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A one-bedroom on the 57th floor of Trump Tower closed earlier this month for $1.825 million, marking just the second sale of 2018 at the Midtown building, as Mansion Global first reported. Comparatively, there were seven sales in 2017 and eight in 2016 at the building, developed by President Donald Trump. While the sales slump at Trump Tower reflects a broader decline in sales at luxury properties across Manhattan, politics surrounding the building may also be playing a role.
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West Chelsea’s Starrett-Lehigh building to be expo space, food hall

Rendering courtesy of RXR.

October 17, 2018

West Chelsea’s Starrett-Lehigh building to be expo space, food hall

Plans for the block-deep Starrett-Lehigh building on Manhattan's far west flank just below Hudson Yards have been in discussion since the building was purchased by RXR Realty in 2011. RXR recently announced that the former freight terminal, built in 1931 and named a city landmark in 1986, will get new public life as a huge event and expo space, plus retail and a food hall. The 43,000-square-foot project will be designed by ICRAVE, who brought LeDistrict to downtown and are creating another food hall in nearby Hudson Yards.
Find out why the West Side needs another food hall

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Images (L to R): The Amberly, Helena 57 West, Revetment House and 4540 Center Boulevard

October 13, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): The Amberly, Helena 57 West, Revetment House and 4540 Center Boulevard The Amberly, 33-Story Tower in Downtown Brooklyn, Launches Rentals from $2,100/Month [link] Manhattan Luxury Rentals at Helena 57 West Offer Up to 1 Month Free + Reduced Security Deposits [link] Live at Revetment House in Jersey City with 1 Month […]

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Midtown pocket park with an urban waterfall is designated a National Historic Place

Via Terry Tynes on Flickr (CC)

October 8, 2018

Midtown pocket park with an urban waterfall is designated a National Historic Place

Greenacre Park, a famed vest pocket park in Midtown, was added last week to the National Registry of Historic Places. Measuring just over 6,300 square feet, the tiny three-level park features a dramatic 25-foot-high waterfall in the middle of Second and Third Avenues on East 51st Street. "This beautiful park delivers a connection that builds social bonds with family, friends and community and I congratulate the Greenacre Foundation on this national recognition," Rose Harvey, commissioner of NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said.
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LIC group wants to rename Hunter’s Point South Park to make it more recognizable citywide

Via Flickr cc

October 1, 2018

LIC group wants to rename Hunter’s Point South Park to make it more recognizable citywide

A Long Island City parks group wants to change the name of Hunter's Point South Park, a waterfront green space in the Queens neighborhood, the LIC Post reported on Thursday. The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that manages the 11-acre park, says despite being a "gem of Queens," the park does not have "the city-wide recognition it deserves."
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October 1, 2018

Lord & Taylor will end its 104-year run with a massive sale and just two holiday windows

Photo courtesy of Lord & Taylor At the beginning of next year, Lord & Taylor will close its Fifth Avenue flagship after a 104-year run. Owner Hudson’s Bay Co. sold the 676,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance building to WeWork for $850 million a year ago in an attempt to keep the department store brand afloat. With just a few months left at their storied location, Lord & Taylor will launch on Thursday a final “store closing” sale that will last through the holidays, according to the Post. And speaking of the holidays, they've also decided that instead of their normal six window displays between 38th and 39th Streets, they'll only decorate two this holiday season.
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Campaign launches to rename a Brooklyn building after Flatbush native Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Via Borough President Eric Adams Change.org petition

September 28, 2018

Campaign launches to rename a Brooklyn building after Flatbush native Ruth Bader Ginsburg

In some not-terrible Supreme Court news, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could be getting a Brooklyn Building named after her. Borough President Eric Adams launched a campaign on Thursday calling on City Hall to rename the Brooklyn Municipal Building after Ginsburg, a native of Flatbush. This past August marked Ginsburg's 25th year as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, as only the second woman to sit on the court.
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New renderings for Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 5 million square feet of vertical manufacturing space

Waterfront space adjacent to Building 131; via WXY and bloomimages

September 27, 2018

New renderings for Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 5 million square feet of vertical manufacturing space

After announcing a $2.5 billion expansion of the Brooklyn site in January, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) released on Thursday new renderings of the plan, which would add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space. Developed by WXY architecture + urban design, the plan centers around three sites, all including new vertical manufacturing space along with public, open space and connectivity improvements. About 75 percent of the 10,000 jobs added (bringing the total to the site 30,000) will be manufacturing jobs, with the rest being service-oriented and creative work. The renderings released of the Yard this week by the BNYDC gives us a better look at how the 300-acre development will flow with the surrounding neighborhoods.
See the renderings

