Policy

June 7, 2017

Join the New York Times Cities for Tomorrow conference, July 10-11!

How do the greatest cities succeed? Find out on July 10–11 when The New York Times convenes the world’s foremost industry experts, policymakers, developers, creative visionaries, entrepreneurs and others at Cities for Tomorrow, the must-attend event for leaders who are shaping the urban environments of the future. 6sqft readers will receive a special 20% discount for the conference.
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June 5, 2017

An NYU project hopes to virtually track 10,000 New Yorkers for 20 years

By Devin Gannon

Beginning this fall, a research project led by a neuroeconomic professor from New York University will follow 10,000 New Yorkers for two decades in hopes of understanding the future of big data and human decision making. The Human Project, developed by Paul Glimcher, will gather a ton of data from residents, including medical records, diet, credit card transactions, social interactions, sleep, educational achievement, blood work, stool and urine samples and even more. As the New York Times reported, the goal is to create an atlas of the entire human experience. With a $15 million budget, the project hopes to start making some findings by 2020.
Find out more

June 2, 2017

Waterfront Alliance’s ‘Harbor Scorecard’ says if your NYC neighborhood is at risk for severe flooding

By Devin Gannon

This week marked the beginning of hurricane season and experts predict storms will be worse than usual, especially following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord on Thursday. To better inform New Yorkers about the risks of rising sea level and storm surges, the Waterfront Alliance, a nonprofit that works to protect waterfronts, released a Harbor Scorecard, as reported by the Brooklyn Eagle. The interactive scorecard lets users view each neighborhood by its waterfront safety and coastal resiliency. The group found that more than 400,000 New Yorkers face a 50 percent risk of a major flood by 2060.
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Policy

U.S. officials argue 650 Fifth Avenue is a secret front for the Iranian government

Image via Google Street View

June 2, 2017

U.S. officials argue 650 Fifth Avenue is a secret front for the Iranian government

By Devin Gannon

Image via Google Street View For the past few years, the federal government has claimed that the tower at 650 Fifth Avenue, owned by nonprofit the Alavi Foundation, is controlled by the Iranian government, which would violate U.S. sanctions. Since the court decision that allowed the government to seize the 36-story building was overruled last year, a trial has kicked off again this week to determine if the organization was funneling money to Iran. As reported by amNY, the government must prove the office tower, worth just under $1 billion, is a front for the Iranian government and will do so using emails, letters and journal entries from an Alavi board member.
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Policy

May 25, 2017

Despite revised capital plan, MTA does not increase spending for subway improvements

By Devin Gannon

While just a few days ago Governor Cuomo announced his “aggressive” action plan to combat the chronic problems of the city’s subway service, the MTA’s new version of its capital plan released Wednesday shows barely any increase in spending for system improvements. As the New York Times reported, the agency increased its current five-year capital plan from $29.5 billion to $32.5 billion, adding $1.6 billion in debt. However, instead of allocating funds for subway service improvements, spending instead will go towards projects seen as priorities for Cuomo, like electronic tolling at bridges and the next phase of the Second Avenue Subway.
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May 24, 2017

‘Sounds of New York’ uses city noise to improve your focus

By Devin Gannon

As a tribute to New York City, Breather, a company with rentable workplaces worldwide, developed a website that lets you listen to the sounds of different city neighborhoods and iconic Big Apple locations. Called Sounds of New York, ambient noises play in the background to help workers concentrate on their daily tasks. Enhance your productivity by listening to the atmospheric sounds of the Strand bookstore, McSorley’s Ale House, Zabar's, the Comedy Cellar, the Oculus, or Harlem’s Apollo Theater all from the comfort of your office.
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Image via Alan Bloom/Flickr

May 24, 2017

Governor Cuomo and the MTA announce a competition to fix the NYC subway system

By Devin Gannon

Image via Alan Bloom/Flickr Seeking innovative solutions to fix the mess that is the New York City transit system, Governor Cuomo on Tuesday launched a competition called the “MTA Genius Transit Challenge.” Just one of the governor’s recently proposed ideas to fix the subway, the international competition challenges participants to develop ideas for better signaling, new car designs, and WiFi throughout the system, including in tunnels. The winner of each category will receive $1 million and a possible contract deal with the state. In addition to the challenge, Cuomo announced he has created a Penn Station Task Force to devise alternative transportation solutions during Amtrak’s track work at the station this summer.
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Midtown’s tiny Greenacre Park fights for light among sky-high skyscrapers

