City Living

Brooklyn's hipsterization is pretty much widely accepted as fact at this point, but still not a day goes by without some article, essay or artwork pointing to how the neighborhood has lost its authenticity. The latest photo series to emerge documenting the substitution of the borough's street cred for artisinal goods and overpriced organic cocktails is Kristy Chatelain's "Brooklyn Changing." Though Chatelain isn't quite what you'd call a longtime New Yorker—she moved to Greenpoint from New Orleans in 2006—unlike the rants of her fellow new-era Brooklynites who bemoan how different things are since they moved in, her series comes off as a thoughtful study in just how quickly things changed in North Brooklyn over just five years.
More photos here

New Yorker Spotlight: Ira Block Photographs World Treasures for National Geographic

Ira with a camel and a local in the desert of Morocco, © Connor Dugan

September 4, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Ira Block Photographs World Treasures for National Geographic

When Ira Block leaves his New York City apartment for work, he might find himself on the way to Bhutan or Mongolia. As a photojournalist who has covered more than 30 stories for National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Traveler, Ira travels the world photographing some of its greatest marvels. He's captured everything from far-off landscapes to people and animals to discoveries made at archaeology sites. In between trips to Asia, Ira spends time photographing baseball in Cuba. The project has afforded him the opportunity to catch the country on the cusp of change. His first images showing Cuba's passion for the sport, mixed in with its beautiful but complex landscape, are on display at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers. We recently spoke with Ira about traveling the globe for work and how his career and passion have shaped his relationship with New York.
Our interview with Ira right this way

September 3, 2015

Here’s How Many Calories You’ll Burn if You Walk, Jog, or Cycle Instead of Taking the Subway

Looking to shed a few pounds after all the summer cookouts and outdoor happy hours? Perhaps you should consider ditching the old Metrocard and traveling by foot or bicycle instead. To put into perspective just how fit this will get you, the folks over at Treated have calculated how many calories you'll burn by walking, jogging, and cycling between subway stops. As Curbed notes, the analysis provides calorie info for every single subway stop and also charts the longest stops, which unsurprisingly are mostly over bridges, and the shortest stops, mostly located in lower Manhattan.
See the full map and calorie charts here

September 3, 2015

VIDEO: What Ever Happened to This 1927 Parallel Parking Solution?

If you don't have the bucks to fork over for a parking garage, having a car in the city can be quite the debacle thanks to alternate side of the street parking, indecipherable street signs, and the wrath of the meter maid. There's also the challenge of physically getting into the parking spot, which usually requires several attempts at parallel parking. But this 1927 video shows a car with wheels that turn sideways, making urban parallel parking a no brainer.
Watch the video

September 1, 2015

Infographic: The Correlation Between Income and Access to NYC Public Transit

We already know that there are plenty of areas within the five boroughs that are underserved by public transportation, but a new visualization provides an interesting perspective on how this lack of service is related to income. The simple infographic by FiveThirtyEight shows how New Yorkers commute based on income and access to public transportation, revealing five broad categories that range from those with no good options at all to those who have their choice of Uber or public transportation.
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August 28, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Courtside at the Century-Old West Side Tennis Club With Roland Meier and Bob Ingersole

With the U.S. Open starting on Monday, tennis fever is once again sweeping across the city. Over the next two weeks, thousands of New Yorkers will hop on the 7 train or the Long Island Rail Road to watch the likes of Roger Federer and Serena Williams play in Flushing Meadows at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. However, prior to 1978, tennis players and fans found themselves playing and cheering at a different venue: The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. The West Side Tennis Club was the former home of the U.S. Open. Founded in 1892 in Manhattan, the club moved to Forest Hills in 1913, where it played host to many great moments in tennis history. Following the U.S. Open's relocation, The West Side Tennis Club faced a number of challenges and retreated from the spotlight. But after years under the radar, the club's president Roland Meier and tennis director Bob Ingersole are helping The West Side Tennis Club re-emerge as a major player on the tennis scene. We recently spoke with Roland and Bob to learn how history and modernity mix in Forest Hills.
Read our interview with the pair here

August 28, 2015

Want to Dine Al Fresco Tonight? This Interactive Map Shows All 1,357 Sidewalk Cafés in NYC

This time of year, who wants to eat inside? New Yorkers are constantly on the hunt for a great al fresco restaurant where they can snag a table and enjoy the warm weather and people watch. And with this handy new map from the city, picking a spot just got a whole lot easier. The interactive platform plots all 1,357 sidewalk cafés in the city, as well as how many outdoor tables and chairs are allowed, pending applications, license status, and health grades. But interestingly enough, the Department of Consumer Affairs didn't create the map to make life easier for foodies; they want to "boost transparency and reduce confusion surrounding the licensing process," according to Crain's.
Find out more