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Amazon opens brick-and-mortar store in Soho with only top-rated products

Photo by Jordan Stead for Amazon

September 27, 2018

Amazon opens brick-and-mortar store in Soho with only top-rated products

Amazon on Thursday opened a physical store in Soho, stocked only with items rated 4 stars and above by online customers. The new concept, called Amazon 4-star, is located at 72 Spring Street, between Crosby and Lafayette Streets. By using customer ratings and reviews from their website, the store's products will feature customer review cards with quotes from actual reviews.
More here

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New Jersey has a new tallest tower; Queens Night Market returns this weekend

By 6sqft

Public observation decks at New York City skyscrapers are having a moment. [WSJ] Roughly 33,000 new apartments will be delivered in Manhattan by 2021. [Crain’s] MTA hires two dozen station managers to keep platforms clean and enhance straphanger customer service. [MTA] The Queens International Night Market returns for its fall season this Saturday. [TimeOut] A new pop-art […]

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Cuomo will bring a Hurricane Maria Memorial to Battery Park City

Battery Park City via Flickr cc

September 25, 2018

Cuomo will bring a Hurricane Maria Memorial to Battery Park City

To mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria last week--along with new reports that confirm 3,000 Puerto Ricans lost their lives in the third-most-powerful storm to ever hit the U.S.--Governor Cuomo signed an executive order establishing a new Hurricane Maria Memorial Commission to provide recommendations pertaining to the site, design, and installation of a permanent memorial in Battery Park City. New York City has the largest number of Puerto Rican residents in the U.S. mainland and, to date, Cuomo has set aside $13 million to aide the more than 11,000 displaced Hurricane Maria victims living in New York state.
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Times Square Theater to get a $100M makeover; developer hopes for Apple, Amazon, or Coke

Rendering of the theater post-renovation. Image: Stillman Development International

September 19, 2018

Times Square Theater to get a $100M makeover; developer hopes for Apple, Amazon, or Coke

New York developer Stillman Development International LLC has signed a 73-year-maximum lease on the Times Square Theater on West 42nd Street with plans for a $100 million makeover in keeping with neighbors like Hershey’s Chocolate World and Old Navy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shuttered for almost 30 years, the theater, which opened on September 30, 1920 with Florence Reed starring in "The Mirage," is seen by some as the last vestige of the neighborhood's descent into late 20th century blight before rising to new heights as a tourist mecca.
A new idea: Retail!

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September 18, 2018

Interactive map lets you explore Prospect Park’s 200 tree species

Through a $75,000 Urban Forestry Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Prospect Park Alliance recently surveyed about 12,000 of the park's 30,000 trees. The survey provides a nuanced picture of the park’s ever-changing ecosystem and important insights into the economic, environmental and health benefits of "Brooklyn’s backyard." You can view an interactive map of Prospect Park’s trees and their benefit to the community here; you can also examine the results on the Prospect Park TreeKeeper Interactive Map.
To the trees

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September 17, 2018

Zuccotti Park gets a new rose sculpture; Sales launch at 111 West 57th and Bjarke Ingels’ The Xi

Acclaimed German artist Isa Genzken created a 26-foot-tall rose sculpture for Zuccotti Park. [6sqft inbox] Brooklyn Bridge Park’s long-plagued Squibb Bridge won’t be reopening any time soon. [BK Paper] Bjarke Ingels’ twisting condo The XI launched sales, ranging from a $2.85 million one-bedroom to a $28 million penthouse. [CityRealty] Sales also launched at 111 West 57th […]

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A NYC guide to Thursday’s Primaries; Can the MTA cool the subway off like London?

Via 6sqft (L); Via WNYC/Flickr (R)

September 10, 2018

A NYC guide to Thursday’s Primaries; Can the MTA cool the subway off like London?

By 6sqft

The New York Blood Center is holding nearly 100 blood drives across the NYC metro region to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11. [Metro NY] First came the two Targets, now a Marshalls is opening next to Katz’s. Is the Lower East Side “already gone” to gentrification? [NYDN] A guide for NYC residents […]

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Expansion of Hudson Yards green space could be NYC’s most expensive park project ever

Rendering via MVVA and the Hudson Yards Development Corporation

September 6, 2018

Expansion of Hudson Yards green space could be NYC’s most expensive park project ever

The $374 million plan to extend green space at Hudson Yards would be the most expensive park project in New York City history, Crain's reported Thursday. Last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced financing had been secured for the extension of Hudson Park and Boulevard, which currently runs between West 33rd and West 36th Streets. This funding allows the park to extend to West 39th Street.
Get the details

