All articles by Devin Gannon

Pavegen opens world’s first ‘smart street’ to generate electricity from footsteps

July 5, 2017

Pavegen opens world’s first ‘smart street’ to generate electricity from footsteps

By Devin Gannon

UK-based technology company Pavegen built a sidewalk in London made up of kinetic pavement that turns pedestrians' footsteps into energy. The 107-square-foot display on “Bird Street” harnesses and converts the power of footsteps into electricity that supplies energy for lights and bird sounds (h/t inhabitat). Walkers can connect via Bluetooth to an app on their phones to see how many joules of energy they’ve generated. Plus, the company partnered with local businesses that then will reward users with discounts and vouchers for their footsteps.
Learn more about the sustainable sidewalks

City seeks to revoke access to office rooftops made for employee mingling

Rendering of L&L Holding Company’s planned rooftop terrace at 390 Madison Avenue

July 5, 2017

City seeks to revoke access to office rooftops made for employee mingling

By Devin Gannon

Update 7/31/17: The Post reports that the DOB recently sent landlords a draft memo clarifying that, aside from minor details, terraces are allowed "as open passive recreation space." To give workers a comfortable and conducive work space, some companies have outfitted their offices with amenities like on-site fitness centers, free coffee and outdoor space. However, the city’s Department of Buildings has launched a campaign to stop or delay these rooftop terraces on office towers, claiming the spaces can only be used for plants, not people. As the New York Post reported, DOB may not approve office terrace plans and may even rescind already approved plans.
Find out more

U.S. Department of Transportation backs out of group overseeing Hudson River tunnel project

The two tunnels under the Hudson River that need repair, image via Amtrak

July 5, 2017

U.S. Department of Transportation backs out of group overseeing Hudson River tunnel project

By Devin Gannon

Despite forming an infrastructure task force made up of two New York-based developers, the Trump administration has withdrawn from the board of the Gateway Program, a $23.9 billion project that would add a second rail beneath the Hudson River. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said it is not their “practice to serve in such a capacity on other local transportation projects.” As the number of commuters entering the city from NJ continues to grow, the purpose of the Gateway Program was to double rail capacity between the two states as well as fix the Hudson River tunnel’s crumbling infrastructure, which was damaged by severe flooding during Hurricane Sandy. If one of the two tubes needs to be shut down before a new tunnel is built, train capacity into NY would be reduced by 75 percent.
Find out more

62 affordable units up for grabs in Fordham Heights, from $882/month

July 3, 2017

62 affordable units up for grabs in Fordham Heights, from $882/month

By Devin Gannon

Applications are currently being accepted for 62 newly constructed, affordable units at 2264 Morris Avenue in the Fordham Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. The building provides ecologically viable features, including rooms with abundant natural light, high-tech water, heating and cooling systems and spacious outdoor space. New Yorkers earning 60 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply for available units ranging from $822/month one-bedrooms to $1,740/month three bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Just one ‘CityTree’ unit purifies air at the same rate as 275 trees

Photo courtesy of Green City Solution’s Instagram

June 30, 2017

Just one ‘CityTree’ unit purifies air at the same rate as 275 trees

By Devin Gannon

Nearly 90 percent of residents in cities around the world breathe polluted air, which is the single largest environmental health risk, according to the World Health Organization. To address this global problem, Green City Solutions created a mobile installation of specific moss culture that has large surface leaf areas and that can remove pollutants from the air. As Curbed NY reported, this new mossy air filter has been installed in Oslo, Paris, Brussels and Hong Kong. According to the team, CityTree has the same effect as up to 275 trees but requires 99 percent less space and just five percent of the cost.
Find out more

Four architecture teams envision NYC’s driverless transit future

June 30, 2017

Four architecture teams envision NYC’s driverless transit future

By Devin Gannon

With NYC residents owning fewer personal vehicles than any other city in the U.S., it’s no surprise that it may soon become a major hub for autonomous transportation. To ensure the future efficiency of driverless vehicles in such a densely populated area, Blank Space and the City of New York created a Driverless Future Challenge to solicit visions for the future of autonomous transit. According to Archinect, participants from over 25 countries sent proposals, which have now been narrowed down to four finalists. Their ideas include a plug-and-play public square, curbside pickup system, a rideshare platform for the outer boroughs, and a local food delivery service.
Find our more about each proposal and watch the project videos

