All articles by Dana Schulz

Mapping NYC subway stops according to their most popular Instagram hashtags

January 18, 2017

Mapping NYC subway stops according to their most popular Instagram hashtags

The Houston Street 1 station is #cronut; the PATH train’s World Trade Center station is #neverforget; and the Cathedral Parkway/110th Street station is #Seinfeld. This is the NYC subway map according to each stop's most popular Instagram hashtag. CityLab first shared the fun visualization, titled #tagsandthecity, and pointed out that, though the map has categories for sightseeing/monuments, shopping, leisure, culture/museums, and hotel/travel, it's the food and drink that really takes the cake. From #redrooster and #robertas to #shakeshack and #halalguys, it seems New Yorkers really like to post some food porn.
See the full map

City Living

Of NYC’s 150 historic statues, only five are female; inside Carnegie Hall’s secret archives

January 18, 2017

Of NYC’s 150 historic statues, only five are female; inside Carnegie Hall’s secret archives

There are 145 statues around the city honoring historical male figures, but only five for women. The Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Statue Fund hopes to change this. [Gothamist] The Department of Finance estimates that NYC’s real estate is now worth $1.16 trillion. [TRD] Did you know there are more than 300,000 historical artifacts in […]

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Department of Health says it’s okay to eat Gowanus Canal fish in moderation and kayak in the water

January 17, 2017

Department of Health says it’s okay to eat Gowanus Canal fish in moderation and kayak in the water

The real estate community has been looking closely at Gowanus as of late thanks to rezoning plans that will likely spur high-end development and proposals for a public esplanade. To some, this waterfront vision seems a bit off due to the toxicity of the Canal and its history as a Superfund site, but naysayers may be changing their tune as a new report from the New York State Department of Health tells us that "limited direct contact with the canal's waters, through boating or fishing" doesn't increase the risk of cancer and other diseases, according to Gothamist. It's still not safe to swim in the water, but, believe it or not, men and women of certain ages can even eat some of the Canal's fish.
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Tour Trump’s childhood home before it goes to auction tonight; Ambassador Grill interiors landmarked

January 17, 2017

Tour Trump’s childhood home before it goes to auction tonight; Ambassador Grill interiors landmarked

Seven places to go in NYC to hibernate from Inauguration Day. [Untapped] Donald Trump’s childhood home in Jamaica Estates, Queens is headed to auction tonight, but you can take a virtual tour beforehand. [NYT] A year after Fox and News Corp. ditched their plans to move into 2 World Trade Center, they’ve signed extension and expansion leases at […]

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A look back at the lost Grand Centrals of the late 19th century

Grand Central Station in the early 1900s

January 17, 2017

A look back at the lost Grand Centrals of the late 19th century

Historic photos of the original Penn Station are almost as common as images of the current site, since its demolition in 1963 is often credited with spearheading the modern preservation movement (and because its grandeur is a startling reminder of how loathed the current station is). Conversely, Grand Central is typically celebrated as a preservation victory. In 1978, the courts ruled in favor of the Landmarks Preservation Commission when Penn Central Railroad sued them to build a huge tower atop the terminal and demolish one of its facades. But believe it or not, the 1913 Beaux-Arts building was not the first Grand Central, and photos of these grand earlier structures are rarely shared.
See them here and get the full history

History

Trump to name New York developers Richard LeFrak and Steven Roth to oversee new infrastructure council

January 17, 2017

Trump to name New York developers Richard LeFrak and Steven Roth to oversee new infrastructure council

President-elect Donald Trump has previously outlined his $1 trillion infrastructure plan not just as a means to repair and build bridges and roads, but as a real estate platform for private entities to build and subsequently own public works such as schools, hospitals, or energy pipeline expansions through $137 billion in tax credits. So it comes as no surprise that he's tapped two of his longtime buddies and big-time New York real estate developers to head up the new council that will monitor this spending. The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump asked Richard LeFrak and Vornado's Steven Roth to manage this council of 15 to 20 builders and engineers, referring to the men as "pros" because "...all their lives, they build. They build under-budget, ahead of schedule."
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Policy

