This is the story of Margot Gayle.

Who Was Margot Gayle

Born in 1908 in Kansas City, MO, Margot spent much of her childhood moving around due to her father’s job as an executive in the auto industry. Gayle didn’t grow up wanting to be a historical preservationist; she actually received a Masters in bacteriology from Emory University, but the Great Depression made it difficult to find a job. So she turned to politics and became an activist through her work. One of her early accomplishments was fighting to get the Georgia poll tax repealed. She was so passionate about the cause that many dubbed her “Poll Tax Margot.” 

Gayle moved to New York with her husband (divorced in 1957) and two daughters, where they lived in Greenwich Village. In New York, she continued to be involved in political activism, even running for City Council in 1957. It was through her work in politics, however, that she found her true calling: historical preservation. 

Jefferson Market Courthouse  

Located at 425 Avenue of the Americas, the Jefferson Market Courthouse – an iconic Victorian Gothic structure built in the late 1800s – was around the corner from Margot Gayle’s Greenwich Village apartment and from the notorious New York Women’s House of Detention. One of the most defining characteristics of the red brick structure was its spire-like clock tower. It was used as a courthouse until 1945, after which it sat vacant, the future of the historic building uncertain. In the late 1950s, rumors that the courthouse was for sale and in danger of being torn down prompted Margot Gayle to take action. 

With the help of friends and colleagues, Gayle formed the Village Neighborhood Committee. One of the organization’s first orders of business was to get the long-frozen clock ticking again, with the hope that it would raise awareness. It did just that. Next, the committee set out to ensure that the building itself could be preseved. A successful campaign to have the former courthouse converted into a public library sealed the deal. In 1961, the New York Public Library agreed to take over the structure, and in 1977 it was declared a National Historic Landmark. 

Reflecting on her work saving the Jefferson Market Courthouse, Gayle said in an interview with the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, “It was ‘act soon or lose it.’ There was no precedent for what we were doing, and there was very little community feeling about saving old buildings, so we couldn’t really use that. We just used every tool at hand and worked fast to keep the building from being auctioned off, really. I really am amazed to think how close that building came to being gone.”

The Jefferson Market Library is in full operation today. 

Formation of the Victorian Society 

The Jefferson Market Courthouse may have been Margot Gayle’s first big win, but it was hardly her last. In the 1950s and 60s in New York, the demolition of historic masterpieces to make way for modernization was plaguing the city. It was activists who saved some of NYC’s most iconic NYC fixtures – notably, Jane Jacobs’ successful 1958 battle to stop Robert Moses from building a highway through Washington Square Park. 

Unfortunately, not all could be saved. In 1963, the original Pennsylvania Station was demolished to make way for Madison Square Garden. Renowned for its beauty, the original structure was considered “the architectural embodiment of New York’s vaulted ambition and open arms.” Its demolition was devastating to residents.

Determined to ensure other historic cast-iron structures would not meet the same fate as Penn Station, in 1966, Gayle, in conjunction with historic preservationists Brendan Gill and Henry-Russell Hitchcock, founded the Victorian Society in America. Still in existence today, the Victorian Society is committed to “historic preservation, protection, understanding, education, and enjoyment of our nineteenth-century heritage.” The organization fulfills its promise through architectural tours, publications, and summer schools dedicated to educating interested parties on architecture, art, and preservation.   

Friends of Cast Iron Architecture 

The Victorian Society was not the only preservation organization that Margot Gayle helped create. In 1968, she attended a Victorian Society symposium during which she learned about the significance of cast iron buildings in New York and that they were largely unprotected. Inspired and enraged, Gayle made it her mission to fight for their survival. 

On March 18th, 1970, Gayle formed the Friends of Cast-Iron Architecture. The group’s goal was to “preserve structures such as cast-iron buildings, cemetery ironwork, and iron fountains – both nationally and internationally.” By raising awareness about the significance of cast-iron architecture in America, the organization has successfully prevented the majority of cast-iron structures from being demolished. It was through the Friends of Cast-Iron Architecture that Gayle was able to fight out one of her most consequential and important preservation battles.  

SoHo Cast-Iron District 

In the late 60s and early 70s, urban renewal in New York was the name of the game, and SoHo was under imminent threat. In 1969, the area faced the danger of demolition to make way for the LOMEX – Lower Manhattan Expressway – an elevated highway that would connect the Hudson to the East River. Thanks to outcry from residents, artists, and activists like Gayle, the project was halted permanently in 1969.  

Though the area was safe from an expressway, preservationists craved security to ensure the neighborhood would also be spared from modernization. Over the next few years, Gayle and the Friends of Cast-Iron Architecture worked tirelessly to get the area designated as the SoHo Cast-Iron District. Her partners in crime were the artists who called the area both home and work (the “SoHo model” has gone on to serve as an example for mixed-use artist spaces). Their joint efforts paid off in 1973, when SoHo received a Cast-Iron District designation from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, thereby protecting the historic architecture from demolition. 

Today, with rents higher than the buildings themselves (average rent for a one-bedroom is 4,650 according to RentHop), SoHo is hardly a haven for artists looking for a studio to work and live in. It has transformed into a glamorous shopping, eating, and working destination – likely in part, due to the district’s unique architecture. Much like the Jefferson Market Courthouse, by preserving the bones of the buildings, SoHo had the chance to change with the times while holding onto its history. And that is thanks to Margot Gayle.  

Ms. Gayle died in 2008, but her work will be remembered forever. On her passion for preservation, she once said: “If one person really puts his mind to something and can inspire a whole group around him, it’s amazing in this complicated world what can be achieved. How do you like that?” 

We like it very much, Margot. 

The post Margot Gayle, Savior of SoHo appeared first on CitySignal.

Unfortunately, the freedom and safety of riders is contingent on proper city planning, designated bike lanes, and personal precautions. In a city like New York, where cars rule the road, this is not always the case. As of 2020, New York boasted over 1,375 lane-miles of bike infrastructure, but only 545 were protected. This discrepancy in designated bike lanes, which exist to keep riders and pedestrians safe, brings to light several issues in NYC. Most concerning is the human toll: in 2021, the Department of Transportation reported 4,949 cyclist injuries and 19 fatalities. 

As New York becomes more and more of a cycle city, how will the streets – and the residents – adapt? 

Bike Lanes in NYC 

In November 2022, the NYC DOT announced major plans to expand bike lanes and public spaces in 2023. As part of the city’s effort to make the largest bike network in the US, the expansion includes adding a one-way protected bike lane on 10th Avenue between W 14th Street and W 52nd Street and improving bicycle and pedestrian access between Manhattan and the Bronx on the Washington Bridge. With an eye toward creating protected bike lanes with “high ridership, a history of vehicle non-compliance and/or lanes adjacent to heavy vehicle corridor,” other projects include protected bike lanes on Westchester Avenue (Bronx), Berry Street (Brooklyn), Ashland/Navy/Hanson (Brooklyn), and adding a two-way protected bike boulevard on Broadway between Madison Square and Herald Square. 

Essentially sidewalks for bikes, and protected bike lanes use some kind of physical delineator – planters, plastic bollards, parked cars, curbs – to keep a rider safe. Though a good step, these basic barriers don’t always do the trick; a plastic bollard is often not enough to deter a car from blocking the bike lane, which can lead to accidents, injuries, and fatalities. To combat this, the DOT plans to replace half of the “protected bike lanes” with Jersey barriers (fortified cement blocks weighing four tons each) by the end of 2023. 

In September 2022, a second rider-centric solution was introduced: a proposed “lane blocking bill.” If passed, the bill would allow citizens to “submit a photo of a blocked bike lane to the Department of Transportation (DOT). After an investigation and subsequent ticketing, the submitter could receive 25% of the ticket value—which is expected to be $175.” Modeled after the Citizens Air Complaint program, which encourages civilians to submit photos of idling trucks and cars in exchange for 25% of the resulting ticket, the lane-blocking bill has the potential to engage citizens and make the city safer for cyclists.  

How Bike-Friendly Is NYC Compared To Other U.S. Cities?

In September 2022, Anytime Estimate came out with a ranking of the most bike-friendly cities in the U.S. The ranking analyzed data from “the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information, Walk Score, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Vision Zero Network, Google Trends, and Yelp.” Though New York made it into the top 15, it didn’t break the top 10, and for a city itching to build the largest bike network in the U.S., it means that there is much more work to do. 

New York was outranked by ten major cities, including Portland, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, and Minneapolis. 

Based on data by Anytime Estimate

Hopefully, the aforementioned infrastructure projects and a more cyclist-centric community will continue to move up New York’s ranking. There is, however, one larger roadblock: traffic laws and practices. In their 2022 Bike Friendly States survey, the League of Bike Activists gave New York an “F” rating, mostly due to failings in the state’s legislature. As of spring 2022, the state had not passed any items on the “livable streets wish list,” a collection of potentially life-saving bills and laws compiled by the cyclist advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. These items include allowing New York City to set its own speed limits or running enforcement cameras 24-7. 

But it’s not the end of the battle. Just this month, Transportation Alternatives unveiled their new platform aimed at addressing the legal failings affecting cyclists and pedestrians. This agenda includes the SAFE Streets Act, a package of life-saving bills intended to curb speeding, champion safe street redesign, and offer support to those impacted by crashes. Submitted to Governor Kathy Hochul and New York State Legislature, advocates urged urgent action if the state hopes to meet “the critical goals of its own multimodal transportation agenda by 2030.”

