Events & Things To Do

5Pointz before being demolished via Garrett Ziegler/Flickr

January 13, 2015

5Pointz Artists Petition Against Developer Using Iconic Name for New Residential Towers

Back in November we first got wind of G&M Realty's plan to trademark the 5Pointz name and use it for their new residential towers at the site; now artists connected to the Long Island City graffiti mecca are fighting back. Father-son developers Jerry and David Wolkoff had their trademark application denied twice, most recently on January 6th, for being too similar to a California real estate company. Before their third go, artist Jonathan Cohen (aka MeresOne), who ran 5Pointz for ten years, has started an online campaign advocating to protect the storied name. So far the petition has 2,050 signatures, with a goal of 3,000.
More details on the 5Pointz feud

January 12, 2015

EVENT: Is the Vanderbilt Corridor the Future of East Midtown?

By Dana Schulz

The proposed East Midtown Rezoning has been a hotly debated issue over the past few years. First introduced by Mayor Bloomberg, and backed by Mayor de Blasio, the rezoning would allow developers to build larger and taller than the current Grand Central Terminal district zoning allows in exchange for financial contributions to the area's infrastructure needs. The Department of City Planning feels the rezoning would ensure that the area maintains its spot as a global business center, but others think it would forever ruin the historic nature of the neighborhood. One of the most major components of the project is One Vanderbilt, a 68-story, 1,514-foot zigzag tower that will stand adjacent to Grand Central. Along with the building comes a reconfiguration of the Vanderbilt Corridor, the streetscape around the Terminal. A panel discussion at the Museum of the City of New York on January 20th will examine both the tower and the corridor and what they mean for Midtown East.
More about the event here

January 12, 2015

New Public Art Piece Will Have All of Times Square Yawning at Once

By Dana Schulz

And not out of boredom. Sebastian Errazuriz has created a new public art piece for Times Square that is the antithesis of the high-energy, fast-paced neighborhood. It's a close-up, black-and-white, three-minute video of the artist looking around and yawning that plays on 50 digital billboards throughout Times Square, which triggers a domino effect of sleepy, open mouthed gaping, since we all know yawns are contagious. Errazuriz's idea was to instill "a pause in the city that never goes to sleep," which informs the title of the work. The yawn-athon takes place every night through January 17th at 11:47pm from 42nd to 47th Streets between Broadway and 7th Avenue.
More (yawn) details ahead

Events & Things To Do

Image by Lauren Manning

December 25, 2014

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE 6SQFT TEAM!

By 6sqft

The 6sqft team wishes you a joyous holiday with plenty of food, fun, family and friends!

Events & Things To Do

Manhattan Bed and Breakfasts Are Forced to Close in the Wake of the Airbnb Battle

Image of a B&B Mike Miley via photopin cc

December 24, 2014

Manhattan Bed and Breakfasts Are Forced to Close in the Wake of the Airbnb Battle

By Dana Schulz

We've already taken a close look at how controversial room-sharing startup Airbnb is accused of depleting the already-scarce affordable housing stock in the city, but a new type of fallout is also underway. Thanks to legislation enforced in 2011 that sought to eliminate short-term rentals and illegal hotels in residential or SRO buildings, many legal bed and breakfast owners are being forced to shut their doors.
Read about the issue here

December 24, 2014

Skating Through Time: A Look Back at NYC’s Ice Rinks

By Dana Schulz

One of the most festive holiday activities doesn't end at New Year's, but rather lasts through the winter. Ice skating in NYC is a hot activity, with lines easily wrapping around the block at the Bryant Park Winter Village and Rockefeller Center's ice rink. But this isn't a new trend. Ice skating has long been a popular social pastime for New Yorkers, whether on a frozen pond in Central Park or at the Biltmore Ice Garden at the Biltmore Hotel. Plenty of historic photographs exist, documenting the transformation of the New York ice skater; so we've put together a timeline of this winter activity.
All the photos ahead

