All articles by Devin Gannon

New 9/11 memorial honoring rescue and recovery workers opens at World Trade Center

Photo by Monika Graff for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum

June 3, 2019

New 9/11 memorial honoring rescue and recovery workers opens at World Trade Center

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The 9/11 Memorial & Museum's new monument honoring first responders opened Thursday, on the 17th anniversary of the official end of the recovery effort at Ground Zero. The 9/11 Memorial Glade monument recognizes first responders who are currently sick or who have died from illnesses caused by toxins following the September 11 attacks. Located at the World Trade Center site, the memorial consists of six stone monoliths that point skyward to "symbolize strength and determination through adversity."
See it here
Apply for 63 affordable studios at new La Central development in the Bronx for $650/month

Rendering of 626 Bergen via FXCollaborative

May 31, 2019

Apply for 63 affordable studios at new La Central development in the Bronx for $650/month

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A new housing development in the Bronx launched a lottery this week for 63 studio apartments. Located in the South Bronx, the La Central complex will include five buildings with 992 units of mixed-income housing, a new 50,000-square-foot YMCA, a television studio, landscaped courtyard, and a skate park. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) can apply for the $650/month studios.
Find out if you qualify
NYC Council considers turning mass gravesite on Hart Island into a city park

Photo of Hart Island via Flickr

May 31, 2019

NYC Council considers turning mass gravesite on Hart Island into a city park

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One of the country's largest burial ground may become a city park. The New York City Council is considering making Hart Island, an island located off of the Bronx coast where roughly one million people have been buried since the Civil War, more accessible to visitors. Because the city's Department of Correction (DOC) currently maintains the site and hires inmates from Rikers Island to bury bodies there, access remains restricted. During a hearing Thursday, the City Council introduced a package of legislation aimed at improving Hart Island, including one bill that would transfer control of the land from the DOC to the city's parks department.
Get the details
Delayed pedestrian bridge in Battery Park City will finally open this fall

Rendering by WXY architecture + urban design

May 30, 2019

Delayed pedestrian bridge in Battery Park City will finally open this fall

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A new pedestrian bridge in Lower Manhattan will open this fall, more than ten years after it was proposed, the city announced Wednesday. The 230-foot West Thames Street Pedestrian Bridge replaces the Rector Street Bridge, a temporary structure built after two bridges in the area were destroyed during the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Designed by engineer Thornton Tomassetti and WXY architecture + urban design, the $45 million bridge crosses West Street and connects Battery Park City with the Financial District.
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NYC Council votes to close mechanical void loophole

Rendering of 50 West 66th Street; courtesy of Binyan Studios/ Snøhetta

May 30, 2019

NYC Council votes to close mechanical void loophole

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The New York City Council on Wednesday voted to close a zoning loophole that has allowed developers to fill multiple floors of a tower with mechanical equipment without counting the floors as part of the building. The so-called mechanical void loophole enabled taller residential towers, and therefore higher, more expensive units, without actually creating more housing. The amendment approved by the Council will count mechanical voids taller than 25 feet as zoning floor area, as Crain's reported.
More here
Help marine scientists catch, count, and release hundreds of fish in NYC this weekend
May 29, 2019

Help marine scientists catch, count, and release hundreds of fish in NYC this weekend

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It's time to seine. This weekend, marine scientists dispatch to waterfront sites across New York City, Westchester, and New Jersey as part of the annual "Great Fish Count." Alongside top scientists, attendees will be able to cast a net and help catch, count, identify, and then release some of the fish found in the Harbor and Hudson River. Volunteers are welcome to attend any of the 18 seining events happening on Saturday.
More here
Historic African American burial ground in Elmhurst hits the market for $13.8M

47-11 90th Street via Google Maps

May 29, 2019

Historic African American burial ground in Elmhurst hits the market for $13.8M

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A plot of land in Queens that contains a historic burial ground is selling for $13.8 million. As first reported by Patch, the lot at 47-11 90th Street in Elmhurst was home to the United African Society of Newtown, founded in 1828 as one of the first freed African American communities in the area, and its cemetery. In a brochure, real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield markets the land as "92,000 buildable square feet for residential development," but makes no mention of the historic burial ground underneath.
Get the details
Tightrope-walking Wallenda siblings will travel 25 stories above Times Square

