August 31, 2015

The Most Tourist-Hating Cities; How New York is Your Bagel Order

New art piece atop Clinton Hill’s Broken Angel Condo pays tribute to the building’s history. [Brownstoner] City Comptroller Scott Stringer wants to make Stonewall Inn a national monument for its role in the modern LGBTQ movement. [NYP] A tweet-based comparison shows that residents of Arlington, Texas hate tourists more than New Yorkers. [CityLab] The gentrifier’s guide […]

August 31, 2015

Garden Floor Charm at this Boerum Hill Townhouse Rental, Asking $5,500 a Month

If you're in the market for a duplex rental apartment, you can't get any better than the parlor and the ground floor of a Brooklyn townhouse. For starters, you're getting lots of that historic interior charm, not to mention the big front windows and the high ceilings of the parlor floor. And with access to the garden floor comes with it access to the garden! This duplex rental, at 379 State Street in Boerum Hill, covers those very floors and yes, it has access to a private garden. It's now up for rent asking $5,500 a month.
See more
August 31, 2015

Revealed: Floor Plans and Pricing for Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower

After progress crept along for nearly ten years, Jean Nouvel's highly anticipated MoMA Tower, officially known as 53W53, is now inching closer to the finish line. A year ago we got a peak at unofficial penthouse floorplans, and the first interior renderings were revealed in February, followed by a pre-sales-launch video of the interiors in May. Now, the Post has uncovered floorplans and pricing for three of the units in the 1,050-foot, 82-story asymmetrical tower. They include a 3,846-square-foot, 55th-floor three-bedroom asking $21.7 million; a smaller 55th-floor three-bedroom for $14.42 million; and a 4,362-square-foot, 72nd-floor three-bedroom duplex going for $39.2 million.
More floorplans and pricing
August 31, 2015

A Price Cut for a Gated Mansion in Jamaica Estates, Queens

Yes, you can live in a 6,500-square-foot, five bedroom mansion right in New York City. It's here, at 184-15 Hovendon Road in Jamaica Estates, Queens. The neighborhood is known for its large plots and spacious freestanding homes, but this property takes it to the next level. Not only is it gated in, but the interior is awash in marble, coffered ceilings and Venetian plaster walls. It's got a new asking price since it first hit the market last year, with a price chop down from $3.488 million to $3.388 million.
Check out this interior
August 29, 2015

August’s 10 Most-Read Stories and This Week’s Features

August’s 10 Most-Read Stories NeighborhoodX’s 3D Map Reveals the Blocks Where Real Estate Prices Are Soaring Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo Nabs $18.5M Trump Tower Loft Supermodel and Daughter of Zipcar Founder, Cameron Russell Scoops Up a $1.5M Bed-Stuy Townhouse See NYC’s Subway Lines Superimposed Over an Aerial Photo of the City Construction Kicks Off at […]

August 28, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Courtside at the Century-Old West Side Tennis Club With Roland Meier and Bob Ingersole

With the U.S. Open starting on Monday, tennis fever is once again sweeping across the city. Over the next two weeks, thousands of New Yorkers will hop on the 7 train or the Long Island Rail Road to watch the likes of Roger Federer and Serena Williams play in Flushing Meadows at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. However, prior to 1978, tennis players and fans found themselves playing and cheering at a different venue: The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. The West Side Tennis Club was the former home of the U.S. Open. Founded in 1892 in Manhattan, the club moved to Forest Hills in 1913, where it played host to many great moments in tennis history. Following the U.S. Open's relocation, The West Side Tennis Club faced a number of challenges and retreated from the spotlight. But after years under the radar, the club's president Roland Meier and tennis director Bob Ingersole are helping The West Side Tennis Club re-emerge as a major player on the tennis scene. We recently spoke with Roland and Bob to learn how history and modernity mix in Forest Hills.
Read our interview with the pair here
August 28, 2015

Want to Dine Al Fresco Tonight? This Interactive Map Shows All 1,357 Sidewalk Cafés in NYC

This time of year, who wants to eat inside? New Yorkers are constantly on the hunt for a great al fresco restaurant where they can snag a table and enjoy the warm weather and people watch. And with this handy new map from the city, picking a spot just got a whole lot easier. The interactive platform plots all 1,357 sidewalk cafés in the city, as well as how many outdoor tables and chairs are allowed, pending applications, license status, and health grades. But interestingly enough, the Department of Consumer Affairs didn't create the map to make life easier for foodies; they want to "boost transparency and reduce confusion surrounding the licensing process," according to Crain's.
Find out more
August 28, 2015

