Photo by Brianne Sperber on Wikimedia
One of New York City’s largest and most beloved independent bookstores is asking for help. Citing a decline in foot track, a lack of tourists, and zero in-store events because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Strand Bookstore’s revenue has dropped nearly 70 percent compared to last year, owner Nancy Bass Wyden said on Friday. According to Bass Wyden, the business, one of the last bookstores of Union Square’s former “Book Row,” is not currently sustainable.
Photo courtesy of the Riverside Park Conservancy
Yesterday, the fifth phase of Riverside Park South opened to the public. The 4.6-acre area stretches from West 65th to 68th Streets and includes new paths, stairs, and plazas; a playground and swings; lawns; sand volleyball courts; and a dog run. As West Side Rag tells us, the $21.1 million project–which was completed with federal, state, and private funds–was originally planned to open in 2018.
Home to more than 460 breweries statewide, New York knows beer. To make it easier to find a beer near you, the New York State Brewers Association in 2017 launched an app that allows users to find breweries across the state, check-in digitally, and earn stamps on their “tasting passport.” To encourage support of local beer makers and the use of the under-construction 750-mile Empire State Trail, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday a new passport program specifically targeting 200 craft breweries found along the trail.
Photo credit: Jump Visual
Earlier this year, the New York Times called Wyckoff, New Jersey “a peaceful suburb with a sense of community,” and noted that the Bergen County town has been seeing “an influx of young families, who value its small-town atmosphere and relatively low taxes.” This Wyckoff property may not be a starter home, but its $3,950,000 price tag gets you a piece of history set on four acres. The main residence, formerly known as the Halstead House, was built in 1779 and has been perfectly preserved over the years. There’s also a renovated barn, a guest cottage, and a pool, all set against a beautiful pond.
Pre-election parade for suffrage in NYC, in which 20,000 women marched. 1915. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress
This August marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, which gave some women the right to vote. In New York, a hotbed of suffragist activity in the mid 19th- and early 20th-century, women won the vote a few years earlier in 1917. While New York women were on the frontlines of the suffrage movement early on, one event served as a major turning point in winning the vote. On October 23, 1915, tens of thousands of New Yorkers dressed in all white took to Fifth Avenue, marching roughly three miles from Washington Square to 59th Street. It was the largest suffrage parade to date, with city officials at the time estimating between 25,000 and 60,000 participants.
Photos by Evan Joseph
The Emerson is the latest boutique condo in Chelsea to abut the High Line. Located at 500 West 25th Street, the 10-story building has just eight full-floor units, including the duplex penthouse, which has just hit the market for $16 million. The incredible four-bedroom home has 5,100 square feet of interior space along with nearly 2,600 square feet of outdoor space spread over two terraces and a roof deck with views of the High Line, Hudson River, Empire State Building, and Hudson Yards.
All renderings courtesy of The Howard Hughes Corporation/SOM
The Howard Hughes Corporation on Thursday unveiled its latest effort to redevelop the South Street Seaport neighborhood. The $1.4 billion proposal includes the construction of two 470-foot towers which would contain rentals, condos, and office space on a parking lot at 250 Water Street. Initial plans from the developer called for a single tower that would rise nearly 1,000 feet, but local residents and Community Board 1 opposed it. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the two towers would include 360 units, with at least 100 apartments set aside for families earning 40 percent of the area median income. It would be the first affordable housing built in the community under the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program.
Photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens
Tony Award-winning actress Carole Shelley, who is best known for her roles as Gwendolyn Pigeon in The Odd Couple and Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of Wicked, passed away in 2018 at the age of 79, leaving behind her NYC pied-à-terre at 340 West 57th Street. The Midtown West condo is located in the elegant, pre-war Parc Vendome, which is just a few blocks from Central Park South. The spacious one-bedroom home is listed for $1,350,000.
Photo courtesy of @meetresident
When outdoor dining launched this past summer, New Yorkers had a number of unique spots to dine al fresco, from the most photographed block in Brooklyn to one of the city’s oldest streets. A special outdoor dining experience has launched in New York, created by Resident, a startup that hosts dinners on balconies and rooftops of luxury apartments. Next month, the company is hosting a socially-distant supper club at the Broad Exchange Building, a landmarked skyscraper in the Financial District.
Non-profit Village Preservation has launched a new online platform called Virtual Village, which is part of their larger efforts seeking landmarks protections for the “South of Union Square” area, where Greenwich Village meets the East Village. The interactive online tool offers 36 free, guided walking tours of the neighborhood, ranging from architectural topics like the Cast Iron Tour to cultural topics like the German History Tour to social topics like the Women’s History and LGBTQ Tours.
New Target stores in Columbus Circle and Hell’s Kitchen are now open 
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MTA launches first real-time digital subway map 
$1.4B South Street Seaport proposal includes two mixed-use towers with affordable units 
Here’s how to find out if your neighborhood is in a COVID-19 cluster zone 
