All articles by Devin Gannon

NYC becomes the first city in the country to adopt a congestion pricing program

April 1, 2019

NYC becomes the first city in the country to adopt a congestion pricing program

By Devin Gannon

Drivers traveling in the busiest parts of Manhattan will be charged an extra fee under a new initiative approved by state lawmakers Sunday. The first of its kind in the country, the "Central Business District Tolling" program installs electronic tolling devices on the perimeter of a zone that covers all neighborhoods south of 60th Street in the borough, with the exception of the West Side Highway and FDR Drive. While details for the program remain unclear, including how much it will cost drivers, the congestion fees will not be implemented until 2021.
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The city is selling historic artifacts and photos from NYC’s bygone era of baseball

Babe Ruth shakes the hand of actor Gary Cooper (playing Lou Gehrig) during the filming of the movie “Pride of the Yankees” in 1942. The scene is a recreation of “Gehrig Appreciation Day” on July 4, 1939 when Gehrig retired due to his diagnosis with ALS; Via NYC Municipal Archives

March 29, 2019

The city is selling historic artifacts and photos from NYC’s bygone era of baseball

By Devin Gannon

To celebrate the start of the baseball season this week, the city's Department of Records & Information Services released a series of artifacts and historic photos for sale. From architectural drawings of Brooklyn's Ebbets Field to photos of Babe Ruth at the 1936 World Series, the images provide a look back at our national pastime's origin in New York City.
How to buy them

The first Equinox Hotel launches reservations at 35 Hudson Yards, starting at $700/night

Model hotel room, courtesy of Equinox

March 29, 2019

The first Equinox Hotel launches reservations at 35 Hudson Yards, starting at $700/night

By Devin Gannon

Luxury gym Equinox is now accepting reservations for its Hudson Yards hotel, the company's first foray into lodging. When it opens in June, the hotel will take up floors 24 through 38 of 35 Hudson Yards, a 1,000-foot-tall tower designed by David Childs and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for the recently opened neighborhood. The hotel's 212 rooms are designed to promote better sleep, featuring soundproofed walls, blackout shades, and a thermostat set to 66 degrees. According to the Equinox Hotel website, rooms can be booked starting July 15, with rates starting at more than $700 per night.
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Celebrate Coney Island’s opening day with a walking tour of its newly landmarked boardwalk

Photo by Jim McDonnell

March 28, 2019

Celebrate Coney Island’s opening day with a walking tour of its newly landmarked boardwalk

By Devin Gannon

Keeping with more than 60 years of tradition, the Coney Island Amusement Park will open for the season next month on Palm Sunday. To kicks things off on April 14, historian Charles Denson will lead a tour of the Riegelmann Boardwalk, which was designated a scenic landmark last year. The opening day celebration continues the following weekend with an Immigrant Heritage Tour of Coney Island, with stops at Nathan's Famous, founded by Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker and Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, purchased by Greek immigrant Denos D. Vouderis as a wedding ring for his wife.
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Events & Things To Do

Jersey Shore’s first five-star hotel set to launch reservations this spring, starting at $295/night

Rendering by Binyan Studios

March 28, 2019

Jersey Shore’s first five-star hotel set to launch reservations this spring, starting at $295/night

By Devin Gannon

After over a decade in the works, the Jersey Shore is getting its first five-star boutique hotel. The Asbury Ocean Club, a 17-story hotel-condo, will open this June in Asbury Park, a hip beach community with working-class roots known for its flourishing foodie and surf scene, as well as its Bruce Springsteen connection. Opening this summer, the 54-room beachfront hotel occupies the building's entire fourth floor and sits next to the pool deck, which offers water views. With its proximity to New York City, the Asbury Ocean Club Hotel hopes to attract New Yorkers looking for an oceanfront oasis. And the prices even mirror Manhattan, with rooms starting at $295 per night. Reservations officially launch May 1.
See inside