Enchanting 1930s Tudor Home Is Just $429K, but Also Way Out in Queens

Have you ever heard of Laurelton? If not, start Googling. It's a neighborhood in Queens where you can buy a single-family home for $429,000—a very impressive price in today's real estate market. It's a Tudor built in around 1930 with a charming exterior, unique details on the interior, a small front and back yard and a garage. Of course, at that price, you'll make some kind of sacrifice—it's not located anywhere near a subway station. But if you're in the market for an affordable single-family, don't write this one off.
Check it out
August 28, 2015

OKCupid Co-Founder Picks Up a Greenpoint Townhouse for $2.12M

A co-founder of everybody's favorite dating site OKCupid has just scooped up a sweet townhouse at 925 Lorimer Street in Greenpoint, according to property records just released. Christian Rudder—now a budding musician and father—was listed alongside his Bishop Allen bandmate Michael Tapper (also of We Are Scientists fame) on the sale. The home, which is described as "3,400 square feet of endless opportunities" is sure to offer the pair and their friends a "typical Friday night" that's anything but typical.
Have a closer look inside here
August 28, 2015

Decorate Your Home With Paintings of Hipster Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

Show your support for the Democratic party, or the presidents of Republican past, by outfitting your walls with these inked canvas prints from artist Amit Shimoni. In what he calls "Hipstory," Shimoni takes iconic political figures and gives them a complete makeover that dresses them in the clothing and hairstyles of today's trendiest millennial. In addition to a purple ombre-haired Hillary and tatted up Barack, others like JFK, George Washington and the Dalai Lama sport everything from nose rings to hoodies and gold chains–the typical hallmarks of the Bedford Avenue crowd.
See more of your favorite politicians hipsterized here
August 28, 2015

New Renderings of Fisher Brothers’ Curvy Murray Hill Rental at 225 East 39th Street

It's always a pleasure when a hulking above-ground parking garage bites the dust; this is not Miami after all, take the subway! And thanks to the legendary real estate firm Fisher Brothers, a soul-crushing 705-car parking garage at 225 East 39th Street was razed last year in preparation for an elegant 36-story rental tower. New renderings posted on the development firm's website illustrate how the tower may bring a bit of pizzazz to a rather un-glamorous section of Murray Hill. With completion scheduled for spring 2017, groundwork is well underway with sections of the foundation slab poured and steel rebar projecting skyward.
More on the project ahead
August 28, 2015

This Tiny Upper West Side Studio Knows How to Maximize Its Space

If you've got very little living space to work with, you have to be smart. That's the situation at this tiny studio apartment, located inside the Upper West Side co-op building at 327 West 85th Street. There's no square footage listed–probably because there isn't much to list–but it's basically an open living area and kitchen, with one closet and a bathroom. The current owner, however, has created a space that seems liveable and downright cute. It's currently asking $398,000.
See more
August 28, 2015

Hudson Yards 7 Train Station Will Officially Open on September 13th

We once had a friend who lived in midtown all the way over on 12th Avenue...and let's just say we rarely visited. But what was once a subway wasteland is finally getting its very own subway station. After years of delays, the new 7 train stop at 34th Street-Hudson Yards will officially open on September 13th, at 1:00pm to be exact. The extension from its current endpoint at Times Square has cost the city $2.4 billion since construction commenced in 2007.
More details
August 27, 2015

Before LaGuardia, There Was Glenn H. Curtiss Airport

Last month, Governor Cuomo revealed his $4 billion plan to overhaul LaGuardia Airport, the third-worst airport in the country that Vice President Biden recently likened to a third-world country. While today it's hard to imagine New York City without its sub-par airports (JFK is THE worst airport in the nation), they weren't always a fixture in the city. In fact, LaGuardia was preceded by a much more modest facility with links to world aviation history -- Glenn H. Curtiss Airport. It opened in 1929 as a private airfield off Flushing Bay; became a commercial airport called North Beach in 1935; and a decade later was changed to what we know today when then Mayor La Guardia wanted the city to have its own airport and not have to rely on Newark.
Get the full history right here
August 27, 2015

Duplex Loft in a Former Ping Pong Factory Asks $1.1 Million in Clinton Hill

110 Clifton Place, in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, is a prewar warehouse building that formerly housed a ping pong factory. Today, unsurprisingly, it's home to luxury loft apartments. This one is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom duplex with a whole lotta space—1,200 square feet to be exact—that also comes with its own private roof deck. The listing calls it "quintessential loft living" and we'd have to agree, with the high ceilings, spiral staircase and big windows. Its asking price? $1.1 million.
See more
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August 27, 2015

Here Is New York City Transformed Into a Colorful (Scale) Landscape of LEGO Blocks

Click here for a bigger version >> LEGO has for years been turning NYC landmarks into scale models that allow us to enjoy their architectural splendor at a more human scale. But here's an artist that's morphed the entire island of Manhattan, its surrounding boroughs, and all of its structures into a trippy visualization that lets us take in the city's topography from another vantage.
More on the image here
August 27, 2015

SUNplace: A Solar-Powered Mobile BBQ Concept for Cooking Al Fresco

Want to throw a Labor Day barbecue, but don't have any outdoor space? This mobile grill can be transported to the beach or park for the perfect al-fresco dinner party. SUNplace is a contemporary BBQ powered by the most basic, clean, and accessible source of free energy we have -- the sun. Conceptualized by the creative duo Francesca Lanzavecchia and Hunn Waithe, together making up the design firm Lanzavecchia-Wai, the table highlights both technical cooking and the social aspect that comes with it.
Learn more about this sun-powered grill
August 27, 2015

Construction Update: Loggia-Crowned Condominium Finally Rises Next to Bryant Park

Bryant Park is one of the city's most cherished spaces, providing a much-needed oasis from the stone and glass canyons of Midtown. But debuting in 2017, a mixed-use tower will grant home buyers their first opportunity to purchase condos directly alongside the ten-acre respite. Simply named the Bryant, the 200,000-square-foot building at 16 West 40th Street will house 57 condo units perched 200 feet above a five-star boutique hotel within the tower's lower levels. The 32-story, 361-foot-high building is being developed by the very-active HFZ Capital, led by Ziel Friedman, and is designed by renowned British architect David Chipperfield, with Stonehill & Taylor serving as the architects of record.
More details ahead
August 27, 2015

Ultra Minimal Long Island Home Blurs the Lines Between Indoor and Outdoor

If you're going to live in the middle of nature in Amagansett, a hamlet on the south shore of Long Island, you want to be reminded of the beautiful outdoors as much as possible. That seems to be the inspiration behind this home built by the architecture firm Levenbetts, who designed this property for a couple and their teenage children. It's been dubbed the 36SML House and was designed as three connected wings—a wing for the couple, another wing for their kids, and yet another one for guests. A driveway cuts through the middle of the home, and there's a roof deck (with amphitheater seating!) on top. Each wing of the house also creates separate courtyard spaces to accommodate parking space, a vegetable garden, and a play area with a swimming pool. Thoroughly impressed by the exterior?
Now check out the interior
August 27, 2015

Soccer Star Andrea Pirlo Checks Out $30K/Month Lenox Hill Penthouse

Just a week after international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo bought an $18.5 million loft at the Trump Tower, another big-name footballer is looking to score some NYC real estate. The Post reports that Italian player Andrea Pirlo has checked out a $29,995/month penthouse at 205 East 59th Street, which makes sense as the midfielder joined the New York City Football Club just last month. The 2,700-square-foot Lenox Hill pad takes up the entire top floor of the luxury building and offers five outdoor spaces, massive windows, and 13-foot ceilings.
Take a look around the penthouse
August 27, 2015

REVEALED: First Look at Thor Equities’ Retail Jewel Box in Williamsburg

Last August, Joseph Sitt's Thor Equities purchased a string of Williamsburg properties for nearly $22 million with the intent of replacing the gritty row with a 10,000-square-foot retail jewel box. Now, Thor's website gives us our first look at what the prime property at the southeast corner of Berry and North 6th Streets may hold. The two renderings presented of 124-136 North 6th Street reveal a sleek, two-story building clad in brick and glass that could potentially house a half-dozen boutique retailers. According to the Observer, who first reported the deal last October, Thor is seeking a retail showroom and/or restaurant tenants. Above the spaces, the building may be topped with a gardened roof deck enclosed in trellises.
More details
August 26, 2015

See NYC’s Subway Lines Superimposed Over an Aerial Photo of the City

When we head underground and board the subway, most of us don't give much thought to all the streets and landmarks we'll be zipping past as we move along to our destination. But here’s an incredible mash-up from map enthusiast Anorian that offers a much different perspective on exactly where the subway travels. An amalgamation of digital photos taken from a commercial plane and the expert mapping of each line, this beautiful image is far more captivating and insightful than any printed or online map out there.
See more views here
August 26, 2015