Check Out the NYC Holiday Window Displays with Google Maps

One of the holiday windows at Saks, via Google Maps

December 23, 2014

Check Out the NYC Holiday Window Displays with Google Maps

By Dana Schulz

We're starting to think Google wants us to never leave our apartments again. Not only can we tour the elite Gramercy Park without a key and explore NYC in 3D, but now we can even check out the department store holiday window displays with Google Maps, welcome news for those of us who want to get in the holiday spirit without battling the crowds. The Observer reports that the feature is available in London and New York, the latter showcasing those windows at Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, and Bloomingdale's. It's part of Google Maps' new Business View feature, which makes it possible to virtually go inside businesses and provides special offerings like a 360-degree tour of the Colbert Report set.
Take a look at this year's holiday windows

December 19, 2014

New Yorker Spotlight: All Aboard the NY Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show with Karen Daubmann

By Susan Cohen

Every year, the New York Botanical Garden's Holiday Train Show gives visitors the chance to marvel at iconic New York landmarks and model trains. Now in its 23rd year, the show features more than 20 locomotives traveling on almost a quarter mile of tracks, which are laid out amongst the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Radio City Music Hall, and more than 150 other replicas made from bark, pine cones, pistachio shells, and other plant materials. Like any train, the Holiday Train Show requires a team of conductors to guide it, and Karen Daubmann is on board as the Associate Vice President of Exhibitions and Public Engagement, responsible for overseeing a wide range of current and future exhibitions. For this show, Karen works closely with Applied Imagination, the visionaries and builders behind these structures, to ensure the show runs smoothly and on time. We recently visited the show and spoke with Karen--standing near the Brooklyn Bridge and Yankee Stadium--to learn more about this annual production.
Read our full interview here

December 19, 2014

Hilarious Architecture-Inspired Holiday Cards to Hand Out This Season

By Diane Pham

Giving and getting holiday cards is always fun, but every so often you'll receive one that really gets you giggling. This year, be the person handing off clever cards to your friends and family. ArchDaily has just announced their 2014 Holiday Card Contest winners, and for all of you design-minded folks and architecture nerds, they've got plenty of punny—and just downright cool—cards to choose from.
get the cards here

December 17, 2014

Can PS109 Affordable Artists’ Housing Slow the Gentrification of East Harlem?

By Dana Schulz

We all know the typical gentrification pattern–artists move in to a neighborhood and make it hip; they're followed by trendy coffee shops and cool vintage stores; rents rise; the artists move on to the next frontier. But what if the influx of artists to a neighborhood slowed gentrification? It sounds like an impossible premise, but it just might be taking shape in East Harlem. Fast Co. EXIST takes a look at El Barrio’s Artspace PS109, the project which has transformed an abandoned public school building in East Harlem into 89 units of affordable live/work housing for artists and their families and 10,000 square feet of complementary space for arts organizations. A whopping 53,000 creatives applied to live in the building, where studios will rent for as low as $494/month and two-bedroom units will go for $1,022/month. But isn't Artspace’s goal to break the gentrification cycle—"to preserve the cultural fabric of a small corner of Manhattan that’s starting to change quickly" by preserving its affordable housing?
Read more ahead

1100 Architect Transforms a Boring Midtown Loft into Their Client’s Pop Art Dream Home

By Rebecca Paul

This home, which was previously your average-fair Midtown penthouse, was transformed by 1100 Architect to represent the playful and vibrant Pop art sensibility of the artists their clients admire most. With an art collection boasting names like Warhol, Riley, Lichtenstein and others, this penthouse renovation could be a mini-MoMA. The interior furnishings reflect the Pop style's infamous geometric forms and hard-polished surfaces like marble agglomerate floors, lacquer, stainless steel, glass, and plastic.
Tour this bright pad here

December 17, 2014

6sqft Gift Guide: A Minimal, Politically Correct Nativity Set by Émilie Voirin

By Dana Schulz

If Jesus is your homeboy, you can share a bit of religious flair this holiday season without offending any Christian on your list. The Minimal Nativity Set is a contemporary take on the bible-based scene, employing beech wood or brass blocks inscribed with each scene member's name (Donkey, Joseph, Baby Jesus, etc.) to stand in for the traditional figurines. Created by French artist and designer Émilie Voirin, the blocks still represent the story and take place around the crib, but the characters have no skin color or features, leaving it up to people's imagination and personal beliefs.
More on the Minimal Nativity Set

