Search Results for: times square

December 30, 2015

Michael Kimmelman Explores How Architecture Sounds; Top NYC Hotels to Cut Carbon Emissions

Watch the Times Square New Year’s Eve confetti test. [Gothamist] Michael Kimmelman tackles the architecture of sound with a three-dimensional audio component. [NYT] 16 NYC hotels have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 percent over the next ten years. The list includes the Waldorf, the Peninsula, and the Pierre. [CNN Money] Bushwick had the […]

December 18, 2015

Why Is the Face of This Clock in Central Park Rotating Backwards?

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary 19th century street clock, but when you notice its movement, things get a little weird. Located at Central Park's Doris C. Freedman Plaza, the clock's face rotates backwards, while the second hand appears to remain upright and stationary at all times (h/t Laughing Squid). What'll really throw you for a loop is that the clock is displaying the correct time, but because of how accustomed we are to the regular rotation, it's almost impossible to read. Titled "Against the Run," the clock was created by Alicja Kwade for the Public Art Fund. The Polish-born, Berlin-based artist wanted to challenge "the systems we invent to make sense of our lives," thereby forcing us to "see 'reality' from a new perspective."
More about the trippy clock
December 17, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 12/17-12/23

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 founderLori Zimmer’s top picks for 6sqft readers! Before you take advantage of the open bar at your company's holiday party, pack in some art appreciation. This week, celebrate the genius of Michael Alan and experience the last Living Installation of the year (think figure drawing on acid, but without the acid and a big party thrown in). Fantastical art supply warehouse Materials for the Arts will also be sharing the fruits of their labor with an exhibition of their artist in residence. Nightlife icon Susanne Bartsch is throwing a special holiday party on the 22nd that benefits living work of art Domonique Echeverria. And Swoon will debut a sustainable bamboo house she's created with the Lower East Side Girls Club as a prototype for rebuilding Haiti. You can also still squeeze in some last minute shopping if you celebrate Christmas—first by trolling the gift shop at the epic Star Wars Costumes exhibition, and then perusing the artists selling wares at the Shwick Holiday Market.
All the best events to check out here
December 16, 2015

POLL: Should Broadway Become a Giant Park?

Earlier this week, 6sqft brought you a proposal by Perkins Eastman Architects to turn a 40-block-long stretch of Broadway into a linear park. Stretching from Columbus Circle to Union Square, the Green Line concept would connect these hubs with Times Square, Herald Square, and Madison Square. As we noted, “Unlike other linear parks like the […]

December 15, 2015

NYC Municipal ID Card Holders Will Get Even More Free Stuff in 2016

If you're one of the 670,000 people who took the time to apply for a NY municipal ID last year, give yourself a pat on the back and rejoice, because your industrious spirit will be rewarded for yet another year. Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced yesterday that card holders will continue to benefit from free access and discounts to 33 cultural institutions and a slew of New York services through 2016. On top of that, seven top tier names have joined the ID benefits roster, including The Guggenheim, the New Museum, the MoMA, the Metropolitan Opera, the Museum of Chinese in America, BRIC Arts Media and the Pregones Theater. Yay, free stuff!
find out what else was added and how to apply if you haven't already
December 14, 2015

What if Broadway Was Turned Into a Giant Linear Park?

New York has undertaken several projects over the years in an effort to beautify its stark, gridded streets. There was the Park Avenue Malls, turning major intersections like those at Madison Square and Times Square into seating and entertainment areas, bike lanes, and Summer Streets. But this new proposal from Perkins Eastman Architects certainly puts the rest to shame, as they'd like to turn a more-than-40-block stretch of Broadway into one big linear park. First spotted by Dezeen, the Green Line concept envisions a park that stretches along Broadway from Columbus Circle to Union Square, connecting these two hubs with Madison Square, Herald Square, and Times Square. The park would be open only to pedestrians and bicyclists, save for emergency vehicles needing to bypass traffic. Unlike other linear parks like the High Line and Lowline, the Green Line would be at street level, creating what the architects feel is "much needed active and passive recreational space in the heart of the city."
More details and renderings ahead
December 10, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 12/10-12/13