See the five designs proposed for the Shirley Chisholm monument in Prospect Park

Design proposal by Mickalene Thomas

March 27, 2019

See the five designs proposed for the Shirley Chisholm monument in Prospect Park

By Devin Gannon

The city announced last November plans to commission a permanent statue in Brooklyn of Shirley Chisholm, a Bed-Stuy native who became the first black woman to serve in the House of Representatives. On Wednesday, the Department of Cultural Affairs unveiled five finalist design proposals and asked the public for feedback. An artist will be selected next month, with the monument, which will be placed outside of the Parkside entrance to Prospect Park, completed at the end of next year. The statue of Chisholm will be the first monument constructed under the city's She Built NYC! initiative, which aims to increase the number of public monuments dedicated to NYC women. Currently, just five of the city’s 150 statues are of women.
See the designs

Ride to the Yankees home opener on a 102-year-old subway train

Photo courtesy of the New York Transit Museum

March 27, 2019

Ride to the Yankees home opener on a 102-year-old subway train

By Devin Gannon

Baseball fans headed to the New York Yankees home opener this week can arrive in the Bronx via a transportation method almost as old as the team itself. On Thursday, the New York Transit Museum is rolling out its 1917 IRT Lo-V train to run from Grand Central to 161st-Street Yankee Stadium, allowing Bronx-bound passengers to travel back in time before officially kicking off the 2019 baseball season.
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Transit

Central Park Tower rises above 432 Park, officially becomes tallest residential building in the world

Current view of construction via 6sqft (L); Rendering of the completed tower via Extell (R)

March 27, 2019

Central Park Tower rises above 432 Park, officially becomes tallest residential building in the world

By Devin Gannon

Extell Development's supertall on Billionaires' Row is officially the tallest residential tower in the world. As YIMBY reported this week, Central Park Tower, at 225 West 57th Street, has reached its 92nd floor, surpassing the 1,396-foot-tall tower at 432 Park Avenue. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Central Park Tower will top out at 95 stories, or 1,550 feet tall, making it stand out significantly among neighboring skyscrapers when construction wraps up next year.
Details here

You can rename Hudson Yards’ climbable ‘Vessel’

Photo © James and Karla Murray for 6sqft

March 26, 2019

You can rename Hudson Yards’ climbable ‘Vessel’

By Devin Gannon

Officially open to the public for nearly two weeks, the centerpiece of New York City's newest neighborhood needs a name. Known best as "Vessel," the bronzed steel and concrete sculpture designed by Thomas Heatherwick was never given an official title. Earlier this year, developer Related Companies told 6sqft that "Vessel" was just a placeholder until the public experienced the installation. And with hundreds of selfies taken at the site since its opening on March 15, Related is now asking the public to rename the 150-foot honeycomb-like structure.
Have any ideas?

Events & Things To Do

De Blasio’s plan for a borough-based jail system as Rikers replacement moves forward

March 26, 2019

De Blasio’s plan for a borough-based jail system as Rikers replacement moves forward

By Devin Gannon

Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to open four new jails as replacements for the Rikers Island complex has officially entered the public review process. The City Planning Commission on Tuesday certified the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application from the city's corrections department to open new facilities in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens as part of the city's 10-year plan to close Rikers. The rubber stamp from the CPC comes after the project's draft environmental impact statement, which was released last week, found no significant adverse impacts.
Learn more here

Popular Articles

A 19th-century warehouse on Governors Island will become a permanent arts center

Photo by Zachary Tyler Newton

March 25, 2019

A 19th-century warehouse on Governors Island will become a permanent arts center

By Devin Gannon

Governors Island is gettings its first permanent home for artists this year as the effort to turn the 172-acre former military base into a year-round cultural hub continues. The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) announced on Monday plans to transform a 1870s warehouse into a 40,000-square-foot center for arts and educational programming. In 2009, LMCC became one of the first tenants on Governors Island, which opened to the public in 2005 after serving as a base for the Army and then the Coast Guard for more than two centuries.
More here

Lower East Side residents sue city to stop development of Two Bridges ‘megatowers’

Rendering via Handel Architects

March 22, 2019

Lower East Side residents sue city to stop development of Two Bridges ‘megatowers’

