All articles by Dana Schulz

A photo-luminescent, solar canopy is coming to MoMA PS1 this summer

February 17, 2017

A photo-luminescent, solar canopy is coming to MoMA PS1 this summer

It never hurts to think of warmer months on days like today, and MoMA PS1's announcement of whose design will fill their courtyard this summer certainly does the trick. The winner of their 18th annual Young Architects Program is Jenny Sabin Studio. The Ithaca-based experimental architecture studio created "Lumen" in response to the competition's request for a temporary outdoor installation that provides shade, seating, and water, while addressing environmental issues such as sustainability and recycling. The result is a tubular canopy made of "recycled, photo-luminescent, and solar active textiles that absorb, collect, and deliver light."
More renderings and info on Lumen

Port Authority approves $32.2B capital plan, will include new bus terminal and airport upgrades

February 17, 2017

Port Authority approves $32.2B capital plan, will include new bus terminal and airport upgrades

The Port Authority Board of Commissioners yesterday approved a $32.2 billion, 10-year capital plan--the agency's largest ever. The major allocations include: $3.5 billion to begin the planning and construction of a new Port Authority Bus Terminal; $10 billion towards improving trans-Hudson commuting, including a $1.5 billion Goethals Bridge replacement, completion of the $1.6 billion Bayonne Bridge rebuilding, and a $2 billion rehab of the George Washington Bridge; $11.6 billion in major airport upgrades, which factors in $4 billion for the new LaGuardia Terminal B, a plan to extend the PATH train from Newark Penn Station to the Newark Airport, and the beginning of Cuomo's JFK overhaul; and $2.7 billion towards the Gateway rail tunnel project.
More details ahead

This 100-year-old subway sign can be yours for $150,000

February 16, 2017

This 100-year-old subway sign can be yours for $150,000

We already know that the MTA holds monthly online sales of ephemera--including everything from retired subway cars to vintage tokens--but apparently individuals with their own collections of transit collectibles can also make a pretty penny selling the goods. Take for example this 100-year-old subway sign that Gothamist spotted for sale on Etsy for $150,000. Sure, the price tag may seem fair for a century-old relic, but the 8' x 11" piece is a simple white sign with black letters that read "Times Square." And it's authenticity isn't actually confirmed...
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Transit

Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh sells Tribeca loft; FBI releases docs on Trump’s apartment discrimination

February 16, 2017

Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh sells Tribeca loft; FBI releases docs on Trump’s apartment discrimination

Less than a month after listing it for $5.75 million, Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh sold his Tribeca loft that’s directly below Taylor Swift’s abode. [LL NYC] FBI releases 400 pages of records from an investigation into racial discrimination at Donald Trump’s apartment buildings in the 1970s. [Politico] The Chelsea townhouse where Clement Clarke Moore wrote […]

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Homeless spending in NYC doubles over three years, likely to hit $2.3B

February 16, 2017

Homeless spending in NYC doubles over three years, likely to hit $2.3B

Back in November, the Wall Street Journal reported that Mayor de Blasio had spent a record $1.6 billion on homeless services since taking office three years prior, a 60 percent increase that came with 20 percent more New Yorkers in city shelters. Now, as shared by the Post, Comptroller Scott Stringer says that homeless spending will reach a whopping $2.3 billion when this fiscal year ends on June 30th, almost twice the $1.2 billion spent three years ago. "We have to pause and ask ourselves, are we seeing results?" he said.
Find out more on this growing crisis

Policy

Ta-Nehisi Coates sells Brooklyn brownstone; SHoP’s Domino tower gets 87,000 applications for 104 affordable units

February 15, 2017

Ta-Nehisi Coates sells Brooklyn brownstone; SHoP’s Domino tower gets 87,000 applications for 104 affordable units

Governor Cuomo signed a bill that squashed a law that would have imposed a five-cent fee on plastic bags in NYC. [NYT] After citing safety concerns when the media reported his new Prospect Lefferts Gardens address, Ta-Nehisi Coates has sold the brownstone for $2.1 million. [NYP] NYU is ready to start construction on its $1 billion, […]

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WXY reveals renderings of the city’s just-announced $136M fashion and film complex in Sunset Park