Helen Hayes’ former Nyack home asks $719K

January 16, 2017

Helen Hayes’ former Nyack home asks $719K

Helen Hayes' acting career spanned nearly 80 years, earning her the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and garnering her distinctions such as being one of only 12 people to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony and earning her the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts. When her storied life came to an end in 1993, she was living in Nyack, New York, where she first took up residency when she married playwright and screenwriter Charles MacArthur in 1928. At that time, the couple moved into a home at 29 Shadyside Avenue that Charles' father had built in 1908. Now dubbed the "Helen Hayes Honeymoon Cottage," the lovely Arts and Crafts-style home is on the market for $719,000 (h/t CIRCA).
See it all

The pros and cons of living above a bar; own the Big Apple Circus for $500K

January 16, 2017

The pros and cons of living above a bar; own the Big Apple Circus for $500K

You may get special privileges when you live above a bar, but you’ll likely have to deal with noise and crowds. [NYT] Divorces in NYC were down eight percent in 2016, tied to an improving economy. [NYP] The Big Apple Circus announced it was shutting down last year, but it’s now putting all of its assets up […]

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With the rise of ride-hailing apps, daily yellow cab trips fell 27 percent since 2010

January 16, 2017

With the rise of ride-hailing apps, daily yellow cab trips fell 27 percent since 2010

6sqft recently shared analysis that 3,000 ridesharing vehicles could replace the city's fleet of 13,587 taxis. And while this was more a comment on how carpooling can decrease congestion and emissions, it also points to a changing landscape for yellow cabs. In a piece this weekend, the Times looks at how taxis have fallen out of favor with New Yorkers since apps like Uber and Lyft came onto the scene; these vehicles now number more than 60,000. In 2010, for example, yellow cabs made an average of 463,701 trips, 27 percent more than the 336,737 trips this past November, which also resulted in a drop in fares from $5.17 million to $4.98 million. And just since 2014, the cost of a cab medallion was cut in less than half of its former $1.3 million price tag.
Read more on this trend

January 16, 2017

Cuomo dubs revised 421-a plan ‘Affordable New York,’ advances new legislation

A year after the city’s 421-a tax exemption program expired, a new version of the affordable housing incentive is officially moving forward. In August, Governor Cuomo released a new version of the plan that which include wage subsidies for construction workers and extended terms for the tax breaks, and after the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) reached an agreement in November to move ahead with this version, the Governor's office now reports that they'll be advancing new legislation to move ahead the program that's now been re-named "Affordable New York." Cuomo says this will create 2,500 new affordable housing units per year.
All the details this way

Popular Articles

Derek Jeter and A-Rod’s former home goes into contract; the strange things left in library books

January 13, 2017

Derek Jeter and A-Rod’s former home goes into contract; the strange things left in library books

The $7.5 million West Village townhouse that was once home to Derek Jeter and A-Rod finds a buyer. [LL NYC] From old photos to a pice of bologna, the strangest things librarians have found in books. [Tin House] Six, city-owned vacant lots in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Harlem will be turned into 440 units of affordable housing. […]

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Bronx Commons will bring 305 affordable apartments and a new music venue to the South Bronx

January 13, 2017

Bronx Commons will bring 305 affordable apartments and a new music venue to the South Bronx

Not only did the Times recently name the South Bronx one of this year's hottest travel destinations, but the up-and-coming 'hood has become a hotbed for new development. Many of these include affordable housing, which is the case at Bronx Commons, a mixed-use development in the Melrose Commons neighborhood that broke ground this morning. The $160 million project includes 305 all-affordable apartments, retail, and a landscaped public plaza, all of which will be anchored by the Bronx Music Hall, a new 300-seat venue that will serve as an "arts-centered community hub focused on the deeply rooted history of cutting edge Bronx music," according to a press release from developers WHEDco and BFC Partners.
Find out more about the project

Own Frank Lloyd Wright’s horseshoe-shaped ‘Tirranna’ home in New Canaan, CT for $8M

January 13, 2017

Own Frank Lloyd Wright’s horseshoe-shaped ‘Tirranna’ home in New Canaan, CT for $8M

For the first time in 20 years, Frank Lloyd Wright's "Tirranna" home in New Canaan, Connecticut is on the market. The Wall Street Journal reports that the home, which Wright built just before his death in 1959 on a 15-acre wooded estate, has been listed for $8 million by the estate of its long-time owner, the late memorabilia mogul and philanthropist Ted Stanley and his wife Vada. Though the couple renovated the horse-shaped home, they maintained its original architectural integrity, preserving classic Wright details like built-in bookshelves, cabinets and furniture, as well as other unique features such as a rooftop observatory with telescope, gold leaf chimneys, and sculpture paths that wind through the woods.
See it all right here

The Urban Lens: Nei Valente’s ‘Newsstands’ shows the changing face of media

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 Brazilian designer Nei Valente presents his series of nighttime newsstand photos. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected].

