Announcing 6sqft's 2024 Building of the Year!

Announcing 6sqft's 2024 Building of the Year!

Hochul announces plan for $1.35B mixed-use project with 1,400 new homes across from the Javits Center

Hochul announces plan for $1.35B mixed-use project with 1,400 new homes across from the Javits Center

This $3.3M Village co-op will brighten even the darkest winter days

This $3.3M Village co-op will brighten even the darkest winter days

Developers behind Harlem’s One45 withdraw plan after opposition from local council member

Rendering courtesy of SHoP Architects

June 1, 2022

Developers behind Harlem’s One45 withdraw plan after opposition from local council member

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A proposal to bring two new residential towers with hundreds of affordable housing units to a largely vacant lot in Harlem was scrapped by developers this week. Late on Monday, the developer withdrew the project, known as One45, a few hours before it was set to be voted on by a City Council committee, as Patch first reported. The plan involved two mixed-use towers on the corner of West 145th Street and Lenox Avenue with a total of 915 apartments. The proposal faced fierce opposition from local Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan, who argued that the new development would displace Harlem's Black residents and contribute to gentrification. Without the zoning changes needed to build One45, the developers could construct a condo building with no affordable housing, a self-storage facility, and a community facility.
Get the details here
NYC bodegas launch campaign against corporation-backed 15-minute grocery delivery

Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash

January 10, 2022

NYC bodegas launch campaign against corporation-backed 15-minute grocery delivery

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New York City bodegas and delis are fighting back against 15-minute delivery startups. A group representing local grocers, the Save Mom-and-Pop Business Coalition, rallied on Sunday with elected officials, calling out the venture capitalist-backed services they say threaten the city's small businesses. The rally took place outside of Stop 1 Deli, a Lower East Side bodega located directly across the street from GoPuff, one of the delivery services in question. Delivery services like GoPuff have moved into large spaces on commercial strips, morphing them into warehouses stuffed with groceries and other goods.
See more here
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.
Get the details
NYC Council members propose ‘gentrification tax’ for new homebuyers

Photo via Creative Commons

December 26, 2019

NYC Council members propose ‘gentrification tax’ for new homebuyers

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New homebuyers in New York City could be charged property tax based on actual market prices, the New York Post reported on Wednesday. A group of city lawmakers is pressing Albany to change state laws to close a loophole that offers tax breaks to homebuyers in gentrifying neighborhoods. The "gentrification tax," as the Post called it, would have homebuyers pay market rate taxes, rather than the assessed value, as a way to make the system fairer.
More here
Chase, Joe Coffee, and By CHLOE. are now open in former Union Square Coffee Shop location

Photo by 6sqft

December 18, 2019

Chase, Joe Coffee, and By CHLOE. are now open in former Union Square Coffee Shop location

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The prominent Union Square storefront on 16th Street and Union Square West that was home to sceney restaurant Coffee Shop for 28 years has changed quite a bit since the former diner closed its doors last October. Reports that yet another Chase branch and an outpost of vegan chain By CHLOE. would open in its place were confirmed a few months ago, and now the transformation is complete. A new location for Joe Coffee is also open in the building, and, interestingly, is part of a partnership with Chase, according to the Wall Street Journal. With an entrance on 16th Street, By CHLOE.'s colorful storefront stands where the former diner's back dining room used to be, while the Union Square side has lost its iconic neon sign for ubiquitous Chase branding.
Find out more right here
Chase Bank and vegan restaurant confirmed for former Union Square Coffee Shop location

Via alphabetjenn on Flickr

October 7, 2019

Chase Bank and vegan restaurant confirmed for former Union Square Coffee Shop location

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Last fall 6sqft reported rumors that late-night Union Square model-spotting icon The Coffee Shop would be replaced with three new restaurants and possibly a Chase Bank. In June, Jeremiah's Vanishing New York confirmed the rumors after learning that an application by the bank to open a branch on the 16th Street and Union Square West corner was approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Now, Gothamist tells us that the bank will be joined by fast-casual vegan spot by CHLOE, shooting down rumors that an Outback Steakhouse was moving in. The two spots are planning to open in December.
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Hell’s Angels East Village HQ to become rental apartments

Image via Wikimedia cc.

June 10, 2019

Hell’s Angels East Village HQ to become rental apartments

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Another touchstone of colorful East Village lore is becoming apartments: The Hell's Angels headquarters at 77 East 3rd Street, formerly the New York City home of the notorious motorcycle clan, was purchased for $10 million this week by Lower East Side property management company Better Living, the New York Post reports; Real estate investor Nathan Blatter had bought the building from the bikers back in February. After a year-long $2 million renovation, the developer plans to offer “standard, regular East Village apartments.” The six-story building will have retail spaces on the ground floor that formerly housed the biker clubhouse bar.
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Sale prices rose 125 percent between 2014 and 2018 around Bronx’s Grand Concourse

View from the Grand Concourse; photo courtesy of Dan DeLuca via Flickr.