Terry Tynes via flickr (CC)

May 23, 2017

Midtown’s tiny Greenacre Park fights for light among sky-high skyscrapers

By Devin Gannon

As a small oasis in the center of Manhattan, Greenacre Park is home to honey locust trees, azaleas, pansies and a 25-foot-high waterfall, all taking up just 6,360 square feet of space. However, the city’s plan to rezone Midtown East to allow for more commercial buildings worries some advocates who say it may deplete Greenacre Park from any sunlight, as the Times reported. But the Municipal Art Society, New Yorkers for Parks, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Councilmember Daniel Garodnick, are backing a campaign called "Fight For Light" to protect the park's right to sunlight.
Get the full scoop

Policy

Pier 55 project files appeal to stop work order; Durst says he backed opposition

Photo via Pier 55 Inc.

May 23, 2017

Pier 55 project files appeal to stop work order; Durst says he backed opposition

By Michelle Cohen

6sqft reported in March on the latest developments in the on-again-off-again status of the $200 million Barry Diller-funded offshore park/performing arts center proposed for Pier 55 on the Hudson River; though construction began last November, opponents of the project, led by the City Club of New York, gained a victory in the form of a ruling by Judge Lorna G. Schofield that agreed with group’s claim that the Army Corps of Engineers had not conducted a sufficient environmental review on how the 2.4-acre park would affect fish and wildlife. The judge ordered that work stop at the site and called for a review of alternatives for building along Hudson River Park, a maritime sanctuary. Now, the New York Times reports that the Corps of Engineers, with the project's sponsor, the Hudson River Park Trust, has filed an appeal of the decision.
And what about that Diller-Durst feud

Senators request interior landmark status for two NYPL reading rooms

Rose Main Reading room via NYPL

May 22, 2017

Senators request interior landmark status for two NYPL reading rooms

By Michelle Cohen

State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger have asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the Rose Main Reading Room at the New York Public Library's main branch and the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room at the 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue branch as interior landmarks, according to DNAInfo. The library's main branch, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, was given landmark designation in 1967 and Astor Hall and the grand staircases within the building were designated as interior landmarks in 1974. Interior landmark designation would give the two reading rooms–favorites of literary greats including Norman Mailer, E.L. Doctorow and Elizabeth Bishop–the same protection moving forward.
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Governor Cuomo asks Trump for emergency assistance during Penn Station repairs

By Devin Gannon

As his administration finalizes its budget plan, Governor Cuomo wrote a letter Sunday to President Trump asking for emergency federal funds to lessen what he called Penn Station’s “summer of agony,” reports the Daily News. With six weeks of infrastructure repairs coming to the transit hub this July and August, the governor said the station’s daily flow of 600,000 passengers will face a 20 percent reduction in service during peak hours while Amtrak shuts down some of its tracks, which will then have a ripple effect on the subway system and regional transit.
More details ahead

May 19, 2017

‘Vending machine’ skyscraper 3D-prints pod apartments to address housing shortages

By Michelle Cohen

The growing need to build affordable housing in big, dense cities while keeping expenses to a minimum led to Malaysian designer Haseef Rafiei’s idea for a futuristic “skyscraper” housing pod vending machine. A Dezeen video shows how the designer–he won an honorable mention in this year’s eVolo Skyscraper Competition–inspired by the fascination with vending machines and robotics in Japan, sketched up the skyscraper idea for offering prospective homeowners a way to customize–and then create–a modular home. The home would then be slotted into place within a high-rise framework. According to the designer, the Pod Vending Machine is based on a "3D-printed building that grows in parallel with the city’s housing demand."
Check out this 'affordable mass produced home dispenser'

Renderings revealed for controversial mixed-income tower on top of UES playground

Rendering via NYCHA

May 19, 2017

Renderings revealed for controversial mixed-income tower on top of UES playground

By Devin Gannon

After over a year-long debate, the city has finally unveiled renderings of a mixed-income tower set to rise on an existing playground at the Holmes Towers public housing complex in Yorkville. The New York City Housing Authority’s plan, which falls under the city’s NextGen program, will construct a 47-story building among the complex on East 93rd Street, as well as a new 18,000-square-foot recreation and community center run by Asphalt Green (h/t DNA Info). The new building will feature 300 total units, with half of them at market-rate prices and half of them affordable. However, an alleged plan to separate the floors by income level, as well as the fact that high-end housing is coming to a low-income site where the community wasn't consulted, has sparked a good deal of controversy.
Get the whole story