The Current State of Cycling in NYC

In addition to legal and structural hurdles, there is another major pain point affecting cyclists in New York: access. In 2017, the DOT completed a study identifying the 10 districts with the highest cyclist severely killed or injured (KSI) data. The neighborhoods – seven in Brooklyn and three in Queens – were severely underserved by the DOT, with high ridership but few dedicated bicycle facilities. In an effort to make cycling safer, the agency has prioritized those areas for bicycle network expansion. A review of the projects announced and completed in recent years indicates the DOT is working to stay true to their word. Some notable ones include safety improvements on Flatbush Avenue between Grand Army Plaza and Empire Blvd (Brooklyn), greenway connections in Jamaica Bay (Queens), and an extensive bike network plan for Flushing, Queens. 

Furthermore, in August 2022, Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city would be “targeting areas with a lack of good transportation and jobs for an expansion of the city’s greenway network, using $7.25 million in federal infrastructure funding to plan for the new bike paths.” Though the funding only covers planning and study, the hope is that the proposal – expected to be released in 2024 – would pave the way for potential new greenway sections including an “extension of Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway into Brownsville, the Jamaica Bay Greenway into southeast Queens, along the Harlem River in the Bronx, and Staten Island’s North Shore.” 

Citi Bike – the official bike-sharing system for New York – is crucial for both expansion and adoption of cycling in the city, especially in underserved neighborhoods. The massively popular program has continued to increase its presence and popularity throughout the five boroughs since launching in May 2013. Despite the roll-out, however, it has not been without issues. In 2019 a report from New York Communities for Change found that “more than 75 percent of neighborhoods that experience extreme poverty lie outside Citi Bike’s service area, and only 16.5 percent of people of color have access to any of the city’s bike sharing services.” 

Though privately owned, Citi Bike is contracted by the city, and works with NYCDOT to plan its service areas. As New York works toward transportation equity, ensuring not only designated bike lanes but also access to bike stations (by way of Citi Bike) is crucial. 

Since 2019, Citi Bike has shown marked improvement in its service areas. As of December 2022, Citi Bike (now owned by Lyft) had 30,000 bikes with plans to reach 40,000 by the end of 2024 — expanding to underserved neighborhoods in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. Hopefully, this is only the beginning. Clearly the demand is there: on September 8th, 2022, 138,372 [Citi Bike] rides were taken, a new daily record. 

Where to Bike in NYC

For the eager cyclist ready to hop on a bike and get pedaling, the NY Department of Transportation releases a yearly bike map with updated routes and paths. 

It’s not a perfect system, but as the network of bike lanes continues to improve and expand, it only makes commuting through the city via cycle more enticing. And it’s not just the city – the Hudson River Greenway, for example, stretches all the way from Battery Park in Manhattan up to Whitehall in Washington County. 

A ride across the Brooklyn Bridge offers bikers a particularly spectacular view of either Manhattan or Brooklyn, depending on the direction. For tourists, it’s a great way to get to know the city. For commuters, it’s an easy – albeit physically taxing – method of getting to work. 

One can only dream of what the New York City bike network will look like in five years. If the city continues to put its money where its mouth is, hopefully it’ll be a sprawling, interconnected system of protected bike lanes that safely co-exist amongst pedestrians and cars, reaching from the depths of Brooklyn to the tip of the Bronx. 

The post Gears to Grind: The State of Biking in NYC appeared first on CitySignal.

For over 100 years, the home was owned by members of the Duke family – yes, that is Duke of Duke University. In their heyday (the late 1800s and early-mid 1900s) the Dukes were prominent members of society and prolific business magnates. North Carolina born and raised, brothers Benjamin N. Duke and James Buchanan (J.B.) Duke made names for themselves as the respective founders of Duke Energy and American Tobacco Company. The fortunes amassed from those two companies afforded the men – and their children, and their children’s children – lavish and outlandish lives. 

Despite Southern roots, the Duke family had a significant impact on New York, and their palatial city abodes have withstood the test of time. Some homes remain residential, like the $80 million Benjamin N. Duke listing, while others have become museums, such as the former residence of James Buchanan Duke – now the NYU Institute of Fine Arts. 

Early Days in NYC

The sons of tobacco manufacturer Washington Duke, James and Benjamin got their start at the family business in Durham, North Carolina. It quickly became successful and in 1884, James Buchanan Duke moved to New York to open the new offices of Duke and Sons and help expand operations. And expand they did: in 1890, James created the country’s largest tobacco manufacturing firm in American Tobacco Company. By consolidating four manufacturers into one corporation, American Tobacco Company had a monopoly on the industry. This would be addressed later via the Sherman Antitrust Act, but in the corporation’s early days, the monopoly led to unchecked growth and money-making. 

The creation of the American Tobacco Company cemented the Dukes’ place in the New York business scene. In 1893, James B. Duke began another significant legacy-building endeavor, however this one was a bit outside of the city, and involved lots and lots of land.   

Duke Farms

The first major Duke land acquisition in the New York area was James’s 1893 purchase of a farm in Somerville, New Jersey. Inspired by the North Carolina farms he grew up on, by the time of his death in 1925 the 2,000-acre property boasted “45 buildings, 9 lakes, 18 miles of roads, 810 acres of woodlands, 464 acres of grassland bird habitat and 1.5 miles of stone walls.” 

The property also served as the primary residence of J.B. Duke, his wife Nanaline, and their daughter Doris (she would later inherit the estate at age 12 after her father’s passing). What started as a simple farmhouse eventually grew into a 67,000 square feet mansion through expansions by both James and Doris. The home boasted a “swimming pool, shooting gallery, theater, casino, and bowling alley,” and even featured a “gigantic, ornate glass conservatory” which reflected the horticultural interests of Doris and of her father.

Unfortunately, the mansion fell into disrepair after Doris Duke’s death in 1993, and in 2015, the Duke Farms Foundation made the controversial decision to demolish the mansion in order to open up the land to the public. 

“An environmentalist long before it was fashionable,” Doris Duke spent much time building upon her father’s work and transformed the estate’s impressive acreage into an innovative ecological residence. One of her most significant contributions was the building of Duke Gardens, a botanic display in a glass conservatory designed by notable Gilded Age architects Horace Trumbauer and Julian Abele. The Duke Gardens were opened to the public in 1960, and then closed in 2008, after which the display was dismantled to make way for a “new vision.” 

Today, Duke Farms is managed by the Doris Duke Foundation. Opened to the public in 2012, the farm operates “with a mission to be a leader in environmental stewardship and to inspire visitors to become informed stewards of the land.” 

Benjamin N. Duke House

In 1901, Benjamin N. Duke joined his brother in New York, and in the real estate game through the purchase of his mansion at 1009 Fifth Avenue – the very townhouse which fetched an $80 million price tag in early 2023. Benjamin Duke lived at the residence until 1907, when it was purchased by J.B. Duke, who needed a place to live until his Manhattan home was completed in 1912. Ownership then passed to Benjamin’s son Angier Buchanan Duke, then Benjamin’s daughter Mary Lillian Duke and her husband, A.J. Drexel Biddle Jr., and finally landed in the hands of his granddaughter: Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans. 

Growing up across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art exposed Semans to culture at an early age, and her appreciation for art would ultimately lead to several significant contributions in the American cultural landscape. It was Semans’ mother who started the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation in 1956; Mary took it over after her mother’s death in 1960. Still in operation today, the foundation “provides support for private higher and secondary education, specified churches, cultural programs (particularly in music, dance, and theater), projects in the arts, and aid to the community and the handicapped. Giving is limited to North Carolina and New York City.” 

Despite roots in New York City, much of Semans’ energy was focused on bringing art and new opportunities to Durham. Semans and her husband, James, helped to start the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and created several foundations through The Duke Endowment intended to support underserved artists and their work. 

While not all of her contributions directly affect New York City, the support for creatives likely inspired and fostered careers of artists making cultural contributions worldwide. 

Sale of the Benjamin N. Duke House

Mary Semans was the last Duke to lay claim to her grandfather’s mansion. It is currently owned by business magnate Carlos Slim, who previously listed the home in 2015 for $44 million. Constructed in the Beaux-Arts style, the massive townhouse includes “eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms across seven stories, one grand staircase connecting each story, towering ceilings, a private roof deck, and sweeping views of Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” It was designated a New York City landmark in 1974 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. 

As far as the future of the Benjamin N. Duke house goes, if it sells, it may not be for residential purposes. According to the Compass listing, “The building can be reimagined as a private residence or converted into a gallery, store, museum, or foundation.”

If the home is converted into a museum, it will be joining the ranks of several other Duke estates that now function as such – one of which is only a few blocks down Fifth Avenue. 

James Buchanan Duke House

In 1909, eager to participate in the New York social scene, James B. Duke purchased the Henry H. Cook mansion located at 1 East 78th Street. Built-in 1878, the original opulent and exquisite mansion was demolished by Duke, who initially intended to remodel the building but then decided to rebuild from the ground up. Architectural historian John Tauranac called the Henry H. Cook Mansion, “the best-built house ever torn down in New York City.”

Architect Harry Trumbauer designed the 40,000-square-foot limestone mansion and more notably, is one of the early works of Julian Abele, a prolific architect, and Trumbauer’s chief designer. Trumbauer and Abele built the home in French Classical style and modeled it after the Hotel Labottiere in Bordeaux, France. It was a museum-worthy building, inside and out. 

J.B., his wife Nanaline, and daughter Doris moved into the home in 1912. After J.B. Duke’s death in 1925, ownership was passed to Doris. Upon inheriting the bulk of her father’s estate – Duke Farms, the NYC mansion, Rough Point in Newport – Doris Duke was dubbed “the richest girl in the world.” 

Doris Duke Real Estate Portfolio

It would be impossible to sum up the life of heiress, socialite, and philanthropist Doris Duke in one short paragraph. After inheriting her fortune, Doris attempted (with little success) to stay out of the spotlight. By the time she was 30, she had homes in Hawaii (the infamous Shangri La), Newport (Rough Point), New York City (James B. Duke House), Beverly Hills (Falcon Lair), and New Jersey (Duke Farms). A voracious art collector, she even purchased a personal Boeing 737 to take on trips when collecting art and plants from around the world. Her friends ranged from Jackie Kennedy to Andy Warhol. She was a competitive surfer, a writer for Harper’s Bazaar, and briefly an international reporter for the International News Service. Most notably, however, she was a philanthropist and a supporter of the arts.  

