All articles by Devin Gannon

NYC may have to compete for Trump Tower security funds
March 31, 2017

NYC may have to compete for Trump Tower security funds

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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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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

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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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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

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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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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

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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?

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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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Outer borough creatives earn significantly less than their Manhattan counterparts
March 29, 2017

Outer borough creatives earn significantly less than their Manhattan counterparts

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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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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

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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
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

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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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Explore historic LGBT sites in NYC with this interactive map
March 28, 2017

Explore historic LGBT sites in NYC with this interactive map

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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.
Learn more here
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

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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

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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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Construction update: Extell’s Central Park Tower gets its fluted glass curtain wall

West 58th Street elevation of Nordstom’s podium; CityRealty

March 27, 2017

Construction update: Extell’s Central Park Tower gets its fluted glass curtain wall

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When it reaches its projected 1,550-foot height, Extell Development’s Central Park Tower will have the highest roof-line of any residential building in the Western Hemisphere, besting the current record holder 432 Park. Though the $2.98 billion project won't be complete until 2019, construction is moving ahead along Billionaires' Row, reports CityRealty. The 58th Street side, which will hold a 285,000-square-foot, seven-story Nordstrom store, is currently receiving its fluted-glass skin, a "Waveforms Facade."
See more views here
432 Park would have generated $30M for affordable housing with de Blasio’s mansion tax
March 24, 2017

432 Park would have generated $30M for affordable housing with de Blasio’s mansion tax

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Outside of 432 Park Avenue, Mayor de Blasio held a press conference on Thursday to discuss his mansion tax. The proposal calls for a 2.5 percent surcharge on sales of city homes valued at $2 million or more, which would in turn fund affordable housing for 25,000 senior citizens. De Blasio fittingly positioned himself outside 432 Park because, according to the city, if the proposed tax had been passed, this residence alone would have generated $30.2 million since 2015 in support of housing for low-income seniors. "And that would have been based--and this is stunning to me--on the sale of just 62 condominiums. But it would have meant enough money to subsidize affordable housing for 2,000 seniors," he said.
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New renderings revealed for NYCHA’s raised earth Red Hook Houses by KPF
March 24, 2017

New renderings revealed for NYCHA’s raised earth Red Hook Houses by KPF

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When Superstorm Sandy hit the community of Red Hook, thousands of residents were left without power and basic necessities for over two weeks. The neighborhood’s infrastructure suffered substantial damage, with almost all basement mechanical rooms destroyed. In an effort to rebuild Brooklyn’s largest housing development, Red Hook Houses, post-Sandy, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) commissioned a project by architecture firm Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF). Their “Lily Pad” design includes installing 14 “utility pods” that deliver heat and electricity to each building, as well as creating raised earth mounds to act as a flood barrier (h/t Archpaper).
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Bioswales face backlash from city residents for being eyesores
March 23, 2017

Bioswales face backlash from city residents for being eyesores

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While you may have never heard of the term “bioswale,” you have probably seen these curbside gardens throughout the city. A bioswale, or rain garden, is a pit dug into the sidewalk that's been filled with rocky soil and shrubbery. These gardens absorb polluted stormwater and prevent runoff that could seep into waterways through the sewer system. Despite being an effective solution to water pollution, the New York Times reports that some city residents are crying out against find bioswales, calling them unattractive, messy, and hotbeds for trash and pests.
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On this day in 1811, the Manhattan Street Grid became official

Photo courtesy of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

March 22, 2017

On this day in 1811, the Manhattan Street Grid became official

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Deemed by historians as the "single most important document in New York City’s development," the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, which planned Manhattan's famous grid system, turns 211 years old this month. As the Village Preservation tells us, the chief surveyor of the plan, John Randel Jr., and city officials signed the final contract on March 22, 1811. The plan, completed at the end of the 19th century, produced 11 major avenues and 155 cross-town streets still used today.
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Comptroller Scott Stringer lays out plan for NYC to invest in its seniors

Photo via Gary Knight/Flickr

March 22, 2017

Comptroller Scott Stringer lays out plan for NYC to invest in its seniors

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Photo via Gary Knight/Flickr Like many cities across the country, New York City’s population is getting older. Today, more than 1.1 million adults over 65, nearly 13 percent of the city’s total population, live in the five boroughs, a number which is expected to rise to over 1.4 million by 2040. In response to both this growth and the Trump administration’s budget cuts to beneficial senior programs like Medicaid and Medicare, City Comptroller Scott Stringer released a new report detailing policies that invest in the city’s seniors (h/t Metro NY).
Find out more here
82 billionaires live in NYC, the most in the world

