All articles by Devin Gannon

August 18, 2020

On 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, NYPL releases feminism reading list

On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving some women the right to vote under federal law. In celebration of the milestone's centennial, the New York Public Library on Tuesday released a list of over 100 non-fiction titles about feminism, with a mix of current and historic materials. The "Essential Reads on Feminism," offers diverse perspectives on the fight for gender equality as well as reflects the limitations of the early suffrage movement, especially for women of color.
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August 18, 2020

Winning design proposal brings better mobility and biodiverse ‘microforests’ to the Brooklyn Bridge

Two proposals have been chosen as the winners of a design contest launched earlier this year that sought ways to improve pedestrian space on the crowded Brooklyn Bridge. The Van Alen Institute and the New York City Council on Monday announced that "Brooklyn Bridge Forest," a design that calls for lots of green space and an expanded wooden walkway, won the professional category. And "Do Look Down," which would add a glass surface above the girders and make space for community events and vendors, took the top prize in the young adult category.
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August 17, 2020

New York gyms and fitness studios can reopen August 24

New York gyms and fitness studios can reopen next week at limited capacity and with face-covering mandates, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday. The state says gyms can open as early as August 24 at a capacity of 33 percent if all guidelines, including ventilation requirements, are met. Local governments will determine whether indoor fitness classes are allowed to be held. But gyms in New York City will likely not reopen next week despite state approval, as the city prioritizes getting schools ready for September.
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August 17, 2020

New large-scale installation of ringing bells to open at Brooklyn Bridge Park

A new art installation featuring five giant bells in 14-foot-tall structures will open at Brooklyn Bridge Park this week. Created by San Francisco-based artist Davina Semo, Reverberation allows visitors to ring each bell, drilled with a variety of holes to produce different tones and pitch. The exhibition, curated by the Public Art Fund, will be on view at the waterfront park from August 20 through April 18, 2021.
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August 14, 2020

Lottery launches for 129 apartments at South Bronx luxury rental, from $2,150/month

A housing lottery launched on Friday for 129 middle-income units at a new rental project in the South Bronx. The Arches, a pair of 25-story towers on the Harlem River, claims to be the first luxury residential development in Mott Haven, boasting amenities like a landscaped rooftop, indoor movie theater, and fitness center. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, which include $2,150/month studios, $2,246/month one-bedrooms, and $2,730/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
August 14, 2020

You can help choose the High Line’s next public art installation

Banu Cennetoğlu, "right?" The High Line is reviewing proposals for its next two art installations and is asking the public for feedback. The Plinth, part of the elevated park's newest section, the Spur, which opened last year, is dedicated space for public art, visible from the street at 30th Street and 10th Avenue. Eighty nominated artists have submitted proposals to be considered for the third and fourth Plinth commissions and now you can provide comments for each on the park's website.
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August 13, 2020

Brooklyn-based farmer proposes turning parts of Central Park into a community farm

A farmer based in Brooklyn has come up with an idea that not only honors a historic black community but also gives back to present ones. Amber Tamm, a horticulturist and urban farmer who works at the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm, told Fast Company about her proposal to convert 14 acres of Central Park into a farm that would feed Manhattanites in need.
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August 13, 2020

Steiner Studios to open film and TV hub at Bush Terminal in Sunset Park

Steiner Studios will open a second film and television production facility in Brooklyn, city officials announced Thursday. The city's Economic Development Corporation and the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment selected Steiner to open a 500,000-square-foot production space at Bush Terminal in Sunset Park, as part of the Made in New York Campus, currently being transformed into a garment manufacturing and media production hub. The studio has operated a facility across 50 acres at the Brooklyn Navy Yard since 2004, one of the largest production spaces outside of Hollywood.
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August 12, 2020

Citi Bike to launch joint bike share program in Hoboken and Jersey City

It may soon be easier to bike between two waterfront New Jersey cities. Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop announced on Wednesday plans to roll out a joint bike share program run by Citi Bike that will be compatible in both neighborhoods. Previously, the neighboring cities had agreements with two separate bike-share companies, which gave riders traveling between the areas nowhere to dock. Members of the program will be able to rent Citi Bikes in New York at no additional cost.
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August 12, 2020

NYC ramps up testing in Sunset Park after uptick in COVID cases

The city will intensify test and trace efforts in Sunset Park after health officials identified over 220 cases of the coronavirus in the Brooklyn neighborhood over the last two weeks. Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday announced that members of the Test and Trace Corps will knock on every door, call all 38,000 households, and direct residents to expanded testing in the community. "Our idea is to saturate Sunset Park over the next few days, literally reach every member of the community we possibly can, get as many people tested as possible, as quickly as possible," de Blasio said.
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August 12, 2020

Target to open at major mixed-use development in Harlem

A deal to bring the National Urban League back to Harlem was reached last month as part of a mixed-use development project planned for 125th Street. In addition to affordable housing, office space for nonprofits, and the city's first museum dedicated to civil rights, the $242 million project, known as the Urban League Empowerment Center, includes a new 44,000-square-foot Target, as the New York Post first reported.
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August 11, 2020

Brooklyn’s ‘greenest block’ is one step closer to becoming a historic district

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday calendared a block in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood for consideration as a new historic district. The proposed strip on East 25th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D consists of 56 remarkably cohesive limestone and brownstone buildings built by a single developer between 1909 and 1912. The effort to landmark the block, which has been awarded the "greenest block in Brooklyn" by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden four times, is being led by the community, which asked the LPC to evaluate the area last year.
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August 11, 2020

