The Bronx

August 17, 2017

Apply for 43 new affordable units in Highbridge, from $558/month

Applications are now being accepted for 43 newly constructed units at the Excelsior II, an affordable housing building in the Highbridge section of the Bronx. Designed by SLCE Architects, the building at 120-126 West 169th Street rises nine stories and features 60 units. New Yorkers earning 40, 50 and 60 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from $558 per month one-bedrooms to a $1,065 per month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
August 17, 2017

De Blasio and Cuomo announce plans to eradicate ‘symbols of hate’ in New York

After a violent weekend led by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, New York officials have announced plans to review and remove controversial public structures. Mayor de Blasio said on Wednesday the city will conduct a 90-day review of “all symbols of hate on city property,” by putting together a panel of experts and community leaders who will make recommendations for items to take down (h/t NY Post). On Wednesday, Governor Cuomo called upon the United States Army to reconsider its decision to keep the street names that honor Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, two Confederate leaders, at Fort Hamilton. Cuomo also announced the removal of the busts of Lee and Jackson from CUNY’s Hall of Fame for Great Americans in the Bronx.
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July 28, 2017

133 affordable units up for grabs near Yankee Stadium, from $548/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 133 newly constructed, affordable units at 810 River Avenue in the Bronx, across from the old Yankee Stadium and just steps away from the team’s new playing field. The building includes approximately 26,000 square-feet of commercial and community facility space and a 61-space garage. Designed by SLCE Architects, the 17-story steel and plank tower features high-performance windows, Energy Star dishwashers, laundry rooms and hardwood floors. New Yorkers earning 40, 60, 90 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for available units ranging from a $538 per month studio to $2,113 per month three-bedroom.
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July 14, 2017

Lottery opens for 26 affordable units in the South Bronx’s new supportive housing building

A year and a half ago, the nonprofit Unique People Services broke ground on Lynn's Place, an affordable and supportive housing project in the South Bronx.The $25 million+ project was financed by the city and various organizations and will feature community space on the ground floor, a sunken courtyard, a landscaped back yard, and a seventh-floor green roof, in addition to on-site support services. Of its 69 units, 42 are set aside for individuals with a mental illness or those who were formerly homeless. The remaining apartments are reserved for those earning 50 or 60 percent of the area median income. Ranging from $710/month studios to $1,107/month two-bedrooms, they've come online through the city's affordable housing lottery as of today.
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July 13, 2017

Dry ice and solar power to be used in city’s $32M rat battle

Mayor Bill de Blasio declared Wednesday that he wanted "more rat corpses" in a $32 million crusade to rid the city's most plagued neighborhoods of the scurrying scourge. The New York Times reports that parts of lower Manhattan, the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx are the focus of the latest campaign that hopes to reduce the number of rats in those areas by 70 percent by the close of 2018. Among the battle's newly-forged weapons are 336 $7,000 solar-powered rat-proof garbage bins and an EPA-approved–and apparently very effective–method of killing rats in their holes using dry ice.
Psst...hey...pizza over here
July 13, 2017

Design concept replaces Rikers jail with community-based ‘justice hubs’

Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice, along with the Van Alen Institute, released a set of guidelines to decentralize Rikers Island and improve city jails in every borough. The "Justice in Design" report outlines recommendations for healthier jails, including interior and exterior design elements, greater amenities, and ways to better integrate the jail with the surrounding neighborhood. As one of the first steps to permanently closing Rikers, these new justice hubs, or decentralized borough-based jails, would be tailored to the needs of detainees, officers, lawyers, visitors and community members.
See the design concepts
July 3, 2017

62 affordable units up for grabs in Fordham Heights, from $882/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 62 newly constructed, affordable units at 2264 Morris Avenue in the Fordham Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. The building provides ecologically viable features, including rooms with abundant natural light, high-tech water, heating and cooling systems and spacious outdoor space. New Yorkers earning 60 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply for available units ranging from $822/month one-bedrooms to $1,740/month three bedrooms.
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June 22, 2017

De Blasio releases city’s plan to close Rikers, claims it ‘will not be easy’

In April, Mayor de Blasio announced his support of closing the jail complex on Rikers Island after protests and calls from activists and public officials. In a proposal released Thursday, the mayor says closing Rikers will take at least ten years and will require a big decline in the number of inmates there, a drop in crime rates and significant funding. As the New York Times reported, according to the city’s 51-page report, in order to close Rikers within a decade, the population at the complex needs to drop to 5,000. Currently, the daily population is about 9,400, much lower than the average of 20,000 inmates the prison held during the 1990s.
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June 19, 2017

124 chances to live in the burgeoning South Bronx, from $822/month

The South Bronx is arguably the city's largest hotbed of new affordable housing development, and the latest chance to live in the up-and-coming 'hood for less than market rate starts today for 124 units at 530 Exterior Street in Mott Haven. Here, New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for apartments ranging from $822/month studios to $1,224/month three-bedrooms. The 13-story building is part of a larger, mixed-use project, right near Mill Pond Park on the Harlem River and the 145th Street Bridge to Harlem. The other two components are a similarly low- and moderate-income housing building at 491 Gerard Avenue and a 152-room Hampton Inn hotel with commercial space and ground-floor retail.
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June 1, 2017

