All articles by Aaron Ginsburg

NYC announces $3M design study to make 14th Street a ‘people-first’ corridor

The West 14th Street Promenade debuted in the Meatpacking District in June. The space repurposed the curb lane between 9th and 10th Avenues as new gathering spaces. Courtesy Meatpacking BID, Credit: BreakThrough Media

July 30, 2025

NYC announces $3M design study to make 14th Street a ‘people-first’ corridor

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is looking to improve another iconic Manhattan corridor. Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday announced $3 million in public and private funding for a design study that will evaluate ways to enhance 14th Street for pedestrians, commuters, and businesses. Taking about two years to complete and involving collaboration among several groups, the study will consider upgrades to landscaping, pedestrian space, greenery, safety, and the existing 14th Street busway.
get the details

Policy

New York flags at half-staff in memory of Midtown Manhattan office shooting victims

City Hall in 20178. Photo credit: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office on Flickr

July 29, 2025

New York flags at half-staff in memory of Midtown Manhattan office shooting victims

By Aaron Ginsburg

Flags across New York are flying at half-staff to honor the victims of Monday’s deadly Midtown office shooting. On Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams ordered the tribute to continue until all four victims—including an NYPD officer—are laid to rest. A fifth person remains in critical condition. The shooting occurred at 345 Park Avenue, an office building with tenants like Rudin Management, Blackstone, and the National Football League.
Learn more

Policy

G train signal upgrades delayed until 2029

Credit: Steve on Flickr

July 29, 2025

G train signal upgrades delayed until 2029

By Aaron Ginsburg

G train riders may have to wait an additional two years for long-promised signal upgrades that would speed up service. The $624 million project aims to replace the line’s 1930s-era signal system with communications-based train control (CBTC). Work is scheduled to be completed north of Hoyt-Schermerhorn by the end of 2027, and between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Church Avenue by 2028. However, the upgraded system won’t be activated until 2029, due to delays in installing 5G radio technology in subway cars—a requirement for CBTC to function across both trains and tracks, agency officials said during an MTA committee meeting Monday.
Find out more

200+ affordable apartments available at the Bronx’s border with Westchester, from $465/month

Credit: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

July 29, 2025

200+ affordable apartments available at the Bronx’s border with Westchester, from $465/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

More than 200 affordable apartments are available at a new transit-oriented development in New York City's northernmost neighborhood. Located on the border of Westchester County at 4641 Furman Avenue in the Bronx, Wakefield Yards brings deeply affordable housing to a convenient neighborhood, with the 2 train across the street and the Metro-North Harlem line a few blocks east. New Yorkers earning 30, 50, 60, and 80 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $465/month studios to $2,534/month three bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

NYC wants to build 3,000 new homes at former Flushing Airport site

All renderings courtesy of S9 Architecture/Starr Whitehouse

July 28, 2025

NYC wants to build 3,000 new homes at former Flushing Airport site

By Aaron Ginsburg

A massive housing proposal in Queens would transform the long-vacant Flushing Airport into 3,000 new homes. Mayor Eric Adams on Monday unveiled a plan to turn the 80-acre city-owned site in College Point, which has been inactive since 1984, into a mixed-income development with affordable and market-rate workforce housing, as first reported by amNY. Owned by the city's Economic Development Corporation, the land has reverted to a wetland, which will be preserved as part of the new development, according to the city.
Discover more

New Developments

Take your cat to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

July 25, 2025

Take your cat to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play

By Aaron Ginsburg

We may be in the dog days of summer, but next Tuesday will be for the cats. The Brooklyn Cyclones minor league baseball team will host its first-ever "PURRRRfect Game" on Tuesday, July 29, allowing fans to bring their feline friends to Maimonides Park to watch the team take on the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. The event follows the success of "Bark in the Park," which welcomes dogs to the ballpark.
catter up!

