All articles by Dana Schulz

September 21, 2016

PHOTOS: Check out NYPL’s new $2.6M ‘Book Train’ conveyor system

Last week, the New York Public Library released stunning photographs of the renovation of its historic Rose Main Reading Room and Bill Blass Public Catalog Room, along with news that the spaces would be reopening to the public on October 5th. As of this day, when guests request research materials, they'll come from a new, $23 million state-of-the-art storage facility below Bryant Park. To bring the materials up, the library installed an innovative conveyor system known as the "book train," which, according to a press release, "consists of 24 individual red cars that run on rails and can seamlessly and automatically transition from horizontal to vertical motion," transporting up to 30 pounds of materials at a time in just five minutes.
Check out photos and video of the Book Train

Policy

September 20, 2016

Should the 7 train get extended to NJ?; Harlem African Burial Ground memorial moves forward

By Dana Schulz

The Port Authority plans to release a study that resurfaces the push for an extension of the 7 train to Secaucus. [Politico] Rem Koolhaas’s first NYC building at 121 East 22nd Street gets a teaser site. [CityRealty.com] The Vladimir Lenin statue that sat atop an East Village rental has been removed amid rumors that the […]

Uncategorized

Renderings revealed for Tishman Speyer’s massive, mixed-use developments in Long Island City

Residential tower at 28-10 Jackson Avenue (L); Commercial tower at 28-07 Jackson Avenue (R). Via Tishman Speyer

September 20, 2016

Renderings revealed for Tishman Speyer’s massive, mixed-use developments in Long Island City

By Dana Schulz

There are currently nearly 30 under-construction and proposed projects in Long Island City, which, as 6sqft recently described "is sprouting a small city worth of skyscrapers, ushering in thousands of new residents, hundreds of hotel rooms, and a few hundred thousand square feet of office space." Two big-time projects come from Tishman Speyer Properties, who are erecting a trio of slab residential towers that will together usher in 1,900 new apartments. In a Wall Street Journal piece today, we get a first look at this glassy consortium, along with new details about the developer's adjacent two-towered commercial project that will be home to WeWork, Macy's, and yet another food hall.
Find out more about these projects

New Developments

Lowline team releases official proposal for $83M underground park

Lowline Lab via 6sqft

September 20, 2016

Lowline team releases official proposal for $83M underground park

By Dana Schulz

Just a couple months ago, the NYC Economic Development Corporation granted preliminary approvals to the Lowline, the world's first underground park. This came after the city put out a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) late last year for the 60,000-square-foot abandoned trolley terminal below Delancey Street. The Lowline proposal was the only one received, and initially the 154-page document was only to be publicly available through a Freedom of Information Law request, but the group worked with the EDC to release it to the community. The Lo-Down got a look at the document, which reveals everything from the projected cost of the project ($83 million) and operating hours (6am to 9pm, five days a week) to specific design elements like a "ramble" and 1,600-square-foot cafe/bar.
Lots more details this way

September 19, 2016

Stay in NYC’s first shipping container home in Williamsburg for $96/night

By Dana Schulz

There's plenty of cool shipping container architecture that's popped up around the city in recent years, from a retrofitted carriage house to the home of a radio station. But the title of first (legal) home built entirely of recycled containers goes to this architectural gem in Williamsburg, made of six stacked containers totaling 1,600 square feet. The lovely, 320-square-foot ground-floor apartment is now up for rent through Airbnb for a surprisingly affordable $96/night.
See the whole place

September 19, 2016

Saudi Prince’s apartment with three panic rooms gets $8.5M price chop; the evolution of pumpkin spice

By Dana Schulz

Greenwood Cemetery will start selling its own honey called “the Sweet Hereafter,” made by its 100,000 bees. [BK Paper] After staying in a Zaha Hadid-designed Madrid hotel, musician Moby said, “Literally sleeping in a dumpster would have been more comfortable.” [LLNYC] Go inside the workshop of architect Robert A.M. Stern during a typical busy workday. [TRD] Saudi […]

Uncategorized

MAP: More millennials live with their parents in the New York region than anywhere in the U.S.

