Search Results for: green

December 10, 2018

Live in this fully-furnished designer Brooklyn Heights studio for $2,450/month

On a quiet block in the heart of Brooklyn Heights, this charming studio at 38 Livingston Street doesn't offer a ton of square footage but the thoughtful design details make it worth a look. The fully-furnished unit is outfitted with chic, just-trendy-enough pieces that make a bold statement, and it's asking the semi-reasonable rent of $2,450 a month.
See the whole petite place
December 10, 2018

50 years at Co-op City: The history of the world’s largest co-operative housing development

When Governor Rockefeller, Robert Moses, Jacob Potofsky of the United Housing Foundation, and Abraham Kazan, known as “the father of US cooperative housing,” broke ground on Co-op City in the Baychester section of the Bronx on May 14, 1966, they were doing something truly groundbreaking. In fact, Rockefeller called it a “completely sound investment in a better society.” Co-op City is the world’s largest co-operative housing development. Built on 320 acres just north of Freedomland, the sprawling, self-contained development provides homes for over 15,000 families across 35 buildings, and supports its own schools, weekly newspaper, power plant, and planetarium. Originally built by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the United Housing Foundation as cooperative, affordable, middle-income workers’ housing, Co-op city has remained dedicated to open membership, democratic control, distribution of surplus, and diversity for half a century.
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December 8, 2018

Top 10 Rental Buildings in FiDi & This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Renting Downtown: Top 10 Rental Buildings in Financial District + Battery Park City [LINK] Cobalt Lofts in Harrison Launches Luxury Rentals from $1,915/Month; 20 Minutes from NYC [LINK] Contemporary Rentals at Historic 71 Broadway: No-Fee Listings from $3,035/Month [LINK] Bed-Stuy Rentals Launch at 1247 Atlantic Avenue with 1 Month Free; Net Prices from $1,825/Month [LINK] […]

December 7, 2018

From Mark Twain and the Lovin’ Spoonful to Tech Hub: The overlooked history of Union Square South

Straddling Greenwich Village and the East Village, the neighborhood south of Union Square between Fifth and Third Avenues was once a center of groundbreaking commercial innovations, radical leftist politics, and the artistic avant-garde. With the city’s recent decision to allow an upzoning for a "Tech Hub" on the neighborhood’s doorstep on 14th Street, there are concerns that the resilient and architecturally intact neighborhood may face irreversible change. While they’re still here, take a tour of some of the many sites of remarkable cultural history, nestled in this compact neighborhood just south of one of our city’s busiest hubs.
See the full list
December 7, 2018

New renderings of 1,100-unit Hunter’s Point South project in Long Island City

New renderings were released this week of the one million square foot development coming to the Long Island City's Hunter's Point South neighborhood. Designed by Handel Architects, the complex features two high-rise towers, retail, and community space. Notably, the project is expected to bring 1,100 new residential units, with 80 percent of them permanently affordable. The complex sits less than a mile from the planned office complex of Amazon, which chose the Queens neighborhood last month for its new home. As CityRealty reported, the two towers will rise 57 and 33 floors, with the taller of the two reaching 600 feet high, which would make it the tallest building on the waterfront.
See the LIC project
December 7, 2018

Photographer Betsy Pinover Schiff takes us on an illuminated tour of NYC during Christmastime

Two years ago while attending for the first time the Winter’s Eve Festival, billed as the largest holiday festival in New York City, photographer Betsy Pinover Schiff had an ah-ha Christmas moment. If she, a native New Yorker, just recently learned about this huge annual celebration that draws thousands to Lincoln Square, what other Christmas celebrations was she missing? In a quest to find out, Betsy ended up taking hundreds of photos and attending hundreds of events across the city, all within a six-week period. Her curiosity grew to become the basis of her latest book, “‘Tis the Season New York," which was released this fall. Her book takes us on a tour of NYC during its most festive time of the year, from photos of the holiday windows at Saks Fifth Avenue to the elaborately decorated homes of Dyker Heights. Plus, 15 different New Yorkers, ranging from philanthropist Agnes Gund to Betsy's postman, provided their own NYC experiences for the book. Ahead, Betsy shares with 6sqft some of her sparkling photos and tells us how New York during Christmastime becomes a place for "fun, fantasy, and endless heartwarming moments."
See the spirited photos
December 7, 2018