January 13, 2017

The Urban Lens: Nei Valente’s ‘Newsstands’ shows the changing face of media

By day, Nei Valente is a designer at branding agency Brand Union, but in his free time he photographs street scenes around the city, many of which are taken once the sun has set. In "Newsstands," he captures the changing face of newsstands around the city, exploring how their evolution relates to our shift from print to digital media. Inspired by Moyra Davey's newsstand series of 1994, Valente finds it fascinating how newsstands have changed over the last couple of decades.
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Places

Third lottery opens at Pacific Park Brooklyn, apply for 303 affordable units from $532/month

January 13, 2017

Third lottery opens at Pacific Park Brooklyn, apply for 303 affordable units from $532/month

Last spring, the first housing lottery opened at Pacific Park Brooklyn when 181 affordable units at SHoP's 461 Dean Street (the world's tallest modular tower) came online. It was followed a few months later by 298 openings at 535 Carlton Avenue, COOKFOX's entirely affordable building, and now the third set of apartments for low- to middle-income New Yorkers is open. SHoP Architects also designed an all-affordable building at 38 Sixth Avenue, adjacent to the Barclays Center, and as of today these 303 residences are up for grabs, ranging from $532/month studios to $3,695/month three-bedrooms. Households earning between 101 and 165 percent of the area media income (or up to $173,415 annually) are eligible for 198 of the units, while 105 units are set aside for those earning between 30 and 100 percent (as low as $20,126 a year).
More details and the whole qualification breakdown

The Met delays its new $600M wing; photographing NYC’s abandoned coffee cups

January 12, 2017

The Met delays its new $600M wing; photographing NYC’s abandoned coffee cups

Following a $31 million deficit, the Met will delay its new $600 million Modern and contemporary art wing by up to seven years, instead focusing on roof/skylight work in the European paintings galleries. [NYT] In his series “Morning Joe,” photographer David Joseph captures discarded, abandoned coffee cups on the streets of NYC. [Untapped] The city’s 3.3 million immigrants, who […]

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January 12, 2017

The city added 21,963 affordable housing units in 2016, the most in 27 years

When Mayor de Blasio took office in 2014, he vowed to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing over 10 years, and so far, he's made good on his word, despite the loss of the city's controversial 421-a program. The Times reports that today the Mayor will announce that his administration has added 21,963 affordable units in 2016, the most since 1989. Of these apartments, 6,844 were in newly constructed buildings and roughly 4,400, or 20 percent, were reserved for low-income New Yorkers earning less than $25,000 (much more than the eight percent goal). More than 30 percent were in Manhattan, followed by 29 percent in both the Bronx and Brooklyn.
More details

Jeanne Gang’s $340M Museum of Natural History expansion gets new interior renderings, details

January 12, 2017

Jeanne Gang’s $340M Museum of Natural History expansion gets new interior renderings, details

After the architects at Studio Gang tweaked their proposal for the American Museum of Natural History expansion to preserve more public parkland out front, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the plans in October. And now that things are moving ahead, and the price has jumped from $325 to $340 million, the institution shared new details about how the 235,000-square-foot Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation will operate. The update comes with a fresh set of interior renderings, which include views of the Butterfly Vivarium, Insectarium, and other educational spaces.
All the renderings and details this way

January 11, 2017

Iconic ‘Miss Manhattan’ and ‘Miss Brooklyn’ statues return to the Manhattan Bridge

“Miss Manhattan” by Daniel Chester French. It was originally alongside the Manhattan Bridge, but was moved to the entrance of the Brooklyn Museum. Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum. In the early 1900s, renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French was asked to create "two allegorical figures," a Miss Manhattan and a Miss Brooklyn, to stand at the Brooklyn entrance to the Manhattan Bridge. The granite women were removed, however, in the 1960s when Robert Moses decided to move them. They were then relocated to their current home at the Brooklyn Museum's entrance, but after a 10-year, $450,000 project, a resin replica of the original has returned to the bridge. As the Times tells us, sculptor and installation artist Brian Tolle (he's also responsible for the Irish Hunger Memorial) designed the new version to glow at night with interior LED lights and rotate "on two lamppost-like arms."
See the ladies in action

