All articles by Dana Schulz

How Long Should You Wait For the Subway Before Giving Up?
April 20, 2016

How Long Should You Wait For the Subway Before Giving Up?

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To wait or not to wait, that is the question that engineer Erik Bernhardsson answered in his recent analysis of the MTA's real-time API. In his post titled NY Subway Math he determined that if you're in a hurry, you should only wait for a train to arrive for 11 minutes (h/t Technically). At this point, the chance that there's a serious delay begins to rise. As he notes, "The interesting conclusion is that after about five minutes, the longer you wait, the longer you will have to wait. If you waited for 15 minutes, the median additional waiting time is another 8 minutes. But 8 minutes later if the train still hasn’t come, the median additional waiting time is now another 12 minutes.”
More on the conclusion
Spring House Tour Round Up: 10 Chances to Get Inside the Most Spectacular Residences!
April 19, 2016

Spring House Tour Round Up: 10 Chances to Get Inside the Most Spectacular Residences!

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It's finally time to start planning outdoor activities, and what better way to enjoy spring in NYC than strolling around picturesque neighborhoods while getting a special look inside some of their most spectacular dwellings. House tour season is kicking off on May 1st with the Greenwich Village Society's annual event, followed by nine other tours from standard historic house 'hoods like Fort Greene and Park Slope to more under-the-radar gems like the secret gardens of Hoboken and the Victorian beauties of Flatbush. Whatever your budget and preferred architectural style, there's a tour for you ahead.
All the house tour info ahead
This Map Visualizes Manhattan As a (Unimpressive) Mountain
April 19, 2016

This Map Visualizes Manhattan As a (Unimpressive) Mountain

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The Manhattan skyline is inarguably getting taller and taller, and when we look up at the towering behemoths surrounding us, it's easy to feel completely dwarfed. But this man-made landscape pales in comparison to the soaring heights of many natural wonders. That's where this cool visualization from Vivid Maps comes in. "If Manhattan was a mountain..." uses the height of the city's buildings and plots them as a mountain topography map, using actual geologic monikers like Greenwich Valley, One World Trade Center Peak, and Bellevue Plateau. As you can see, save for the Financial District and Billionaires' Row areas, Manhattan mountain is actually quite unimpressive.
Get a look a the full map
26 Bushwick Homes to Be Vacated During M Train Work; Can You Legally Take Selfies While Voting?
April 19, 2016

26 Bushwick Homes to Be Vacated During M Train Work; Can You Legally Take Selfies While Voting?

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This website turns your Instagram photos into customized adult coloring books. [Mashable] Dozens of Bushwick homes will have to be vacated for six to 10 months for work on the M train line. The MTA says it “provide suitable accommodations, relocation assistance and compensation.” [DNAinfo] The history of the Forward Building–from labor citadel to luxury condos. [Forward] […]

Annual Subway Ridership Hits 1.7 Billion, Highest Since 1948
April 19, 2016

Annual Subway Ridership Hits 1.7 Billion, Highest Since 1948

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The MTA has released its 2015 figures, which show the highest weekday subway ridership since 1948, reports the Daily News. Not only does this account for daily riders, which hit 5.7 million, but annual ridership as well, reaching 1.763 billion. Another interesting tidbit, especially considering the looming shutdown, is that L train usage decreased for the first time in about 20 years. This occurred from Third Avenue to Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn, resulting in a 4.2 percent increase along the J/Z and M lines.
More findings ahead
Donald Trump’s Failed and Fraught Attempt to Own the Empire State Building
April 18, 2016

Donald Trump’s Failed and Fraught Attempt to Own the Empire State Building

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In 2000, shortly after ending his first presidential run, Donald Trump was asked for what he would like to be remembered. He responded, "I'd like to own the Empire State Building," adding that it would make him "New York's Native Son." As Crain's recalls, he came awfully close to renaming the iconic tower the "Trump Empire State Building Tower Apartments." For nearly a decade, Trump had a 50 percent, no-cost stake in the building, but he lost it when he attempted a hostile takeover of the structure in the late 90s.
Read about the entire saga
Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff
April 16, 2016