Celebrity hotspot 443 Greenwich reveals ‘ultimate’ lofts

June 29, 2017

Celebrity hotspot 443 Greenwich reveals ‘ultimate’ lofts

By Devin Gannon

A-listers like Jake Gyllenhaal, Meg Ryan, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Jennifer Lawrence, and Harry Styles have all flocked to the desirable “paparazzi-proof” Tribeca building at 443 Greenwich Street, also known as the city's "celebrity dorm." Now, with more than $500 million in total sales under their belts, the property’s developer MetroLoft and real estate agency Cantor-Pecorella have revealed the building's “Ultimate Collection,” which includes the last penthouse listed for $55 million and six other apartments that range from $9 million to $11.25 million.
Check out some new interior views

Cuomo declares a ‘state of emergency’ for the NYC subway, gives MTA $1B for repairs

June 29, 2017

Cuomo declares a ‘state of emergency’ for the NYC subway, gives MTA $1B for repairs

By Devin Gannon

During a press conference Thursday, Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and announced that he would sign an executive order to expedite the process of fixing the system. The governor’s announcement comes just two days after a subway train derailed at 125th Street, injuring over 30 people. His plan includes committing an additional $1 billion in the MTA’s capital plan and reviewing the system’s decades-old equipment.
Find out more

Here are the 10 wealthiest neighborhoods in New York City

June 28, 2017

Here are the 10 wealthiest neighborhoods in New York City

By Devin Gannon

In 2016, the New York Metro Area was home to the highest number of “ultra-wealthy” residents in the world. A new report shows about 8,350 residents with a net worth of at least $30 million called the Big Apple their home last year, an increase of about 9 percent from last year. When focusing on just the five boroughs, most of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods can be found in Manhattan, as Curbed NY discovered. Taking this year’s title as the richest NYC enclave? The Upper East Side.
See the full list

Real Estate Trends

Overcrowding and ‘dwell time’ are why NYC’s subway system is failing

June 28, 2017

Overcrowding and ‘dwell time’ are why NYC’s subway system is failing

By Devin Gannon

It seems every day brings New Yorkers new subway drama, train delays and disappointment. While this week's A-train derailment, which injured dozens of people, is being blamed on human error, not a track defect, the system is still over 100-years old. And despite its signals and tracks in need of a definite upgrade, the biggest cause of subway delays is overcrowding. According to the New York Times, overcrowding now accounts for more than one-third of the nearly 75,000 subway delays across the system each month.
Learn more here

Transit

Popular Articles

June 28, 2017

The city approves rent increases for rent-regulated apartments

By Devin Gannon

Tenants leasing a rent-regulated apartment, buildings built before 1974 with six or more units, will soon see their rents rise for the first time in years. New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board voted to increase rent for regulated apartments on Tuesday, allowing an increase of 1.25 percent for one-year leases and 2 percent on two-year leases, set to begin Oct. 1. As the New York Times reported, the board, which had voted two years in a row to freeze rents, found that a 6.2 percent increase in operating costs for landlords in 2016 warranted this year’s increase.
Find out more

In the 20th century, the subway system used professional sniffers to keep New Yorkers safe

Image © 6sqft

June 27, 2017

In the 20th century, the subway system used professional sniffers to keep New Yorkers safe

By Devin Gannon

Image © 6sqft The city's subways of today have machines that can test air samples and look for potentially dangerous gas build-up or biological and chemical agents. However, before such technology was invented, the city hired James “Smelly” Kelly to walk the tracks using just his nose and a few homemade inventions, to find and report any leaks or hazardous smells. As Atlas Obscura discovered, Kelly and his team would walk underground for allegedly ten miles of track each day, and by the end of his career, it is said Kelly walked over 100,000 miles of track.
Find out more

Amazon has patented a drone skyscraper designed for city delivery

Image courtesy of the United States Patent Office

June 27, 2017

Amazon has patented a drone skyscraper designed for city delivery

By Devin Gannon

The massive online retailer company Amazon, which recently acquired the grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.4 billion, is attempting to push even further into the future of internet commerce. The company has recently patented a “multi-level fulfillment center for unmanned vehicles," or in simpler terms, a drone skyscraper. As co.design discovered, while patents do not necessarily mean this tower will be created, the plan has detailed sketches showing a giant beehive from where drones would fly in and out.
See the design