101 affordable units up for grabs in the Bronx’s Morrisania, from $368/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 101 affordable apartments in La Casa Del Mundo, a newly constructed housing development at 3475 Third Avenue in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx. New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50 and 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the available units, ranging from a $368/month studio to $1,224/month three-bedrooms.
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May 30, 2017

Redeveloping NYC’s armories: When adaptive reuse and community building bring controversy

Constructed between the 18th and 20th centuries to resemble massive European fortresses and serve as headquarters, housing, and arms storage for state volunteer militia, most of America’s armories that stand today had shed their military affiliations by the later part of the 20th century. Though a number of them did not survive, many of New York City’s historic armories still stand. While some remain in a state of limbo–a recent setback in the redevelopment plans of Brooklyn's controversial Bedford-Union Armory in Crown Heights raises a familiar battle cry–the ways in which they've adapted to the city’s rollercoaster of change are as diverse as the neighborhoods that surround them.
Find out how the city's armories have fared
May 22, 2017

Lottery opens for 14 affordable units at new Bronx supportive housing development

Praxis Housing Initiatives "is NYC’s largest provider of transitional housing to homeless people with HIV/AIDS and is one of city’s lowest cost/highest service housing providers." As part of its 2012 strategic plan, the organization began a permanent supportive housing program, and in just two years time they opened their first development in the Bronx. In 2015, they closed on the second at 2264 Loring Place North in Kings Bridge Heights and built an eight-story, 66-unit building. Of these apartments, 14 are reserved for community-based affordable housing for those earning 60 percent of the area median income. They include $931/month one-bedrooms and $1,123/month two-bedrooms and have just come online through the city's affordable housing lottery.
All the logistics ahead
May 18, 2017

Citi Bike looks at major five-borough expansion

Image by Nick Harris flickr CC 6sqft recently reported that so many people are hopping on Citi Bikes that even bus ridership has been affected. But there are parts of New York City–Staten Island and the Bronx for example–don't have that option because the familiar blue bikes haven't made it into their neighborhoods–yet. Citi Bike parent company, Motivate, has approached City Hall with a plan that would add 6,000 bikes to the system–4,000 of them in areas that currently have no docks–without spending tax revenue, the New York Daily News reports.
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May 17, 2017

87 mixed-income apartments up for grabs at new Mott Haven rental The Graham, from $386/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 87 affordable apartments in The Graham, a new sustainable building located in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx. The eight-story building at 255 East 138th Street has a full floor of retail at the street level, bike room, outdoor terrace and underground parking garage. New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply for the mixed-income units, ranging from $368/month studios to $1,683/month three-bedrooms.
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May 16, 2017

Nine affordable units in the Bronx’s West Farms up for grabs, from $1,348/month

Applications are currently being accepted for nine newly constructed affordable units at 866 East 178th Street in the West Farms section of the Bronx. West Farms, which underwent the largest private rezoning in the Bronx ever a few years ago, is located in the southwest of the borough. Residents here can enjoy plenty of green space with access to the Bronx Park, Zoo and the Bronx River. New Yorkers earning 80 percent of the area median income can apply to rent four one-bedrooms for $1,348 per month and five two-bedrooms for $1,521 per month.
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May 10, 2017

Apply for eight affordable units in the Bronx’s bustling Melrose, from $1,348/month

Located in the evolving Melrose neighborhood of the South Bronx, eight newly constructed units are available to rent at 407 East 160th Street. As the Bronx continues to undergo major residential and commercial development, Melrose sits as the epicenter of these changes. It has a bustling district known as the Hub, or the Times Square of the Bronx, which features many retail stores, restaurants and entertainment options. New Yorkers earning 80 percent of the area median income can apply to rent four $1,348/month one-bedrooms and four $1,521/month two-bedrooms.
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May 8, 2017

City backs away from Yankee Stadium parkland promise in favor of residential high rise

The city’s Economic Development Corp. has announced its support for plans to build up to 1,045 units of market-rate and affordable housing and commercial space on a vacant four-acre stretch of East 149th Street in The Bronx, the New York Post reports. The city had promised a decade ago to replace the more than 25 acres of parkland that was lost when the new Yankee Stadium was greenlighted in 2005; the vacant space was to be the last leg of the Mill Pond Park, off the Harlem River. Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates, a watchdog group, said the "sleazy switcheroo" “screams of Brooklyn Bridge Park all over again," referring to promised waterfront parkland that that became high-rise housing instead.
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May 8, 2017

New food hall may arrive at an empty railway station in the South Bronx

While many residential and commercial projects are underway in the South Bronx, the neighborhood continues to lack diverse food choices for its residents. Hoping to bring more variety to the Hunts Point community, Majora Carter--a revitalization adviser and developer who's also behind the nearby transformation of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center into a $300 million mixed-use affordable housing complex--is partnering with Slayton Ventures to create a hip new dining spot in an empty railway station. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the $2 million project will restore the former Amtrak-owned building, which was designed by Cass Gilbert, beginning this summer and is expected to be completed in the fall.
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May 2, 2017

