All articles by Dana Schulz

June 5, 2017

Live in a new Astoria building near Halletts Points from $889/month

Known as Astoria Cove, this newly constructed 28-unit rental at 26-27 2nd Street is just a block away from the under-construction Halletts Point mega-development. The seven-building project will bring 2,400 housing units to the Astoria neighborhood, as well as a stop for the East River Ferry, a supermarket, school, and waterfront park. Six households earning 60 percent of the median income have a chance to live near all the upcoming action through the city's affordable housing lottery that's offering $889/month one-bedrooms and $1,001/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
June 2, 2017

Google’s Pier 57 tops out ahead of summer 2018 opening

Last we checked in at the beginning of the year, the $350 million transformation of Pier 57, aka “SuperPier,” was making progress with its canted glass panels fully installed. Wednesday, co-developers RXR Realty and Young Woo & Associates held an event to mark the 450,000-square-foot development's topping out, which came after 2,600 tons of structural steel were installed, 4,000 yards of concrete poured, and a 60,000-square-foot curtain wall built. The project will include 250,000 square feet of offices for Google, a 100,000-square-foot food market from Anthony Bourdain, and an elevated two-acre park with a rooftop movie and performance amphitheater to be used for Tribeca Film Festival screenings. This construction milestone comes ahead of an anticipated summer 2018 opening.
See more construction shots and get more details
June 1, 2017

REVEALED: Morris Adjmi’s Gothic-inspired condo tower coming to Nomad

Just yesterday, 6sqft shared renderings of Moscow-based firm Meganom's super-skinny, 1,001-foot-tall tower headed for 262 Fifth Avenue in Nomad. Now, CityRealty has uncovered another slender contender for the neighborhood, this svelte 40-story condo tower designed by Morris Adjmi for 30 East 31st Street. The site formerly held the ornate Romanesque Revival parish house of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church, which, to the dismay of preservationists, was demolished in 2015 by Elkstein Development Group. However, Adjmi, known for his contextual sensitivity, will reference the church's Gothic details, with six hefty columns that emphasize its 469-foot height and assume a diagrid pattern on the upper floors resembling the barrel-vaulted ceilings of a cathedral.
More details and renderings ahead
May 31, 2017

Moscow-based Meganom reveals designs for 1,001-foot skinny supertall in Nomad

Joining the ranks of supertall, super-skinny skyscrapers like 432 Park, 111 West 57th Street, and 125 Greenwich Street comes 262 Fifth Avenue in Nomad (h/t Dezeen). The first U.S. project by Moscow-based firm Meganom, the residential tower will soar to 1,001 feet, which will make it the tallest structure between the Empire State Building and One WTC, stealing the title by a longshot from the 777-foot 45 East 22nd Street. The architects say the project "will include several 'firsts' in terms of its design and environmental sustainability features," and that it will boast "a striking arched observation deck" at its top.
More renderings and details ahead
May 30, 2017

15 chances to live in new Prospect Heights rental The Brooklyn Zinc, from $856/month

Starting tomorrow, qualifying New Yorkers can apply for affordable apartments at Prospect Heights' new rental The Brooklyn Zinc. Located at 313 St. Mark's Avenue just three blocks from Prospect Park, the building sits on a rare oblong-shaped development site, which allowed for a large interior courtyard, in addition to a landscaped rooftop terrace with lounging and dining areas and a bocce court and garden-level terrace. S3 Architecture designed the project as a two-winged structure, the main facade of which is clad in corrugated zinc panels punctuated by projecting bright yellow window frames. Of its 75 units, 15 are reserved for those earning 60 percent of the area median income and range from $856/month studios to $1,114/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
May 28, 2017

The Urban Lens: Peter Massini tours NYC’s public parks and sports fields from above

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, aerial photographer Peter Massini shares a series of warm-weather shots. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Last summer, multi-disciplinary photographer Peter Massini shared one of his aerial series with 6sqft that captures NYC’s hidden rooftop patios and gardens. In his latest collection, he's taken a look down at the city's more publicly accessible green spaces--parks, ballfields, lawns, and more. Though we've seen many of these locations, like Central Park and Arthur Ashe Tennis Center, more times than we can count, we've never experienced them like this before, from 1,500 feet in the air. By shooting from a helicopter, Peter is able to get a unique perspective on recreation in the city and just how vast some of these locales actually are.
Get a look at this amazing aerial views
May 26, 2017

