 20, 2018

Meryl Streep lists serene Tribeca penthouse for $25M

By Annie Doge

If we had to guess what Meryl Streep's home looked like, our description would be pretty close to the serene interiors of her Tribeca penthouse, which she's just listed for $24.6 million. According to Curbed, the three-time Academy Award-winner and her husband, Donald Gummer, bought the four-bedroom apartment in 2006 for $10 million, and they've now decided to sell it after buying a mid-century-modern home in Pasadena last December. Though Streep has designed the interiors impeccably, with a laid-back coastal vibe and contemporary art collection, what really sets this residence apart is the 10-foot-wide landscaped terrace that wraps around three sides of the penthouse.
Take the tour

Huge American Dream mall near MetLife stadium will put NYC’s food halls to shame

Rendering via Vice/Munchies

August 20, 2018

Huge American Dream mall near MetLife stadium will put NYC’s food halls to shame