Nik Wallenda on the tightrope at Canada’s Wonderland in 2009; via Flickr

May 28, 2019

Tightrope-walking Wallenda siblings will travel 25 stories above Times Square

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A brother and sister tightrope walking duo will attempt to travel 25 stories above Times Square next month. Nik and Lijana Wallenda will balance 1,300 feet on a tightrope between One Times Square and Two Times Square on June 23, ABC announced Thursday. The television network will broadcast the "never-before-attempted" daredevil stunt live during a two-hour special.
Get the details
My 1,200sqft: Finger painting pioneer Iris Scott shows off her bright Bed-Stuy studio

Our series “

May 28, 2019

My 1,200sqft: Finger painting pioneer Iris Scott shows off her bright Bed-Stuy studio

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My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to artist Iris Scott's Bed-Stuy loft. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! Nearly ten years ago, while living in Taiwan, artist Iris Scott didn’t feel like washing her blue-stained paint brushes. Instead, she used her finger to finish the piece and, to her surprise, discovered that this childhood arts and crafts project works really well on her own oil paintings. She searched online to see if any artists out there were already dedicated to finger painting and found no one. “I was like, it’s my purpose!” she told 6sqft during a recent tour of her Bed-Stuy studio. Iris, who grew up on a farm outside of Seattle, started posting photos and videos of her vibrant animal and nature-centric artwork on Facebook and instantly received feedback from what she calls a "virtual crit group." She began selling her paintings online and because her Taiwan apartment was just $100 per month, was able to immediately work full time as a finger painter. Iris, credited with starting the Instinctualist movement, calls her career trajectory a “magical path.” “I’ve always wanted what I have and I’ve always felt what I have is more than I expected I could have.” Now, a decade later, Iris has her first big solo exhibition in New York City, a Ritual in Pairing, at Filo Sofi Art’s pop up space at the High Line Nine, which closes June 6. Ahead, see inside Iris's sun-drenched corner loft in Brooklyn and learn about her 20-piece solo show, her fierce love of animals, and why she finds it flattering when children like her paintings.
Meet Iris and tour her studio
City revives Downtown Brooklyn’s Willoughby Square Park project

A previous rendering; via EDC

May 24, 2019

City revives Downtown Brooklyn’s Willoughby Square Park project

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Downtown Brooklyn is finally getting a park that was promised to the neighborhood more than 15 years ago. The city's Economic Development Corporation announced on Friday it will take over construction of the green space at Willoughby Square. In January, the city abandoned the plan to add a new park on top of a high-tech parking facility because of the developer's inability to secure financing. But, as first reported by Crain's, the EDC said the agency's capital division will take on the work itself, without a private developer or the underground automated parking lot originally proposed. The city estimates the park will open sometime in 2022.
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As city spends $3.2B on homeless services, shelter population remains flat

Via CC

May 23, 2019

As city spends $3.2B on homeless services, shelter population remains flat

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The population of New Yorkers living in homeless shelters has remained flat for the first time in a decade, officials said on Wednesday. During a City Council budget hearing, Steven Banks, the commissioner of the Department of Social Services, said the city has finally "broken the trajectory" and started to reverse the trend of uninterrupted shelter growth. "We would have more than 70,000 people in shelter today if it wasn't for prevention and housing investments," Banks said, as reported by the New York Post. The number of New Yorkers living in shelters has hovered around 60,000 daily for the last two years.
Find out more
Google’s Chelsea takeover continues as it picks up another property in the neighborhood

The building at 450 West 15th Street is connected to Chelsea Market via a bridge; photo via Wikimedia

May 23, 2019

Google’s Chelsea takeover continues as it picks up another property in the neighborhood

