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Service changes will get a little more painful this weekend as the MTA continues to upgrade the 1, 2, and 3 track switches north of the 96 Street station. The ongoing work is entering its final phase this weekend and will bring serious service outages. All 1, 2, and 3 service between Harlem and downtown Brooklyn will be suspended this week and next, beginning late each Friday evening.
Everything you need to know

Transit

LPC approves 14-story complex behind East New York’s landmarked Empire State Dairy building

Revised rendering from August by Dattner Architects via LPC

August 14, 2019

LPC approves 14-story complex behind East New York’s landmarked Empire State Dairy building

Update 8/14/19: The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved Dattner Architects' plan to construct a 14-story building behind the Empire State Dairy. According to Brownstoner, the architects removed the cantilever element from the project's previous design and plan to preserve the chimney, instead of demolishing it. The new tower will replace two existing, but not landmarked, buildings, and include over 330 affordable apartments. An affordable housing developer on Tuesday presented plans to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a new building that would cantilever over the Empire State Dairy building in East New York. HP Brooklyn Dairy Housing Development Fund Company, part of the nonprofit Housing Partnership Development Corporation, wants to construct a 14-story tower on top of the early 20th-century factory, located at 2840 Atlantic Avenue. Landmarked in 2017, the factory is notable for its architectural style and decorative tile murals. Dattner Architects created the designs for the proposed complex shown in the new renderings. The new construction would be a major change for the property, which was purchased by the developer for $16.75 million last year.
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114 mixed-income apartments up for grabs in Clinton Hill, from $896/month

Rendering of Athena North courtesy of Marvel Architects

August 14, 2019

114 mixed-income apartments up for grabs in Clinton Hill, from $896/month

A lottery opened this week for 114 mixed-income units at buildings that border the neighborhoods of Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. The newly constructed buildings are located at 909 Atlantic Avenue and 1043 Fulton Street, dubbed Athena South and Athena North, respectively. The affordable housing comes as part of the Hudson Companies' redevelopment of the Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, which sits in the developer's new 38-story tower, One Clinton. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60, 80, and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, ranging from a $896/month studios to $2,952/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

New bill may bring hostels back to New York City

Image via CC.

August 13, 2019

New bill may bring hostels back to New York City

New York City could make hostels legal under a bill, set to be introduced this week in the City Council, that would permit the super-budget accommodations to operate again after a state law made them illegal, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bill would provide hostels with their own separate department and classification under city law. The city's hostels all but disappeared after a 2010 law covering multiple dwellings took aim at short-term rentals.
Will hostels thrive in the Airbnb era?

City seeks proposals to develop two East Harlem sites with 350 affordable units and community space

Park Avenue between East 118th and East 119th Streets (top); image via East Harlem Neighborhood Plan.

August 9, 2019

City seeks proposals to develop two East Harlem sites with 350 affordable units and community space

The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) on Thursday issued a request for proposals to develop two city-owned East Harlem sites. The new developments are to include 350 units of affordable housing as well as retail and cultural and community space. The RFPs are part of the East Harlem Housing Plan, which was created with community input received through the East Harlem Neighborhood Planning Process.
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August 9, 2019

Live on top of the American Copper Buildings’ eye-catching sky bridge for $12K/month

One of the city’s most architecturally significant projects to rise in recent years are the two copper-clad towers at 626 First Avenue in Murray Hill known as the American Copper Buildings. Designed by SHoP Architects and developed by JDS, the twisted towers boast a rare and distinctive feature: an amenity-filled sky bridge linking the two buildings more than 300 feet in the air. According to JDS, the three-story steel truss structure is Manhattan’s first new sky bridge in 80 years. There are only a handful of residences that boast private outdoor space right on the eye-catching sky bridge—and one of them is now on the rental market seeking $12,000 per month.
Take the full tour

Everything you need to know about Sunday’s Dominican Day Parade

Image via Flickr

August 9, 2019

Everything you need to know about Sunday’s Dominican Day Parade

The 37th annual Dominican Day Parade is set to hit Midtown this Sunday, August 11. Described as a "joyful celebration of all things Dominican" on the event website, the tradition started in 1982 as a small event series in Washington Heights but has since become a full-fledged citywide affair, with turnout reaching as high as half of a million people. The event takes place on the second Sunday of August every year, to commemorate the start of the Dominican Restoration War, or La Guerra de la Restauración, which began in 1863 and ended in 1865 with their victory over Spain.
Street closures, transportation options, and more details

Jeanne Gang completes ‘solar-carving’ tower on the High Line, her firm’s first NYC building

Photo © Timothy Schenck

August 8, 2019

Jeanne Gang completes ‘solar-carving’ tower on the High Line, her firm’s first NYC building

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

The Meatpacking District gained a new architectural landmark this week. Construction of Studio Gang's 40 Tenth Avenue is officially complete, making it Jeanne Gang and her firm's first New York City building. Nicknamed the Solar Carve Tower because the way its facade seems to have been "sculpted by the angles of the sun," the 10-story, High Line-facing office tower is designed to allow for lots of sunlight without casting shadows on the neighboring green space.
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August 8, 2019

