Search Results for: 84 New York Ave

The New York City Council on Tuesday passed legislation that requires the city to establish a public database of commercial properties and vacancy rates across the five boroughs. Introduced by Council Member Helen Rosenthal, the "Storefront Tracker" bill aims to provide information on current vacancies and those small city businesses most at risk. The database, the first of its kind in the country, will list the occupancy status of retail spaces online.
Details this way

Policy

NYC Council approves pilot program for air-conditioned ‘pet harbors’ outside of Brooklyn shops

Via Flickr

July 24, 2019

NYC Council approves pilot program for air-conditioned ‘pet harbors’ outside of Brooklyn shops

Pets in Brooklyn may soon be able to wait more securely outside for their owners. The New York City Council on Tuesday approved a bill that asks the city to create a program for "pet harbors" on sidewalks next to commercial establishments. This will allow pet owners, for a fee, to leave animals in the climate-controlled, enclosed container, for no longer than an hour as they shop or get a cup of coffee.
More here

Policy

8 things you may not know about the American Museum of Natural History

Photo via Flickr cc

July 18, 2019

8 things you may not know about the American Museum of Natural History

By Lucie Levine

This year, the American Museum of Natural History celebrates its 150th anniversary. Though best known for its spectacular T. Rex skeletons and incredible hanging blue whale, the story of this Upper West Side museum isn’t just one of dinosaurs and dioramas. For example, did you know that Ulysses S. Grant laid the cornerstone? Or how about that in the 1930s, there was a proposal to build a promenade through Central Park to connect the Museum with the Met? Ahead, we've rounded up eight things you might not know about the American Museum of Natural History.
READ MORE

July 17, 2019

$3.65M Williamsburg townhouse with an in-ground pool is a summer retreat in the city

Having a private, in-ground pool is a luxury of which most New Yorkers can only dream. If you have the budget to scoop up this $3.65 million townhouse at 35 Devoe Street, your summer days would receive a major upgrade. In addition to the large pool and backyard oasis, the Williamsburg pad is pretty impressive on the inside too. A recent renovation transformed the 3,822-square-foot home with a crisp, minimal aesthetic that’ll be easy to transition into, regardless of your style.
More details

Distinctive Homes

Boerum Hill residents sue to undo 80 Flatbush rezoning as tower plans advance

Rendering via Alloy Development and Luxigon.

July 12, 2019

Boerum Hill residents sue to undo 80 Flatbush rezoning as tower plans advance

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

Nearly a year after the New York City Council voted to approve 80 Flatbush, a five-building mixed-use development in Downtown Brooklyn, a group of Boerum Hill residents has mounted a court battle to halt the rise of tall buildings on the site and roll back the rezoning that allows them. As the Brooklyn Eagle reports, the 400 & 500 State Street Block Association, comprised mainly of residents who live in the neighborhood's sprinkling of low-rise brownstones, have filed a lawsuit seeking the annulment of the 2018 zoning changes that gave the green light to an 840-foot skyscraper, a 510-foot tower, 670 market-rate apartments and 200 affordable units, two public schools and office and retail space on the property, which is bounded by State Street, Third Avenue, Schermerhorn Street and Flatbush Avenue.
More details, this way

Real Estate Trends

Before the duel: Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton’s NYC haunts

An illustration of the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, via Wiki Commons

July 11, 2019

Before the duel: Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton’s NYC haunts

On July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton crossed paths for the last time. That was the date of their infamous duel on the cliffs of Weehawken, New Jersey when Burr exacted his long-desired revenge upon Hamilton with a gunshot to the abdomen. But this was not the first time the two men’s lives and careers came in contact. One such place of frequent intersection for the bitter rivals was Greenwich Village – where Burr lived and Hamilton ultimately died. And it’s in Greenwich Village, and the nearby East Village and Soho, where many reminders of these two titanic figures of early American politics can still be found today. Ahead, learn about five sites where Burr and Hamilton made history.
Get all the history

History

July 9, 2019

Where I Work: Harlem’s Focus Lighting illuminates the field of architectural lighting design

