All articles by Devin Gannon

Plan to expand Hudson River Park at Pier 76 tow pound site moves forward

Photo by Beyond My Ken on Wikimedia

November 6, 2019

Plan to expand Hudson River Park at Pier 76 tow pound site moves forward

By Devin Gannon

The waterfront park on Manhattan's West Side is set to grow again. City officials are in talks with the New York Police Department to relocate a tow pound at Pier 76 to make way for a new section of Hudson River Park. THE CITY reported on Wednesday that while nothing has been approved yet for the site, which sits adjacent to the Javits Center, officials last month presented a preliminary proposal to Manhattan Community Board 4, signaling the beginning of the long-awaited plan to incorporate the pier into the park.
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Policy

Starbucks opens its first pickup-only store in Midtown

Photo by Eric Soltan for Starbucks

November 5, 2019

Starbucks opens its first pickup-only store in Midtown

By Devin Gannon

Last year, Starbucks opened a massive roastery in Chelsea with two coffee bars, a cocktail bar, and a bakery, inviting java drinkers to stay awhile. On Tuesday, the company will offer a different option for on-the-go customers in Manhattan with a new store that primarily accepts to-go orders from the Starbucks mobile app. Located in Penn Plaza at 242 West 34th Street above the busy transit hub, the Starbucks "pickup" store is the first of its kind.
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Uncategorized

Cap on street vendor permits would be nixed under proposed state law

Photo by Anton on Unsplash

November 5, 2019

Cap on street vendor permits would be nixed under proposed state law

By Devin Gannon

A state lawmaker wants to allow more street vendors to legally set up shop across New York by lifting the cap on the number of permits issued statewide. The legislation put forth by State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who represents parts of Queens, would let municipalities decide where sidewalk vendors could operate. "The idea is to decriminalize street vending and do away with caps so that every vendor goes through the appropriate inspections," Ramos told Gothamist.
Learn about it

Policy

Affordable housing complex at former Bronx juvenile jail site breaks ground

Rendering by BLA and WXY

November 5, 2019

Affordable housing complex at former Bronx juvenile jail site breaks ground

By Devin Gannon

The city on Monday broke ground on a five-acre mixed-use project that will bring more than 700 affordable apartments, open space, and manufacturing space to the Bronx. The Hunts Point complex, called the Penninsula, will sit at the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, which closed in 2011 following reports of cruel conditions. Construction will now kick off on the project's first phase and includes space for industrial and light manufacturing businesses and 183 deeply affordable housing units.
Get the details

Barneys’ Madison Avenue flagship to stay open as a temporary pop-up

Photo by Jim.henderson on Wikimedia

November 4, 2019

Barneys’ Madison Avenue flagship to stay open as a temporary pop-up

By Devin Gannon

Barneys New York was officially sold for roughly $270 million on Friday after filing for bankruptcy just three months prior. The new owners of the luxury retailer, Authentic Brands Group and B. Riley Financial Inc., will license the Barneys name to other companies and likely close most of its locations across the country. But the store's beloved flagship location at 660 Madison Avenue will stay open for at least the next year, according to the Real Deal.
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Real Estate Trends

Apply for 52 mixed-income units near Lehman College in the Bronx, from $736/month

Photo by Tdorante10 on Wikimedia

November 4, 2019

Apply for 52 mixed-income units near Lehman College in the Bronx, from $736/month

By Devin Gannon

A housing lottery launched this week for 52 mixed-income units in the Bronx neighborhood of Bedford Park. Located at 16 East 204th Street, the building, dubbed "Villa Gardens," sits just east of Jerome Park Reservoir and the 37-acre campus of Lehman College. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60, 90, and 100 percent of area median income can apply for the apartments, ranging from $736/month studios to $2,066/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

De Blasio resists plan to pedestrianize Rockefeller Center during upcoming holiday season

Photo by Shinya Suzuki / Flickr

November 1, 2019

De Blasio resists plan to pedestrianize Rockefeller Center during upcoming holiday season

