Search Results for: gentrification

322-unit affordable complex with healthcare center and courtyard planned for East Flatbush
July 17, 2020

322-unit affordable complex with healthcare center and courtyard planned for East Flatbush

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Another proposal has been chosen for a new affordable development in East Flatbush as part of the state's effort to revitalize neighborhoods in Central Brooklyn. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced plans for a 322-unit complex called "Utica Crescent" that will be constructed on a lot next to the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. The project is part of the $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn initiative that will ultimately bring 4,000 units of affordable housing, improved health and wellness options, jobs, and additional open space to underserved Brooklyn neighborhoods.
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INTERVIEW: Architect John Cetra on the Upper West Side’s Dahlia and the changing concept of home

Images courtesy of CetraRuddy

July 13, 2020

INTERVIEW: Architect John Cetra on the Upper West Side’s Dahlia and the changing concept of home

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Designed by CetraRuddy and RKTB Architects, Dahlia at 212 West 95th Street celebrates the Upper West Side's classic residential blocks of pre-war architecture while adding innovative design elements. The condo’s 38 homes and common areas are designed to be more spacious than the average Manhattan apartment, and perks unheard of in New York City include a huge 5,100-square-foot private elevated park, a fitness center with a yoga room, and a private parking garage. Plus, each apartment is situated on a corner of the building, so there’s no shortage of views and natural light. 6sqft recently offered a peek at the 20-story building's interiors, and we've now chatted with architect John Cetra about this new addition to the Upper West Side, the neighborhood, and how apartment building design must be sensitive to changing times and the idea of home in the city.
An interview with John Cetra of CetraRuddy, this way
East Village landmark Gem Spa has permanently closed

Photo by Alex Lozupone on Wiki Commons

May 8, 2020

East Village landmark Gem Spa has permanently closed

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A fixture on the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue in the East Village for 100 years, Gem Spa has permanently closed. The store, considered home to New York's best egg cream, had been struggling financially due to the gentrification of the neighborhood, as well as the loss of its cigarette and lottery licenses last year. While a fundraising effort launched last fall by current owner Parul Patel helped temporarily, the coronavirus pandemic "ultimately sealed the fate" of the institution.
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City alleges Chelsea Hotel owners harassed tenants during renovation

Image: Velvet via Wiki Commons 

March 11, 2020

City alleges Chelsea Hotel owners harassed tenants during renovation

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Lawyers for the city's Department of Housing Preservation announced Friday that the Chelsea Hotel’s owners did not qualify to receive a Certificate of No Harassment (CNH)–the document required for them to continue renovations to convert the dilapidated landmark into a luxury hotel with apartments. The document is required under a decades-old law to protect Single Room Occupancy residences from tenant harassment. As The Real Deal reports, The city's allegations of harassment are the result of tenant complaints that since owners Richard Born and Ira Drukier of BD hotels began work after acquiring a stake in the property in 2016, conditions like leaky ceilings, exposed electrical wires, high lead levels, vermin and lack of heat have made living there unsafe.
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Alternative plan for Harlem’s massive Lenox Terrace development gets rid of affordable units

Rendering courtesy of the Olnick Organization

February 12, 2020

Alternative plan for Harlem’s massive Lenox Terrace development gets rid of affordable units

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Amidst pushback from locals and activists, the Olnick Organization has released a Plan B proposal for its Lenox Terrace expansion, reports the Post. Last week, the City Planning Commission approved an application from the complex's owner to rezone part of the neighborhood and allow five 28-story towers with a mix of market-rate and affordable units to be built at the site. The alternate plan unveiled on Tuesday presents a scaled-down version that wouldn't require a zoning change but also wouldn't include any of the affordable units or public amenities in the original plan.
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Proposed property tax overhaul could lessen burden for low-income homeowners in NYC

Photo of Park Slope brownstones by Josh Wilburne on Unsplash

January 31, 2020

Proposed property tax overhaul could lessen burden for low-income homeowners in NYC