February 15, 2017

WXY reveals renderings of the city’s just-announced $136M fashion and film complex in Sunset Park

Last week, 6sqft took an in-depth look at how Sunset Park has become the new frontier for the city's garment industry, thanks to "several industrial conversions [that] offer cheaper rents, better equipped real estate, and a creative, collaborative community." Part of the city's push to revitalize the fashion trade in the burgeoning Brooklyn nabe is a collaboration with its "Made in New York" marketing campaign, which has previously been geared towards promoting film and television productions and technology companies. They'll also be investing $136 million to create the "Made in NYC Campus," a renovation of two waterfront Bush Terminal structures that will provide affordable space for film, fashion, and virtual reality tech companies, as well as a new pedestrian-friendly plazas and streets. The city's Economic Development Corporation has tapped WXY architecture + urban design to design the complex, and the firm has revealed a batch of renderings that showcase the project.
All the renderings and more details ahead

Removing garbage cans in subway stations led to more trash and track fires

February 15, 2017

Removing garbage cans in subway stations led to more trash and track fires

For those who thought removing subway station garbage cans as a means to decrease litter and rats seemed counterintuitive, you were right. The Post looks at how things have fared since the MTA took out cans in 39 stations in 2012, and since this tactic was nixed by the state Comptroller’s Office in 2015. Despite the latter attempt to course correct, a new state report shows that the situation is still just as bad in many stations, with the amount of litter on the upswing and an increased number of track fires.
What's the solution?

Download free coloring books from the Met, New York Public Library, and more

Cover image (May 29, 1970) from “Black News” via Brooklyn Public Library (L); Arabesques via NYPL (R)

February 14, 2017

Download free coloring books from the Met, New York Public Library, and more

Combining two trends--adult coloring books and open-access digital policies--#ColorOurCollections is a social media event during which 44 libraries, museums, archives, and cultural institutions from around the world are sharing free coloring pages based on materials in their collections. From the Brooklyn Public Library's 1970 "Black News" cover to the South Street Seaport Museum's ship diagrams to the New York Botanical Garden's floral illustrations, there's something for everyone.
More on the project

Where bodega flowers come from; Housing Works’ new online history project

February 14, 2017

Where bodega flowers come from; Housing Works’ new online history project

How are bodega flowers so cheap when florists are so expensive? The answer lies in their life cycle. [Gothamist] Housing Works History is a new online multimedia exhibition that uses oral histories, archival ephemera, and architecture to tell the organization’s 27-year history helping New Yorkers who are homeless and living with HIV/AIDS. [Fast Co. Design] Just […]

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Popular Articles

20 New Yorkers tell 6sqft what they love most about NYC

February 14, 2017

20 New Yorkers tell 6sqft what they love most about NYC

When you couple recent uncertain times with the gray February weather and frigid temperatures, it can be easy to get bogged down in feeling a bit melancholy. But today is the day of love, and in honor of that, 6sqft asked 20 New Yorkers--from fellow reporters and bloggers to architects and urbanists--what they love most about NYC. From big-picture things like the skyline and street energy to smaller fortunes like having tea with friends and spotting an old ad on the side of the building, there's plenty here to lift your spirits and make you fall in love with this great city all over again.
All the responses right this way

Where I Work

Repairs to New York state’s water infrastructure could cost $40B

February 14, 2017

Repairs to New York state’s water infrastructure could cost $40B

New York City already has planned a $3.4 billion investment over the next five years to repair the decaying infrastructure of the century-old Catskill Aqueduct. As 6sqft previously explained, the 92-mile network of tunnels, dams and reservoirs brings the city's water supply from the Catskill/Delaware and Croton watersheds. If you think this figure is steep, consider the $40 billion that a report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli estimates it would cost to repair and upgrade the entire state's aging water infrastructure over the next 20 years. As the Daily News explains, in NYC alone there were 562 water main breaks in 2015, and throughout the state, contamination is leading to concerns over clean drinking water.
Find out more

