Policy

Revised Museum of Natural History Expansion files with LPC, preserves more park land
September 9, 2016

Revised Museum of Natural History Expansion files with LPC, preserves more park land

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After first revealing its controversial $325 million expansion almost a year ago, the American Museum of Natural History has now filed plans with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to move ahead with the Jeanne Gang-designed project. Though, as the Wall Street Journal reports, there's been some changes, mainly those responding to the community's concerns over how much of the new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation will encroach on Theodore Roosevelt Park, a city-owned space near the back of the museum at 79th Street. The new curving Center will occupy one-quarter of an acre of the park, and two historic trees--a 125-year-old English elm and a 75-year-old pin oak tree-- will be preserved. Therefore, the public space leading into the museum will have better circulation and more gathering spaces.
More details this way
Two years after its launch, .nyc domain lacks popularity
September 7, 2016

Two years after its launch, .nyc domain lacks popularity

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Anyone with a computer and a credit card can register a domain name, but a .nyc extension is limited to a more select group. The Wall Street Journal points out that only local residents and business owners can purchase the domain, limiting the buying pool. There's also a $20 wholesale registration price, which is nearly three times the $7.85 cost of a regular .com, which causes some .nyc domains to go for as much as $40 on sites like GoDaddy. This has resulted in a mere 78,000 .nyc extensions purchased since the websites launched in September 2014, bringing in only $2 million in revenue for the city.
So what's the deal?
Turn any image into a custom template for wallpaper and more with Morpholio’s ‘Stencil’ app
September 6, 2016

Turn any image into a custom template for wallpaper and more with Morpholio’s ‘Stencil’ app

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It's no secret that stencils are all the rage these days, and here in New York City we've been enjoying sites adorned with stencil-inspired graffiti for decades. Like many trends that start in the streets, the art of stencils have made their way into the design language of everything from t-shirts to pillows, magazines and most definitely interior design. As a response to these trends, Morpholio has just released Stencil, a new app that allows you transform any image you come across into a custom digital stencil to use with any of your designs.
find out more here
Mogul vs. mogul: Is Douglas Durst trying to stop Barry Diller’s offshore park?
September 6, 2016

Mogul vs. mogul: Is Douglas Durst trying to stop Barry Diller’s offshore park?

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Once again in the news is media mogul Barry Diller's futuristic offshore cultural pier development at Pier 55 on the Hudson River. The proposed park project, known informally as Diller Park after its main backer, who is chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp and is married to fashion designer Diane Von Furstenburg, is helmed by the Hudson River Park Trust. The New York Times reports that the project’s main opponent, a civic group called The City Club of New York, may have an equally powerful backer. According to Diller, there is a deep-pocketed "hidden hand” funding the legal actions against the park. In a recent interview, Diller said, “The backer of all this is one Douglas Durst.”
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City studying the cost of allowing landmarked Midtown East properties to sell their air rights
September 1, 2016

City studying the cost of allowing landmarked Midtown East properties to sell their air rights

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Last week, the city released their long-awaited Midtown East Rezoning plan, a controversial upzoning of the area bound by Madison and Third Avenues and 39th and 50th Streets that would encourage taller, more modern office towers to attract commercial tenants. One of the debated points is the proposal to permit owners of landmarked properties to sell their air rights across the district, whereas now they can only be transferred to sites directly adjacent or above the existing structure. The city has now embarked on an appraisal of these unused development rights, which amount to 3.6 million square feet and will likely be distributed to the 16 new towers that the rezoning would yield over the next 20 years. As Crain's explains, hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, which is part of the reason Mayor Bloomberg's 2013 attempt at the rezoning failed--opponents were concerned about "the difference between what could be built on a given parcel (such as a soaring office tower) and what actually sits on the site (a church or synagogue a few stories tall)."
More details ahead
Stay cool on the go with Zero Breeze, the first smart, portable air conditioner
August 30, 2016

