All articles by Aaron Ginsburg

Visit the studios of 150+ artists in Dumbo this weekend

Photos by Giles Ashford

April 10, 2024

Visit the studios of 150+ artists in Dumbo this weekend

By Aaron Ginsburg

This weekend, over 150 artists will open their Brooklyn studios to the public. Taking place on April 13 and 14, DUMBO Open Studios provides a behind-the-scenes look at the neighborhood's art scene as well as conversations with artists about their latest creations. The annual event also features interactive guides on this year's participant artists and their artworks and 11 gallery exhibitions. The event will conclude with video art projections on the Manhattan Bridge and along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
find out more

Events & Things To Do

NYC experiences its strongest earthquake in 140 years

Image courtesy of PunkToad on Flickr

April 5, 2024

NYC experiences its strongest earthquake in 140 years

By Aaron Ginsburg

No, it wasn't merely the rumbling of a subway train or a nearby construction site. At roughly 10:23 a.m. on Friday, New York City experienced a 4.8 magnitude earthquake, marking the largest quake felt across the five boroughs in 140 years, since a 5 magnitude quake shook the city in 1884. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) identified the epicenter in northern New Jersey, about 50 miles from the city. No major damage to infrastructure, injuries, or deaths have been reported so far, according to city and state officials.
find out more

City Living

Black Comic Book Festival returns to NYC this month

All photos courtesy of Bob Gore

April 5, 2024

Black Comic Book Festival returns to NYC this month

By Aaron Ginsburg

A festival highlighting the work of Black comic book creators is back and bigger than ever. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture will host the 12th annual Black Comic Book Festival on April 26 and 27, attracting thousands of comic enthusiasts and giving a platform to Black comic book and graphic novel creators. Attendees can immerse themselves in panel discussions, workshops, a cosplay showcase, and more fun activities during the two-day event.
see more

Events & Things To Do

A 100% affordable rental opens in Greenpoint

Photos courtesy of Lester Ali

April 4, 2024

A 100% affordable rental opens in Greenpoint

By Aaron Ginsburg

A fully affordable apartment building officially opened in Greenpoint this week, bringing income-restricted homes to one of Brooklyn's most expensive neighborhoods. City officials on Wednesday cut the ribbon at 35 Commercial Street, a 22-story tower with 374 affordable apartments, including 57 units for formerly homeless New Yorkers. The building is the 11th completed building in Greenpoint Landing, a 22-acre development with 5,500 new homes and five acres of public open space.
details this way

Affordable Housing

Historic Crown Heights school is now a 40-unit luxury rental

Rendering courtesy of PKSB Architects

April 4, 2024

Historic Crown Heights school is now a 40-unit luxury rental

By Aaron Ginsburg

A former Catholic school in Crown Heights is now a 40-unit rental building. The Gregory at 991 St. John's Place sits within the St. Gregory the Great Roman Catholic Church complex, designed by Frank J. Helmle and Harvey Wiley Corbett in the 1920s. GEMA Capital Partners and PKSB Architects oversaw the conversion of the historic schoolhouse into a multi-family rental. Leasing has kicked off for the project's mix of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes, starting at $3,437/month.
discover more

Williamsburg’s porcelain-clad condo One Domino Square launches sales, from $1.25M

Renderings courtesy of Two Trees Management

April 4, 2024

Williamsburg’s porcelain-clad condo One Domino Square launches sales, from $1.25M

By Aaron Ginsburg

Sales launched this week at One Domino Square, a new residential tower within the former Domino Sugar Factory site on the Williamsburg waterfront. Developed by Two Trees Management and designed by Selldorf Architects, the building, clad in a "pearl-like porcelain tile," consists of a 39-story tower with 160 condos and a 55-story rental with 400 units, the tallest building in Williamsburg. Condos range from one- to three-bedrooms, with prices starting at $1,250,000.
see more

