Search Results for: brooklyn history

A guide to Archtober, NYC’s architecture and design festival

Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Photo credit: Demian Neufeld

September 24, 2025

A guide to Archtober, NYC’s architecture and design festival

New York City's annual architecture and design festival returns next month. Now in its 15th year, Archtober, organized by the Center for Architecture along with more than 80 partners, celebrates the cityscape with behind-the-scenes tours, special exhibitions, panels, and events throughout October. This year's theme, "Shared Spaces," invites participants to rethink how we "move, connect, and live together" in New York.
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Rare Constitution copy on display in Queens for one weekend only

Images courtesy of Christie’s

September 19, 2025

Rare Constitution copy on display in Queens for one weekend only

By Aaron Ginsburg

As the right to free speech makes headlines following the Trump administration's attack on late-night show hosts, what better time to revisit the Constitution? A rare draft of the document will be on display at the King Manor Museum in Jamaica, home to founding father Rufus King, for this weekend only. The draft has King's handwritten edits and marks the first time the words "We the people of the United States," were included. The free public exhibition, held September 19 through September 21, is presented by Christie's auction house, ahead of its annual Americana sale in January.
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Events & Things To Do

SHOP THE LISTING: A renovation by MADE adds colorful style to a $13M Cobble Hill townhouse

Photo credit: Hayley Ellen Day of DDReps

September 11, 2025

SHOP THE LISTING: A renovation by MADE adds colorful style to a $13M Cobble Hill townhouse

By Michelle Cohen

At 25 feet wide with five stories and a separate garden flat, the 1884 late-Italianate-style townhouse at 234 Clinton Street would be a dream home for just about anyone. But the brick-fronted Brooklyn residence achieves icon status with a stem-to-stern renovation by celebrated architecture firm MADE, which added a vibrant color palette to design-showcase interiors while preserving the home’s history. Last listed for $12,995,000, the property's details, like pale mint green stairs, a modern kitchen clad in emerald tiles, and a top-floor studio, make this one of the neighborhood’s most exciting offerings. If you love the interior design of this home, we’ve sourced a few key pieces that are identical or similar to the items in the listing photos, so you can get the look for your own space.
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Ai Weiwei unveils new Roosevelt Island installation, ‘Camouflage’

Ai Weiwei, “Camouflage,” 2025. Exterior view of installation. FDR Four Freedoms State Park. Image Credit: Andy Romer Photography. Courtesy of Four Freedoms Park Conservancy

September 11, 2025

Ai Weiwei unveils new Roosevelt Island installation, ‘Camouflage’

By Devin Gannon

An installation by renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei opened on Roosevelt Island this week. "Camouflage" takes over all 3.5 acres of FDR Four Freedoms State Park and includes an open architectural structure draped with camouflage netting, creating a shelter over the bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The work, Ai's first in New York City since 2017, coincides with the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The artwork is free to visit, but timed-entry tickets are recommended.
see it here

There are no dark corners in this $6.5M Park Slope townhouse with a rooftop view of the Statue of Liberty

Photo credit: Yoo Jean Han for Sotheby’s International Realty

September 4, 2025

There are no dark corners in this $6.5M Park Slope townhouse with a rooftop view of the Statue of Liberty

By Michelle Cohen

The 1901 townhouse at 448 6th Street, on a picture-perfect Park Slope block near Prospect Park, is filled with sunlight on four floors. Inside, 3,500 square feet of living space is almost entirely dressed in white for a dazzling overall effect. Asking $6,500,000, the home's history is showcased in its brick and brownstone facade and bay windows topped with leaded glass.
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Distinctive Homes

New audio artworks at NYC subway stations seek to break routine and connect commuters

Photo credit: Ally Caple

September 4, 2025

New audio artworks at NYC subway stations seek to break routine and connect commuters

By Aaron Ginsburg

New audio artworks on the New York City subway aim to add connections to the daily rhythm of commutes. Conceived by conceptual artist and New Yorker Chloë Bass, "If you hear something, free something" is a play on the familiar announcement and reconsiders the role of public address, providing riders a fleeting moment of connection. Through October 5, riders at 14 subway stations will hear 24 poetic announcements in six languages—the first time the MTA has turned over its broadcast system to an artist.
hear it here

