All articles by Devin Gannon

March 15, 2017

Governor Cuomo’s $1.4B Central Brooklyn plan stokes gentrification debate

Governor Cuomo announced a $1.4 billion initiative last week to bring resources like health care services and new jobs to Central Brooklyn. According to the governor, the plan, called “Vital Brooklyn,” will bring 7,600 jobs and more than 3,000 new affordable housing units to Brownsville, East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. And while Cuomo’s administration found these neighborhoods to be some of the most disadvantaged in the state, residents worry about the possible gentrification and displacement effects (h/t NY Times).
Learn more about Vital Brooklyn here

March 14, 2017

Fewer young foreigners traveling to NYC because of Trump

By Devin Gannon

New York City expected tourism from foreigners to fall after President Trump’s chaotic announcement of his first executive order in January which banned travel from seven majority-Muslim countries because it was unclear which travelers would be allowed into the country. However, as reported by Crain’s, it’s not just money-spending travelers that have avoided the Big Apple; it’s student and youth groups that are canceling trips to the city.
Learn more here

March 14, 2017

NYPD vetting 30-40 officers with ‘solid records’ for full-time Trump Tower detail

By Devin Gannon

Although the President has not visited Trump Tower since his inauguration, the NYPD plans on increasing the number of officers who guard the tower after struggling with ways to effectively man the building. As reported by TMZ, the police department will choose between 30 and 40 full-time officers with "solid records" to work 12-hour shifts at the skyscraper.
Find out more here

Celebrities

March 13, 2017

A pavilion created from 300,000 recycled cans is coming to Governors Island this summer

By Devin Gannon

"Cast & Place" is the winner of FIGMENT’s 2017 City of Dreams competition, an annual design contest that challenges architecture and design firms to build a pavilion out of recycled materials to be assembled on Governors Island and displayed during the summer. This year, it will be made out of more than 300,000 aluminum cans (the number of cans used in NYC in an hour), melted down and cast into cracked clay. According to the group’s Kickstarter page, the material will be soil excavated from the East River, recycled cans, and reclaimed wood, which will form lightweight, strong panels to provide structure and shade.
See their design here

March 13, 2017

$2M garage conversion in Bed-Stuy has a zen atrium and industrial glamour

By Devin Gannon

Although this listing looks like a basic garage from the outside, inside 222 Madison Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant is actually a single-family home on the market for just over $1.9 million. The cured cement floors, exposed white-washed brick wall, and high ceilings topped by skylights add plenty of industrial glamour, while a private garage, multiple sleeping areas, and 3,000-square-foot open layout retain all the functionality one could hope for in a residence.
Check out the unique space

Distinctive Homes

For $125K, you can buy the first map to credit Henry Hudson

Photo courtesy of Martayan Lan Rare Maps & Books

March 10, 2017

For $125K, you can buy the first map to credit Henry Hudson

By Devin Gannon

This weekend, head over to the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, located at the Park Avenue Armory, where the first map to credit Henry Hudson with navigating his nominative river will be on display (h/t NY Times). The map, the third engraving of its kind known to exist, is being sold by Robert Augustyn, who owns Martayan Lan Fine Antique Maps, Atlases and Globes in Manhattan. The minimum asking price for the 12-by-17 inch, 280-year-old map? $125,000.
Find out more here

History

March 10, 2017

At $31B, Airbnb now second most valuable private company behind Uber

By Devin Gannon

After raising an additional $1 billion in a financing round that began last summer, Airbnb, the short-term stay rental company, is now listed as the second most valuable private company in the United States, following Uber, the ride-hailing business, as the New York Times reported. Airbnb, based in San Francisco, has raised more than $3 billion and secured a $1 billion line of credit since the company was founded in 2008. It is now worth nearly $31 billion dollars.
Find out more here

March 9, 2017

Mayor de Blasio says Citywide Ferry will add 200+ jobs

By Devin Gannon

For the first time in 100 years, ferry service will be available to all five boroughs as part of a two-year $325 million initiative by Mayor de Blasio. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the plan will add at least 200 jobs to the city’s economy. Half of these available jobs will pay at least $50,000 per year or more, according to the mayor. The plan for the citywide ferry service, launching this summer, will be managed by the Economic Development Corporation and Hornblower Cruises, who will hire deckhands, captains and other crew members.
Find out more here

Transit

March 8, 2017

Watch a 3D-printed home get made in under 24 hours

By Devin Gannon

While many of us living in New York City search for months before finding that perfect apartment, there's now a way to get a brand new home built in under 24 hours. As reported by engadget, the San Francisco-based startup Apis Cor used a mobile 3D-printer to print out the concrete walls, partitions, and building envelope for a 400 square-foot-home in just less than a day, all for the pretty reasonable price of $10,314 (not including the property, of course). And while NYC doesn't have much open space for free-standing homes, the technology could potentially be used for various residential components or tiny home configurations.
Watch the entire process in action and see inside the tiny home

Mapping America’s affordable housing shortage

By Devin Gannon

Extremely low-income renters face a shortage of affordable housing in every single state and major metropolitan area in the United States, a deficiency of 3.9 million units, according to a report (h/t CityLab) by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). Nationwide, only about 35 affordable housing units exist per 100 extremely low-income homes, labeled as ELI households, and in the New York metro area (as defined by New York-Newark-Jersey City) the results are just as grim with only 32 units available per 100 households at or above the ELI threshold.
find out more here

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