Search Results for: gentrification

A New York Minute With Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
January 17, 2016

A New York Minute With Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

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6sqft's new series A New York Minute features influential New Yorkers answering spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want to nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch! With the somewhat-recent arrivals of The Bronx Brewery and Trump Gold Links at Ferry Point, as well as talks of a Lowline-style park and bringing back streetcars, it's no wonder Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. has described the borough as "The New Bronx." Though BP Diaz has only held his position for about seven years, he's a lifelong Bronxite, and he's taken some time out of his busy schedule to chat with 6sqft about what his life has been like in the Boogie Down.
BP Diaz's NY minute this way
$1.4M for a DIY Duplex on a Heavenly Hell’s Kitchen Block
January 6, 2016

$1.4M for a DIY Duplex on a Heavenly Hell’s Kitchen Block

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Tucked into the top two floors of 521 West 47th Street, a 1910 co-op loft building that was once a commercial bakery, "Penthouse C" is a package deal priced at $1.4 million consisting of units #3C and #4C and the roof space above them. The listing calls it an "Extremely rare and exciting 'once in a lifetime' chance to combine two authentic lofts plus the corresponding roof space to create your own 3-4 bedroom 3 bath penthouse," though that may take some doing; in their current form, the two spaces offer two different flavors of loft-y bohemian charm.
Check out this unique space
Horn & Hardart Automats: Redefining lunchtime, dining on a dime

Automat by Berenice Abbott, 1936

January 4, 2016

Horn & Hardart Automats: Redefining lunchtime, dining on a dime

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In the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s Automats were a New York City dining staple for a hard-working lunch crowd, a modernist icon for a boundless machine-age future. At their height there were over three dozen in the city, serving 800,000 people a day. And nearly everyone who actually experienced Automats in their heyday says the same thing: They never forgot the thrill of being a kid at the Automat. Created by Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart in Philadelphia in 1902, coin-operated Automats were lovingly-designed Art Deco temples to modern efficiency. Sleek steel and glass vending machine grids displayed sandwiches and main dishes as well as desserts and sides, each in their own little boxes, square and even, clean and well-lit. You put a coin in the slot, opened the door and removed your food—which was reportedly quite good, as the founders took terrific pride in their craft.
What was it about the experience that made for such a lasting memory?
Attractive New Bushwick Condo Rises on One of Brooklyn’s Ugliest Streets
December 30, 2015

Attractive New Bushwick Condo Rises on One of Brooklyn’s Ugliest Streets

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It's rare to see a new development in Bushwick with any kind of style and grace, but a recently finished six-unit condominium at 27 Dodworth Street actually looks like some thought went into it. Even more remarkable is that it manages to do so on what is probably the most unfortunate looking street on the eastern seaboard. So breathtakingly ugly in fact that it could be thought of, by some, as chic. And as it turns out, buyers have shelled out up to $1 million for condos along this gritty stretch near the Bed-Stuy-Bushwick border.
See the good, the bad, and the ugly
See How Much Central Park Has Changed Since the ’80s in These Before-and-After Photos
December 24, 2015

See How Much Central Park Has Changed Since the ’80s in These Before-and-After Photos

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In 1980, the Central Park Conservancy was formed as a nonprofit organization to manage the park under a contract with the City of New York and the Parks Department. As 6sqft noted in a previous interview with the Conservancy, they're made up of "gardeners, arborists, horticulturists, landscape architects, designers, tour guides, archeologists, a communications team, and even a historian," all of whom help to maintain the park as the gorgeous urban oasis we know and love today. But before this, the park faced countless political and economic stressors, and without a central body to oversee it, entered a state of disrepair and neglect. It culminated in the '80s (as the Conservancy worked on a plan for its rehabilitation) with barren patches of land, graffiti tags, and dead plants. Since it's hard to imagine Central Park in such a state, the Conservancy has provided these incredible before-and-after photos that show just how far the beloved space has come.
See all the photos here
6sqft’s Most Read Stories of 2015!
December 21, 2015

6sqft’s Most Read Stories of 2015!