18 fun ways to spend Labor Day weekend in NYC

West Indian American Day Parade in 2024. Photo by Theklan on Wikimedia

August 28, 2025

18 fun ways to spend Labor Day weekend in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

On the first Monday in September, Americans celebrate Labor Day to honor the vital contributions of workers throughout the nation’s history and their fight for safer working conditions. New York City’s history is closely tied to Labor Day—the city was a hub for unions and labor movements throughout the 19th century and hosted the nation’s first Labor Day Parade in 1882. Ahead, find some great ways to celebrate the long weekend in NYC, from Brooklyn's colorful West Indian Day Parade to the citywide unicycle festival.
your long weekend, ahead

Events & Things To Do

145-year-old footbridge connecting Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach reopens after revamp

Credit: NYC DOT on Flickr

August 27, 2025

145-year-old footbridge connecting Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach reopens after revamp

By Aaron Ginsburg

A 145-year-old footbridge connecting Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach has reopened after a long-overdue revitalization. Last week, Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez cut the ribbon on the new Ocean Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, originally built in 1880 and last repaired in 1930. As part of the project, in-house crews replaced the deck and walking boards, vertical supports, railings, and stringers, repainted the structure, and restored its decorative lighting.
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NYPL to display rare Declaration of Independence draft for America’s 250th anniversary

Photos courtesy of Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library

August 25, 2025

NYPL to display rare Declaration of Independence draft for America’s 250th anniversary

By Aaron Ginsburg

To celebrate America’s 250th anniversary next year, the New York Public Library will publicly display its rare copy of the Declaration of Independence. On view at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building from July 1 to July 3, 2026, the draft is one of the few surviving "fair copies" handwritten by Thomas Jefferson. As part of a systemwide commemoration of the nation’s semiquincentennial, the display of the document joins the library's exhibition "Revolution: 1776 and Beyond," which will explore New York's role in the American Revolution and its impact on global revolutions that followed.
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Events & Things To Do

August 20, 2025

Tennis in NYC: What to know, where to play

By Aaron Ginsburg

With the U.S. Open here, New Yorkers are ready for the excitement that the prestigious tennis tournament brings, including the chance to watch some of the world’s best players go head-to-head. But you don’t have to be a Grand Slam contender to enjoy the game in the city. There are courts across the five boroughs where players of all ages and skill levels can get their serve on.
get your serve on

Events & Things To Do

Asking $3.2M, this three-unit Boerum Hill townhouse hasn’t lost its old-world charm

Photos courtesy of Allyson Lubow for The Corcoran Group

August 18, 2025

Asking $3.2M, this three-unit Boerum Hill townhouse hasn’t lost its old-world charm

By Michelle Cohen

Behind a facade of lavender brick, the 1899 townhouse at 145 Wyckoff Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, offers plenty of ways to live surrounded by history and create the optimal amount of space. The townhouse, asking $3,200,000, is currently set up as an owner's duplex with two units above. All have original details and have been updated in recent years with modern kitchens and baths, with the added brownstone Brooklyn perk of a charming backyard.
take the townhouse tour

Distinctive Homes

City Council approves Midtown South rezoning, unlocking 9,500 new homes

8th Avenue below 40th Street. © Ondel Hylton

August 15, 2025

City Council approves Midtown South rezoning, unlocking 9,500 new homes

By Devin Gannon

The New York City Council on Thursday voted to approve the rezoning of Midtown South, permitting thousands of new homes to be built in the commercial neighborhood. The plan, the largest residential rezoning in the city in 20 years, updates zoning rules for 42 blocks, potentially unlocking 9,500 new apartments, with 2,800 affordable units.
more on the midtown plan

Policy

Plan to build huge 72-story tower at 395 Flatbush Avenue enters public review

All renderings courtesy of Binyan Studio and TenBerke Architects

August 14, 2025

Plan to build huge 72-story tower at 395 Flatbush Avenue enters public review

By Aaron Ginsburg

The proposal to turn an outdated Downtown Brooklyn office building into a 72-story tower with over 1,000 apartments officially entered public review this week. Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday announced that 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension has begun the seven-month uniform land-use review procedure (ULURP). The tower would be the second-tallest in the borough after the Brooklyn Tower, and feature roughly 1,200 mixed-income residences, with at least 25 percent set aside as permanently affordable for households earning 60 percent of the area median income.
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Policy

Everything old is new again: Why NYC buyers are choosing pre-war apartments over new developments

This pre-war co-op at the Oliver Cromwell, designed by Emery Roth, asked just under $6 million this year. Photo courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens.

