All articles by Aaron Ginsburg

Famed architect Robert A.M. Stern dies at 86

(L) Credit: RAMSA; (R) 15 Central Park West. Image via WikiCommons

December 1, 2025

Famed architect Robert A.M. Stern dies at 86

By Aaron Ginsburg

Acclaimed architect Robert A.M. Stern, who over his career built one of the world’s most influential architecture firms and left an enduring mark on the New York City skyline, died last Thursday at the age of 86. The Brooklyn-born architect founded Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) in 1969 and went on to build a portfolio that ranged from luxury residential buildings like 15 Central Park West to major institutional projects such as the expansion of the New York Historical. Stern served as dean of the Yale School of Architecture from 1998 to 2016. His son Nicholas told the New York Times that the cause of death was a brief pulmonary illness.
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Architecture And Design

NYC’s top holiday concerts and live shows

November 26, 2025

NYC’s top holiday concerts and live shows

By Aaron Ginsburg

While New York City’s holiday season is best known for its twinkling lights and the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, the city also offers a wealth of world-class live performances to dazzle audiences with festive cheer. Here are some of the best ways to celebrate the holidays in NYC with music, dance, and theater, from the Radio City Christmas Spectacular to festive ballet, jazz, and performances at Lincoln Center.
Festive cheer, ahead

Events & Things To Do

NYC is selling limited batches of its most popular authentic street signs

Credit: DOT

November 26, 2025

NYC is selling limited batches of its most popular authentic street signs

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is selling limited batches of its four best-selling street signs from its monthly "sign drops," giving New Yorkers a chance to bring a piece of the city home for the holidays. Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced that starting Tuesday, the agency will release four of its most popular street signs, the first on Tuesday, followed by drops on Wednesday, November 26, November 28, and December 1. Two signs released so far—“Leaving Brooklyn Fuhgeddaboutit” and “Gay Street”—are already sold out, while “Welcome to Queens” and “Cornelia Street” will be available on CityStore on November 28 and December 1, respectively.
it's a sign

Transit

New bill would revive single-room occupancy apartments in NYC

An SRO in the famous Chelsea Hotel, featured in a 2018 6sqft story. Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.

November 26, 2025

New bill would revive single-room occupancy apartments in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

Looking for new ways to tackle the city’s housing shortage, a New York City Council member is calling for the return of single-room occupancy units (SROs). Council Member Erik Bottcher on Tuesday introduced legislation backed by the Department of Buildings that would allow the construction of SROs as small as 100 square feet for the first time in decades. The city once had as many as 100,000 SROs, but their numbers began declining in the 1950s as new laws restricted their construction and encouraged conversions, driven by stigma that linked the housing type to poverty and crime, according to the New York Times.
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Victorian Flatbush gains two new historic districts

The Ditmas Park West Historic District. Credit: Landmarks Preservation Commission

November 25, 2025

Victorian Flatbush gains two new historic districts

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City's newest historic districts are two well-preserved areas of homes in suburban Flatbush. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Beverley Square West and Ditmas Park West Historic Districts, which together include 247 freestanding homes built between 1894 and 1910, showcasing early 20th-century suburban architecture in the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles, or a mixture of the two. The most recent iteration of the districts includes minor boundary adjustments that exclude homes that do not share the same historic integrity as the rest of the district.
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New Times Square New Year’s Eve ball is largest ever, and open for public viewing

All photos courtesy of One Times Square

November 25, 2025

New Times Square New Year’s Eve ball is largest ever, and open for public viewing

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new ball now rests above Times Square, ready to welcome the New Year in even more dazzling fashion. The new "Constellation Ball" was unveiled atop One Times Square this week, becoming the ninth iteration of the famed New Year’s Eve ball and replacing the previous version, which was retired in January after 17 years. The new ball is the largest yet, measuring 12.5 feet in diameter, weighing 12,350 pounds, and featuring nearly twice as many lights as its predecessor. In a notable design change, the old ball’s triangular crystals have been replaced with round crystals that more effectively refract light. For the first time, the public can get an up-close look at the ball from a viewing deck, through two ticketed experiences at One Times Square.
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Architecture And Design

