Search Results for: gentrification

How Planter Rob is growing a community of plant lovers & affordable housing advocates in NYC

All images courtesy of Breaking Ground

March 2, 2022

How Planter Rob is growing a community of plant lovers & affordable housing advocates in NYC

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Plant entrepreneur Robert Jeffery, aka Planter Rob, recently teamed up with New York's largest supportive housing provider Breaking Ground and plant company The Sill to donate nearly 200 houseplants to residents of Edwin's Place, an affordable housing development in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Jeffery has also started his own "Welcome-Home Plants" program; an initiative that aims to cultivate a diverse community of plant lovers who advocate for affordable housing and reap the benefits plant care brings, like a feeling of belonging and accomplishment. As someone who once faced homelessness, Jeffery can speak on the impact plant care had on his life once he was able to have a place for himself. We spoke with Planter Rob on what influenced him to become involved with houseplants, important issues in the plant community, and how he began his work with Breaking Ground and Edwin's Place.
Meet Planter Rob and learn more about his mission
Lottery opens for 117 affordable units at health-focused complex in Brownsville, from $959/month

Image courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

February 3, 2022

Lottery opens for 117 affordable units at health-focused complex in Brownsville, from $959/month

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Applications are now being accepted for 117 newly constructed apartments in Brooklyn. Located at 535 East 98th Street in Brownsville, Vital Brookdale is a health-focused mixed-use residential development that is part of New York State's Vital Brooklyn Initiative, an ongoing program for underserved communities in Central Brooklyn. New Yorkers earning 50, 60, and 80 percent of the area median income are eligible to apply for the units, which range from $959/month studios to $2,320/month three-bedrooms.
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See the 900-unit affordable complex designed by Adjaye Associates coming to East Flatbush
July 12, 2021

See the 900-unit affordable complex designed by Adjaye Associates coming to East Flatbush

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A 900 unit affordable housing complex with public green space and community amenities is coming to Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced the state selected the proposal to redevelop 7.2 acres of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center Campus following a request for proposals last summer. Designed by Sir David Adjaye's Adjaye Associates and Studio Zewde, the $400 million project includes affordable and supportive housing, senior housing, opportunities for homeownership, and two new homeless shelters that will replace existing, outdated ones.
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How Joe Biden will affect NYC’s renters, real estate, and recovery

Photo by Gage Skidmore on Flickr

January 20, 2021

How Joe Biden will affect NYC’s renters, real estate, and recovery

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After Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, his immediate focus will be getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and providing direct relief to Americans. In addition to immediate actions related to COVID-19, Biden's Day 1 housing priorities include extending the federal nationwide moratorium on residential evictions through the end of September and sending an additional $25 billion in rental assistance to states. Down the road, Biden has proposed fewer developer-friendly policies than his predecessor, including a repeal of the 1031 exchange and reform of the Opportunity Zone tax program. But overall, there is optimism among New York City real estate industry experts who see a Biden Administration as a way to restore stability and consumer confidence. With a pledge to defeat COVID-19 and send federal support to New York City, there's hope on the horizon for the city's recovery.
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New sculpture in Madison Square Park uses Lady Liberty’s torch to symbolize city’s struggles

Photos: Andy Romer Photography

October 27, 2020

New sculpture in Madison Square Park uses Lady Liberty’s torch to symbolize city’s struggles

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From 1876 to 1882, the Statue of Liberty's torch-holding arm was on view in Madison Square Park as a way to garner enthusiasm for the project before it arrived from France. Nearly 150 years later, the torch has returned, reimagined for a different purpose. Commissioned by the Madison Square Park Conservancy, Abigail DeVille's "Light of Freedom" sculpture includes a 13-foot-high torch encased in scaffolding and filled with a bell and the arms of mannequins. The work aims to reflect the current struggles New York City is facing with the pandemic, protests, and political climate while acknowledging the way in which conflict can create change.
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This big, beautiful Victorian in Newburgh is asking just $650K

Photo by Roy Savage

September 24, 2020

This big, beautiful Victorian in Newburgh is asking just $650K

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The city of Newburgh, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Manhattan, often gets a bad rap for its past crime statistics. But in recent years, shops and restaurants have been sprouting up, the arts scene is booming, preservation groups are working to save the wealth of historic mansions, and the relatively affordable housing stock is enticing buyers. Take, for example, this 1875 Victorian home. It's over 3,500 square feet, is beautifully preserved, and overlooks the Hudson River and Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site. And it's asking just $650,000.
See inside
Industry City developers withdraw rezoning application

Photo by Steven Pisano on Flickr

September 23, 2020

Industry City developers withdraw rezoning application

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Plans to rezone Industry City in Sunset Park are dead after developers behind the project decided to withdraw their application on Tuesday. As Politico New York first reported, the decision to pull out of the plan, first proposed six years ago, comes as developers were unable to convince Brooklyn residents and officials, particularly Council Member Carlos Menchaca, the local representative, to support the rezoning efforts. Supporters of the rezoning said it would have brought thousands of new jobs to the city, which currently is seeing an unemployment rate of about 20 percent because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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300-unit affordable and supportive housing development coming to Flatbush, Brooklyn
July 22, 2020

300-unit affordable and supportive housing development coming to Flatbush, Brooklyn

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As part of his larger plan to invest $1.4 billion in Central Brooklyn communities, Governor Cuomo unveiled this week a 291-unit affordable housing development in Flatbush. Called the Clarkson Estates, the project will have half of its apartments set aside for "youth aging out of foster care, formerly incarcerated individuals, and formerly homeless young adults," according to a press release. Developer CAMBA Housing Ventures will offer an extensive network of supportive services within a 30,000-square-foot space that the building is calling its "HUB." Many of these facilities will also be open to the public.
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322-unit affordable complex with healthcare center and courtyard planned for East Flatbush
July 17, 2020

322-unit affordable complex with healthcare center and courtyard planned for East Flatbush

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Another proposal has been chosen for a new affordable development in East Flatbush as part of the state's effort to revitalize neighborhoods in Central Brooklyn. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced plans for a 322-unit complex called "Utica Crescent" that will be constructed on a lot next to the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. The project is part of the $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn initiative that will ultimately bring 4,000 units of affordable housing, improved health and wellness options, jobs, and additional open space to underserved Brooklyn neighborhoods.
More here
INTERVIEW: Architect John Cetra on the Upper West Side’s Dahlia and the changing concept of home

Images courtesy of CetraRuddy

July 13, 2020

INTERVIEW: Architect John Cetra on the Upper West Side’s Dahlia and the changing concept of home

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Designed by CetraRuddy and RKTB Architects, Dahlia at 212 West 95th Street celebrates the Upper West Side's classic residential blocks of pre-war architecture while adding innovative design elements. The condo’s 38 homes and common areas are designed to be more spacious than the average Manhattan apartment, and perks unheard of in New York City include a huge 5,100-square-foot private elevated park, a fitness center with a yoga room, and a private parking garage. Plus, each apartment is situated on a corner of the building, so there’s no shortage of views and natural light. 6sqft recently offered a peek at the 20-story building's interiors, and we've now chatted with architect John Cetra about this new addition to the Upper West Side, the neighborhood, and how apartment building design must be sensitive to changing times and the idea of home in the city.
An interview with John Cetra of CetraRuddy, this way
East Village landmark Gem Spa has permanently closed

Photo by Alex Lozupone on Wiki Commons

May 8, 2020

East Village landmark Gem Spa has permanently closed

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A fixture on the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue in the East Village for 100 years, Gem Spa has permanently closed. The store, considered home to New York's best egg cream, had been struggling financially due to the gentrification of the neighborhood, as well as the loss of its cigarette and lottery licenses last year. While a fundraising effort launched last fall by current owner Parul Patel helped temporarily, the coronavirus pandemic "ultimately sealed the fate" of the institution.
Details this way
City alleges Chelsea Hotel owners harassed tenants during renovation

Image: Velvet via Wiki Commons 

March 11, 2020

City alleges Chelsea Hotel owners harassed tenants during renovation

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Lawyers for the city's Department of Housing Preservation announced Friday that the Chelsea Hotel’s owners did not qualify to receive a Certificate of No Harassment (CNH)–the document required for them to continue renovations to convert the dilapidated landmark into a luxury hotel with apartments. The document is required under a decades-old law to protect Single Room Occupancy residences from tenant harassment. As The Real Deal reports, The city's allegations of harassment are the result of tenant complaints that since owners Richard Born and Ira Drukier of BD hotels began work after acquiring a stake in the property in 2016, conditions like leaky ceilings, exposed electrical wires, high lead levels, vermin and lack of heat have made living there unsafe.
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Alternative plan for Harlem’s massive Lenox Terrace development gets rid of affordable units

Rendering courtesy of the Olnick Organization

February 12, 2020

Alternative plan for Harlem’s massive Lenox Terrace development gets rid of affordable units

