All articles by Devin Gannon

Thousands sign online petition to rename stretch of Fifth Ave in front of Trump Tower after Obama

Via Flickr

December 31, 2018

Thousands sign online petition to rename stretch of Fifth Ave in front of Trump Tower after Obama

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Over 3,800 people have signed a petition to rename the block in front of Trump Tower after President Barack Obama. Without specifically mentioning the Midtown building developed by President Donald Trump, the MoveOn.org appeal requests the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio rename the part of Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th Street "President Barack H. Obama Avenue."
Get the details
City Council votes to name NYC streets after Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, and Woodie Guthrie

Via Flickr

December 27, 2018

City Council votes to name NYC streets after Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, and Woodie Guthrie

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The New York City Council last week unanimously voted to co-name streets in honor of three NYC music icons, Notorious B.I.G., the Wu-Tang Clan, and folk singer Woody Guthrie, Gothamist reported. If the bills are signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, the block in Brooklyn where B.I.G. grew up will be called Christopher Wallace Way, after the rapper's birth name, Staten Island's Vanderbilt Avenue and Targee Street will be known as the Wu-Tang Clan District, and Woodie Guthrie Way will be found on Mermaid Avenue, marking where the singer lived in Coney Island.
More here
Statue of Liberty will stay open during government shutdown

Photo via NPS

December 24, 2018

Statue of Liberty will stay open during government shutdown

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The third partial federal government shutdown of 2018 kicked off this weekend after Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill. As with the first two that occurred earlier this year, the government shutdown can affect New York City by temporarily closing its national parks and some of its federally-funded museums, leaving thousands of federal workers in the city without pay. But one major landmark will remain open throughout the duration of the shutdown. With help from the state, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will stay open during the shutdown, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday.
More on the shutdown
What are the chances of a White Christmas in NYC this year?

Photo via Marianne O’Leary on Flickr

December 19, 2018

What are the chances of a White Christmas in NYC this year?

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The chance of getting a White Christmas in New York City this year is sadly unlikely, but not impossible. The team behind the Omni Calculator Project created an online tool that provides the probability of snowfall in major cities across the United States as well as the closest White Christmas--meaning at least one inch of snowfall on Dec. 25--near that city. While the White Christmas Calculator says NYC has a roughly 12 percent chance of seeing snow next Tuesday, there are four nearby cities with a nearly 50 percent chance of enjoying some flurries.
Dreaming of a White Christmas?
MTA to close two Washington Heights subway stations for one year

Via Wikipedia

December 18, 2018

MTA to close two Washington Heights subway stations for one year

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Two subway stations in Manhattan will close for one year each starting next month, although not at the same time, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Tuesday. The long-term closures are the result of major elevator replacement projects planned for five stations, including 168th, both 181st, 191st, and 190th Street 1/A stations in Washington Heights. According to the MTA, three of the stations are more than a century old, with most of the elevator components close to 100 years old.
Details here
Ride back in time on vintage NYC trains and buses this holiday season

Via Victoria Pickering on Flickr

December 18, 2018

Ride back in time on vintage NYC trains and buses this holiday season

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Feeling whimsical? Holiday Nostalgia rides are back this season, with vintage train cars and buses replacing regular service through New Year's. The New York Transit Museum invites New Yorkers and visitors alike to celebrate the magic of the city during the holidays with train rides that run along the F line from 6th Avenue to 47th-50th-Rockefeller Center, with stops at stations like Columbus Circle and 125th Street, all spots known for being major holiday shopping centers.
Roll this way
Nitehawk Cinema will open in Park Slope this week with 7 theaters and bar with Prospect Park views
December 17, 2018

Nitehawk Cinema will open in Park Slope this week with 7 theaters and bar with Prospect Park views

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The Nitehawk Cinema will open a second location of its popular theater in Brooklyn this week after two years of renovation work. The theater will open on Wednesday in Park Slope at a refurbished Pavilion Theater, an iconic cinema that was built in 1928 and shuttered in 2016. Dubbed Nitehawk Prospect Park, the 34,000-square-foot facility includes seven theaters and a second-floor cocktail bar that overlooks Prospect Park.
More this way
Google to invest $1B in Hudson Square campus, doubling its workforce
December 17, 2018

Google to invest $1B in Hudson Square campus, doubling its workforce

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Google will invest $1 billion to open 1.7 million square feet of office space in Hudson Square, the company announced on Monday. The new campus includes property at 315 and 345 Hudson Street and will also be centered around 550 Washington Street, the former freight terminal, St. John's Terminal. With this expansion from its Chelsea offices at 111 Eighth Avenue, Google said its workforce will double over the next 10 years, adding another 7,000 New York-based staff members.
Find out more
This New Yorker wants you to take advantage of your ‘right’ to free admission at NYC museums

Via Wikimedia

December 14, 2018

This New Yorker wants you to take advantage of your ‘right’ to free admission at NYC museums