Stay cool on the go with Zero Breeze, the first smart, portable air conditioner

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If recent sweltering temperatures have you reconsidering your outdoor plans for Labor Day, you may want to check out this new product before resigning yourself to a holiday weekend indoors. Zero Breeze is the first portable air conditioner that will not only keep you cool indoors and out, but also includes a blue tooth speaker, night light and charging station for your devices.
Get the scoop on the product
Like father like son: The Trump legacy of housing discrimination
August 29, 2016

Like father like son: The Trump legacy of housing discrimination

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Black potential tenants who just wanted a decent place to live were routinely turned away at the Trump family’s Queens housing complexes and others. Housing activists and equal housing organizations took note, and in 1973 Trump Management was sued by the Justice Department for discrimination. Some of those tenants who stood firm remember the indignities all too well. The New York Times took a look at the early days of the Trump empire, when Donald's father, Fred C. Trump, built and managed middle-income residential complexes like the Wilshire Apartments in Jamaica Estates, Queens. A former employee of the elder Trump tells the Times that when receiving applications from potential tenants who happened to be black he was told, "Take the application and put it in a drawer and leave it there."
Get a closer look at the Trump legacy
Bad tech: Landlords use stalker-like surveillance to weed out ‘risky’ tenants
August 25, 2016

Bad tech: Landlords use stalker-like surveillance to weed out ‘risky’ tenants

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6sqft recently covered the practice of offering landlords “blacklists” of tenants who may have withheld rent or taken action against previous landlords. Now Quartz reports on the growing use of screening software services and surveillance technology that lets landlords know if prospective tenants have recently arrived from another country, what their social media profiles say about them and even how often they’ve been hitting the bars. Could high-tech data collection and surveillance tools become as dangerous to the diversity of communities as redlining was decades ago?
Is this as scary as it sounds?
App-controlled toaster will sear emojis or the weather forecast onto your toast
August 19, 2016

App-controlled toaster will sear emojis or the weather forecast onto your toast

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Toast can be a bit boring, especially in the days of rainbow bagels and Eggs Benedict, but this app-controlled toaster offers quite a few ways to jazz up your standard morning bread. By working with bluetooth, not only can Toasteroid control the brownness of your toast from your smartphone, but its searing technology can print everything from weather forecasts, reminders, doodles, and emojis on your breakfast.
Find out more
Cuomo wants to revive 421-a program with wage subsidies
August 18, 2016

Cuomo wants to revive 421-a program with wage subsidies

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One of the biggest snags in Mayor de Blasio's ambitious affordable housing plan (to add/preserve 200,000 such units over the next decade) has been his contention with Governor Cuomo over the city's 421-a program, which provides tax breaks for up to 25 years to new residential buildings that reserve at least 20 percent of units as affordable. The program expired in January, fueling concerns that permits for new rental units would drop as developers face skyrocketing land prices and be replaced with even more luxury condos. Now, after months of uncertainty, the Times reports that the Governor "has offered developers and union officials a wage subsidy for construction workers in the hopes of reviving [421-a]." His proposal was sent out as a single-page memo to residential developers on Tuesday night, presumably unbeknownst to de Blasio. Though it doesn't require union work force or prevailing wages, it does set a $65/hour minimum for projects south of 96th Street in Manhattan with 300 or more units and a $50/hour minimum for those of the same size along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfronts, $15 of which will be paid for by the state. These projects will be required to set aside 25 to 30 percent of units as below-market rate rentals.
More details ahead
Tenant Blacklists Stack the Deck Against Renters in an Already Unfair Equation