Uncovering the stories behind downtown’s overlooked synagogues

On August 8, 2008, Village Preservation and the East Village Community Coalition (EVCC) submitted a request to the LPC to landmark a little-known but remarkable survivor– Congregation Mezritch Synagogue at 515 East 6th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A. The building was the last operating “tenement synagogue” in the East Village. A young, little-known developer named Jared Kushner was planning to tear it down and replace it with condos and a new space for the tiny congregation, which had operated out of the building since 1910. The story has a (relatively) happy ending – the synagogue and much of its surroundings were landmarked in 2012, and the demolition plan was dropped. But unlike the deservedly beloved and celebrated Eldridge Street Synagogue, now a National Historic Landmark, Mezritch is one of several unique but in many cases overlooked historic synagogues still standing in and around Greenwich Village, the East Village, and the Lower East Side, which in the early 20th century contained what was by many accounts the largest Jewish community in the world. Ahead, we take a look at the history of seven of them and what makes them so unique.
Learn about the history

History

August 8, 2019

Karlie Kloss and Josh Kushner’s Nolita pad sells for $6.6M

Supermodel Karlie Kloss and hubby Josh Kushner, investor and brother to Trump advisor/son-in-law Jared Kushner, have sold their downtown Manhattan newlywed nest at 211 Elizabeth Street for $6.6 million, the New York Post reports. The pair, who tied the knot last year, listed the 2,000-square-foot home with interiors by Roman and Williams and a 1,120-square-foot landscaped terrace, last February for $6.9 million.
Take the tour

City Winery opens outdoor garden pop-up at Rockefeller Center ahead of move

Photo via City Winery

August 7, 2019

City Winery opens outdoor garden pop-up at Rockefeller Center ahead of move

By Nicole Mondrus

City Winery’s SoHo location may officially be closed, but that doesn’t mean saying goodbye to the food and wine for which it's known. The restaurant and music venue has opened an outdoor garden pop-up at Rockefeller Center, serving up Mediterranean bites and locally-made wine on tap. As 6sqft previously reported, the restaurant and music venue will soon move from its long-time home on Varick Street to a new spot at Pier 57, after the Walt Disney Corporation purchased the property last year. The new Hudson River Park location isn’t expected to open until 2020. In the meantime, the seasonal pop-up in Midtown will meet your wine needs through the fall.
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Food & Dining

14th Street busway pilot program will begin next week after judge gives project green light

Image via Flickr

August 7, 2019

14th Street busway pilot program will begin next week after judge gives project green light

The city is set to begin a 14th Street busway pilot on August 12 after a judge lifted a temporary injunction on the project, Streetsblog reported. The busway had most recently been delayed after several block associations along the street filed a lawsuit against the project, claiming that the city failed to conduct an environmental review for the work. State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Rakower reviewed a traffic analysis submitted by Deputy Commissioner for Traffic Eric Beaton and found that the traffic, health, and safety impacts of the project fall within the city’s routine traffic management work, thereby allowing the project to move forward.
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Williamsburg summer survival guide: Where to cool off, hang out, and enjoy an icy treat

Photo by Scott Beale

August 6, 2019

Williamsburg summer survival guide: Where to cool off, hang out, and enjoy an icy treat

Summer in the city can be a slog, but neighborhoods like Williamsburg turn the dog days into a wealth of seasonal perfection with peerless places, rare and unique tastes, and unbeatable views around every corner. From pools and parks and ice cream parlors for family fun to chic rooftop boîtes overlooking the Manhattan skyline, Brooklyn’s trendiest neighborhood offers endless urban opportunities to beat the heat. Below are just a few ways to keep cool and carry on.
The Williamsburg summer survival guide

Events & Things To Do

New York’s first fleet of self-driving cars launches at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Photo courtesy of Optimus Ride

August 6, 2019

New York’s first fleet of self-driving cars launches at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

New York's first fleet of self-driving vehicles has officially landed in Brooklyn. Six autonomous vehicles will roll into the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Wednesday, shuttling passengers in a loop around the 300-acre industrial site for free. Optimus Ride, the Boston-based technology company behind the fleet, will run the autonomous shuttle between 7 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. on weekdays, between the NYC Ferry stop at Dock 72 and Cumberland Gate at Flushing Avenue.
Ride this way

Disney files plans for a 19-story headquarters in Hudson Square

304 Hudson Street via Google Street View

August 6, 2019

Disney files plans for a 19-story headquarters in Hudson Square

The Walt Disney Company has tapped Skidmore Owings & Merrill to design its new Hudson Square headquarters, according to a pre-filing application filed last week with the Department of Buildings. As first reported by the Real Deal, the building will rise 19 stories and include "East" and "West" towers. Last July, the media company purchased the rights to develop the property at 4 Hudson Square from Trinity Church, which owns a large percentage of buildings in the neighborhood, for $650 million under a 99-year agreement.
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Real Estate Trends