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 picks for 6sqft readers! Ease back into real life after a super rainy Art Basel Miami by upping your experiential art intake. Take a journey across the Atlantic Ocean without leaving New York in this month's #MidnightMoment film taking over the screens in Times Square. Help fight Parkinson's disease while celebrating the work of two artists whom the disease has affected in an exhibition benefitting the Michael J. Fox Foundation at Waterhouse & Dodd, then head to the Bronx to check out emerging artist Eric Orr's first solo exhibition. Art on paper gets a new avenue with the introduction of Paper Crown Press, and Joseph Gross has rounded up their favorite artists for a new wintry group show. Kraftwerk is the focus at a night of art and music at the Morbid Anatomy Museum, and Yoko Ono opens one show in two Chelsea galleries on the same night (and claims she'll attend both openings). Finish off the weekend with a free jazzy brunch celebrating the art of Judy Rifka and Jay Milder.
All the best events to check out here
December 9, 2015

Cute Co-op Asks $489K at the Whitby, an Emery Roth-Designed Building in Midtown

Architect Emery Roth was considered the master of apartment design back in his day. In the early 1900s, he masterminded an impressive number of buildings with sprawling floor plans and luxurious finishes. (That was a time when the rich still needed to be convinced to live in apartments, rather than mansions.) He finished the Whitby, at 325 West 45th Street in Midtown West, in 1923. Since then the building has been broken down into mostly small studio, one- and two-bedroom co-ops. This is a one-bedroom in the building that still has some pre-war details, although it's lacking the gracious floor plan that made Roth so famous. Still, it's a central location at a decent asking price, $489,000. And the apartment is pretty darn cute.
Take the tour
December 7, 2015

Skyline Wars: One Vanderbilt and East Midtown Upzoning Are Raising the Roof…Height!

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s breaking development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter brings us the second installment of nine-part series, "Skyline Wars," which examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city's silhouette. In this post Carter zooms in on Midtown East and the design of One Vanderbilt, the controversial tower that is being pinned as the catalyst for change in an area that has fallen behind in recent decades. Despite some objections from community boards and local politicians, New York City is moving ahead with the rezoning of East Midtown between Fifth and Third avenues, and 39th and 59th Streets; and earlier this year, the de Blasio administration enacted an important part of the plan, a rezoning of the Vanderbilt Avenue corridor just to the west of Grand Central Terminal. The Vanderbilt Avenue rezoning included approval of a 1,501-foot-high tower at 1 Vanderbilt Avenue on the block bounded by Madison Avenue, 42nd and 43rd Streets. The tapered, glass-clad tower, topped by a spire, is being designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox for SL Green. Mayors Bloomberg and de Blasio have championed the 1 Vanderbilt proposal despite serious concerns voiced by numerous civic organizations over the rezoning scheme that some see as “spot zoning” and the fact that the city has still not finalized nor published its complete rezoning package. Using air-rights transfers from the Grand Central Terminal area and zoning bonuses for providing $210 million for infrastructure improvements in the area, the tower will significantly alter the midtown skyline, rising several hundred feet above the nearby Chrysler Building and the huge and bulky but lower MetLife Tower straddling Park Avenue just north of Grand Central Terminal. Its 63 stories are several less than the Chrysler Building and just a few more than the MetLife Tower, which might be interpreted by some observers as indicated that it was in “context” with such prominent neighbors, but they are wrong.
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November 25, 2015

Historic Palace Theater to Get Raised 29 Feet to Accommodate New Retail Space

At a public hearing yesterday the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a plan drawn up by Platt Byard Dovell White Architects (PBDW) for Maefield Development to raise the historic 1913 Palace Theater 29 feet in order to accommodate expanded facilities and new retail space underneath. The decision isn't sitting well with preservationists, but the exterior of the theater was replaced in the early 1990s to make way for the 45-story adjacent DoubleTree hotel, and as the Wall Street Journal reports, the actual theater space is an interior landmark and the $2 billion redevelopment project will restore the decorated interior and add 10,000 square feet of theater facilities.
More on the history and future of the Palace Theater
November 25, 2015

The Most Important Towers Shaping Central Park’s South Corridor, AKA Billionaires’ Row

They did not come from outer space when they landed on our front yard while the NIMBY folk and the city’s planners and preservationists weren’t looking. Some are scrawny. Some are dressed like respectable oldsters. They’re the supertalls and they’re coming to a site near you.
read more here
November 21, 2015

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff

New Renderings of SuperPier: Google’s New NYC Digs + Bourdain Food Market To Arrive in 2018 Bought for Just $7,600 in the ’70s, Prospect Heights Co-op Returns 43 Years Later for $2.15M This 80-Story I.M. Pei-Designed Tower Almost Replaced Grand Central The World’s Largest Display of Miniatures Is Coming to Times Square in 2017 Interactive […]

