Queens

July 29, 2017

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

Gut-Renovated Rentals in Prewar Harlem Building from $1,850/Month; Move-In August 1st [link] Live & Play at “The Crescendo,” South Bronx’s Unprecedented Rental Prepares for Summer Launch [link] Meet Crystal54, Hell’s Kitchen’s New Cast-Iron Rental Leasing from $3,200/mo [link] Conversion of 1890s Bushwick Church is Complete; See Inside the New Rentals [link] Grand New Rentals Debut […]

July 26, 2017

NYC Ferry hits 1 million riders as it readies to launch Astoria route

Considering the NYC Ferry has been so popular since launching on May 1st that it had to charter two extra boats to meet demand, it's not surprising that the city-subsidized ferry hit the 1 million rider mark as of today, a month earlier than expected. Mayor de Blasio celebrated the milestone earlier today with a press conference in Long Island City, also announcing that the fourth ferry route, the Astoria line, will launch on Tuesday, August 29th.
More ferry news
July 25, 2017

REVEALED: Tishman Speyer’s Long Island City office development boasts food hall and rooftop park

Long Island City, New York City’s fastest growing neighborhood, shows no signs of slowing down. Following the completion of Jackson Park, the residential phase of Tishman Speyer Properties’ massive Gotham Center development, renderings have been revealed for their creative office space across the street at 28-01 Jackson Avenue. As CityRealty learned, the development, called the JACX, consists of two identical towers that will include over 40,000 square feet of retail space, with a gourmet market, food hall, dining, and boutique fitness centers, as well as a one-acre rooftop terrace.
See inside
July 22, 2017

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

Images (L to R): 363 Bond Street, 525W52, Offerman House and 100 Steuben Tour Hell’s Kitchen’s Industrially-Inspired 525W52 Courtesy of Field Condition [link] Bond Street Development Redefines Living Next to the Gowanus Canal; See Inside [link] New Rentals Launch with 1 Month Free at Historic Offerman House in Downtown Brooklyn [link] Leasing Kicks Off at […]

July 20, 2017

Governor Cuomo will invest $5.6B to transform the LIRR

With the renovations at Penn Station just getting underway, the state released a plan on Wednesday to invest $5.6 billion in renovating 39 Long Island Rail Road stations. This includes the reconstruction of the system’s tracks, switches and signals. According to Governor Cuomo, the project, part of his encompassing $100 billion infrastructure plan, would increase rider capacity by more than 80 percent.
Find out more
July 18, 2017

The world’s largest tire was used as a Ferris wheel at NYC’s 1964 World’s Fair

The world's largest tire, the Uniroyal Giant Tire, reached 80 feet high and weighed 20 tons when it debuted as a Ferris wheel at the New York World's Fair in 1964. First located in Flushing, Queens, the towering tire was commissioned by the Uniroyal Tire Company and designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, the same architectural firm behind the Empire State Building. During its time at the fair, the tire carried over two million passengers, including Jacqueline Kennedy and her children, Telly Savalas, and the Shah of Iran. Each ride cost just $0.25 and would last 10 minutes.
How did the tire end up in Detroit?
July 14, 2017

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

One of New York’s First Skyscrapers is Now Rentals, and Leases Come with 1 Month Free [link] Watermark LIC: More Long Island City Rentals to Begin Leasing this Summer, Register Now [link] Brand New Bed-Stuy Rentals from $2,000/Month; Duplexes Available [link] One Hudson Yards Readies for Summer Leasing; Rentals to Start from $5,095/Month [link] New […]

July 9, 2017

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

From Bowling Alley to Co-Living Rentals, The Lanes Makes its Debut in Long Island City [link] The Posthouse Debuts in Clinton Hill; Brand New Rentals from $2,013/Month [link] Move-In Ready Apartments at Columbus Square on Upper West Side Leasing with 1 Month Free [link] North America’s Biggest New Co-Living Building Tops Out in Long Island […]