Ice rink opens at Central Park’s new Davis Center

November 24, 2025

Ice rink opens at Central Park’s new Davis Center

By Aaron Ginsburg

Ice skating is back on the north end of Central Park. The new Gottesman Rink at the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer debuted this weekend, replacing the outdated Lasker Rink as part of the larger new facility that opened earlier this year. The rink offers affordable public skating sessions, community-led programs, and ice time for local schools and organizations.
let's skate

Events & Things To Do

2,500 new homes proposed for New York Wheel site on Staten Island

All renderings courtesy of FXCollaborative

November 24, 2025

2,500 new homes proposed for New York Wheel site on Staten Island

By Aaron Ginsburg

Up to 2,500 new homes could come to Staten Island’s North Shore under a new city plan to finally reimagine the long-vacant New York Wheel site. Last week, the city's Economic Development Corporation revealed a plan to transform two sites in St. George, the Empire Outlets retail complex and the former site of a planned Ferris Wheel, into a mixed-use waterfront neighborhood with thousands of apartments, open space, retail, and community amenities. The plan would mark the long-awaited next chapter for the property, once slated to host the world’s tallest Ferris wheel before the project was scrapped in 2018.
see the plan

See plan to redevelop Bronx public library with 100+ affordable homes

Images courtesy of Secchi Smith, unless noted otherwise

November 21, 2025

See plan to redevelop Bronx public library with 100+ affordable homes

By Aaron Ginsburg

A plan to transform a New York Public Library branch in the Bronx has been unveiled, bringing more than 100 affordable apartments atop a new, state-of-the-art library. The city on Thursday announced the selection of Settlement Housing Fund and Kalel Companies to redevelop the Grand Concourse library at 155 East 173rd Street into a mixed-use tower with 113 affordable homes and a new 17,500-square-foot library facility. Designed to be environmentally friendly, the development, dubbed The Heartwood, is expected to meet Passive House standards, the first NYPL branch to do so.
details here

New York Public Library reveals best books of 2025, with unlimited e-book access for some titles

Images courtesy of NYPL/Tara Fedoriw-Morris

November 21, 2025

New York Public Library reveals best books of 2025, with unlimited e-book access for some titles

By Aaron Ginsburg

The New York Public Library has unveiled its Best Books of 2025, its annual roundup of the year’s top reads. Expertly curated by librarians, this year’s list features 225 titles across multiple genres for adults, teens, and children—and for the first time, the library is offering unlimited e-book access to 26 selected titles. NYPL cardholders can borrow these titles electronically through the Libby app until December 31.
see the list

Events & Things To Do

Popular Articles

Holiday nostalgia rides on vintage NYC subway cars are back this December

Holiday Nostalgia Train at 2nd Avenue station. Photo courtesy of New York Transit Museum.

November 21, 2025

Holiday nostalgia rides on vintage NYC subway cars are back this December

By Aaron Ginsburg

Step back in time and embark on a festive journey aboard an old-school New York City subway car this holiday season. The New York Transit Museum's beloved Holiday Nostalgia Rides, which include eight cars from the 1930s that ran along lettered lines through the late 1970s, will run every Sunday in December from 2nd Avenue on the uptown F platform and 96th Street on the downtown Q platform.
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$108M restoration of Dumbo’s historic cobblestone streets is complete

Images courtesy of Matthew Lapiska/NYCDDC

November 20, 2025

$108M restoration of Dumbo’s historic cobblestone streets is complete

By Aaron Ginsburg

This week, the final brick was laid in the multi-year, $108 million restoration of Dumbo’s iconic cobblestone streets. The city’s Department of Design and Construction and the Dumbo Business Improvement District on Wednesday celebrated the placement of the last Belgian block at Anchorage Plaza, completing a six-year effort that restored 800,000 historic bricks across 26 blocks. The landmark project in one of Brooklyn's oldest neighborhoods also upgraded stormwater drainage, reduced combined sewer runoff into the harbor, added new bike lanes, and introduced the Pearl Street Plaza.
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Architecture And Design