Image by Jorbasa Fotografie / Flickr 

August 17, 2016

Tenant Blacklists Stack the Deck Against Renters in an Already Unfair Equation

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In a tight market, landlord blacklists, where owners are called out for sleazy–or worse–practices may have little impact if renters are desperate to find living quarters. But at least they have a choice. The New York Times reports that “blacklists” containing names of tenants who have run afoul of landlords in the past have created a bias against potential tenants to the point where the home-hunters–even those with stellar credit, a clean record and a perfectly good explanation–feel they have no chance of finding an apartment anytime soon. Going beyond background and credit checks, a database known to housing advocates and lawyers as the tenant blacklist provides prospective landlords throughout the country with a means to, as the Times puts it, "weed out risky tenants." The list, however, is filled with errors and cases in which, for example, tenants legally withheld rent due to unlivable conditions and later won their cases. But without explanation, the list can make renting an apartment an impossibility.
Is this even legal?
VIDEO: Watch One of NYC’s Largest Trees Get Taken Down and Turned Into Lumber
August 16, 2016

VIDEO: Watch One of NYC’s Largest Trees Get Taken Down and Turned Into Lumber

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When the Parks Department recently declared one of the city's largest trees dead (and therefore dangerous to those walking by), they turned to the experts at RE-CO BKLYN, a Ridgewood-based company that reclaims fallen NYC trees and produces live edge slabs and custom furniture. The circa 1870 European Elm tree lived in Prospect Park and was 75 feet high and more than seven feet in diameter with 18- and 24-inch limbs that were starting to break off in extreme weather events. But instead of simply ripping the tree up and dumping it in a landfill, Andrew Ullman, Brooklyn’s Director of Forestry, decided to enlist RE-CO to mill it and turn it into dry lumber that will be used to create a custom conference table for the NYC Parks Prospect Park offices.
Watch the full video here
City Says Yes to Bronx Complex, No to Flatiron Site for Affordable Housing Plan
August 16, 2016

City Says Yes to Bronx Complex, No to Flatiron Site for Affordable Housing Plan

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The New York City Planning Commission has voted to approve a boutique condominium project on Manhattan's west side without the mayor's new Mandatory Inclusionary Housing plan in place, the New York Times reports; a much larger development in the Bronx also got the green light, and will be among the first to be included in the new affordable housing program. 6sqft reported previously on the controversy over whether a 17-story condominium slated to replace a parking lot and two low rise buildings at 6th Avenue at West 18th should be among the first recipients of the mayor’s new mandatory inclusionary housing (M.I.H.) program. Both the city and the project's developers, Acuity Capital Partners, made the argument that the proposed project is “more of a rejiggering of the zoning than an enlargement,” and therefore does not fall under the M.I.H. rules.
Find out more
Ruggie: An Alarm Clock-Rug That Only Stops Buzzing if You Step on It
August 15, 2016

Ruggie: An Alarm Clock-Rug That Only Stops Buzzing if You Step on It

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Tired of sleeping through the snooze every morning, hitting the button over and over again to only wake up sleepier? Then you might want to consider Ruggie, an efficient alarm clock-rug by Winson Tam that will only stop buzzing if you actually get out of bed and step firmly on it. And to help ease the pain of leaving the warmth of the covers, it will then play daily motivational quotes, setting a positive mood for the day.
Learn more about this clever alarm
The Real Estate Loopholes That Let Donald Trump Look Penniless on Paper
August 12, 2016

The Real Estate Loopholes That Let Donald Trump Look Penniless on Paper

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As chatter surrounding Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's refusal to make his tax returns public grows louder, the New York Times explains what all the fuss is about, pointing out that while he's under no legal obligation to open up the books to public scrutiny, every presidential candidate has chosen to do so since Richard Nixon. Despite the hundreds of millions in gross revenue from his vast real estate holdings, there's a good chance that Trump has paid little–perhaps even zero–federal income tax in past years. The interesting point is that technically the candidate hasn't done anything "wrong," but rather is in the business of doing business, and that business is real estate. The opportunities that real estate can provide for the wealthy to legally avoid forking over the taxes that their incomes would otherwise dictate they pay are numerous, from hiding behind LLCs to swapping real estate purchases to avoid paying taxes.
Get the full scoop
Ashton Kutcher Asks Governor Cuomo to Veto Airbnb Regulatory Law
August 10, 2016