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Amidst pushback from locals and activists, the Olnick Organization has released a Plan B proposal for its Lenox Terrace expansion, reports the Post. Last week, the City Planning Commission approved an application from the complex's owner to rezone part of the neighborhood and allow five 28-story towers with a mix of market-rate and affordable units to be built at the site. The alternate plan unveiled on Tuesday presents a scaled-down version that wouldn't require a zoning change but also wouldn't include any of the affordable units or public amenities in the original plan.
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Proposed property tax overhaul could lessen burden for low-income homeowners in NYC

Photo of Park Slope brownstones by Josh Wilburne on Unsplash

January 31, 2020

Proposed property tax overhaul could lessen burden for low-income homeowners in NYC

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Owners of multi-million dollar co-ops and condos in New York City would have to pay property tax at full market value under a recently released proposal to overhaul the current system. The city's Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform on Thursday unveiled its long-awaited report detailing reforms of the complex system that would tax properties of similar values at equitable rates. Currently, homebuyers pay property tax based on assessed value, rather than the market rate, which puts a bigger tax burden on low- and middle-income homeowners.
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Bushwick rezoning stalled after city dismisses community plan

Photo by Mike Steele on Flickr

January 13, 2020

Bushwick rezoning stalled after city dismisses community plan

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The plan to rezone Bushwick hit a possibly fatal roadblock Monday after city officials and local politicians failed to reach an agreement on affordable housing requirements. The city said it will not study the Bushwick Community Plan (BCP), first envisioned by the community in 2014 to address out-of-context development, as part of its proposal, effectively postponing the rezoning. After years of Bushwick residents calling for a study of the area's growing gentrification, the city released its official rezoning plan last April. But local stakeholders and leaders, including Council Members Antonio Reynoso and Rafel Espinal Jr., said the city's plan fell short of the vision laid out in the BCP.
Details here
Judge overturns city’s plan to rezone Inwood

Photo by kathryn on Flickr

December 20, 2019

Judge overturns city’s plan to rezone Inwood

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A state Supreme Court judge on Thursday overturned land-use changes approved by the City Council in 2018 to rezone the neighborhood of Inwood. A group of local residents and preservationists filed a lawsuit against the rezoning last December, claiming the plan did nothing to protect the community from displacement, as well as other effects of gentrification. In the decision, Judge Verna Saunders said the city "failed to take a hard look at the relevant areas of concern identified by the public" and did not comply with a state environmental quality review.
Learn more here
A 266-unit affordable senior housing complex with focus on health and wellness to open in Brooklyn

Rendering courtesy of Dattner Architects

December 16, 2019

A 266-unit affordable senior housing complex with focus on health and wellness to open in Brooklyn

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A medical center in Brooklyn will be developed into a mixed-use complex with affordable housing, on-site counseling service, fitness programs, and integrated health care. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week plans to transform the current Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center North Campus, located between Prospect Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush, into Kingsbrook Estate, a three-building development with 266 units of affordable housing. Designed by Dattner Architects in collaboration with landscape architecture firm terrain, the development falls under the state's Vital Brooklyn plan, created in 2017 to bring more housing and jobs to the Central Brooklyn area.
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Get a rare look inside the homes of the Chelsea Hotel’s last residents

The home of Suzanne Lipschutz, owner of antiques store Secondhand Rose. All Images by Colin Miller; courtesy of The Monacelli Press

December 2, 2019

Get a rare look inside the homes of the Chelsea Hotel’s last residents

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Despite ongoing legal conflicts and stalled plans to convert the storied structure into a luxury hotel, the Chelsea Hotel remains one of the city’s legendary landmarks. Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven, a new book published last month by The Monacelli Press, documents the homes of nearly two dozen current residents (there are about 50-60 remaining residents in total) who still embody the bohemian spirit of the Gilded Era hotel that was once home to seminal figures like Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, William S. Burroughs, and Thomas Wolfe.
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Join the cash mob to help save St. Mark’s bodega Gem Spa

Photo by Alex Lozupone on Wiki Commons

September 13, 2019

Join the cash mob to help save St. Mark’s bodega Gem Spa

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The East Village's Gem Spa first opened in the 1920s on the corner of St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue and received its current moniker in the 1950s. The shop became famous when it was frequented by Beat writers such as Allen Ginsberg and featured in a painting by Jean-Michelle Basquiat and then later as an all-night punk hangout and tourist stop for egg creams. Today, however, the store is struggling to stay afloat due to the ever-increasing gentrification of the neighborhood and losing its cigarette and lottery licenses in the spring. In an effort to save the icon, small business advocacy group #SaveNYC is hosting a cash mob this Saturday. In preparation, a faux storefront was installed that reads "Schitibank coming soon," in reference to rumors that Citibank is trying to take over the storefront.
All the details
The Italian side of Williamsburg: History, famous joints, and today’s culture

Photo via Flickr cc

August 21, 2019

The Italian side of Williamsburg: History, famous joints, and today’s culture

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A bustling Brooklyn enclave that is today an impossibly trendy and diverse mix of glassy condos, hip new restaurants and storefronts, and unassuming multi-family homes in the northeast section of Williamsburg was one of New York City’s notable Italian-American neighborhoods for much of the 20th century. While it may not have the tourist cachet of Manhattan’s Little Italy–or the old-fashioned village-y coziness of Carroll Gardens–this swath of the ‘burg, bounded roughly by Montrose, Union, Richardson, and Humboldt Streets, was a little bit of Italy in its own right from the 1800s until as late as the 1990s. The north end of Graham Avenue was even christened Via Vespucci to commemorate the historic Italian-American community.
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City releases plan to transform Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction into desirable transit hub

Rendering by WXY Architecture & Urban Design

August 16, 2019

City releases plan to transform Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction into desirable transit hub

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The city released on Thursday its preliminary vision to revitalize Brooklyn's third busiest transit station. Council Member Rafael Espinal Jr. and Borough President Eric Adams, along with the city's Economic Development Corporation, laid out a plan to transform Broadway Junction, which connects six residential neighborhoods via five subway lines and six bus routes, into an accessible, attractive hub. The plan falls under the East New York Neighborhood Plan, a rezoning approved by the city in 2016.
See the plan
New study finds reasons for storefront vacancy are as varied as NYC neighborhoods themselves

Image: Steven Pisano via Flickr.

August 9, 2019

New study finds reasons for storefront vacancy are as varied as NYC neighborhoods themselves

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Amid discussions of gentrification and astronomical rents, it's impossible not to notice the alarming appearance of vacant storefronts in what seems like every neighborhood in New York City. A new report from the Department of City Planning (DCP) has attempted to get a closer look at the data behind this phenomenon to get a better understanding of how the city's retail and storefront uses may be changing. The report, titled "Assessing Storefront Vacancy in NYC," looks at 24 neighborhoods as case studies. The very detailed study found that, overall, storefront vacancy may not be a one-answer citywide problem. Vacancies were found to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods, and the reasons appear to be as many and varied as the neighborhoods themselves.
More fascinating findings, this way
Chelsea Hotel owners have sent nearly $60,000 to de Blasio in attempt to gain favor for construction

Image via Wiki Commons 

July 31, 2019

Chelsea Hotel owners have sent nearly $60,000 to de Blasio in attempt to gain favor for construction

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It’s been several years since Ira Drukier and Richard Born took over as owners of the historic Chelsea Hotel with plans to turn it into a luxury hotel. The rent-stabilized tenants who remain in the hotel even as it’s been turned into a construction zone have filed multiple complaints with the city, hitting the new owners with violations and a lawsuit. But The City has uncovered a link between those complaints and Drukier and Born’s donations to Mayor de Blasio’s political funds. Over the course of less than a year—from August 2018 to June—18 checks totaling $57,400 were sent to de Blasio’s presidential campaign from either the owners or people associated with them. The checks started coming soon after city building inspectors began responding to tenant complaints about hazardous living conditions.
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The social and cultural Puerto Rican history of the East Village

Photo via Flickr cc

July 25, 2019

The social and cultural Puerto Rican history of the East Village

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The tumult and unrest in the streets of Puerto Rico right now harken back to a time when many Puerto Rican New Yorkers were also agitating in the streets for long-overdue reform and change. One milestone in that history took place 50 years ago when several Puerto Rican activists gathered in the East Village to found the New York Chapter of the Young Lords. This began a flowering of Puerto Rican cultural and social ferment in the East Village, the legacy of which can still be seen and experienced in the neighborhood today. From Tompkins Square Park to the Nuyorican Poets Café, here are six of the most significant spots.
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Berlin is imposing a five-year rent freeze—Could it work in New York City?

Photo via Pixabay

July 1, 2019

Berlin is imposing a five-year rent freeze—Could it work in New York City?

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In June, New York State rolled out a slate of proposals to protect renters. Among other changes, the new legislation closes several loopholes that have permitted owners to legally spike rents following renovations—a tactic that has been successfully used to deregulate more than 150,000 units over the past two decades. In essence, under the new legislation, owners will no longer be able to deregulate rent-regulated apartments at all. While the new legislation is certainly good news for many renters, for the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who now already live in unregulated apartments, the current legislation doesn’t fix their current woes. But could a five-year rent freeze help? It may sound impossible, but this is precisely what Berlin—once an oasis of inexpensive rents—has just approved as a way to put the brakes on rising rental prices.
Could this work in NYC?
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