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art and 12 other New York City institutions should be free of charge for New York residents, claims one local resident. New Yorker Pat Nicholson this week launched a website aimed at educating the city about the "right" to free admission to museums like the Met and others, as Metro reported. According to Nicholson, a 19th-century law states the Met should offer free admission five days a week in exchange for a rent-free lease on city property.
Find out more
Cuomo tours damaged L train tunnel four months before shutdown
December 14, 2018

Cuomo tours damaged L train tunnel four months before shutdown

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While the plan to shut down the L train for over a year to perform necessary repairs in the East River tunnel it runs through has been in the works for years, Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided this week to see the damage for himself, four months ahead of the looming closure. During a midnight tour of the Canarsie Tunnel on Friday, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn, Cuomo said he saw "a very old tunnel that needed a lot of work," the New York Post reported. The governor toured the tunnel with two engineering experts from Cornell and Columbia Universities to get a first-hand look and determine whether a 15 month-shutdown is the best-case scenario for commuters.
Too little, too late?
Starbucks is opening a massive ‘immersive coffee experience’ with a cocktail bar in Chelsea

Photo by Matt Glac for Starbucks

December 13, 2018

Starbucks is opening a massive ‘immersive coffee experience’ with a cocktail bar in Chelsea

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Starbucks is opening a new cafe in Chelsea on Friday, but it won't be anything like the stores that dot every block in Manhattan. Called the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, the store on 9th Avenue stretches across 23,00 square feet and three levels and promises to bring an "immersive coffee experience" for java lovers. In addition to having a working coffee roastery, the space features two coffee bars, cocktail bar, bakery, and a terrarium inspired by the Starbucks coffee farm in Costa Rica.
Take a look inside
‘I ♥ NY’ designer Milton Glaser not thrilled with Amazon rip-off

Via NYCEDC and Wiki Commons

December 13, 2018

‘I ♥ NY’ designer Milton Glaser not thrilled with Amazon rip-off

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This week the city's Economic Development Corporation released documents of its detailed pitch to lure Amazon to move to the city, which included offering up prime real estate in four different New York City neighborhoods and nearly $3 billion in incentives. Another thing city and state officials pitched to the tech company, which chose Long Island City last month for its HQ2 complex, is the state's famous "I love NY" logo. In their pitch, city and state officials swapped the iconic logo's heart out for Amazon's arrow-smile, which assumingly reads "I Amazon NY."
Glaser's thoughts ahead
NYC plans to sell $1B in NYCHA air rights to developers

Via Creative Commons

December 13, 2018

NYC plans to sell $1B in NYCHA air rights to developers

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The New York City Housing Authority will sell its unused air rights to developers for the first time ever, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday. The authority said it will transfer a portion of its 80 million square feet of air rights to generate $1 billion in capital repairs for nearby developments. The air rights announcement is one part of a 10-year plan the mayor unveiled, called NYCHA 2.0, which aims to resolve $24 billion in necessary repairs at public housing. In total, the agency needs nearly $32 billion over five years for necessary repairs.
Get the details
This tool maps thousands of plaques around the world, including hundreds near NYC
December 12, 2018

This tool maps thousands of plaques around the world, including hundreds near NYC

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While most New Yorkers know the city has been full of historical events and figures since its founding, it's sometimes hard to remember where all these significant milestones took place. An interactive map called "Read the Plaque" features 17,000 plaques found across the world, with over 100 in New York City alone. As part of the radio project 99% Invisible, Read the Plaque imports plaques from around the world, with each featuring locations, descriptions, and pictures.
Explore NYC's plaques
My 1,600sqft: Adam Elzer shares what it’s like to live above his own East Village pizzeria

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to restauranteur Adam Elzer’s East Village duplex. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

December 12, 2018

My 1,600sqft: Adam Elzer shares what it’s like to live above his own East Village pizzeria

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Adam Elzer likes being close to his work. So close in fact, that the fourth-generation New Yorker recently moved above Sauce Pizzeria, his new pizza parlor in the East Village, after previously living above Sauce Restaurant, his eatery on the Lower East Side. As the co-founder and CEO of Everyday Hospitality, Elzer, in addition to the two Sauce restaurants, also oversees LES Pizza and Coco & Cru, an Australian-inspired cafe. When he's not running his restaurants, Adam enjoys going to flea markets and mills, finding unique items and pieces of wood, upcycling them, and creating something totally new. His creativity can be seen throughout his East Village apartment, from the walls and ceilings Adam painted himself to the handmade wooden pieces, like his kitchen countertop. Ahead, tour Adam's colorful duplex, decorated with what he describes as "bohemian and rustic" decor.
See Adam's abode
How New York won Amazon: See the official proposals for each NYC neighborhood

A rendering of One Court Square, where Amazon will temporarily move in 2019; via NYCEDC

