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December 9, 2021

15 holiday trees in NYC that are not at Rockefeller Center

The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center may be the most popular conifer in New York City, with 125 million people visiting the tree each year, but it certainly is not the only one. Every holiday season, spruces adorned with colorful lights and ornaments pop up across the five boroughs. The city’s many holiday trees each offer a unique take on the tradition, which began in NYC in 1912 when the first public Christmas tree was erected in Madison Square Park. For those looking to skip the Midtown crowds this year, we’ve rounded up 15 of the best holiday trees, from the origami tree at the American Museum of Natural History to the flotilla of trees in Central Park’s Harlem Meer.
Get the full list
October 25, 2021

10 offbeat haunted spots in New York City

'Tis the season to voluntarily spook yourself! But if haunted houses and tourist-friendly ghost tours are not for you, New York's bustling burrows are home to a slew of the more naturally born spirits. You’ll find Dracula’s extended family on 23rd Street, a host of oracles on Orchard Street, and the site of the cruel crime that led to the nation’s first recorded murder trial on Spring Street. If you’re searching for a necropolis in the metropolis, here are ten of the best sites in New York to spot specters.
See all the haunted haunts here!
October 5, 2021

Skylit loft on Dumbo’s famous Instagram intersection lists for $5M

If you haven't taken a selfie there yourself, you've definitely seen more of them than you can count--the corner of Washington and Water Streets, a cobblestone block with two brick warehouse buildings on either side framing a view of the Manhattan Bridge, often considered the most Instagrammable spot in Brooklyn. This loft is located in one of those buildings at 31 Washington Street, and it's just as photogenic as what's outside. The four-bedroom, top-floor condo is one of the largest in the neighborhood at 3,200 square feet, and it has 25 windows, four exposures, and three huge skylights.
Have a look around
August 23, 2021

Original copy of the Bill of Rights, lock of Beethoven’s hair on display at new NYPL treasures exhibit

The New York Public Library's much-anticipated permanent exhibition of rotating rare objects and artifacts finally opens to the public next month. First announced in 2018, the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures features 250 unique, historic items from the library's incredible holdings, which includes more than 45 million objects in its research collections. Highlights include Thomas Jefferson's handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Dickens' writing desk, a letter written by James Baldwin to Angela Davis, the 1811 Comissioners' Map and Survey of Manhattan Island, and much more.
More details here
August 5, 2021

Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama are coming to the Brooklyn Museum this month

The famous portraits of President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are coming to the Brooklyn Museum in Prospect Heights this month. At the beginning of 2020, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery announced a five-city tour for the two popular paintings, which kicked off in June in the Obamas' hometown of Chicago. Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald are the first African American artists selected by the Portrait Gallery for the museum's official portraits of a president or first lady.
Details here
July 13, 2021

Clinton Hill’s famous Pfizer mansion sells for $9.05M, setting neighborhood record

After three years on the market, the grand Queen Anne townhouse at 280 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill has closed for $9,050,000, setting a sales record for the neighborhood. The previous record-holder was 315 Vanderbilt Avenue, which sold for $7,200,000 in 2015. The 10,000-square-foot mansion is known as the Pfizer mansion as it was built in 1887 for Charles Erhart, co-founder of the Pfizer pharmaceutical company and brother-in-law to Charles Pfizer. The opulent home features historic details like an original Otis elevator, moldings and woodwork galore, eight fireplaces, and stained glass. There's also a sunken "speakeasy" party room, seven bedrooms, a wine cellar, and a beautifully landscaped backyard.
See the whole place
June 29, 2021

Lottery launches for middle-income units at new Clinton Hill rental, from $2,431/month

A housing lottery opened this week for about a dozen apartments in Brooklyn's charming Clinton Hill neighborhood. Located at 445 Vanderbilt Avenue, the development is part of a larger complex that also includes seven three-story townhouses currently under construction on the other side of the property. The "affordable" units available through the housing lottery don't provide much of a discount, with apartments set aside for New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income. Units include three $2,431/month studios, $2,592/month one-bedrooms, and $3,090/month two-bedrooms. The current median rental price in the neighborhood is $2,825/month, according to data from CityRealty.
Do you qualify?
March 31, 2021

$4.75M Tribeca loft is a contemporary glass box with harbor views

Tribeca's 88 Laight Street is known as The Glass Condominium, an obvious name when you see this incredible three-bedroom unit. Asking $4,745,000, the ultra-contemporary loft has a double-height, floor-to-ceiling wall of glass that overlooks the Jersey City skyline and New York Harbor and provides skyline views stretching as far as Hudson Yards. In addition to taking in the sights from the spacious interiors, the home provides two private terraces.
Check it out
March 24, 2021