July 3, 2017

New photos of Long Island City’s 1 QPS Tower show off NYC’s highest rooftop pool

Just in time for the height of the summer season, developer Property Markets Group has released a set of new photos of their 500-foot Long Island City rental 1 QPS Tower, which has the highest rooftop pool in the city, complete with panoramic skyline views, plenty of lounge chairs, and a stylish bar area (h/t CityRealty). The new images also show off the SLCE-designed skyscraper's other amenities, including a garden terrace, library, triple-height gym with rock climbing wall, and conference/lounge areas.
Check out all the photos
June 30, 2017

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

Prices Drop at East Harlem Luxury Rental by Karim Rashid; Units Now Start at $2,000/Month [link] Clinton Hill’s 1007 Atlantic Avenue Launches Leasing & Affordable Housing Lottery [link] Flex Layouts in the Financial District; No-Fee, 1 Month Free & Guarantors Accepted [link] Special Offer at Charming Upper West Side Rental; Flex Lease Dates & $1,000 […]

June 28, 2017

Watch MoMA PS1’s solar canopy art installation get installed

Every summer, New Yorkers are treated to kooky architectural innovation in the MoMA PS1 Courtyard. ( Last summer: this wild woven design from Mexico City-based architecture firm Escobedo Solíz Studio.) This year, Ithaca, New York-based architect Jenny Sabin takes the spotlight with her Lumen installation, a structure made of over one thousand digitally knitted photo luminescent cells that change color in the presence of sunlight. In honor of the installation opening this week, MoMA PS1 released videos in which the architect explains the development of her 500-pound solar-active canopy and shows off the construction and installation process.
Watch the videos here
June 28, 2017

Map: Where to watch the Macy’s fireworks this July 4th

Here's a handy guide outlining some prime spots for experiencing Macy's Fourth of July live fireworks extravaganza this Tuesday evening; in addition, the folks that put on the show have provided a helpful interactive neighborhood finder so you're well situated when things go boom. Take a fun quiz here, then find out the best spots to watch from. Or just check out some prime spots here.
More info this way
June 26, 2017

More apartments have been built in Long Island City than any other U.S. neighborhood since 2010

Following the country’s economic recession, neighborhoods throughout the United States have witnessed an apartment boom. According to a report by RENTCafe, since 2010, apartment buildings have been popping up at an increasingly faster rate. Unsurprisingly, Long Island City came in first for the largest number of new rental apartments, with 41 new apartment buildings and 12,533 new units built in the past seven years. Nearly 36 percent of all apartments are brand new in this Queens waterfront neighborhood.
See which other NYC 'hoods made the top-10 list
June 25, 2017

$850K for this 1899 Victorian home in Ridgewood with a charming front porch

This historic frame home is looking picture perfect in Ridgewood, Queens. It's located at 62-46 61st Street, a block off the neighborhood's main drag of Metropolitan Avenue. The listing says you "step back into 1899 every evening in this beautiful two-story Victorian." We have to admit the property remains impressively intact, from the front porch to the ornate woodwork and pocket doors inside. After selling back in 2014 for $560,000, then getting some modern structural upgrades, it's now on the market for $850,000.
Go inside
June 24, 2017

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

A Look Inside Harlem 125 as the New Rental Debuts on Harlem’s Main Street [link] Leasing Special on West 72nd Street: Apartments Above Trader Joe’s Listed with 1 Month Free [link] Newly Launched Jersey City Rental Partners with Airbnb, Achieves Record Price Per Square Foot [link] Live in Brooklyn’s Tallest Building: New ‘Hub’ Rental Tower […]

June 21, 2017

$1.3M Arbor Close Tudor is a reminder of the 1920s ‘garden city’ movement

Just adjacent to the historic "secret" enclave of Forest Hills Gardens, Queens–a rare planned community founded in 1909–is the even more well-kept secret of Arbor Close. These garden-filled idylls share the same covenant to maintain their early 20th century "garden city" charm. Like its neighbor, Arbor Close consists of 1927-era Tudor rowhouses and apartment buildings with central gardens. Though it doesn't happen too often, one of those rare homes, an elegant, unassuming Tudor at 111-27 75th Road, is for sale, asking $1.275 million.
See more of this charming townhouse
June 16, 2017

