Follow this tag to curate your own personalized Activity Stream and email alerts.
COVID-19 also showed us the divide that we have in the city. There are BIPOC communities and communities with lower incomes that have very poor-quality public realms that we need to focus on more closely. People who live in the South Bronx need to have the same kind of opportunities to be outdoors and in quality settings in ways that they didn't before. — The Planning Report
Anita Laremont, the newly appointed Director of the NYC Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission, when asked about her priorities in light of Mayor Bill de Blasio's term coming to an end soon: "We believe our priorities will continue to be the new mayor's priorities in... View full entry
Snøhetta has completed a four-story observation complex at One Vanderbilt, New York City. Titled SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, the architects describe the scheme as one which “calms the observatory experience with a choreographed procession of connective social spaces.” Hallway. Image: SnøhettaThe... View full entry
The supertall Central Park Tower, the latest addition by Extell Development to Midtown Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row, had more recorded sales in October, including two full-floor aeries. But both of them, like other recent transactions in the new building, closed well below their asking price. — The New York Times
Of all the recent sales at Central Park Tower, just one was made around the asking price. At the Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed luxury skyscraper, which boasts the highest roof in the Western Hemisphere, The New York Times reports three recent apartment sales well below their listed prices... View full entry
The Department of Care should be designed to break through bureaucratic silos. Caring for public space will require multiple agencies to invest time and resources, and to work collaboratively with local stakeholders who know their communities best. This means having everyone at the table: from the Departments of Transportation, Sanitation, and Health to the Parks Department and the city’s Economic Development Corporation to Small Business Services and Cultural Affairs. — Justin Garrett Moore on Medium
Mayor de Blasio appears to have reneged on his police 2020 commitment to taking $1 billion out of the annual NYPD budget. Justin Garrett Moore, who left the city's Public Design Commission in December and was appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts by President Biden this... View full entry
Luxury spa designer Therme Group is making a big splash as it looks to expand into the U.S. for the first time. The megaspa makers are back with a new design that would add a “wellness theme park” to the city as part of a $350 million development proposal. That effort will be overseen by... View full entry
I would like to remove Hudson Yards. I don’t even know what I would replace it with. I just feel really angry because it’s a part of the city that turns its back to the city. It’s not even the buildings, or size of the buildings — which are humongous — that bother me. It’s that back-turning. I actually have refused to enter it, except when I was walking on the High Line […] it pretends to be a space for everybody when it is not. — Curbed
Tsien, who broke ground last month on the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago, recently began a four-year term as Chair of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which will afford her a direct line to government officials on a number of different topics involving the design community... View full entry
The future of Soho and Noho is now up to the City Council. The City Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a high-profile proposal to rezone the neighborhoods, largely to allow for more residential and ground-floor retail. The proposal covers 56 blocks in the neighborhoods, largely zoned for manufacturing use — despite the area’s reputation as a prime retail destination. — The Real Deal
In support of the plan, City Planning Commission Chair Anita Laremont said: “The plan significantly advances New York City’s equity and inclusivity goals, helps to address our severe and ongoing housing crisis and serves to speed New York City's economic recovery.” According to The... View full entry
A new report released by New York City-based, non-profit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives reveals the deficiencies of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Open Streets program, an initiative formed in the wake of the pandemic to create safe, socially distanced outdoor space for New Yorkers. Less than... View full entry
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has officially halted plans to build the $2.1 billion LaGuardia AirTrain, a project heavily pushed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo. The announcement came just a week after Cuomo’s successor Kathy Hochul called on the agency to seek alternative... View full entry
Late last month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced a 15-year, $191 million plan to make New York City a leader in the offshore wind industry. Called the Offshore Wind Vision (OSW) plan, it ensures the city meets its... View full entry
Several New York state lawmakers are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to kill the plans for a $2.1 billion AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport. Hochul released a statement Monday calling on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an agency she has at least partial control over, to look for alternative options. — Gothamist
“I have asked the Port Authority to thoroughly examine alternative mass transit solutions for reducing car traffic and increasing connectivity to LaGuardia Airport,” said Hochul in a statement. “We must ensure that our transportation projects are bold, visionary, and serve the needs of New... View full entry
The skyscrapers of New York’s so-called Billionaires’ Row in Midtown Manhattan have something in common besides eye-watering prices: The city still considers them active construction sites, with a range of safety-related requirements that remain incomplete, sometimes years after occupancy. — The New York Times
All of the eight new Billionaires’ Row towers are reportedly missing final signoff from the Department of Buildings on elevators and plumbing, with seven lacking final signoff on fire sprinklers and standpipes. Five are missing approvals from the fire department. According to The New York... View full entry
Archtober, New York City's month-long festival of architecture and design, has officially returned with a packed calendar of hybrid virtual and in-person events from October 1st through 31st. Organized by the Center for Architecture in collaboration with numerous partners across the city... View full entry
The question of how to remake the city’s jails has sharply divided city officials, who are intent on maintaining lockups, advocates for prison rights and even architects. As the city pushes for new designs that might make its jails feel more humane, many activists and some city officials are pushing for the city to invest more in social services in underserved communities, which could keep people out of prison to begin with. — The New York Times
A total of twelve people have died at Rikers this year alone. Unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, and a staffing shortage have only added to the growing chorus of voices calling to shut down the 400-acre prison, which the city has announced plans to do by 2027. The nearly $9 billion... View full entry
The condo board at the supertall tower 432 Park Avenue, one of the most expensive addresses in the world, is suing the developers for $125 million in damages, citing multiple floods, faulty elevators, “intolerable” noise caused by building sway, and an electrical explosion in June — the second in three years — that knocked out power to residents, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday. — The New York TImes
Reports on the shortcomings of the nearly 1,400-foot-tall, Rafael Viñoly Architects-designed luxury tower were initially released in February. Identified by an engineering firm hired by the condo board, damages include the estimated cost to repair around 1,500 construction and design defects in... View full entry
