All articles by Devin Gannon

Fate of Gateway Project and Second Avenue Subway unknown under Trump’s infrastructure plan

April 6, 2017

Fate of Gateway Project and Second Avenue Subway unknown under Trump’s infrastructure plan

By Devin Gannon

Earlier this year, President Trump, a lifelong New Yorker, hired two NY-based developers to head an infrastructure commission, which oversees spending on his proposed $1 trillion plan to improve the country’s bridges and roads. Despite this clear connection to the Big Apple, the president refuses to say whether he will include two major transportation projects for the city, both of which his proposed budget defunds, as the New York Times reported. As of now, Trump has proposed eliminating a program that would build a new train tunnel under the Hudson River and a program which extends the Second Avenue subway in Manhattan to East Harlem.
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NYC and Mexico City join forces to boost tourism

April 6, 2017

NYC and Mexico City join forces to boost tourism

By Devin Gannon

The uncertain political climate and anti-immigrant rhetoric following Donald Trump’s election caused a drop in tourism to New York from many countries, and notably, from Mexico. In an effort to repair its relationship, New York City and Mexico City renewed a city-to-city partnership this week to foster tourism between the two places. As Crain’s learned, NYC & Company, the city’s official tourism agency, collaborated with Mexico City’s Ministry of Tourism, to share best practices in tourism marketing and provide reciprocal promotional support. In Mexico City, billboards and bus shelters will declare “New York City- Le da la bienvenida al mundo,” which means “welcoming the world.”
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Policy

Habitat for Humanity will build 48 affordable homes for New Yorkers

April 5, 2017

Habitat for Humanity will build 48 affordable homes for New Yorkers

By Devin Gannon

In New York City, and the rest of the country, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find affordable housing. To combat this, the Habitat for Humanity NYC announced a plan to build affordable houses for buyers in Brooklyn and Queens. The organization, aimed at constructing quality housing for families in need, will bring 48 units of affordable homes to these boroughs by redeveloping abandoned or foreclosed properties. Since most of these homes have been left vacant for decades, many are run-down and have negatively impacted the surrounding neighborhoods. As Brick Underground learned, the city’s Housing Authority first acquired these properties and then sold them to Habitat for Humanity at $1 each.
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Ralph Lauren closing flagship store amid Fifth Avenue slowdown

April 5, 2017

Ralph Lauren closing flagship store amid Fifth Avenue slowdown

By Devin Gannon

Ralph Lauren announced Tuesday that it will close its flagship store on Fifth Avenue and 55th Street, citing falling revenue and rising rents. As reported by the New York Times, the company, which opened this location in 2014, plans to reorganize by investing more in their online stores. Keeping afloat a business on New York City’s most expensive shopping strip is not a problem unique to Ralph Lauren; Kenneth Cole, Juicy Couture, and H&M have also recently closed their doors. Soaring rents, plus a drop in tourism, has lead to an increase in vacant space along Fifth Avenue.
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Real Estate Trends

City Council proposes half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers

April 5, 2017

City Council proposes half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers

By Devin Gannon

Although the recent subway and bus fare hike affects all New Yorkers, low-income residents are being especially hard hit by the jump in cost. As a way to ease this financial burden, the City Council has proposed a $50 million pilot program as part of the “Fair Fares” initiative which will provide half-fare MetroCards to New Yorkers living at or below the federal poverty line. As the Daily News learned, transit advocates say nearly 800,000 residents would be eligible for the discount under the full plan.
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This graphic color codes major transit lines in North America

April 4, 2017

This graphic color codes major transit lines in North America

By Devin Gannon

Like New York, Boston's subway system is organized with a different color for each route. Unlike NYC, however, there's no corresponding numbers, so the lines along the T are actually referred to by their respective hues. Which is why Boston resident Ari Ofsevit, a transportation engineering and urban planning graduate student at MIT, found it odd that the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority didn't use the same colors on their Twitter alerts as were found on their maps and signs. As Next City reported, this inspired him to create a graphic comparing the various colors of 13 major transit lines across the U.S. and Canada.
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Explore the homes of NYC’s notable writers with an audio-narrated tour