Apply for 50 affordable units in the Bronx’s Mt. Eden, from $558/month

Located in the Mount Eden neighborhood of the South Bronx, this affordable housing building at 1561 Walton Avenue sits just off the Grand Concourse and a block south of the Cross-Bronx Expressway. The 11-story residence contains 60 units total and includes an on-site manager, rear patio, laundry, and storage space for bikes, as well as on-site college application assistance and work-readiness training. Applications are currently being accepted for 50 of the units, ranging from $558/month one-bedrooms to $1,740/month three-bedrooms for those earning 40, 50, 60, or 80 percent of the area median income.
Find out if you qualify
April 26, 2017

Apply for eight affordable units in the Bronx’s Crotona Park East, from $1,348/month

Adding to the development boom in the South Bronx, eight newly constructed units are available to rent at 1417 Longfellow Avenue. Located in the Crotona Park East neighborhood, which was rezoned six years ago to allow more residential buildings in the former industrial area, the building contains 38 apartments that each are about 636-square units. New Yorkers who qualify can apply for four $1,348 one-bedrooms and four $1,521 two-bedrooms.
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April 25, 2017

Score an affordable apartment near Yankee Stadium from $963/month

Located just a few blocks from Yankee Stadium, this affordable housing project with a beautiful shared courtyard is truly unique, as it was developed on one of the last vacant city-owned lots. Applications are now being accepted for one- and two-bedroom rentals at 12 East Clarke Place and 27 East 169 Street in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, including $963/month one-bedrooms and $1,166/month two-bedrooms. 
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April 14, 2017

Apply for 16 affordable units in the Tremont section of the Bronx, from $716/ month

As of today, qualifying New Yorkers can apply for 16 newly renovated, affordable apartments in the Tremont section of the Bronx. The units at 565 East 178th Street and 2089-91 Arthur Avenue--which are right near Tremont Park and just a short walk to the Bronx Park and Zoo--are available to those earning 50 to 60 percent of the area median income, ranging from $716/month studios to $1,292/month three-bedrooms.
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April 10, 2017

Past Prisons: Inside the new lives of 7 former NYC jails

The past week has been full of news about Rikers Island and Mayor de Blasio's announcement that the notorious prison will be closed and replaced with smaller facilities throughout the boroughs. Ideas for re-use of its 413 acres have included commercial, residential and mixed-use properties; academic centers; sports and recreation facilities; a convention center; or an expansion of nearby LaGuardia airport. And while anything final is estimated to be a decade away, this isn't the first prison in NYC to be adaptively reused. From a health spa to a production studio to a housing development, 6sqft explores the new lives of seven past prisons.
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April 6, 2017

Outrageous Bronx mansion built for Jesus’ second coming finally sells

Atop the city's second-highest peak, in Riverdale, the Bronx, this opulent mansion has been beckoning the heavens–and seeking a buyer–since 2009 when it hit the market with an ask of $14 million; As 6sqft previously reported, the 17-room 1home was built in 1928 for an eccentric owner who never actually lived there herself, but rather constructed it for Jesus’ second coming. The house was asking $11 million in 2013 and re-listed with a $10 million price tag in 2015. Welcome2TheBronx reports that the home finally sold for $6,250,000 on January 9th of this year.
Tour this unusual home
April 5, 2017

Laguardia Airport expansion could replace jail at Rikers Island, report suggests

On Friday 6sqft reported Mayor Bill De Blasio's announcement that the Rikers Island jail complex will be closed, following a report by the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform. “New York City has always been better than Rikers Island,” said the mayor when he announced the decision. The report also included ideas for the future of a post-jail Rikers. One such idea suggests that the island be used for the expansion of nearby LaGuardia Airport, raising the possibility of a new runway and additional terminal space, according to USA Today. “The Island is uniquely positioned to accommodate an expanded LaGuardia Airport that would reduce delays and could serve as many as 12 million more passengers annually,” the report states.
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April 4, 2017

The 10 best neighborhoods for New York City artists

Like most things in New York, creative communities come and ago as new development and rising rents force artists to move on to the next best, or cheaper neighborhood. While 6sqft found 'hoods like the Upper East Side, Harlem and Long Island City to be the best places for artists a few years back, we've updated our top-10 list to reflect the changing times. Ahead you'll find some areas you may expect--Sunset Park and Bushwick, for example, along with more up-and-coming artsy enclaves like Newark, Washington Heights, and the South Bronx.
The full list right this way
March 31, 2017

Mayor said to back Rikers closure after panel recommends new smaller jails across the city

A blue-ribbon commission has recommended that Rikers Island be closed and replaced with several smaller facilities based on a study of the storied jail's future according to the Daily News. The panel, led by former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, has been studying the the troubled 10-jail facility for more than a year. Mr. Lippman and the Speaker of the City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, will officially announce the findings on Sunday. A member of the commission said that recommendations include supervised release of some detainees, new smaller jails across the city and an overhaul of the bail system as part of a transition that would take 10 years to complete. According to a recent New York Times report, Mayor de Blasio has shifted his position on the issue and will be announcing his support for a closure plan, possibly at a news conference Friday.
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