December 16, 2014

Ways You Can Give Gifts and Volunteer in NYC This Holiday Season

By Rebecca Paul

The holiday season is synonymous with gift-giving and sharing with others who may be less fortunate than you. This act of kindness can take on many forms; one might volunteer to serve hot food in a soup kitchen, another might donate warm clothing or kids' toys. Whatever your preferred mode of giving, there are ample opportunities in and around the city to share your holiday spirit with others. We've searched around and put together this list of the standard holiday do-gooding plus some other opportunities that could be considered a little more out-of-the-box.
Ways to give back here

December 16, 2014

Times Square Is Getting a Heart-Beating Urban Drum for Valentine’s Day

By Dana Schulz

As New Yorkers, we don't really think of Times Square as a romantic location, but for Valentine's Day 2015 we might just stand corrected. Brooklyn-based architecture firm Stereotank was announced as the winner of the annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design contest, a public art competition held for the past seven years by the Times Square Alliance and the Architectural League of New York. Stereotank's HEARTBEAT installation is an interactive, heart-beating, glowing urban drum.
More on HEARTBEAT ahead

December 15, 2014

EVENT: Here’s Your Chance to Check Out Billionaire Peter Brant’s Converted Con Ed Station

By Diane Pham

Now's your chance to get a look into one of the city's coolest spaces. EV Grieve tells us that from now through Sunday, the curious yellow brick building located at 421 East 6th Street will open its doors to the public for its first art show featuring Dan Colen. The former Con Ed substation was recently purchased for $27 million by billionaire Peter Brant from the estate of the late Walter de Maria, the famed sculptor who converted the 16,402-square-foot structure into an incredible home and studio back in the '80s. The event is sure to delight, if not for the artist's work (which ARTnews dubs "deeply mediocre"), then at least for the chance to get a first glimpse into the extraordinary space. Nondescript and gritty on the outside, the building’s cavernous interior spaces boast ceilings as high as 32 feet, and plenty of the near-century-old substation's original details remain intact.
Find out more here

December 12, 2014

New Yorker Spotlight: Tony Muia Brings Us a Slice of NYC’s Largest Holiday Light Display in Dyker Heights

By Susan Cohen

Each December, New York transforms itself into a metropolitan holiday wonderland. From window displays to the Rockefeller Center tree to the Rockettes, the city is brimming with cheer. But there's one thing missing. Aside from the occasional decorated townhouse, New York lacks the light displays and decked-out front yards that are typically associated with the suburbs. But there is one place where New Yorkers can get their fill of small-town nostalgia, and it's just a quick trip away in Dyker Heights thanks to Tony Muia's bus tour of the "undisputed capital of Christmas pageantry." Inspired by the hospitality he experienced traveling abroad, Tony started giving guided pizza tours of Brooklyn in 2005. He later expanded A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours to include neighborhood tours and his famous Christmas Lights & Cannoli Tour, which was featured in a PBS documentary and on TLC. We recently spoke with Tony, the ultimate Brooklynite, about his passion for the borough, A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours, and the magic of Dyker Heights.
Read our full interview with Tony

December 11, 2014

Family Fun: Where to Find the Best Winter Wonderlands and Santa-Centric Events in NY

By Michelle Cohen

Anyone with kids knows that there’s no such thing as too much when it comes to the sensory wonders of the holiday season. We've rounded up some Santa-centric events—from lap-climbing photo-ops to full-on wonderland to brunch with the holiday's most famous man—that aim to satisfy endless appetites for holiday cheer. We've even got a couple for your pets!
This way to the North Pole...

December 10, 2014

POLL: Are You Going to See the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree This Year?