The 10 best plant shops in NYC

At long last, it appears springtime’s on its way to New York, transforming streets of sad, wilted grey and brown into, er, slightly less sad-looking grey and brown. If the little buds starting to sprout on tree branches in the parks and on the streets aren’t enough green for you, there are plenty of plant shops in the city that’ll help introduce some oxygenating goodness into your own apartment, no matter how small, dark, or pet-filled it may be. Note that for the sake of this list, we’ve stuck with plant shops, not florists, though you’ll find arrangements at some of these shops—this one, though, is for home gardeners and lovers of succulents, which it turns out you do need to water from time to time, a lesson some of us first-time plant parents learned the hard way.
Check out the list
February 22, 2021

FEMA community-based vaccination sites open in Brooklyn and Queens this week

Two coronavirus vaccination sites run by the state with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will open in Queens and Brooklyn on Wednesday, with appointments set aside for residents of specific ZIP codes. Appointment slots opened over the weekend for vaccinations at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights and York College in Jamaica, starting this Wednesday. According to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, there are many appointments still up for grabs.
Find out more
February 2, 2021

19th-century abolitionist home in Downtown Brooklyn is now a city landmark

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to designate a Brooklyn property that was home to known abolitionists, likely saving it from demolition. Harriet and Thomas Truesdell, members of the anti-slavery movement before the Civil War, lived at the Greek-Revival row house at 227 Duffield Street from 1851 to 1863. The commission recommended 227 Duffield for designation because it represents a rare surviving home to known abolitionists and marks Brooklyn's pre-Civil War abolitionist movement. The push for landmarking the site was accelerated in 2019 when a developer filed permits to raze the three-story structure and replace it with a much taller mixed-use building.
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January 15, 2021

New York City’s tributes to Martin Luther King Jr.

While some of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s most memorable moments of his career happened further South, like the Montgomery bus boycott and his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, support for his goals hailed first from advocacy organizations based in New York City, like the National Urban League. King held sermons at Riverside Church in Morningside Heights, led a march from Central Park to the United Nations in protest of the Vietnam War, and received a Medallion of Honor from Mayor Robert Wagner. As a way to honor King and his immense impact on the advancement of civil rights, the city has named streets, parks, playgrounds, and more after the icon. On MLK Day this Monday, celebrate by learning about memorials dedicated to him citywide.
Learn more about NYC's MLK memorials here
January 12, 2021

For $1.2M, this Spuyten Duyvil condo has 3 bedrooms, 3 parking spaces, and Hudson River views

In the Spuyten Duyvil section of the Bronx, right near Riverdale, this condo is a bit of a unicorn. Located at 2521 Palisade Avenue, it has three bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the Hudson River, the Palisades, and the George Washington and Mario Cuomo Bridges. It also includes three deeded in-building parking spaces, one of which is a "private two-car garage" accessed from the building driveway. And all this comes for $1,195,000.
See inside
December 14, 2020

After 90 years, NYC’s legendary 21 Club will close

Midtown Manhattan's historic speakeasy 21 Club plans to close for good next year. The Prohibition-era restaurant on 52nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenue, known for its art collection, jockey figurines, and A-list clientele, has been closed since the coronavirus pandemic first hit New York City in March. But as amNY reported, the closure appears to be permanent.
Get the details
November 6, 2020

5 U.S. presidents who lived in New York City

New York City's presidential history runs deep. Our nation's very first president lived in the inaugural presidential mansion on Cherry Street during the city's two-year reign as the country's capital. As the 2020 presidential election finally wraps up, we're taking a look at this original New York presidential residence, as well as those that followed, including Chester Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Barack Obama, and most recently, Donald Trump.
Where are the presidential homes in NYC?
October 9, 2020

This dreamy $3.25M Fort Greene condo was made for live, work, and play

From an aesthetic perspective, this Fort Greene condo has a lot to talk about--gorgeous plaster ceiling moldings, original brick arches, and creative and contemporary flourishes. But it's also got quite a lot going for it in terms of practicality. For $3,250,000, the home at 407 Clermont Avenue has three floors, three bedrooms, a multi-tiered garden and deck, and a massive basement rec room that's been transformed into a home gym, crafting area, and home office.
See more here
September 14, 2020