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Cuomo gives $15M for community center at Bedford-Union Armory; Planning sessions start for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s public pool

Bedford Union Armory Redevelopment rendering by JM Zoning; A conceptual rendering of the pool via Brooklyn Bridge Park (R)

September 4, 2018

Cuomo gives $15M for community center at Bedford-Union Armory; Planning sessions start for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s public pool

By 6sqft

Governor Cuomo announced that his office will fund the $15 million Carey Gabay Community Center at Crown Heights’ Bedford-Union Armory development. [Curbed] In 2011, the city introduced green cabs as a way to service areas where yellow cabs typically wouldn’t travel. That same year, Uber began operating in NYC. [NYT] The Hunters Point South ferry landing […]

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Newark complex designed as Amazon HQ2 bid would include the city’s tallest towers

HQ2 concept rendering by Heller Manus Architects via Jersey Digs

September 4, 2018

Newark complex designed as Amazon HQ2 bid would include the city’s tallest towers

Since the announcement that Amazon would be choosing the city that would host its second headquarters by the end of the year, competition between contenders has been heating up. 6sqft reported last month that Newark, still in the running along with Los Angeles, Denver, Miami, New York, Boston, three sections of the Washington, D.C., region and Toronto, approved a shiny new incentive in the form of ordinances offering nearly $1 billion in payroll tax exemptions to companies that create at least 30,000 jobs and invest $3 billion in the city over 20 years. Now, Jersey Digs reports that a group consisting of local residents and a California-based architecture firm have come up with a snazzy proposal for Amazon's HQ2 that includes a location and designs for a futuristic complex that would include Newark's tallest towers.
Find out more

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Inside the worst train wreck in NYC history; Lower East Side ferry route launches today

A photo of the Malbone Street Wreck on Nov. 1, 1918, courtesy of the New York Transit Museum (L); Via NYC Ferry (R)

August 29, 2018

Inside the worst train wreck in NYC history; Lower East Side ferry route launches today

By 6sqft

On Nov. 1, 1918, 100 lives were lost when a Brooklyn Rapid Transit employee lost control of a train at the Prospect Park station. The event was so horrific that the name of the street was changed so New Yorkers would not be reminded of it. [NYP] Eight unique ways to celebrate Labor Day weekend in […]

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August 29, 2018

FAO Schwarz will reopen this November in Rockefeller Center

It's been more than three years since FAO Schwarz closed its doors after 150 years, ending its run as the nation's oldest toy store. At the time, owner Toys “R” Us blamed rising rents at Midtown's General Motors Building, but assured the public they'd be looking for a new location. And since California-based firm ThreeSixty Group Inc. took over ownership in 2016, that day has finally come. According to the Wall Street Journal, FAO Schwarz will open a new 20,000-square-foot location in Rockefeller Center this November. Part of the company's new strategy is to bring a "sense of theater" to the store, which will include costumed employees, magicians and dancers, and product demonstrators.
Get a look at the new storefront

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Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza to undergo a $9M restoration

Via Wally Gobetz/Flickr

August 24, 2018

Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza to undergo a $9M restoration

The historic entrance to Brooklyn's Prospect Park is getting a makeover. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday a plan to restore Grand Army Plaza and its iconic Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch located in Prospect Heights. The $8.9 million project, overseen by the Prospect Park Alliance and the city's Parks Department, includes replacing the roof of the arch, cleaning and repointing the brick and stone structure, repairing the iron staircases, and updating the lighting. Plus, the plaza-framing landscaped berms will be replanted.
Find out more

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August 22, 2018

Empire State Building reveals its new Deco-inspired Observatory entrance

There are two things people remember when they visit the top of the Empire State Building, "the views and the line," said Anthony Malkin, CEO and Chairman of Empire State Realty Trust, at an unveiling this morning of the landmark's new Observatory entrance. As phase one of the decade-long Empire State ReBuilding project to modernize the building, the new entrance will greatly increase space and reduce the wait time for the 4.2 million annual Observatory guests. The space includes a "grand staircase which splits around a two-story architectural model of ESB," along with new self-service ticket kiosks, digital screens showing images of the building over its 87 years, and high-tech "airport-style" security.
Take a tour!

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August 22, 2018

New tool maps every active construction project in NYC in real time

New York City's construction craze just got easier to track, thanks to a new tool that maps every major, active project across the five boroughs. The city's Department of Buildings released this week an interactive map and dashboard that provides real-time information on every active construction site in the city. According to the data, there are currently 7,437 active permits filed and nearly 198,000,00 total square feet of construction, as of Wednesday.
See just how construction crazy NYC is

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August 20, 2018

Interactive map displays changes in New York City’s street grid over the last 90 years