After less than a day on the market, Donald Trump’s childhood home finds a renter

Since initially hitting the market last summer, Donald Trump's childhood home in Jamaica Estates, Queens has seen quite the runaround. After a price chop from $1.65 to $1.2 million, the listing was pulled in November to head to the auction block, but shortly thereafter Manhattan real estate mogul Michael Davis bought the Tudor-style home sight-unseen for just under $1.4 million. He then flipped it for $2.14 million, nearly twice what he paid and double the neighborhood average. Mansion Global now has the scoop that the mystery buyer, whose identity was shielded behind the LLC “Trump Birth House,” will rent it out for between $3,500 and $4,000 a month, on par with similarly sized homes in the neighborhood. ***Update 7/16/2017: Just one day after it was announced that Donald Trump's childhood home would be placed on the rental market, DNA Info reports that the Queens property has already found a tenant. Real estate agent Jason Friedman of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage told the website that "a long-term lease, for at least a year" was signed "almost immediately" after the home was listed, although for how much is not clear. Friedman shared only that the rent was more than the $3,500 reported yesterday. No word yet on who has scooped up the property.
Get a look inside
June 16, 2017

The Urban Lens: ‘Indecent exposure’ at Rockaway Beach in the 1940s

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, we share a set of vintage photos documenting Rockaway Beach in the 1940s. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. These days, beachgoers give nary a thought when stripping down to their skimpy bikinis and short-shorts, but 70 years ago wearing much more modest swimsuits was enough to get you a ticket from the NYPD. Noted LIFE magazine photographer Sam Shere (who's best known for his iconic photo of the Hindenburg disaster) documented this "indecent exposure" phenomenon at Rockaway Beach in 1946. Starting with a sign that reads "wear robes to and from the beach," Shere's series shows women sunbathing in high-wasted two-pieces, men walking the boardwalk in just their shorts, and the way in which these beach bums seem unphased by the cops writing them summonses.
See all the photos here
June 14, 2017

84 affordable units up for grabs in Jamaica, Queens, from $368/month

With several large-scale development projects in the works, like a new luxury complex with 100,00 square feet of retail and a 24-story Hilton Garden Inn, the neighborhood of Jamaica is undergoing some changes. Applications are currently being accepted for 84 affordable apartments in the Pavilion at Locust Manor, a newly constructed housing development located at 171-04 Baisley Boulevard. New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply to units ranging from studios for $368 per month to two bedrooms for $1,511 per month.
Find out if you qualify
June 5, 2017

Live in a new Astoria building near Halletts Points from $889/month

Known as Astoria Cove, this newly constructed 28-unit rental at 26-27 2nd Street is just a block away from the under-construction Halletts Point mega-development. The seven-building project will bring 2,400 housing units to the Astoria neighborhood, as well as a stop for the East River Ferry, a supermarket, school, and waterfront park. Six households earning 60 percent of the median income have a chance to live near all the upcoming action through the city's affordable housing lottery that's offering $889/month one-bedrooms and $1,001/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
June 2, 2017

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

325 Kent to Open this July on the Former Domino Sugar Site; New Renderings & Pricing Revealed [link] Don’t Be Boxed-Up This Summer: Outdoor Amenities Reign at This Midtown Rental Just Two Blocks from the Greenway [link] South Williamsburg Has a New Boutique Rental – And It’s Sure to Fill-Up Fast [link] FRANK 57 WEST […]

May 18, 2017

Art Nerd New York’s top event picks for the week – 5/18-5/24

Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer shares her top art, design and architecture event picks for 6sqft readers! There’s nothing better than walking around the city when the weather is great, and this week’s round up will get you outdoors and enjoying the sun. Open studios abound on Saturday and Sunday, offering art lovers a chance to peek into the private studios of artists across the boroughs. The city's sacred sites—churches, synagogues and temples—are also swinging their doors open, inviting the public to bask in the beauty of their stained glass collections.
Details on these events and more this way
May 17, 2017