Trader Joe’s opening second 14th Street location

It's been 11 years since Trader Joe's opened its first NYC location on Union Square, and now the discount grocer has three others in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn, and one in Queens. This past year, they announced that new outposts will open in Brooklyn Heights, the Upper West Side (their second in the neighborhood), Soho, and on the Lower East Side at Essex Crossing, and today The Real Deal reports they've inked a deal for a 23,000-square-foot space across from Stuyvesant Town, just three avenues east on 14th Street from their original store. The site at 432 East 14th Street is replacing the former Stuyvesant Post Office, a controversial closure that even launched a local "save the post office" campaign.
Get the whole scoop
May 25, 2017

Hudson Yards’ art center The Shed wraps up steel construction on its movable shell

After an announcement yesterday morning that Michael R. Bloomberg made a $75 million gift towards Hudson Yards' arts center The Shed--bringing the total raised towards the $500 million capital campaign to $421 million--the "new center for artistic innovation" held a tour to mark the completion of steel construction. The eight-story structure, designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro in partnership with the Rockwell Group, is a "fixed" base building made up of two gallery levels, a versatile theater, rehearsal space, creative studios for artists, and a sky-lit event space. But what makes the project truly unique is its telescoping outer shell that deploys over the building's courtyard, doubling its footprint and creating a myriad of options for flexible, multi-disciplinary work. Ahead, 6sqft shares an up-close view of this amazing structure.
See all the views and get more info
May 24, 2017

3 chances to live in prime East Williamsburg, from $958/month

Three units in East Williamsburg reserved for those earning 60 percent of the area median income have come online through the city's affordable housing lottery. Two $958/month studios and one $1,096/month one-bedroom are available at 387 Manhattan Avenue, a new six-story mixed-use development half a block east of the BQE, three blocks from McCarren Park, and right near all the local hot spots like the Llama Inn, Museum of Food and Drink, Pete's Candy Store, and Union Pool.
Find out if you qualify
May 23, 2017

12 places for gardening, plant, and flowers classes in NYC

With spring in NYC ushering in blooming trees, flowering plants, and blossoming gardens, many New Yorkers wish they had better access to these natural beauties. But even if you're not fortunate enough to have a backyard, garden, or terrace (or fire escape for that matter), there are loads of ways to get your green thumb on in the city. From flower arranging in a cute Williamsburg shop to landscape design at the New York Botanical Garden to a houseplant 101 class in Chelsea, 6sqft has rounded up a dozen of the best places for gardening, plant, and flower classes in the city.
Parouse the full list
May 23, 2017

Second Avenue Subway ridership continues to grow; MTA to add more trains

Just a month after opening on the first of the year, the Second Avenue Subway had eased congestion on the Lexington line by 11 percent. Now, nearly five months in, that figure has more than doubled, with ridership on the 4/5/6 decreased by 26 percent and a whopping 40 percent during peak morning hours. Moreover, Second Avenue's average weekday ridership is up from 140,000 to 176,000 passengers, an increase which has prompted the MTA to add two additional train trips during rush hour come this November.
Find out more
May 22, 2017

Lottery opens for 14 affordable units at new Bronx supportive housing development

Praxis Housing Initiatives "is NYC’s largest provider of transitional housing to homeless people with HIV/AIDS and is one of city’s lowest cost/highest service housing providers." As part of its 2012 strategic plan, the organization began a permanent supportive housing program, and in just two years time they opened their first development in the Bronx. In 2015, they closed on the second at 2264 Loring Place North in Kings Bridge Heights and built an eight-story, 66-unit building. Of these apartments, 14 are reserved for community-based affordable housing for those earning 60 percent of the area median income. They include $931/month one-bedrooms and $1,123/month two-bedrooms and have just come online through the city's affordable housing lottery.
All the logistics ahead
May 19, 2017

The Urban Lens: A tourist’s take on NYC in 1979

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, we share a set of vintage photos documenting NYC in 1979. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. In the spring of 1979, a 20-something Australian tourist came to NYC and was immediately struck by its fast pace and no-nonsense attitude ("there seemed to be an unwritten rule not to make eye contact or speak to strangers," he told Gothamist), as well as how much in disrepair parts of the city were, especially Harlem. He documented his experience through a series of color slides, which were recently rediscovered and present a unique view of how exciting, frightening, and mysterious New York was to an outsider at this time.
See all the historic photos
May 19, 2017

