Photo © John Bartelstone courtesy of Mecanoo, Beyer Blinder Belle, New York Public Library

The New York Public Library this week opened a new central circulating library in Midtown following a major $200 million renovation project. Located at 455 Fifth Avenue, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) was built within the shell and steel frame of the existing building formerly known as the Mid-Manhattan Library. Designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo in collaboration with Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, the new 180,000 square foot library boasts a dramatic light-filled atrium and an incredible rooftop terrace, which is now the only free and publicly accessible rooftop in Midtown.

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Photos by Erickson Jaquez, Empire Optix for Sotheby’s International Realty

With a library, built-in bookshelves, and views that could cure writer’s block, this Sutton Place home is perfect for any aspiring novelist. It worked for the apartment’s former owner, the late author E.L. Doctorow, who penned The March, Homer & Langley, and Andrew’s Brain here. Located at 333 East 57th Street, the 3,000-square-foot co-op is now on the market for $2,100,000.

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All photos courtesy of Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Tishman Speyer

A massive bronze sculpture has been installed at Rockefeller Center as part of a new multi-part public art exhibition. Designed by Sanford Biggers, Oracle stands 25 feet tall at the foot of the Channel Gardens and is a continuation of the artist’s recent Chimera sculpture series. As the first campus-wide takeover by a solo artist at Rockefeller Center, the exhibition also includes a flag installation at the iconic flagpoles, small-scale sculptures, a virtual experience, and murals, in addition to the sculpture that weighs over 15,000 pounds.

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Photos: Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Macy’s

The 46th annual Macy’s Flower Show opened on Sunday, transforming the Herald Square store into a whimsical floral oasis. This year’s theme, Give. Love. Bloom., aims to inspire hope for New Yorkers after a tough year with grand gardens, flower displays, and larger-than-life butterflies taking over the store, the iconic windows, and even outside, at Herald Square Park.

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View from 33rd Street, a shared space for pedestrians

A dark and cramped Penn Station could soon be replaced with a light-filled transit hub with more space for commuters. Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled on Wednesday two possible options for the reconstruction of the Midtown train station as part of his broader Empire Station Complex project, which would unify an upgraded Penn Station and the new Moynihan Train Hall. The interconnected station would increase train capacity at the site, which is considered the busiest in the country. It could serve 830,000 daily passengers by 2038, up from 600,000 the station served each day before the pandemic.

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Renderings courtesy of Tribeca Investment Group

A 100-year-old property in Midtown South will be reimagined as a modern office building with courtyards and terraces, flexible workspace, and lots of greenery, amenities the owners hope will draw tenants back to in-person work post-pandemic. Tribeca Investment Group, PGIM Real Estate, and Meadows Partners announced this week plans for a $350 million redevelopment of 295 Fifth Avenue, also known as the Textile Building. The owners acquired a 99-year ground lease for the 17-story building in 2019 for $375 million.

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Photo by Krisztina Papp on Unsplash

Kicking off yesterday and running through June 20th, “Spring Up” is a new immersive dining and shopping experience in Bryant Park. Managed by food hall operator Urbanspace, the market will feature original art, antique collectibles, jewelry and cuisines from more than 40 local small businesses. And from June 9th through September 20th, the Bryant Park Corporation will present 25 free performances from local institutions including the New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, the Classical Theater of Harlem, and Paul Taylor Dance Company.

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British auction house Phillips is getting ready for its June move into the white, glassy cube base of supertall 432 Park Avenue. Designed by studioMDA’s Markus Dochantschi, the 35,000-square-foot concourse space at 56th Street will be the only Manhattan auction room visible from the street, breaking down “the classical typology of the ‘auction behind closed doors,'” according to a press release. It will have a grand auction room, exhibition galleries, viewing rooms, and a VIP mezzanine.

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Rendering by G3 Architecture Interiors Planning; Courtesy of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

A skybridge that leads to a landscaped rooftop park is coming to Radio City Music Hall. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved plans from G3 Architecture Interiors Planning and Tishman Speyer to construct a simple pedestrian bridge clad in statuary bronze that would connect the building at 1270 Avenue of the Americas to the planned roof garden atop the historic theater, which will be amenity space for Rockefeller Center tenants. Interconnected green terraces were part of the original architectural vision for the Rockefeller Center complex and this project, to be called Radio Park, will finally bring the plan to fruition.

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Photo by Paul Sableman via Flickr cc

What was once referred to as the Trump Tower “occupied zone” is back to being a normal stretch of Midtown. The barricades that surrounded the building for the past four+ years have finally been removed, both a logistical and perhaps symbolic end to the Trump presidency. In an email to Gothamist, NYPD Sergeant Edward Riley wrote, “In partnership with the United States Secret Service the decision was made to remove the barriers around Trump Tower.” As Patch recently reported, it’s cost $150 million over the years to secure the area surrounding the building.

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