Events & Things To Do

New mini documentary profiles Santiago Calatrava; Williamsburg’s Harry Potter-themed pasta restaurant

January 11, 2017

New mini documentary profiles Santiago Calatrava; Williamsburg’s Harry Potter-themed pasta restaurant

Pasta Wiz in Williamsburg is the Harry Potter-themed pasta restaurant you didn’t know you needed. [Gothamist] A new short documentary explores the life of Santiago Calatrava, specifically his work on the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. [Nowness] The city has a new dashboard with data from dozens of city agencies updated in real time. [Fast Co. […]

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Live in ODA’s new Crown Heights rental from $845/month, lottery opening for 24 units

January 11, 2017

Live in ODA’s new Crown Heights rental from $845/month, lottery opening for 24 units

It's been over two years since ODA Architects first released a rendering of their rental project at 1040 Dean Street (formerly 608 Franklin Avenue) in Crown Heights. Featuring the firm's signature glassy, boxy aesthetic, the eight-story, 133,582-square-foot project rose on part of the site of the shuttered Nassau Brewery, just a block away from hot-spot food hall Berg'n. Of its 120 units, 20 percent will be reserved for those earning no more than 60 percent of the area media income, and starting tomorrow, qualifying New Yorkers can apply to these affordable units, ranging from $845/month studios to $1,022 two-bedrooms.
Find out more

Affordable Housing

From just $368/month, lottery opens for 107 affordable apartments in Crotona Park East

An early rendering of the project, via CityLand

January 11, 2017

From just $368/month, lottery opens for 107 affordable apartments in Crotona Park East

In April, the affordable housing lottery commenced for 79 units at Building A of the Bronx's Crotona Terrace development in Crotona Park East. Now, 107 additional apartments are up for grabs at Building B, ranging from $368/month studios to $1,740/month three-bedrooms, broken down for those earning no more than 30, 40, 50, 60, or 100 percent of the area media income. This mixed-income setup is similar to other projects in the Crotona Park East neighborhood, which was rezoned nearly six years ago to allow more residential in a historically industrial area to create increased affordable housing.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

First look at the $30M penthouse at Robert A.M. Stern’s 30 Park Place

January 11, 2017

First look at the $30M penthouse at Robert A.M. Stern’s 30 Park Place

The top-floor units at Robert A.M. Stern's 930-foot 30 Park Place have a way of making headlines. The 82nd floor penthouse, for instance, boasts the highest private outdoor space in the city, and the building's own developer, Larry Silverstein, recently snatched up the massive 80th floor spread for $34 million. But below these units are two duplex penthouses that span the 78th and 79th floors, notable for their double-height loggias that, as Curbed notes, have become a fixture in classic Stern buildings like 15 Central Park West and 520 Park Avenue. Curbed also got their hands on new photos of penthouse 78B, on the market for $29.5 million, which not only showcase the incredible views from the terrace, but new looks at the interiors.
More looks ahead

Norman Foster’s 50 Hudson Yards gets $195M in tax breaks from the city

January 11, 2017

Norman Foster’s 50 Hudson Yards gets $195M in tax breaks from the city

When completed, Related Companies‘ and Oxford Properties Group’s 50 Hudson Yards will be the city's most expensive office building, coming in at $3.94 billion. To make starchitect Norman Foster's pricey vision a reality, the developers had filed an application with the New York City Industrial Development Agency to take advantage of financial incentives that were enacted in 2006 to encourage development in Hudson Yards. And according to a new report in Crain's, the agency has approved $195 million in such tax breaks, which include making fixed payments towards the 985-foot tower's development costs instead of paying property taxes that vary from year to year, as well as receiving a discount on the mortgage recording taxes.
Find out more right here

Vote to replace all of Monopoly’s tokens; Will NYC cultural institutions close on Inauguration Day?

January 10, 2017

Vote to replace all of Monopoly’s tokens; Will NYC cultural institutions close on Inauguration Day?

Since launching in 1933, Monopoly has updated its token to reflect the times. Now, they’re letting the internet decide on replacements for all their tokens. [Gizmodo] Meet Ariel Kennan, the director of design and product under Mayor de Blasio. [Fast Co. Design] More than 130 artists and critics signed a petition calling on cultural institutions to […]

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