Plan for 2,000+ homes at vacant Creedmoor campus in Queens approved

Creedmoor campus. Photo by Jim.henderson via WikiCommons

November 20, 2025

Plan for 2,000+ homes at vacant Creedmoor campus in Queens approved

By Aaron Ginsburg

A plan to bring more than 2,000 new homes to the underutilized Creedmoor Psychiatric Center campus in eastern Queens won approval this week. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday announced that the Public Authorities Control Board approved the general project plan for the Creedmoor Mixed-Use Project, clearing the way to turn nearly 50 acres of vacant state land into a mixed-use community with housing, open space, retail, childcare, and senior services. The project includes a total of 2,022 units, with more than 950 affordable rentals and over 1,000 affordable and market-rate homes for ownership.
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Tribeca’s iconic skybridge property is back on the market for $30M

Images by Brad Stein

November 19, 2025

Tribeca’s iconic skybridge property is back on the market for $30M

By Aaron Ginsburg

Tribeca’s famed skybridge residence is for sale again with a nearly $30 million price tag. The landmarked two-building property at 9 Jay Street and 67 Hudson Street—a four-story townhouse and expansive loft linked by the iconic Staple Street skybridge, one of the city's most photographed spots—is now asking $29,995,000. It last sold in August 2022 for $24 million in an off-market deal, following nearly a decade on the market. For buyers looking to build a dream urban estate, 4 Staple Street across the way hit the market last week for $30 million.
see the skybridge

Distinctive Homes

Eliot Spitzer’s planned Fifth Avenue condo tower gets height boost

All renderings courtesy of Spitzer Enterprises

November 19, 2025

Eliot Spitzer’s planned Fifth Avenue condo tower gets height boost

By Aaron Ginsburg

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed Upper East Side condo project, which would replace a 1970s-era rental building with 26 luxury residences, just got a slight height boost. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Spitzer's proposal to raise his planned development at 985 Fifth Avenue from 19 to 20 stories using City of Yes zoning reforms, replacing a 25-story rental building approved for demolition in 2023. Other approved changes include a textured limestone facade, a rear yard extension, and the removal of an adjacent public plaza.
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NYC unveils designs for revamped sidewalk sheds

Renderings courtesy of PAU

November 19, 2025

NYC unveils designs for revamped sidewalk sheds

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City officials are reimagining sidewalk sheds and street scaffolding, transforming these necessary but unsightly structures into safer, lighter, and more flexible structures. On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled six innovative designs by Arup and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) that enhance circulation, improve aesthetics, and let in more natural light, all while continuing to protect New Yorkers. The new sheds, which eliminate the X-shaped bars and other confining elements of current models, could be installed on city sidewalks as early as next year.
See the designs, ahead

Policy

See inside an East Village condo transforming a former parking garage into luxury loft-like homes

All renderings courtesy of Plomp

November 18, 2025

See inside an East Village condo transforming a former parking garage into luxury loft-like homes

By Aaron Ginsburg

New images were released this week of the luxury boutique condo replacing a shuttered East Village parking garage. Designed and developed by Arcus, 220 East 9th Street replaces a 175-space garage, which had been closed since 2023 due to structural issues. In its place is a striking red-brick condo, dubbed 220e9th, with 18 bright and airy, loft-like residences, all with unique layouts.
see it here

New Chelsea rental opens lottery for 28 apartments, from $978/month

November 18, 2025

New Chelsea rental opens lottery for 28 apartments, from $978/month

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new 12-story rental building in Chelsea just opened a lottery for 28 mixed-income apartments. Replacing a Rite Aid, The Andrea sits at the corner of 24th Street and 8th Avenue. New Yorkers earning 40, 60, and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $978/month studios to $4,376/month two bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Extell to buy $36M in air rights from Midtown’s St. Thomas church

Streetview of 678 Fifth Avenue © 2024 Google

November 17, 2025

Extell to buy $36M in air rights from Midtown’s St. Thomas church

By Aaron Ginsburg

Extell Development has bought $36 million in air rights from a historic Midtown church as it continues to assemble large development sites across the neighborhood. According to Crain's, the developer has entered into a contract to acquire 123,000 square feet of air rights from the landmarked St. Thomas Church at 678 Fifth Avenue. It’s unclear which project Extell plans to use the rights for, but the firm is working on several nearby projects, including the former Wellington Hotel site and 655 Madison Avenue.
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Real Estate Trends