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff

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Apply for 86 Affordable Apartments in Brownsville’s Prospect Plaza, Starting at $689/Month Uma Thurman’s Newly-Listed $6.25M Gramercy Duplex Comes With a Key to the Park New Photos of Judy Garland’s Former Dakota Apartment Designed by Sasha Bikoff Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo Put Sexy Soho Loft on the Market for $5.5M Funky Rockaway Houseboat Dubbed […]

20-Unit Brooklyn Heights Apartment Building Hits the Market As a $22M Mega-Mansion

Photo by Rich Caplan

April 15, 2016

20-Unit Brooklyn Heights Apartment Building Hits the Market As a $22M Mega-Mansion

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If 2015 was the year of the nine-figure condo sale, 2016 may be the year of the makeshift mega-mansion. From Roman Abramovich's troubled attempt to combine three Upper East Side townhouses to a $50 million Tribeca spread with 18 toilets, wealthy New Yorkers are going to great lengths to create their dream homes. The latest over-the-top offering is in Brooklyn Heights, where a five-story, 20-unit rental building just hit the market as a $22 million single-family residence. As noted by the Wall Street Journal, the building at 50 Orange Street just sold in January for $13.5 million to Benchmark Real Estate Group, who quickly hired Lee Stahl of design/build firm The Renovated Home to draw up plans for how it could be converted to a single-family dwelling. These plans include four bedrooms (only four?), a gym, an 800-bottle wine cellar, and a roof terrace and would cost an additional $10.6 million to complete over a 16-month period.
But what about the tenants?
Post-Modern Bronx Mansion With 35-Foot Atrium and 10 Skylights Wants $2M
April 15, 2016

Post-Modern Bronx Mansion With 35-Foot Atrium and 10 Skylights Wants $2M

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The Bronx's Fieldston neighborhood is considered one of the city's best preserved early 20th century suburbs, unique for its collection of revival-style homes (Tudor, Mediterranean, and Colonial, mainly). But this mansion at 4545 Delafield Avenue is in a category all its own. The post-modern structure was built in 1994 by noted local firm Isaac & Stern, who designed a stucco-covered, geometric creation that looks straight out of "Miami Vice." Now on the market for $1,950,000 (down from the original $2.4 million ask last year), the residence is just as mod inside as it is outside, with a 35-foot entry atrium complete with huge skylights, arched columns, and black granite floors.
Check it all out
NYC Buildings in the Desert; ‘Shark Tank’ Searching for Entrepreneurs in the Bronx
April 14, 2016

NYC Buildings in the Desert; ‘Shark Tank’ Searching for Entrepreneurs in the Bronx

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Brooklyn photographer and designer Anton Repponen’s “Misplaced Monuments” series puts famous NYC buildings in the desert, the mountains, or the depths of the ocean. [designboom] Mapping the states that love bacon the most. [Mental Floss] Think you’ve got a million-dollar business idea? “Shark Tank” is holding a casting call in the Bronx. [DNAinfo] “Murder of a […]

Lottery Opens for 10 Affordable Units in the Bronx’s Crotona Park East Neighborhood
April 14, 2016

Lottery Opens for 10 Affordable Units in the Bronx’s Crotona Park East Neighborhood

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In 1977, when President Jimmy Carter visited the South Bronx and declared it the worst neighborhood in the country, he was standing in Crotona Park East, a small neighborhood nestled in the triangle bordered by the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Harlem River, and Crotona Park. Though the Bronx dropped this reputation a long time ago, Crotona Park East was one of a few areas that seemed slow to catch up with the rest of the borough, but five years ago, the city rezoned this stretch from light industrial use to residential, creating a boom in affordable housing opportunities. The latest such development is located at 1702 Bryant Avenue, where 10 newly constructed affordable units are up for grabs through the city's housing lottery. The unit are $931/month one-bedrooms for one person earning between $31,920 and $38,100 annually and two people earning between $31,920 and $43,500.
READ MORE
‘Breaking Bad’-Themed Coffee Shop Opening in Bushwick; Pencils Are Big Business
April 13, 2016