Ashton Kutcher Asks Governor Cuomo to Veto Airbnb Regulatory Law

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In June, both houses of the NYC legislature passed a bill that would impose fines of up to $7,500 on advertisers of illegal short-term Airbnb rentals. Current state law dictates that an apartment can’t be rented out for less than 30 days if the lease holder isn’t present, and a recent report estimated that 56 percent of the site's 2015 listings fell into this category. Though the law has been this way since 2010, it has yet to be seriously enforced. But ahead of the Governor's January deadline to sign the bill into law, big names in the tech sector, including actor, venture capitalist, and Airbnb investor Ashton Kutcher, are asking Cuomo to veto the bill.
More details ahead
This Pillow Tracks Your Sleeps, Streams Music, and Wakes You Up
August 9, 2016

This Pillow Tracks Your Sleeps, Streams Music, and Wakes You Up

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If you're not into wearing a Fitbit, there's now another way to track your sleep, and it comes with some added bedtime perks that activity trackers don't offer. First introduced by Mashable, Zeeq is a smart pillow that tracks and optimizes sleep patterns, monitors snoring, wakes you up via alarm at the appropriate point in your REM cycle, and, perhaps most interestingly, streams music and sleep sounds from inside that are low enough for only you to hear.  
READ MORE
Sixth Avenue Adorama Site May Be the First Battle Over Mayor’s New Housing Program
August 9, 2016

Sixth Avenue Adorama Site May Be the First Battle Over Mayor’s New Housing Program

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The New York Times reports on what is looking like the first of many fights involving the mayor’s new mandatory inclusionary housing (M.I.H.) program which went into effect earlier this year. While the project, a 17-story condominium slated to replace a Manhattan parking lot and two low-rise buildings–one of which houses the venerable Adorama camera store–may not be especially noteworthy, as one of the first developments that may use the new zoning/housing rules, the outcome has the potential to affect thousands of lower-income units in the future. So it's worth following the outcome, even though, as City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod puts it, "like any legislative action, it will take time for every scenario to play out.”
What's the battle all about?
Brooklyn Bridge May Get Expanded Promenade to Accommodate Growing Crowds
August 8, 2016

Brooklyn Bridge May Get Expanded Promenade to Accommodate Growing Crowds

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If you’ve ever had the experience of nearly being flattened by something on foot or wheels while walking or biking across the Brooklyn Bridge on a weekend afternoon, try to survive a little bit longer, help may be on the way. City transportation officials announced Monday that plans were in the works to alleviate the pedestrian and bike traffic that threatens to become “Times Square in the Sky.” The New York Times reports that among the possibilities for the aging bridge is a new path to help reduce some of the current congestion.
Find out more
Landmarks Approves Morris Adjmi’s Debated Noho Office Building
August 3, 2016

Landmarks Approves Morris Adjmi’s Debated Noho Office Building

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Less than a month ago, the Landmarks Preservation Commission asked contextually proficient architect Morris Adjmi to modify his design for a 10-story, terra cotta office and community facility building in Noho. The site, at 363 Lafayette Street within the Noho Historic District, is controversial for the fact that it's adjacent to the live/work studio of artist Chuck Close, who filed a lawsuit in 2008 against the previous owner to prevent construction of a different office building that would've blocked his loft's natural light. Yesterday, Adjmi presented a revised version of the project, which the LPC this time approved, reports New York Yimby. The new design eliminates the five two-story setbacks and opts for slightly angular, less dramatic, floor-by-floor setbacks.
More details ahead
City Will Study Residential Rezoning of Gowanus, But Locals Want More Affordable Housing
August 2, 2016

City Will Study Residential Rezoning of Gowanus, But Locals Want More Affordable Housing