April 4, 2017

Explore the homes of NYC’s notable writers with an audio-narrated tour

By Devin Gannon

Some of the greatest literary giants of all time lived and wrote in New York City. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of HarperCollins, which was founded in NYC, the publishing company created an interactive walking tour map that narrates the history of each author as you walk (h/t DNAinfo). Just a few of the famed Big Apple authors include Harper Lee, Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright.
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Trump buildings rank as some of the biggest polluters in NYC

April 4, 2017

Trump buildings rank as some of the biggest polluters in NYC

By Devin Gannon

With a federal budget proposal that strips significant funding to the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s not so shocking that President Trump and his son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, both own buildings that rank as the least energy-efficient in New York City. The Daily News shared a new report from ALIGN, a coalition of labor and environmental activists, which found that Trump Tower uses more energy than 93 percent of the city’s large residential buildings. Worse, the Trump Organization's Mayfair condo uses more than 98 percent. The report also revealed that a Kushner Companies' 666 Fifth Avenue (controversial for even more reasons as of late) uses more energy than 85 percent of large office buildings.
See the report here

Policy

The 10 best neighborhoods for New York City artists

April 4, 2017

The 10 best neighborhoods for New York City artists

By Devin Gannon

Like most things in New York, creative communities come and ago as new development and rising rents force artists to move on to the next best, or cheaper neighborhood. While 6sqft found 'hoods like the Upper East Side, Harlem and Long Island City to be the best places for artists a few years back, we've updated our top-10 list to reflect the changing times. Ahead you'll find some areas you may expect--Sunset Park and Bushwick, for example, along with more up-and-coming artsy enclaves like Newark, Washington Heights, and the South Bronx.
The full list right this way

April 4, 2017

MTA Board officially approves 15-month shutdown of L train

By Devin Gannon

It’s official. The Metropolitan Transit Authority board voted to approve a 15-month shutdown of the L train on Monday, instead of the originally proposed 18 months. The Board also awarded a $477 million contract to Judlau Contracting and TC Electric, who will responsible for repairing the train’s Canarsie Tunnel, which suffered severe flooding damage after Hurricane Sandy (h/t WSJ). The planned shutdown is set to begin in April 2019 and cuts all L train service between Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.
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Popular Articles

Track the cherry blossoms at the New York and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

April 3, 2017

Track the cherry blossoms at the New York and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

By Devin Gannon

After getting through the see-sawing weather of March, spring seems to have finally sprung in New York. To fully experience the changing seasons, check out these cherry blossom trackers from both the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the New York Botanical Garden. Right now, more blossoms can be spotted in Brooklyn, with the first flowers appearing last Wednesday.
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City Living

A skyscraper may be built on top of Lord & Taylor’s Fifth Avenue flagship

April 3, 2017

A skyscraper may be built on top of Lord & Taylor’s Fifth Avenue flagship

By Devin Gannon

The 103-year-old landmarked Lord & Taylor flagship store at 424 Fifth Avenue may be getting a luxurious makeover. As the New York Post learned, the speculative project includes constructing a steel-and-glass skyscraper and redeveloping the building into an office and residential tower, keeping the 11-story department store as the base. Sources tell the Post that NYC property executive Richard Baker, who acquired Lord & Taylor in 2008, is behind the development talks. And though few details are known, "real estate insiders" point out that nearby towers rise as high as 60 stories.
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New Developments

Dumbo Clock Tower penthouse finally sells for $15M, is borough’s priciest condo ever sold

April 3, 2017

Dumbo Clock Tower penthouse finally sells for $15M, is borough’s priciest condo ever sold

By Devin Gannon

And just like that, the record for the most expensive condo ever sold in Brooklyn has been broken. A triplex penthouse at 1 Main Street, atop the Clock Tower building in Dumbo, sold for $15 million, beating out a unit at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pierhouse that closed for nearly $10.6 million just last month. As the New York Post reported, the historic unit had a hard time finding a buyer; it sat on the market for nearly six years, switched brokerages and chopping its price tag several times.
See the iconic Clock Tower here