Brooklyn’s iconic ‘Watchtower’ sign coming down to make way for Kushner’s Panorama office complex

June 27, 2017

Brooklyn’s iconic ‘Watchtower’ sign coming down to make way for Kushner’s Panorama office complex

By Devin Gannon

For nearly 50 years, the neon red 15-foot-tall ‘Watchtower’ sign has sat atop the former headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses luminously overlooking Brooklyn Heights. However, earlier this month, the religious group filed a permit application seeking to remove the sign. According to The Real Deal, this comes almost a year after developers Kushner Companies, CIM Group and LIVWRK Holdings purchased the spot at 25-30 Columbia Heights for $340 million with plans to convert the building into a 635,000-square-foot office complex, “Panorama.”
Find out more

New Developments

90 years ago today, Coney Island’s iconic Cyclone roller coaster opened

June 26, 2017

90 years ago today, Coney Island’s iconic Cyclone roller coaster opened

By Devin Gannon

On June 26, 1927 the Coney Island Cyclone opened in Brooklyn. The iconic wooden coaster, located on the corner of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street, is one of the oldest functional amusement rides in the United States. While it only cost $.25 to ride when it first opened, today it costs about $10. Found at Luna Park, the coaster takes you over 2,640 feet of track at 60 miles per hour, with 12 drops (the highest an 85-foot, 60-degree plunge) and 27 elevation changes in roughly two minutes.
See a historic video of the coaster in action

History

More apartments have been built in Long Island City than any other U.S. neighborhood since 2010

June 26, 2017

More apartments have been built in Long Island City than any other U.S. neighborhood since 2010

By Devin Gannon

Following the country’s economic recession, neighborhoods throughout the United States have witnessed an apartment boom. According to a report by RENTCafe, since 2010, apartment buildings have been popping up at an increasingly faster rate. Unsurprisingly, Long Island City came in first for the largest number of new rental apartments, with 41 new apartment buildings and 12,533 new units built in the past seven years. Nearly 36 percent of all apartments are brand new in this Queens waterfront neighborhood.
See which other NYC 'hoods made the top-10 list

Real Estate Trends

To work around Trump, Michael Bloomberg launches $200M initiative for U.S. cities

June 26, 2017

To work around Trump, Michael Bloomberg launches $200M initiative for U.S. cities

By Devin Gannon

The former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, announced a new philanthropic project on Monday aimed at investing and empowering the country’s cities. The $200 million program, called the American Cities Initiative, will help mayors push for policies that deal with climate change, gun violence, public health and immigration. As the New York Times reported, a major component of Bloomberg’s project will be a “Mayors Challenge,” which will award six-and seven-figure grants to mayors who draft interesting policy proposals.
Find out more

Policy

The history behind 42nd Street’s lost Airlines Terminal Building

A vintage postcard of the Airlines Terminal Building, via drivingfordeco.com

June 23, 2017

The history behind 42nd Street’s lost Airlines Terminal Building

By Devin Gannon

For more than 30 years, the Art Deco-style Airlines Terminal Building served millions of travelers as a spot where flight tickets servicing New York could be purchased and where passengers could board shuttle buses to take them to the various airports. The building, located on the southwest corner of Park Avenue and 42nd Street, sat on the former site of the Hotel Belmont, which was built in 1906 and later demolished in 1930. Construction of the Airlines Terminal began in 1939 to create the chic, futuristic design, which included a steel frame and a crown flanked by two eagles.
Find out more

History

American Medical Association issues health warning over LED streetlights

Image via Pixbay

June 23, 2017

American Medical Association issues health warning over LED streetlights

By Devin Gannon

In May 2015, New York City’s Department of Transportation began an initiative to replace roughly 250,000 old streetlights with new LED fixtures in all five boroughs. The city chose to switch over to energy-efficient lights to save money and time; the lights last 15 years and require less maintenance. Following hundreds of complaints from residents about the harshness of the lights, the city had to then replace these new lights with dimmer bulbs. Now, the American Medical Association (AMA) warns of the potential harmful human health and environmental effects of LED lights, including damage to one's eyesight and disruption in sleep patterns. As CNN reports, the AMA has released guidelines for communities to follow when choosing LED streetlights.
Find out more