By Devin Gannon

A group of Lower East Side residents on Friday filed a lawsuit against New York City to stop three luxury developments planned for Two Bridges. The residents, who are being represented by the Lower East Side Organized Neighbors (LESON) and the Asian-American Legal Defense Fund, argue the new skyscrapers violate zoning rules meant to protect against out-of-scale development (h/t Bowery Boogie).
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Uncategorized

MTA chooses consultant to oversee L train tunnel project

March 22, 2019

MTA chooses consultant to oversee L train tunnel project

By Devin Gannon

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has chosen a consultant to oversee the reconstruction of the 100-year-old L train tunnel, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The agency tapped JMT of NY Inc. to review construction timelines and safety and environmental concerns for the never-been-done-before project. After Gov. Andrew Cuomo intervened earlier this year, the MTA revised its original Carnasie Tunnel repair plan to not require the L train to shut down for 15 months, but instead have construction work take place on nights and weekends. But the $1.2 million contract--which must be approved by the MTA board next week--does not include a review of the feasibility of the updated L train plan before construction is set to begin on April 27.
More here

New proposal turns the BQE’s triple cantilever into a three-level linear park

Rendering by Kameny Design and Taylor Davenport, courtesy of Mark Baker

March 21, 2019

New proposal turns the BQE’s triple cantilever into a three-level linear park

By Devin Gannon

A longtime Brooklyn resident is offering his own innovative solution to fix the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Mark Baker's proposal involves transforming the BQE's triple cantilever into the "Tri-Line," a three-tiered park that extends from Brooklyn Bridge Park. Modeled after Manhattan's High Line, the Tri-Line parks would measure 1,880 feet long and include gardens, seating, walking paths, and bike lanes. As the Brooklyn Eagle reported, cars and trucks would be rerouted along a new highway on Furman Street, preserving the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and adding eight acres of park space in the process.
See the proposal

Architecture And Design

Live next to Sarah Jessica Parker in the West Village for $28.6M

Photo of Sarah Jessica Parker via Wikimedia; 271 West 11th Street via Leslie J. Garfield

March 21, 2019

Live next to Sarah Jessica Parker in the West Village for $28.6M

By Devin Gannon

A mansion on an affluent block in the West Village hit the market this week for $28.6 million. Located at 271 West 11th Street, the property sits next to "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker and actor Matthew Broderick's two townhouses, which are currently being combined into a megamansion. Other A-list New Yorkers on the block, which stretches between West 4th and Bleecker, include Chipotle founder Steve Ells, Liv Tyler, and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, Curbed NY noted.
Take a tour

Self-driving shuttle service is coming to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Brooklyn Navy Yard via Optimus

March 21, 2019

Self-driving shuttle service is coming to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

By Devin Gannon

Self-driving vehicles are officially coming to New York City this year. The Boston-based startup Optimus Ride announced on Wednesday plans to deploy a fleet of autonomous shuttle vans to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a 300-acre site in the midst of transforming from a World War II-era warship site to a modern tech-hub. When it launches in the second quarter of this year, the self-driving program will be the first of its kind in New York, according to the company.
Learn about it here

Transit

Trump sells a $2.9M Central Park South condo to an undisclosed buyer

March 20, 2019

Trump sells a $2.9M Central Park South condo to an undisclosed buyer

By Devin Gannon

President Donald Trump this month sold a $2.9 million condo at his Central Park South building to an unknown buyer, Forbes reported Tuesday. According to public documents, the deal between the Trump Organization and an entity called Koctagon LLC occurred on March 8 for an apartment at Trump Parc East, an 79-unit building next to the south end of Central Park. A limited liability company, or LLC, is typically used to protect the identity of the buyer.
Get the details

Real Estate Trends

A hotel in Long Island City will be converted into a ‘short stay’ co-living spot

Via The Collective

March 20, 2019

A hotel in Long Island City will be converted into a ‘short stay’ co-living spot

By Devin Gannon

London-based communal living company The Collective has purchased a hotel in Long Island City with plans to convert the building into a space for co-living. The Paper Factory Hotel, located at 37-06 36th Street near the Astoria border, will be transformed into a space for "short-stay" co-living, which the company says will give members more flexibility in the length of their stay. The first phase of the conversion adds cultural and educational space to the building's ground floor; the second phase adds 100 more bedrooms to the hotel's existing 125 rooms.
More this way