Grand Central Terminal Lobby via Wikipedia

May 18, 2017

Amtrak may relocate to Grand Central as Penn Station undergoes repairs

By Devin Gannon

With major infrastructure repairs taking place at Penn Station this summer, state officials have suggested rerouting some Amtrak trains to Grand Central Terminal to ease train congestion. While no plans have been finalized, and it’s still unclear how long the switch would take to begin, crews are already training for the new path down Park Avenue into Grand Central, as Politico NY reports. Swapping stations, however, could cause temporary problems at the 42nd Street transit hub, which currently serves 750,000 passengers per day on four commuter lines via Metro-North.
Find out more

May 17, 2017

HWKN redesigns iconic Art Deco landmarks with modern construction techniques

By Devin Gannon

Architecture firm Hollwich Kushner (HWKN) has just released a design research project that applies contemporary construction techniques and designs to famous NYC Art Deco landmarks. Part of their goal is to redesign landmarks so that aren’t just beautiful, but so they have unique personalities and remain relevant over time. Through their research project, called New(er) York, HWKN selected twelve timeless landmarks that represent New York. Some of these include iconic structures like the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, One Wall Street, the Woolworth Building and the Flatiron.
See the renderings

MTA announces six-point plan to combat subway delays and improve service

Photo via Dan Phiffer’s Flickr

May 16, 2017

MTA announces six-point plan to combat subway delays and improve service

By Devin Gannon

After a week full of delays and malfunctions, the MTA has announced a six-point plan to address the subway’s chronic service problems. The agency’s plan will increase testing of tracks and signals, place more emergency personnel and police officers in stations and add more cars into service at a faster rate. The first phase of the MTA’s plan focuses on the A, C and E lines from 125th Street to Fulton Street in Manhattan, and at the 149th Street-Grand Concourse and 3rd Avenue-138th Street in the Bronx. Bottlenecks frequently occur at these sites, which cause delays that spread throughout the entire system.
Find out more

May 16, 2017

Landmarks approves plans to disassemble RKO Keith’s Flushing Theater’s historic interiors

By Dana Schulz

In a rare case, the RKO Keith's Flushing Theater is an interior landmark, but the building it's inside is not landmarked. Built in 1928 to the designs of noted theater architect Thomas Lamb, the elaborately ornamented Churrigueresque-style movie palace has sat decrepit for the past three decades, until Chinese firm Xinyuan Real Estate (they're also behind Williamsburg's Oosten condo and the forthcoming Hell's Kitchen condo that will be anchored by a Target) bought the vacant theater for $66 million last year with plans to develop it into a 269-unit luxury condo. Moving ahead with this vision, they've tapped Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and preservation specialists Ayon Studio to erect a 16-story glass tower at the site, which includes plans to "enclose the interior landmark, and to disassemble, restore off-site, and reinstall salvaged ornamental plasterwork and woodwork and replicas" in a new residential lobby. Despite some opposition from the Historic Districts Council (HDC) regarding public accessibility, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted in favor of the plan, congratulating the architects and expressing great admiration for their design.
More details ahead

Policy

Jitterbug dancers via Wikipedia

May 15, 2017

New petition seeks an end to NYC’s controversial dancing ban

By Michelle Cohen

In reference to a movement that has been gaining momentum in recent months, Grubstreet reports on a petition to repeal the city’s archaic–and racially motivated in its origins–1926 Cabaret Law that requires an establishment to have a city license if more than three patrons want to move their feet. According to New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, “A Cabaret License is required for any business that sells food and/or beverages to the public and allows patron dancing in a room, place, or space.” The law, which prohibits any and all dancing in a business establishment without a Cabaret License, was originally aimed at jazz clubs born during the Harlem Renaissance.
Racist origins and selective enforcement

To ease Penn Station woes, a new plan calls for a transit hub in Sunnyside, Queens

Via ReThink Studio

May 15, 2017

To ease Penn Station woes, a new plan calls for a transit hub in Sunnyside, Queens

By Devin Gannon

With its constant delays and malfunctions, Penn Station is becoming a worse and worse nightmare for countless commuters and visitors. Last year, Governor Cuomo revealed a plan to redevelop the train hub, one of the busiest in the country, by building a new train hall with restaurants and shops, but while the artful renovation will make Penn Station more attractive, it will do little to address the passenger congestion problem, according to think tank, ReThink Studio (h/t Crain’s). In response, the group came up with an idea called ReThinkNYC that would create a new transit hub in Sunnyside, Queens, to connect commuter lines with the subway system. Instead of making Penn Station the final stop for NJ Transit and LIRR commuters, trains would pass through instead of stopping and turning around.
All the details ahead