Doris Duke founded Independent Aid, Inc. at age 21 in order to field the charity requests she received due to her massive fortune. After her death in 1993, Independent Aid, Inc. became the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Most of her fortune was left to the DDCF, which serves to provide funding to four core areas: the performing arts, medical research, the environment, and child well-being. In addition, the foundation controls her various estates, including Shangri-La (now a museum), Rough Point (also a museum), and Duke Farms. 

As far as the Henry H. Cook Mansion (1 East 78th Street) goes, in 1958, Duke donated it to NYU, where it was renamed The James B. Duke House to honor her late father. Since 1959, it has been the home of the school’s Institute of Fine Arts, a fitting end for the home of a queen of culture like Doris Duke. 

Duke Fortune Today

As Doris Duke was the only child of J.B. Duke and she had none of her own, the Duke lineage has faded. The only remaining heirs to the Duke fortune are Georgia and Walker Patterson Inman, who were expected to inherit nearly $1 billion after the untimely death of their father, Walker Inman (the nephew of Doris Duke) in 2015. 

As far as Doris Duke’s estate goes, she shocked everyone when the bulk of her estate was left to Bernard Lafferty… her butler of six years. Lafferty, named executor of the estate, received a hefty paycheck and was put in charge of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which received the majority of Doris Duke’s fortune. Bernard Lafferty’s unexpected inheritance was the source of speculation, accusations, and questioning until his death in 1996. 

The Dukes who lived large and lavishly may be gone, but echoes of their impact live on. And to think, it all started from some cigarettes. 

The post The Duke Legacy in New York City  appeared first on CitySignal.

The question immediately brings to mind images of dreamy houseboats set on the bays of coastal cities in the American south and west, or along European canals, perhaps in London or Amsterdam. Or, possibly, one might think of the anchorless sailor drifting across the sea, a la Sonny Crockett or Captain Nemo. It’s a romantic notion to live a life on the water. 

However, for “liveaboards” – people who make their primary residence a boat – the concept is less fantastical and more practical, especially in a financial sense. Residing on a boat is actually an incredibly inexpensive way to live (unless the boat in question is a million-dollar yacht). After the initial price of investment (the boat), a monthly cost of living would typically only include maintenance, power, and the slip–boat parking spot connected to a dock in a marina – rental fee. Unless it’s a coveted marina, slip rentals usually come in at an average price much lower than the average American rent. 

So in New York, where an average one-bedroom apartment costs $3,910 as of January 2023

… is boat life a viable alternative to rent? 

Living Aboard A Boat in NYC

The short answer is, unfortunately, mostly no. In the case of New York City, it’s not that the cost of docking is prohibitive, but rather the permission from a marina is technically prohibited. Most marinas do not allow anyone to live at their dock year–round as a “liveaboard.” According to sailmeom.com, “Many marinas accept stayaboards, but you need a separate permanent address (P.O. box is fine) for legal and tax purposes, and in emergency situations, another place to go. You don’t have the same rights as a renter in an apartment. Your slip doesn’t count as your home.” This makes sense, as marinas are not equipped – nor do they want to be held liable – for full-time residents.

There are, however, workarounds. Marinas that accept “frequent stayaboards” or “winter wet storage” will usually be more accepting of an unofficial full-time resident. 

Unsurprisingly, there are unique inconveniences that come with living on a boat. It may take longer for maintenance and facility fixes. As boats are not directly connected to water and sewage systems, filling up a water tank during the winter season can be difficult, although doable. Many marinas also do not offer “pumpout services” – pumps to clear the toilet tanks – during the off-season, which also poses challenges when it comes to sanitary concerns. It is illegal for boats to dump sewage, and Bettersailing.com notes that many of the New York marinas have “insufficient pump-out services for heads.” 

Life on the water is not a walk in the park – or rather, a swim in the ocean. For many, however, these inconveniences are still worth the price of living on a boat – which is way less than rent. 

Who Lives on a Boat in NYC?

One of the longest-known “liveaboard” residents in New York City was Ed Bacon, a charter yacht broker and captain who lived on his boat at the 79th Street Boat Basin for over 50 years. The 79th Street Boat Basin, opened under Robert Moses in 1938, has been a haven for eccentric liveaboards for decades. It once housed hundreds of full-time residents, offshore Upper West Siders ranging from artists to tradesmen, families to bachelors. Rent at the 79th Street Boat Basin was notably low, costing an estimated $10,000 a year to dock a 40-foot boat as of 2021. 

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. A deteriorating dock caused the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to launch an overhaul of the storied marina. The $90 million project, which began soon after its announcement in 2021, closed the marina so that it could be demolished, dredged, reconstructed, and expanded. Expected to reopen in 2025, the new marina promises more slips, a (controversial) dock house, storm protection, and updated ADA standards. 

Upon its announcement, the project received severe pushback. The new dock house – expected to be five times the size of the existing structure and expected to rise two stories above the Hudson – caused particular uproar among Upper West Siders. The Riverside Park Conservancy called the proposed design “boxy and dense,” and urged NYC Parks to consult the community before moving forward. Engineers on the project argued that the design is one of function: in an effort to build a climate-resilient, energy-efficient structure, aesthetics fell to the wayside. 

The dock house redesign wasn’t the only significant shake-up caused by the project: for the 60-some residents who still called the marina home as of 2021, the overhaul also meant vacating and relocating. Many hope to return in 2025 but are unsure if it’s realistic. And as far as other Manhattan marinas go, the pickings are slim and not nearly as cheap. 

Where to Live On A Boat In (or near) NYC

Is it cheaper to live on a boat than a house?

As such, the best options for living on a boat in NYC are… slightly out of New York City. Jersey City, City Island, Montauk, and Brooklyn all are home to marinas which may be more amenable to a year-round resident than somewhere like Chelsea Piers, which costs as much as $7,000 a month for a slip rental.  

Living on a boat is not as simple as searching for an apartment on RentHop, but the rare listing does exist for those who look hard enough. This since-expired rental in Sheepshead Bay boasts a 1 bed, 1 bath boat for $1,800 a month, way under the average NYC rental 1-bedroom price of $3,950.

For those eager to try out boat living but aren’t ready to sign a lease, buy the boat, or do the research, there are some listings available on Airbnb. A weekend on a houseboat in the Rockaways, Jamaica Bay, or even upstate on the Hudson are all possibilities for the wayward sailor. 

Party on the Bushwick Boat? 

 

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For some, liveaboard life is a wonderful way to make an alternative home. However, it’s not for everyone, and in New York, like most things, the dream is tough to make a reality.

One of the more fantastical and uniquely New York examples of a boat being more than a boat in New York City is The Schamonchi. Located at the end of Newton Creek in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the 144-foot historic ferry boat was best known as the location for the elaborate “Burning Man parties” that have since become the stuff of legends. The boat, which is slowly sinking, has gone silent; its disco lights have been off for several years now. However, it remains local lore. 

Ask the right person: “did you ever go to a party on the abandoned boat in Bushwick,” and their eyes may light up, as memories of shimmying on The Schamonchi come flooding in. 

The post How To Live on a Boat in NYC appeared first on CitySignal.

Last month, in celebration of the Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund announcement the week prior, CitySignal went on a walking tour of Chinatown to see, firsthand, some of the businesses receiving money from the grant. It was a crisp winter morning, but the biting cold did not distract from the warm feeling that accompanied the event. Led by the engaging and energetic Anna Huang of the Mott Street Girls, the tour blended history and current events to shed light on Chinatown and its residents. 

The morning began on Doyers Street, where tour attendees, members of the press, and delegates from Citizens Bank and Renaissance Economic Development Corporation gathered for opening remarks. Sara Tang, Citizens Business Banking Relationship Manager, reiterated Citizens’ pledge to be part of the communities in which their banks operate. The goal of the walking tour was to “celebrate the small business owners,” all of whom require community support to not only keep growing, but also remain in operation. The pandemic hit neighborhoods such as Chinatown the hardest, and recovery is a slow but steady process. The best aid is awareness of and engagement with local businesses. 

Manhattan Chinatown, home to the highest concentration of Chinese people in the United States, is considered a cultural hub for the Chinese diaspora. It’s been a haven to immigrants since the 1800s, and is a place steeped in tradition and rich with stories. As such, it was only fitting that the tour began with a bit of history about one of the streets on which many of these businesses operate.

Doyers Street

With its brightly painted cobblestones, unique curvature, and pedestrian accessibility, Doyers Street is easily one of the most recognizable roads in Chinatown. It’s also one of the oldest, joined by Pell Street and Mott Street. According to Huang, the unique angle can be attributed to the age of the alley; built before 1811, Doyers was exempt from the implementation of the New York City grid system. Like much of the Lower East Side, Doyers Street is an anomaly from most of neat and narrow New York. 

In the early 1900s, Doyers Street earned a unique (and violent) moniker: the bloody angle. The intersection’s proximity to the infamous Five Points neighborhood, combined with excessive gang activity, made it a hot spot for less-than-pleasant meetups. Gangs nicknamed it “the bloody angle” as the curved street created blind spots and a prime opportunity to ambush an opponent.  

Today, however, Doyers is known more for its many businesses and beauty salons, and is occasionally called “barber shop alley.” It is a hotspot for restaurants and bars, home to Dim Sum parlor Nom Wah, speakeasy Apotheke, and Chinese Tuxedo, a two-story restaurant located in a former opera house. 

It’s also the location of one of the recipients of the Citizens Renewal Fund: the New China Beauty Salon. 