Real Estate Trends

Jersey City wants to open a High Line-style park

Sketch by Richard La Rovere courtesy of the Journal Square Community Association

March 19, 2019

Jersey City wants to open a High Line-style park

By Devin Gannon

A Jersey City community association wants to turn an abandoned rail cut into a 17-acre High Line-style park. The Journal Square Community Association is proposing turning what used to be the Erie Railroad's four-track cut through the Palisades into a public park. Better known as the Bergen Arches, the historic rail-cut borders Journal Square and opened in 1910, but has not been in use since the late 1950s. Since then, the Bergen Arches has become an overgrown wooded area in the expanding Journal Square neighborhood.
Details this way

Architecture And Design

IKEA’s Upper East Side location opens on April 15

Rendering via IKEA

March 19, 2019

IKEA’s Upper East Side location opens on April 15

By Devin Gannon

IKEA is finally coming to Manhattan next month. The Swedish furniture store announced Tuesday it will open a new Upper East Side location on April 15. Located at 999 Third Avenue, the IKEA Planning Studio will be delivery-only, with solutions tailored for city living and small spaces. "We conducted extensive research about city living, and we believe New Yorkers will see their needs reflected this new concept," Leontyne Greene Sykes, the CEO of IKEA Retail, said. The Planning Studio is the first of its kind in the United States.
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Uncategorized

113 chances to live beachfront in Far Rockaway, from $331/month

Courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

March 18, 2019

113 chances to live beachfront in Far Rockaway, from $331/month

By Devin Gannon

A lottery launched this week for 113 mixed-income apartments in Edgemere, a beach-front neighborhood just outside of Far Rockaway in Queens. Designed by Curtis + Ginsburg, the eight-story building meets passive house certification by utilizing a geo-thermal cooling and heating system with a resilient, flood-proof design. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply for the available units at 45-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, which range from a $331/month studio to a $1,910/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

PHOTOS: See inside Hudson Yards’ climbable ‘Vessel’

March 18, 2019

PHOTOS: See inside Hudson Yards’ climbable ‘Vessel’

By Devin Gannon

The long-awaited Hudson Yards development opened on Friday and with it, the centerpiece of the 28-acre project: a 150-foot-tall climbable public art piece, known as "Vessel." Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the impressive bronzed steel-and-concrete structure offers visitors a one-mile vertical climbing experience through 154 interconnected flights of stairs and 2,500 individual steps. On Friday, 6sqft joined the first group of people to ever climb the honeycomb-shaped sculpture. Ahead, get up close to the intricately-designed Vessel and learn how to reserve tickets to climb it.
See inside the sculpture

Proposed 40-story tower in Downtown Brooklyn gets City Council approval

Rendering of 570 Fulton Street via Slate Property Group

March 15, 2019

Proposed 40-story tower in Downtown Brooklyn gets City Council approval

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council this week voted to approve a proposed 40-story building in Downtown Brooklyn, adding to the slew of new high-rises coming to the historically low-slung neighborhood. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the council voted to approve zoning measures that permit Slate Property Group to build at 570 Fulton Street. With council approval, the 200,000-square-foot mixed-use building will move on to Mayor Bill de Blasio's desk next, despite concerns from the local community board.
More here

Architecture And Design

De Blasio unveils $10B plan to flood-proof Lower Manhattan by extending shoreline into the East River

Via Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office

March 14, 2019

De Blasio unveils $10B plan to flood-proof Lower Manhattan by extending shoreline into the East River

By Devin Gannon

Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled on Thursday a $10 billion plan to extend the coastline of Lower Manhattan as much as 500 feet to protect from future floods. The Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency project is the result of a study that looked at ways to build resilience in low-lying neighborhoods like the Financial District and South Street Seaport. The study found the only feasible measure for these areas would be extending the shoreline about two city blocks into the East River by adding a new piece of land at or above 20 feet from current sea level.
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