Click here to view the full-size map.

September 19, 2016

MAP: More millennials live with their parents in the New York region than anywhere in the U.S.

By Dana Schulz

It's no one's dream to live in their parents' basement, but since the recession this has been a growing norm for young adults across the country. As Digg points out, a recent study from the Pew Research Center reports that in 2014, for the first time in 130 years, adults ages 18 to 34 were more likely to live with their parents than with a spouse or partner. They attribute it mainly to the postponement of marriage, fueled by social shifts as well as career and salary concerns. But this trend is not blanketed evenly across the country, and a new map from Metric Maps breaks down the trend by both state and county, which shows us that the Tri-State region has more millennials living at home than anywhere in the U.S.
More this way

City Living

September 19, 2016

Historic upstate charmer once owned by Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier asks $5.5M

By Dana Schulz

After filming "Gone with the Wind," Vivien Leigh lived with husband Laurence Olivier in this charming Greek Revival home in Palisades, New York, and the Post reports that it's now on the market for $4.45 million. Built in the 1820s, it's known as the Captain John House and is located in the upscale hamlet of Snedens Landing, which the couple must really have loved since they also lived in another home here that called Orson Welles and John Steinbeck residents, too.
READ MORE

UES residents not happy about plan to turn their playground into high-end housing

Google Street View of the Holmes Towers with the playground in question in the foreground

September 19, 2016

UES residents not happy about plan to turn their playground into high-end housing

By Dana Schulz

This past spring, the de Blasio administration revealed plans to lease "empty" NYCHA land--parking lots and grassy areas--for the creation of market-rate housing, which certainly ruffled the feathers of affordable housing advocates. Though the proposal hasn't been set into motion city-wide, it is taking shape at one housing project on the Upper East Side, the Holmes Towers on 92nd to 93rd Streets and 1st to York Avenues. As the Daily News reports, NYCHA recently "described tenant support for the plan to let a developer build 300 units — half market rate, half affordable — where the Holmes playground now sits." But this "tenant stakeholder committee" says they feel very differently.
READ MORE

September 17, 2016

Weekly highlights: Top picks from the 6sqft staff

By Dana Schulz

REVEALED: Thomas Heatherwick’s $150M climbable Hudson Yards sculpture ‘The Vessel’ PHOTOS: After two-year renovation, NYPL’s historic Rose Main Reading Room will reopen October 5th AECOM wants to turn Red Hook into a 45,000-unit mega-development with new subway connection Judge orders Sean Lennon to remove tree that’s damaging Marisa Tomei’s parents’ house Ex-Fox News chair Roger […]

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Hamptons estate where Jackie O spent her childhood summers lists for $50M

By Dana Schulz

6sqft has already taken a look at the posh Upper East Side building where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis grew up, and now we can go inside the 100-year-old Hamptons estate where she spent her childhood summers. As the Wall Street Journal first reported, the 11-acre property in East Hampton known as Lasata is currently owned by fashion designer and former Coach executive Reed Krakoff, who's listed the entire Arts and Crafts-style residence for more than $50 million.
See the whole property

September 16, 2016

432 Park’s first model penthouse unveiled; fictional NYC apartments get real

By Dana Schulz

As Garment District landlords hand over leases to higher-paying nightlife tenants, three more longtime fabric stores on West 39th Street will close by the end of the year. [DNAinfo] The replica of Syria’s Palmrya Triumphal Arch, destroyed by ISIS, will arrive in City Hall Park next week. [Untapped] With shows like “Girls” and “Broad City,” the fictional NYC […]

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Image © Thomas X. Casey, BronxNYC

September 16, 2016

Bronx building boom leads to a population comeback not seen in over 40 years

By Dana Schulz

A recent report from the New York Building Congress outlined how the Bronx had outpaced four-year frontrunner Brooklyn for the most residential permits issued, which was attributed in large part to the affordable housing push in the borough. And a story in the Times today takes a wider look at the borough's resurgence, noting that this building boom has led to a "population comeback" not seen since the 1970s.
All the stats, this way