March 1, 2019

Sale prices rose 125 percent between 2014 and 2018 around Bronx’s Grand Concourse

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According to an analysis by Property Shark, the area surrounding the thoroughfare once known as the “Park Avenue of the Middle Class” has seen an elevated housing demand that has brought median home sales prices along with it, showing an increase in just 5 years that ranges from 56.2 percent in Bedford Park to a whopping 124.5 percent in Mott Haven.
Bronx rising, this way
The Urban Lens: ‘Manhattan Meltdown’ photo series aims to preserve and celebrate food of NYC

6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Aaron Bernstein shares his “Manhattan Meltdown” photo series of famous NYC foods, frozen. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected].

February 15, 2019

The Urban Lens: ‘Manhattan Meltdown’ photo series aims to preserve and celebrate food of NYC

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Photographer Aaron Bernstein was overwhelmed when he first moved to New York City for his career in fashion. One way to adjust to his new home was through different food experiences. “Food was this daily thing that I could measure small successes with,” Aaron told us. “If I was able to cook for myself or buy myself a meal, I saw it as a tiny victory." And now as an Adobe Creative Resident, Aaron is exploring the intersection of food and art through the “digital guise” of “Hungry Boy,” an online platform that shows off his colorful, food-centric photos. Aaron recently shared with 6sqft his “Manhattan Meltdown” series, which features beloved food seen as synonymous with the city’s culture-- from Anthora coffee cups to black and white cookies from William Greenberg Desserts, all encased in ice. While the photos are fun and playful, they also represent a bigger truth about the disappearance of beloved Manhattan mom-and-pop shops due to skyrocketing rents and the growing popularity of big businesses. Ahead, get a taste of Aaron's work and hear what the photographer has planned next.
Meet Aaron and see his tasty work

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City sees an unprecedented 37 percent drop in evictions
February 5, 2019

City sees an unprecedented 37 percent drop in evictions

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The mayor's office announced this week that New York City's residential evictions by marshals had declined by 37 percent since 2013, with approximately 18,000 evictions in 2018 compared to almost 29,000 evictions in 2013. In Manhattan, evictions are down 47 percent since 2013. What that means: Since 2013, more than 100,000 New Yorkers who might otherwise have faced evictions have been able to stay in their homes. And evictions decreased 14 percent in 2018 alone. Maps from the New York City Council show data on where the most evictions happen and allow you to search for a specific address in any borough to find out more.
Universal Access to legal aid, maps and more
City’s plans for Soho and Noho may include rezoning and removal of Artist In Residence law

Image: Steven Pisano via Flickr.

January 11, 2019

City’s plans for Soho and Noho may include rezoning and removal of Artist In Residence law

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The Department of City Planning, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Council Member Margaret Chin announced today the launch of a six-month public engagement process addressing the future of NYC's Soho and Noho neighborhoods. The series of public meetings and consultation with local stakeholders are an early phase in outlining a vision for the future of those neighborhoods; the city's plans include updating what many consider outdated zoning laws, including the removal of rarely-enforced restrictions on ground floor retail tenancy and Soho's Artist In Residence law.
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A megachurch in East New York will become an ‘urban village’ with 2,100 affordable apartments

Via Practice for Architecture and Urbanism

December 11, 2018

A megachurch in East New York will become an ‘urban village’ with 2,100 affordable apartments

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A Christian megachurch in East New York is partnering with the Gotham Organization to redevelop their East New York campus into a mixed-income community, or "urban village" as Reverend A.R. Bernard calls it, of 2,100 affordable units and neighborhood amenities. The plan from the Christian Cultural Center, led by Bernard, will supplement the existing church at 12020 Flatlands Avenue in Brooklyn and create a community with CCC at its core.
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$1.7M Ridgewood listing tries to make SoMA (South of Myrtle Avenue) a thing
November 13, 2018

$1.7M Ridgewood listing tries to make SoMA (South of Myrtle Avenue) a thing

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As if Quooklyn wasn’t bad enough. A recent tipoff about townhouse at 16-35 Hancock Street in prime Ridgewood near the Myrtle-Wyckoff subway stop informed us that: "SoMA (South of Myrtle Avenue) is the new SOHO, with a blossoming creative community of artists and restauranteurs. Former Soho/Tribeca residents have moved to Ridgewood for a more authentic experience and stimulating lifestyle." It's true that Soho/Tribeca residents have long ago fled those neighborhoods on account of billionaire rents and not wanting to live in a sneaker mall, and also true that Ridgewood is ablaze with creative newcomers and packed to the gills with authentic experience. But after SoBro (South Bronx), Dobro (Downtown Brooklyn) SoHa (South Harlem), Soho West (New Jersey) and NoLo (uh...we're really not sure), and, apparently, NoBat, NoCal, BoHo, and GoCaGa, enough may just be enough. Plus, Ridgewood requires no rebranding–it's cool enough on its own.
So let's see the house
Can bougie bodegas make it in NYC?