November 17, 2015

Craig Ward Creates Prints of Bacteria Found in NYC Subways

Last February, 6sqft reported on a research project from Weill Cornell Medical College that mapped the DNA found on the New York City subway, which was said to include bubonic plague and anthrax. The scientists eventually reneged on their alarming findings, but little did they know that a Brooklyn-based artist was picking up where they left off. While riding the train this past summer, Craig Ward "saw a fellow photo­grapher’s image of bacteria cultured from her son’s handprint," according to New York magazine. Fascinated by how it related to the urban myth that "when you hold on to the subway railings, you shake hands with 100 people all at once," he embarked on a project to ride all 22 subway lines, collecting bacteria samples from poles and seats. What resulted is this strangely beautiful "Subvisual Subway" print series of everything from salmonella to Staphylococcus aureus.
See more this way
November 6, 2015

Spotlight: Brian Whiting Shares How the USO of Metropolitan New York Supports Our Troops

On November 11th, the country will gather to honor those who have heroically served in the armed forces. In New York, Veterans Day will be marked with a parade down Fifth Avenue. And during this time when Americans reflect on service, it's important to think about the many men and women who are actively serving around the globe. One organization that looks after the needs of troops and their families is the USO. While many associate the organization with Bob Hope and its renowned Show Troupe, entertainment is only one part of its mission. On a daily basis the USO runs centers around the world, providing a wide range of important services and programs, from keeping families in touch during deployment to supporting wounded warriors back home. Brian Whiting, the President and CEO of USO of Metropolitan New York, is responsible for the organization's work in the tri-state area, as well as managing the operations for two national programs: the renowned USO Show Troupe and Operation That’s My Dress, which provides military families access to dresses for proms and formals. With Veterans Day approaching, 6sqft spoke with Brian to learn more about the USO's mission and work, the New York chapter's services, and ways New Yorkers can support the troops throughout the year.
Hear from Brian this way
November 5, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 11/5-11/11

If you missed out on the '90s heyday of the Tunnel nightclub, this weekend you can experience its new use as an art center and venue for the Editions/Artists Book Fair. Performa15 also comes to town, and lands in Times Square with a new Midnight Moment flick and a performance of live opera. Brookfield Place in Battery Park hosts the annual Canstruction exhibition, where food donated to City Harvest becomes innovative sculptures before becoming a hot meal. Brooklyn's Cotton Candy Machine eeks out another great event before it closes–a mini comic book festival–while around the corner an art show proves that punk rock is not dead. Lastly, iconic photographer Sandy Skoglund recreates an accidental performance that once enlivened a Little Italy window in 1979, this time touching modernity in a Chelsea art gallery window.
All the best events to check out here
November 2, 2015

25 Percent of Subway Station Entrances Are Closed, Worsening Congestion

There's so much to kvetch about when it comes to the MTA and poor subway service: unprecedented debt, increased ridership that hasn't been matched with increased service and outdated technology to name a few. But here's another to add to the laundry list: closed station entrances. amNY reports today that one out of four subway entrances are closed at a total of 119 stations, which "create bottlenecks that make it difficult to get in and out of increasingly jam-packed stations, while stores miss out on the foot traffic." In total, a whopping 298 staircases are inaccessible, and some closures have been in effect for so many decades that the MTA doesn't even know why they're not in use.
Find out more
October 30, 2015

PBDW’s Nomad Hotel Prepares for 20-Story Addition to Historic McKim Mead & White Building

Alex Ohebshalom’s Empire Management may finally be moving forward with plans to convert a McKim Mead & White-designed bank building at 250 Fifth Avenue and construct a 21-story hotel-tower behind. The project is the latest to join Nomad's recent hotel boom that has produced the Ace Hotel, Nomad Hotel, Flatiron Hotel, and the upcoming Virgin Hotel. While building permits filed in July have yet to be approved, the existing six-story building recently cleared out its retail tenants, and its upper office floors now appear empty. Since the site lies within the Madison Square North Historic District, the owners, under the LLC Quartz Associates, had to secure approvals from both Community Board 5 and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. With a proven track-record of steering projects in historically sensitive areas towards approval, architects Platt Byard Dovell White were commissioned. PBDW uncovered that a mid-rise loft building was once proposed for the site and this evidence allowed for LPC to more seriously consider a taller addition to the 1907, palazzo-like building designed for Second National Bank.
Find out more
October 29, 2015

REVEALED: 26-Story, LEED-Certified Hotel Coming to the Financial District

Here's our first look at Tribeca Associates upcoming 26-story hotel at 143 Fulton Street in the Financial District, where demolition at the site is already underway. The 90,000- square-foot tower designed by SLCE Architects will contain 228 rooms, ground-level retail, and typical hotel amenities such as a fitness center and a bar/lounge on the third floor. Hotel suites, found on floors 5 through 25, average ten per floor. The building will also seek LEED accreditation.
More details
October 28, 2015