By Dana Schulz

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring the Harlem office of architectural lighting design firm Focus Lighting. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! After spending many years designing theatrical lighting, Paul Gregory decided to transition into the world of architectural lighting. He started his career working on nightclubs and in 1987, founded his own firm in his neighborhood of Harlem. Eight years later, Paul and his team at Focus Lighting garnered international recognization for their work on the Entel Tower in Santiago Chile, the world's first automated color-changing building. Since then, the firm has grown to have 35 employees and nabs commissions such as the Times Square ball, Tavern on the Green, and the Waldorf Astoria (and that's just here in NYC). But through all their success, Focus has kept their offices in Harlem, now at 116th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, where their close-knit employees work collaboratively. The converted loft space has a unique light lab, similar to a black box theater, as well as a gallery space where the team can test out new means of digital architecture and video projects. 6sqft recently visited Focus Lighting to learn more about their fascinating work, tour the space, and chat with Focus partner and principal designer Brett Andersen and principal designer Christine Hope.
READ MORE

July 8, 2019

The 10 best things to do on Governors Island

By Nicole Mondrus

Governors Island is one of New Yorkers' favorite places to visit come the warm weather. Less than a 15-minute ferry ride from downtown, the Island is both a national park and one of the few places in NYC where you won't find any cars, making it the perfect place to get away without really leaving. Pack your sunglasses and a picnic blanket, because we've rounded up the 10 best things to do on Governors Island, from kayaking and running a 10K to lounging in a hammock and taking yoga in a lavender field.
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

July 2, 2019

Storied Westchester Skinny House seeks a buyer with a big heart and $275K

It's easy to see that the little red house at 175 Grand Street in Mamaroneck, NY, is no ordinary home just by looking: At a mere 10 feet wide, the Skinny House stands out for its size alone. As 6sqft previously reported, this unique dwelling, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has quite a tale to tell. The little house on a 12.5-foot lot was built in 1932 by Nathan T. Seely, one of New York’s first African American builders. Its story is one of ingenuity and skill, and it provided for its creator during hard times. In need of a new chapter and some real TLC, the house is on the market–for only the second time since its construction–for $275,000.
Get the skinny on this diminutive dwelling

Listing photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

July 1, 2019

Brooklyn Heights’ third-oldest house, with a gut renovation, is asking $10M

This wood frame house at 59 Middagh Street, which, according to the current listing, is considered third oldest home in Brooklyn Heights, was built in 1832 for a New York University professor. The 6,300-square-foot home certainly appears quaint–if unremarkable–on the outside. And while it's a spacious 28 feet wide, the home's interiors have been completely reconstructed with a high-end builder-grade renovation, giving it every contemporary luxury–including an elevator, a wet bar, a sauna and a gym–and all of the historic charm of a suburban McMansion. The six-bedroom, single-family home's last recorded sale was for $3 million in 2014. It's been on the market for nearly a year, first asking $11.5 million. After a broker switch and a price chop, the house is asking a still-ambitious $10 million.
Have a look inside

Distinctive Homes

First-ever squirrel census finds 2,300+ squirrels call Central Park home

A Central Park squirrel, via Wiki Commons

June 28, 2019

First-ever squirrel census finds 2,300+ squirrels call Central Park home

Last October, as 6sqft reported, an organization called Squirrel Census, headed by Jamie Allen, began the multimedia, science, design, and storytelling endeavor of figuring out how many squirrels–specifically eastern gray squirrels–call the 843 acres of Central Park home, and put out a call for critter-counting volunteers. Though attempting to fathom the magnitude of the park's squirrelscape began with some curiosity and a bit of tongue in cheek, according to Citylab, the methods used to tally the cheeky rodents–and the resulting findings–are as fun as they are fascinating.
More than just a head count

City Living

Google Maps can predict how crowded your subway or bus will be

Photo © 6sqft

June 28, 2019

Google Maps can predict how crowded your subway or bus will be

Google Maps has just released a couple of upgrades that should make New Yorkers' commutes a little bit easier, or at least, slightly more predictable. From now on, the app will be able to tell you how crowded your subway, bus, or train might be, so you can decide if you prefer to squeeze in or wait for a vehicle where you're more likely to snag a seat. The upgrades also expand the app's live traffic delays for buses (which began rolling out in December 2017) to cities that didn't already provide those updates.
More details

Rendering of 200 Amsterdam Avenue via SJP Properties/ Elkus Manfredi

June 26, 2019

Nearing pinnacle, disputed 668-foot Upper West Side tower gets city board approval