Image: Clover Grocery via Facebook.

October 23, 2018

Can bougie bodegas make it in NYC?

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There was a time not too long ago when New Yorkers began to resent the apparent gentrification of local bodegas, which had begun carrying high-priced, healthy food items sought by new neighborhood residents. Chain convenience stores like 7-11 were yet another blow to the concept of the quirky corner deli. And then, of course, there was the Whole Foods effect. The latest development in the ascent of the local grocery store is even more difficult to grok: The "wellness bodega" has arrived. As Eater reports, mini-markets–like Clover Grocery in Manhattan’s West Village–in metro areas like NYC and LA are stocking items like $18 "vegan friendly" condoms and marine collagen supplements–and confusing the daylights out of ordinary city folk.
And a WeWork market, of course
High-end shops compete for space in Williamsburg as North 6th rivals Bedford as the main drag

Toby’s Estate cafe and roastery on North 6th Street. Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.

October 16, 2018

High-end shops compete for space in Williamsburg as North 6th rivals Bedford as the main drag

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It started with Bedford Avenue. Whether you called it Williamsburg 3.0 or the New Brooklyn or any number of monikers signifying the North Brooklyn neighborhood's ascent to the international hall of coolest–and priciest–neighborhood fame, that avenue was its anchor. A Whole Foods and an Apple store soon followed. And, inevitably, as businesses flocked to the surrounding streets, the clear hegemony of Bedford began to become less evident even if its tourist population continued to grow. Now, the New York Post hails North Sixth Street, longtime home of anchor condo The Edge and more recently a growing host of retail chain shops, as the top contender.
The new 34th Street?
Mapping the growing pressure of residential displacement in NYC
October 3, 2018

Mapping the growing pressure of residential displacement in NYC

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While tenant displacement is happening in every New York City borough, the reason behind it differs from neighborhood to neighborhood. An updated, interactive map from the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) looks at the loss of rent-regulated housing, property sales, construction permits, and evictions across the city's 763,000 residential properties as a way to determine the risk of residential displacement in every NYC community (h/t Curbed NY).
Explore the map
59-block Inwood rezoning vote draws protests from residents who fear its character will be lost

Inwood Hill Park; Image: Dana via Flickr.

August 9, 2018

59-block Inwood rezoning vote draws protests from residents who fear its character will be lost

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On Wednesday the City Council approved a rezoning plan for a 59-block section of Inwood, a neighbhorhood often referred to as the "last affordable neighborhood in Manhattan," the New York Times reports. The plan was approved last week by the city's zoning subcommittee and the Land Use Committee. The Inwood rezoning is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to rezone neighborhoods across the city as part of the push to create and preserve 300,000 affordable housing units by his goal date of 2026. Inwood is the fifth neighborhood–including the also-controversial East New York and East Harlem–to be approved for rezoning under the plan.
Find out more
Starbucks targets low- and middle-income communities, starting with new Bed Stuy location

Photo of the new Bed-Stuy location, courtesy of Starbucks

April 5, 2018

Starbucks targets low- and middle-income communities, starting with new Bed Stuy location

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Starbucks has been all over the map, not only geographically but symbolically. Reactions to a new Starbucks often range from being a welcome addition by caffeine-deprived people to being the face of a large corporation that is a lightning rod for gentrification, threatening mom and pop shops. With 14,163 Starbucks in the US, what street corner doesn’t have a Starbucks? Well, the Bedford-Stuyvesant community didn’t, until now. A Starbucks just took over the location of shuttered local department store, Fat Albert. Is this another example of the big, faceless corporation blazing its way into a community that doesn’t want it?
Get more info here
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INTERVIEW: Author Ed Hamilton on how the Chelsea Hotel inspired personal stories of gentrification

Background image via Andrew Malone/Flickr

August 15, 2017

INTERVIEW: Author Ed Hamilton on how the Chelsea Hotel inspired personal stories of gentrification

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When it comes to the Chelsea Hotel, Ed Hamilton has seen it all. He and his wife moved to the iconic property in 1995, living among artists and musicians in a 220-square-foot, single-room-occupancy unit. The storied, artistic community nurtured inside the hotel came to an end a decade ago when the building sold for the first time and evictions followed. Since then, the property has traded hands a number of times with talks of boutique hotel development, luxury condos, or some combination of the two. Hamilton started tracking the saga at his blog Living With Legends and published a book, "Legends of the Chelsea Hotel," in 2007. After the book's success, Hamilton wrote a short story collection titled "The Chintz Age: Stories of Love and Loss for a new New York." Each piece offers a different take on New York's "hyper gentrification," as he calls it: a mother unable to afford her lofty East Village apartment, giving it up to a daughter she shares a strained relationship with; a book store owner who confronts his failed writing career as a landlord forces him out of now highly valuable commercial space. Ultimately, many of the stories were inspired by the characters he met inside the Chelsea Hotel. And his tales offer a new perspective on a changing city, one that focuses on "the personal, day-to-day struggles about the people who are trying to hang onto their place in New York." With 6sqft, he shares what it's like writing in the under-construction Chelsea Hotel, what the Chintz Age title means, and the unchanged spots of the city he still treasures.
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Governor Cuomo’s $1.4B Central Brooklyn plan stokes gentrification debate
March 15, 2017

Governor Cuomo’s $1.4B Central Brooklyn plan stokes gentrification debate

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Governor Cuomo announced a $1.4 billion initiative last week to bring resources like health care services and new jobs to Central Brooklyn. According to the governor, the plan, called “Vital Brooklyn,” will bring 7,600 jobs and more than 3,000 new affordable housing units to Brownsville, East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. And while Cuomo’s administration found these neighborhoods to be some of the most disadvantaged in the state, residents worry about the possible gentrification and displacement effects (h/t NY Times).
Learn more about Vital Brooklyn here
Study finds Bronx residents most in danger of housing displacement due to gentrification
March 7, 2017

Study finds Bronx residents most in danger of housing displacement due to gentrification

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A new report from the Regional Plan Association finds that residents of the Bronx are at highest risk of being pushed out due to gentrification compared to other New Yorkers, according to DNAinfo. The report, titled "Pushed Out: Housing Displacement in an Unaffordable Region," looks at the effect of rising housing costs in New York City and addresses what it names "A Crisis of Affordability." The report found the threat of being pushed out due to lack of affordable housing was a threat in 71 percent of census tracts in the Bronx. Following in displacement risk was Brooklyn at 55 percent, Manhattan and Queens at 31 percent each and Staten Island at 15 percent.
People moving out, people moving in
In black neighborhoods, 74 percent of Airbnb hosts are white
March 1, 2017

In black neighborhoods, 74 percent of Airbnb hosts are white

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Watchdog group Inside Airbnb released a new report, which shows that across 72 predominantly African-American neighborhoods in New York City, 74 percent of Airbnb hosts are white--a startling figure considering only 14 percent of the total population in these areas is white. As outlined in the Daily News, these white hosts earned $160 million from Airbnb rentals, compared to just $48 million for black hosts.
Which neighborhoods are most affected
Design team suggests a new mission-driven gentrification model geared toward artists and small businesses

Image: mx.org

February 23, 2017

Design team suggests a new mission-driven gentrification model geared toward artists and small businesses

By
We’ve definitely seen a lifetime’s worth of the trajectory that runs from warehouse to art studio to luxury loft, starting with neighborhoods like Soho and picking up speed as developers got into the act, anticipating the next "it" enclave with manageable rents attracting the young and creative. A team of New York-based designers developed a proposal for reaping the benefits of economic growth in the city's industrial areas without pricing out all but the wealthiest players. Soft City reports the details of this “mission-driven gentrification” concept, which suggests an all-new development model for the city's manufacturing neighborhoods (known as M1 districts), helmed by mission-based organizations and a building typology that caters to small businesses and artists.
Bright ideas, this way
MAP: See how demographics have shifted in every NYC neighborhood over 10 years
February 7, 2017

MAP: See how demographics have shifted in every NYC neighborhood over 10 years

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By now, we're all well aware that New York City is changing, becoming ever more expensive and far less friendly to its middle and low-income inhabitants. But here's a new interactive map from the Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC) that offers us a snapshot view of how upper-income New Yorkers (the majority of whom are white, to be sure) have multiplied throughout the boroughs between 2000 and 2010 to alter the face of the city's demographics.
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Washington Heights entrepreneurs come up with a new business plan for gentrification

Andra Mihali/Creative Commons

December 5, 2016

Washington Heights entrepreneurs come up with a new business plan for gentrification

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Andra Mihali/Creative Commons Washington Heights is changing. New businesses are sprouting from Dominican roots that are catering to a diversified clientele—and introducing new objectives to entrepreneurs about surviving in New York City. The largely Dominican district has, for better or for worse, resisted gentrification for decades and relied on its traditions in foods, hair salons, […]

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