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August 18, 2021

How New Yorkers can help Haiti after the earthquake

On Saturday, August 14, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. The current death toll is 1,941, though this is expected to rise in the coming days (search efforts have been disrupted by Tropical Storm Grace). According to CNN, UNICEF also says that roughly 1.2 million people, including 540,000 children, have been impacted by the quake. It is especially devastating to Haiti, as the Caribbean country was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 that killed between 220,000 and 300,000 people. For New Yorkers looking to help the relief effort, there are plenty of ways to donate cash to relief organizations or drop off supplies.
A list of ways to help
July 29, 2021

Wegmans will open in the old Astor Place Kmart location in 2023

Earlier this month, the Kmart on Astor Place, a strangely beloved neighborhood fixture, closed abruptly after 25 years. The store at 770 Broadway was one of only two locations in Manhattan; the Penn Station outpost closed in early 2020. Now, landlord Vornado Realty Trust has announced that they will bring in Wegmans grocery store as the new tenant, scheduled to open in the second half of 2023.
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July 26, 2021

New minor league baseball team officially headed to Staten Island next year

America's pastime will return to Staten Island next year. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday a plan to reopen the former Staten Island Yankees stadium with a new minor league baseball team. The Richmond County Bank Ballpark did not open in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year, the waterfront stadium sat empty after Major League Baseball removed the "Baby Bombers" from its parent team as part of a reorganization of its farm system.
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July 23, 2021

New Clinton Hill rental opens middle-income housing lottery, units from $2,431/month

A new rental building in Clinton Hill has launched a middle-income housing lottery for 13 units. The apartments, which are available to those earning 130 percent of the area median income, include $2,431/month studios, $2,592/month one-bedrooms, and $3,090/month two-bedrooms. By comparison, market-rate units in the building start around $3,000/month for studios and $4,800/month for two-bedrooms. The boutique building is located at 26 Quincy Street and offers tenants an on-site gym, rooftop, covered parking, and laundry in each unit.
Find out if you qualify
July 13, 2021

Climate change-themed mini-golf course opens at Two Trees’ waterfront site in Williamsburg

On the site of a proposed mixed-use development in Williamsburg, a temporary climate change-themed miniature golf course has opened. Two Trees Management on Monday announced visitors can now enjoy Putting Green, an 18-hole course designed by local groups that focuses on sustainability and climate issues, as well as a 25,000-square foot sustainable farm. The pop-up mini-golf course sits on the future site of the developer's project "River Ring," which includes two huge towers designed by Bjarke Ingels with more than 1,050 units of housing, a new YMCA, and a public beach.
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June 29, 2021

Coney Island’s newest roller coaster the Phoenix will open July 4 weekend

In 1920, in the aftermath of a global pandemic, Coney Island's iconic Wonder Wheel opened. Now, over 100 years later, the Brooklyn amusement park is welcoming another new ride following a difficult year for New Yorkers. The Phoenix roller coaster will officially open at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park on July 1, just in time for the Fourth of July weekend.
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June 24, 2021

Target will open first Long Island City location at One Court Square

View from last year of One Court Square; Map data © 2020 Google One Court Square, the former Citigroup Building, was long the tallest tower in Queens until it was overtaken by the residential Skyline Tower. In addition to its prominence in the skyline, the building is also known for its failed deal with Amazon. The retailer had planned to lease one million square feet of space at the tower as part of its former HQ2 plan for Long Island City. But, as the Post first reported, One Court Square has inked a deal with another major retailer--Target. The store will take 31,000 square feet at the tower, with no exact opening date set.
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May 11, 2021

15 places New Yorkers can donate to help India during the Covid crisis

Across the world, 1 in 3 new daily Covid cases is reported in India, with less than 10 percent of the country currently vaccinated. Since the start of the pandemic, the country has reported nearly 23 million cases and over 240,000 deaths, though it's believed that these figures have been largely undercounted. But all of these numbers and statistics can not truly capture the pain that so many people--whether presently in India or who have a connection to the country--are experiencing. If you want to do your part to help India during its Covid crisis, we have put together a list of 15 reputable organizations accepting donations that will provide everything from PPE and oxygen to hygiene supplies and food.
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March 30, 2021

West Elm opens first NYC outlet store at Industry City

Furniture and decor retailer West Elm on Monday opened its first outlet store in New York City. The store occupies 15,000 square feet in Sunset Park's Industry City complex, which already houses the company's massive "Makers Studio" workshop. The six million square foot Brooklyn campus is home to a number of furniture and design outlets, including ABC Carpet + Home and Design Within Reach.
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February 11, 2021

After four years and $150M, the barricades come down around Trump Tower

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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January 19, 2021

$100M proposal aims to turn Union Square into NYC’s ‘most accessible’ space

Open space around Union Square would increase by more than 33 percent under a new proposal to transform the Manhattan neighborhood into New York City's "most accessible space." The Union Square Partnership on Tuesday released a plan that expands Union Square Park by about two acres to the edges around the square and connects landscaped plazas with safe, pedestrian-friendly space. Designed in collaboration with Marvel, the proposal is the result of a two-year community out-reach process.
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January 8, 2021

Petition launches to save artifacts of Dead Horse Bay ahead of radioactive waste cleanup

Covered with bottles, ceramics, and other 1950s household items and debris, Dead Horse Bay is a treasure trove in southern Brooklyn for collectors and historians. Last August, the National Park Service closed the southern part of the refuse-filled spot after finding radioactive contamination. Now, a petition has launched urging the NPS to collect and preserve as much as the debris as possible at Dead Horse Bay ahead of its planned cleanup of the site.
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January 7, 2021