REVEALED: See new renderings of the QueensWay elevated park

For the past couple years, there have been no major updates on the QueensWay, the High Line-style elevated park and cultural greenway proposed for a 3.5-mile stretch of abandoned railway in central Queens. But today, the Trust for Public Land and Friends of the QueensWay said in a press release that they've finished the schematic design for the first half-mile, which could open as soon as 2020. Along with the announcement and details comes a new set of renderings from DLANDstudio Architecture + Landscape Architecture.
All the details and renderings ahead
May 17, 2017

Rare Italianate townhouse in Long Island City comes with a sunroom and lush backyard

Long Island City isn't known as a neighborhood of historic townhomes--especially considering all the new development--but it does boast the impressive Hunters Point Historic District, lined with incredible residential architecture. One such building in the historic district is the Italianate townhouse at 21-20 45th Avenue built by developers Root and Rust in 1870. It's now on the market for $3.5 million. According to the listing, the exterior use of Westchester stone--a durable sandstone resembling marble--"has allowed this and other townhouses along the row to survive almost 150 years looking almost as good as the day they were built." Inside, there's tin ceilings, marble mantels and exposed brick, as well as a sunroom that leads out to a truly incredible backyard.
Go see it
May 16, 2017

Landmarks approves plans to disassemble RKO Keith’s Flushing Theater’s historic interiors

In a rare case, the RKO Keith's Flushing Theater is an interior landmark, but the building it's inside is not landmarked. Built in 1928 to the designs of noted theater architect Thomas Lamb, the elaborately ornamented Churrigueresque-style movie palace has sat decrepit for the past three decades, until Chinese firm Xinyuan Real Estate (they're also behind Williamsburg's Oosten condo and the forthcoming Hell's Kitchen condo that will be anchored by a Target) bought the vacant theater for $66 million last year with plans to develop it into a 269-unit luxury condo. Moving ahead with this vision, they've tapped Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and preservation specialists Ayon Studio to erect a 16-story glass tower at the site, which includes plans to "enclose the interior landmark, and to disassemble, restore off-site, and reinstall salvaged ornamental plasterwork and woodwork and replicas" in a new residential lobby. Despite some opposition from the Historic Districts Council (HDC) regarding public accessibility, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted in favor of the plan, congratulating the architects and expressing great admiration for their design.
More details ahead
May 15, 2017

Before JFK, there was Idlewild Airport

Changes are afoot at JFK International Airport; construction has already begun on the transformation of Eero Saarinen's masterful TWA terminal, out of commission since TWA folded in 2001, into a 505-room first class hotel, and just a few months ago, Governor Cuomo announced a massive $10 billion overhaul of the whole airport, which will involve interconnecting the terminals, redesigning roads, and improving parking, amenities and security. When finished, the airport will bear little resemblance to what it once was, which has a much more interesting history than one might think. Ahead, 6sqft delves into how JFK changed from a playground for the rich to a major international airport, with some interesting debacles in between.
The whole history ahead
May 15, 2017

To ease Penn Station woes, a new plan calls for a transit hub in Sunnyside, Queens

With its constant delays and malfunctions, Penn Station is becoming a worse and worse nightmare for countless commuters and visitors. Last year, Governor Cuomo revealed a plan to redevelop the train hub, one of the busiest in the country, by building a new train hall with restaurants and shops, but while the artful renovation will make Penn Station more attractive, it will do little to address the passenger congestion problem, according to think tank, ReThink Studio (h/t Crain’s). In response, the group came up with an idea called ReThinkNYC that would create a new transit hub in Sunnyside, Queens, to connect commuter lines with the subway system. Instead of making Penn Station the final stop for NJ Transit and LIRR commuters, trains would pass through instead of stopping and turning around.
All the details ahead