New Developments

MTA wants NYC Marathon to pay $750K for Verrazzano Bridge tolls

The TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

April 3, 2024

MTA wants NYC Marathon to pay $750K for Verrazzano Bridge tolls

By Aaron Ginsburg

The New York City Marathon's spectacular starting point on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge may have a spectacular price tag. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority wants the New York Road Runners, the organizers of the race, to cough up $750,000 a year to make up for lost toll revenue when the bridge closes to traffic for the marathon, as the New York Times first reported. The MTA threatened to restrict the race to just one level of the bridge if the organization refused to agree to some form of payment.
learn more

50+ streets in NYC to go car-free for Earth Day

Image courtesy of NYC DOT on Flickr

April 3, 2024

50+ streets in NYC to go car-free for Earth Day

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's car-free Earth Day event is back and better than ever. On Saturday, April 20, 53 streets and plazas across the five boroughs will be closed to cars and open for pedestrians and cyclists, nearly doubling the number of locations from last year. Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the annual Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day includes seven signature event locations and 46 partner-produced open street locations, featuring public art, community programming, live performances, and more.
find out more

New-York Historical Society exhibit looks back at NYC’s lost landmarks

Unidentified photographer, Manhattan: the Hippodrome, Sixth Avenue between, 43rd Street and 44th Street, 1905. Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, New-York Historical Society

April 2, 2024

New-York Historical Society exhibit looks back at NYC’s lost landmarks

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new installation at the New-York Historical Society explores the forgotten places that once defined New York City. The installation, called "Lost New York," brings to life the city's lost landmarks, including the original Penn Station, the Croton Reservoir, the Chinese Theater, and river bathhouses, through more than 90 items from the museum's collections and first-hand accounts from community voices. On view from April 19 through September 29, the museum is launching a new pay-as-you-wish program on Friday evenings from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to coincide with the new exhibition.
find out more

Leasing begins at luxury Chelsea rental with a ground-floor Target, homes from $4,500/month

Renderings courtesy of Redundant Pixel

April 2, 2024

Leasing begins at luxury Chelsea rental with a ground-floor Target, homes from $4,500/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Leasing launched this week for 190 luxury apartments in the heart of Chelsea. Located at 280 West 24th Street, Chelsea Canvas is a new block-long rental building offering modern homes with interior design by INC Architecture and Design, an exclusive amenities package, and a Target on the ground floor. The building has a mix of studios, one, two, and three bedrooms; pricing currently starts at roughly $4,500/month.
see more here

New Developments

Popular Articles

Major East New York development opens lottery for 203 low-income apartments, from $465/month

Rendering: NYC Department of Housing Development and Preservation

April 2, 2024

Major East New York development opens lottery for 203 low-income apartments, from $465/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Applications are now being accepted for 203 affordable apartments at a new residential development in East New York. The development is the final part of phase four of Nehemiah Spring Creek, a decades-long project led by the city to transform former marshland and landfill into a sprawling mixed-income and mixed-use community. New Yorkers earning 30, 50, 70, and 80 percent of the area median income, or between $18,480 for a single person and $122,000 for a household of five, can apply for the apartments. Units start at $465/month for studios, $591/month for one-bedrooms, and $700/month for two-bedrooms.
FIND OUT MORE

Affordable Housing

See inside the Brooklyn Paramount as historic theater reopens after 60 years

Image courtesy of Evan Joseph

April 1, 2024

See inside the Brooklyn Paramount as historic theater reopens after 60 years

By Aaron Ginsburg

Fort Greene's historic Brooklyn Paramount Theater, which once hosted legendary artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Duke Ellington, reopened last week for its first season in 60 years. A multi-million dollar restoration modernized the venue while preserving its opulent latticework ceiling, hand-crafted statues, and other Baroque features. For its first show in six decades, the Paramount hosted brothers Damian and Stephen Marley, who performed at the theater during their co-headlining Traffic Jam Tour.
see more

Brooklyn Tower faces foreclosure

Photo courtesy of Evan Joseph

April 1, 2024

Brooklyn Tower faces foreclosure

By Aaron Ginsburg

Despite setting a record for Brooklyn's most expensive studio last week, the Brooklyn Tower is facing foreclosure. JDS Development has defaulted on a $240 million mezzanine loan issued by Silverstein Capital Partners in 2019 for the 93-story development, as reported by The Real Deal. Silverstein has scheduled a foreclosure auction for June 10.
find out more