May 12, 2017

INTERVIEW: Urban archaeologist Joan Geismar on the artifacts she’s dug up across New York

By Emily Nonko

Joan Geismar boasts a job that'll make any urban explorer jealous. For the past 32 years, she's operated her own business as an archaeological consultant, digging underneath the streets of New York City to find what historical remnants remain. Her career kicked off in 1982, with the major discovery of an 18th-century merchant ship at a construction site near the South Street Seaport. (The land is now home to the 30-story tower 175 Water Street.) Other discoveries include digging up intact remnants of wooden water pipes, components of the city’s first water system, at Coenties Slip Park; studying the long-defunct burial ground at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; and working alongside the renovation in Washington Square Park, in which she made a major revelation about the former Potter's Field there. With 6sqft, she discusses what it felt like unearthing a ship in Lower Manhattan, the curious headstone she found underneath Washington Square Park, and what people's trash can tell us about New York history.
The full interview ahead

May 11, 2017

It would take the city 43 years to investigate all potentially illegal Airbnb listings

By Devin Gannon

While the state’s updated anti-Airbnb bill has now been in effect for three months, the city has issued fines on just 139 illegal listings, out of the nearly 24,000 that reportedly need to be investigated. The recently enacted legislation builds on the state’s 2010 law that makes it illegal to rent out an apartment for less than 30 days without the owner present. The new law goes further by making it illegal to advertise these short-term rentals through websites like Airbnb. As Crain’s explains, based on the number of listings on the company’s website, it would take the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement nearly 43 years to investigate all of them.
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Policy

City backs away from Yankee Stadium parkland promise in favor of residential high rise

Photo via Wikipedia

May 8, 2017

City backs away from Yankee Stadium parkland promise in favor of residential high rise

By Michelle Cohen

The city’s Economic Development Corp. has announced its support for plans to build up to 1,045 units of market-rate and affordable housing and commercial space on a vacant four-acre stretch of East 149th Street in The Bronx, the New York Post reports. The city had promised a decade ago to replace the more than 25 acres of parkland that was lost when the new Yankee Stadium was greenlighted in 2005; the vacant space was to be the last leg of the Mill Pond Park, off the Harlem River. Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates, a watchdog group, said the "sleazy switcheroo" “screams of Brooklyn Bridge Park all over again," referring to promised waterfront parkland that that became high-rise housing instead.
Find out what's up

May 5, 2017

Flavor Paper and UM Project’s ‘Conduct’ wallpaper doubles as a power source

By Devin Gannon

Design, art, and technology are intertwined in this new product co-developed by wallcovering company Flavor Paper and design firm UM Project. Conduct, an interactive installation at Collective Design, which is part of New York’s design festival NYCXDesign, is a wallpaper that doubles as a power source. As Fast Co.Design reported, the installation is composed of five motorized or electrical objects. If a person touches one of the copper dots on the wall, which is covered with paper that’s printed with conductive ink, they complete an electrical circuit and turn on the object.
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May 3, 2017

City to develop 2,400 new affordable housing units in East Harlem

By Devin Gannon

Mayor de Blasio and his administration have made progress in meeting their goal of building 200,000 affordable units over the span of a decade, as 21,963 new units were added in 2016, the most in 27 years. However, there continues to be a shortage in East Harlem. Out of the nearly 20,000 affordable units, the city brought to all five boroughs, just 249 units have been built in East Harlem, according to a new report by the Department of Housing and Preservation Development (HPD). To better accommodate these residents, the city plans on expediting the construction of 2,400 units of affordable housing over the next few years, as DNA Info reported.
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May 2, 2017

Nearly 80 percent of subway escalators and elevators don’t receive necessary maintenance

By Devin Gannon

The reason behind the incessant breakdown of the subway’s escalators and elevators? Nearly 80 percent of them do not receive the necessary maintenance by the MTA. After an 18-month audit, City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office found that in a random sample of 65 out of the city’s 407 total escalators and elevators, about 50 had not undergone any preventative maintenance service. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, only 20 percent of machines sampled by the comptroller’s office received the scheduled maintenance on time.
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