August 25, 2015

This $9 Device Can Save Drivers from the Much-Loathed Parking Ticket

After driving around for what seems like an eternity, you finally find a parking spot. You read all the signs, double check that there's no yellow curbs or fire hydrants nearby, feed the meter, and go on your merry way. A few hours later, you walk back up to your car and see that tiny orange rectangle (the infamous NYC parking ticket) taunting you from the windshield. If this sounds familiar, here's your chance to stop shelling out $65 for being one minute over your last quarter. AwareCar, a smartphone app and Bluetooth device, keeps drivers in check by reminding them where they parked, when the meter is expiring, and at what time they need to leave to head back to their vehicle (h/t CityLab). And all this will only set you back $9.
Find out how this genius technology works

Are You Picking Up After Your Dog? Map Shows Neighborhoods With the Worst Offenders

Remember: Don't blame the dog, blame its lazy owner. On some NYC streets, navigating the crap that covers the sidewalks can be like running a gantlet. And as this map created by The Economist shows, there are definitely some neighborhoods that have it worse than others. Compiled from complaints submitted across all the boroughs, as seen above, the shittiest nabes of 2014 include Upper Manhattan on the east side, a good deal of the Bronx, Bed-Stuy and, unsurprisingly, Bushwick, where just last year neighborhood artists were glittering the deserted turds of their furry friends in gold.
find out more here

City Living

August 21, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: 100 GATES’s Natalie Raben on Beautifying the Dreary Metal Gates of the LES

Natalie Raben spends her days thinking about closing time, specifically the gates businesses roll down when they lock up for the night. For Natalie, these metal gates represent blank canvases waiting to tell stories. And over the last several months, she has been focusing on turning them into works of art as she oversees and manages the 100 GATES Project. Natalie spends much of her time connecting interested businesses with artists to support a collaboration that creates a sense of community each evening. With a mixture of well-known artists like Buff Monster and up-and-comers making their debut, these once-bland metallic gates are livening up the area, engaging residents visually as well as inspiring conversations around the works themselves. So far over 40 gates have been completed and more will be finished later this month. We recently spoke with Natalie to learn more about this unique project and how the neighborhood is responding to it.
Read our interview with Natalie here

August 21, 2015

Mayor de Blasio Proposes Ripping Out Times Square’s Pedestrian Plazas

There are a lot of nuisances to be found in Times Square, but apparently for Mayor de Blasio, none are as bothersome as the topless women and aggressive Elmos traipsing around the area's overly lit streets. As the NYDN reports, de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton have formed a special task force aimed at ridding the bustling tourist destination of its "jiggly panhandlers." And the solution at the top of their list is tearing up the pedestrian plazas and letting cars back in.
Find out more on the issue here, as well as alternative plans

August 18, 2015

VIDEO: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Rats Coming up Your Toilet

Warning: Explicit rat footage ahead. If you don't already live in fear of rats taking over your apartment, you will after this. A new video from National Geographic shows exactly how these rodents make their way up your toilet bowl, which is apparently quite a common city occurrence, according to Gothamist. Though we're used to seeing them scamper around near the garbage bins, rats are pretty aquatically adept; they can tread water for three days and stay underwater without breathing for three minutes. Plus, their ribs are hinged at the spine, meaning they can fit through even the narrowest of pipes.
Watch the video here if you dare

City Living

August 14, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: BriAnne Wills, Creator of the Latest Internet Sensation ‘Girls and Their Cats’

Cats are certainly having their moment. From memes to museum exhibits to full-page articles in major publications, felines are everywhere these days. And for the women who love their cats, there's a chance to join in on the fun thanks to fashion photographer BriAnne Wills. Earlier this year, BriAnne founded Girls and Their Cats, a photography series capturing the intimate bond between New York women and their kitty companions. She initially launched her work on a Tumblr page, expecting it to be a quick project before she got back to the fashion world. Instead, cat lovers found BriAnne, and she now has almost 4,000 followers on Girls and Their Cats' Instagram account. She is currently expanding the series to accommodate the growing community of like-minded women relishing their fondness for felines. We recently chatted with BriAnne about how her small project is quickly becoming a big one and why women and their cats are in the spotlight.
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August 13, 2015

Study Says: The 4 Train Is the Worst Performing, the L Train the Best

The L train may be painfully packed during rush hour, but at least it can tout the title of being the best performing of all of NYC's subway lines—which appear only to be getting worse. The Journal reports that an audit recently conducted by the state comptroller’s office revealed that, on average, the subway system's on-time performance (how frequently a train reaches its last stop within five minutes of the scheduled time) is on the decline, falling to 74 percent on weekdays and 81 percent on weekends in 2014, from 81 percent and 85 percent in 2013. But the worst performing train of all? The 4 train.
More on the best and worst trains here