By Devin Gannon

For years, residents and community leaders have called on the city to add pedestrian space near Rockefeller Center to make conditions safer for the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the area during the holiday season to see the tree and store windows. This week, the Department of Transportation privately issued a pilot plan to address the major crowds by increasing pedestrian space on Fifth Avenue between East 48th and East 51st Streets. But Mayor Bill de Blasio quashed the plan before it was officially released, claiming "it was not signed off on by City Hall."
Details here

Learn about 16th-century Native American culture with a paddling tour of the Bronx River

Photo by Elena Gaillard on Wikimedia

October 31, 2019

Learn about 16th-century Native American culture with a paddling tour of the Bronx River

By Devin Gannon

To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, New Yorkers can take a free paddling tour of the Bronx River this weekend while learning about the experiences of 16th-century indigenous communities. Hosted by the Bronx River Alliance and Moskehtu Consulting, the event takes visitors on a 30-minute canoe paddle through the Mitshubishi River Walk in the Bronx Zoo and explores the life and culture of Native Americans with a living village.
How to sign up

Designs revealed for Phillips auction house’s new home in 432 Park Avenue’s white cube base

Rendering by studioMDA

October 30, 2019

Designs revealed for Phillips auction house’s new home in 432 Park Avenue’s white cube base

By Devin Gannon

British auction house Phillips will move its headquarters into the white cube base of the supertall at 432 Park Avenue next year. As first reported by the New York Post, architecture firm studioMDA has been tapped to design the 55,000-square-foot auction house and will replace the ground floor the existing space with a sunken mezzanine. The new Billionaires' Row spot will open in the summer of 2020.
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Architecture And Design

City has repaired just two of 35 NYCHA developments damaged by Hurricane Sandy

Red Hook after Sandy; Photo by Michael Fleshman on Flickr

October 30, 2019

City has repaired just two of 35 NYCHA developments damaged by Hurricane Sandy

By Devin Gannon

Seven years after Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, a majority of the city's public housing developments damaged by the storm have not been repaired. Of the 35 NYCHA complexes wrecked in 2012, totaling roughly 200 buildings, upgrades have been completed at just two of them, THE CITY reported Tuesday. The slow recovery at sites in Red Hook, Coney Island and the Lower East Side stems from a lack of federal funding and shady contracts.
Details here

Popular Articles

See inside SHoP’s slender supertall at 111 West 57th Street

The living room of the 43rd-floor unit; Photo by Peter Murdock

October 29, 2019

See inside SHoP’s slender supertall at 111 West 57th Street

By Devin Gannon

The skinny skyscraper perfectly positioned over Central Park has officially topped out at 1,428 feet, becoming the world's second tallest residential building. Designed by SHoP Architects, 111 West 57th Street's super-slender frame allows each of the 46 full-floor and duplex condos to feel like a penthouse. In addition to the Billionaires' Row tower reaching its pinnacle height at 91 stories, new images released Tuesday provide a first look inside the residences, with 360-degree views of Manhattan and bold interiors conceived by Studio Sofield.
See inside the supertall

New Developments

Ahead of proposed rezoning, Gowanus gains five individual landmarks

Photos courtesy of LPC

October 29, 2019

Ahead of proposed rezoning, Gowanus gains five individual landmarks

By Devin Gannon

The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday designated five properties in Gowanus as individual landmarks ahead of the neighborhood's impending rezoning. The buildings are architecturally significant examples of Brooklyn's industrial past with relationships to the Canal, according to the commission. "These buildings stand out in the neighborhood as tangible reminders of the rich history of the neighborhood and the Gowanus Canal," LPC Chair Sarah Carroll said. "They are all inherently connected to the manufacturing industries and institutions that developed around the canal in the late-19th and early-20th century."
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Policy

Upper West Side favorite Boat Basin Cafe has permanently closed

Photo by WalkingGeek on Flickr

October 24, 2019

Upper West Side favorite Boat Basin Cafe has permanently closed

By Devin Gannon

Another beloved New York City establishment has shuttered. The Boat Basin Cafe, a laid-back waterfront restaurant at the 79th Street marina, will not reopen for the season next year, Gothamist reported on Wednesday. The Upper West Side hangout announced its permanent departure in a Facebook post, citing a "local construction project" as the reason for the closure.
Another favorite gone

Food & Dining

400 bus stops in the Bronx to be cut as part of major network redesign

Photo by Adam Moreira on Wikimedia

October 23, 2019

400 bus stops in the Bronx to be cut as part of major network redesign

By Devin Gannon

Four hundred local bus stops in the Bronx will be cut as part of a major system redesign, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Tuesday. The large reduction is an attempt to speed up travel times by moving bus stops further apart, from an average of 882 feet to 1,092 feet between them. The new plan also brings two new local routes and an express route to the borough, providing commuters better peak-hour service between north Bronx and Midtown.
Details here

Trump Organization removes president’s name from Central Park ice rinks

Photo by subherwal on Flickr

October 23, 2019

Trump Organization removes president’s name from Central Park ice rinks

By Devin Gannon

As New York City's many ice skating rinks start to open this month for the season, two Central Park arenas will debut a slightly updated look. The Trump Organization has removed President Donald Trump's name from Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink, marking the first time the business has voluntarily distanced itself from its owner, according to the Washington Post. City officials told the newspaper that the president's company informed them about the plan to remove the signage this past summer but provided no reason behind the change.
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Real Estate Trends

City launches campaign to educate tenants on new rent reform laws

October 22, 2019

City launches campaign to educate tenants on new rent reform laws

By Devin Gannon

In June, New York state lawmakers passed landmark legislation to strengthen rent and tenant protections. Hoping to clear up any ambiguity over the new laws, Mayor Bill de Blasio is launching an ad campaign and new website to help renters understand their rights as well as hold landlords responsible. Starting Monday, ads will be displayed across subway stations, bus stops, local newspapers, small businesses, and Link kiosks until Dec. 15.
Learn more here

Policy

City approves design for Central Park’s first statue of women

A 1/3 size clay model of the statue; Photo by Michael Bergmann

October 22, 2019

City approves design for Central Park’s first statue of women

By Devin Gannon

New York City's most famous park will get a new statue honoring women for the first time ever. The city's Public Design Commission on Monday approved a design for a new Central Park monument that depicts women's rights activists, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Set to debut next summer on the 100th-anniversary of the 19th amendment's ratification, the statue's approval comes as the city looks to address the lack of women honored in public spaces. Currently, all 23 historical monuments in Central Park are of men.
Get the details

Events & Things To Do

Stay at the creepy and kooky ‘Addams Family Mansion’ in Clinton Hill this Halloween

October 21, 2019

Stay at the creepy and kooky ‘Addams Family Mansion’ in Clinton Hill this Halloween

By Devin Gannon

A 19th-century townhouse in Brooklyn has undergone a creepy and kooky makeover just in time for Halloween. Travel company Booking.com transformed the Clinton Hill home at 272 Lafayette Avenue into a real-life replica of The Addams Family Mansion from the hit 1960s comedy sitcom. For just over $100 per night, guests can spend Halloween playing with Wednesday's beheaded dolls, calling Lurch on his "you rang" bell, and getting scared by Thing.
It's creepy and it's kooky

Events & Things To Do

Live in the ‘pavilion’ apartment at the historic Woolworth Building for $30M

Photo of Pavilion A by Travis Mark

October 21, 2019

Live in the ‘pavilion’ apartment at the historic Woolworth Building for $30M

By Devin Gannon

More than 100 years after its construction, the Woolworth Building's transformation into a luxury residential tower is complete. Now, four years after condo sales first launched, there's an opportunity to live in one of the building's most unique residences. Developer Alchemy Properties has listed a 29th-floor five-bedroom, called Pavilion A, for $29.85 million, an asking price roughly $3 million less than when the apartment first listed in May. And while the unit's size and custom features make this apartment special, the setback duplex terrace, which lets you rub elbows with the historic building's stunning terra-cotta exterior, puts it in another league.
See inside