In a race to the top of sorts, developers of the 668-foot residential tower rising at 200 Amsterdam Avenue got the green light to keep climbing, Curbed reports. On Tuesday the city's Board of Standards and Appeals upheld its initial approval for the tower, which has been embroiled in a heated zoning lot dispute. The board approved the project last year, but in March the state Supreme Court overruled the city’s decision, ordering the board to re-evaluate the permit for the project led by developers SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan, who have already proceeded with construction at the 69th Street site. The tower is expected to top out this summer.
Find out more

Behind the scenes at Little Italy’s Elizabeth Street Garden and Gallery

The gallery is housed in a 19th-century firehouse, and later bakery, on Elizabeth Street. It has its own door to the garden next door

June 26, 2019

Behind the scenes at Little Italy’s Elizabeth Street Garden and Gallery

Shortly upon arriving in New York in the 1990s, Allan Reiver traveled to Coney Island with one goal in mind: find a shooting gallery. Reiver, who has always had a knack for finding art out of other people’s junk, bought one that same day from an older man who told him it had been boarded up since the 1930s when it became illegal to shoot live ammunition. Nearly 30 years later, the 10-foot high boardwalk game, still operational, sits in the back of the Elizabeth Street Gallery in Little Italy, where Reiver has housed unique artifacts and fine objects for nearly a decade. Rare finds can also be found next to the gallery, scattered across a lush green space known as the Elizabeth Street Garden. Since 1991, Reiver has leased the land from the city, slowly transforming the lot with unique sculptures, columns, and benches, all plucked from estate sales. In 2012, the city revealed plans to replace the garden with a senior affordable housing complex, known as Haven Green, igniting a battle between garden advocates and affordable housing supporters. The City Council votes on the project Wednesday. Ahead of the decision, 6sqft toured Reiver’s gallery and the garden next door and spoke to him about building the green space and the plan to fight the Haven Green project in court.
More this way

Where I Work

Five properties in Gowanus may be landmarked ahead of proposed rezoning

Via LPC

June 25, 2019

Five properties in Gowanus may be landmarked ahead of proposed rezoning

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

Five properties in Gowanus may be landmarked as the Brooklyn neighborhood prepares to be rezoned. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to calendar eight buildings across five properties in the neighborhood, describing them as both architecturally significant, as well as closely associated with the history of the Gowanus Canal. The decision to calendar the sites comes after the city released in January its rezoning draft for Gowanus, which includes enabling more residential buildings and access to the waterfront.
More info here

Policy

Central Park’s Belvedere Castle reveals $12M restoration

The restored Belvedere, courtesy of the Central Park Conservancy

June 18, 2019

Central Park’s Belvedere Castle reveals $12M restoration

By Dana Schulz

After a 15-month, $12 million restoration and repair project, the Belvedere will reopen to the public on Friday, June 28th. In anticipation, the Central Park Conservancy today opened the historic structure to press, revealing its restored facade, expansive views through new clear-pane-glass windows, new mechanical and utility systems, and a recreation of a wooden tower that was part of Olmsted and Vaux's original plan 150 years ago. Though many New Yorkers refer to the site as Belvedere Castle, "Belvedere" actually means “beautiful view” in Italian and refers to the vistas from the second-highest point in Central Park. Belvedere receives approximately one million visitors each year, and starting this month, they will also be able to see the Castle illuminated at night, as the landmark will be lit for the first time ever.
See more right here

June 17, 2019

23 LGBT landmarks of the East Village and Noho

Their neighbor to the west Greenwich Village may be more well known as a nexus for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history, but the East Village and Noho are chock full of LGBT culture as well, from the site of one the very first LGBT demonstrations to the homes of some of the greatest openly-LGBT artists and writers of the 20th century to the birthplace of New York’s largest drag festival. Ahead, we round up 23 examples, from Walt Whitman's favorite watering hole to Allen Ginsberg's many local residences to Keith Haring's studio.
Learn the history of all the spots

History

Same celebration, different courses: The routes of Pride marches and parades in NYC

“GAA and Vito Russo marching in 1st Christopher St Liberation Day Parade,” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1970.

