Search Results for: how to get from brooklyn to manhattan

August 28, 2018

Take a tour of Dead Horse Bay, Brooklyn’s hidden trove of trash and treasures

Dead Horse Bay is a small body of water in Brooklyn that got its name from the horse rendering plants that were on the former Barren Island in Jamaica Bay near the shoreline of Flatlands. In the late 1850s, Barren Island was the site of the largest dump in New York City, fed by barges carrying garbage and animal remains. Factories on the island used the carcasses of horses, which were put in large vats and boiled until the fat could be removed, for use in fertilizer, glue, and oils. The bones of the horses were then chopped up and dumped into the water. Starting in 1930, the island also became the site of the first municipal airport (Floyd Bennett) after the city filled in marshland to connect it to the mainland. The last horse rendering factory on the island closed in 1935 and in 1936, the island’s final 400 residents were evicted to make way for the creation of the Belt Parkway. The City continued using the area as a garbage dump until 1953 when the landfill was capped. Since 1972, the area surrounding Dead Horse Bay has been part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. We joined Robin Nagle, NYC Department of Sanitation’s Anthropologist-in-Residence for an exclusive exploration of Dead Horse Bay earlier this year with the City Reliquary Museum and had a chance to speak with her about this mysterious area, which is strewn with glass bottles, fragments of centuries-old horse bones, and mounds of trash.
Have a look around
August 24, 2018

WeWork on track to become the biggest private office tenant in Manhattan

If WeWork leases just 74,000 square feet of office space, the co-working space company will become the biggest private office tenant in Manhattan, the blog recode reported Thursday. This means WeWork would bypass JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the largest private office tenant in the borough. WeWork currently has 57 locations in NYC and represents a little under three percent of office space in the city, but is expected to grow to represent between five and 10 percent over the next decade. How are they securing all of this square footage? Offering brokers 100 percent commissions and huge rental discounts for tenants.
More here
August 24, 2018

The Battle of Brooklyn 242 years later: Where the fighting played out in present day

242 years ago on August 27th, less than two months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War played out across Brooklyn. What was first known as the Battle of Long Island (Brooklyn was still just a small town at the time of the attack) was later dubbed the Battle of Brooklyn. On this summer day in 1776, The British took their troops from Staten Island to stealthily attack George Washington and his Continental Army at their Brooklyn camp. Greatly outnumbered in size and skill, Washington sent many of his soldiers on an escape route through Brooklyn Heights and across the foggy East River to Manhattan. To distract the British and buy the rest of the troops time, Washington also sent the entire 1st Maryland Regiment, known as the Maryland 400, on a suicide mission. All 400 soldiers from the regiment were killed in battle with the British, but the Continental Army made its escape and went on to win the war. Not surprising since these harrowing events played out across a good portion of the borough, there are monuments, a museum, and plaques to commemorate it. And then there are popular Brooklyn locales—from Prospect Park to Green-Wood Cemetery—that you might not realize were former battlefields. After the jump, 6sqft rounds up the modern-day locations once crucial to the Battle of Brooklyn, with some tips on how to commemorate the event this weekend.
Keep reading
August 7, 2018

The L-train will not run between Brooklyn and Manhattan for 15 weekends

The MTA announced on Saturday that the L train will not run between Manhattan and Brooklyn over 15 weekends. Between this coming weekend and mid-April, the L will only operate between Broadway Junction and Carnasie-Rockaway Parkway during specific weekends. As Gothamist reported, this "pre-shutdown shutdown" will prepare for the 15-month shutdown of the L-train scheduled to begin sometime in April.
More L-shutdown nightmares
August 2, 2018

After years of delays and $20M increase, Lower Manhattan pedestrian bridge won’t meet fall deadline

After two Battery Park City bridges were destroyed during the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the city quickly built the Rector Street Bridge, a temporary solution to let pedestrians safely cross West Street. The state's department of transportation released a proposal in 2006 to reconstruct the promenade but opted to renovate the bridge in 2009 instead. WXY Architecture released a new proposal in 2013 to replace the Rector Street Bridge with a 230-foot-long light-filled, permanent pedestrian walkway at West Thames Street. But, as Crain's first reported, the project won't meet its fall deadline and the project's budget has grown from $20 million to roughly $40 million.  
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July 30, 2018

This 1946 map shows how Native American trails became the streets of Brooklyn

While we take for granted the paths and roads we use on a daily basis, it's interesting to find out how they came to be. It's not a new concept that paths worn by the comings and goings of early dwellers and subsequent settlers in a particular area became roads, streets and thoroughfares, often with names that reflect their beginnings. Brooklyn Heights Blog (via Viewing NYC) shares some insight into Brooklyn's familiar roads that began as Native American trails on a 1946 map titled "Indian Villages, Paths, Ponds and Places in Kings County."
Peruse the map
July 30, 2018