Real Estate Trends

NYC may have to compete for Trump Tower security funds

March 31, 2017

NYC may have to compete for Trump Tower security funds

By Devin Gannon

While the President has yet to visit Trump Tower since his inauguration, the price of protecting the First Lady and 10-year-old Barron costs the city an average of $136,000 per day, according to the NYPD. Congress offered only $7 million to reimburse the city for the $24 million the police department said they have spent protecting the building between the period of Trump’s election and his inauguration. However, as Crain’s learned, that payment is not guaranteed, and NYC may have to compete with New Jersey and Florida, both places the president frequents, for the money.
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Policy

The richest New Yorkers would benefit the most under Trump’s tax plan

March 31, 2017

The richest New Yorkers would benefit the most under Trump’s tax plan

By Devin Gannon

New York’s top elected officials, aware of the political leanings of their constituents, continue to be outspoken in their opposition to President Trump and his administration. As Crain’s reports, City Comptroller Scott Stringer serves as one of New York’s most vocal assailants on Trump, with 50 percent of his press releases written this month attacking the president’s policy proposals. In a report released this week, Stringer analyzed Trump’s proposed federal income tax law and found that it disproportionately benefits the highest-income earners in New York. If adopted, 40 percent of all single parents would see their taxes go up, compared to 90 percent of millionaires who would see a reduction, according to Stringer.
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Policy

Celebrate Women’s History Month with an after-hours party at the Public Library

March 30, 2017

Celebrate Women’s History Month with an after-hours party at the Public Library

By Devin Gannon

Instead of hitting the bars this Friday night, check out the "Library After Hours" event at the main branch of the New York Public Library. On select Fridays, the landmarked library hosts a party after closing that lets guests mingle with food and drinks, music, and a behind-the-scenes look at some of their collections. This Friday, March 31st, the library is holding the event, “Women Marching Through History,” to coincide with the last day of Women’s History Month, where guests can admire feminist manuscripts, rare books, photographs, artwork, and films as well as participate in an interactive project to record one's own story about living through this time in women’s history.
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Events & Things To Do

Studio V’s art-focused development will bring 1,200 residential units to Journal Square

March 30, 2017

Studio V’s art-focused development will bring 1,200 residential units to Journal Square

By Devin Gannon

With significantly lower rents than Manhattan and a less than 20-minute PATH ride to the city, Journal Square continues to blossom into the next hip neighborhood. In addition to the 10+ major residential projects going up in the neighborhood, it's also looking to become an official Art District. According to Jersey Digs, the newest project to follow suit is a two-tower, mixed-use complex at 808 Pavonia Avenue, adjacent to the historic Loew's Jersey Theater. Developer Harwood Properties tapped Studio V Architecture to create a pedestrian neighborhood, focused on arts and cultural facilities.
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MAP: How old are the buildings in each Brooklyn neighborhood?

Photo via Brooklyn Historical Society

March 30, 2017

MAP: How old are the buildings in each Brooklyn neighborhood?

By Devin Gannon

Photo via Brooklyn Historical Society One of the most exciting things about exploring Brooklyn is seeing the unique architecture of each neighborhood. Now, thanks to an interactive map from urban_calc, you can also learn the age of these structures in the borough with the oldest buildings in the city. Using the city’s OpenData project and Pluto dataset, urban_calc found the median age of buildings in each census tract. The oldest neighborhood is Ocean Hill at 1911, followed by Cypress Hill, Park Slope and Stuyvesant Heights, all with a median building year of 1920. On the other hand, the newest neighborhoods include Coney Island, West Brighton, East New York, Canarsie and Williamsburg.
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History

Outer borough creatives earn significantly less than their Manhattan counterparts

March 29, 2017

Outer borough creatives earn significantly less than their Manhattan counterparts

By Devin Gannon

Data shows the borough in which you work could decide what income you bring home. CityLab looked at the city’s divided class structure in three main classes of employment--creative, service, and working--and in which borough these workers reside. The data shows that the creative class, made up of tech workers, artists, designers, and educational professionals, cluster in Manhattan, which employs nearly 70 percent of the city’s entire creative class. On top of that, clear income discrepancies exist among boroughs with the average salary for a creative class worker iat $96, 970 in Manhattan, $79,248 in Queens, $77,875 in the Bronx, and $76,565 in Staten Island. Surpisingly, Brooklyn's creative class earns the least, with an average of $74,963.
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City Living