City Living

September 16, 2016

One World Trade Center not for sale after all (at least not yet)

By Dana Schulz

Last week, 6sqft reported that the Port Authority would sell One World Trade Center for up to $5 billion due in part to vacancy issues and the fact that the tower only brought in $13 million in revenue last year, a mere 0.35 percent return on the agency's investment. But Authority chairman John Degnan said yesterday to Politico that "It’s certainly not on the block. We’re not talking to any brokers about it." This doesn't however, mean that the agency has changed its stance that it will one day "divest and monetize in non-transportation-related holdings."
Find out more

Uncategorized

September 15, 2016

Bill Murray to serve up cocktails in Greenpoint; No more web browsing at wi-fi kiosks due to lewd behavior

By Dana Schulz

Bjarke Ingels, “the man building the future,” gets the Rolling Stone treatment. [Rolling Stone] Bill Murray is bartending this weekend at his son’s new cocktail bar in Greenpoint. [TONY] The return of the Astor Place cube, aka The Alamo, is delayed yet again due to “unforeseen logistical issues.” [DNAinfo] Joy Behar bought a gorgeous $4.5 million Victorian […]

Uncategorized

September 15, 2016

Plan to close 14th Street to cars during L train shutdown gains steam with feasibility study

By Dana Schulz

One of many ideas to mitigate the forthcoming L train shutdown in 2019 (in addition to others such as the East River Skyway, more bike lanes, and even an inflatable tunnel) is to shut down 14th Street to vehicular traffic and make it a bus-only zone. The idea was first presented in June by State Senator Brad Hoylman, and now he and a group of his government colleagues have won a request to the MTA for a traffic feasibility study of the proposal that they say will "relieve congestion and improve traffic flow."
Find out more

Transit

September 14, 2016

REVEALED: Thomas Heatherwick’s $150M climbable Hudson Yards sculpture ‘The Vessel’

By Dana Schulz

It was nearly three years ago that Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross boasted that Hudson Yards' public art piece would be "New York’s Eiffel Tower," and after an unveiling today of the massive sculpture that will anchor the central public space, it seems he might not have been too far off.
More details and renderings this way

September 14, 2016

Adrian Grenier says he ‘pioneered Williamsburg’; Trump-as-Superman billboard coming to Times Square

By Dana Schulz

Adrian Grenier says he “pioneered Williamsburg” and that it got “so gentrified” he had to move to Bushwick, where he also had to leave thanks to Roberta’s. Guess that’s why he bought a second Clinton Hill townhouse last year. [Page Six] Chelsea’s iconic Empire Dinner will reopen in November. [Untapped] A “yuge” 55-foot, digital Donald Trump billboard […]

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September 14, 2016

POLL: Do you think sports stadiums benefit communities?

By Dana Schulz

Yesterday, 6sqft took a look at a Brookings institute study that showed three New York City sports stadiums--Yankee Stadium (the most expensive of all in the country), Citi Field, and the Barclays Center--have received $867 million in direct and indirect federal subsidies. This resulted in the loss of $3.7 billion in government revenues since 2000, due to "lost tax revenue from issuing exempt bonds and the indirect proceeds high-income bond holders receive." Because of this drain, the authors of the study advocate that stadiums should not be eligible to receive tax-exempt bonds, especially since they claim "there is little evidence that stadiums provide even local economic benefits." But not everyone agrees, likening stadiums to other public enterprises like parks. And, at least as pertains to the stadiums in New York, these venues host other community events aside from ticketed sports games. Which side are you on?
Share your thoughts here

Policy

September 14, 2016

City’s new, five-year transportation plan looks to bike lanes in wake of L train shutdown

By Dana Schulz

The city's newly released, five-year transportation plan is all about the bikes. As part of his larger Vision Zero initiative, the Mayor announced yesterday that he'll roll out 75 miles of new bike lanes by the end of this year, which includes 18 miles of protected lanes, reports Gothamist. They'll be dispersed throughout the five boroughs, but centered in areas where the highest number of cyclist and pedestrian fatalities occur.
Find out more