White Castle-replacing Williamsburg rental launches lotto, affordable units from $867/month

Back in late 2014, East Williamsburg's much-loved White Castle outpost shuttered suddenly after the site sold the year before to an investment group for $6.72 million. Burgeoning Brooklyn developer Adam America then stepped in to create, in his own words, "the next hottest development in the area" thanks to its location "just minutes away from an endless amount of cool hangouts." Architects Issac & Stern designed his vision as a six-story brick and metal rental that makes a nod to the area's industrial past. Now that the building at 781 Metropolitan Avenue is nearing completion, twenty percent of its 58 units have come online through the city's affordable housing lottery. These 16 units are reserved for those earning 60 percent of the area median income and range from $867/month studios to $1,123/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
May 18, 2017

Glamorous Yorkville penthouse once home to Irving Berlin lists for $7.9M

Growing up at the turn of the century on the Lower East Side, which was then home to the Yiddish Rialto (the largest Yiddish theater in the world at the time), is how legendary Hollywood songwriter Irving Berlin was first exposed to music and theater. But later in life, he moved his family uptown, first to Sutton Place and then to 130 East End Avenue, an Emory Roth-designed co-op in Yorkville right across from Carl Schurz Park. He lived in the penthouse duplex, which biographer Laurence Bergreen described as "a formal, stately dwelling with impressive views of the East River," from 1931 to 1944. Now, the still-stately and "One of a Kind" home has just hit the market for $7.9 million.
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May 17, 2017

Coney Island’s landmarked Childs Restaurant reopening as huge food and drink space

It's been more than 60 years since Childs Restaurant left its historic home on the Coney Island boardwalk, but on Sunday the landmarked building will reopen as a massive new food and beverage concept called Kitchen 21 (h/t Eater). The formerly vacant and deteriorating space was redeveloped through a $60 million joint investment among the NYC Economic Development Corporation, Legends Hospitality (who run the dining programs at One World Trade Center and Yankee Stadium), and Cravable Hospitality Group (of David Burke Kitchen). It will hold five separate restaurants, all peddling "summer-friendly fare": casual take-out spot Coney Island Café; beer and seafood spot Community Clam Bar; gastropub Parachute Bar; rooftop wine bar Boardwalk & Vine; and a more formal restaurant called Test Kitchen.
All the details ahead
May 17, 2017

REVEALED: See new renderings of the QueensWay elevated park

For the past couple years, there have been no major updates on the QueensWay, the High Line-style elevated park and cultural greenway proposed for a 3.5-mile stretch of abandoned railway in central Queens. But today, the Trust for Public Land and Friends of the QueensWay said in a press release that they've finished the schematic design for the first half-mile, which could open as soon as 2020. Along with the announcement and details comes a new set of renderings from DLANDstudio Architecture + Landscape Architecture.
All the details and renderings ahead
May 17, 2017

NYC’s 10 best historic house museums

Did you know there are 23 house museums across the five boroughs? All of which are supported by the Historic House Trust, a nonprofit that works in conjunction with the Department of Parks & Recreation to preserve these sites of cultural and architectural significance. From farmer's cottages to gilded mansions, these public museums span 350 years of city history and offer fun additions such as art collections, historic holiday-themed events, and specialized tours. Ahead, 6sqft has put together a list of 10 house museums that represent some of NYC's most storied history.
Check out our favorite house museums
May 16, 2017

Landmarks approves plans to disassemble RKO Keith’s Flushing Theater’s historic interiors

In a rare case, the RKO Keith's Flushing Theater is an interior landmark, but the building it's inside is not landmarked. Built in 1928 to the designs of noted theater architect Thomas Lamb, the elaborately ornamented Churrigueresque-style movie palace has sat decrepit for the past three decades, until Chinese firm Xinyuan Real Estate (they're also behind Williamsburg's Oosten condo and the forthcoming Hell's Kitchen condo that will be anchored by a Target) bought the vacant theater for $66 million last year with plans to develop it into a 269-unit luxury condo. Moving ahead with this vision, they've tapped Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and preservation specialists Ayon Studio to erect a 16-story glass tower at the site, which includes plans to "enclose the interior landmark, and to disassemble, restore off-site, and reinstall salvaged ornamental plasterwork and woodwork and replicas" in a new residential lobby. Despite some opposition from the Historic Districts Council (HDC) regarding public accessibility, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted in favor of the plan, congratulating the architects and expressing great admiration for their design.
More details ahead
May 12, 2017

