Photo by Shinya Suzuki on Flickr cc

The MTA and the Partnership for New York City have announced the second round of the Transit Tech Lab accelerator program that launched earlier this year. The inaugural run selected six finalists to participate in an eight-week program dedicated to developing innovative, private sector solutions for the challenges facing our subway, bus, and rail services. Of those six, four companies have already started piloting their products with the MTA. The new round of submissions is specifically seeking entrepreneurs with products that improve accessibility (a major component of the MTA’s recently unveiled capital plan), enhance traffic coordination, or create new sources of revenue. Submissions are open through November 30.

More details

Preliminary design of Corlears shared use path; via DDC.

Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Council Member Carlina Rivera announced Thursday the completed report by independent consulting firm Deltares on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR). As 6sqft previously reported, the project was first developed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and is intended to protect 2.2 miles of Manhattan’s East Side, between East 25th Street and Montgomery Street, from flooding and improve access to waterfront space. According to the city, the ESCR project would protect over 110,000 New Yorkers in the area.

Find out more and read the report

Photo by 6sqft

It’s been 10 years since Times Square went car-free along Broadway, with pedestrian plazas at Herald Square, Madison Square, Union Square North, Grand Army Plaza, and many more soon following. And now, a local Upper West Side group hopes the city will agree to do the same for the northbound stretch of Broadway from 73rd to 79th streets. As Streetsblog reported, last weekend, Streetopia Upper West Side hosted an event, “Celebrate Broadway,” where they closed this portion of the road and filled it with tables and hosted performances in hopes that the enthusiasm will lead to a permanent closure of traffic.

More details

Brooklyn Grange Sunset Park, courtesy of Brooklyn Grange

Brooklyn Grange has opened its third rooftop farm at the Liberty View building along the Sunset Park waterfront. The new facility is the largest rooftop farm in New York City, encompassing 140,000 square feet. In addition to a 55,000-square-foot garden, the space also features a 5,000-square-foot greenhouse with microgreen and hydroponic growing areas and a 6,000-square-foot indoor space that will host a range of community events throughout the year.

Get the details

Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

Ten decommissioned tanks located along the Williamsburg waterfront will get demolished by the city this week, quashing plans from organizers to transform the silos into public space. Over the last four years, a team of designers and park advocates, led by Karen Zabarsky and Stacey Anderson, has pushed for adaptive reuse of the vacant 50-foot tanks into possible performance space, greenhouses, and art galleries. But without enough support from public officials, the team’s project, The Tanks at Bushwick Inlet Park, now comes to an end as the city begins razing the oil tanks.

More here

Photo by Danny Avila for NYC Parks

Although it’s technically safe, you may not want to swim in the East River. Swimming on the East River, however, is an entirely different story. The Floating Pool Lady is not just a pool. It’s a floating pool located in a retrofitted barge that’s currently docked in Barretto Point Park in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. Best of all, it’s the only floating pool in the country.

Jump in

Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft. 

For the past four years, a team of designers and environmentalists led by co-founders Karen Zabarsky and Stacey Anderson has been rallying to save a series of ten 50-foot, decommissioned silos on the Williamsburg waterfront and transform them into a unique, 21st-century park. The project, known as THE TANKS at Bushwick Inlet Park, would be a small part of the larger 28-acre park planned for the waterfront, an area known for it’s “toxin-soaked soil,” as described in a recent New York Magazine article. Zabarsky and Anderson believe in adaptive reuse over demolition, so as the city’s bulldozers draw near, The Tanks team has started a petition on Change.org to save these pieces of Brooklyn’s industrial history.

More details

Credit: James Corner Field Operations, courtesy of the Hudson River Park Trust

The Hudson River Park Trust unveiled on Wednesday a preliminary concept for its plan to bring a public beach to Manhattan. The Meatpacking District site, known as the Gansevoort Peninsula, measures about 5.5 acres on the waterfront and formerly served as a parking lot for the city’s sanitation department. The new park will feature a beach area with kayak access, a sports field, a salt marsh, and areas to picnic and lounge.

See the park

Preliminary design for Corlears Hook Bridge Landing

The city unveiled last week an updated design for its plan to protect an area stretching from the Lower East Side to East 25th Street from flooding. The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) presented on Thursday its preliminary design for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) to Community Board 3, as Curbed NY reported. In response to concerns from residents about the closure of East River Park during the construction period, the city’s updated design incorporates community suggestions, including a new amphitheater and an outdoor fitness area. See the plan

All photos courtesy of the Garment District Alliance

One of the city’s busiest neighborhoods is getting a little slice of peace. The Garment District Alliance and the city’s Department of Transportation unveiled a new street art installation Wednesday afternoon. The nearly 180-foot painting by artist Carla Torres, “Nymph Pond,” takes up the stretch of Broadway between 37th and 38th Streets. The best part? The block with the mural is being temporarily set aside as an “urban garden” until the end of the summer.

See it here