New China Beauty Salon

Opened in 2014 by Jiang Feng Ming, the New China Beauty Salon offers haircuts for men and women. It is a favorite for locals, who appreciate the salon’s prices, far lower than those of nearby SoHo. A haircut at New China Beauty Salon is between $10 and $12. The salon is open seven days a week, from 9:00am – 6:00 pm, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday, when it’s open until 6:30pm. 

To support the business – and to get an inexpensive but worthwhile haircut, head over to 15 Doyers Street. 

Pell Street 

Next up, the tour visited Pell Street – another one of Chinatown’s most historic lanes. Pell Street today — bustling lantern-lit hub for businesses and tourists — is unrecognizable from how it looked 100 years ago, when it boasted cobblestone streets and an above ground subway. 

There is one more significant difference from the old days of Pell Street: it used to be all men. 

In the late 1800s, Chinatown earned a reputation as a “bachelor society” due to a discriminatory law – the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which curbed Chinese immigration and effectively banned most Chinese women and children from entering the United States. As a result, the patrons of Chinatown were almost exclusively male during the late 1800s and early 1900s. At one point, according to Huang, the ratio of men to women in Chinatown was 700 to 1. Many even lived in what were called ‘Bachelor’s Apartments.’

This unique set-up had two strangers sharing not only an apartment, but also a bed. Two separate sleeping shifts allowed the workers to save money on rent, which was beneficial as most of the men were sending money back home to their wives and children. 

In 1943, the act was repealed. Women and children populated Chinatown, and the Bachelor Society was no more. 

Pell Street today is notable for the instagrammable lanterns lighting up the street and its excellent restaurants, such as the Vegetarian Dim Sum House. 

Vegetarian Dim Sum House

Located at 24 Pell Street, the Vegetarian Dim Sum House is another recipient of the Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund. Opened in 1986, the restaurant was the first vegetarian / vegan Dim Sum house to open in Chinatown. Especially for purposes of tourism, noted Huang, having a vegetarian option is huge, as it expands the options for non-meat-eating visitors. Vegetarian Dim Sum House is lauded for its turnip cake made of daikon radish, and its rice flour rolls made with deep fried dough in the middle. The restaurant closed for six months during the pandemic, but has since resumed operations, despite increased operating costs due to inflation. 

Vegetarian Dim Sum House is open seven days a week, from 10:30am – 9:00pm. 

As the tour made its way down Pell Street, Huang pointed out an interesting sight: a Pegasus decoration hanging amongst the lanterns. According to Huang, the Pegasus is composed of “dried egg noodles” and covered in polyurethane to withstand the cold temperatures. Though the impetus for the Pegasus on Pell is unclear, the tour did learn some context about the lanterns surrounding it. 

Light Up Chinatown 

Strung up on various streets throughout Chinatown, it’s hard to imagine a time when these beloved lanterns were not part of the neighborhood. Shockingly, however, that moment was not long ago. The lanterns landed in late December of 2020 as part of Light Up Chinatown, a grass-roots initiative devised during the dark days of the pandemic when the streets of Chinatown were empty and desolate. Created by local resident Patrick Mock, Light Up Chinatown is a volunteer, donation-based initiative that works to brighten up the neighborhood. 

With lanterns donated by longtime Chinese-American department store Pearl River Mart and hung by volunteers, the lanterns made Chinatown an “instagrammable spot” overnight, and have since cemented a lasting place in the community. The long-term goal of the initiative is to light every street in the neighborhood. A GoFundMe can be found here to make a donation; $50 purchases one individual lantern. 

After a moment taking in the magic, the tour made its way past the lantern-adorned Mott Street and soon reached its next stop. 

Audrey Bakery and Cafe

Opened in 2017, Audrey Bakery and Cafe, located at 12 Chatham Square, is another staple of Chinatown. The traditional Chinese bakery offers all kinds of decadent treats, ranging from buns to specialty sweets to savory snacks. For those looking to celebrate a special occasion, the cakes Audrey Bakery and Cafe might be especially enticing; beautifully decorated, artfully made, and delicious to the taste. 

A gift from Citizens allowed the tour group to take a pit stop and sample some of the desserts and hot drinks offered by Audrey Bakery and Cafe. It was a welcome respite from the cold, and an even better excuse to get to know, first-hand, one of the small business recipients of the Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund. 

Lady Chow Kitchen

Next stop was Lady Chow Kitchen, located at 171 Hester Street. The restaurant offers contemporary Chinese dishes and authentic Cantonese food. According to their website, Lady Chow Kitchen is notable for its “Chen Cun Fen,” which consists of Chen Cun rice noodles measuring between 0.5 and 0.7 millimeters thick. Also known as Dan noodles, this variety was created in 1927 by Huang Dan, a local from Chen Cun town, an area located in Foshan’s Shunde district. Pliant and tender, the thin noodles soak up the juices of whatever they’re cooked in, making each bite a particularly savory one.

Lady Chow Kitchen is open seven days a week, from 8:30am – 9:00pm. 

After taking in the smells and sights of Lady Chow Kitchen, the tour headed past Canal Street, to the newer part of the neighborhood. The group walked through what is colloquially called the Mott Street fruit market – a combination of street and store vendors –  where local residents shopped for groceries and goods. Each marketplace offered a plethora of delectable options, ranging from durian fruit to fresh fish to specialized spices. 

Golden Steamer

Located amid the hubbub of the Mott Street market is Golden Steamer, a restaurant renowned by locals for its bao. Opened in 2009, the business sells buns that are good for any occasion: a seasonal pumpkin bao for snack, a salted egg yolk bun for breakfast, or a pork bao for lunch. Located at 143-A Mott Street, Golden Steamer is another proud recipient of the Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund grant. 

Golden Steamer is open seven days a week, from 7:00am – 7:00pm. 

Double Crispy Bakery

Around the corner from Golden Steamer is another staple of the neighborhood: the Double Crispy Bakery, located at 230 Grand Street. Opened five years ago by husband and wife, the bakery offers some of the best tarts, treats, and tastes in town. They’re notable for Macau Egg Tarts, a Portuguese variety of egg tart that is renowned by locals and tourists alike. The tour stopped at the bakery, and many (writer included) sampled the tarts for themselves. Made of a puff pastry and with a caramelized top, the tarts are warm, sweet, fully, and well worth the hype. 

Double Crispy Bakery is open seven days a week, from 7:00am – 7:00pm. 

High Cut Beauty Salon

Last on the tour was the High Cut Beauty Salon, located at 83 Elizabeth Street. The salon, which has been in operation for over 15 years, offers premium haircuts for men and women at inexpensive prices. With massage chairs located in the back, patrons can get both a makeover and a massage in one visit! 

For small businesses to succeed, they need community and tourist support. In Chinatown, the sentiment is clear: local entrepreneurs are fighting to survive, and they can only do so with grants like the Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund and through word-of-mouth – a method which relies on events such as the walking tour. 

Mott Street Girls, too, is a small business. Founded by Anna Huang and her business partner Chloe Chan, the organization offers in-depth history, food, and occasional ~special edition~ tours of Chinatown. Like the businesses they’re showcasing, the walking tours are personal, professional, and full of heart. 

To learn more about the Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund and see the full list of the businesses awarded, visit this link. And to visit them in person, simply hop on a train, bike, bus, cab, or walk on over to Chinatown to support these wonderful businesses! 

The post NYC Chinatown’s Small Businesses To Support appeared first on CitySignal.

At 1,454 feet tall from foundation to antenna, the iconic 102-story building punctures the clouds, defines the New York City skyline, and towers over residents and buildings alike. Though only 91 years old, the Empire State Building is integral to the legacy and the history of Manhattan. The building has stood as a beacon of hope through the city’s darkest days, from the Great Depression to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. It has served as a stage for television and film’s greatest moments, from Sleepless in Seattle to King Kong. It is a sight at which tourists marvel, and was even the site where Marvel comics were born. It is a tower with personality, a love for Taylor Swift, and allegedly a ghost or two. It is a building that is so much more than just a building. 

So where did it all begin? 

Who Built The Empire State Building? Breaking Ground

The story of the Empire State Building begins far before the structure itself. Even the land on which it was built is significant. 

Located at 20 W. 34th Street, the Art-Deco masterpiece stands in what today is considered Midtown Manhattan. In the late 1700s, however, the neighborhood was quite different. Rather than a bustling metropolis, it was the idyllic farm of John and Mary Murray and is said to be the site where George Washington’s troops retreated to after the battle of Kips Bay during the Revolutionary War. The Murray family has had an extensive impact on New York City, from the naming of Murray Hill to the creation of the New York City Public School System (by way of John Murray Jr.’s Free School Society in the early 1800s) to being the owners of the land that would one day host the Empire State Building. 

The Murray family sold the land to William Waldorf Astor in 1826; he would open the Waldorf Hotel at the site in 1893. In 1897, Waldorf’s cousin, John Jacob Astor IV, opened the Astoria Hotel next door. The two hotels soon consolidated to become the Waldorf-Astoria and would make headlines as the largest hotel in the world at the time. Despite its reputation as a “must-stay,” however, by the 1920s, much of New York’s elite had moved uptown, and so the hotel followed suit, relocating to 301 Park Avenue, where the Waldorf-Astoria still stands today. The original lot was sold to the Bethlehem Engineering Corporation in 1928, and the grand hotel was demolished to make room for something new. 

That “something new” was initially going to be a 50-story office building, but the Bethlehem Engineering Corporation defaulted on a bank loan, and the land was re-sold before anything could be done. The new owners were the investment group “Empire State Inc.,” a cohort of elite New Yorkers joined by former New York Governor and 1928 Democratic Presidential Candidate Alfred E. Smith. The group purchased nearby land to ensure they had the two acres needed for their building’s base, and in August of 1929, Al Smith – who had been chosen to head up the corporation – announced the group’s ambitious plan: Empire State Inc. would build “an 80-story building on the site, to be taller than any other buildings in existence.” 