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Owners of multi-million dollar co-ops and condos in New York City would have to pay property tax at full market value under a recently released proposal to overhaul the current system. The city's Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform on Thursday unveiled its long-awaited report detailing reforms of the complex system that would tax properties of similar values at equitable rates. Currently, homebuyers pay property tax based on assessed value, rather than the market rate, which puts a bigger tax burden on low- and middle-income homeowners.
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Bushwick rezoning stalled after city dismisses community plan

Photo by Mike Steele on Flickr

January 13, 2020

Bushwick rezoning stalled after city dismisses community plan

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The plan to rezone Bushwick hit a possibly fatal roadblock Monday after city officials and local politicians failed to reach an agreement on affordable housing requirements. The city said it will not study the Bushwick Community Plan (BCP), first envisioned by the community in 2014 to address out-of-context development, as part of its proposal, effectively postponing the rezoning. After years of Bushwick residents calling for a study of the area's growing gentrification, the city released its official rezoning plan last April. But local stakeholders and leaders, including Council Members Antonio Reynoso and Rafel Espinal Jr., said the city's plan fell short of the vision laid out in the BCP.
Details here
Judge overturns city’s plan to rezone Inwood

Photo by kathryn on Flickr

December 20, 2019

Judge overturns city’s plan to rezone Inwood

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A state Supreme Court judge on Thursday overturned land-use changes approved by the City Council in 2018 to rezone the neighborhood of Inwood. A group of local residents and preservationists filed a lawsuit against the rezoning last December, claiming the plan did nothing to protect the community from displacement, as well as other effects of gentrification. In the decision, Judge Verna Saunders said the city "failed to take a hard look at the relevant areas of concern identified by the public" and did not comply with a state environmental quality review.
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A 266-unit affordable senior housing complex with focus on health and wellness to open in Brooklyn

Rendering courtesy of Dattner Architects

December 16, 2019

A 266-unit affordable senior housing complex with focus on health and wellness to open in Brooklyn

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A medical center in Brooklyn will be developed into a mixed-use complex with affordable housing, on-site counseling service, fitness programs, and integrated health care. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week plans to transform the current Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center North Campus, located between Prospect Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush, into Kingsbrook Estate, a three-building development with 266 units of affordable housing. Designed by Dattner Architects in collaboration with landscape architecture firm terrain, the development falls under the state's Vital Brooklyn plan, created in 2017 to bring more housing and jobs to the Central Brooklyn area.
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Get a rare look inside the homes of the Chelsea Hotel’s last residents

The home of Suzanne Lipschutz, owner of antiques store Secondhand Rose. All Images by Colin Miller; courtesy of The Monacelli Press

December 2, 2019

Get a rare look inside the homes of the Chelsea Hotel’s last residents

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Despite ongoing legal conflicts and stalled plans to convert the storied structure into a luxury hotel, the Chelsea Hotel remains one of the city’s legendary landmarks. Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven, a new book published last month by The Monacelli Press, documents the homes of nearly two dozen current residents (there are about 50-60 remaining residents in total) who still embody the bohemian spirit of the Gilded Era hotel that was once home to seminal figures like Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, William S. Burroughs, and Thomas Wolfe.
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Join the cash mob to help save St. Mark’s bodega Gem Spa

Photo by Alex Lozupone on Wiki Commons

September 13, 2019

Join the cash mob to help save St. Mark’s bodega Gem Spa

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The East Village's Gem Spa first opened in the 1920s on the corner of St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue and received its current moniker in the 1950s. The shop became famous when it was frequented by Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg and featured in a painting by Jean-Michelle Basquiat and then later as an all-night punk hangout and tourist stop for egg creams. Today, however, the store is struggling to stay afloat due to the ever-increasing gentrification of the neighborhood and losing its cigarette and lottery licenses in the spring. In an effort to save the icon, small business advocacy group #SaveNYC is hosting a cash mob this Saturday. In preparation, a faux storefront was installed that reads "Schitibank coming soon," in reference to rumors that Citibank is trying to take over the storefront.
All the details
The Italian side of Williamsburg: History, famous joints, and today’s culture

