Search Results for: gentrification

August 18, 2015

22,000 New Apartments Coming to Northern Brooklyn by 2019

We recently reported that New York City was entering its biggest building boom since 1963. Building permits rose 156 percent over the last year, accounting for 52,618 new residential units. If that number seems large to you, keep in mind it's spread over the five boroughs, including the supertall towers of Manhattan. But a new report from CityRealty shows that northern Brooklyn alone with get 22,000 new apartments over the next four years. According to the report, which only looked at buildings with 20 or more units, "around 2,700 new units are expected to be delivered in 2015. That number will nearly double in 2016, when approximately 5,000 apartments will be ready for occupancy." The majority of these units, 29 percent or 6,412 apartments, will come to Downtown Brooklyn, followed by Williamsburg with 20 percent or 4,341 units.
More on the Brooklyn building boom
August 12, 2015

Green, Grand, Great Eats: A History of Jackson Heights and Its Future as the Next Hot ‘Hood

As the transformation of Queens reaches a bit deeper into the borough, it’s really no surprise that Jackson Heights is quickly becoming a focal point for savvy buyers and renters. The area, roughly bounded by Northern Boulevard, Junction Boulevard, Roosevelt Avenue and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, is fully loaded with stunning pre-war co-ops practically everywhere and shiny new redevelopments for under $800,000. Combine this with its diverse cultural offerings and a myriad of subways that can always get you smack dab in the middle of Manhattan in less than 30 minutes (that’s better than a lot of the up-and-coming areas of Brooklyn, mind you), it has all the makings for the next hipster-setting housing boom.
Why Jackson Heights is one to consider
August 11, 2015

The Bronx Is Getting a New Mixed-Use High-Rise Near Yankee Stadium

Brooklyn and Queens have been flush with new condos and rental developments lately, now it's time for the Bronx to get in on the action. Local developer M. Melnick & Co. has begun construction of a mixed-income, 17-story residential and commercial high rise at 810 River Avenue that will be the area's first since it was rezoned in 2009. The company dates back to 1934 and has proven to be reliable builders of multi-family, senior, supportive and mixed-use housing developments around the city.
Find out more right here
August 6, 2015

Huge Head Made of Reclaimed Materials Lands in Tribeca; 131 Years of the Dakota

Artist Nicholas Holiber crafts a big head out of reclaimed materials that’ll be on display in Tribeca Park until September. [Contemporist] From brothels to boutiques, GreeneStreet.nyc maps out 400 years of one Soho street’s gentrification. [WIRED] CUNY professor William Helmreich did something meshuga (our new favorite word): He walked every block in every borough. [CBS […]

August 3, 2015

Modern Playgrounds for Design Lovers; Are You a Gentrifier? Find out with This Calculator

Are you guilty of gentrifying your neighborhood? Find out with this gentrification calculator. [Slate] New Yorkers don’t like to follow directions. Looks like we’ve been illicitly cracking open fire hydrants for centuries. [Atlas Obsurca] Ten modern playgrounds in the city design-loving-parents will love taking their tiny tykes to. [Curbed] All of the states’ economies were ranked from worst to […]

July 30, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 7/30-8/2

In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd's philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top end of week picks for 6sqft readers! A weekend of adventure awaits your beckoning call. Choose your own adventure: a cruise on the high seas whilst dressed as a sea monster (or sea siren if that's your preference), sleep amidst the taxidermy animals at an adult sleepover hosted by the American Museum of Natural History, or get dirty and explore "Old New York" through trash at Dead Horse Bay with Abandoned NYC. Feeling less adventurous? You can always learn about our ever-changing city at Van Alen's latest exhibition with the Gentrification Lab NYC, which reconnects the role of architecture with expansion. Try out a different kind of studio visit with dancer and artist Jillian Peña, who will perform her new architecturally-influenced dance and actually take time to explain it to visitors, or check a screening of the Swedish film making waves with its representation of transgender life at Pioneer Works. Enjoy the new José Parlá pieces outdoors at The Standard High Line while sipping cocktails from the garden. Lastly, trek to Times Square late at night as artists Os Gemeos take over the ad screens for Midnight Moment all month long.
All the best events to check out here
July 15, 2015

One57 Received $66M in Tax Breaks in Exchange for Just 66 Units of Affordable Housing

If you need more proof that there are some serious flaws with the 421-a program, once again, look no further than One57. As reported by the Journal, the super-luxe tower was the beneficiary of a whopping $65.6 million tax cut, an abatement granted in exchange for a paltry $5.9 million contribution to help cover the cost of 66 affordable apartments in the Bronx. That means your tax dollars subsidized apartments at nearly $1 million per unit—the highest known subsidy under the program—when affordable units on average cost a mere $179,000 apiece. It's estimated that the generous cut could have provided for 367 affordable apartments. The findings came from the latest review by the city’s Independent Budget Office (IBO).
FInd out more here
July 14, 2015

INTERVIEW: Historian Francis Morrone on the Changing City, Modern Architecture and Why He Loves the ’50s

For the man who knows seemingly everything about New York City history, look no further than Francis Morrone. Francis is an architectural historian best known for his writings and walking tours of New York. Of his 11 books, he wrote the actual guidebook to New York City architecture—aptly titled "The Architectural Guidebook to New York City"—as well as the "Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes," "An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn," and "10 Architectural Walks In Manhattan." For six and a half years, Francis served as an art and architecture critic for the New York Sun, and he now teaches architectural and urban history at the New York University School of Professional Studies. As for walking tours, Francis was named by Travel + Leisure magazine as one of the 13 best tour guides in the world. You can catch his various tours, which sell out quickly and cover everything from "Midtown Manhattan's Side Streets" to the "Architecture and Changing Lifestyles in Greenwich Village," through the Municipal Art Society. We caught up with Francis recently after he published a much buzzed-about article for the Daily News entitled, "No, New York City Is Not Losing Its Soul," to talk about his life and work in the city, his opinions on modern architecture and development, and his favorite time period of New York City history.
Our conversation with Francis this way
July 13, 2015

ATTENTION: Walk Faster or You’ll Be Banned from NYC for Five Years

If you're a resident of New York, you know that this is no city for strolling. We all have places to be and we can't be bothered trying to sidestep slow walkers—and we certainly don't have time for niceties like "excuse me." As such, the NYC Department of Pedestrian Etiquette has a new set of rules to keep slow pokes, sidewalk blockers and the entirely un-self-aware off the streets: "Effective April 1, 2016, all new residents and visitors to New York City [o]ver the age of 16 will be required to take a mandatory training session on Proper Etiquette for navigating the sidewalks and streets of the greater metropolitan area."
Click here to read the whole memo
July 11, 2015

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks from the 6sqft Staff

Katie Holmes and Suri Renting a $25,000 Penthouse in Chelsea Construction Update: NYC’s First Micro Apartment Complex Is Now Fully Stacked Jet-Setting Fashionista’s Sprawling Tribeca Loft Shines with Bold Decor VIDEO: Port Authority Was Considered a ‘Milestone of the Century’ When It Opened Construction Update: Robert A.M. Stern’s 220 Central Park South Begins Race into […]

July 8, 2015

Lawsuit Against City Wants to End Affordable Housing Allotments to Certain Communities

Currently, the city allots half of its new affordable housing stock to residents of the specific community district where the project is being built and who meet the income requirements. But the Anti-Discrimination Center says this "community preference" policy violates the 1968 Fair Housing Act, "which prohibits discrimination in housing sales, rentals and financing based on race or national origin," according to an article today in the Wall Street Journal. The New York-based group filed a suit against the city on these grounds, claiming that it adds to existing segregation patterns. If they are successful, the verdict would undoubtedly impact Mayor de Blasio's plan of adding 80,000 new affordable housing units in the next ten years.
More details ahead
June 12, 2015

Opponents of the Pier 55 Floating Park Slap Barry Diller with a Lawsuit

As with any major project ready to make waves in NYC, we were just counting the days until Barry Diller's plan for a futuristic floating park would run into legal trouble. Today, the Times reports that opponents of the $130 million project have joined together to sue Diller and The Hudson River Park Trust (who approved the plans to build) in order to stop construction. The civic group, known as City Club of New York, are saying that the parties have failed to throughly evaluate the environmental impact of the park, and they want Pier 55 to undergo a new environmental review while also obtaining approval from the State Legislature.
More on the lawsuit here
June 11, 2015

Photographer Bob Estremera Shows Us That Greenwich Village Is Still Full of Character

When we talk about the allure of Greenwich Village, we're often referring to it in past tense, reminiscing about the good old days of folk music, ridiculously cheap apartments for artists, and the free-spirited bohemians that transformed the enclave into a cultural hub. And when we do talk about the Village in present tense, it's often because we're examining gentrification, whining about those pesky NYU students, or looking at the ever-rising rents. But if we stop feeling bitter about the fact that we can't get a $600/month studio there anymore, the Village still has plenty of charming and quirky storefronts, buildings, and characters. Photographer Bob Estremera captured this essence of the neighborhood in an impromptu rainy-day photo shoot that reminds us to take the time to look around and appreciate the small things.
See all the amazing black-and-white photos here
June 10, 2015

Go Inside NYC’s Oldest Home; When Your Couch Won’t Fit Through the Doorway

Tour the Lent-Riker-Smith homestead, the oldest “inhabited private dwelling” in the city, and possibly the country. [Curbed] Watch an intricate pen-and-ink illustration of New York City get completed in just three minutes. [BK Mag] These “depressingly hilarious” cartoons show why life in your 20s and 30s isn’t that different. [WP] How two Vice Media employees live as roommates […]

June 9, 2015

Are Yuccies the New Hipsters?

Yuccies = Young Urban Creatives. And according to Mashable, they're the new iteration of hipsters. The author describes his self-created and self-describing class as "a slice of Generation Y, borne of suburban comfort, indoctrinated with the transcendent power of education, and infected by the conviction that not only do we deserve to pursue our dreams; we should profit from them." Just think of your friends moving to Brooklyn these days. They probably work for a startup rather than as a furniture maker and they likely do Flywheel instead of hot yoga. It's a new type of free spiritedness, the love child of yuppie and hipster that is rooted in personal fulfillment while still maintaining a successful lifestyle (and Instagraming it along the way).
More on the yuccie trend ahead
June 5, 2015

Ten Arquitectos Develop All-Purpose ‘Casitas’ for Community Gardens Around the City

Over the past year, "casitas" have been sprouting up in community gardens from Puerto Rico to the South Bronx. These "little houses" are the result of a collaboration between the New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and the Urban Air Foundation (UAF) to develop an adaptable structure for community gardens. Taking on former mayor Mike Bloomberg's post-Sandy challenge to create resilient infrastructure throughout the city, the two organizations partnered with Ten Arquitectos to create the shed-like structures. The modular timber casitas are multi-functional and can be converted to food preparation stations, performance stages, storage spaces, or just a spot for shade.
More design details here
May 26, 2015

The Lost Dakota Stables; What Makes NY Bagels So Good?

Looking back at the lost Dakota Stables, built for the use of the Dakota tenants, as well as the UWS neighborhood. [Daytonian in Manhattan] Take a day trip upstate to Kykuit, the 40-room mansion and impressive sculpture garden that were once the Rockefeller family estate. [Curbed] Does NYC have the best bagels because of its soft water? Find […]

May 4, 2015

Will the Bronx Be the Next Branded Borough? This Hot Sauce Says Yes

Just about everything from artisanal mayonnaise to scented candles has branded itself as “Brooklyn,” so much so that we recently wrote an entire feature on the made-in-Brooklyn trend. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that another borough is now looking to get in on the action. The Bronx Hot Sauce is a locally made product that gives back and […]

April 25, 2015

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks from the 6sqft Staff

Interior Pictures Revealed for Demi Moore’s $75M San Remo Penthouse Subway Rent Map Shows Manhattan Rental Prices Along Each Train Line City’s First Micro-Apartment Project ‘MY Micro NY’ Ready for Stacking Charming ‘Back House’ Apartment Is a Tiny Treasure in the West Village New Renderings Revealed for 217 West 57th Street, the Will-Be Tallest Residential […]

April 24, 2015

Infographic: Here’s NYC’s Immigration Patterns over 387 Years

We often talk about specific neighborhoods' immigration history–Little Germany in the East Village, El Barrio in East Harlem, or the capital of Jewish America on the Lower East Side. But when we look at the city as a whole, there's been some pretty interesting immigration patterns over its nearly-400-year history. To visualize this timeline, the data gurus over at Metrocosm have put together an interactive infographic that shows the change in these immigration waves from 1626 to 2013 and how they relate to world events regarding these given countries.
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