How Old Is The Empire State Building

The boom years of the late 1920s saw an explosion of commercial buildings rise up in Manhattan as developers raced to get in on what was, at the time, a roaring and healthy economy. According to Robert Slayton’s Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith, “office space in New York had increased 51% from 1920 to 1930.” But for the elite real estate developers, it wasn’t enough to fill a skyscraper to capacity– their office building had to be the tallest one in the sky. 

At the time that Empire State Inc. announced their building plans, two other structures posed massive competition – the Woolworth Building, clocking in at 792 feet, and the Chrysler Building, taking the crown at 1,046 high. For John Jacob Raskob, former Vice President of General Motors and the mastermind behind the Empire State Building, these were the buildings to beat, and nothing would stop his tower from reaching new heights. His structure would be a “monument to the future” and an “inspiration for the poor in a nation that reached for the sky with its feet on the ground.” At least, that’s what he pitched to investors in early October of 1929. 

Unfortunately for Raskob, the future of the nation would turn bleak mere days later. On October 24th, a date otherwise known as “Black Thursday,” the stock market crashed, the banks failed, companies went belly-up, and the country would soon be plunged into the Great Depression. In the blink of an eye, the Roaring Twenties came to a screeching halt. 

When Was The Empire State Building Built?

Interestingly, this did not deter the Empire State group. On March 17th, 1930, construction on the Empire State Building officially began. According to the Empire State Building’s website, under the direction of “architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates and builders Starrett Bros. & Eken, the framework rises 4 ½ stories per week.” Despite the crumbling economy, the race to build the tallest building in the world was charging full steam ahead. The project even managed to create jobs in a time when unemployment rates were rapidly rising; 3,439 workers were employed during the one year and 45 days it took to build.

A Steel Boned Masterpiece 

The Empire State Building was a modern marvel and notable for its innovations in structural engineering. At the time of its construction, it was thought impossible to build a tower taller than 100 stories. To achieve the unachievable, architects Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates elected to use a steel frame for the basic construction technique. The frame was built by ironworkers whom many dubbed “Daredevil Boys.” The workers were fearless, balancing on narrow beams hundreds of feet in the air, swinging on cables, often only with the support of a very basic harness. 

Official accounts report that five workers died during the construction of the building. Some sources offer contradictory (and higher) numbers. Regardless of the actual count, the deaths go to show that this work was dangerous; construction work in 1930 did not have the same safety guardrails and protections keeping workers alive today. 

The building is considered an Art Deco masterpiece. Its strong steel bones are covered in limestone and granite with accents of aluminum. These materials, combined with recessed windows and a streamlined facade, are some of the defining markers of the Art Deco style. The building’s interior is just as notable; the lobby features a gold and aluminum mural on the ceiling, designed as an homage to the mechanical age. Above the entrance inside of the building, three medallions honor the craftsmen who built the tower, and the building trades used to complete the structure at the time of its construction. 

Though the building itself is a guidepost of the Art Deco style, the unmistakable pencil shape is actually in part due to a 1916 zoning law. The ordinance established rules on a building’s mass as it grew, meaning that the taller a building was, the farther it had to be set back from its lot line. The result was a style known as the “setback-and-tower style,” which both the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building are famous for. 

The Empire State Building’s famous spire, too, has an interesting origin. One of Al Smith’s initial plans for the building was to build a “mooring mast” for dirigibles (airships) to dock. The idea was that passengers would exit the airship “down a gangplank, and a mere seven minutes later could be on the street.” This plan never came to fruition due to its impracticability, as gusty winds made docking impossible. However, the mast remained, serving as a reminder of what could have been and giving the Empire State Building its impressive and (at the time) record-breaking height. 

On May 1st, 1931, the Empire State Building officially opened. President Herbert Hoover pressed a button from his office in the White House, and the lights to the building turned on. Al Smith’s grandchildren cut a ribbon in the building lobby, invited guests attended a dedication ceremony on the observation deck, onlookers gawked from the street. For both New York and the country as a whole, it was a day of celebration in a period of despair. 

Many saw the construction and completion of the Empire State Building as a sign of hope for the beleaguered city, which American financier Bernard Baruch called “the symbolic capital of the Depression.” To build a 102-story building was an engineering feat in and of itself; to do so in the middle of the worst economic crisis in the country’s history was unfathomable. 

Empty Chairs in Empty Offices 

From the day it opened, the observation deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building brought in tourists eager to view the city from the sky. Retailers, too, were eager to secure a spot in New York City’s tallest building from the get-go. Despite the economic hardships of the Great Depression, only 12 of the 224 storefronts were unoccupied when the Empire State Building opened in 1931. 

Unfortunately, office spaces – the bulk of the building’s space and income – were harder to fill. Only 23% of the office space in its first year was rented. The majority of the tenants were friends, family, or business associates of Raskob, Smith, and other members of the Empire State group. Even Al Smith’s dentist moved his offices to the building; he would stay there for many years to come. Add in some garment makers and the offices of the New York World’s Fair, and that makes up the bulk of the tenants in the early years. 

86 nearly unoccupied floors of office space is not a good look for a brand-new building. To give the appearance of vacancy, the lights were continuously left on, even in the unrented spaces. Unfortunately, the ruse wasn’t enough to convince onlookers of a bustling building – New Yorkers soon dubbed it the “Empty State Building.” 

Much of the Empire State Building’s early occupancy issues were due to the economic conditions and a slow market. Interestingly, the pandemic years saw a similar conundrum. 

Pre-2020, office space in New York City was at a premium, and developers couldn’t build fast enough. The ambitious $25 billion Hudson Yards project, aimed at revitalizing the area between Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, rolled out “Phase 1” in March 2019, which included a hotel, retail spaces, and ample office space. One year later, the COVID-19 pandemic sent workers home and permanently changed how employees interact with the workplace. In May 2020, the Financial Times called the development a “ghost town.” The vision of a bustling mini-metropolis within Manhattan faded as Hudson Yards struggled to fill its offices (and retain retailers designed to serve commuters). Though employees have trickled back to the office and a semblance of commuter culture has returned, as of September 2022, Hudson Yards still sat at a 37% vacancy rate. 

The Empire State Building, too, was affected by the pandemic. Though many seem to be returning to the office, the adoption of the hybrid mode of work has impacted office rentals, retailers, and tourism alike. For example: in the second quarter of 2021, the 86th-floor observatory saw 162,000 visitors, 83% less than the one million tourists recorded during the second quarter of 2019. Though both tourism and return-to-office numbers have steadily risen since 2021 – the building reported 573,000 visitors in the second quarter of 2022 – it’s clear that the Empire State Building still has a ways to go before reaching pre-pandemic boom numbers. 

The lesson? No matter how impressive the development, timing is everything. Whether it’s 1931 or 2020, macroeconomic conditions greatly affect the success of a building. 

Empire State on the Up and Up

Despite a rocky first few years for office occupancy, the Empire State Building soon found its footing as both a cultural and economic icon. Though the owners did not make a profit on the building until the 1950s, by the 1940s, the building was 98% occupied. One notable tenant of the 1940s was Timely Comics, the comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman. It was in the Empire State Building that Goodman published the superhero stories which would eventually evolve into what is known as Marvel today. 

The building steadily increased occupancy and gained notoriety throughout the 1930s and 1940s. However, there were two markers in the building’s early years that put it on the map as one of the most famous landmarks in New York City.  

Height of the Empire State Building 

From the moment it was completed in 1931, the Empire State Building claimed the title of “the tallest skyscraper in the world.” This title was held for 42 years, likely in part due to the onset of the Great Depression and the Second World War. In 1972, the World Trade Center’s North Tower surpassed the Empire State Building in height and took the title of the world’s tallest skyscraper. By the early 2000s, several other structures had surpassed both the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center for the title of tallest building in the world. After the September 11th attacks, the Empire State Building was once considered the tallest building in New York City; it kept this title until the erection of One World Trade in 2012. 

That the Empire State Building was able to market itself as “the world’s tallest skyscraper” from 1931 – 1972 did a lot for its success. The title afforded both tenants and the building a certain cache. Who wouldn’t want to say that their office building is so big it has its own zip code? 

KING KONG Filming and the Sale of the Empire State Building

On March 7th, 1933, the building received another legendary bit of marketing, this one by way of a giant gorilla-like beast on the loose from Skull Island. In the climax of the film, King Kong scales the Empire State Building, terrorizing New York City from 102 floors up, before falling to his death. It’s fitting that the film, which has been lauded for its groundbreaking use of special effects, used a building that was, at the time, a major achievement and pioneer in structural engineering. 

Both King Kong and the “world’s tallest building” title cemented the Empire State Building’s place in the concrete jungle. To this day, it remains one of the most iconic markers of Manhattan.    

Unfortunately, increased occupancy and building fame were not enough for Raskob, who listed it for sale in 1951. Purchased for $51 million, it was the highest price ever paid for a single structure at the time. The building would break its own record ten years later in 1961, when it was again sold at the new highest price paid for a single structure, this time for $65 million. Today the building is owned by the Empire State Realty Trust, a publicly traded real estate company.  

No matter the owner, the legacy of the Empire State Building is not going anywhere. On May 19th, 1981 the building was awarded Landmark Status from the New York City Preservation Commission. It has become the gold standard when describing the height and length of other structures globally. And in 1994, it was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

Lore and Legends of the Empire State Building

With every icon comes a good amount of gossip, noteworthy people, and… ghosts. The Empire State Building is no different. 

The Ghost of Evelyn Francis McHale

On May 1st, 1947 – exactly 16 years after the Empire State Building opened – 23-year-old Evelyn Francis McHale jumped to her death from the 86th Floor observatory. She landed on the roof of a United Nations limousine. Her death, which was captured by photography student Robert C. Wiles, was dubbed “The Most Beautiful Suicide” by Life Magazine. The photo of McHale was a sensation, even used by Andy Warhol in one of his prints. 