Photo via Flickr cc

August 21, 2019

The Italian side of Williamsburg: History, famous joints, and today’s culture

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A bustling Brooklyn enclave that is today an impossibly trendy and diverse mix of glassy condos, hip new restaurants and storefronts, and unassuming multi-family homes in the northeast section of Williamsburg was one of New York City’s notable Italian-American neighborhoods for much of the 20th century. While it may not have the tourist cachet of Manhattan’s Little Italy–or the old-fashioned village-y coziness of Carroll Gardens–this swath of the ‘burg, bounded roughly by Montrose, Union, Richardson, and Humboldt Streets, was a little bit of Italy in its own right from the 1800s until as late as the 1990s. The north end of Graham Avenue was even christened Via Vespucci to commemorate the historic Italian-American community.
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City releases plan to transform Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction into desirable transit hub

Rendering by WXY Architecture & Urban Design

August 16, 2019

City releases plan to transform Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction into desirable transit hub

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The city released on Thursday its preliminary vision to revitalize Brooklyn's third busiest transit station. Council Member Rafael Espinal Jr. and Borough President Eric Adams, along with the city's Economic Development Corporation, laid out a plan to transform Broadway Junction, which connects six residential neighborhoods via five subway lines and six bus routes, into an accessible, attractive hub. The plan falls under the East New York Neighborhood Plan, a rezoning approved by the city in 2016.
See the plan
New study finds reasons for storefront vacancy are as varied as NYC neighborhoods themselves

Image: Steven Pisano via Flickr.

August 9, 2019

New study finds reasons for storefront vacancy are as varied as NYC neighborhoods themselves

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Amid discussions of gentrification and astronomical rents, it's impossible not to notice the alarming appearance of vacant storefronts in what seems like every neighborhood in New York City. A new report from the Department of City Planning (DCP) has attempted to get a closer look at the data behind this phenomenon to get a better understanding of how the city's retail and storefront uses may be changing. The report, titled "Assessing Storefront Vacancy in NYC," looks at 24 neighborhoods as case studies. The very detailed study found that, overall, storefront vacancy may not be a one-answer citywide problem. Vacancies were found to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods, and the reasons appear to be as many and varied as the neighborhoods themselves.
More fascinating findings, this way
Chelsea Hotel owners have sent nearly $60,000 to de Blasio in attempt to gain favor for construction

Image via Wiki Commons 

July 31, 2019

Chelsea Hotel owners have sent nearly $60,000 to de Blasio in attempt to gain favor for construction

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It’s been several years since Ira Drukier and Richard Born took over as owners of the historic Chelsea Hotel with plans to turn it into a luxury hotel. The rent-stabilized tenants who remain in the hotel even as it’s been turned into a construction zone have filed multiple complaints with the city, hitting the new owners with violations and a lawsuit. But The City has uncovered a link between those complaints and Drukier and Born’s donations to Mayor de Blasio’s political funds. Over the course of less than a year—from August 2018 to June—18 checks totaling $57,400 were sent to de Blasio’s presidential campaign from either the owners or people associated with them. The checks started coming soon after city building inspectors began responding to tenant complaints about hazardous living conditions.
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The social and cultural Puerto Rican history of the East Village

Photo via Flickr cc

July 25, 2019

The social and cultural Puerto Rican history of the East Village

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The tumult and unrest in the streets of Puerto Rico right now harken back to a time when many Puerto Rican New Yorkers were also agitating in the streets for long-overdue reform and change. One milestone in that history took place 50 years ago when several Puerto Rican activists gathered in the East Village to found the New York Chapter of the Young Lords. This began a flowering of Puerto Rican cultural and social ferment in the East Village, the legacy of which can still be seen and experienced in the neighborhood today. From Tompkins Square Park to the Nuyorican Poets Café, here are six of the most significant spots.
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Berlin is imposing a five-year rent freeze—Could it work in New York City?