The Urban Lens: Travel back to the gritty Meatpacking District of the ’80s and ’90s

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation shares archival images of the gritty Meatpacking District from the 1980s to early 2000s. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. "Few parts of New York City have transformed as dramatically in the last decade or so as the Meatpacking District. Changes in the area are physical as well as spiritual. What was once a deserted ghost town by day, nightlife, sex club, and prostitution hub by night, and bustling workaday center of the Meatpacking industry from early morning to noon is now a glitzy, glamorized center of shopping, dining, tourism, strolling, and arts consumption," says Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The organization recently released a collection of archival photos of the neighborhood's post-industrial grit, "before the Whitney, before the High Line, before Apple and Diane von Furstenberg, even before Sex and the City discovered the neighborhood." Ahead, 6sqft shares these images, from the 1980s to the mid-2000s, which document the major transformation that's taken place in just the past decade.
See all the photos here
May 11, 2017

City may bring back ‘Barnes Dance’ crossing systems to high-crash intersections

At many intersections throughout the city, pedestrians who have the walk signal still have to contend with vehicles turning left or right. But at some of Manhattan's busiest crossings, the city may bring back the "Barnes Dance" system, which stops traffic in all directions, allowing pedestrians to cross to any corner, including diagonally. As Gothamist reports, yesterday the City Council unanimously passed legislation that requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study about implementing these systems at 25 of the most high-crash intersections.
Read more
May 10, 2017

Lottery opens for affordable senior housing building at East Harlem’s Metropolitan Hospital site

In March of 2015, East Harlem's Metropolitan Hospital Center filed plans to horizontally expand and add a new facade to their former nurses' dormitory known as Draper Hall. Located at 1918 First Avenue, the 14-story building had been vacant since Hurricane Sandy, and after Dattner Architects' renovation, it's been reborn as affordable senior housing, containing 203 subsidized units. Those age 62 and older who earn between $0 and $38,200 annually are now eligible to apply for 51 of these one-bedroom residences, for which they will pay 30 percent of their income.
Get all the info
May 9, 2017

New renderings of Hudson Yards’ retail and restaurant spaces

Yesterday, it was announced that celebrity chef José Andrés, credited with bringing the small-plate concept to the U.S., will be opening a massive Spanish food hall at Hudson Yards, closing a deal for the 35,000-square-foot space at 10 Hudson Yards that Shake Shack guru Danny Meyer had previously been in talks for. On the heels of the news, developers Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group released new renderings of the retail and restaurant spaces coming to the mega-development (h/t Curbed), most of which will be located in the "Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards," a seven-story building that will hold the majority of the 25 restaurants and anchor tenant Neiman Marcus.
More renderings and details ahead
May 5, 2017

The Urban Lens: ‘Zombie City’ exposes distracted New Yorkers in a gentrifying city

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, fine art and portrait photographer James Maher exposes the changing face of NYC post 9/11. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. It all started at the University of Madison in Wisconsin with a surprisingly successful fake ID "business," which was James Maher's first introduction to portraiture and Photoshop. After moving back to his hometown of New York post-graduation, Maher studied at the International Center for Photography, assisted commercial photographers, and became a certified tour guide, exploring the architecture and streetscapes of the city. In 2006, he opened his own photography business, combining his varied interests, which also come through in his black-and-white series "Luxury for Lease," where New Yorkers are captured candidly against the background of New York. In it, Maher exposes how quickly things changed in the years after 9/11; instead of coming for "acceptance and freedom" and "a culture of creativity," wealthy persons from the suburbs and elsewhere began to move back "with an insatiable appetite." By snapping photos of distracted New Yorkers, many of whom are zombie-fied staring at their phones, Maher examines the "disconnection, hyper-gentrification, conformity, and consumerism" that's infiltrated our streets.
See the series here
May 2, 2017

Live around the corner from Penn Station for $833/month

That might not sound like the most enticing location, but with Chelsea's galleries nearby, Nomad's booming restaurant and fitness scene just a five- or 10-minute walk away, and Hudson Yards shaping up to the northwest, this newly constructed building at 221 West 29th Street might have more to offer than you'd think. And as of tomorrow, those earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for 19 units here through the city's affordable housing lottery, ranging from $833/month studios to $1,082/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify