By Dana Schulz, Thu, September 11, 2014 Founded in 1972 by former tax attorney Stephen Ross, the Related Companies got its start securing funding for affordable housing upstate. Before long, the company moved to New York City, bringing affordable units to Battery Park City and the Upper East Side. When the boom years of the 1990’s hit, Related got involved with luxury development, beginning with the renovation and conversion of an historic Beaux Arts building at Union Square into the W Hotel and then the development of 1 Union Square South.
Today, the Related name is attached to some of today’s biggest and most high profile projects, including One Madison and Hudson Yards. And with more than $15 billion in assets, the company is New York’s leading real estate developer.
We take a closer look at Related’s high-end portfolio
By Stephanie Hoina, Wed, September 10, 2014 This extraordinary residence in The Ruxcroft at 20 East 64th Street is so classically elegant we almost felt like we had to get dressed up just to look at its pictures. One of only two units in this full-service 25-foot wide mansion condominium, its 2010 renovation was careful to restore many of the original period details, most notably the sweeping staircase winding its way through the home. How can anyone not feel elegant gliding down that majestic flight?
More pure elegance right this way
By Diane Pham, Wed, September 10, 2014 Freshkills Park is the largest landfill reclamation project of its kind in the world, and aside from a weekly public (but escorted) program, it remains a closed site during its massive transformation. Now, the park is ready to give New York inhabitants a better look at what’s underway, letting visitors roam free across more than 300 acres of the 2,200 acre park on September 28th from 11AM-4PM. The event, which celebrates the New Springville Greenway, will be like no other, offering up a flurry of fun outdoor activities and music and, above all, a chance to experience the impressive infrastructural project as it moves forward.
More on the sneak ‘peak’ event here
By Michelle Cohen, Wed, September 3, 2014 Photo: Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint by Premshree Pillai cc
From “coffices” to lab-like minimalist gourmet coffee meccas to cozy neighborhood hangouts, neighborhood cafes are a fine example of the essential “third place” mentioned in discussions of community dynamics: that place, neither work nor home, where regulars gather and everyone’s welcome.
Along with yoga studios, art galleries, community gardens, vintage clothing shops, restaurants with pedigreed owners and adventurous menus and, some say, a change in the offerings on local grocery shelves, cafes are often the earliest sign of neighborhood change. The neighborhood cafe serves as a testing ground for community cohesiveness while adventurous entrepreneurs test the still-unfamiliar waters around them. Beyond the literal gesture of offering sustenance, cafes provide a place where you can actually see who your neighbors are and appreciate the fact that at least some of them are willing to make an investment locally.
Get a fleeting glimpse of old New York City cafe culture in the West Village, meet the future of coffee distribution in Red Hook.
By Dana Schulz, Sat, June 7, 2014 Photo by John-Paul Palescandolo
In New York, many of the grand Beaux-Arts masterpieces — Grand Central Terminal, the Queensboro Bridge, the City Hall subway station, Columbia University, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine — have one striking element in common: Guastavino tiles. Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino and his son Rafael Jr. brought with them to New York at the end of the 19th century a Mediterranean design technique from the 14th century for thin-tile structural vaulting. The expertly engineered and architecturally beautiful vaults were lightweight, fireproof, load-bearing, cost-efficient, and able to span large interior areas.
Today there are over 250 Guastavino works in New York City alone, not to mention the 1,000 throughout the U.S. The Museum of the City of New York’s current exhibition, Palaces for the People: Guastavino and the Art of Structural Tile, explores Guastavinos’s spaces in New York and showcases “never-before-seen objects, artifacts, photographs, and documents.” We couldn’t help doing a little Guastavino exploration ourselves, and have put together some of our favorite tiled sites that you can actually visit.
See our picks right this way
By Jason Carpenter, Thu, May 29, 2014 While going green has more or less become the norm in most modern day construction in New York, some projects have really outdone themselves from the ingenuity of design to the sheer scale of size. This is a city where the new police academy will harness the power of re-usable rainwater, and where the Barclays Center‘s arena roof is being covered with 130,000 square feet of new garden space. New York is placing itself at the forefront of green design and green construction, and here are just eight of the biggest green projects happening right now.
The top green developments in the city this way
By Jason Carpenter, Fri, May 23, 2014 Design is on display in New York’s luxury hotels, where the interior look and feel is as important as where it’s located. From the lobbies that welcome guests on their first steps into the building to the bars and dining areas later at night, some of a hotel’s best design work lays outside the guests’ rooms. Here are just a few of our favorite hotel interiors.
See more amazing hotel lobbies here
By Lori Zimmer, Tue, May 13, 2014 Spring is in full swing, so how about venturing around the city this week to experience some of the arts and culture New York has to offer?
Hob knob with donors and creatives at the annual Party in the Garden at the Museum of Modern Art, check out a secret bar behind an art opening, indulge in all things design at ICFF this weekend, or experience an art installation that encourages sleep. Another great week is yours for the taking!
All the best events here