Saudi Prince Is New Owner of Joan Rivers’ Lavish Penthouse, Will Undertake a Gut Renovation

Initial reports told us that Joan Rivers' opulent Upper East Side penthouse had sold for its asking price of $28 million to a Middle Eastern buyer. And now the Post confirms that the new owner is 65-year-old Saudi prince Muhammad bin Fahd. More newsworthy, though, is the fact that the prince plans to completely gut the 5,100-square-foot triplex, meaning it will lose its legendary gilded details that Rivers once called "Louis XIV meets Fred and Ginger."
Find out more
August 26, 2015

This Dramatic Downtown Triplex Loft Tells the Story of a Neighborhood’s Creative Past 

Even from a glance at its facade, you could guess that 508 LaGuardia Place is a unique and historic structure. Located within the South Village Historic District, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation called it "perhaps the finest example of industrial architecture of the late 19th Century in the South Village." The available 5,000 square-foot, four bedroom upper triplex would be well-utilized as a live/work space, suitable for "tech or fashion companies to use as a work space that impresses." And you may indeed need startup funding to swing the $30K per month rent. The Romanesque Revival-style building has a history of creative residents that parallels the neighborhood's evolution through the second half of the 20th century. Built in 1891 as the H. H. Upham Company sign factory, the story of 508 LaGuardia Place is the story of Soho and Tribeca through the years when artists and photographers worked and lived in cavernous former factories and warehouses and did the heavy lifting required to carve out amazing spaces for themselves.
Find out how this former industrial building tells the story of the surrounding neighborhoods
August 26, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 8/27-9/2

Love art but can't afford to be a collector? This week, head over to Amy Li Projects on Mott Street with five bucks and something to screen print your very own Brian Leo piece on. I'm also sure you've seen a handful of European artists working hard on murals around the city, now check out this foreign collective's gallery show and party at Exit Room. In just a few days, you can get to know the New Museum's artist in residence Chelsea Knight as she shows off the fruits of her labor. And be sure to head to Governors Island on Friday to learn about the secret secrets of New York with urban explorer Moses Gates. For a blast from the past, end August in neon and spandex by celebrating the '80s with a week of films at Central Park and a special Michael Jackson-themed roller disco night in Brooklyn.
All the best events to check out here
August 26, 2015

Is the U.A.E. Building a Massive Uptown Mansion?; The Priciest Cities for Singles and Families

The most expensive U.S. cities for single folks and families. [Wonkblog] Is the United Arab Emirates building a mega-mansion on the Upper East Side? The Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations has just closed on two neighboring buildings worth $47.25M. [NYDN] Here’s where Red Hook and Buttermilk Channel draw their names from. [Brownstoner] The world’s […]

August 26, 2015

A Glassy, Modern Single-Family Home Asks $12,000 a Month in Williamsburg

If historic townhouses are not your thing, this single-family home has gone the modern route. Built in 2006, it's a 1,000-square-foot, four bedroom home located at 257 Berry Street in Williamsburg. The exterior is, of course, plenty glassy, and the interior is a more modern take on Williamsburg's older loft apartments. It is now on the rental market asking $12,000 a month.
Take a tour
August 26, 2015

City’s Next Floating Park May Be a Giant Food Forest

It seems the way to create new public spaces in New York these days is to float them in the rivers. First there was the +Pool, then Pier55, and now we introduce to you Swale, a floating food forest that may grace our waters next summer. The New York Observer reports that artist Mary Mattingly is looking to embark on the project, which will "be created with collaborators and built from repurposed shipping containers, will stretch 50 feet across and will feature a gangway entrance, walkways, and an edible forest garden." The floating garden will move around to different docks in the harbor to serve various communities. Local students and gardeners are working on a wetland plant base that will filter the river water to help grow edible plants.
More on the project ahead
August 26, 2015

Handel Architects’ Luxurious ‘Amalfi’ Condo Tower Will Now Be Swanky Senior Living Pads

Here's a closer look at Handel Architects' design of a would-have-been condominium tower at 305 East 93rd Street, named The Amalfi. The five-parcel site located at the northeast corner of Second Avenue and East 93rd Street in Yorkville was slated to be developed by Merchants Hospitality until they recently bowed out to a senior living developer, Maplewood. Handel Architects' energetic design of staggering double-height windows, deeply set within a concrete frame was planned to rise a sheer 29-stories above Second Avenue. A lower four-story wing along 93rd Street would have been topped by an outdoor swimming pool. The tower's structural dynamism recalls the firm's recently finished rental tower, 170 Amsterdam on the Upper West Side, that flaunts a diagrid concrete exoskeleton. While the firm will remain the building's designers, it is unclear how much of the shown condominium design will be retained. Considering the project will now be re-tinkered for senior living, we're expecting a little less Amalfi and a bit more Fort Myers.
Find out more here
August 26, 2015