Supertall skyscraper dangles from an asteroid to become the world’s tallest building

March 29, 2017

Supertall skyscraper dangles from an asteroid to become the world’s tallest building

By Devin Gannon

New York City-based design firm Clouds Architecture Office has proposed a conceptual skyscraper that would hang down from the sky suspended by air cables attached to an asteroid, making it the world's tallest building. As dezeen learned, the supertall, dubbed Analemma Tower, would not be built on Earth but instead have a “space-based” foundation. Each day, the tower, which would be constructed over Dubai, would travel between the northern and southern hemispheres, with the slowest part of the tower’s trajectory occurring over New York City.
See the supertall renderings here

Architecture And Design

Noise pollution is worse in Jersey than NYC according to new DOT map

The map, the first of its kind, highlights the intensity of noises made by cars and airplanes across the country through geospatial data.

March 29, 2017

Noise pollution is worse in Jersey than NYC according to new DOT map

By Devin Gannon

When comparing the perks of NYC to New Jersey, add the adjective “quieter” to the list. According to a noise map released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), noise pollution has been found to be worse in Jersey than it is in Manhattan. However, the density of highways in the city, and sounds from LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airport, do rank the New York metro area as one of the loudest areas in the entire country.
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City Living

Explore historic LGBT sites in NYC with this interactive map

March 28, 2017

Explore historic LGBT sites in NYC with this interactive map

By Devin Gannon

To broaden people's knowledge of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community’s history in New York City, the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project created a map-based online archive to document significant sites throughout the five boroughs. Although earlier maps highlighting LGBT history have been created, they focused solely on the history of Greenwich Village, the hub of gay activism. But the new interactive map, based on 25 years of research and advocacy, hopes to make “invisible history visible” by exploring sites across the city related to everything from theater and architecture to social activism and health.
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History

Investor flips Trump’s childhood home for double what he paid, likely selling to Chinese buyer

March 28, 2017

Investor flips Trump’s childhood home for double what he paid, likely selling to Chinese buyer

By Devin Gannon

When Manhattan real estate mogul Michael Davis bought Donald Trump's childhood home sight-unseen for just under $1.4 million in December, he had high hopes of flipping the Tudor-style residence in Jamaica Estates, Queens. Now, just three months later, the Times tells us that he's done just that, re-selling it at auction last week for $2.14 million, more than double the neighborhood average. Interestingly, the transaction was facilitated by lawyer Michael Tang who specializes in real estate investments made by overseas Chinese buyers. Tang told the Times in an email that he was unable to disclose the name or any other information about the buyer, whose identity is being shielded behind the newly created LLC "Trump Birth House."
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Kickstarter campaign raising $10,000 for a 15-foot inflatable ‘Trumpy’ rat

March 27, 2017

Kickstarter campaign raising $10,000 for a 15-foot inflatable ‘Trumpy’ rat

By Devin Gannon

As a symbol of resistance to the Trump administration, Chelsea-based contemporary art gallery BravinLee created a Kickstarter to raise $10,000 for an inflatable, 15-foot rat sporting a comb-over and an ill-fitting suit (complete with an inflatable piece of scotch tape to ensure his tie won’t blow in the wind) that will be placed outside Trump Tower. As the A.V. Club learned, artist Jeffrey Beebe was inspired by Scabby the Rat, the inflatable rat that attends union strikes to signal unfair and unsafe practices by management. With the deadline to fund “Trumpy the Rat” set for April 19, the project has raked in just over $5,500.
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City Living

The cost of exporting trash in NYC is expected to soar

March 27, 2017

The cost of exporting trash in NYC is expected to soar

By Devin Gannon

As the population of New York City continues to rise, so does the amount of garbage lining its sidewalks. But getting all this trash out of sight is not an insignificant expense. As the Post reports, a new study by the city’s Independent Budget Office (IBO) has found that the price of exporting trash is swelling and there appears to be little remedy in sight.
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