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It's that time of year when we take a look back at all the news-making topics that caught the eyes of 6sqft's readers. Jump ahead for our top stories of 2015 in everything from new developments to architecture to product design, people, celeb real estate and NYC history. You can also peruse 2014's most popular posts here to see how they compare!
all the top stories of 2015 here
Colorful and Quirky Four-Bedroom With Pre-War Charm Asks $775K in Hamilton Heights
December 17, 2015

Colorful and Quirky Four-Bedroom With Pre-War Charm Asks $775K in Hamilton Heights

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Some are saying that the next Harlem Renaissance is poised to happen in Hamilton Heights. And everyone's got their eye on Columbia University's planned 6.8 million-square-foot expansion into neighboring Manhattanville—it's expected to bring an influx of new residents. If you're looking to get in a little early—or you're just looking for a decent amount of living space in Manhattan that doesn't cost millions, this quirky four-bedroom co-op at 616 West 137th Street could be your lucky break.
Check it out
A Co-op at This Striking Freestanding House on City Island Asks $600K
November 30, 2015

A Co-op at This Striking Freestanding House on City Island Asks $600K

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You definitely don't see listings like this everyday. This freestanding home comes all the way from City Island, a small Bronx neighborhood that also happens to be an island about a mile and a half long by a half mile wide. At this seaside village (where about 4,500 New Yorkers live), Victorian homes with porches aren't all that rare. Still, despite the fact you can access Manhattan by the 6 train and then the bus, it does feel like this whole area is a secret hideaway in New York City. Although the property at 33 Tier Street is a freestanding home, this listing is for a co-op apartment within the residence. The apartment in question holds two bedrooms, 1,200 square feet, and waterfront views. Plus, residents have access to the dreamy front porch. The asking price? $599,021 with a monthly maintenance of $700.
Check it out
200 Calories of Thanksgiving Foods; Ride the 95-Year-Old Wooden Escalators at Macy’s
November 25, 2015

200 Calories of Thanksgiving Foods; Ride the 95-Year-Old Wooden Escalators at Macy’s

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Here’s what 200 calories of your favorite Thanksgiving foods looks like. [Business Insider] Though Macy’s is emerging from a four-year, $400 million renovation, shoppers can still ride the store’s historic wooden escalators. [NYT] Nine things you didn’t know about Frank Gehry. [Fast Co. Design] The strange history of New York’s Thanksgiving ragamuffins. [Ephemeral NY] You can […]

Bought for Just $7,600 in the ’70s, Prospect Heights Co-op Returns 43 Years Later for $2.15M
November 18, 2015

Bought for Just $7,600 in the ’70s, Prospect Heights Co-op Returns 43 Years Later for $2.15M

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In the statuesque Art Deco-style Turner Towers co-op along what’s arguably the most picturesque stretch of the grand Olmsted and Vaux-designed boulevard in Prospect Heights, this sprawling four-bedroom residence at 135 Eastern Parkway has been a family home for 43 years. The current owner moved to–and fell in love with–the neighborhood in the early ‘70s, when it was on the cusp of far darker times. How she came to acquire the spacious 14th-floor apartment, with unobstructed views over the treetops, the park and to the Verrazano Bridge and beyond, for $7,600 (nope, that’s not a typo) is a classic New York story.
Read More on the brains, luck and community spirit of Brooklyn in the 70s
VIDEOS: Jeremiah Moss’ Shuttered Storefronts and Alicia Glen’s Opposition to Retail Rent Control

Courtesy of James and Karla Murray authors/photographers of “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York“

November 17, 2015

VIDEOS: Jeremiah Moss’ Shuttered Storefronts and Alicia Glen’s Opposition to Retail Rent Control

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“The evidence of disease is everywhere,” claims Jeremiah Moss. No, he’s not talking about New Yorkers’ health; this is something he believes is even more merciless: hyper-gentrification. Moss, the pseudonymic chief editor behind the "bitterly nostalgic" blog Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York and the founder of the anti-gentrification movement #SaveNYC, and James and Karla Murray, authors and photographers of "Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York" submitted a short film to last month's Municipal Arts Society Summit 2015. The ten-minute clip opens with a sinister assertion that “the soul of New York is dying,” and plays as a visual obituary of the small businesses we have lost over the past two decades. Shortly after Jeremiah's melancholic melodrama, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen was asked whether New York should adopt commercial rent control policies. Unconvinced this is an applicable solution, she instead emphasized that a "healthy and vibrant mix of businesses" is important and "bad" businesses must be allowed to fail. Nor is Glen convinced of the plight of the mom and pop, calling it a Manhattan-centric argument. While she acknowledges certain neighborhoods are changing rapidly, she says independent businesses are thriving in other boroughs.
Watch Jeremiah's video and hear more of Glen's argument
Where I Work: Tour KUSHNER Studios’ smart and quirky Chinatown office
November 4, 2015

Where I Work: Tour KUSHNER Studios’ smart and quirky Chinatown office

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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 take a tour of architect Adam Kushner's quirky and intelligent Chinatown office space. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! You might remember hearing from Adam Kushner a little over a year ago when 6sqft interviewed him about building the world's first 3D-printed estate. And while this is certainly a huge project for the architect, it's only one of many that he and his three firms are working on. In addition to architecture/design practice KUSHNER Studios, which he founded in 1994, Adam heads up construction practice In House Group Inc. and 3D-printing company D-Shape Enterprises New York. What these practices have in common, other than their intellectual creativity, is that they're housed in a quirky-yet-functional Chinatown office. Adam recently took us on a tour of his office, giving us the story behind the studio's unconventional models, his vintage scooter collection, and the giant plane jutting out of the wall.
Look around the creative space
For $699K, a Private Backyard and Tons of Charm in the Heart of Hell’s Kitchen
November 2, 2015

For $699K, a Private Backyard and Tons of Charm in the Heart of Hell’s Kitchen

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Have you ever gazed out of your office window with envy at a sweet private back garden or cool roof deck right in the middle of Manhattan? This one-bedroom co-op at 315 West 55th Street is one of those. On a beloved residential block in Hell's Kitchen on the city's West Side, this updated apartment has enough room for comfort and the added bonus of a landscaped, full-sized back garden oasis. It's perfect in spring and summer, but magical year-round as it's visible through a pair of sliding glass doors whenever you enter the living room.
Get a closer look
Tom Dixon’s New Sophisticated Copper Coffee Set Improves Every Step of the Art of Brewing
October 22, 2015

Tom Dixon’s New Sophisticated Copper Coffee Set Improves Every Step of the Art of Brewing

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Famed British designer Tom Dixon is paying a brilliant tribute to the daily act of preparing and drinking coffee. His Brew Coffee Collection is a sophisticated beverage set with gleaming copper elements that any New Yorker will love to wake up to. But the bling isn't the only thing here, as the designer explains, "The range includes a piece to perfect every stage of the coffee ritual, from the push of the plunger to the dunk of the biscuit."
READ MORE
INTERVIEW: ADFF Founder Kyle Bergman Invites You to Revel in Architecture Films All This Week!
October 12, 2015

INTERVIEW: ADFF Founder Kyle Bergman Invites You to Revel in Architecture Films All This Week!

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Attention all film, architecture and architecture film buffs! This week marks the start of the seventh annual Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF). For six glorious days, from October 13th-18th, New Yorkers are invited to enjoy more than 30 feature-length and short films centered on, you guessed it, architecture and design. While many of you may be thinking that watching a two-plus hour movie about a building is a guaranteed snoozer, ADFF's Kyle Bergman would most definitely argue otherwise. We recently caught up with the festival founder and architect who turned the once five-film gathering into a multi-city phenomenon that has captured the eyes, ears and hearts of not just design professionals, but folks from all walks of life looking to be inspired and moved by great cinema. Learn more about how the festival came to be and what's in store for this year's ADFF ahead. **BONUS: 6sqft readers can enjoy special discount on tickets! Just enter the code “FLOOR” at check out.**
read the interview with Kyle here
Landmarks Gets Started on 25-Year Backlog; A Manhattan Studio Asking Less Than $1,000/Month
October 12, 2015

Landmarks Gets Started on 25-Year Backlog; A Manhattan Studio Asking Less Than $1,000/Month

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After withdrawing its plan to de-calendar 95 historic sites that had been on backlog for 25 years, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has begun public hearings for these places. [WSJ] A new report shows that NYCHA residents see little benefit from gentrification in their neighborhoods. [NYDN] The 1920s Green Point Savings Bank in Prospect Heights will be […]

New Yorker Book Review Calls 432 Park the Oligarch’s Erection
September 29, 2015

New Yorker Book Review Calls 432 Park the Oligarch’s Erection

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"Cities can’t win. When they do well, people resent them as citadels of inequality; when they do badly, they are cesspools of hopelessness." This is the opening line to Adam Gopnik's New Yorker review of three forthcoming urban history books: Gerard Koeppel's "City on a Grid: How New York Became New York," which tells the history of the city's famous 1811 street grid plan and explores how that forever shaped life in the city; Evan Friss' "The Cycling City: Bicycles and Urban America in the 1890s," which recounts the rise and fall of bicycle culture in the late 19th century; and David Maraniss' "Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story." These very specific topics lend themselves to larger themes about the current state of our city, and in exploring these, Gopnik came out with an incredible one liner: The things that give cities a bad conscience are self-evident: seeing the rise of 432 Park Avenue, the tallest, ugliest, and among the most expensive private residences in the city’s history—the Oligarch’s Erection, as it should be known—as a catchment for the rich from which to look down on everyone else, it is hard not to feel that the civic virtues of commonality have been betrayed.
More thought-provoking themes from the review
This $2.35M Artist-Renovated Ditmas Park Victorian Is Both Cozy and Cool
September 29, 2015