Construction Update: Perch Harlem, Manhattan’s First Passive House Rental Building, Rises

A tipster has alerted us that Manhattan's first market-rate rental building built to passive house standards has reached street level. Dubbed Perch Harlem, the soon-to-be-seven-story structure is located in the uppermost reaches of Harlem's Hamilton Heights section at 542 West 153rd Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues. "Perched"on a ridge 150 feet above sea level, the site overlooks the bucolic grounds of Trinity Cemetery, which is the only active burial ground on the island. The project's forward-thinking developers, the Synapse Development Group with its investment partner Taurus Investment Holdings, purchased the 10,000-square-foot former parking lot back in December of 2013 and have since been growing their Perch brand of passive house buildings that focus on low-impact living and community-oriented design. A second Perch building is slated for Williamsburg at 646 Lorimer Street.
Find out more about Perch Harlem
August 25, 2015

My 770sqft: Tour a Media Executive’s Urban Zen Upper West Side Apartment

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Upper West Side. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! Carlos Alimurung has been calling Manhattan home for nearly all of his life; he's lived in Midtown East, the West Village, and today he can be found in the Upper West Side. But for Carlos, the neighborhood is more than just a place to lay his head. Rather, he feels a very special connection with it: his parents met at a party there in the 1970s and he has fond memories of eating freshly sliced hot pastrami at Zabar's as a kid. As such, in 2007, while hunting for a new home to settle into, Carlos decided to replant his roots along 88th Street in a one-bedroom apartment in a pre-war condo conversion. As a media executive and a passionate traveler, Carlos has been around the globe and back, collecting art, baubles and all sorts of worldly items along the way. But while world travelers are often susceptible to hoarding goods, Carlos has created an ultra-zen space in the city that feels like a museum without all the "do not touch" signs. From the South American and Asian artifacts he's collected during his expat days to mementos from his parents' time living in NYC to gifts from the friends he's met on his journeys, see how this cultured minimalist has outfitted his 770-square-foot Upper West Side pad.
Tour this well-traveled residence
August 25, 2015

Construction Ramps Up on Far West Side Mega-Rental at the Foot of Bjarke’s Ski Slope

Site excavation continues on TF Cornerstone's (TFC) mammoth 42-story rental development at 606 West 57th Street between Eleventh Avenue and the West Side Highway. Midtown's 57th Street has become synonymous with superlative titles, with the tallest, the thinnest, most expensive, and, arguably, some of the most exciting high-rises the city has seen in decades. At the far west end of the two-mile thoroughfare, TFC has joined in on the megalomania with a 1,028-unit, 1.2 million-square-foot rental building that will become the second largest apartment building in the city after Moinian's SKY project a few blocks south.
More details ahead
August 25, 2015

Check Out This Affordable One-Bedroom Co-op Asking $575K on the Upper East Side

In the world of NYC real estate, the term "affordable" is all relative. $575,000 for a one-bedroom apartment isn't cheap by any means, but in New York, it is a good deal when we're talking about a prime neighborhood of Manhattan. Cue this co-op apartment now up for sale at 173 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side. It's a half-block from Lexington Avenue and three blocks from Central Park. While it isn't a huge apartment, it's well-kept and just spacious enough.
See more
August 25, 2015

INFOGRAPHIC: Ten Years of Trump

Love him or hate him, not a day goes by anymore without Donald Trump making headlines. But the Donald was turning heads and raising eyebrows long before he launched his [fill in the blank] presidential campaign. As CityRealty notes, “Over the years, Donald Trump’s buildings have commanded a premium in New York’s pricey real estate […]

August 25, 2015

Used Plastic Containers Get New Lives as Colorful Stools with ‘Tachtit’

Have you ever considered turning your plastic packaging waste into something practical for day-to-day use? A group of designers at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design followed the waste cycle of several plastic containers at a local market and discovered that after being used just once, the vast majority went straight to the landfill. Disheartened by the wastefulness they saw, Avner Balachsan, Maya Shtrigler, Noa Rich and Yohay Alush invented "Tachtit," (which is Hebrew for "bottom," but conveniently also sounds a lot like "attached it") a series of metal legs that give large containers a second lease on life.
Learn more about these recycled stools
August 25, 2015