Photo via Public Domain Pictures

March 22, 2017

82 billionaires live in NYC, the most in the world

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For the second year in a row, New York takes the title of the city with the most billionaires in the world. According to Forbes, NYC is home to 82 billionaires with a total combined net worth of just under $400 billion. In last year's list, the city placed first, but with 79 billionaires and a total net worth of $364.6 billion. Despite gaining a few more wealthy inhabitants, New York's David Koch (worth $48.3 billion) and Michael Bloomberg still rank as the first and second richest in the city, though last year they were flip-flopped.
See the full list of cities here
Is it illegal to swipe someone through with your MetroCard?
March 21, 2017

Is it illegal to swipe someone through with your MetroCard?

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Swiping a fellow New Yorker through the subway turnstile with your MetroCard is practically a New York pastime. But is it actually legal? As DNAinfo reports, the NYPD and MTA say it's completely lawful to help another rider gain access to the subway, as long as you’re not charging them for the swipe. And for those looking for a free ride? Last year, the city changed their policy on “fare-begging,” which lowered the consequence for riders asking for a swipe from an arrest to a ticket or summons.
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Swale floating park returns this spring with a new look

Photo courtesy of Strongbow

March 21, 2017

Swale floating park returns this spring with a new look

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With spring officially here, it’s the perfect time to visit your favorite park. While there are plenty to choose from, there’s only one that floats on water. As reported by Time Out, Swale, the collaborative floating food forest, which let visitors pick free produce last summer, is back with an updated design--"a blossoming apple orchard surrounded by garden beds filled with herbs, fruits and vegetables." In a collaboration with Strongbow, the newly designed barge will be docking at public piers from April through October.
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Senior musicians may lose affordable housing at Bronx Commons

Bronx Commons via Danois

March 20, 2017

Senior musicians may lose affordable housing at Bronx Commons

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The $160 million Bronx Commons mixed-use development, located in the borough's Melrose neighborhood, broke ground in January. When complete, it will combine affordable housing, retail, landscaped public space, and a 300-seat music and arts venue known as Bronx Music Hall. As 6sqft previously reported, the Hall was envisioned as a way to celebrate and revitalize "the deeply rooted history of cutting edge Bronx music," which nonprofit developers WHEDco and BFC Partners also hoped to address by setting aside 15 percent of the 305 below-market rate apartments for older musicians. But as the Times explains, despite the South Bronx's past as a hub for jazz and doo-wop music venues and sidemen, the city says this may be in violation of fair housing laws that prohibit preferences based on age or race.
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Rent a one-bedroom in Mayor de Blasio’s Park Slope home for $1,825 a month
March 20, 2017

Rent a one-bedroom in Mayor de Blasio’s Park Slope home for $1,825 a month

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A one-bedroom apartment in Mayor de Blasio’s private Park Slope home is back on the market. As Politico reports, the prior tenants of the row house at 384 11th Street have moved out, opening the upstairs apartment for non-smokers without pets for $1,825 per month. The listing describes the unit as having a “comfortable, sun-filled, and flexible layout.”
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L train shutdown will be 15 months instead of 18 months
March 20, 2017

L train shutdown will be 15 months instead of 18 months

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Finally, there’s some good news for the nearly 225,000 daily L train riders commuting to Manhattan. This weekend the Metropolitan Transit Authority announced that the Canarsie tube, which carries the L train between Manhattan and Brooklyn, will be closed for 15 months instead of 18, three months ahead of schedule. As reported by the Daily News, the MTA plans to begin rehabilitating the tunnel in April of 2019.
Find out more here
NYC schools, housing, and transit to lose hundreds of millions in federal aid under Trump’s budget
March 17, 2017

NYC schools, housing, and transit to lose hundreds of millions in federal aid under Trump’s budget

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Under President Trump’s first budget proposal, New York City will lose hundreds of millions of dollars for schools, housing, transportation, homeland security, and other city agencies. According to the Daily News, city schools and afterschool programs can be expected to lose $140 million, homeland security grants will be cut $190 million, and NYCHA will lose $370 million, which is on top of the $76 million cut they were already expecting. Ironically, the budget also slashes transit projects by $2 billion, which means completing projects like the Second Avenue Subway and the Gateway trans-Hudson River tunnel may be on the chopping block, despite the fact that they were specifically called out in Trump's previous $1 trillion infrastructure plan to receive $14.2 billion and $12 billion respectively.
Find out more here
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