The city’s first shared electric moped service launches in Brooklyn

More than 60 electric mopeds will hit the streets of Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Bushwick on Monday, as part of a new ride-sharing program. Developed by Revel Transit, the mopeds are available to anyone with a driver's license and for rides within Brooklyn in Queens, as the Wall Street Journal reported. Through an app, users can find nearby mopeds and reserve one up to 15 minutes in advance. While moped sharing exists in a few other cities, including Berlin and Paris, this is the first service of its kind in New York City.
Roll this way
July 25, 2018

Men of steel: How Brooklyn’s Native American ironworkers built New York

The Empire State Building. The George Washington Bridge. The United Nations. The Woolworth Building. 30 Rock. The Seagram Building. Lincoln Center. The Waldorf Astoria. Virtually all of New York’s most iconic structures were raised in part by Mohawk Native American ironworkers. Since 1916, when Mohawk men made their way to New York to work on the Hell Gate Bridge, ironworkers from two Native communities, Akwesasne (which straddles Ontario, Quebec, and New York State) and Kahnawake (near Montreal), have been “walking iron” across the city.
Get the rest of this stories-high story
July 24, 2018

Amazon launches same-day delivery from Whole Foods in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan

You can now have all of your organic needs met within as little as an hour--without waiting in line. Amazon launched on Tuesday "ultrafast" same-day delivery from Whole Foods Market in 24 cities, including Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and select areas of Long Island. The service, for Prime members only, began earlier this year and will continue to expand to more neighborhoods in NYC and in the country throughout 2018. "Today’s announcement is another way that we are continuing to expand access to our high-quality products and locally-sourced favorites," Christina Minardi, executive vice president of operations for Whole Foods Market, said in a statement.
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July 16, 2018

Your NYC library card will now get you free admission to 30+ museums

For those New Yorkers who haven't gotten their IDNYC, there's now a new way to gain free access to museums across the city--your library card. Today, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), the New York Public Library (NYPL), and Queens Library launched Culture Pass, "a joint library-led, city-wide initiative providing free access to more than 30 museums and cultural institutions across all five boroughs available to every NYC library card holder." According to a press release, all card holders have to do is go online to reserve a free day pass for themselves and up to three guests at 33 cultural organizations, from the Whitney Museum and MoMA (where regular adult entry is $25/person) to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Wave Hill.
All the details
July 13, 2018

Beyond Manhattanhenge: Find mini-henges happening every day across NYC

While the biannual sunset that aligns perfectly between two skyscrapers in Manhattan is perhaps the best known 'henge,' it's certainly not the only one. Because every neighborhood in New York City features its own pattern of a street grid, each has its own henge days (h/t NY Times). An interactive map called NYCHenge displays where mini-henges happen for every sunset throughout the year, allowing outer-borough residents to snap a solid sunset picture nearly every day.
Find a henge near you
July 12, 2018

This Saturday, the off-limits Brooklyn Bridge Beach will open to the public

This Saturday is the 11th annual City of Water Day, a free festival organized by the Waterfront Alliance to get people to, on, and in New York Harbor and its surrounding waterways. The most anticipated event this year is the chance to access the normally off-limits Brooklyn Bridge Beach, located just north of Pier 17 in the Financial District. For years, Lower Manhattan civic groups have been advocating for the small, sandy beach under the Brooklyn Bridge to be opened to the public, and though it doesn't look like that'll be happening any time soon, the Alliance worked with the NYC EDC to grant access for this one special day.
Learn about all the events happening this Saturday
July 2, 2018

Where I Work: Go inside NYC’s first sake brewery at Brooklyn Kura

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and businesses of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring Industry City's Brooklyn Kura, New York's first sake brewery. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! "It was my first ‘oh, my God’ sake which was made in the U.S.A." said Japanese-born sake sommelier Chizuko Niikawa-Helton when he tasted the product of Brooklyn Kura, NYC's first sake brewery and one of only 15 in the nation. And this is exactly what co-founders Brian Polen and Brandon Doughan strive for. They're committed to respecting the thousands-year-old Japanese sake brewing traditions, but they also hope to inspire a new interest in this ancient beverage by using unique American ingredients and engaging New Yorkers in the process at their Sunset Park brewery and tap room. After meeting at a mutual friend's wedding in Japan and developing a passion for sake, Brian and Brandon teamed up and got to work on their 2,500-square-foot space in Industry City, which combines the functionality of traditional Japanese breweries with a contemporary Brooklyn design aesthetic. 6sqft recently paid them a visit and had a drink in the tap room (yes, we agree with Niikawa-Helton that the sakes are "so soft, so gentle"), got a look at the sake making process, and chatted with Brian and Brandon about their journey, life at Industry City, and how they're turning New Yorkers into sake lovers.
Read our interview with Brian and Brandon and see inside Brooklyn Kura
June 28, 2018