By Dana Schulz

Yesterday, we rounded up the massive Christmas trees around the city for those of you looking for an alternative to Rockefeller Center. But we’re sure this isn’t going to stop a lot of die-hard holiday revelers from heading over to midtown and gawking at the world’s most famous Christmas tree. So, we want to know what your plans are. […]

Events & Things To Do

December 10, 2014

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum Reopens This Week After a Three-Year High-Tech Renovation

By Dana Schulz

It's been three years since the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum was first cloaked in scaffolding, but the $91 million, LEED-certified renovation has finally come to a close. The museum, located in Andrew Carnegie's former Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue, is set to reopen this Friday, December 12th. It now boasts 60% more exhibition space and a slew of new high-tech interactive features including downloadable 3D designs, multi-touch surfaces as large as pool tables and an interactive projection that allows guests to view 500 digital images of wallpaper right on the gallery walls.
More details on the revamped museum

O Christmas Tree: Where to See the Biggest Evergreens Around the City

New York Stock Exchange Christmas tree via Mille Fiori Favoriti

December 9, 2014

O Christmas Tree: Where to See the Biggest Evergreens Around the City

By Dana Schulz

Last week, we took a look back at the history of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to mark the annual lighting celebration. Though this is probably the most famous Christmas tree in the world, many of us jaded New Yorkers would rather not deal with the crowds and traffic jams that come with visiting Rock Center. So as an equally festive alternative, we've rounded up some of the other huge trees illuminating the city this holiday season.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

December 8, 2014

Nobutaka Ashihara-Designed Hotel Coming to the Garment District

By Ondel Hylton

A 22-story limited-service hotel is gearing up to rise in Midtown at 4-6 West 37th Street. According to new building permits filed this past weekend, a 120-key 60,000 square-foot development will go up at the 4,200 square-foot lot situated between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Two charming six-story buildings, erected in 1920, will be be demolished for the 210-foot tall project designed by notable hotel designer Nobutaka Ashihara Architects. The firm recently opened the city's tallest hotel, the Marriott Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Central Park at 1717 Broadway.
FInd out more here

14 Hip Holiday Markets and Indie Pop-Up Shops in NYC

Capsule Market Square.

December 5, 2014

14 Hip Holiday Markets and Indie Pop-Up Shops in NYC

By Michelle Cohen

As December dawns, the holiday gift markets roll in, and it’s harder than ever to turn around in NYC without encountering a pop-up shop or makeshift mall offering everything anyone could ever want–whether they know it yet or not–for the body, mind, soul and home. We've assembled a list of smaller, cooler pop-ups and holiday markets that mix music, food and fun freebies like haircuts, goodie bags and beer with this year’s selection of clever, crafty gifts.
Find out where to get the goods, this way

December 4, 2014

Holiday Sparkle: Holiday Tree Alternatives with Modern Design Oopmh

By Michelle Cohen

If your ideas for decking the halls lean more toward Knoll, Eames and Adelman than red, gold and pine, you'll be happy to see that these non-traditional trees embody the winter holiday spirit with modern style. See what we've rounded up for you ahead!
More modern tree ideas this way

Andy Warhol Museum Coming to the Controversial Essex Crossing Development on the Bowery

The Andy Warhol Museum via nooccar via photopin cc.

December 3, 2014

Andy Warhol Museum Coming to the Controversial Essex Crossing Development on the Bowery

By Dana Schulz

Since 1994, the 88,000-square-foot Andy Warhol Museum has been one of Pittsburgh's main attractions, the largest museum in the country dedicated to a single artist. And though Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, he spent most of his formative years in New York City, a fact that has sparked plans for a satellite museum on the Bowery. In Miami for Art Basel, museum director Eric Shiner told The Observer last night that the Lower East Side museum would be 10,000 square feet and part of the controversial Essex Crossing development. Its anticipated opening is 2017.
More details here

Events & Things To Do

Brooklyn Artists Plan a Dance Party Funeral for Williamsburg

Funeral invitation via CHERYL

December 3, 2014

Brooklyn Artists Plan a Dance Party Funeral for Williamsburg

By Dana Schulz

We've all been talking and writing about the "death" of Williamsburg for years now, and every time a new neighborhood is compared to it (i.e. Quooklyn) we begin the debate anew. But now the Brooklyn-based artists' collective CHERYL is taking matters into their own hands, hosting a dance party funeral in memoriam of the hip 'hood that once was. As the Daily News states, they're "dancing on Williamsburg's grave." The cause of death? "The cancer of mass gentrification and the proliferation of the luxury condo."
READ MORE