No M this weekend and all the other subway updates you need to know

It's going to be another good weekend for the L train, which continues to run on weekends through late January. Not so much for the J train, which is not running again between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Like last weekend, there will be shuttle buses available from Hewes Street to Essex Street and between Essex and Metropolitan Avenue. The M train is going to have a rough weekend as well: all service is suspended. There will be M shuttle buses running between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue, and express to/from Delancey Street/Essex Street, but otherwise M riders will have to look to the 4, 5, and F for alternative routes.
Know before you go
December 6, 2018

40 NYC-themed gifts for every type of New Yorker

Whether you need just a few more items to check off your holiday shopping list or you haven’t even started thinking about it yet, follow our guide to make this year’s gift-giving totally stressfree. We’ve rounded up the 40 best presents that are uniquely New York for every type of Big Apple dweller, from the transit nerd and the foodie to the architecture buff and bookworm. Priced between $10 and $295, recommended gifts include everything from a cheese class with Murray's Cheese to a walking tour of Flushing, Queens.
See the full list
December 6, 2018

Controversial Two Bridges towers get city approval despite community ambivalence

Update 12/7/18: The City Council and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer filed a suit in the Manhattan Supreme Court "claiming city planners usurped the Council’s authority over land-use issues in approving the project," reported The Real Deal. The City Planning Commission gave the green light Wednesday to a controversial application filed by four developers to build three new residential towers in the Lower East Side's Two Bridges development, which are expected to add 3,000 housing units between them, The Real Deal reports. 700 units will be affordable. The large-scale residential towers were approved in a 10-3 vote on Wednesday, after a lengthy, often acrimonious review process. The towers are comprised of JDS Development’s 1,000-unit rental tower at 247 Cherry Street, L+M Development and CIM Group’s 798-foot tower at 260 South Street; and Starrett Corporation’s 730-foot building at 259 Clinton Street.
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December 6, 2018

Transforming LaGuardia’s Terminal B, by the numbers

The first phase of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $8 billion overhaul of LaGuardia Aiport opened to the public this weekend, which includes a new concourse and 11 gates at Terminal B. Construction company Skanska on Wednesday released additional information about the project, detailing everything from its planned 1.3 million square footage to its use of 40,000 tons of steel. In total, the redevelopment of LGA's Terminal B will cost $5.1 billion and bring 35 new gates and two new concourses.
Get the facts
December 5, 2018

VOTE for 6sqft’s 2018 Building of the Year

The city’s most important residential projects include a glittering showcase of superlatives that continue to eclipse all that came before, with claims that include tallest (Central Park Tower), skinniest (111 West 57th Street ), most expensive (a $250 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South) and loftiest outdoor lounge (Fifteen Hudson Yards) and pool (Brooklyn Point) almost being a requirement for selling the fabulously luxurious apartments and amenities that lie within. Though some of this year’s contenders appeared on previous years’ lists, their sales launches and toppings-out in 2018 proved that their arrivals on the city's skyline–and among its residential options–are no less impactful than the anticipation that preceded them. We’ve narrowed our picks down to a list of 12 headline-stealing residential structures for the year. Which do you think deserves 6sqft’s title of 2018 Building of the Year? To have your say, polls for our fourth annual competition will be open up until midnight on Wednesday, December 12th and we will announce the winner on the 13th.
VOTE HERE! And learn more about the choices.
December 5, 2018

Legendary Apollo Theatre is expanding with two additional theaters

Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater, which helped launch the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, and other such luminaries, is expanding for the first time since it opened in 1934, by adding two new performance spaces and additional office space as part of the redevelopment of the Victoria Theater on West 125th Street. Scheduled to open in fall 2020, the new Apollo Performing Arts Center will allow the nonprofit Apollo Theater to increase the number of programming, educational, and community programs it offers.
Find out more
December 5, 2018