Events & Things To Do

Trump signs executive order making it easier for cities to forcibly remove homeless residents

Photo by Robert V. Ruggiero on Unsplash

July 25, 2025

Trump signs executive order making it easier for cities to forcibly remove homeless residents

By Aaron Ginsburg

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order calling for tougher enforcement on homelessness, including expanded use of involuntary commitment of people living on the streets. The "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets" directive urges cities and states to clear encampments and place people into mental health or addiction treatment programs. It also proposes shifting federal grants away from housing-first initiatives and toward programs that mandate sobriety or treatment, as well as to cities that enforce encampment bans.
details here

Policy

28-story luxury rental opens lottery for 147 apartments in West Harlem, from $2,950/month

Credit: GLUCK+

July 25, 2025

28-story luxury rental opens lottery for 147 apartments in West Harlem, from $2,950/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

A luxury high-rise rental in West Harlem opened a lottery this week for 147 middle-income apartments. The 28-story building at 1440 Amsterdam Avenue sits on the campus of the New York City Housing Authority's Manhattanville Houses and was developed as part of a deal to help repair and upgrade the complex's six existing buildings. Located near City College and Columbia University, the new development offers high-end finishes, extensive indoor and outdoor amenities, and a new supermarket. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $2,950/month studios to $4,568/month two bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Gowanus luxury rental 544 Carroll launches leasing, including $25K/month duplex

All renderings courtesy of Avery Hall, unless noted otherwise

July 24, 2025

Gowanus luxury rental 544 Carroll launches leasing, including $25K/month duplex

By Aaron Ginsburg

The future of Gowanus is looking expensive. Developed and designed by Avery Hall, 544 Carroll Street launched leasing this week for 133 apartments, including a duplex that could go for as much as $25,000/month. As first reported by the New York Post, the four-bedroom measures nearly 2,400 square feet plus outdoor space and surpasses the next priciest apartment in the rapidly developing neighborhood by more than $13,500.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

July 24, 2025

Bronx landlord fined $10M for hazardous conditions

By Aaron Ginsburg

A Bronx landlord has been fined $10.14 million over hazardous conditions in a Belmont apartment building, one of the largest housing court judgments in city history. The order, issued Wednesday by Judge Diane Lutwak, resolves a case brought by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) against Karan Singh, owner of the 15-story Fordham Towers at 2410 Washington Avenue. According to Gothamist, Singh failed to provide heat on 10 days and hot water on 17 days between 2023 and 2024. The building currently has 540 open violations, 145 of which are classified as “immediately hazardous.”
Learn more

Policy

NYC subway hits 4 million riders three days straight, first time since 2019

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's subway system surpassed four million riders for three consecutive summer days for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that from Tuesday, July 15 through Thursday, July 17, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority recorded 4,046,610, 4,029,692, and 4,121,751 riders, respectively—the last figure marking a new post-pandemic summer ridership high. The milestone came during the same week as near record-breaking rainfall on Monday, July 14, with transit crews working overnight to quickly restore service.
Learn more

Developer wants to build huge South Bronx project with more than 1,100 affordable apartments

Credit: Aufgang Architects

July 23, 2025

Developer wants to build huge South Bronx project with more than 1,100 affordable apartments

By Aaron Ginsburg

The developer behind the redevelopment of the historic Kingsbridge Armory and other major Bronx projects wants to rezone a large site in the borough to allow for a pair of mixed-use towers with over 1,000 affordable apartments. Last week, William Bollinger, a development consultant with Maddd Equities, filed a rezoning application with the Department of City Planning (DCP) for 1014 Brook Avenue in Morrisania. The 1.2 million-square-foot project includes 1,128 affordable units across 22- and 26-story towers. As first reported by Crain's, the rezoning would permit both residential and manufacturing uses, as the site currently allows manufacturing only.
Find out more

12 more NYC subway stations to get accessibility upgrades

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

July 23, 2025

12 more NYC subway stations to get accessibility upgrades

By Aaron Ginsburg

A dozen more New York City subway stations will receive accessibility upgrades under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 2025-2029 capital plan. Announced Tuesday, upgrades include new elevators and other ADA-accessible features. The MTA says the new plan aims to make at least 60 percent more stations accessible and ensure that 70 percent of all subway trips begin or end at an accessible station. The accessibility projects are a result of a lawsuit settled by the MTA that required 95 percent of all stations to be accessible by 2055.
Learn more