Policy

PHOTOS: First steel column installed at 1401-foot One Vanderbilt, NYC’s second-tallest skyscraper

June 23, 2017

PHOTOS: First steel column installed at 1401-foot One Vanderbilt, NYC’s second-tallest skyscraper

By Devin Gannon

With the installation of its first steel column, One Vanderbilt, soon to be New York City’s second-tallest skyscraper, officially began vertical construction on Friday. Banker Steel Company provided the 26,000 tons of domestically milled and fabricated structural steel for development, which included the first 20-ton column installed. According to the team, the construction of One Vanderbilt is three weeks ahead of schedule. SL Green Realty and AECOM Tishman say the supertall skyscraper will add to the modernization of East Midtown’s business district, as the office building will boast column-free floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, and 360-degree views.
See more here

Rent Guidelines Board expected to vote in favor of rent increases

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

June 22, 2017

Rent Guidelines Board expected to vote in favor of rent increases

By Devin Gannon

Photo via Wikimedia Commons Following two years of rent freezes, the city’s Rent Guidelines Board will take a final vote on Tuesday to determine whether or not rents will be increased by at least one percent. Earlier this year in April, the board voted to increase rents by one to three percent for one-year leases and four percent for two-year leases in a preliminary vote. According to the Wall Street Journal, the board released a study that showed landlord costs rose in the past year, a shift that landlords say warrants an increase in rents on new leases that take effect on or after Oct. 1.
Find out more

De Blasio releases city’s plan to close Rikers, claims it ‘will not be easy’

Photo of Rikers Island courtesy of Wikimedia

June 22, 2017

De Blasio releases city’s plan to close Rikers, claims it ‘will not be easy’

By Devin Gannon

In April, Mayor de Blasio announced his support of closing the jail complex on Rikers Island after protests and calls from activists and public officials. In a proposal released Thursday, the mayor says closing Rikers will take at least ten years and will require a big decline in the number of inmates there, a drop in crime rates and significant funding. As the New York Times reported, according to the city’s 51-page report, in order to close Rikers within a decade, the population at the complex needs to drop to 5,000. Currently, the daily population is about 9,400, much lower than the average of 20,000 inmates the prison held during the 1990s.
Find out more

Policy

Top architects and engineers present solutions for NYC’s soon-to-explode population

June 21, 2017

Top architects and engineers present solutions for NYC’s soon-to-explode population

By Devin Gannon

As more and more people move to the Big Apple, the city is running out of room to house all of them. According to Mark Ginsberg of Curtis & Ginsberg Architects, even if the city were developed to the maximum capacity legally allowed, this would still only be enough room to house 9.5 million New Yorkers. Building up every square foot that has been zoned for development is impossible and the city’s population is projected to pass 9 million by 2040. At a real estate conference hosted by Crain’s last week architects from five different firms laid out their plan to serve the city’s swelling population and each focused on a specific borough.
See the proposals

LIRR will offer discounted fares for riders using Atlantic Terminal and Hunters Point Avenue

June 21, 2017

LIRR will offer discounted fares for riders using Atlantic Terminal and Hunters Point Avenue

By Devin Gannon

This week, Governor Cuomo called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide Long Island Rail Road riders a discounted fare for “enduring the inconvenience of a disrupted commute.” In response, the MTA said on Tuesday that the LIRR will offer fare discounts to commuters during Penn Station’s major repairs set to begin this July. The discount will average roughly 25 percent for those traveling to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn and Hunters Point Avenue in Queens. Plus, according to Crain’s, commuters will receive free morning rush hour subway transfers from those two stations. Starting this week, discounted monthly tickets can be purchased at station vending machines.
Find out more

+POOL team is evaluating 11 different locations for its floating pool concept

June 20, 2017

+POOL team is evaluating 11 different locations for its floating pool concept

By Devin Gannon

A floating pool with its own river-cleaning filtration system is coming to New York City, but it has yet to find a home. The $20 million +POOL project was first announced in 2010 and originally was meant to open by this summer. However, as DNAInfo reported, the team is still working with the city to find a site for its plus-shaped swimming pool that will include four pools in one; a kiddie pool, sports pool, lap pool and a lounge pool. The pool is designed to filter the river that it floats in through the walls of the pool, allowing New Yorkers to take a dip in river water.
Find out more

125
126
127
128
129