IKEA’s first small-format location opens in Queens

The first small-format IKEA in the United States will open in Queens this month. The retailer, known for its affordable flat-pack furniture, will take up 115,000 square feet at a shopping mall in Rego Park. Expected to open sometime in early January, the new store is the third IKEA in New York City, joining existing locations in Red Hook and on the Upper East Side.
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January 4, 2021

Running from NYC to Canada, 750-mile Empire State Trail is now complete

The longest multi-use state trail in the United States officially opened in New York last week. Running from New York City north to Canada and from Albany to Buffalo along the Erie Canal, the 750-mile Empire State Trail offers off-road trails for cyclists, hikers, runners, cross-country skiers, and snow-shoers. The Trail, which connects 20 regional trails to create a continuous statewide route, will be open year-round.
More here
December 30, 2020

6SQFT’S TOP STORIES OF 2020!

Like it was for everyone, 2020 was challenging for team 6sqft. We started working from home, we stopped being out and about in our beloved city, and we shifted our coverage to keep our readers up-to-date on the ever-evolving pandemic. But there were also a lot of silver linings. We helped our fellow New Yorkers get the info they needed, while also providing a welcome escape through our cool listings column and upbeat guides. Ahead, see which stories you read the most this year, from tracking COVID cases and antibody rates by zip code to outdoor dining and hiking guides to celebrity real estate and a castle for sale.
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December 18, 2020

Atlantic City is auctioning off chance to blow up Trump’s former casino

You can bid farewell to Donald Trump's one-term presidency by bidding on the rights to blow up one of his former buildings. Atlantic City is auctioning off the chance to press the button that will implode the shuttered Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino, Mayor Marty Small announced on Thursday. Plans to demolish the building, which has sat empty since closing in 2014, have been in the works for years. Money raised in the auction will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City, the mayor said.
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December 10, 2020

The best places to live in Westchester

Moving to the suburbs after growing out of a New York City apartment is not a new phenomenon. But after many New Yorkers spent the early days of the coronavirus pandemic cooped up inside small spaces, trading in city life for country living has become more attractive than ever. Westchester County continues to draw new residents with its affordable and spacious homes, access to nature, proximity to Manhattan, and abundant public transit options. But with six cities, 19 towns, and 20 villages, choosing where to live in Westchester can be daunting. Whether you're looking for walkable urban areas with a reputable school system, artsy towns with waterfront access, or rural villages with more horses than people, there's a home for you in this diverse county.
Get the full list
December 7, 2020

Former toxic landfill in Jersey City to become public park with COVID-19 memorial

A former toxic landfill in Jersey City will become a public park with a memorial dedicated to residents who lost their lives from the coronavirus. Mayor Steven Fulop last week unveiled the final $10 million phase of the plan to transform the Superfund site into Skyway Park, 30 acres of green space with both passive and active uses, waterfront access, a butterfly garden, and a memorial grove that will contain more than 500 trees, each representing a Jersey City resident who died earlier this year and who were not permitted a proper funeral because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Get the details
November 5, 2020

Jersey City will mail masks to all 120,000 of its households

Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop joined the Health and Human Services Department and the Office of Innovation today to announce the city's #MaskUpJC campaign, which includes mailing masks to all 120,000 households throughout the city. The masks feature five city-branded designs and will arrive in a larger package that includes a letter from Mayor Fulop and a poster.
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October 30, 2020

Greenwich Village home of urbanist Jane Jacobs gets historic plaque

The former New York City home of author and organizer Jane Jacobs was honored this week with a historic plaque. The Village Preservation on Thursday unveiled the plaque at 555 Hudson Street in Greenwich Village during a virtual event. The 1842-constructed row house is where Jacobs, who died in 2006, wrote "Death and Life of Great American Cities," a critique of urban planning of the 1950s and a call for more safe, walkable city streets and mixed-use development.
Learn more here
September 30, 2020

Tribeca’s eco-friendly Pier 26 opens with innovative man-made tidal marsh

A new eco-friendly public pier opened in Tribeca on Wednesday, the first to open at the four-mile-long Hudson River Park in 10 years. Designed by landscape architecture firm OLIN, Pier 26 spans 2.5 acres, features indigenous plants and trees, and boasts multi-use recreation fields. But the most unique element of the new $37.7 million pier is a man-made rocky tidal marsh and the cantilevered walkway that hangs above it, providing an ecological experience and incredible water and Statue of Liberty views at the same time.
See it here
September 21, 2020

In Union Square, a massive ‘climate clock’ counts down to Earth’s deadline

The massive electronic clock in Union Square that has puzzled New Yorkers for over two decades has been repurposed as a count down to climate disaster. Created by Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd, the "Climate Clock" displays the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds the world has left to make significant changes before the effects of global warming become permanent. The new installation comes as Climate Week NYC kicks off this week, alongside the United Nations General Assembly.
Details this way
September 21, 2020

New York will construct a statue of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her native Brooklyn

United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be recognized with a statue in her hometown of Brooklyn, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Saturday, just one day after the death of the trailblazing icon. Born in 1933 to Russian-Jewish immigrants and raised in a clapboard house on East 9th Street in Midwood, Ginsburg attended the city's public schools and later Cornell and Columbia Universities. In 1993, Ginsburg, who fought for gender equality her entire career, became the second woman to ever serve as a justice on the Supreme Court.
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