James Turrell installation reopens at MoMA PS1 after nearby construction impedes views

Image via Flickr cc

August 6, 2019

James Turrell installation reopens at MoMA PS1 after nearby construction impedes views

James Turrell's celebrated Skyspace installation at MoMA PS1 is open to the public again after views from a high-rise construction encroached on the piece and forced a temporary closure back in January. Meeting is a site-specific, permanent installation that was installed in the museum in the 1980s and offers a simple pleasure: gazing upwards toward an unobstructed view of the sky. The aperture is framed by LED lights that change over the course of the day, creating interesting optical effects between the color of the sky and that of the room.
More info

Events & Things To Do

MTA plans more elevators for 14th Street subway complex, making it fully accessible

Image via Flickr

August 1, 2019

MTA plans more elevators for 14th Street subway complex, making it fully accessible

After committing to install four elevators at the 14th Street and Sixth Avenue F, M, and L stop as part of a lawsuit settlement, the MTA has now announced it will also be adding elevators to access the 1, 2, and 3 platforms at Seventh Avenue. As The City reported, the 14th Street subway complex between Sixth and Seventh Avenues is one of the busiest stops in the city, servicing more than 48,000 riders a day. The expanded project will make the entire complex fully accessible, though it won't happen overnight.
More details

Transit

After local condo board sues, judge rules that Central Park West bike lane can go forward

Via Public Domain

August 1, 2019

After local condo board sues, judge rules that Central Park West bike lane can go forward

Earlier this week, a group of Upper West Side residents from the Century Condominium filed a suit against the city for its plans to install a protected bike lane on Central Park West, attempting to cease its construction immediately. As 6sqft previously reported, the bike lane plan consists of installing a northbound protected lane from 59th Street to 110th Street–eliminating 400 parking spots in the process (another point of contention for the plaintiffs). But yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Lynn Kotler ruled against their request for a “temporary restraining order” and expressed skepticism over their claims that the bike lane would bring “immediate and irreparable harm to the neighborhood,” as Streetsblog reported. Work crews will continue putting in the bike lane—which doesn’t actually involve any construction, just painting street markings—until city lawyers and plaintiffs reconvene in court on August 20.
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This weekend, take a trolley tour of the Bronx’s breweries with Woodlawn Cemetery

Photo via Bronx Brewery

July 31, 2019

This weekend, take a trolley tour of the Bronx’s breweries with Woodlawn Cemetery

By Nicole Mondrus

Tours of breweries in NYC are nothing new. But if you’re looking to shake things up, consider taking a tour of Bronx breweries that takes place on a trolley and starts at one of the largest cemeteries in the city. This Saturday, Woodlawn Cemetery, in partnership with the Bronx Historical Society, is offering a trolley tour that delves into the history behind the borough's beer-brewing legacy and takes guests into some of the Bronx’s newest breweries and beer halls.
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Brooklyn Botanic Garden ramps up fight against proposed Crown Heights towers with new exhibit

Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

July 31, 2019

Brooklyn Botanic Garden ramps up fight against proposed Crown Heights towers with new exhibit

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden's fight against two high-rise towers in Crown Heights continues this week with the opening of a new educational exhibit. The display is part of the garden's larger "Fight for Sunlight" campaign opposing a proposal from developers to amend the area's current zoning and build two 39-story towers across the street. The garden argues the proposed towers on Franklin Avenue would obstruct necessary light from shining on the garden's 23 greenhouses, nurseries, and growing spaces, putting rare plants at risk.
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Is this marker in Woodside, Queens really the center of NYC?

Photos via Nicole Mondrus for 6sqft

July 30, 2019

Is this marker in Woodside, Queens really the center of NYC?

By Nicole Mondrus

Located in the middle of a traffic median on Queens Boulevard and 58th Street in Woodside, a marker set in the pavement makes a bold claim: “The Geographic Center of NYC.” The math used to calculate geographical centers is fairly complicated and doesn’t quite account for other environmental factors. However, there seems to be a fair consensus as to the streetside marker in Woodside: It isn’t the geographical center at all.
What's the deal?

City Living

A Clinton Hill intersection will honor Walt Whitman near the poet’s onetime home

Walt Whitman Way, image via Google Street View.

July 30, 2019

A Clinton Hill intersection will honor Walt Whitman near the poet’s onetime home

The corner of Dekalb Avenue and Ryerson Street in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn will be named Walt Whitman Way following a City Council vote on July 23, the Brooklyn Eagle reports. The intersection is a few avenues from 99 Ryerson Street, where the modest home in which the poet–a former Brooklyn Eagle editor–penned "Leaves of Grass" still stands. May of this year saw the the 200th anniversary of Whitman's birth, and several efforts have also been underway to landmark the house as well.
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History

Amazon might end up in Queens after all, considers Maspeth site for new distribution facility

Google Street View of the Maspeth site

July 30, 2019

Amazon might end up in Queens after all, considers Maspeth site for new distribution facility