December 11, 2018

How New York won Amazon: See the official proposals for each NYC neighborhood

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City and state officials lured Amazon to open its new office complex in New York with an extensive pitch, complete with four suggested neighborhoods and the promise of prime real estate, according to documents released by the city's economic development corporation on Monday. In exchange for 25,000 new jobs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio are offering Amazon nearly $3 billion in incentives and grants. And while last month Amazon selected the Queens neighborhood of Long Island City as its new home, officials had proposed bringing Amazon's campus to the Farley Building, 3 World Trade Center, Brooklyn Height's Watchtower building, Bjarke Ingels' The Spiral, and even Governors Island.
See the full pitch
Scraps from ill-fated New York Wheel will go up for auction next month
December 10, 2018

Scraps from ill-fated New York Wheel will go up for auction next month

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The project to build the would-be world's tallest Ferris wheel in Staten Island was called off in October, after nearly a decade of delays and $450 million in investment. While the proposed 630-foot New York Wheel is officially dead, parts of the ill-fated attraction will go up for auction next month, the New York Post reported. Items up for sale include the wheel's legs, valued at $9.2 million, and drive towers, for $3.3 million.
Get your hands on the wheel
To reduce delays, MTA to increase subway speed limits at 100 locations

Via Wikimedia

December 10, 2018

To reduce delays, MTA to increase subway speed limits at 100 locations

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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority over the weekend doubled the speed limit on parts of two lines in Brooklyn, the N and R trains, from 15 miles per hour to as much as 30 miles per hour. These lines are the first of many the MTA will speed up, with transit officials planning to change the speed limits at 100 locations by the spring, the New York Times reported on Monday. The changes in speed limits are part of NYC Transit Chief Andy Byford's $40 billion plan to modernize the problem-plagued subway system and improve service. "This is all about getting the safe maximum out of the existing signaling system," Byford told the Times.
Get the details
New renderings of 1,100-unit Hunter’s Point South project in Long Island City

Rendering via Handel Architects

December 7, 2018

New renderings of 1,100-unit Hunter’s Point South project in Long Island City

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New renderings were released this week of the one million square foot development coming to the Long Island City's Hunter's Point South neighborhood. Designed by Handel Architects, the complex features two high-rise towers, retail, and community space. Notably, the project is expected to bring 1,100 new residential units, with 80 percent of them permanently affordable. The complex sits less than a mile from the planned office complex of Amazon, which chose the Queens neighborhood last month for its new home. As CityRealty reported, the two towers will rise 57 and 33 floors, with the taller of the two reaching 600 feet high, which would make it the tallest building on the waterfront.
See the LIC project
Photographer Betsy Pinover Schiff takes us on an illuminated tour of NYC during Christmastime

6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, NYC-based photographer Betsy Pinover Schiff shares photos from her new book, “‘Tis the Season New York.” Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected].

December 7, 2018

Photographer Betsy Pinover Schiff takes us on an illuminated tour of NYC during Christmastime

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Two years ago while attending for the first time the Winter’s Eve Festival, billed as the largest holiday festival in New York City, photographer Betsy Pinover Schiff had an ah-ha Christmas moment. If she, a native New Yorker, just recently learned about this huge annual celebration that draws thousands to Lincoln Square, what other Christmas celebrations was she missing? In a quest to find out, Betsy ended up taking hundreds of photos and attending hundreds of events across the city, all within a six-week period. Her curiosity grew to become the basis of her latest book, “‘Tis the Season New York," which was released this fall. Her book takes us on a tour of NYC during its most festive time of the year, from photos of the holiday windows at Saks Fifth Avenue to the elaborately decorated homes of Dyker Heights. Plus, 15 different New Yorkers, ranging from philanthropist Agnes Gund to Betsy's postman, provided their own NYC experiences for the book. Ahead, Betsy shares with 6sqft some of her sparkling photos and tells us how New York during Christmastime becomes a place for "fun, fantasy, and endless heartwarming moments."
See the spirited photos
40 NYC-themed gifts for every type of New Yorker
December 6, 2018

40 NYC-themed gifts for every type of New Yorker

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Whether you need just a few more items to check off your holiday shopping list or you haven’t even started thinking about it yet, follow our guide to make this year’s gift-giving totally stressfree. We’ve rounded up the 40 best presents that are uniquely New York for every type of Big Apple dweller, from the transit nerd and the foodie to the architecture buff and bookworm. Priced between $10 and $295, recommended gifts include everything from a cheese class with Murray's Cheese to a walking tour of Flushing, Queens.
See the full list
Poll shows a majority of New Yorkers approve of Amazon’s move to Queens

Rendering of Plaxall’s proposed (but not approved) mixed-use LIC project courtesy of WXY architecture + urban design

December 6, 2018

Poll shows a majority of New Yorkers approve of Amazon’s move to Queens

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A majority of New Yorkers approve of Amazon moving to Long Island City despite opposition from Queens activists and politicians, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. Fifty-seven percent of all respondents said they support the company's plan to build a waterfront office complex in Queens, with 26 percent disproving. And approval among Queens residents is even higher, with 60 percent supporting the deal. But the poll did find a more divided opinion about the potential $3 billion in public incentives and grants offered to Amazon by the city and state, with 46 percent approving of the subsidies and 44 percent disapproving.
More here
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