August 11, 2025

Everything old is new again: Why NYC buyers are choosing pre-war apartments over new developments

By Dana Schulz

Today’s real estate headlines are typically dominated by new renderings of geometric glass towers designed by big-name architects and the latest record-setting penthouse sales. But not all New Yorkers are in search of floor-to-ceiling windows and rooftop pools. Some prefer ceiling medallions, cozy fireplaces, and creaky floorboards. And these nostalgia seekers are a bigger part of the real estate market than you might imagine.
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Restored Richmond Barthé frieze returns to the Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights

Photos courtesy of the Public Housing Community Fund

August 7, 2025

Restored Richmond Barthé frieze returns to the Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights

By Devin Gannon

A monumental artwork that has been a fixture of a Crown Heights public housing complex for 80 years has been restored. Created by Harlem Renaissance artist Richmond Barthé, "Exodus and Dance" is an 80-foot cast-stone frieze depicting biblical scenes and Black figures dancing that has been on display at the city's Kingsborough Houses since 1941. Eight decades of exposure to the elements caused the stone to crack and crumble, requiring a major restoration to preserve the public artwork. After an 18-month conservation project, officials on Thursday cut the ribbon on the rehabilitated "Exodus and Dance" sculpture, which once again stands as a community landmark.
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Clark Street station reopens after hotel awning collapse

The Hotel St. George Awning before collapse. Image via WikiCommons

August 5, 2025

Clark Street station reopens after hotel awning collapse

By Aaron Ginsburg

Subway service has been restored at the Clark Street station in Brooklyn Heights following the collapse of a concrete awning on Sunday. A video posted to social media by Council Member Lincoln Restler captured the moment the 15-by-20-foot awning on Henry Street came crashing down over the station entrance. Service was suspended at the station after the Department of Buildings (DOB) had found a similar structure above another entrance unsafe. As of Tuesday morning, the vacate order was lifted, and subway service was restored.
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NYC could lose 300,000 parking spots under new street safety bill

Credit: Nick Kelly on Unsplash

August 4, 2025

NYC could lose 300,000 parking spots under new street safety bill

By Aaron Ginsburg

Parking could become more difficult under a new City Council bill that would eliminate up to 300,000 spaces citywide in an effort to improve street safety. Intro. 1138 would ban vehicles from parking within 20 feet of crosswalks and improve visibility by adding "daylighting" structures, such as planters and bike racks, to protect sightlines for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. The bill would bring New York City in line with existing state law, which already prohibits parking within 20 feet of intersections, according to City & State.
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July 24, 2025

Bronx landlord fined $10M for hazardous conditions

By Aaron Ginsburg

A Bronx landlord has been fined $10.14 million over hazardous conditions in a Belmont apartment building, one of the largest housing court judgments in city history. The order, issued Wednesday by Judge Diane Lutwak, resolves a case brought by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) against Karan Singh, owner of the 15-story Fordham Towers at 2410 Washington Avenue. According to Gothamist, Singh failed to provide heat on 10 days and hot water on 17 days between 2023 and 2024. The building currently has 540 open violations, 145 of which are classified as “immediately hazardous.”
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Policy

283-unit affordable housing and cultural arts center moves ahead in Brownsville

Rendering by Aufgang Architects

July 11, 2025

283-unit affordable housing and cultural arts center moves ahead in Brownsville

By Aaron Ginsburg

A new all-electric development that will bring affordable homes and a cultural arts center to Brownsville is moving forward. City officials on Thursday announced that financing has closed for the Brownsville Arts Center & Apartments (BACA) at 366 Rockaway Avenue. The project will include 283 affordable rental units for households earning between 30 and 70 percent of the area median income, with a mix of studio to three-bedroom layouts. The project will also feature a 28,000-square-foot cultural arts center with flexible performance, rehearsal, and studio space for community arts organizations. Construction will begin this month, with completion expected by December 2027.
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New legislation ends criminal penalties for NYC street vendors