Landmarks approves design for Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment

Images courtesy of FXCollaborative/ NYCEDC

July 22, 2025

Landmarks approves design for Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment

By Aaron Ginsburg

Plans to transform the historic and long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx into a community and cultural hub are moving forward. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to approve the design for the adaptive reuse of the massive armory, which will include a new event venue, recreation center, sports fields, public plaza, and 500 affordable apartments next door. Led by the city's Economic Development Corporation, the major project, dubbed El Centro Kingsbridge, calls for extensive restoration and expansion of the armory itself, featuring new and expanded masonry and facade work, as well as a new public plaza, landscaping, and signage.
see the project

Waldorf Astoria New York reopens for the first time since 2017

All images courtesy of the Waldorf Astoria New York, unless noted otherwise

July 22, 2025

Waldorf Astoria New York reopens for the first time since 2017

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's legendary Waldorf Astoria has finally reopened after a major restoration project that transformed the 1,400-room hotel into 375 luxury condos and 375 hotel rooms. The landmarked Art Deco icon closed in 2017 and was originally scheduled for completion in 2021. Led by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the restoration refreshed many of the hotel’s most iconic fixtures while introducing new elements that reflect the original vision of architects Schultze & Weaver, as the New York Times reported.
Find out more

Greenwich Village building home to Bob Dylan’s first NYC apartment lists for $8.25M

All photos courtesy of Avison Young / Icon Realty Management

July 22, 2025

Greenwich Village building home to Bob Dylan’s first NYC apartment lists for $8.25M

By Aaron Ginsburg

Bob Dylan's first New York City apartment building is for sale. The singer lived in the rear third-floor apartment at 161 West 4th Street in Greenwich Village when he moved to the city in the early 1960s. Listed for $8.25 million, the four-story mixed-use building currently has five recently renovated apartments and two retail spaces.
more here

MTA has installed platform barriers at more than 50 NYC subway stations

Platform barriers at the Park Place 2/3 station. Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

July 21, 2025

MTA has installed platform barriers at more than 50 NYC subway stations

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has installed platform barriers at dozens of subway stations in New York City to prevent people from falling onto the tracks. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA announced last week that 56 stations across the five boroughs now have the barriers, with a goal of over 100 stations by the end of the year.
Learn more

New Yorkers with SNAP benefits to get free Museum of Natural History membership

Image via WikiCommons

July 18, 2025

New Yorkers with SNAP benefits to get free Museum of Natural History membership

By Aaron Ginsburg

The American Museum of Natural History on Friday announced a free membership for New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The new "Discoverer" membership level includes free general admission plus entry to one ticketed exhibition during every visit. The initiative is a joint effort by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, Human Resources Administration, and Department of Social Services.
Discover more

NYC releases proposed rules for basement and backyard apartments

Image courtesy of the NYC Department of City Planning

July 18, 2025

NYC releases proposed rules for basement and backyard apartments

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City this week released proposed guidelines for building small homes in basements, backyards, garages, and other parts of existing properties. The Department of Buildings and the Department of Housing and Preservation on Tuesday released its proposed rules for constructing accessory dwelling units (ADUs)—a key element of Mayor Eric Adams' “City of Yes” housing plan aimed at expanding the city’s housing supply. The proposed rules focus largely on safety standards for basement and cellar apartments, including requirements for two exits, a ban on ADUs in high-risk flood zones, and water sensors in every room to alert residents of flooding.
LEARN MORE

Policy

Sales launch at 19th-century Gothic Revival church conversion in Fort Greene, condos from $1.195M

All renderings courtesy of Brett Fisher/Depict CGI

July 18, 2025

Sales launch at 19th-century Gothic Revival church conversion in Fort Greene, condos from $1.195M

By Aaron Ginsburg

Sales have launched at a thoughtfully converted 19th-century Gothic Revival church in Fort Greene. Located at 232 Adelphi Street, the Abbey offers 12 unique residences that preserve the historic church’s grandeur, with soaring vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, arched doorways, and original stonework sourced from nearby Fort Greene Park. Prices start at $1.195 million for one-bedroom units and go up to $4 million for a three-bedroom.
see inside the "house" of holies, ahead

Reservations open for summer 2025 NYC Restaurant Week

Union Square Cafe. Credit: Peter Garritano.