Snøhetta reveals more preservation-friendly redesign for Philip Johnson’s 550 Madison

Architecture firm Snøhetta unveiled this week a preservationist-friendly revision to a controversial design for an updated AT&T building at 550 Madison Avenue. The latest design is one of several revisions, each followed by controversy over being seen by preservationists as diverting too much from the building’s original design by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. In addition to comparisons to the original, new designs have had to consider the subsequent revamp that made it the Sony building in 1994, which replaced the building's open Madison Avenue arcade with “Sony Experience” storefronts and covered a rear public arcade with a glass roof.
'Hands off my Johnson'
December 4, 2018

Beloved bookstore the Strand fights back against landmarking proposal

Earlier today, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing to consider landmarking seven buildings on Broadway between East 12th and 14th Streets, one of which many already recognize as an unofficial NYC landmark -- The Strand bookstore. In advance of the hearing, The Strand voiced strong concerns that the designation would place crippling restrictions on the scrappy business and potentially threaten its future, as the New York Times reported. Referencing the recent tax incentives that Amazon received to relocate to Long Island City, Strand owner Nancy Bass Wyden said, "The richest man in America, who’s a direct competitor, has just been handed $3 billion in subsidies. I’m not asking for money or a tax rebate. Just leave me alone."
Find out what happened at today's hearing
December 3, 2018

In the market for a palace? This massive FiDi landmark is 50% off

A FiDi landmark with a storied past is back on the market with a significant price drop. The American Bank Note building was built in 1908 by architects Kirby, Petit & Green to serve as the company’s headquarters, then later bought by a foundation of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and used as a meditation retreat. The landmarked building at 70 Broad Street was last sold to a Chinese construction firm in 2010 for $18 million. The new owners renovated the opulent Neo-Classical structure in 2015 and put it on the market for a whopping $88 million in 2016. On Friday, the listing hit the market again, this time with a slightly more moderate $43 million price tag.
Take a look
December 3, 2018

Nomad’s One Madison Avenue is getting an 18-floor addition designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox

The Nomad office tower that neighbors the Met Life Tower is getting a major makeover, SL Green announced Monday. The 13-story building at One Madison Avenue will undergo a redevelopment, including an addition designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and a modernization of the building's existing podium. The real estate company said it will reduce the building to its ninth floor and create 18 additional column-free floors above. A rendering released on Monday shows off the planned glassy addition, as well as wraparound and rooftop outdoor terraces that will measure over one acre.
Get the details
December 1, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Vernon Tower: Astoria waterfront rentals across from Socrates Sculpture Park from $2,300/month [LINK] Otto Greenpoint: Brooklyn rentals at 211 McGuinness Boulevard from $2,317/month [LINK] 181 Front Street: New rentals in DUMBO offer 1 month free on 13-month lease [LINK] Estuary Weehawken: Luxury waterfront rentals with skyline views from $2,363/month [LINK] 111 Murray Street: Michael Cohen’s […]

November 30, 2018

Lillian Wald’s Lower East Side: From the Visiting Nurse Service to the Henry Street Settlement

In 1893, the 26-year-old nurse Lillian Wald founded the Lower East Side’s Henry Street Settlement, and what would become the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. Two years of nursing school had given her the “inspiration to be of use some way or somehow,” and she identified “four branches of usefulness” where she could be of service. Those four branches, “visiting nursing, social work, country work and civic work,” helped guide the Settlement’s programming, and turned Wald’s home at 265 Henry Street into a center of progressive advocacy, and community support, that attracted neighbors from around the corner, and reformers from around the world.
Learn about Lillian
November 30, 2018

The L train is back! Don’t get used to it.