87 streets in NYC are now car-free outdoor dining destinations

Even as the city prepares to resume indoor dining this month, more restaurants will be able to take advantage of the program that allows expanded street and sidewalk seating. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week seven new locations for outdoor dining on open streets across the five boroughs, bringing the total to 87 streets and nine pedestrian plazas designated for restaurant use on weekends. The latest batch of outdoor dining streets will be overseen by a number of neighborhood restaurants, including Gertie's in Williamsburg, Kheo-Yo in Tribeca, Ray's Bar on the Lower East Side, and others.
More here
August 11, 2020

150 NYC restaurants with outdoor dining

With outdoor dining in New York City extended through October, there are countless spots to dine al fresco, with restaurants able to set up seating on sidewalks, adjacent parking spots, rooftops, and gardens. To help you decide where to eat first, we've begun compiling a list of some of the best restaurants offering outdoor dining, neighborhood by neighborhood. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so we hope that you, our readers, will share more restaurants with us that we can add to this list.
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July 24, 2020

De Blasio adds ‘play streets’ to some car-free blocks, but cuts nearly 3 miles from the program

While the city is adding just under two miles of open streets to its roster of car-free blocks, nearly three miles will be removed from the program. Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday announced 1.72 miles of open streets across the five boroughs, as well as a new initiative called "Play Streets," which will offer families a number of contactless activities, sports, and arts and crafts on 12 streets currently closed to cars. However, the mayor failed to mention during the press briefing that 2.77 miles will be cut from the program and returned to normal vehicle traffic at "underused locations."
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July 16, 2020

During the pandemic’s peak, low-income New Yorkers lacked access to quality green space

Parks and public green space proved to be a lifeline for New Yorkers during the peak of the pandemic, for both their physical and mental wellbeings. But not all parks are created equal, as reports from the city's Independent Budget Office and the Trust for Public Land found. In many low-income and minority neighborhoods, where cases and rates of death from COVID-19 were experienced disproportionately, residents lacked access to quality green space, especially when space like playgrounds and basketball courts, closed for nearly three months.
Find out more
June 24, 2020

NYC will now have 67 miles of open streets, the most in the U.S.

New York City will add 23 new miles of open streets, bringing the total to roughly 67 miles of streets closed to cars citywide, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday. When the mayor first announced the program, he committed to opening 100 miles of streets throughout the pandemic. "This is going to be great for people looking for a break this summer with all the things going on, a place for kids to exercise and run around," the mayor said during a press conference. "It's growing, and we're going to keep adding to it."
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June 10, 2020

35+ black-owned restaurants in NYC by borough

The Black Lives Matter movement continues to grow in New York City and across the country, with many people looking to get involved, whether it's donating to antiracist organizations or studying the history of the black experience in America. Another direct action New Yorkers can take to support the black community today is shopping at black-owned businesses. Lists and guides have popped up online in the last few weeks to bring attention to these mom and pop shops, with detailed resources from Black-Owned Brooklyn and this spreadsheet created by New Yorker food critic Hannah Goldfield. The app Eat Okra, which launched three years ago, is also a helpful resource that highlights most of the black-owned restaurants in NYC, which according to Eater, includes more than 2,500 restaurants. Ahead, we break down some of the best black-owned restaurants, cafes, and bars in every borough. It is no means a comprehensive list and we encourage our readers to share with us additional places to include.
See the full list
May 13, 2020

NYC opens 12 more miles of open streets

This brings the total to nearly 21 miles since Mayor de Blasio first announced that he'd be opening up 40 miles of streets to pedestrians by the end of the month, with an ultimate goal of 100 miles throughout the current COVID crisis. In his press conference this morning, the mayor announced the third round of open streets totaling 11.7 miles would be opening tomorrow, along with 9.2 miles of protected bike lanes by the end of May. Some of the new open streets include those in Hudson Yards, the first on the Upper West Side and in Long Island City, and those adjacent to seven more parks in Brooklyn.
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May 12, 2020

Lottery for 100-name waitlist opens at two rentals near the Brooklyn Museum, from $701/month

A lottery launched on Tuesday to replenish a 100-name waitlist for income-restricted units at two rental buildings in Brooklyn. Located at 816 Washington Avenue and 615 Sterling Place, the buildings straddle the neighborhoods of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, just a short walk from the Brooklyn Museum and the Botanic Garden. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, which range from $701/month studios to $3,943/month four-bedrooms. Eligible applicants will be randomly selected and placed on the waitlist for future vacancies.
Find out if you qualify