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Google on Wednesday picked up a 325,000-square-foot building in Chelsea, adding to its ever-growing footprint in the Manhattan neighborhood. According to the Financial Times, the company bought the building at 450 West 15th Street from Jamestown Properties for $600 million. In addition to its headquarters at 111 Eighth Avenue, Google owns the apartment buildings across the street and the Chelsea Market building, which it bought last year for $2.5 billion. And the company will serve as the primary tenant at Pier 57, a mixed-use development on the Hudson River.
Get the details
Street food competition Vendy Awards will host its final event this fall

Via Flickr

May 22, 2019

Street food competition Vendy Awards will host its final event this fall

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The annual competition celebrating New York City street vendors will end this fall after 15 years. The last Vendy Awards ever will be held on Governors Island on September 21, providing one last chance to enjoy one of the city's greatest food events. The competition, organized by the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center, launched with just four vendors in 2005. It has since grown to feature vendors from across the city, serving nearly two thousand hungry foodies annually, and becoming a career launch pad for vendors.
Learn more
Williamsburg’s tallest tower tops out at Domino Sugar Factory development

Photo by Max Touhey

May 21, 2019

Williamsburg’s tallest tower tops out at Domino Sugar Factory development

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Williamsburg officially has a new tallest tower. One South First, formerly 260 Kent Avenue, topped out this week at the Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment along the waterfront. Designed by COOKFOX Architects, the 435-foot-tall tower features two interlocking buildings with white precast concrete facades inspired by the molecular pattern and forms of sugar crystals, a reference to the former factory site.
Domino details here
New Jersey’s long-stalled American Dream mega-mall is delayed again
May 21, 2019

New Jersey’s long-stalled American Dream mega-mall is delayed again

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The opening of the mega-mall next to Met Life Stadium in New Jersey is delayed again, the developer announced on Monday. American Dream, a huge three-million-square-foot venue with an indoor ski slope, water park, amusement rides, and ice rink, will open this fall instead of the spring, as originally promised. But what's a few more months? The project has been in the works for more than 16 years, plagued by financial and legal problems.
More here
Audible opens new offices at a restored historic cathedral in Newark
May 20, 2019

Audible opens new offices at a restored historic cathedral in Newark

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Audible, the audiobook company owned by Amazon, opened new offices on Friday in a restored historic cathedral in Newark. The company, which has been located in New Jersey's largest city since 2007, restored an 80,000-square-foot 1913 church and modernized it with open workspace, a four-lane bowling alley, and cafes. Dubbed the Innovation Cathedral, the new offices on Washington Street will hold 400 employees.
See the space
Mapping the lesbian bars and clubs of NYC’s past

“Addresses Project” map via Gwen Shockey

May 20, 2019

Mapping the lesbian bars and clubs of NYC’s past

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Following the closure of Woodside's Bum Bum Bar in March, only three lesbian bars remain in New York City. To preserve the history of these significate sites, local artist Gwen Shockey has spent five years tracking locations of former lesbian and queer clubs (h/t Daily News). Through an interactive map, Shockey has mapped more than two hundred addresses of venues that once hosted events for lesbians, relying mostly on word-of-mouth storytelling.
See the map
VIDEO: Take a tour of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty’s new museum

Photo of the Immigrant Museum at Ellis Island; Photo © James and Karla Murray

May 17, 2019

VIDEO: Take a tour of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty’s new museum

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As part of a new video series, photographers and longtime New Yorkers James and Karla Murray take us on a tour of one of the few NYC sites they have never visited: Liberty Island. During a press visit with 6sqft last week, the duo toured and documented the recently opened Statue of Liberty Museum, taking in the interactive galleries, views of Lady Liberty, and the statue's original torch. And as part of a preview with Untapped Cities, James and Karla got a behind-the-scenes look at the abandoned Ellis Island hospital as well as its Immigration Museum. Ahead, ride the Statue Cruises ferry with them from Bowling Green to Liberty and Ellis Islands, taking in all of the historic sites along the way.
See the video
New looks and pricing details for Extell’s Central Park Tower