Distinctive Homes

Nordstrom’s 7-level flagship opens at Central Park Tower next week

Rendering courtesy of Nordstrom

October 18, 2019

Nordstrom’s 7-level flagship opens at Central Park Tower next week

By Devin Gannon

Nordstrom's massive flagship store officially opens to the public next week, seven years after the company first announced its move to New York City. The department store sits in the base of the Central Park Tower, currently the tallest residential building in the world, and takes up seven floors. And while the tower no longer shares the company's name, the sheer size of the flagship, along with its unique glass facade, will still make the store stand out. To celebrate the store's opening on Oct. 24 at West 57th and Broadway, there will be grand opening festivities taking place with lots of free samples, complimentary food, and live entertainment.
Details here

New Developments

Prospect Park will host first-ever ‘bike day’ this weekend

Citi Bike cyclists in Prospect Park; photo courtesy of CitiBike

October 18, 2019

Prospect Park will host first-ever ‘bike day’ this weekend

By Devin Gannon

Does your child want to ditch the training wheels? Need a new helmet? Head to Prospect Park this weekend for the park's first annual "Bike Day." Hosted by the Prospect Park Alliance with Citi Bike and Bike New York, the free event on Sunday, Oct. 20 hopes to encourage a more diverse group of New Yorkers to take up biking by offering demonstrations, classes, prizes, and a one-month free trial of Citi Bike.
Get the details

Events & Things To Do

NYC Council approves plan to replace Rikers Island with four new jails

Photo by Tim Rodenberg on Wikimedia

October 18, 2019

NYC Council approves plan to replace Rikers Island with four new jails

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council on Thursday approved a plan that would close the notorious Rikers Island complex and replace it with four smaller jails across the city. The nearly $9 billion proposal, released by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017, pledges to shutter Rikers in 10 years by dramatically reducing the city's jail population. It involves housing inmates in new facilities in Lower Manhattan, the South Bronx, Downtown Brooklyn, and Kew Gardens that are better integrated with the surrounding communities, as well as located closer to court systems.
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Policy

Brookfield unveils $400M redevelopment of 666 Fifth Avenue

Left: Photo by David Shankbone on Wikimedia; Right: Rendering by Hayes Davidson for Brookfield Properties

October 17, 2019

Brookfield unveils $400M redevelopment of 666 Fifth Avenue

By Devin Gannon

Hoping to start a new chapter for the problem-plagued tower, Brookfield Asset Management has unveiled its plan to overhaul 666 Fifth Avenue. The 41-story Midtown office building will undergo a $400 million overhaul designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, including a new glass exterior, floor-to-ceiling windows, revamped rooftop spaces, and updated mechanical systems, as the Wall Street Journal first reported. And separating itself further from its past, the building's address will now be 660 Fifth Avenue.
New details this way

Architecture And Design

Facebook and Apple are battling for office space at Midtown West’s former Farley Post Office

Rendering courtesy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill courtesy of Gov. Cuomo’s office

October 16, 2019

Facebook and Apple are battling for office space at Midtown West’s former Farley Post Office

By Devin Gannon

Two major tech companies are vying for office space at the former James A. Farley Post Office in Manhattan. The New York Post reported on Tuesday that Facebook and Apple both want to lease space at the former post office which is being converted by Vornado Realty Trust into a mixed-use site with 740,000 square feet of office space and a new train hall underneath. In September, it was reported that Facebook was in advanced talks for office space, but according to the Post, Apple has "suddenly decided it, too, wants all four floors of Farley's office space."
Get the details

New Developments

Coast Guard bans Portal Bridge openings during rush hour to reduce Northeast Corridor delays

Photo by Ken on Flickr

October 16, 2019

Coast Guard bans Portal Bridge openings during rush hour to reduce Northeast Corridor delays

By Devin Gannon

A 109-year-old swing bridge will no longer be the bain of commuters' existence. The United States Coast Guard agreed last week to permanently restrict when boats can pass under the Portal Bridge, which carries about 200,000 passengers daily to and from Penn Station via New Jersey Transit and Amtrak. The 1910 bridge's aging mechanics frequently malfunction while opening and closing for maritime traffic, causing hourslong delays, felt especially during rush hour.
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