This $9 Device Can Save Drivers from the Much-Loathed Parking Ticket

After driving around for what seems like an eternity, you finally find a parking spot. You read all the signs, double check that there's no yellow curbs or fire hydrants nearby, feed the meter, and go on your merry way. A few hours later, you walk back up to your car and see that tiny orange rectangle (the infamous NYC parking ticket) taunting you from the windshield. If this sounds familiar, here's your chance to stop shelling out $65 for being one minute over your last quarter. AwareCar, a smartphone app and Bluetooth device, keeps drivers in check by reminding them where they parked, when the meter is expiring, and at what time they need to leave to head back to their vehicle (h/t CityLab). And all this will only set you back $9.
Find out how this genius technology works
August 25, 2015

Surfers and New Residents Clash in the Rockaways; Times Square Pedestrian Plaza Reduces Traffic Injuries

The surfing crowds are multiplying in the Rockaways, but residents of the huge new Arverne by the Sea development are eyeing the same stretch of beach. [NYT] Traffic injuries and casualties are down in Times Square since the 2009 pedestrian plaza conversion. [WSJ] And on that note, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer released a statement in […]

August 25, 2015

Estate of Huguette Clark, Famous Reclusive Heiress, Loses $95M Suit Against Beth Israel

Copper heiress Huguette Clark did not live the life of luxury like so many other wealthy New Yorkers in her shoes. The famously reclusive figure died in 2011 at the age of 104, but instead of spending her last 20 years in her palatial, Gilded-Age co-op at 907 Fifth Avenue (which was filled to the brim with her doll, dollhouse, and art collections), she decided to live in a tiny hospital room at Beth Israel. Clark admitted herself to the hospital in 1991 for operable skin cancer, but then refused to leave. According to Gothamist, her estate, "made up of nineteen of Huguette's distant relatives, a private foundation in Huguette's name, and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C.," didn't buy the hospital's story and sued Beth Israel in 2013 for $95 million. The suit claimed the hospital spent millions of dollars on unnecessary medical care and by forming "fake friendships" with the heiress who was known for writing out checks on a whim to people she just met. However, last week, Manhattan Surrogate Court Justice Nora Anderson ruled that the statute of limitations had run out on the case.
More on the ruling and Huguette Clark's legacy
August 25, 2015

Experience Brooklyn Townhouse Living Without the Commitment in This Pretty Cobble Hill Rental

If you've ever harbored a certain kind of Brooklyn townhouse fantasy–but aren't ready for the responsibility (or the mortgage)–this is about as close to the dream as it gets. And though it might require a tiny bit of imagination (picture it with furniture!) this just-renovated triplex rental at 198 Warren Street checks all the boxes--charming restored original details, five bedrooms (though one is tiny) if you've got a big family or just want to share the rent, 2,500 square feet of living space, a brand-new kitchen, central A/C, and outdoor space. And you're in one of Brooklyn's most desirable enclaves in Cobble Hill on a picture-postcard block near, as the brokers say, all.
Check out the historic interiors, this way
August 24, 2015

Should Poor Neighborhoods Stay Poor to Avoid Gentrification? Mayor De Blasio Speaks Out

Recently on the Brian Lehrer radio show on WNYC, Mayor De Blasio addressed questions about the effects inclusionary development–i.e. giving developers the green light to build market rate housing if they set aside 25-30 percent of the units for low- and middle-income residents–has on the quality of life in lower-income neighborhoods. A growing concern among housing activists is that reliance on this kind of inclusionary zoning leads to gentrification that pushes out the lower income residents due to the 70-75 percent of market rate units bringing new, wealthy residents and new businesses that will cater to them.
Hear what the mayor has to say
August 24, 2015

Are You Picking Up After Your Dog? Map Shows Neighborhoods With the Worst Offenders

Remember: Don't blame the dog, blame its lazy owner. On some NYC streets, navigating the crap that covers the sidewalks can be like running a gantlet. And as this map created by The Economist shows, there are definitely some neighborhoods that have it worse than others. Compiled from complaints submitted across all the boroughs, as seen above, the shittiest nabes of 2014 include Upper Manhattan on the east side, a good deal of the Bronx, Bed-Stuy and, unsurprisingly, Bushwick, where just last year neighborhood artists were glittering the deserted turds of their furry friends in gold.
find out more here

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More than just current events, here you'll learn about the places, people, and ideas that are shaping your city.