‘Breaking Bad’-Themed Coffee Shop Opening in Bushwick; Pencils Are Big Business

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Walter’s Coffee Roastery, a “Breaking Bad”-inspired shop that started in Istanbul, is opening in Bushwick. Coffee is served in little beakers and some employees wear HazMat suits. [Eater] Here’s what today’s female architects have to say about sexism, equal pay, and more. [NYT] After being put in jeopardy of a massive “de-calendaring,” Long Island City’s Pepsi-Cola sign […]

Bid on Dinner at Daniel Libeskind’s Tribeca Apartment or Cocktails With the Lowline Founder
April 13, 2016

Bid on Dinner at Daniel Libeskind’s Tribeca Apartment or Cocktails With the Lowline Founder

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Sick of just reading about today's architects and designers? Now's your chance to meet some of these prolific figures in the flesh, through the Van Alen Institute's third annual Auction of Art + Design Experiences. Launched today, the experiences you can bid on include dinner at Daniel Libeskind's Tribeca apartment cooked by his wife Nina, the chance to harvest cocktail ingredients in the Lowline Lab with founder James Ramsey, pedicures in Brooklyn with artist Diana Al-Hadid, and a recipe tasting in Bon Appétit's One World Trade Center offices.
Get the scoop on some of the most exciting experiences
POLL: Will You Miss the MetroCard Swipe?
April 13, 2016

POLL: Will You Miss the MetroCard Swipe?

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The ye-olde MetroCard swipe has made national headlines in recent weeks, thanks to Hilary Clinton’s inability to get through the turnstile and Bernie Sanders’ belief that we’re still in the dark ages using subway tokens. The fact that these snafus are so attention-grabbing goes to show how intrinsic the simple act of swiping a MetroCard is […]

Amid Renovations, MoMA Will Close Architecture and Design Galleries

Endless House: Intersections of Art and Architecture (Jonathan Muzikar © 2015 The Museum of Modern Art)

April 13, 2016

Amid Renovations, MoMA Will Close Architecture and Design Galleries

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MoMA didn't make many friends in the architecture community when they razed the Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects-designed American Folk Art Museum to make way for their Diller Scofidio and Renfro-designed expansion, and now they might be even more alone on the playground thanks to an announcement that the renovation will close the institution's notable architecture and design galleries. The Architect's Newspaper reports that the Terrence Riley–designed third floor space that holds the design collection has already been disassembled to make way for a new exhibition, and the architecture gallery on the same floor will soon meet the same fate. This is rather shocking news considering MoMA was the first museum in the world to have a sustained department of architecture and design, one which, since the 1960s, has amassed a collection "of nearly 30,000 architectural models, works on paper, design objects, and interiors like the Frankfurt Kitchen."
More details ahead
Apply for 86 Affordable Apartments in Brownsville’s Prospect Plaza, Starting at $689/Month
April 13, 2016

Apply for 86 Affordable Apartments in Brownsville’s Prospect Plaza, Starting at $689/Month

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Through tools like rezonings, the city has been trying in recent years to increase affordable housing opportunities in lower-income Brooklyn neighborhoods like East New York and Brownsville, and the latter now has 86 brand new apartments available through the city's affordable housing lottery. The units are part of the much larger Prospect Plaza development by Dattner Architects, which altogether will transform a 4.5-acre site into 364 units of affordable and public housing, as well as a 22,000-square-foot supermarket, 12,000-square-foot community facility, and a rooftop greenhouse. The first batch of units to come online, located at 1740-1760 Prospect Place and 396 Saratoga Avenue, range from $689/month one-bedrooms to $1,181/month three-bedrooms for families earning between $24,995 and $63,060 annually. They'll feature "exquisitely finished kitchen and bathrooms," energy efficient appliances and fixtures, on-site laundry rooms, a fitness room, and parking for an additional fee.
Find out if you qualify
Keith Olbermann Lists Trump Palace Condo for $4M in Opposition to Presidential Candidate
April 12, 2016

Keith Olbermann Lists Trump Palace Condo for $4M in Opposition to Presidential Candidate

