All articles by Devin Gannon

December 17, 2018

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

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

By Devin Gannon

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

Events & Things To Do

December 14, 2018

Cuomo tours damaged L train tunnel four months before shutdown

By Devin Gannon

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

By Devin Gannon

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

Food & Dining

Via NYCEDC and Wiki Commons

December 13, 2018

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

By Devin Gannon

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

By Devin Gannon

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

December 12, 2018

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

By Devin Gannon

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

History

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

By Devin Gannon

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

Home Tours

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

By Devin Gannon

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

Policy

Via Joe Schulz on Flickr

December 10, 2018

Time Warner Center will be renamed for Deutsche Bank

By Devin Gannon

Columbus Circle's Time Warner Center will be renamed the Deutsche Bank Center, Commercial Observer reported on Monday. The name change comes as the Deutsche Bank inked a deal for 1.1 million square feet at the complex. The 25-year lease gives the German bank all available office space at the building except on its 20th floor.
More here

Real Estate Trends

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

By Devin Gannon

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

Uncategorized

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

By Devin Gannon

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

Transit

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

By Devin Gannon

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

Real Estate Trends

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

By Devin Gannon

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

December 6, 2018

40 NYC-themed gifts for every type of New Yorker

By Devin Gannon

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

By Devin Gannon

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

Policy

December 6, 2018

Transforming LaGuardia’s Terminal B, by the numbers

By Devin Gannon

The first phase of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $8 billion overhaul of LaGuardia Aiport opened to the public this weekend, which includes a new concourse and 11 gates at Terminal B. Construction company Skanska on Wednesday released additional information about the project, detailing everything from its planned 1.3 million square footage to its use of 40,000 tons of steel. In total, the redevelopment of LGA's Terminal B will cost $5.1 billion and bring 35 new gates and two new concourses.
Get the facts

NYC sets $17 minimum wage for Lyft and Uber drivers

Via Wikimedia

December 5, 2018

NYC sets $17 minimum wage for Lyft and Uber drivers

By Devin Gannon

Roughly 80,000 for-hire vehicle drivers in New York City are expected to get a pay raise next year. The city's Taxi and Limousine Commission on Tuesday voted to secure a minimum wage for drivers with ride-hailing companies, including Uber, Lyft, Via, and Juno, making New York the first city in the world to do so. Going into effect in 30 days, the new rule mandates a minimum wage of $17.22 per hour, after expenses. That hourly rate is equivalent to the city's employee minimum wage of $15 per hour, which will be set at the end of this year.
More here

Queens senator wants to crack down on real estate ‘insider trading’ following Amazon deal

Via CityRealty

December 4, 2018

Queens senator wants to crack down on real estate ‘insider trading’ following Amazon deal

By Devin Gannon

State Sen. Michael Gianaris announced on Tuesday plans to draft legislation aimed at cracking down on insider dealing in real estate. The proposed law comes after a report in the Wall Street Journal found Amazon employees were buying condos in Long Island City before the company had publicly announced plans to build their second headquarters in the neighborhood. The legislation would prohibit anyone from using confidential government information to buy or sell real estate, according to Gianaris.
Find out more

Policy

MTA says 500,000 daily fare evaders are to blame for budget deficit

Image via WNYC

December 4, 2018

MTA says 500,000 daily fare evaders are to blame for budget deficit

By Devin Gannon

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday said it expects to lose roughly $215 million this year from fare evasion on the city's subways and buses. Nearly 500,000 people daily are not paying to ride, according to a study conducted by the MTA, contributing to the agency's already massive deficit. At a meeting to discuss the issue, NYC Transit President Andy Byford told reporters he intends to focus on both fixing services and stopping fare evasion, as the New York Times reported. "I think the most pressing priority for customers is that they want reliable regular service," Byford said. "But equally, I think New Yorkers would expect that everyone pay their way."
More here

Support refugees, immigrants, and local public schools at these NYC holiday markets

Via Choose Love

December 3, 2018

Support refugees, immigrants, and local public schools at these NYC holiday markets

By Devin Gannon

This holiday season, instead of buying more stuff you don't need, gift items that make a true difference in someone's life. In Soho, Choose Love sells gifts that go directly to refugees, like tents and diapers. The "Give Back" holiday market in Gowanus is back this year, offering a percentage of all proceeds to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). And Upper West Side standby and the biggest of its kind in NYC, the Grand Bazaar Holiday Market will donate 100 percent of its profits to four local public schools.
Learn ways to give here

Events & Things To Do

Nomad’s One Madison Avenue is getting an 18-floor addition designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox

Current view of 1 Madison Avenue via Flickr; Rendering of 1 Madison via SL Green Realty

December 3, 2018

Nomad’s One Madison Avenue is getting an 18-floor addition designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox

By Devin Gannon

The Nomad office tower that neighbors the Met Life Tower is getting a major makeover, SL Green announced Monday. The 13-story building at One Madison Avenue will undergo a redevelopment, including an addition designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and a modernization of the building's existing podium. The real estate company said it will reduce the building to its ninth floor and create 18 additional column-free floors above. A rendering released on Monday shows off the planned glassy addition, as well as wraparound and rooftop outdoor terraces that will measure over one acre.
Get the details

Architecture And Design

A monument honoring Shirley Chisholm will be built near Prospect Park

Chisholm announcing her candidacy in 1972; photo via the Library of Congress

November 30, 2018

A monument honoring Shirley Chisholm will be built near Prospect Park

By Devin Gannon

Chipping away at the lack of women represented among New York City statues, the city announced on Friday it is commissioning a permanent statue of Shirley Chisholm to be built in Brooklyn. Chisholm, who lived in Bed-Stuy, became in 1968 the first black woman to serve in the House of Representatives. The statue, expected to be completed in 2020, will be placed outside of the Parkside entrance to Prospect Park.
More on the new statue here

Via CityRealty

November 30, 2018

NYC Council to grill city leaders on Amazon deal

By Devin Gannon

Citing concerns about the closed-door deal that drove Amazon to choose Long Island City as home for its second headquarters, the New York City Council announced it will host three hearings to question both city leaders and company exeuctives. Council Speaker Corey Johnson said the first hearing will take place on Dec. 12 to look at how the deal happened, as the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. "One of the major perversions of this is that was all done behind closed doors, with nondisclosure agreements, and without the public or elected officials who weren't including feeling like they had any say," Johnson told the WSJ.
Get the details

Policy

November 29, 2018

Most expensive condo listing in Queens gets price cut despite Amazon announcement

By Devin Gannon

While real estate prices are expected to rise in Long Island City and the surrounding area due to Amazon's impending move to the neighborhood, one listing has lowered its price. The most expensive apartment in the borough of Queens, located at 46-30 Center Boulevard, is on the market again, the New York Post reported. The penthouse, which sits just north of the Pepsi-Cola sign, is asking $3.65 million, less than the $4.25 million it was listed for in 2017. Soon after Amazon announced their move to Long Island City, interest in the neighborhood surged. As 6sqft previously reported, searches for residential apartments in the neighborhood are up 281 percent compared to the daily averages prior to the Amazon news.
Take a tour

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