June 12, 2019

Same celebration, different courses: The routes of Pride marches and parades in NYC

By Cait Etherington

Decades ago, New York City's Pride Parade was controversial because it focused on LGBTQ rights. And while there's always more work to be done, five decades later, the LGBTQ community has gained legal recognition and acceptance. And in sharp contrast to the first Pride March, the annual event now seems to attract as many politicians and corporate sponsors as it does activists. But one controversy persists—the Pride Parade route itself.
Route this way

Historic Clinton Hill home that spawned ghost stories is back on the market for $3.6M

Listing images by Elizabeth Dooley

June 12, 2019

Historic Clinton Hill home that spawned ghost stories is back on the market for $3.6M

Here's a rare chance to own one of the city's most historic homes, the Lefferts-Laidlaw House at 136 Clinton Avenue in Clinton Hill (and part of the Wallabout Historic District). Built around 1836, the home "typified the villas that were erected in Brooklyn's early suburbs in the early-to-mid nineteenth century" and might be the "only remaining temple-fronted Greek Revival style residence in Kings County," according to the 2001 designation report. It's become known as one of the most haunted houses in the city, thanks to stories of "doorbells rung, doors rattled" on a nightly basis in the late 19th century—but the tongue-in-cheek tone of the original New York Times reports is hard to miss. Perhaps the scariest thing left about it is the asking price. The home has been on and off the market for years, last seeking $4.5 million in 2016. Now, the property is back for a significantly reduced $3.6 million.
Take the tour

June 10, 2019

You can buy a Gramercy Park penthouse with a private roof deck for only $760K

A Manhattan penthouse doesn’t always have to equal a pricy, seven-figure price tag. For a cool $759,000, this rare Gramercy Park find offers a top-floor one-bedroom residence with a private roof terrace, just steps away from Madison Square Park. A wood-burning fireplace, a compact, triplex layout, and modern upgrades throughout round out the package and make this unit at 160 East 26th Street a total steal.
Peek inside

Distinctive Homes

Judge rules accessibility lawsuit against the MTA can move forward

Image via Flickr

June 6, 2019

Judge rules accessibility lawsuit against the MTA can move forward

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

A state Supreme Court judge has denied the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s request to dismiss a lawsuit over inaccessible subway stations, amNY reported Wednesday. A coalition of accessibility advocacy groups, including the Center for Independence of the Disabled and Disability Rights Activists, filed the suit. They argued that the MTA is in violation of the city's Human Rights Law because only 24 percent of the subway system’s 472 stations include elevator access.
READ MORE

Transit

Parker Posey picks up a cozy Chelsea co-op for $1.5M

Listing photo courtesy of Douglas Elliman; Photo of Parker Posey via Wiki Commons

May 31, 2019

Parker Posey picks up a cozy Chelsea co-op for $1.5M

By Annie Doge

Parker Posey certainly has good taste in real estate. She first landed on our apartment-porn radar for her chic East Village apartment, which she bought back in 2008. (The home is now owned by actor Alexander Skarsgärd.) She then dropped $1.35 million on a slightly more classic co-op in Greenwich Village. After personally modeling in the listing photos, she unloaded this apartment in 2016. We're not sure where she's been for the past three years, but as of this week, she is a proud new Chelsea resident. According to the Post, Posey dropped $1.5 million on this super-cute and character-filled duplex at 365 West 19th Street. Not only does it have charming details like a wood-burning brick fireplace and huge half-moon window, but there's a private roof deck.
Have a looksie

Last year’s Pride Parade outside the Stonewall Inn, via Wiki Commons

May 30, 2019

17 LGBT landmarks of Greenwich Village

In about a month New York will be in the throes of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, three nights of disturbances from June 28th to June 30th 1969, which are recognized globally as the start of the modern LGBT rights movement. But Stonewall is only one of the scores of important LGBT landmarks in Greenwich Village – the homes of people, events, businesses and institutions dating from more than a century ago to just a few years ago. Thanks to landmark designation, most of these sites still stand. Here are just some of the dazzling array of those, all still extant, which can be found in the neighborhood which is arguably the nexus of the LGBT universe.
READ MORE

History

NYC Council votes to close mechanical void loophole

Rendering of 50 West 66th Street; courtesy of Binyan Studios/ Snøhetta

May 30, 2019

NYC Council votes to close mechanical void loophole