Young professionals in Yonkers: How the city’s redevelopment plan targets millennials

Photo via Dennis Fraevich's Flickr Located on the Hudson River adjacent to New York City's northern border, Yonkers is the third-largest city in the state with nearly 200,000 residents. And with five major highways, two commuter train lines that are just a 28-minute trip to Grand Central, and the highest number of bus lines in Westchester County, it's no surprise that many are going bonkers for Yonkers. Phillip Gesue, chief officer of development at Strategic Capital, the developer of the Hudson Park residential project, told 6sqft that Yonkers is in transition. "Unlike Manhattan, which is, perhaps, over-baked, Yonkers is an affordable place to live and play," Gesue said. "It has people who have been living here a long time and new transplants who largely want to work in New York City. There is a growing population, development momentum and job growth.” Ahead, find out how officials are working to attract millennials, get a breakdown of all Yonkers' new developments, and learn why there's a lot more to do here than you might think.
Get the Yonkers low-down
June 26, 2018

14th Street to become an all-day ‘busway,’ get new bike lanes during L train shutdown

6sqft previously reported on the city's plans to provide alternatives to the L train during the 2019 shutdown for repairs in the Canarsie Tunnel under the East River and the reaction of community groups affected by the planned changes. A coalition of West Side neighborhood groups fearing disruptions from buses, bike lanes and other changes sued the agencies tasked with implementing the L train alternatives. Now the New York Daily News reports that according to court documents, 14th street will become a "busway" for 17 hours each day–among other strategies–to limit car traffic during the shutdown.
Find out more details
June 25, 2018

Roast, record, repeat: How Toby’s Estate brews the perfect cup of coffee at its Brooklyn cafe and roastery

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’re touring the Williamsburg cafe and roastery of Toby's Estate Coffee. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! When you walk into Toby’s Estate Coffee, the smell of freshly brewed coffee hits you immediately. And thanks to the towering roasting machine in the back of the Williamsburg coffee shop (which roasts about 50 lbs of coffee at a time), the sweet-bitter aroma really lingers. While the location on North 6th Street between Berry Street and Bedford Avenue was the first Toby’s in New York City, the coffee connoisseurs have since sprouted to other boroughs, with three cafes in Manhattan and most recently one in Long Island City. Toby’s, which originated in Australia, has served up specialty small-batch coffee in NYC since 2012, bringing in some eclectic flavors to their roster of roasts. Currently, the shop is offering a Citron Espresso Tonic, with tonic water, ice, handmade citron simple syrup and candied oranges. (We tried it. It was delicious.) On an unseasonably warm day this spring, Toby's gave 6sqft a tour of its Brooklyn shop, which boasts enough square footage to fit its roastery and cafe, as well as plenty of seating. Ahead, see inside the sunlight-filled flagship space and hear from Toby's staff on their "roast, record, taste, adjust, and repeat" process that brews the perfect cup of coffee.
See the cafe and learn more about the roasting process
June 15, 2018

Cole Porter’s former Manhattan townhouse in historic Sniffen Court enclave has sold for $4.8M

Tucked within the Sniffen Court Mews in Murray Hill, blocked from the public by a private gate off East 36th Street, composer and songwriter Cole Porter’s former townhouse has sold for $4.8 million (h/t New York Post). The former engraver's studio, located in one of just a few private mews in New York City at 156 East 36th Street originally served as stables during the Civil War era.
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May 30, 2018

One week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, a rumor of its collapse caused a fatal stampede

On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge officially opened, with roughly 1,800 vehicles and over 150,000 people crossing what was then the only passageway between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Less than a week later, 12 people were killed and over 35 others injured in a violent stampede. On that fateful day, the bridge was brimming with people celebrating the Memorial Day holiday and checking out the new overpass, which was considered the longest bridge in the world at the time. A woman had tripped and fallen down the wooden stairs headed toward Manhattan, which caused another woman to scream. In a grand misinterpretation, a rumor was started that the bridge was about to collapse, sending the crowd into complete hysteria. Pedestrians ran to get off the bridge, stampeding their way to the entrance and pushing others to the ground.
Get the scoop
May 30, 2018