Policy

ODA’s crystalline 10 Jay Street gets new renderings of retail and office space

February 13, 2017

ODA’s crystalline 10 Jay Street gets new renderings of retail and office space

It's been eight months since ODA Architecture received its final approvals from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to convert the former Arbuckle Brothers sugar refinery building in Dumbo into a modern retail and office site. We've previously seen renderings of 10 Jay Street's prismatic East River-facing elevation--which was inspired by sugar crystals, the nearby Manhattan Bridge, and the neighborhood's historic steel and brick facades--and now that the rehab is in full swing, CityRealty noticed that the leasing team has debuted a new website with never-before-seen renderings of the brick east wall, adjoining waterfront plaza, retail space, and offices.
See all the renderings ahead

The vanishing restaurants of Chinatown; burn calories while taking in the art at the Met

February 13, 2017

The vanishing restaurants of Chinatown; burn calories while taking in the art at the Met

Chinatown’s traditional restaurants are being replaced by “uptown-style” establishments. Is this causing the entire ‘hood to lose its charm? [NYP] 105 Valentines for architects and architecture lovers. [ArchDaily] How the Queens museum supports immigrant communities. [Next City] At 8:30am at the Met, you can partake in the the “Museum Workout,” a dance-art-performance fitness class that goes […]

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February 13, 2017

De Blasio’s 2017 affordable housing plan includes $1.9B for 10,000 new units and Elder Rent Assistance program

In preparation for his State of the City address this evening at the Apollo, the Mayor announced two major affordable housing initiatives. The first will allocate $1.9 billion for 10,000 new apartments reserved for households earning less than $40,000, 5,000 of which will be set aside for seniors and 500 for veterans. The second implements a new Elder Rent Assistance program to provide 25,000 seniors with monthly rental assistance of up to $1,3000, to be funded by the city's proposed Mansion Tax.
More details ahead

143 chances to live in Downtown Brooklyn from $897/month, lottery open at 33 Bond Street

February 13, 2017

143 chances to live in Downtown Brooklyn from $897/month, lottery open at 33 Bond Street

A new 25-story rental building in booming Downtown Brooklyn is nearing completion at 33 Bond Street, just a block or two away from almost every subway line and a few blocks from BAM. Developer TF Cornerstone paid $70 million for the site, a former parking garage, in early 2014, partnering with Handel Architects on the rather standard, bulky, glassy design. In total, there will be 714 apartments, 143 of which have been set aside as affordable. These below-market rate units are now up for grabs through the city's affordable housing lottery and range from $897/month studios to $1,166/two-bedrooms for households earning 60 percent of the area median income.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

375,000 images now free from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

February 12, 2017

375,000 images now free from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Times may have recently questioned whether or not the Metropolitan Museum of Art is "a great institution in decline" (referring to its $40 million deficit and decision to put on hold its $600 million expansion), but the paper is much more positive when reporting on the Met's new Open Access policy. This allows free and unrestricted use of 375,000 high-resolution images of artworks in their collection, ranging from paintings by Van Gogh, El Greco and DeGas to ancient Egyptian relics to classical furniture and clothing.
Find out more

The Urban Lens: Sam Golanski gives Park Avenue doormen their moment in the spotlight

February 11, 2017

The Urban Lens: Sam Golanski gives Park Avenue doormen their moment in the spotlight

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, Sam Golanski gives Park Avenue doormen their moment in the spotlight. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Sam Golanski grew up in a small town in Poland, but has been residing in Manchester, U.K. since 2005. Though he thinks New York is "a tough place to live," he fell in love with its energy as a child watching films set in Manhattan from the '60s and '70s. Now all grown up, he comes to New York frequently to visit friends and work on his urban and social photography projects ("I have to admit I shredded a few pairs of shoes by just walking up and down for days everywhere with my camera bags," he says). In his series "Park Avenue Doormen," Sam gives the men who safeguard the Upper East Side's ritziest buildings an opportunity to step from behind the velvet ropes and in front of the camera.
See all the photos

Morgan Stanley may move to Hudson yards; $375 box of chocolates for sale at Chelsea Market

February 10, 2017

Morgan Stanley may move to Hudson yards; $375 box of chocolates for sale at Chelsea Market

BlackRock has already signed on for 15 floors at Norman Foster’s 50 Hudson Yards (the will-be most expensive office building in the city). Now, Morgan Stanley may take the remaining two million square feet. [WSJ] Iconic New York writer Fran Lebowitz paid $3.1 million for a condo at the Chelsea Mercantile. [LL NYC] Don’t know […]