This $2.35M Artist-Renovated Ditmas Park Victorian Is Both Cozy and Cool

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While we're used too seeing renovated houses with gorgeous details and top-of-the-line finishes, it's not as often we see one that's modern and fresh, but also feels like a well-loved home. The 1902 Victorian at 210 Stratford Road is that rare house. According to the listing (h/t Brownstoner), it was "lovingly restored and renovated by two artists," which explains the perfect blend of cozy and cool evident on every floor of this two-family, three-story Ditmas Park home on the market for $2.35 million.
Take the tour
New Yorker Spotlight: Chris Gallant of the Bronx Brewery Brings Craft Ales to the Boogie Down
September 18, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Chris Gallant of the Bronx Brewery Brings Craft Ales to the Boogie Down

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Brooklyn is no longer the only borough making a name for itself in the local craft beer industry. Thanks to the Bronx Brewery, the northernmost borough is staking a claim in the market with a fun spot dedicated to making pale ales. Founded in 2011 by co-presidents Chris Gallant and Damian Brown, the Bronx Brewery is located in Port Morris, a mixed-use neighborhood near the Major Deegan Expressway. While still young, the brewery in the Boogie Down is certainly finding a following with its impressive lineup of year-round and seasonal beers that can be found on tap and in stores throughout the tri-state area. With a tasting room, tours, and a backyard to sit back and relax in, it's quickly becoming a popular spot for both locals and Manhattanites looking for a day trip. We recently spoke with Chris to learn how the Bronx Brewery came to be and how the company has evolved and grown over the last few years.
Our convo with Chris right this way
New Yorker Spotlight: William Helmreich Went on the Ultimate 6,000-Mile Walking Tour of NYC
September 11, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: William Helmreich Went on the Ultimate 6,000-Mile Walking Tour of NYC

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New Yorkers are known for spending their free time taking leisurely strolls through the city's numerous neighborhoods. They even use their feet as a means to learn by going on weekend walking tours to discover the history, the mystery, as well as the evolution of their favorite places—and there are certainly plenty of tours out there to serve all sorts of curiosities. But when William Helmreich decided he wanted to learn more about New York on foot, he took walking tours to another level. In fact, he decided to walk the entire city. William is a sociology professor at The City College of New York and also teaches at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Over the course of four years, he has walked just about every block in New York City. It was an adventure William was primed for as a lifelong New Yorker who possesses a research interest in urban studies; his background allowed him to be at ease while speaking with city residents in the five boroughs, and he had the eagerness necessary to uncover hidden gems in the lesser known nooks and crannies of our metropolis. The culmination of William's journey is his book, "The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in New York City," which was published in 2013 and released last month in paperback. We recently spoke with William about his long walk, and to find out what it taught him about New York.
Meet William here
Turn Hot Coffee to Iced in Minutes With the Coil
September 10, 2015

Turn Hot Coffee to Iced in Minutes With the Coil

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New Yorkers love to drink coffee, and while most can manage the time and effort required to brew a pot, getting the bubbling liquid cold is another story. Many of us are willing to spend upwards to four or even six dollars if someone can ice it for us. Well, fellow coffee addicts, thanks to the Coil, a chiller that drops the temperature of coffee within minutes, your days of over-priced joe have come to an end.
READ MORE
REVEALED: First Look at 1399 Park Avenue, 23-Story Tower Coming to East Harlem

Google Streetview of buildings that previously stood at the site (L); Rendering of the new building via Goldstein Hill & West Architects (R)

September 9, 2015

REVEALED: First Look at 1399 Park Avenue, 23-Story Tower Coming to East Harlem

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Here's our first look at Heritage Real Estate Partners' 23-story, 108-unit residential building underway at 1399 Park Avenue in East Harlem. Designed by Goldstein Hill & West Architects (GHWA), the 253-foot tall, glass and cast-stone tower is expressed as a stack of variably-sized, staggered volumes creating numerous terraces that face north towards the East River and west towards Central Park. Fittingly, Heritage has filed permits under the alias "Heritage on the Park LLC," possibly hinting at the official name for the tower.
More details ahead
My 770sqft: Tour a Media Executive’s Urban Zen Upper West Side Apartment
August 25, 2015

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

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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
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