Fresh set of renderings for Dock 72, the new home for WeWork at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

New renderings have been unveiled of Dock 72, a 675,000-square-foot office building co-developed by Boston Properties and Rudin Management for the evolving Brooklyn Navy Yard. Surrounded by water on all sides but one, Dock 72, designed by S9 Architecture, features outdoor terraces, 35,000 square feet of amenities and unobstructed views of Manhattan. As the anchor tenant and co-developer, WeWork will occupy a third of the space, or 220,000 square feet. With its glassy facade installed, the 16-story office building is scheduled to wrap up construction in the fall, becoming one of the largest ground-up office buildings in the borough in nearly three decades.
See them here
May 25, 2018

Boerum Hill house tour is coming up; a blockchain building grows in Brooklyn

The Boerum Hill house tour returns on Saturday, June 2nd. [Brownstoner] Though it’s already the top chain in NYC, Dunkin’ Donuts will roll out 60 more stores in Manhattan over the next three years. [TRD] Essex Crossing’s giant food hall the Market Line announced four more vendors, including LES favorites the Pickles Guys and Doughnut […]

May 23, 2018

Jennifer Connelly trades Tribeca co-op for $15M Brooklyn Heights townhouse

Actors Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany are switching boroughs by selling their Tribeca co-op and picking up a Brooklyn Heights townhouse for $15.5 million. The sale represents one of the most expensive deals in Brooklyn ever, according to the Wall Street Journal. While the transaction was off-market, an old listing for the Brooklyn property at 140 Columbia Heights describes the 8,000-square-foot home as having views of the Statue of Liberty and the Lower Manhattan skyline. The sellers are Timothy Ingrassia, a Goldman Sachs executive, and his wife Stephanie, who serves as a vice chair on the Brooklyn Museum's board of trustees. The Ingrassias paid $10.75 million for the property in 2006.
Get the details
May 18, 2018

Get ready for more debilitating than usual weekend subway service changes

The MTA has finally announced when normal weekend service will resume along the 2 and 3 lines, which have not been running between Brooklyn and Manhattan on Saturdays and Sundays for months: Sunday, June 24 at 12:01 a.m. Until then, though, it's tough luck if you need to get to the Park Place, Wall Street, Clark Street, and/or Hoyt Street stops on the weekend. In other news, the MTA has begun inexplicably including borough names in service change descriptions to offer unnecessary specificity even when the station, such as Howard Beach-JFK, only exists in one borough and is well-known.
All this weekend's madness
May 15, 2018

Quirky nautical-themed Brooklyn Heights flat where Norman Mailer wrote his novels lists for $2.4M

Not only did Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Norman Mailer write several of his well-known novels including “The Executioner’s Song” and “Ancient Evenings” while living on the top floor of this landmarked 1840 townhouse at 142 Columbia Heights, the author transformed the space to resemble a ship, complete with a double-height glass and wood atrium and a smooth wood ceiling that recalled a sailboat's curves. This unique property, now on the market for $2.4 million, spans 1,636 square feet, and features multiple outdoor terraces with sweeping views of Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. The sale also includes a separate one-bedroom unit on the third floor.
But there's more
May 15, 2018

The buzz on Boerum Hill: How an iconic Brooklyn neighborhood blends old and new

Shelly Place, an agent with Triplemint, describes Boerum Hill as “the perfect blend of old and new. Geographically, it is smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn, convenient to downtown [Manhattan], and close enough without being in the middle of the hustle and bustle. You can go days or weeks without ever leaving Boerum Hill but, if you want, you have the rest Brooklyn right there.” Known for tree-lined streets filled with historic brownstones, Boerum Hill is one of those unique neighborhoods that has successfully blended past and present in a way few communities have been able to. There are a ton of great restaurants and creative cocktail lounges and independent specialty stores alongside the big brands, like Apple, Whole Foods’ 365, and Lululemon, lining Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue. And with a slew of new contextual developments springing up, it's time to turn your attention to the buzz on Boerum Hill.
Everything you need to know about Boerum Hill
May 7, 2018

Going nuclear: The Manhattan Project in Manhattan

Most people assume that “The Manhattan Project” is a clever codename, a misnomer for the famous test sites in New Mexico. But, with over 1,200 tons on uranium stashed on Staten Island, and a nuclear reactor whizzing away at Columbia University, the top-secret wartime program began in Manhattan, and fanned out across the island, from its southern tip to its northern reaches, from its dimmest docks to its brightest towers. Ultimately 5,000 people poured into New York to work on the project, so duck, cover and get ready for an atomic tale of scientists, soldiers, and spies.
Learn all about the Manhattan Project in Manhattan