Rumor has it that McHale’s ghost still haunts the 86th-floor observation deck. An account from Gawker reports: “tourists at the Empire State Building spot a beautiful woman, dressed in ‘40s-style clothing, face streaked with tears, on the observation deck. They watch in horror as she jumps to her death, only to find… She was already dead.” 

The Seance of 1932

In the early days of (un)occupancy, the building’s desperate owners were willing to do anything in order to get their offices filled. That included a seance to contact the ghost of Thomas Edison. Led by a medium on the 82nd floor, the event was mainly a publicity stunt in hopes of drawing in more renters. 

Death By Penny? 

A famous urban myth about the Empire State Building is that “if one drops a penny off the top of the Empire State Building, it could kill someone or put a crater in the pavement.” In 2003, popular TV show Mythbusters put the theory to a test. Ultimately the myth was busted after the conclusion that a penny “cannot gain enough velocity to inflict lethal injury or put a crater into the pavement.” This did not, however, deter the Broadway musical Avenue Q from using the urban myth as a joke. In the musical, a character drops a penny off the side of the Empire State Building and inadvertently hits her rival, sending her into a coma! 

Paging Walter Hobbs

The Empire State Building makes a major appearance in the 2003 Christmas movie Elf. Chaos is wrecked upon the office of naughty book publisher Walter Hobbs, played by the late James Caan, when Buddy the Elf visits his father at work. The building is Buddy’s guiding light as he traverses from the North Pole to New York City, following a shaker globe with the building at the center. Not surprising that a Christmas Elf took such a liking to the building; though the design was actually made to reflect a pencil, if one were to press all of the elevator buttons at once, it bears a striking resemblance to a Christmas tree. 

TikTok and Taylor Swift 

In recent years, the Empire State Building has developed an impressive presence on TikTok. The building’s account often goes viral for making fun of other skyscrapers in New York City, making videos with celebrities, and its apparent love of Taylor Swift. On the night before the release of her highly anticipated re-recorded Red album in November of 2021, the building turned its lights red, and the corresponding TikTok got over 7 million views. 

Currently, the Empire State Building’s Tik Tok is run by two “Besties” who publish Gen Z-targeted content and personify the landmark to create major drama between nearby buildings and competing observatories such as The Edge.

@empirestatebldg WE RUN THIS CITY #empirestatebuilding #nyc #newyork #besties ♬ original sound – Random Memes and Stuff

Sleepless in Seattle

Lots of movies, TV shows, and novels have used the infamous observation deck as part of their story. Perhaps the most iconic, however, is Sleepless in Seattle. It’s the spot where star crossed lovers Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) and Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) finally meet to confess their feelings for each other on Valentines Day. Annie’s character (and the film’s writer, Norah Ephron) was inspired by the 1957 romance film An Affair to Remember. 

Unfortunately, in the latter lovers Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) and Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) do not get their happy ending at the top of the Empire State Building; Terry is struck by a car on her way to the building and never makes it to the observation deck.  

Empire State Building Run-Up

Some go to the top of the Empire State Building for love; others head up a bit of exercise. Since 1978, NYCRUNS has held a foot race at the building called the “Empire State Building Run-Up.” The route spans from the bottom of the building to the 86 floor, with runners sprinting up 1,576 stairs. According to the Empire State Building’s website, it’s “the world’s first and most famous tower race, and the fastest runners have covered the 86 floors in about 10 minutes.” The 2022 Run-Up date was on October 6th at 8pm. 

Who Owns The Empire State Building Today?

Since 2006, the ownership of the Empire State Building has been in the hands of Peter Malkin and his company Empire State Land Associates from Donald Trump and Hideki Yokoi for a sale of $57.5 million. Prior to that, Leona Helmsley also hand in the day to day operations

Visiting the Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is open 365 days a year, rain or shine. For observatory visits, tourists can head up early in the morning or after dark for nighttime views. The building offers group packages, specialty experiences, and even a VIP proposal package for the romantic types. For those looking for more than just a quick visit to the Empire State Building, both office and retail spaces are currently available for lease. The building is strictly commercial, so anyone hoping to call 20 W. 34th Street home will have to look elsewhere. 

From the very soil it sits on to top of the record-breaking tower, the Empire State Building is an unmistakable part of the soul of New York City. The building has modernized with the city, and the longer it stands, the more stories it holds and visitors it welcomes. It is a place that has seen the city through the best and worst of times, and stands tall as a reminder of what New York City is: weird, wonderful, and very, very big. 

The post The Complete History of the Empire State Building appeared first on CitySignal.

The Durst Organization’s Portfolio

The Durst Organization was founded in 1927 by Jewish immigrant Joseph Durst, a man whose humble beginnings led to quite extravagant ends. First a tailor, then a partner at a dress manufacturer in New York City, Durst began his property acquisition endeavors in 1915 using the profits from his manufacturing business. Most notable of his early purchases is the original Congregation Emanu-El, which was demolished in 1927 to make room for commercial developments. 

Over the course of nearly 100 years, Durst and his family built what is considered one of the most prominent real estate companies in New York City. Now run by Durst’s grandchildren, the organization holds claim to some of the city’s most impressive and in-demand properties. The family-run business prides itself on creating and managing “sustainable residential and commercial properties in which people live, work, and thrive.” 

Beyond its buildings, the Durst Organization co-founded The Model Organic Farm Foundation, the non-profit organization responsible for operating McEnroe Organic Farm – one of the largest organic farms in New York State. Seymour Durst is also credited with creating the National Debt Clock, “conceived to call attention to the soaring debt and each family’s share of it.” Today, the clock is located at Anita’s Way, in the through block between two Durst properties – One Bryant Park and 151 W. 42nd Street. 

The Durst Organization has properties in Manhattan, Queens, Philadelphia, and Northern Dutchess County. Though each building is unique, all boast sustainable designs, extreme attention to detail, and unique amenities for residents. CitySignal has ranked the Coolest 7 Durst Properties in New York City, based on where we’d most like to work and/or live. 

One World Trade 

Built on the northwest corner of the original World Trade Center site, One World Trade (formerly known as the Freedom Tower), is undoubtedly one of not only the Durst Organization’s coolest buildings, but also one of the country’s most significant structures. It is the tallest building in both the United States and the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest structure in the world. Built in 2012, it took the title of tallest building in New York City from the Empire State Building, which held it from 1931 – 1972, and then again from 2001 – 2012. At 1,776 feet tall, its height is a deliberate nod to the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. 

The building’s anchor tenant is Condé Nast. The publishing organization relocated their headquarters to One World Trade in 2014, moving from the Durst Orginzation’s One Five One building, where Condé Nast had been a tenant since 1999. One World Trade is also the home of Reddit and Bon Appetit.  

One of the most environmentally sustainable skyscrapers in the world, One World Trade has received a LEED Gold Certification and uses sustainable architecture features to reduce energy costs and minimize the building’s environmental impact. 

The building also boasts one of the best views in Manhattan, with the One World Observatory located on floors 100 – 102. At 1,268 feet, the three-story observation deck offers the highest vantage point in New York City. It is accessible through a side entrance or the Westfield shopping center, located on the lower floors of the building. 

One World Trade is a building of major importance for the country… and it’s also a really cool place to work, shop, and get a birds-eye-view of New York City. 

One Bryant Park 

Located at 1111 Avenue of the Americas, One Bryant Park – otherwise known as the Bank of America Tower – is another one of the Durst Organization’s most impressive properties. At 1,200 feet, it is the eighth-tallest building in New York City and the tenth-tallest building in the United States. Completed in 2009, the $1 billion project is a New York City landmark and an unmissable marker of Midtown. 

One of the building’s most exciting features is the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, a historic Broadway theatre with an impressive neo-Georgian facade. The theatre is currently home to the new Broadway musical & Juliet, which opened in November 2022. 

Broadway isn’t the only sight worth seeing at One Bryant Park. The building is notable for its glass “curtain wall” facade. Designed by architects Cook + Fox, the facade allows for lowered energy costs and usage and meets LEED Platinum sustainability standards. A unique and eye-catching design, the curtain wall allows the building to stand out without dwarfing its next-door neighbor, Bryant Park. 

While one writer in the Village Voice described the glass facade as “alien,” another described the building as a “psychological and economic lift to a city that was still reeling from the destruction of the World Trade Center.” Either way, it serves as a haven for tourists, employees, and commuters alike. 

VIA 57 West 

It’s hard to miss VIA 57 West, which resembles a distorted pyramid and boasts a steeply sloped facade angled towards the northeast. Located at 625 W 57th, the award-winning residential apartment complex is an unmissable marvel in the Durst collection of properties. 

The first New York project of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, the building’s sloped facade is said to resemble a sailboat crossing the Hudson River. According to The New York Times, the building was named VIA because the southbound West Side Highway “slopes down as drivers enter the city, right at the spot where the building is situated.” It’s seen as an entrance into Manhattan “via 57th.” Officially named VIA, the building has garnered quite a few alternative monikers: Pyramid, West 57th, W57, West57, and Tetrahedron. 

Beyond the design, the building is an incredible place to call home. Extra amenities include a swimming pool, a library, basketball court, movie theater, and a poker room. Located at 11th and 57th, the building may seem a bit far from transit hubs, but that issue is solved by the exclusive complimentary resident shuttle. There is also on-site parking for those with cars. 

VIA 57 West is an architectural marvel and an apartment building worth drooling over. 

One Five One 

The Durst Organization’s One Five One building may be better known as 4 Times Square, the Nasdaq MarketSite, the H&M Building, or maybe simply as “the Condé Nast building.” Opened in 1999, the 52-story skyscraper is a staple of Times Square and one of the earliest examples of green design for a skyscraper. 