Real Estate Trends

City revives ‘She Built NYC,’ launches open call for artists to design four statues of women

Rendering courtesy of Amanda Williams and Olalekan B. Jeyifous/ NYC Public Design Commission

March 29, 2024

City revives ‘She Built NYC,’ launches open call for artists to design four statues of women

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is reviving a campaign to honor influential women integral to the city's history with monuments. Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced the city will resume the She Built NYC initiative, which includes building new statues of Dr. Helen Rodriguez Trías in the Bronx, Elizabeth Jennings Graham in Manhattan, Billie Holiday in Queens, and Katherine Walker on Staten Island. The four projects were announced in 2019 but were delayed due to the pandemic and never reached the first phase of planning.
learn more

Policy

$24M revamp of Lower East Side’s Nuyorican Poets Café is underway

Renderings courtesy of the NYC DCLA

March 29, 2024

$24M revamp of Lower East Side’s Nuyorican Poets Café is underway

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Nuyorican Poets Café, a beloved performance space on the Lower East Side for half a century, is undergoing a $24.1 million transformation. The city's Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Design and Construction on Thursday kicked off the project, which will renovate and expand the cultural institution's lobby, add new performance spaces and offices, improve accessibility, and perform extensive repairs on the building's exterior. Designed by Rice+Lipka Architects, the reconstruction project is slated for completion in spring 2026.
see the design

Architecture And Design

NYC to test gun detectors in the subway system

Photo courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

March 28, 2024

NYC to test gun detectors in the subway system

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City will test weapon-detecting scanners in the subway system to make commuters feel safer after a string of violent incidents. Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday unveiled a portable scanner designed to detect guns carried by riders. The pilot program can begin following a 90-day waiting period during which the public can share their thoughts on the technology. The mayor also said the city will hire more clinicians to connect people with severe mental illness in the transit system to treatment and care.
see more

NYC proposes new high-density zoning districts if state lifts floor-to-area ratio cap

The San Remo on the Upper West Side could not be built today under the existing 12 FAR cap. Photo by Bert Sagi on Unsplash

March 28, 2024

NYC proposes new high-density zoning districts if state lifts floor-to-area ratio cap

By Aaron Ginsburg

Mayor Eric Adams is calling on the state to lift a policy restricting the density of residential towers to allow for bigger apartment buildings and more affordable housing in New York City. Enacted in 1961, the existing floor-to-area ratio, or FAR, cap allows buildings up to 12 times the size of their lot. On Thursday, the Adams administration called on state lawmakers to eliminate the cap and proposed two new zoning districts in NYC that would permit buildings to be constructed up to 15 and 18 times their lot size, while also including affordable housing.
learn more

The Ellis Island Museum to be ‘reimagined’ in $100M makeover

Baggage Room Rendering. Courtesy of Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation

March 28, 2024

The Ellis Island Museum to be ‘reimagined’ in $100M makeover

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's Ellis Island Museum is getting a $100 million makeover. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation on Thursday announced a revitalization project to upgrade the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration and reimagine it for the 21st century by improving exhibits, preserving its 19th-century landmarked building, and offering a more immersive experience with stories of the 12 million immigrants who arrived in the country via Ellis Island. The project, slated for completion in 2026, will also expand the museum's Records Discovery Center, allowing millions more to trace their heritage.
find out more

NYC celebrates 85th anniversary of Batman with pop-up comic book giveaways

Image courtesy of SoHo News International

March 28, 2024

NYC celebrates 85th anniversary of Batman with pop-up comic book giveaways

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is honoring the 85th anniversary of Batman with free pop-up giveaways. On Saturday, March 30, Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Comics are giving away special-edition copies of "Detective Comics #27," the 1939 issue debuting Batman to the world, at a pop-up in Soho. The comic books will be given away one per person at SoHo News International, located at 186 Prince Street, starting at 11 a.m., while supplies last.
discover more

Events & Things To Do

NYC congestion pricing program gains final approval, with June start date

Photo by Jesús Mirón García on Pexels

March 27, 2024

NYC congestion pricing program gains final approval, with June start date

By Aaron Ginsburg

The plan to charge drivers entering certain parts of Manhattan received final approval on Wednesday, signaling the imminent start of the country's first congestion pricing program. The Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted 11-to-1 to approve the toll rates for the program, which includes a fee of $15 for passenger and small commercial vehicles entering below 60th Street from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Unless held up by the several legal challenges the program currently faces, congestion pricing is expected to start in June.
get more details

Greenpoint rental near the waterfront launches lottery for 24 homes, from $1,546/month

All renderings courtesy of StudiosC- studiosc.net

March 27, 2024

Greenpoint rental near the waterfront launches lottery for 24 homes, from $1,546/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

A housing lottery opened this week for 24 mixed-income apartments at a new residential development in Greenpoint. Located at 33 Franklin Street, the seven-story building, dubbed Franklin Court, has 80 apartments with spacious layouts, impressive amenities, and a prime spot in Greenpoint near the waterfront. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income, or between $55,680 for a single person and $165,230 for a household of three, can apply for the apartments. Units start at $1,546/month for studios, $1,620/month for one-bedrooms, and $1,881/month for two-bedrooms.
SEE IF YOU QUALIFY

Affordable Housing

25 spots to watch the solar eclipse in NYC and beyond

2017 solar eclipse at the Top of the Rock. Photo courtesy of Tishman Speyer

March 26, 2024

25 spots to watch the solar eclipse in NYC and beyond

By Aaron Ginsburg

On April 8, New York will experience its first total solar eclipse in almost a century. Five regions across the northern part of the state lie in the path of totality and will witness the moon passing between the sun and earth, blocking the face of the sun for up to four minutes. While only a partial eclipse will be visible in New York City, the event marks the last solar eclipse in the five boroughs until 2044. In anticipation of this once-in-a-lifetime event, the state is offering plenty of ways to witness the spectacle. Ahead, find the best ways to experience the solar eclipse across the state, from aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid and atop the city's highest outdoor observation deck to the banks of the Hudson River in Bear Mountain State Park and a Long Island beach.
find out more

Events & Things To Do

Penn Station’s Tracks Bar to open in Grand Central Madison

Renderings courtesy of the MTA

March 25, 2024

Penn Station’s Tracks Bar to open in Grand Central Madison

By Aaron Ginsburg

A former Penn Station mainstay and favorite of Long Island Rail Road commuters will be the first restaurant to open in Grand Central Madison. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Friday revealed plans to make Tracks Raw Bar & Grill its first major commercial tenant at the new LIRR terminal--which opened in Grand Central last January--as first reported by the New York Post.
find out more

50 middle-income apartments available on the Astoria waterfront, from $3,105/month

Renderings courtesy of NYC Department of Housing Development and Preservation

March 22, 2024

50 middle-income apartments available on the Astoria waterfront, from $3,105/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Applications are now being accepted for 50 middle-income apartments at a new residential development on the Astoria waterfront. Located at 26-25 4th Street, The Winslow offers brand-new luxury apartments and breathtaking waterfront views of the Manhattan skyline. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income, or between $106,458 for a single person and $198,250 for a household of five, can apply for the units, which range from $3,105/month studios to $3,963/month two bedrooms.
find out more

Affordable Housing

Citi Bike docks installed at Citi Field ahead of Mets home opener

All photos courtesy of NYC DOT

March 22, 2024

Citi Bike docks installed at Citi Field ahead of Mets home opener

By Aaron Ginsburg

Baseball fans can now ride Citi Bikes to Citi Field, just in time for the start of the 2024 season. The New York Mets, Citi Bike, and Lyft on Thursday unveiled new docking stations at Citi Field, offering another way to travel to a ball game. The stadium will feature 66 docks, about half of which are near the main entrance near the homerun apple and another half next to the intersection of Shea Road and Boat Basin Place.
see more

1
2
3
4