All articles by Aaron Ginsburg

August 11, 2022

Manhattan officials renew push for new Hell’s Kitchen subway station

The plan to extend the 7 train to the far west side of Manhattan announced more than a decade ago included building a subway station in Hell's Kitchen. But because of budget cuts, the station was never built. New York City officials this week renewed calls for a subway station at 10th Avenue and 41st Street, claiming the neighborhood's growing population needs better access to public transportation. The 7 line currently runs straight from Times Square to Hudson Yards, without stopping in Hell's Kitchen.
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August 11, 2022

NYC may ban tenant criminal background checks by landlords and brokers

Legislation prohibiting landlords from denying tenants housing based on criminal history will be introduced in the New York City Council on Thursday. The "Fair Chance for Housing" bill, sponsored by Council Member Keith Powers, bans "landlords, owners, agents, employees, and real estate brokers" from obtaining arrest or criminal record information at any point in the housing process.
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August 11, 2022

Experience a 10-course ‘drive-thru’ tasting menu from some of NYC’s best restaurants next month

Some of New York City's most popular restaurants have partnered with Resy and American Express Gold for an exclusive two-night drive-through dining event in Brooklyn, no car required. Hosted at Greenpoint's Skyline Drive-in, the "Resy Drive-Thru New York" event includes a 10-course tasting menu from 10 hard-to-book NYC restaurants, like Bonnie's in Williamsburg and Crown Shy at city landmark 70 Pine Street. Guests will be chauffeured via golf cart through a "labyrinth of restaurants and entertainment built on the Brooklyn waterfront." The event takes place on September 16 and 17; tickets go on sale for the general public on August 17.
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August 10, 2022

Manhattan congestion pricing toll could cost up to $23 for drivers

MTA officials on Wednesday released the highly-anticipated environmental assessment of the Central Business District (CBD) Tolling Program, known as congestion pricing. The analysis says that the program could cut traffic congestion in Manhattan's busiest areas by nearly 20 percent while raising $1 billion a year to fund mass transit improvements. Under the proposal, the plan could cost drivers who enter the borough south of 60th Street anywhere between $5 and $23, depending on the time of day and type of vehicle.
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August 10, 2022

Target opens new store in Soho

Target this week will open a new location in Soho, the company's 95th store in the greater New York City area. The store, which will be tailored for the surrounding community, will offer an assortment of Target's top-owned and national brands, as well as a contactless pickup order and same-delivery system. Located at 600 Broadway, the new store will open on Sunday, August 14.
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August 9, 2022

Flatbush block with distinctive homes designed by famous Brooklyn architects may be landmarked

A tree-lined block in Brooklyn with architecturally distinctive homes may become the city's newest historic district. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday voted to calendar the Melrose Parkside Historic District, which consists of 38 intact single and two-family row houses built by two of Brooklyn's most renowned architects, Benjamin Driesler and Axel S. Hedman. Located on Parkside Avenue between Flatbush and Bedford Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, the collection of homes has a distinct appearance and sense of place in the surrounding neighborhood due to the use of "neo-Classical vocabulary" in their architectural style, according to the commission.
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August 9, 2022

NYC to provide every home in Queens with weekly curbside composting

After previous failed attempts at an effective compost program in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams on Monday announced a new "no frills" system aimed at making it easy and less costly for New Yorkers to dispose of food and yard waste. Under the new program, the city's Department of Sanitation will collect compost and organic waste from every residential building in Queens starting on October 3. New Yorkers can put any food waste, yard waste, and food-soiled paper in a Sanitation compost bin to be picked up weekly. According to the mayor, the program, which will be available to 2.2 million New Yorkers, is the largest curbside composting program in the country.
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August 8, 2022

NJ Transit wants feedback on its Newark Penn Station revitalization project

Newark Penn Station is set to undergo a major renovation and NJ Transit wants feedback from riders who travel through the historic terminal. The transit agency will host three virtual public meetings about the $191 million restoration, with the first scheduled for August 9. First introduced by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2020, the project includes immediate aesthetic improvements and refurbishment of historic elements, as well as longer-term upgrades to the overall customer experience.
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August 8, 2022