NYC launches online portal with free eviction help

An online portal launched on Monday to help New York City renters avoid eviction by providing free resources and legal assistance. The new website comes just days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the state's eviction moratorium for at least another month, only hours before it was set to expire. But with housing trials expected to resume in September in most of the city, tenant advocates say that no law currently in place protects the 14,000 households issued eviction warrants prior to the pandemic.
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August 11, 2020

Roosevelt Island’s colorful Manhattan Park Pool Club is back and open to the public

A playful art installation has returned to Manhattan Park, a waterfront rental on Roosevelt Island. Every summer since 2015, an artist is selected to transform the building's pool deck with a dazzling 8,500-square-foot mural. This year, as part of a partnership with Corcoran New Developments, Pliskin Architecture, K&Co, and Manhattan Park, artist Alex Proba from Studio Proba designed the sixth annual pop-up mural, with a mix of colorful shapes and forms spread out across the outdoor space.
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August 10, 2020

MTA wants Apple to make it easier for users to unlock iPhones with masks on

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Sunday asked Apple to develop a more simplistic face-recognition system to prevent riders from removing face coverings to unlock their smartphones while commuting. An update to the company's Face ID feature is currently in the works, but in a letter to CEO Tim Cook, MTA Chair Pat Foye requested the technology be expedited. "We urge Apple to accelerate the deployment of new technologies and solutions that further protect customers in the era of COVID-19," Foye wrote, according to the Associated Press.
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August 7, 2020

Schools cleared to open in all New York regions

Every school district in New York can open in September for-in person instruction, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday. Last month, the governor said schools can open in a region if it is in phase four of reopening and if the daily infection rate remains at or below 5 percent over a 14-day average. If the infection rate spikes above 9 percent over a 7-day average, schools will close, Cuomo said.
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August 7, 2020

NYC financed over 30,000 affordable homes this fiscal year

Co-op City's 15,000 apartments will remain affordable for another three decades; Photo by David L Roush on Wikimedia The city has financed 30,023 affordable homes in the fiscal year 2020, with more than half of the homes serving families earning less than $52,000, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday. Of the homes financed, 23,520 were preserved and 6,503 were new construction. The milestone comes as the mayor's ambitious plan to preserve and build 300,000 affordable homes by 2026 is facing delays thanks to the pandemic, which has forced the city to cut funding for new affordable housing projects.
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August 7, 2020

Sales launch at new Prospect Park-facing condo tower, from $2.4M

A condo building across from Prospect Park in Brooklyn launched sales this week, with two-bedrooms starting at $2.395 million. Located next to landmarked Grand Army Plaza, One Prospect Park West in Park Slope was built in 1925 and once served as a hotel for the Knights of Columbus and later as a senior home. Developer Sugar Hill Capital Partners is converting the historic 10-story building into a luxury condominium with 64 residences with 40 unique floor plans.
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August 6, 2020

New York’s eviction moratorium extended by one month

The statewide moratorium on eviction has been extended another month, offering temporary relief to thousands of New Yorkers at risk of losing their homes. The order was set to expire midnight on Thursday, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order extending the rule to September 4. The New York State Unified Court System is expected to announce on Thursday whether it will follow the mandate and issue new guidance on evictions.
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August 6, 2020

$5.9M penthouse is Asbury Park’s most expensive home ever sold

A penthouse in Asbury Park that was listed for $5.9 million just closed, becoming the most expensive home ever sold in the Jersey Shore town. Located at the 17-story Asbury Ocean Club, the duplex penthouse contains four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and boasts roughly 2,300 square feet of outdoor space, which comes in the form of a wrap-around terrace, sunroom, and outdoor kitchen.
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August 5, 2020

NYC is setting up COVID checkpoints at major entry points to enforce 14-day quarantine

New York City will set up "COVID-19 checkpoints" at key entry points this week to ensure compliance with the state's quarantine requirements, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday. Travelers to New York from 35 states currently on the travel advisory list, which includes places with 10 infections per 100,000 residents on a seven-day rolling average, must quarantine for 14 days. Starting Wednesday, the Sheriff's Office will be deployed at bridges, tunnels, and busy transit hubs to remind visitors of the mandatory quarantine. The new initiative comes as about 20 percent of new coronavirus cases in New York City are from people traveling in from other states, according to Dr. Ted Long, head of the Test & Trace Corps.
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August 5, 2020

Eataly’s flowery rooftop to reopen with DIY gin drinks and summer dishes

Eataly's 14th-floor rooftop in the Flatiron District has been transformed into a blooming greenhouse. Opening on Friday, Serra Fiorita by Birreria will bring Italian summer to Manhattan with a seasonal menu, build-your-own gin drinks, and a flowery decor inspired by a 3D paper book. Tables will be distanced, capacity will be limited, and reservations can be made on OpenTable to avoid crowding.
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August 5, 2020

Leasing kicks off at Essex Crossing’s largest building, with rentals from $3,000/month

Leasing launched on Wednesday for 142 apartments at the Lower East Side's Essex Crossing development. The Artisan, located at 180 Broome Street, is the largest building at the nine-site project and contains office and retail space, as well as access to the ground-floor Market Line. Pricing starts at $3,000/month for studios, $4,000/month for one-bedrooms,$6,000/month for two-bedrooms, and $8,000 for three-bedrooms.
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