Photo via Pixabay

July 1, 2019

Berlin is imposing a five-year rent freeze—Could it work in New York City?

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In June, New York State rolled out a slate of proposals to protect renters. Among other changes, the new legislation closes several loopholes that have permitted owners to legally spike rents following renovations—a tactic that has been successfully used to deregulate more than 150,000 units over the past two decades. In essence, under the new legislation, owners will no longer be able to deregulate rent-regulated apartments at all. While the new legislation is certainly good news for many renters, for the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who now already live in unregulated apartments, the current legislation doesn’t fix their current woes. But could a five-year rent freeze help? It may sound impossible, but this is precisely what Berlin—once an oasis of inexpensive rents—has just approved as a way to put the brakes on rising rental prices.
Could this work in NYC?
New Schomburg Center exhibit explores 20th-century Black placemaking in Harlem

“Harlem Street Scene Showing Local Businesses,” 1939, Photographer: Sid Grossman, Street Scenes Collection, Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture courtesy of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

June 14, 2019

New Schomburg Center exhibit explores 20th-century Black placemaking in Harlem

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"A Ballad for Harlem," the new exhibit now on view at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, explores the history of the neighborhood and celebrates Black placemaking in 20th and 21st century America. The exhibit uses photographs, manuscripts, objects, art and sculpture from the Schomburg's collection to revisit "Harlem’s places, people, and moments—both known and underrepresented—that capture the realities of community and hardship experienced by Black Americans." Ahead, hear from curator Novella Ford to learn more about the show.
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Raising chickens in NYC: Laws, tips, and everything else you need to know

Image by furtwangl / Flickr

May 22, 2019

Raising chickens in NYC: Laws, tips, and everything else you need to know

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6sqft’s ongoing series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. This week, we cover everything you need to consider when raising chickens in the city. In a city where simply finding a balcony large enough for a pot of basil can be a challenge, one may be surprised to discover that chicken coops can be found across all five boroughs. Chickens were once primarily kept by older city residents, including many who come from places in the world where a backyard supply of fresh eggs is taken for granted. More recently, everyone from Park Slope housewives to Bushwick hipsters appears to be embracing the backyard chicken craze.
More on Raising City Chickens
Target expansion plans face community resistance in Queens

Image via Google Earth.

May 10, 2019

Target expansion plans face community resistance in Queens

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A planned expansion by Target into several Queens neighborhoods has run afoul of politicians and community groups. The chain store hopes to open new stores in Astoria and Elmhurst by 2022, but activists in the borough have been fighting to stop the new additions, objecting to the fact that they'll replace mom-and-pop stores and concerned about the effects of gentrification in their neighborhoods. Another concern is that Target's non-union workforce will replace union jobs, The City reports.
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Interview: How tequila entrepreneur Joe Cruz Jr. remains true to his Harlem roots

Joe Cruz Jr. (right) at the Jalisco distillery

May 3, 2019

Interview: How tequila entrepreneur Joe Cruz Jr. remains true to his Harlem roots

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With Cinco de Mayo on Sunday, New Yorkers most certainly have margaritas on the brain. And while we may typically associate tequila with Mexico, a new label here in NYC is bridging the divide between our southern neighbor and local entrepreneurship. Joe Cruz Jr. grew up in Harlem, spending much of his younger years hanging out in the Bronx. After working in the beverage industry for many years, he decided to take a mere $25,000 and create his own "ultra-smooth" tequila right from Harlem. And so in late 2017, YaVe Tequila was born. Not only has the company garnered culinary headlines (it produces the first-ever mango-flavored tequila), but it's caught the attention of local stakeholders thanks to Joe's commitment to working with his neighborhood.
Read on for our interview with Joe
The Lower East Side’s forgotten Lung Block: The Italian community lost to ‘slum clearance’