New rendering of Central Park Tower’s indoor pool, via Extell

May 17, 2019

New looks and pricing details for Extell’s Central Park Tower

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In March, Extell Development's supertall on Billionaires' Row became the tallest residential tower in the world, surpassing the 1,396-foot-tall 432 Park Avenue. Now, ahead of Central Park Tower's official topping out scheduled this summer, the developers have released new renderings of its exclusive amenity space, including the indoor pool and full-service lobby. And a handful of the building's 179 residences will be listed for the first time next week, ranging from a two-bedroom for $6.9 million to a five-bedroom for $63 million.
More this way
NYC is getting 50 new murals in celebration of Pride next month

Buff Monster’s Lower East Side mural; Photo courtesy of NYC Pride

May 16, 2019

NYC is getting 50 new murals in celebration of Pride next month

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To celebrate WorldPride and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising next month, 50 murals will be painted on walls across New York City. As amNY first reported, the new street art is an initiative from NYC Pride for the World Mural Project. According to the organization, the murals will "reflect and honor the beauty, struggle, and strides of the LGBTQIA+ community." The first mural designed by local artist Buff Monster was completed last week and can be viewed on the corner of Chrystie and Broome Street on the Lower East Side.
Get the details
PHOTOS: The TWA Hotel at JFK is officially open!

Looking down on the terminal from the London Club; Photo courtesy of TWA Hotel/David Mitchell

May 15, 2019

PHOTOS: The TWA Hotel at JFK is officially open!

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The much-anticipated rebirth of Eero Saarinen's historic TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport is complete. The TWA Hotel officially opened on Wednesday, more than two years after the project broke ground in Queens and over 18 years since the iconic 1962 terminal shuttered. The project was developed by MCR and MORSE Development and designed by architecture firm LUBRANO CIAVARRA. Beyer Blinder Belle Architects handled the restoration of the original Flight Center to prepare for the hotel. The two six-story crescent-shaped buildings contain 512 rooms, a rooftop infinity pool and observation deck, event space, food hall, luxury fitness center, and retro cocktail bar.
Take the tour
See inside the Statue of Liberty’s new museum ahead of this week’s opening
May 14, 2019

See inside the Statue of Liberty’s new museum ahead of this week’s opening

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The Statue of Liberty is a universally recognized structure and symbol. But do most people know the story of its creation? Opening this Thursday, the new Statue of Liberty Museum aims to educate visitors about the history and legacy of the statue through immersive gallery spaces and artifacts. During a press preview last week, 6sqft toured the 26,000-square-foot museum and its landscaped roof, located on Liberty Island across from Lady Liberty herself.
Get a peek
The $32M skylight of the World Trade Center’s Oculus is leaking

Via Wikimedia

May 13, 2019

The $32M skylight of the World Trade Center’s Oculus is leaking

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A rubber seal that runs along the middle of the retractable skylight of the World Trade Center's Oculus has ripped, causing leakage, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The tear may have stemmed from the reopening of the skylight during last year's anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to the Port Authority, which owns the World Trade Center site.
More here
NYC Council approves 17 tenant protection bills, including one that closes ‘Kushner loophole’

Via Flickr

May 9, 2019

NYC Council approves 17 tenant protection bills, including one that closes ‘Kushner loophole’

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The New York City Council on Wednesday passed a package of 17 bills intended to protect tenants from landlord abuse. The legislation includes closing the so-called "Kushner loophole," which had allowed landlords to file false paperwork with the city's Department of Buildings. The bill comes a year after President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's family's firm, Kushner Companies, was found to have falsely claimed it had no rent-regulated tenants in dozens of buildings it owned when it actually had hundreds.
Learn about the bills
NYC Council approves JPMorgan’s 70-story Midtown East tower

Via Flickr

May 9, 2019

NYC Council approves JPMorgan’s 70-story Midtown East tower

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The New York City Council on Wednesday approved the first supertall to be constructed under the Midtown East rezoning. JPMorgan Chase will build a new 70-story headquarters at the site of its current offices at 270 Park Avenue. The rezoning, adopted by the city in 2017, affects more than 70 blocks around Grand Central Terminal and encourages the construction of taller, more modern office towers in the neighborhood. Designed by Norman Foster's Foster + Partners, the 1,400-foot building is set to become one of the tallest structures in the city and the tallest office building by roof height. 
More here
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