The L train will be back for weekend service from December until late in January, a relief from the weekend dress rehearsal it's been staging since this summer. The bad news is that the J and M trains won't be running between Manhattan and Brooklyn on weekends until late in January. Free shuttle buses, should you choose them, can get you from Hewes Street to Essex Street and between Essex and Metropolitan Avenue. Before you head out this weekend, check the rest of the planned service changes ahead.
It's still warm enough for the bike
November 29, 2018

Where I Work: See how Stickbulb’s first-ever showroom is lighting up Long Island City

Before opening their first showroom, sustainable lighting brand Stickbulb had just one wire rack of shelving and one workbench, with their supplies spilling out into the communal areas of their building. They desperately needed more space. The company found it this year in a 10,000-square-foot former steel factory in Long Island City. With its terracotta walls and wooden floors, not only does the new space aptly complement Stickbulb’s modern LED light fixtures, but the former factory gives them enough room to show off how their products are made and the people who make them. Sustainability remains a core mission for Stickbulb, which was founded six years ago by Russell Greenberg and Chris Beardsley, the creative team behind RUX Design. Using salvaged wood from demolished buildings and dismantled water towers, Stickbulb products always have a story to tell. "The idea is that the customer can trace back the wood that they have in their light fixture back to the original building it was a part of," Russell told us during a recent visit to the company's showroom. Ahead, take a tour of Stickbulb's new space and hear from Russell and Chris on starting the studio, the process behind finding reclaimed wood, and the bright future of the growing company.
See inside
November 29, 2018

Trump ‘receptive’ to Gateway project, but still no funding agreement reached

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called his meeting with President Donald Trump "productive," despite not reaching an agreement about the funding of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The two Queens natives met for lunch at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the Gateway project, a plan to fix an existing train tunnel and build a new one, construct two new bridges, and expand Penn Station, estimated to cost $30 billion. "I think it's fair to say the president was receptive to what we were talking about," Cuomo said. But there is no timeline for the project, as the governor noted. "So we are nowhere right now," Cuomo told reporters. "There is no clock ticking because there is no clock."
More this way
November 28, 2018

‘Fearless Girl’ statue begins her move to permanent Stock Exchange home

The four-foot bronze "Fearless Girl" statue was removed from her spot across from the iconic “Charging Bull” in Bowling Green Tuesday night, AMNew York reports, and is on her way to a more pedestrian friendly spot in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since its appearance in 2017 a day before International Women’s Day, sending a message to Wall Street for the need of gender equality in the financial world, the diminuitive statue has become a major attraction, drawing millions of tourists and locals. State Street Global Advisors, the investment company that owns the statue, said she'd be installed in her new home by December 31.
Find out more
November 28, 2018

Cuomo to meet with Trump over funding for Gateway Tunnel project

Gov. Andrew Cuomo will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday to discuss funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project, a plan which would fix an existing rail tunnel and build a new one under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York City. In October, Cuomo sent the president a video of the severely damaged, century-old tunnel and called on the Trump administration to fund their share of the project, which is estimated to cost $30 billion. "The Federal Government poses many challenges for the State of New York but one of the top priorities is to replace the Gateway tunnels," Cuomo said in a statement. "These tunnels are Federally owned by the Amtrak Corporation and must be replaced."
More here
November 28, 2018

See Central Park reimagined after being devastated by a fictional eco-terrorist attack

The University of Pennsylvania announced this week five winners of its ICONOCLAST competition, a design contest that asked participants to reimagine Central Park following a hypothetical eco-terrorist attack (h/t NY Times). The contest attracted 382 entries from 30 countries, all competing for $20,000 and the chance to be published in LA+ Journal. Richard Weller, a jury chair for the contest, said, "From megastructures to new ecologies and radical ideas for democratizing public space, the LA+ICONOCLAST winning entries can move beyond the status quo of picturesque large parks and embrace the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century." Ahead, check out the designs of a recreated 21st-century Central Park from the five finalists.
See the designs
November 27, 2018

Permits filed for 22-story Union Square tech hub with plans for major digital training center

The New York Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has filed permits to construct a 22-floor tech hub at 114 East 14th Street near Union Square, CityRealty reports. Officially known as the Union Square Tech Training Center, the 254,000-square-foot, $250 million, facility has big plans to ramp up NYC's high-tech firepower: In addition to affordable office space for startups, market-rate office space for tech companies, and a retail and market area run by Urbanspace, the nonprofit Civic Hall will be running a new digital skills training center at the midblock site once occupied by a PC Richard & Son electronics store.
Find out more