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It may cost NYC taxpayers up to $28M to clean up yesterday’s snow storm

February 10, 2017

It may cost NYC taxpayers up to $28M to clean up yesterday’s snow storm

For fiscal year 2017, the city budgeted $88 million for snow removal and has already spent $26 million. But yesterday's dump of the white stuff could bring that number up to $54 million. DNAinfo reports that Comptroller Scott Stringer estimates it could cost NYC taxpayers between $19.9 and $27.9 million to dig out from Winter Storm Niko, which is based on the average of $1.99 million per inch of snow that the city has paid over the past 14 years.
Find out more

Policy

Mapping where undocumented immigrants live in America

February 9, 2017

Mapping where undocumented immigrants live in America

Of the estimated 11.1 million undocumented immigrants living across the U.S., 6.8 million or 61 percent live in just 20 metro areas, according to an analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey by the Pew Research Center. And as CityLab points out, this is an extremely high concentration considering just 36 percent of the country's total population lives in these areas. The highest population is, not surprisingly, right here in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, with 1.15 unauthorized immigrants calling these cities home. We're followed by the Los Angeles area with 1 million residents, but after that it drops drastically to 575,000 immigrants in Houston.
Learn more here

City Living

Buy a tiny ‘Seinfeld’ apartment for $400; Greta Van Susteren ditched Midtown penthouse along with Fox News

February 9, 2017

Buy a tiny ‘Seinfeld’ apartment for $400; Greta Van Susteren ditched Midtown penthouse along with Fox News

An artist worked with the original production designer of “Seinfeld” to create a miniature version of Jerry’s apartment. The $400 model features more than 100 tiny elements. [Gothamist] For one week, Times Square is getting a Pop-Tarts cafe, complete with personal Pop-Tarts pizzas and burritos. [TONY] After a year and a half on the rental market, the […]

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Proposed East Harlem mixed-use development may contain city’s tallest building with affordable housing

February 9, 2017

Proposed East Harlem mixed-use development may contain city’s tallest building with affordable housing

Looking to take advantage of the newly opened Second Avenue Subway stop at 96th Street, the New York City Educational Construction Fund and AvalonBay Communities are working their way through the city approval process to build a 1.14 million-square foot, full-block, mixed-use development in East Harlem. CityRealty tells us that the project located at 321 East 96th Street would hold two new school buildings for three different local schools, 20,000 square feet of retail space, a rebuilt playground, and a 68-story, 760-foot residential tower that would offer between 1,100 and 1,200 units and possibly become the city's tallest building to contain affordable housing (roughly 330 below-market rate units).
More details and renderings

VIDEO: How a man lives and works in a 78-square-foot Hell’s Kitchen ‘studio’

February 9, 2017

VIDEO: How a man lives and works in a 78-square-foot Hell’s Kitchen ‘studio’

The going rate for a Hell's Kitchen studio is upwards of $2,000/month, but when now 32-year-old Luke Clark Tyler moved into his pad in 2011, he signed a lease for only $750. This might sound like a bargain, but the freelance designer/architect is living (and working!) in an astonishingly small 78 square feet, which by Sharably's account is the smallest apartment in America. And when you break that down by price per square foot, he's actually paying almost twice as much as the neighborhood average. But nevertheless, Tyler is happy to have the extra cash to enjoy the many dance performances in his 'hood and says that after living tiny for more than five years, "we adapt very easily as people."
Let Luke give you a tour of his VERY humble abode

Distinctive Homes

Greenpoint laundromat charges double to wash Trump clothes; inside NYC’s new luxury meditation studio

February 8, 2017

Greenpoint laundromat charges double to wash Trump clothes; inside NYC’s new luxury meditation studio

A Greenpoint laundromat adds a 100 percent surcharge for orders that “include garments bearing the Trump brand name.” [Brokelyn] At $18 a pop, the cups of coffee at Alpha Dominche’s Extraction Lab in Sunset Park are the country’s most expensive. [Gothamist] Inscape, a new luxury meditation studio in Flatiron, was designed as a cross between “4th […]

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