Council kills bill banning horse-drawn carriages in NYC

Credit: Igor Wang on Unsplash

November 17, 2025

Council kills bill banning horse-drawn carriages in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

A City Council bill to phase out New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry has stalled after a committee voted against advancing it to a full Council vote. On Friday, the Council’s Committee on Health voted 1–4, with two abstentions, to block Ryder’s Law, sponsored by Council Member Robert Holden. The bill would end the city’s carriage horse industry by 2026 and help drivers transition to other jobs. Opponents, siding with the Transport Workers Union International (TWU), which represents carriage drivers, called the bill “ill-conceived and silly.”
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College Point landmark that housed nation’s first free kindergarten gets $6.2M restoration

Credit: DDC

November 14, 2025

College Point landmark that housed nation’s first free kindergarten gets $6.2M restoration

By Aaron Ginsburg

A historic College Point landmark that once housed the nation’s first free kindergarten has received a $6.2 million makeover. Built in 1868, the Poppenhusen Institute—listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a New York City landmark—was among the first buildings in the country constructed entirely of cast, or artificial, stone. Located at 114-04 14th Road, the project included replacing and upgrading all 97 wood and steel windows, along with careful masonry restoration that preserves the building’s historic character.
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Architecture And Design

The 20 best heated and indoor rooftops to enjoy in NYC this winter

November 14, 2025

The 20 best heated and indoor rooftops to enjoy in NYC this winter

By Aaron Ginsburg

Peak rooftop season might be on pause until next summer, but panoramic skyline views can still be enjoyed from indoor and heated rooftop spots across New York City. Cozy restaurants and bars across the five boroughs offer the perfect way to scratch that skyline itch without braving the chill of the fall and winter weather. From heated terraces to glass-enclosed lounges, here are some of the best rooftops to sip a cocktail and take in the view.
where to go

PATH to get major service boost, but fare will reach $4 by 2029

Credit: LunchboxLarry on Flickr

November 14, 2025

PATH to get major service boost, but fare will reach $4 by 2029

By Aaron Ginsburg

For the first time in 25 years, all PATH lines will operate seven days a week, one of the largest service increases in its history. To help pay for the system improvements, fares are expected to rise to $4 by 2029. On Thursday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released its proposed $45 billion 2026–2035 Capital Plan, which outlines major service upgrades between Manhattan and New Jersey. Improvements include eliminating transfers between Hoboken and the World Trade Center by mid-2026 and increasing weekend service. To fund the plan, the agency is proposing a 33 percent fare increase from the current $3 base fare, rising in 25-cent increments starting next summer and reaching $4 in 2029.
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A two-story Christmas carousel will open next to Macy’s in Midtown

Credit: 34th Street Partnership

November 13, 2025

A two-story Christmas carousel will open next to Macy’s in Midtown

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new double-decker Christmas carousel is coming to Greeley Square later this month, adding to Midtown’s festive holiday atmosphere. Hosted by the 34th Street Partnership, the Christmas Carousel will open at 33rd Street and Broadway and run from November 21 through January 6, 2026. The ride is steps from Macy’s Herald Square, which recently opened its holiday markets for the season.
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Events & Things To Do

14,700 homes planned for Long Island City after Council approves largest rezoning in 25 years

Credit: Ruoyu Li on Unsplash

November 13, 2025

14,700 homes planned for Long Island City after Council approves largest rezoning in 25 years

By Aaron Ginsburg

The New York City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the city’s largest neighborhood rezoning in 25 years. The OneLIC Neighborhood Plan rezones 54 blocks of a largely industrial area of Long Island City to allow for 14,700 new homes, including 4,350 permanently affordable units. The plan will create a continuous public waterfront from Gantry Plaza State Park to Queensbridge Park and includes $2 billion in city commitments, unlocking more than 3.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space and significant public-realm upgrades.
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