Hudson Valley’s Storm King Art Center unveils $45M redesign

The Storm King Art Center in the Hudson Valley will undergo a $45 million revamp this fall to enhance the visitor experience and better serve its growing community, the 500-acre outdoor museum announced last week. As first reported by The Art Newspaper, the project includes a new welcome area, improved parking and accessibility, and a new facility to support grand-scale works. Construction will begin later this year and the redesign is expected to be completed in 2024.
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August 5, 2022

Iconic New York Harbor sailing experience returns to the Seaport after 9 years

After a nine-year hiatus, the Howard Hughes Corporation on Friday announced the return of Manhattan by Sail to Pier 17. Clipper City Tall Ship, its newly-renovated sailboat that will offer daily specialty sails and private charters, will launch this month. Departing from the east side of Pier 17 at 89 South Street, Clipper City will operate seven days a week, taking four trips a day with an additional late-night departure at 10 p.m.
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August 5, 2022

$3.3M Gowanus penthouse has five private outdoor spaces

In New York City, having access to one private outdoor space is enviable enough. This three-bedroom Brooklyn penthouse boasts five separate outdoor spaces. Located at 450 Warren Street in Gowanus, "Penthouse B" has a minimalist sleek aesthetic that complements the unit's four open exposures, floor-to-ceiling windows, and 10-foot ceilings. Asking $3,295,000, the home, much like the rest of the newly constructed building, seamlessly integrates indoor and outdoor living.
Take the tour
August 5, 2022

Foster + Partners and Epstein to design new $10B Port Authority bus terminal

Plans to replace the dingy Port Authority bus terminal are rolling forward. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Friday announced the selection of two architecture firms to lead the project: Norman Foster's Foster + Partners and Chicago-based engineering and design firm Epstein. Roughly 10 years in the making, the plan involves demolishing the existing station and building a new world-class facility that can better meet passenger demand. The $10 billion project will also help get idling buses off the streets and create new green spaces.
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August 4, 2022

Three-day music festival in support of the climate movement heads to Forest Hills next month

A three-day music festival that aims to raise awareness about the current climate crisis will take place in Queens next month. From September 16-18, the inaugural Big Climate Thing festival will be held at Forest Hills Stadium, the nearly century-old tennis stadium-turned-venue, with performances by world-class acts, including Haim, The Roots, The War on Drugs, Sheryl Crow, Courtney Barnett, and The Flaming Lips, among others.
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August 4, 2022

You can browse and borrow vinyl records at the Brooklyn Public Library

The Brooklyn Public Library is launching a new pilot program this month for music lovers. Starting on August 9, BPL patrons can visit the Central Library branch in Park Slope and browse, listen to, and borrow a diverse collection of nearly 400 records. The vinyl collection and listening stations will be in the New & Noteworthy room on the first floor of the recently-renovated Central Library. Teen and adult cardholders can take out up to three records for three weeks.
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August 4, 2022

Apply for 23 mixed-income units at new luxury rental in Sunnyside, from $1,197/month

Applications are now being accepted for 23 mixed-income units at a new luxury rental in Queens. Located at 50-11 Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, Fifty11 is a nine-story mixed-use building with 75 units, comprised of a mix of studios, one-, and two-bedroom apartments. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income, or between $43,612 for a single person and $187,330 for a household of five, can apply for the apartments, priced between $1,197/month for studios and $2,850/month for two bedrooms.
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August 3, 2022

MTA unveils new 18-foot ceilings at Penn Station’s LIRR concourse

Let there be light! The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday unveiled the first section of new 18-foot ceilings at Penn Station's Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) concourse. Installed by Skanska/AECOM, the new soaring ceilings consist of lighted panels supported by an inventive structural framing system that allowed work crews to remove "head knockers," aging structural beams that limited the height of passageways within Penn Station, earlier this year.
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August 3, 2022

Cara Delevingne buys Jimmy Fallon’s Gramercy penthouse for $10.8M

Supermodel Cara Delevingne purchased Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon's Gramercy Park penthouse for $10,800,000 in an off-market deal, according to CityRealty and confirmed by property records. Located at 34 Gramercy Park East, the four-unit triplex combo penthouse was last listed for $15,000,000. The colorfully-decorated home has six bedrooms, five bathrooms, and office space, in addition to a number of unique features. Measuring 5,000 square feet across three floors, the residence has a custom staircase that connects all three levels, and even secret passageways, as 6sqft previously reported.
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August 3, 2022

New York will invest $70M to ‘decarbonize’ NYCHA

A new investment by the state aims to make New York City public housing more environmentally friendly and effective for tenants. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced an initial investment of $70 million in a clean energy initiative to install 30,000 new heat pumps, considered more eco-friendly than traditional units, at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings across the city. The investment is part of the state's Clean Heat for All Challenge, which launched in 2021 to spur ideas on how to revamp the way NYCHA units are heated and cooled.
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August 2, 2022

English manor-style Yonkers home designed by noted architect hits market for $2.2M

The only known Westchester house designed by famed American architect Wilson Eyre is for sale. Asking $2,225,000, the home at 573 North Broadway was modeled after country homes seen by Eyre during an 1895 trip to England. Built in 1910, the single-family brick home was nearly demolished in 2007, but a design-savvy couple bought the home and completed a restoration of the historic property.
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August 2, 2022

NYC speed cameras now operate 24/7

As of Monday, New York City's system of 2,000 speed cameras is now operating 24 hours a day for the first time. Previously the cameras were authorized by the state to operate only on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., missing "59 percent of traffic fatalities" that occurred when the cameras were inactive, according to Mayor Eric Adams' office. The activation of the round-the-clock cameras aims to reduce speeding and prevent dangerous driving. Drivers going more than 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit will be fined $50.
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August 2, 2022

Here are Manhattan’s 10 best-selling residential buildings in Q2 2022

The second quarter of 2022 is expected to be Manhattan's strongest on record due to a surge in the borough's ultraluxury market, according to a market report from CityRealty. While transaction volume decreased 11 percent year-over-year, an increased demand, low inventory, and a small number of new residential developments have caused prices to rise. Between April and June, the average sales price for a residential unit in Manhattan was $2.19 million, up 9 percent from its $2 million average in Q2 of 2021. Ahead, find a round-up of the top 10 residential buildings by aggregate sales in Manhattan during the second quarter of 2022.
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August 1, 2022

New York officials declare monkeypox a public health emergency

New York City officials declared monkeypox a public health emergency on Saturday, a move that will open up more resources to fight the spread of the disease. Mayor Eric Adams and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan called New York City the "epicenter" of the outbreak, with the total cases reaching more than 1,400 as of August 1, roughly 25 percent of cases reported nationally, according to the city's health department. Gov. Kathy Hochul this weekend also issued an executive order declaring a state disaster emergency in response to the monkeypox outbreak, which makes more public health workers eligible to administer monkeypox vaccines and requires providers to send vaccine data to the state.
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July 22, 2022

Citywide scavenger hunt tests your knowledge of NYC’s public libraries

Think you know the library? Prove it during a citywide scavenger hunt next month. Hosted by Open House New York, "Library Love: Five Borough Scavenger Hunt" is a challenging "urban adventure" that will have participants racing across the city, deciphering clues, and deepening their knowledge about the city's public libraries. If you have a library card, it's free to compete.
Details this way
July 21, 2022

Central Park’s Loeb Boathouse to close permanently

Loeb Boathouse, Central Park's iconic lakeside restaurant which has operated for nearly 70 years, will be closing permanently on October 16. According to a notice filed with the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) by the venue's owner, the establishment will be closing its doors and laying off all of its 163 employees due to what owner Dean Poll calls, "rising labor and costs of goods."
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July 21, 2022

Apply for 160 affordable units at Bedford Union Armory complex in Crown Heights, from $465/month

Applications are now being accepted for 160 affordable units at a new rental in the Bedford Union Armory redevelopment in Brooklyn. Located at 1101 President Street in Crown Heights, the building offers residents brand new units and a prime location near Prospect Park. New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, and 60 percent of the area median income, or between $18,515 for a single person and $99,300 for a household of seven, are eligible to apply for the apartments, which range from $465/month studios to $1,841/month three bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify