Policy

August 4, 2015

Morpholio’s New Journal App Is the Digital Sketchbook You Never Knew You Needed

Whether you carry around notebooks for sketching, journaling, or keeping a running grocery list, one thing is for certain; we'd be lost without these little pads of paper. They quickly become a part of our lives, holding ideas and thoughts, even if is just a reminder to buy toilet paper. Today The Morpholio Project, the innovative creators behind Mood Board and Crit, launches a brand new app to their suite: Journal. This free app for iPhones and iPads redefines the sketchbook as a catch-all for your photos, drawings, ideas, and thoughts. Think of it as your trusty notebook, but just way more intuitive. Now creatives of all mediums can write, draw, sketch, collage, paint, or color on anything, anywhere.
Sketch your way over here

Want to Enter an Affordable Housing Lottery? You’ll Be up Against 696 Other Applicants

Photo via Wiki Commons

August 4, 2015

Want to Enter an Affordable Housing Lottery? You’ll Be up Against 696 Other Applicants

By Dana Schulz

Photo via Wiki Commons According to a new report from the Daily News, for every affordable apartment offered through the city's housing lotteries since 2013, there were 696 applicants, leaving you with a measly 0.14 percent chance of being selected. "All told, there were 2.9 million applications for 4,174 affordable units available from 72 lotteries run by the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)," says the News, yet another signifier that average New Yorkers are struggling to pay ever-increasing rents.
Find out more here

July 29, 2015

POLL: Should the MTA Get Money from the State Before LaGuardia Airport?

By Dana Schulz

Yesterday, we learned of Governor Cuomo’s plans for a major, $4 billion overhaul of LaGuardia Airport. The project includes consolidating the four terminals, moving the entire facility south, introducing a 24-hour ferry service, and launching AirTrain service that’ll connect travelers to the 7 line in Willet’s Point. Today, however, the revelry took a turn when it […]

Airbnb Is Gobbling Up 20 Percent of Apartments in Popular Manhattan and Brooklyn Neighborhoods

Photo courtesy of Airbnb via Facebook

July 29, 2015

Airbnb Is Gobbling Up 20 Percent of Apartments in Popular Manhattan and Brooklyn Neighborhoods

By Dana Schulz

As if it wasn't challenging enough to find a reasonable apartment in New York City, Airbnb is now taking up 20 percent of available units in popular Manhattan and Brooklyn zip codes, reports the Daily News. According to a study from New York Communities for Change and Real Affordability For All, the East Village is the most affected, with 28 percent of its apartments being rented as illegal hotel rooms on Airbnb. Additionally, the 20 most popular neighborhoods on the room sharing site "have lost 10% of their available housing units to Airbnb."
Find out more here

Should NYC Implement San Francisco’s ‘Pee-Proof’ Paint to Deter Public Urination?

Image via YouTube/St. Pauli Peeback

July 27, 2015

Should NYC Implement San Francisco’s ‘Pee-Proof’ Paint to Deter Public Urination?

By Dana Schulz

Normally, urinating in public comes with a hefty fine, but in San Francisco, offenders might be spending their money instead on a new pair of clothes and shoes. The problem has apparently gotten so out of hand in the city that the Public Works Department is implementing "pee-proof" paint on walls that are hot spots for people to relieve themselves. The special superhydrophobic coating called Ultra-Ever Dry is liquid repellent, and therefore splashes the urine right back on the person.
More details and a video on the technology

July 27, 2015

IKEA Is Selling a Placemat with a Pocket for Your Phone

By Diane Pham

We're having a hard time deciding whether this design is brilliant or just plain depressing. These new placemats come courtesy of IKEA and are part of their upcoming SITTNING collection, a limited edition series made up of 40 pieces focused in on "the joys of sharing a meal with those you love." The new mats—which will reportedly be called "Logged Out"—will feature a convenient little pouch for you to tuck your smartphone away so you can finally enjoy a meal with your friends without checking Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, email...
More on IKEA's new design here

July 23, 2015

6sqft Behind the Scenes: Take a Tour of MakerBot’s New 3D Printer Factory in Brooklyn

By Shiloh Frederick

MakerBot has officially opened its brand new factory in Industry City in Brooklyn's Sunset Park. The 170,000-square-foot space spans three floors, with the main production lines on the third floor of the building. The new location is four times larger than the company's previous Industry City location and will allow the company to double its production of 3D printers. This is far cry from the garage it started out in nearly two and a half years ago. MakerBot kicked off the opening of its new locale yesterday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that featured MakerBot CEO Jonathan Jaglom and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. We were on the scene to capture this latest milestone for the 3D printer company.
Have a closer look here

Policy

July 21, 2015

Buyers of Luxury Condos Can No Longer Hide Behind Shell Companies

By Diane Pham

Earlier this year the Times made waves in the real estate industry with a lengthy exposé zooming in on the growing trend of foreigners—many the subject of government inquiries ranging from environmental violations to financial fraud—using LLCs as a way to scoop up luxury properties and stash their cash while avoiding taxes. Now the paper reports that the De Blasio administration has imposed new disclosure requirements on those who intend to use shell companies as a vehicle to buy and sell property in the city. Under the new rules, these shell companies must now provide to the city both the names and tax IDs of all members involved in a transaction.
Find out more here

July 13, 2015

NYC’s Bigbelly Trash and Recycling Bins Double as Wi-Fi Hotspots

By Dana Schulz

We've all been that person who puts their Starbucks cup on top of an already heaping and overflowing garbage can, especially since it seems more often than not that this is the state of our city's waste bins. But if you've looked for a trash receptacle downtown recently, you might have been pleasantly surprised with the Bigbelly. These solar-powered "smart" trash and recycling bins are "equipped with a chip that detects when the bin is full or too smelly, allowing trash collectors to make a pick-up where they’re needed most," according to CityLab. And, as if that wasn't enough, Bigbellies can double as Wi-Fi hotspots, providing enough bandwidth to power a small business.
Learn more about the new technology

Build Your Own Mathematically Accurate Geodesic Dome with Hubs

By Dana Schulz

Last month we introduced Kodama Zomes, a unique hanging lounger shaped like a geodesic dome that's perfect for reading, meditating, or just plain relaxing outside on a summer day. But for the more scientifically inclined, we've now found a build-it-yourself geodesic dome. The product may not come with built-in cushions, but it is mathematically accurate and educational. First spotted by designboom, Hubs makes building a dome so simple that one can be erected in under 30 minutes.
Find out how it works here

July 9, 2015

EVENT: Is Historic Preservation Elitist?

By Diane Pham

Many folks argue that historic preservation is elitist, time-consuming, expensive and a drain on resources, further claiming that it’s a whole lot easier, cheaper and more practical to replace an old building with something new—especially when that means more housing. However, on the other side of that coin is the argument that historic districts and the architecture preserved within them are […]

July 8, 2015

Lawsuit Against City Wants to End Affordable Housing Allotments to Certain Communities

By Dana Schulz

Currently, the city allots half of its new affordable housing stock to residents of the specific community district where the project is being built and who meet the income requirements. But the Anti-Discrimination Center says this "community preference" policy violates the 1968 Fair Housing Act, "which prohibits discrimination in housing sales, rentals and financing based on race or national origin," according to an article today in the Wall Street Journal. The New York-based group filed a suit against the city on these grounds, claiming that it adds to existing segregation patterns. If they are successful, the verdict would undoubtedly impact Mayor de Blasio's plan of adding 80,000 new affordable housing units in the next ten years.
More details ahead

Gentrification Sale: Get a Single Hand-Cut Summer French Fry for Just $8.99!

Image via Bill de Bodega

July 7, 2015

Gentrification Sale: Get a Single Hand-Cut Summer French Fry for Just $8.99!

By Diane Pham

Jarritos with an $11.99 corkage fee, a hipster breakfast for $8.99? Act fast because you won't want miss out on all the great deals going on at the Washington Heights "Gentrification in Progress Sale." A row of mom and pops located along a stretch between 162nd and 163rd streets got a Williamsburg-worthy facelift on Monday as Brooklyn locals Doug Cameron and Tommy Noonan plastered storefronts with scathingly sardonic signage pointing to the area's demise. The campaign, first reported on by Vanishing NY, was created in response to the ousting of several of the block's 30-plus-year-old businesses by a new landlord in order to make way for commercial tenants willing to pay higher rents.
See more here

Policy

June 30, 2015

Hadrian Bricklaying Robot Can Construct a House in Just Two Days

By Diane Pham

Here's a bit of technology sure to please developers worried about rising construction costs: This new robot engineered by Marc Pivac has the ability to erect a home in just two days. Named Hadrian after the Roman emperor who rebuilt the Pantheon, and more famously constructed the Hadrian Wall that marked the northern limit of Britannia, this incredible piece of tech can work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and it's able to lay 1,000 bricks per hour with the potential of building 150 homes in a year.
So how does it work?

June 30, 2015

NYU Expansion Plan Gets the Final Green Light from Court of Appeals

By Dana Schulz

Last October, the appellate court overturned a previous decision by the New York Supreme Court that prohibited NYU’s $6 billion, 1.9 million-square-foot Greenwich Village expansion plan. But in Feburary, opponents of the plan (including community groups like GVSHP, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, local residents, NYU Faculty against the Sexton Plan, and even actor Mark Ruffalo) announced that the New York State Court of Appeals would hear their case one final time. According to DNAinfo, though, today the state's highest court ruled in favor of NYU, giving the expansion plan the final go ahead.
Find out more about the ruling

June 30, 2015

Rent Guidelines Board Approves Freezes on One-Year Leases for First Time in History

By Diane Pham

In a historic decision made last night, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-2 last night to freeze rents for the first time on one-year leases for New York City’s more than one million rent-stabilized apartments. The board, entirely appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, also moved to increase rents on two-year leases by just two percent, the lowest in the board's 46-year existence. The decision follows last week's lackluster vote at the state level to only extend but not strengthen rent regulations. "Cuomo betrayed us, the RGB can save us," tenants chanted at the meeting.
Find out more here

June 29, 2015

‘Poor Doors’ No Longer Allowed with New Rent-Regulation Bill

By Diane Pham

Thanks to a provision added to the newly extended and altered 421-a tax abatement passed last week, developers looking to segregate their wealthy tenants from their affordable rate renters will have to think again. According to The Post, Mayor de Blasio inserted a reform into the tax program plan that would ban the practice in which developers build a separate entrance for folks occupying the cheaper, below market-rate apartments in their buildings—better known as "poor doors."
More on the move here

2,000 NYCHA Apartments Are Vacant Despite 270,000-Name Waiting List

Photo via Wiki Commons

June 25, 2015

2,000 NYCHA Apartments Are Vacant Despite 270,000-Name Waiting List

By Dana Schulz

Photo via Wiki Commons For many New Yorkers, public housing is the only affordable way to live in the city, but despite an ever-growing waiting list, thousands of these homes are sitting empty, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal about an audit of NYCHA by Comptroller Scott Stringer. At a release of the findings yesterday at the Raymond V. Ingersoll Houses in Brooklyn, Stringer said: "Even though 270,000 New Yorkers are on the waiting list for housing, desperate to put a roof above their heads, we found that NYCHA is sitting on over 2,000 apartments they identify as vacant." The audit shows that 1,366 apartments are empty awaiting repairs, and 967 are between tenants.
More audit findings ahead

June 24, 2015

‘Sofa So Good’ Is Finnish Designer Janne Kyttanen’s Latest 3D Printed Piece

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Finnish designer and conceptual artist Janne Kyttanen first fell in love with 3D printing while studying at Amsterdam's Gerrit Rietveld Academy. After graduating, he soon started imagining a future where products would be scaled down into digital files and people could just download any design they liked. His "Sofa So Good" piece is one of his latest and most intricate 3D printed designs, which joins a wide collection of objects he's created that includes lamps, tables and packaging as well as ping-pong paddles and futuristic shoes.
Learn more about sofa so good

June 22, 2015

Preservation Groups Push for a Lower East Side Historic District

By Diane Pham

Of the city's many rapidly changing neighborhoods, the Lower East Side has for the most part maintained its historic architectural integrity. However, with looming projects like Essex Crossing and a slew of new condos set to rise along the area's most storied drags, the character of the neighborhood is starting to come under threat. As such, the Lo-Down reports that locals are now banding together in full force to curb development, with two neighborhood preservation groups asking the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to designate a Lower East Side Historic District.
READ MORE

New Report Identifies 700 Miles of Unused Space Under Bridges and Elevated Platforms

Potential sites for the Under the Elevated project, via Design Trust for Public Space

June 19, 2015

New Report Identifies 700 Miles of Unused Space Under Bridges and Elevated Platforms

By Dana Schulz

The High Line may have revolutionized the adaptive reuse of the space atop elevated platforms, but what about that dead, dark space underneath? A new report from the Design Trust for Public Space in partnership with the Department of Transportation finds that the city has 700 miles of unused space under bridges, highways, and elevated subway tracks, much of which can be "transformed into valuable community assets such as small public parks, retail space and places for manufacturers to set up shop," according to Crain's.
READ MORE

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