Though the corporation has since moved to One World Trade, publisher Condé Nast was one of the building’s flagship tenants when it opened in 1999. Notable about the Condé Nast tenancy is the ‘Condé Nast cafeteria,’ which was designed by architect Frank Gehry. Gehry’s first project as an architect in New York City, the cafeteria was as fabulous as the employees eating in it. It cost an estimated $30 – $35 million to build. After Condé left One Five One in 2014, it sat empty for five years but was reopened as a tenant-only food hall in 2018. 

Some other significant early tenants of the One Five One building were law firm Skadden Arps and Disney’s ESPN Zone restaurant. Skadden Arps left the building for Manhattan West in 2020, and the ESPN Zone closed as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. 

One tenant showing no signs of relocating: Nasdaq’s MarketSite, which has laid claim to the $37 million LED sign outside of One Five One since 1999, also leases space inside the building. MarketSite expanded their lease to 180,000 square feet in May 2019. 

Besides MarketSite, One Five One’s most visible tenant is currently retailer H&M, who signed a commercial lease with the building in 2012… provided they could put panels with the ‘H&M’ logo atop the skyscraper. The panels certainly make the One Five One building hard to miss!    

SVEN 

One of the Durst Organization’s most exciting properties is the Sven apartment complex, located at 29-59 Northern Boulevard in Long Island City, Queens. Designed by Handel Architects, the 71-story mixed-use tower is a development worth nothing. 

With a gleaming, curved facade, the building is an eye-catching addition to Long Island City. While the mirrored tower represents the future, the building’s foundation is an homage to the past. The Sven building is located at the historic site of the former Bank of Manhattan Building. Though no longer operating as a bank, The Queens Clock Tower structure has been seamlessly incorporated into the base of the building. Like all Durst properties, Sven is sustainably built and run, focusing on environmentally responsible use of the elements water, earth, energy, and air. 

The building offers ample amenities, including a fitness center, an outdoor pool, poker lounge, library, and screening room. There are usually a handful of available apartments ranging from studio to three bedrooms and boast features, including (but not limited to) up-to-date appliances and floor-to-ceiling windows. 

A quick subway from Manhattan, Sven offers residents a different view of the New York CIty skyline… from across the East River, 71 stories high.

Historic Front Street

What’s interesting about Historic Front Street is that it isn’t just one property – it’s an entire city block. According to the website, “Historic Front Street consists of 11 restored 18th-century buildings and three modern buildings on Front Street between Beekman Street and Peck Slip.” In line with Durst Organization values, it is the largest historic preservation project in New York to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of its buildings.

For those looking to live at Historic Front Street, the Finacial District development has 95 rarely available rental apartments, ranging from studios to penthouses. There are also commercial offerings, with 13 ground-floor retail spaces for rent. Though interiors are ready for redesign, all storefronts must comply with historic landmark requirements to “maintain the cohesive neighborhood look and feel.” The facades are old, but the shops are new: some residents include Jack’s Coffee, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream, and Paris Cafe.  

To visit Manhattan’s Seaport neighborhood is to travel back in time to the 1800s, as so much of the area has been preserved. It’s a great place to work, shop, and live! 

EŌS Nomad

Though not a commercial office building, the Durst Organization’s EŌS Nomad apartment complex makes for a great place to work from home. Located at 100 W 31st Street, the 47-story glass tower offers stunning studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. 

The units are a renter’s dream, boasting everything from basic features like a washer/dryer to the more exciting bonus of floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Where EOS takes its crown, however, is in its amenities. The building offers an indoor pool, a golf simulator, a roof deck, fitness center, half-court basketball court, and a 24-hour concierge in the lobby. Not to mention the impressive location, right in the heart of the city. 

Sustainably and seamlessly designed, EŌS Nomad is not to be slept on… unless you’re renting an apartment in the building! You can find availabilities here. 

The Durst Difference

Though these are the seven ‘coolest’ properties, they’re not all of the residences and commercial buildings in the Durst portfolio. All of Durst Organization’s buildings are curated with the care and conscience that can only come from a family-run company. 

The post Coolest 7 Durst Properties in NYC  appeared first on CitySignal.

On December 7th, 2022, eight months after the initial announcement, Citizens and LISC NY gathered community members and press once again. This time, it was to announce the 22 minority-owned small business recipients of the “Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund.”

Details of the Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund

More than 115 small business owners applied for the grant, which was made accessible to all via a sweepstakes lottery.

In order to apply, minority-owned businesses were required to have a storefront location within the boundaries of Chinatown, a current active lease with a minimum 3-year term remaining, have operated in Chinatown for a minimum of 1-year, and to show a maximum of $500,000 in sales on the most recent tax return. Business owners also were required to provide a photo ID.

All finalists received hands-on, in-person technical support from Renaissance Economic Development Corporation (EDC) staff to submit their application materials. This outreach was essential, as it helped get the resources to those who need it most, and might not know how to access them. In Renaissance, the Renewal Fund had a community-based partner who could help get the word out.

Of the businesses that applied, 75% were run by immigrants who speak limited English. 22 businesses were selected as grant recipients, 17 of which were owned by low-income individuals. At $10,000 each, these grants will help retain an average of four full-time employees, with 88 jobs held by minority, immigrant, and/or low- and moderate- income community residents.

“Entrepreneurship is a key path to closing the racial wealth gap…” said Valerie White, Senior Executive Director of LISC NY “…these meaningful grants will help ensure the stability and long-term vitality of deserving small businesses.”

Continuation of Chinatown Nights

Chinatown Nights was launched in the summer of 2021 by Think!Chinatown, a not-for-profit, place-based organization dedicated to Manhattan Chinatown, working at the intersection of storytelling, arts, and neighborhood engagement.Think!Chinatown conceived Chinatown Nights as a solution for the struggling community, which had been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In its first year, the initiative’s goal was to enliven the community, drive business, and make the streets feel safer at night – residents had reported a fear of being out after dark because no one else was.

In its second year, Chinatown Nights found a sponsor in Citizens. The sponsorship enabled the event to expand into the Chinatown Night Market, located at Forsyth Plaza. Designed to provide support to small micro-immigrant / AAPI owned businesses, the event has quickly proved to offer that and beyond, turning an empty plaza into a culturally relevant space where the community can come together.

According to Amy Chin, President of the Board of Think!Chinatown, the Night Market – fueled by “volunteers, donations, and good will” –  brought thousands of people into the neighborhood. The Night Market has closed for the season, but it’s not the end of the event: Citizens has re-upped their sponsorship for the next year. The next season of Chinatown Nights will start in May 2023.

When asked what Citizens’ metric for success of the market was, Citizens Bank Vice President of Partnerships & Programs Amie Kershaw said, “I went to the night market in July and it was wall-to-wall people. It was the definition of a community event.” Seeing the positive impact on Chinatown was all she, and Citizens, needed to determine it a meaningful investment. “This is where we want to be, bringing everyone together. That, from a Citizens perspective, is how we want to show up as a community.”

 

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Chinatown Renewal Fund Grant Recipients

With some winners in attendance, the press conference closed with the announcement of the 22 recipients of the Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund. As the list was read, the joy in the room was palpable, a celebration of community, culture, and hope.

The businesses receiving grants cover every industry, from food to retail to personal care services. The full list can be found at the bottom of this article.

Betty Chung, the owner of Simple Eldridge Inc. (109 Eldridge St.), spoke on the significance of these grants. For many small businesses that missed out on PPP loans due to language barriers and the sheer amount of work required, no-strings-attached grants such as these are not only unheard of, but also life changing. Simple Eldridge plans to pay it forward and use the boost as a way to give back to the community.

According to Chung, the pandemic has made it hard to hire chefs. “People have switched jobs or left Manhattan and they’re reluctant to take the subway, so businesses are closing because they don’t have staff.” Simple Eldridge looks to provide a solution through their bottled sauces, which can be sold to restaurant owners and eliminate some heavy lifting usually required in a kitchen. The sauces are “easy to use and versatile,” allowing restaurants to “control consistency and quality of food.”

For both business owners and community members, this money is empowering. In line with Citizens’ approach to the Chinatown Night Market, the primary goal of the grants is to help businesses with no strings attached.

The best way to support the recipients of these grants is to visit and support the businesses. Go enjoy some excellent food, try a delicious delicacy from a bakery, get some laundry or printing done in the neighborhood.

List of Grant Recipients for the Chinatown Renewal Fund

28 Ming’s Caffe

• Address: 28 Canal St, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 6-9 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

28 Vegetarian Dim Sum Restaurant Inc.

• Address: 24 Pell St #1, New York, 10013
• Opened: 10-15 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

46 Mott Street Bakery

• Address: 46 Mott St, New York, NY 10013
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

American Kimberly International Group

• Address: 28 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013
• Opened: 6-9 years
• Business Type: Personal care services (including salons)

Audrey Bakery & Café II Inc

• Address: 12 Chatham Square, New York, NY 10038
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

AvantGarde Fusion

• Address: 167 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

• Opened: Opened 1-2 years

• Business Type: Clothing / Apparel Store

Café Round K

• Address: 78 Canal St, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 1-2 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

City Street Bakery Corp

• Address: 85A Bayard Street, New York, NY 10013
• Opened: 6-9 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

Double Crispy Bakery 1

• Address: 230 Grand St, New York, NY 10013
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

ESK Laundromat Inc.

• Address: 209 Madison St, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 6-9 years
• Business Type: Dry cleaning and laundry services

Golden Day Business Inc.

• Address: 90 Bowery St, New York, NY 10013

• Opened: 1-2 years
• Business Type: Legal Services

Golden Steamer Inc.

• Address: 143A Mott St, New York, NY 10013
• Opened: 10-15 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

High Cut Beauty Salon

• Address: 83 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013
• Opened: 15 years or more
• Business Type: Personal care services (including salons)

Jin’s Printing

• Address: 114 Madison St, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: other

King Jade Garden Inc.