July 17, 2025

Reservations open for summer 2025 NYC Restaurant Week

By Aaron Ginsburg

Prepare your taste buds: reservations are now open for summer 2025 NYC Restaurant Week, the New York City Tourism + Conventions announced Tuesday. Founded in 1992, the beloved culinary tradition returns from July 21 through August 17, offering discounted meals at nearly 600 restaurants in 70 neighborhoods. Participating eateries will serve two-course lunches and three-course dinners at prix-fixe prices of $30, $45, or $60.
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

NYC’s first wave of office-to-residential conversions could create over 17,000 new homes, report says

Pfizer World Headquarters is becoming 1,500 apartments. Photo via WikiCommons

July 17, 2025

NYC’s first wave of office-to-residential conversions could create over 17,000 new homes, report says

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City’s first wave of office-to-residential conversions could yield over 17,000 new apartments, highlighting the potential for such projects to help ease the city’s housing shortage, according to a new report. Published on Thursday by City Comptroller Brad Lander, the report finds that 44 office conversions initiated after the pandemic could transform 15.2 million square feet of office space into as many as 17,400 homes over the coming years. However, the report warns that the city’s new 467-m tax break may be overly generous, potentially costing $5.1 billion in lost property tax revenue over 37 years.
learn more

Work begins on 10-building East New York development with 2,000 affordable homes

All images courtesy of PAU, unless noted otherwise

July 17, 2025

Work begins on 10-building East New York development with 2,000 affordable homes

By Aaron Ginsburg

Construction has kicked off on the first phase of a transformative new housing development with 2,000 affordable homes in East New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced the start of work on phases 1A and 1B of Innovative Urban Village, a 10-building project that will revitalize the Christian Cultural Center’s (CCC) 10.5-acre campus at 12020 Flatlands Avenue with new housing and community amenities. The initial phase will bring more than 800 affordable apartments, along with a workforce development center, a childcare facility, a performing arts venue, a grocery store, and green space with walking paths.
Learn more

City Council rejects zoning changes needed for Bally’s Bronx casino proposal

Credit: Bally’s Bronx

July 16, 2025

City Council rejects zoning changes needed for Bally’s Bronx casino proposal

By Aaron Ginsburg

Bally's plan to build a casino on a former Trump-owned golf course in the Bronx appears all but dead after the City Council rejected a key rezoning needed for the project. On Monday, the Council voted 29–9, with four abstentions, in favor of a motion by Council Member Kristy Marmorato to deny the land-use changes required to construct the gaming facility at Ferry Point Park, according to Crain's. The proposal is one of eight projects seeking a downstate gaming license.
Learn more

Policy

July 16, 2025

Judge halts Adams’ removal of Bedford Avenue protected bike lane

By Aaron Ginsburg

A disputed stretch of protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn was spared demolition for a second time, after a state judge blocked the Adams administration from removing it just hours before construction was set to begin. On Tuesday, state appellate court judge Lourdes M. Ventura issued a temporary restraining order, halting the city’s plan to shift the lane from the curb to the center of the avenue between Willoughby and Flushing Avenues. The decision came less than a week after another judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by street safety advocates, ruling that Mayor Eric Adams could move forward with the redesign because it “is not a major transportation project.”
Find out more

All articles by Aaron Ginsburg

Pitch a Story

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Distinctive Post Form

Get in Touch

Send us a Tip

Interesting in learning more about purchasing a new home?

Thinking about selling your home?

Sell a Home (Footer)

Before You Move On from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!

Before You Move On
from this Page.

Your Passport to NYC:
Subscribe for Local Insights and Stories!