Image via Museum of the City of New York
More park for Park Avenue?: "It has been a long time, but once it was possible and even fashionable to take a stroll through a far different Park Avenue, one with a green swath of lush lawn and shrubbery nearly 40 feet wide. It was the city’s first linear park, where pedestrians took precedence over cars and there were plenty of benches to take a break. [...] Among the options the city is considering is bringing back chairs and benches, along with more ambitious ideas like expanding the median, eliminating traffic lanes and carving out room for bike lanes and walking paths." (NYT)
Request for a temporary restraining order in SoHo rezoning case refused: "Opponents of the SoHo rezoning have lost their bid to place a temporary restraining order on the process in their legal battle against it. Judge Arthur Engoron, who previously ruled in favor of the City Council in its fight against four major towers planned for Lower Manhattan, declined to issue the order for the SoHo rezoning process in the lawsuit the SoHo Alliance and Broadway Residents Coalition had filed against the city on Friday. This should allow the rezoning process to proceed even as the lawsuit makes its way through the court system. The Department of City Planning, however, has pulled the plug on certifying its application for the SoHo rezoning for now. (Crain's)
Remember that Bushwick building with the giant keyboard facade? It's almost complete: "It’s an eight-unit rental (with three apartments designated affordable), ready for occupancy in the next few months, and it has, as you have perhaps noticed, a giant 60-key piano keyboard scaling its façade. Nussenzweig further explains that when he realized there was an unadorned strip of brick up the center of the building’s street front between the windows, inspiration struck, and five octaves of aluminum ebony and ivories were soon on the way." (Curbed)
NYC Housing Production Snapshot, 2020: "20,000 homes were completed in new buildings in New York City in 2020, including both market rate and affordable units. This represents another strong year of completions despite being a roughly 4,500-unit reduction compared to 2019, due to the temporary construction halt in Spring 2020 due to COVID-19. 2020 marks the fifth consecutive year of more than 20,000 units being constructed in new buildings. Brooklyn accounted for 43% of new housing completions in 2020, continuing a long trend of leading the city in housing growth. Unlike prior years, housing completions in the Bronx eclipsed both Manhattan and Queens. 79,500 homes have active permits, two-thirds of which are in Brooklyn or Queens. Historically, over 95% of permitted jobs are completed within four years." (NYC Planning)
City dedicates $348 million in funding to rehabilitate the Overbuild in Riverside Park: "The Overbuild is a series of bridge structures underneath Riverside Park, built over the Amtrak lines from W. 72nd to W. 123rd streets. Its deterioration has affected the park’s usability, causing damaged pathways and an appearance of disrepair in the park. NYC Parks and DOT have developed a multi-faceted approach to addressing the structural condition, which includes additional inspections and temporary stabilization work. [...] The funding is in addition to more than $300 million previously invested under this administration to rehabilitate Riverside Park’s infrastructure – including $200 million to reconstruct the W. 79th Street Rotunda complex, $90 million to reconstruct the W. 79th Street Boat Basin, and more than $10 million to reconstruct pathways and staircases within the park. Mayor de Blasio has also funded an $11.5 million project to begin addressing the park’s drainage systems." (Office of the Mayor)
Rendering via Chad Ownens
The New York Philharmonic will offer free performances over four weekends in May: "The New York Philharmonic is deepening our connection with communities across our hometown with NY Phil Bandwagon 2, four weekend-long festivals across New York City, May 7–30, 2021. With a mobile, state-of-the-art shipping container as a stage, the New York Philharmonic will partner with six organizations and more than 100 artists to present 39 performances, which span artistic disciplines from reggae, jazz, and opera, to dance, poetry, theater, film, and visual art. [...] NY Phil Bandwagon 2’s customized, 20-foot shipping container was conceived of and designed and built by Chad Owens. This mobile venue features a foldout stage, LED video wall, and a state-of-the-art Meyer Sound Spacemap Go system, as well as a mural newly created by Groundswell artist Julia Cocuzza. NY Phil Bandwagon 2 events, which are free of charge and unticketed, will not be announced in advance due to health and safety guidelines. Entry is on a first-come, first-served basis." (NY Philarmonic)
Behind the scenes at the Met: "Ever wondered what was concealed in the back rooms at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or what was going on within its gargantuan Fifth Avenue home while it was closed for months during the coronavirus pandemic? A new PBS documentary, 'Inside The Met,' aims to bring viewers behind the scenes at the storied institution — the largest art museum in the Americas, spread across four city blocks and 2.3 million square feet, with an inventory of 1.2 million works of art." (Patch)
Wiki Commons
NYC looks to create its first landmark related to Chinese American history: "The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to calendar the Kimlau War Memorial, a tribute to Chinese American veterans located in Chinatown. Designed by architect Poy G. Lee, the memorial honors Americans of Chinese descent who died during World War II. If designated by the city, the Kimlau War Memorial would be New York City’s first individual landmark that relates specifically to Chinese American history and culture. [...] The memorial is located within Chatham Square, which was co-named Kimlau Square in 1961 in recognition of Lieutenant Benjamin Ralph Kimlau. Kimlau, a Chinese American from New York City, served as an Air Force bomber pilot in World War II and died in combat." (6sqft)
Apartment building to replace UWS community garden: "Permits have been filed for the construction of an apartment building at 76 West 105th Street – which is also the address of La Perla Community Garden. [...] A job filing from December 4, 2020 lists Ilyas Abayev of MoonshotDev.com as the owner of the upcoming development. The filing also describes the nature of the work as an “excavation and installation of foundation related to the new, 6-story cast-in-place flat slab concrete building with [a] cellar.” (I Love the Upper West Side)
The MTA's Al Putre counts $1.5B a year: "Every nickel’s worth of cash that comes into the MTA, and every MetroCard that goes out, passes through this building and thus under Putre’s eye. Although the agency’s income is down a lot owing to the pandemic, the amount of cash that passes through most years, give or take, is about $1.5 billion." (Curbed)