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CityRealty recently took a closer look at if and how Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric is affecting his real estate empire. They found that, despite how polarizing he is a presidential candidate, it's unlikely that anything will change thanks to an established trust in his brand and the city's current supply and demand status. But there's at least one New Yorker who disagrees, and he's taken a bold step to prove it. The Wall Street Journal reports that liberal commentator Keith Olbermann has listed his Upper East Side condo in the Trump Palace for $3.9 million in opposition to the presidential candidate. Though he's taking a loss on the listing price (he bought the 40th floor pad for $4.2 million in 2007, near the height of the market), he said "I feel 20 pounds lighter since I left... If they had changed the name of it to something more positive like Ebola Palace I would have happily stayed."
But what does Mr. Trump have to say?
The Bronx’s Depression-Era Boxcar Village, Where Lodging Was $3/Month
April 12, 2016

The Bronx’s Depression-Era Boxcar Village, Where Lodging Was $3/Month

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When the Great Depression hit, homelessness exploded, leaving most cities ill prepared to house this growing population. As 6sqft previously reported, "Homeless people in large cities began to build their own houses out of found materials, and some even built more permanent structures from brick. Small shanty towns—later named Hoovervilles after President Hoover—began to spring up in vacant lots, public land and empty alleys." The largest such settlement was on Central Park's great lawn, but smaller Hoovervilles popped up elsewhere, especially in Inwood and the Bronx, where many working-class New Yorkers had moved to follow north the construction of the subway. At Spuyten Duyvil Road and 225th Street there was a Boxcar Village, a collection of 40 boxcars where rent was $3 a month to live four men to a car.
The full history, this way
Brooklyn’s Sleeper Neighborhoods Outpricing Dumbo; What Hunger Looks Like in NYC Today
April 12, 2016

Brooklyn’s Sleeper Neighborhoods Outpricing Dumbo; What Hunger Looks Like in NYC Today

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Though Dumbo usually comes in as Brooklyn’s most expensive area, median sale prices this quarter in the Columbia Street Waterfront District came in at number one, followed by Prospect Lefferts Gardens. [Brownstoner]  The MTA is testing out Flex-Gates, a sort of roll-up security gate, to prepare for another Superstorm Sandy. [Daily Intelligencer] This Brooklyn-based photojournalist is capturing […]

The Port Authority Paid $47.6M in 2015 to Cover Condé Nast’s Move to One WTC
April 12, 2016

The Port Authority Paid $47.6M in 2015 to Cover Condé Nast’s Move to One WTC

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Though the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey would like you to think it's been smooth sailing finding tenants for One World Trade Center, their spending habits say otherwise. As Crain's reported, more than a year after Condé Nast made the big move from 4 Times Square to One World Trade, the agency is still dropping $3 million a month to pay for the old lease. This deal came about in 2011 when the Port Authority offered the incentive to entice the media company to relocate amid floundering activity at the downtown tower. In 2015 alone, they spent $47.6 million, and the payments are expected to continue into 2019 (when the lease ends) unless building owner the Durst Organization can find a new tenant.
More details ahead
Did You Know the MTA Uses Pantone Colors to Distinguish Train Lines?
April 11, 2016

Did You Know the MTA Uses Pantone Colors to Distinguish Train Lines?

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It's likely that every subway rider can name the colors that mark each train line -- blue for the A, C, E, red for the 1, 2, 3. But did you know that these aren't just arbitrary hues pulled from some MTA Crayola box, but rather 10 Pantone® spot colors? Even E-Z Pass and the LIRR and Metro-North lines have their own specific colors. The color coding dates back to the mid '60s when the city was in an economic downturn and people were staying off the rundown, haphazardly organized subways. To give the system a fresh, user-friendly look, the Transit Authority turned to graphic design, then an up-and-coming profession. They hired Italian designer Massimo Vignelli and Dutch designer Bob Noorda, both of whom were proponents of the popular "Swiss" style that featured solid, bright colors, simplistic illustrations, typographic grids, and the sans-serif font Helvetica. The men combined these elements into the 364-page New York City Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual, forming the basis for the subway design we know today.
Find out more this way
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