“A Group of ‘Lung Block’ Children,” from Ernest Poole, The Plague in Its Stronghold, Tuberculosis in the New York Tenement, 1903. Courtesy of the Department of Records

April 25, 2019

The Lower East Side’s forgotten Lung Block: The Italian community lost to ‘slum clearance’

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In 1933, a new development rose on the Lower East Side. It was Knickerbocker Village, the first federally-funded apartment complex in the United States, and one of the first developments that would later fall under the umbrella of the city’s “Slum Clearance” program. The “slum” that Knickerbocker Village replaced wasn’t just any rundown collection of buildings – it was the notorious “Lung Block” between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, bounded by Cherry, Monroe, Market and Catherine Streets, which in 1903, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ernest Poole named the most congested and disease-ridden place in the city, or, perhaps, the world. But was it? “The Lung Block: A New York City Slum and its forgotten Italian Immigrant Community,” a new exhibit opening April 25th at the NYC Department of Records curated by researchers Stefano Morello and Kerri Culhane, will revisit the neighborhood and the immigrant community that called it home. With maps, journals, photos and other artifacts, the exhibit will consider the connections between health and housing, affordability and gentrification, public health and progressive reform, and architecture and the immigrant experience.
Learn more about this community
City releases Bushwick rezoning proposal

Photo via CityRealty

April 25, 2019

City releases Bushwick rezoning proposal

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The city unveiled on Tuesday its proposal to rezone Bushwick, five years after local residents and officials called on the Department of City Planning to study the growing out-of-context development in the neighborhood. The Bushwick Neighborhood Plan calls for creating and preserving affordable homes, improving public park space, protecting historic buildings, and supporting small businesses. The plan covers 300 blocks, bordered by Broadway to the south, Cypress Avenue to the north, Flushing Avenue to the west, and Trinity and Broadway Junction to the east.
See the plan
Village bookshop Bookbook closing in May, owners planning pop-ups

Image courtesy of Bookbook.

April 12, 2019

Village bookshop Bookbook closing in May, owners planning pop-ups

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Independent Village bookstore Bookbook–born Biography Books–at 266 Bleecker Street will be closing its doors on May 15, according to owners Carolyn Epstein and Charles Mullin, who say a rent hike was the final straw in the shop's 35-year run. The shop was known for its packed bookshelves and browsable book table beneath an outdoor awning. The book-selling pair plan to pop up at various locations, including the Abingdon Square Farmers Market in the neighborhood–but you won't find them selling books online.
Bid farewell with a big sale
INTERVIEW: Gothamist’s Jake Dobkin on answering New Yorker’s burning questions in his latest book
April 10, 2019

INTERVIEW: Gothamist’s Jake Dobkin on answering New Yorker’s burning questions in his latest book

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Jake Dobkin was born in Park Slope 42 years ago, and over those years he's never left New York City for longer than 10 weeks. In 2003, he co-founded the website Gothamist with Jen Chung, which emerged as a popular culture and entertainment blog about all things New York. In the summer of 2013, Dobkin decided to channel his native knowledge and newsroom snark with the column Ask a Native New Yorker. The first installment addressed a question to make any New Yorker shudder, "Is It Normal For Roaches To Crawl Through My Hair At Night?" Since then, he's tackled everything from amusing annoyances of city life to more serious issues like homelessness, gentrification, and who deserves a seat on the subway. Dobkin ultimately adapted "Ask A Native New Yorker" into a book, which was just released a few weeks ago. Titled Ask A Native New Yorker: Hard-Earned Advice on Surviving and Thriving in the Big City, it contains answers to 48 new questions on New Yorker's minds including if public transit will be messed up forever and why we complain so much. 6sqft spoke with Dobkin on why he started writing the column, how it's changed over the years, and what's ahead with a new book and Gothamist under the new ownership of WNYC. He also shares the best place to find a peaceful spot in the middle of the city.
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