August 12, 2015

Map Lets Users Draw Where They Think Their Neighborhood Borders Are

Back in the day, there was no East Village; it was all the Lower East Side. The Upper West Side was one big neighborhood; there weren't subdivisions like Broadway Corridor or Riverside. Brokers didn't invent acronyms like NoMad and DoBro. As time goes on, areas in New York City seem to multiply, but this really all depends on who you're talking to. Since the city has no actual neighborhood boundaries (they divide the city by much larger community districts), everyone has their own idea of where one neighborhood ends and the other begins. And a new interactive map from DNAinfo allows New Yorkers to draw what they think their neighborhood borders are and see how their approximations compare to others.'
See how we did at our first attempt

City Living

August 11, 2015

New Census Fact Finder Sheds Surprising Light on Neighborhood Demographics

Think you live in a hipster 'hood? Constantly complaining about the stroller parades down your block? While you may think you have your neighbors pinpointed, a quick look at the hard facts may surprise you. Last week, the Department of City Planning revealed its updated Census Fact Finder, an interactive application that uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau's annual American Community Survey to provide highly detailed neighborhood profiles. Take for example the Lower East Side, often thought of as a playground for well-off post-grads. As The Lo-Down noted, 47 percent of the neighborhood's population is unemployed, only 34 percent have a college degree, and 35 percent pay less than $500/month in rent.
More findings right here

City Living

August 7, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Lori Pailet of Aquaskills on Teaching Water-Fearing Adults to Swim

Like many who work in the Financial District, Lori Pailet heads to work before the sun is up. But instead of jumping into an early meeting at an investment bank or law office, Lori meets her clients poolside for a morning dip. As the owner and director of Aquaskills, she spends her days helping New Yorkers reach their aquatic potential. A former artist and designer, Lori has been sharing her passion for swimming since Aquaskills was founded in the early 2000s. She is driven by a desire to help individuals engage safely and happily with the water. Through her hard work and determination, the school has become a go-to for all walks of life looking to learn to swim for the first time, or refine their technique. Along with a team of trained instructors, Lori offers a wide range of classes and lessons depending on skill level, but specializes in adults who either have aquaphobia or who never even learned to dog paddle. Lori was even featured in a NY Times piece last summer about aquaphobia, the story following drummer Attis Clopton as he overcame his fear of water. We spoke with Lori to find out more on her own journey into the pool, and how she approaches those learning to swim for the first time.
Read our interview with Lori here

August 6, 2015

Map of ‘Subway Deserts’ Shows Outer Boroughs Left High and Dry

By Michelle Cohen

Though we may already know there are places in NYC that we can't easily get to, transit data junkie Chris Whong lays it all out on a map that points out the city's lesser-served regions, at least by underground means. The interactive map shows all NYC land areas more than 500 meters (about .3 miles) from one of the city’s 468 subway stations–that’s about two avenue blocks or six or seven shorter street blocks (around a seven-minute walk) according to Google maps. A big blue dot blots out this radius surrounding the station; everything outside the dot, well, you’re hoofing it (or taking a bus, car or rickshaw).
Find out more

August 5, 2015

POLL: Do You Still Shop at Your Local Bodega?

Yesterday we asked the question, “Are the city’s bodegas becoming a thing of the past?” As we noted, “many of these tiny shops have been scrambling to stay in business. The city’s roughly 12,000 bodegas are losing customers.” According to the Times, 75 have already shuttered this year. Typically, we pin this on rising rents […]

City Living

August 4, 2015

Are the City’s Bodegas Becoming a Thing of the Past?

By Michelle Cohen

The Times highlights the plight of the city's iconic local bodegas, tiny grocery-slash-beer-slash-whatever-the-local-patrons-need shops that have long been a colorful cornerstone of everyday life in the city's neighborhoods. Photographer Gail Victoria Braddock Quagliata even spent nine months pounding the pavements of Manhattan in a quest to photograph every single one of its bodegas. But many of these tiny shops have been scrambling to stay in business. The city's roughly 12,000 bodegas are losing customers. About 75 have closed this year according to the Times, many in uptown neighborhoods like Inwood, Washington Heights and Harlem. Though that proportion is small, many shop owners are concerned.
Read more on the plight of local bodegas

City Living

New Yorker Spotlight: Author Julia Pierpont on Her Debut Novel and Coming of Age in NYC

Photo of Julia Pierpont via Shiva Rouhani

July 31, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Author Julia Pierpont on Her Debut Novel and Coming of Age in NYC