Transit

September 13, 2016

Apply for four affordable Bushwick apartments, starting at $856/month

By Dana Schulz

Starting tomorrow, four affordable apartments are up for grabs at 44 Stanhope Street in central Bushwick through the city's affordable housing lottery. They include an $856/month studio and three $985/month one-bedrooms, reserved for those earning less than 60 percent of the area media income. The 20-unit building was recently constructed, and residents will be just five short blocks from the Central Avenue M train station in a low-scale residential area.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

September 13, 2016

Do native New Yorkers know the difference between NY accents?; Can Fairway make a comeback in Brooklyn?

By Dana Schulz

Think you can tell if someone is from Brooklyn or the Bronx based on their accent? Take this quiz to test your skills. [Atlas Obscura] Inside Yelp’s New York office, with perks like foosball tables, karaoke machines, beer kegs, and free snacks. [Business Insider] Ikea is upping its design, but not its prices, which is why […]

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My 860sqft: Ashley Davis of CITYROW opens up her mid century-meets-contemporary Yorkville pad

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to a fitness studio COO’s Yorkville one-bedroom, infused with mid-century-modern furniture and contemporary decor. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

September 13, 2016

My 860sqft: Ashley Davis of CITYROW opens up her mid century-meets-contemporary Yorkville pad

By Dana Schulz

Ashley Davis moved to New York City after graduating from college in 2004. She thought it would just be for a couple years, but, like so many of us, she never left. She's been living on the Upper East Side since 2007 and has been in her current Yorkville apartment for three-and-a-half years. After making a career shift from the advertising/tech world to joining her friend and former colleague Helaine Knapp at CITYROW (Ashley is the fitness studio's chief operating officer), as well as very recently welcoming her boyfriend into her apartment, Ashley has created an inviting home that's a mix of mid-century-modern furniture, contemporary decor, lots of textures, and a sophisticated color palette.
Take the tour

September 13, 2016

AECOM wants to turn Red Hook into a 45,000-unit mega-development with new subway connection

By Dana Schulz

What do you get when you cross the new-waterfront nature of Battery Park City with the previous underutilization of Hudson Yards, and throw in a little Brooklyn? This massive proposal from big-time construction and engineering firm AECOM that would turn a huge section of the Red Hook waterfront into a residential mega-development with more than 12 towers, 45,000 units of housing (25 percent of which would be affordable), an extension of the 1 train, acres of parkland, and "waterfront-flood protections that would revitalize and protect the low-lying neighborhood from storms and future sea-level rise," as Crain's first reported. AECOM is presenting the idea today at the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation. They've already admitted that it "lacks key details" like hard costs, but they do estimate that one of their scenarios could generate $130 million in revenue for the city. The sites in question are the 80-acre Red Hook Container Terminal owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a similarly sized parcel along Columbia Street overlooking the Gowanus Bay that's owned by the city, and unused land at the Red Hook Houses. Under their plan, the sale or lease of land to developers, would fund the aforementioned infrastructure projects.
More details and renderings ahead

Architecture And Design

September 12, 2016

PHOTOS: After two-year renovation, NYPL’s historic Rose Main Reading Room will reopen October 5th

By Dana Schulz

After being closed for a two-year restoration, the New York Public Library's historic Rose Main Reading Room and Bill Blass Public Catalog Room will reopen to the public ahead of schedule on Wednesday, October 5th at 10am. The $12 million project, managed by Tishman Construction Corporation, came about in May 2014 when an ornamental plaster rosette fell 52 feet from the Reading Room's ceiling. In addition to recreating and replacing this piece, all 900 rosettes in both rooms were reinforced with steel cables. Other work included the recreation of a 27' x 33' James Wall Finn mural on the ceiling of the Catalog Room and the restoration of the chandeliers. To mark the occasion, the NYPL has shared an incredible collection of photographs documenting the restoration work and the Rose Main Reading Room with nearly all scaffolding removed.
See all the photos ahead

All articles by Dana Schulz

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