Credit: Marco on Flickr

July 9, 2025

New legislation ends criminal penalties for NYC street vendors

By Aaron Ginsburg

The City Council last month passed legislation that decriminalizes most street vending violations in New York City. Sponsored by Queens Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Intro. 47 removes misdemeanor criminal penalties for general and food vendors and reduces them to civil offenses instead. The legislation comes amid a sharp rise in NYPD enforcement: officers issued over 9,300 tickets to vendors in 2024, more than double the total in 2023, according to City Limits. With 96 percent of the city’s street vendors being immigrants, according to the Immigration Research Initiative, criminal penalties heighten the risk of deportation under the Trump administration’s intensifying immigration crackdowns.
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Policy

July 9, 2025

The 8 casino proposals competing for a downstate New York gaming license

By Aaron Ginsburg

Since New York approved three downstate casino licenses in 2023, some of the city's top developers have rushed to unveil grand proposals. Backed by billion-dollar budgets and celebrity partners, many of these bids have added affordable housing, transit upgrades, and public green space to help them stand out. Ahead, find an overview of the eight projects vying for one of the licenses, which will be awarded by the state by the end of the year.
place your bets

Policy

Modern Fort Greene townhouse designed by David Adjaye for artist Lorna Simpson asks $6.5M

Photos courtesy of REPN/Kellen Houde for Corcoran

July 9, 2025

Modern Fort Greene townhouse designed by David Adjaye for artist Lorna Simpson asks $6.5M

By Michelle Cohen

For the two decades since it rose at 208 Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood, this modern townhouse has been recognized as an important architectural addition to the streetscape. Asking $6,500,000, the four-story single-family residence is also home to a working artist's studio, making it a perfect model for creative Brooklyn living. As reported recently in the New York Times, Lorna Simpson, a renowned American photographer and multimedia artist with a current exhibition at the Met, and her husband, artist James Casebere, were looking for a place to live and create; after searching for a suitable space among the borough's historic brownstones, the pair hired British architect David Adjaye to design, from the ground up, a building that transcended the traditional amount of light free wall space.
Tour this architectural gem

Distinctive Homes

NYC traffic deaths hit record low in first half of 2025

Credit: Brett Jordan on Unsplash

July 3, 2025

NYC traffic deaths hit record low in first half of 2025

By Aaron Ginsburg

Traffic deaths in New York City have hit a record low in 2025, marking a significant milestone in the city’s efforts to improve street safety. On Wednesday, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced that there have been 87 traffic-related fatalities so far this year, tied with 2018 and the lowest number since the city began tracking the metric in 1910. Fatalities have dropped 32 percent compared to the first half of 2024, with all vehicle types showing declines, including a 39 percent decrease in deaths involving motorized two-wheelers like e-bikes and a 48 percent decline for motor vehicles.
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$2M Greenpoint duplex has a soundproofed music room and a private deck

Photo credit: Rachel Kuzma /Real Estate Productions for The Corcoran Group

July 1, 2025

$2M Greenpoint duplex has a soundproofed music room and a private deck

By Michelle Cohen

In the heart of Greenpoint near the Williamsburg border, this 1,658-square-foot duplex condo in the McCarren at 61 Engert Avenue has warmth, character, and a designer renovation. Interiors go beyond the standard drywall box on both floors, with the addition of loads of custom closet space, flexible bedrooms, and a soundproofed music room. Asking $1,999,000, the two-floor home also has the bonus perk of private outdoor space.
take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

June 27, 2025

Queens bus network overhaul rolls out

By Aaron Ginsburg

Attention Queens residents: You may want to double-check if your local bus stop still exists. On Sunday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will launch phase one of its Queens bus network redesign—the most significant overhaul in the system’s 70-year history, affecting all but three of the borough’s bus routes. More than six years in the making, the redesign aims to improve transit equity, speed up commutes, strengthen connections to subways and rail, and enhance overall service for the borough’s roughly 800,000 daily riders.
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