VIDEO: Ride the Elevator Up to the Marriott Marquis’ Secret 55th Floor

The Marriott Marquis may not have the illustrious, storied past of NYC's landmarked hotels like The Plaza or the Algonquin, but that doesn't mean it doesn't keep its fair share of secrets. As you probably know, the Times Square locale is famous for its spectacular high-tech Schindler Miconic 10 elevators which zip passengers up and down the building while offering incredible views over the hotel's massive atrium lobby below. While the building is said to be just 48 floors tall, rumor has it there's actually a secret 55th floor that no regular person has been to before. Could it be true? One intrepid guest of the Marriott was daring enough to find out.
check it out here
October 20, 2015

In 1872, Broadway Almost Became a Giant Moving Sidewalk

6sqft readers may remember a 1951 proposal by Goodyear Tires for a giant conveyor belt to carry people between Times Square and Grand Central. And though this was certainly a wacky idea for the time, there was an even earlier proposal for a moving sidewalk that took the city by storm. Back in the late 1860s/early 1870s, inventor and businessman Alfred Speer was fed up with street congestion in front of his wine store on Broadway near City Hall. Though elevated trains were popping up around the time, they were mostly above 14th Street, so Speer designed an aerial, steam-powered sidewalk (much cleaner than the locomotive trains) that would make a loop up and down Broadway to alleviate traffic. It would be constantly in motion at 10 miles per hour, carrying passengers by foot or in its movable chairs for five cents a ride. Speer even went so far as to patent the idea, officially called the "Endless Traveling" or "Railway Sidewalk."
So what happened?
October 20, 2015

Inside Grand Central’s Tiffany Clock; NYC as Seen From Space

The world’s largest rubber duck, weighing in at 11 tons, has arrived in Oyster Bay, Long Island. [Mashable] Video goes inside Grand Central’s giant Tiffany clock. [Gothamist] Here’s all the best bars to watch the Mets tonight. [DNAinfo] A cosmonaut took this amazing picture of NYC from the International Space Station. [NYP] Asics’ new Times Square […]

October 9, 2015

1970s Documentary Shows Tribeca Skybridge and Vintage Subway Cars

"News from Home" is a 1976 documentary by filmmaker Chantal Akerman that uses New York City as a backdrop while she reads aloud letters her mother had written her while she was living in the city. The film wasn't groundbreaking by any stretch, but 40 years later, it provides a glimpse into a bygone era in New York. Tribeca Citizen unearthed a digital version of the documentary on Hulu and took some great stills, including those of vintage subway cars and Tribeca's Staple Street skybridge. The latter (which is actually where the film begins) has made headlines recently as it's one of Manhattan's last skybridges and the two residences on either side of it (one a townhouse, one an apartment) are currently for sale for $30 million, meaning one lucky buyer can claim the historic structure as part of their home.
See more of 1970s NYC
October 8, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week,10/8-10/15

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 picks for 6sqft readers! Times Square is abuzz this month, first with a new #MidnightMoment art flick taking over the ad screens and then with a partnership with Juxtapoz Magazine that brings a pop-up old-timey newsstand back to the area. Donald Judd’s former Soho abode welcomes guests to peruse a collection of his vibrant prints, while another artist from the very same era, John Havens Thornton, makes his first appearance back in New York since 1967. Joseph Gross Gallery opens a new ground-floor location with bold Mexican craft-inspired murals by Jet Martinez, and David Hinton explains the beauty of Chinese philosophy and art at the Rubin Museum. Sunday becomes funday with Pioneer Works' monthly open studio party complete with live music, and for architecture nerds, the Architecture and Design Film Festival takes over theaters on 23rd Street–with a discount offered to our readers.
All the best events to check out here
October 7, 2015

Cities Would Take Up 37 Percent More Space if It Were Not for Public Transit

The major benefits of public transportation are clear: riding the subway or bus is way cheaper than maintaing a car, and more often than not, it's a much faster means of getting from point A to point B. But as Streetsblog points out in this recent study by the Transportation Research Board, transit is a major of driver of density within a city, and it's something that incentivizes developers and city planners to put things closer together. While this may not be an earth-shattering revelation to you, if you quantify the effect, you just might be surprised. According to the report, U.S. cities on average would take up 37 percent more space to house current populations if it were not for public transit.
Find out more here