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When the area surrounding the Gowanus Canal was designated a Superfund site by the EPA in 2010, it seemed all but impossible that the contaminated, warehouse-laden neighborhood could get on par with the rest of Brooklyn. But recent years have brought major cleanup efforts along the 1.8-mile Canal, leading to new additions like a Whole Foods (quite possibly the first sign of gentrification) and subsequent interest from developers in creating higher end housing. This fall, reports DNAinfo, the Department of City Planning will launch a study to explore a rezoning of Gowanus that would allow for more residential developments in what is currently an industrial section. Locals, however, have similar concerns to those who opposed the recent, controversial East New York rezoning--that it will only incentive developers, causing displacement of longtime residents, and that any affordable housing put forth in the plan would still be out of reach for the lowest income residents. They've therefore created their own redevelopment plan called Bridging Gowanus, which, as the Times notes, calls for "greater density and more affordable apartments in return for improvements and guarantees that preserve the precarious soul of the district."
More details ahead
MTA Likely to Implement Fare Hike to $3 by 2017
July 28, 2016

MTA Likely to Implement Fare Hike to $3 by 2017

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Start saving your quarters; the MTA all but definitively announced at its board meeting yesterday that it will raise subway and bus fares by 2017 in an effort to raise more than $300 million annually. This is part of their four-year financial plan that includes fare and toll hikes every two years to Jamison Dague of the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission told the Daily News that if past increases are any indication, the MTA will likely raise fares from $2.75 to $3, a four percent increase that would bring in roughly $308 million through 2020. And if another increase was implemented in 2019, the cash-strapped agency would pull in an additional $594 million over two years.
More here
July 26, 2016

De Blasio Ahead of Schedule on Ambitious Affordable Housing Plan

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It looks like it's been another successful year for Mayor de Blasio's affordable housing goals. When he took office in 2014, he pledged to build or preserve 200,000 such units over 10 years. In a January 2015 speech, he announced that during his first year, the city exceeded its goal by 1,300 apartments, building or preserving a total of 17,300 units. Now, an announcement on Monday from his administration says that the city is ahead of schedule with its goals thus far, financing the creation or preservation of nearly 53,000 affordable apartments. As reported in the Times, "just in the fiscal year ending June 30, more affordable housing units — 23,284 — had been built or preserved than at any time since 1989." In a statement the Mayor said, "This engine is in full gear, financing enough affordable homes for 130,000 people in just two and a half years."
More details this way
Landmarks Tells BKSK Architects to Cut Height of Proposed Eight-Story UWS Resi Building
July 20, 2016

Landmarks Tells BKSK Architects to Cut Height of Proposed Eight-Story UWS Resi Building

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It's back to the drawing board for BKSK Architects, reports CityRealty.com. At yesterday's LPC meeting, architects Harry Kendall and Todd Poisson presented BKSK's proposal for a new seven-unit residential building at 466-468 Columbus in the Central Park West Historic District being developed by the Roe Corporation. The project would require the demo of an innocuous three-story brick building dating back to 1894 (the existing building facade was updated in 2006), replacing it with an even taller masonry building with a facade punctuated by terra cotta louvers and topped with a modern cornice. The building would also host two retail units on its ground floor and an eighth-floor setback that would give the penthouse a private terrace. While the LPC had no issue with knocking down the existing building, they were less keen on some of the other items.
More here
Court Says Work Can Proceed at Barry Diller’s Futuristic Offshore Park
July 19, 2016

Court Says Work Can Proceed at Barry Diller’s Futuristic Offshore Park

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At the end of last month, an appellate court issued an injunction that said work must temporarily stop at Barry Diller's Pier 55 until at least September when opponents of the futuristic offshore park (who claimed it had gone through inadequate environmental impact evaluations) could present their case again. But The Real Deal reports today that work has resumed much sooner than expected, as an appeals court lifted the stop work order yesterday.
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