• Address: 141 E 55th St, New York, NY 10022
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

Ludlow Laundry Inc.

• Address: 67 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Dry cleaning and laundry services

Madison Supreme Laundromat

• Address: 80 Madison St, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Dry cleaning and laundry services

Make It One Inc.

• Address: 150 E Broadway, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

New Cameron Bakery

• Address: 242 Canal St, New York, NY 10013
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

New China Beauty Salon Inc.

• Address: 15 Doyers St # C, New York, NY 10013
• Opened: 6-9 years
• Business Type: Other

Simple Eldridge Inc.

• Address: 109 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 6-9 years
• Business Type: Restaurant or Other Eating Place

YongFeng Chen

• Address: 118A Madison St, New York, NY 10002
• Opened: 3-5 years
• Business Type: Other

The post Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund Announces 22 Winners appeared first on CitySignal.

Snyder made the city’s schools safer, healthier, and generally more conducive to a productive learning environment. Now over 100 years later, it’s clear that the lessons to be gleaned from Snyder’s career and legacy extend far beyond those of structural design and architecture; his passion for improving the educational system teaches us quite a bit about humanity, as well. 

The Job of a Lifetime

Charles B.J. Snyder was born in 1860 in Stillwater, New York. He studied architecture at the Cooper Union in New York and began his professional career in the 1880s. For years, Snyder studied under master carpenter William E. Bishop. Little is known about Bishop or the working relationship between the duo, but it can be assumed Snyder spent that time mastering his trade and honing his skills.

This unique educational background likely contributed to Snyder’s success as a school architect. It was one equally as influenced by formal schooling, where he learned the major styles of the time – Beaux-Arts, Gothic, Dutch Colonial – and as it was by the practical, hands-on work he’d performed with Bishop. 

Snyder was only thirty years old when elected Superintendent of Buildings by the New York City Board of Education in 1891. Though he was a man well versed in his craft, innovating the public schools – over capacity and struggling to keep up with the city’s exploding population – would not be an easy task. But Synder was up to the job. 

By the late 1800s, the reputation of the New York City public school system was fraught and flawed. Snyder was hired to take over for the somewhat crooked architect George Debevoise, who had suddenly resigned after accusations that he’d conspired with contractors to use cheaper materials on school projects. Whether or not the allegation against Debevoise was true, the writing was on the wall – or rather, the cracks were in the foundation. Debevoise’s buildings were called “a civic disgrace” by the Real Estate Record and Guide in 1893.

To add insult to injury, the late 1800s were a boom time for New York; every inch of the city was being developed into a bustling metropolis. The cost of land was at a premium, and massive developments were dwarfing the smaller structures. As a result, the physical space allocated for new school buildings was minimal, and the existing ones suffered the consequences of nearby construction: Snyder cited lack of light and proper airflow as major issues in the schools. 

It’s not surprising that during New York City’s Gilded Age – a time when the rich got richer and the poor were pushed into poverty – there lacked an emphasis on education… for those who could not afford private school, that is. Charles B.J. Snyder set out to change that. In his eyes, school buildings served as civic monuments for a better society. He put stately schools in underserved neighborhoods, working to ensure that the privilege of a healthy education was not something one had to pay for. 

One of his first projects as Superintendent was Public School 23, located today at 70 Mulberry Street. Debevoise favored the Romanesque style for his buildings, and though Snyder deviated from that form in his later structures, he designed PS 23 in line with that architectural style. 

In the basement of PS 23, Snyder built an auditorium; this was part of his plan to provide community centers and local meeting places within school buildings. PS 23 was decommissioned as a school in the mid-1970s and reopened as a community center. In 2020, a fire devastated the landmark, but the city has pledged to rebuild and revitalize the building, investing $170 million into the project, which is slated to finish in 2027. 

A larger budget, smaller class sizes, and a supportive President of the Board of Education (Robert Maclay) meant that Snyder was able to introduce basic but necessary improvements to the school buildings. Those included steel frame construction, indoor toilets, mechanical ventilation, and large windows. Despite the improvements, Snyder faced the same problem that had plagued Debevoise for years: how to create a quiet space for learning in unfavorable locations, as the plots allocated for schools were typically on noisey street corners.

Inspiration struck when Snyder went on a research trip to Paris in 1895. He was intrigued by the design of the Gothic-style Hotel Cluny de Paris, which was set back from the street via a courtyard. Snyder mused that this design, which ensured light and air could reach the building and offered respite from city chaos, could work for New York City’s schools. Thus his signature H-plan was born. 

The first school built in this model was PS 165, completed in 1898. Located at 234 West 109th Street, it still stands and operates as a Pre-K through 5th-grade school today. 

School Is In Session

The H-plan design allowed Snyder to streamline the building process and enabled him to complete between 5 and 15 buildings per year. A reorganization of the Deputy Superintendents ensured that each stakeholder reported directly to Snyder and was only responsible for a specific portion of the building (design and planning, heating and ventilation, furniture, etc.). Synder fluctuated between various styles in his work – Beaux-Arts, Jacobean, Dutch Colonial, Gothic. Some buildings exactly followed the H-plan design; some strayed from the blueprint. 

The system was a well-oiled machine, and it garnered exceptional results.  

Dubbed the “mother of High Schools,” Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn has been operating as a school since 1787. The original school building was deemed a historical landmark in 1966 and is now known as the Erasmus Hall Museum. Surrounding the museum is Snyder’s school, designed in Modern Gothic style and built between 1904 and 1940. Today it operates as an educational campus for five separate schools. The storied center boasts a long list of alumni, including the legendary Barbra Streisand. 

PS 17 was built between 1897 and 1898 at 190 Fordham Street. The building lives on as the City Island Nautical Museum, an exhibit dedicated to preserving the city’s nautical heritage. 

Snyder’s Legacy 

These are just a few of the countless still-standing structures that Snyder designed. His influence touched every corner of New York City, from the peak of the Bronx to the depths of Brooklyn to the whole of Manhattan. His work was prolific, and its impact on the community is immeasurable. Each of these buildings was designed with the intention of bringing light and learning to underserved communities and students. 

The public education system has always needed champions fighting to make it better. Snyder was one of those champions, creating community buildings with the same care and quality that the Gilded Age elite built their extravagant mansions. He carved out safe spaces for the greater good, and many still exist today. 

What would the New York City public school system look like without CBJ Snyder? Would the majestic monuments still have been built? Or would those buildings have instead festered in the dark, without fresh air, afterthoughts stuck on unfavorable street corners? 

In “The Battle for the Slum,” muckraking journalist Jacob Riis wrote of Snyder’s schools, saying, “he does that which no other architect before his time ever did or tried; he builds them beautiful. In him New York has one of those rare men who open windows for the soul of their time.” 

Snyder didn’t just build schools for the community; he built a future for New York. 

The post Charles B.J. Snyder: The Man Who Built New York City’s Schools appeared first on CitySignal.

The History of Gothic Revival Architecture

Gothic Revival is predated by the Gothic style of architecture, which originated in Europe in the middle ages. When the building of churches and synagogues began to gain momentum, architects sought a design that could duly contrast the “magnitude of God” against the humility of humanity. Thus the Gothic style, in all its ornate and extravagant glory, was born. The first credited structure in this style is the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis in France, which is estimated to have been built between the eleventh and twelfth century. Throughout Europe, this building served as a template for numerous other structures – including churches, palaces, and castles – until the age of the Renaissance, during which Gothic architecture fell out of style.

It wasn’t until the Romanticism of the eighteenth century that Gothic architecture was once again appreciated in Europe. Inspired by an enthusiastic sentimentality for the medieval era, the discarded Gothic style was given new life, and aptly renamed Gothic Revival or Neo-Gothic. The two names refer to the same style and can be used interchangeably. The first European structure credited in the Gothic Revival style is Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill House, built in Twickenham, London, in the late 1700s. 

Similar to the social movements of the time, by the early nineteenth-century excitement for the Gothic Revival style spread throughout much of the world, ultimately making its way across the pond to the United States. 

One of the earliest known Gothic Revival buildings in the U.S. is New Haven’s Trinity Church, designed in the early 1800s by Ithiel Town. This landmark is presumed to have inspired the Neo-Gothic movement across much of the country… including New York City. 

Gothic Revival in New York City

Gothic Revival had its heyday in New York from 1830 to 1890. Interestingly, that time period in New York City saw a variety of architectural styles, including but not limited to Gothic Revival, Federal, and Greek Revival. Similar to its residents, New York City’s architecture can often feel akin to a melting pot: many different cultures and styles interweaving to create a unique and eye-catching cityscape.

Presently, though Gothic Revival is no longer in vogue, examples of this style can still be seen throughout NYC. Many churches, colleges, and urban high schools are excellent examples of the architecture. As such, upper Manhattan boasts a particularly impressive amount of buildings in this style. Hamilton Heights and Morningside Heights – home to City College and Columbia University, respectively – are hotbeds for Gothic Revival. 

Established in the mid-1800s and built up throughout the early 1900s, The City College of New York has done an excellent job at preserving its history, rich with Neo-Gothic architecture. Pictured above is the cathedral-like Shepard Hall, the first building to be erected on the Hamilton Heights campus. Built between 1903 and 1907, the building still serves as a major hub for CCNY today. 

Construction on The Cathedral of St. John the Divine began in 1892, and though the crossing opened in 1909, the building has never technically been “completed.” The incomplete nature is largely due to stylistic changes and unfinished plans – initially the structure was designed in Byzantine Revival and Roman Revival styles, but was switched to Gothic Revival in 1909. Evidence of all three approaches can be noted throughout both the interior and exterior of the Cathedral. 

Nicknamed “the Cathedral of Commerce,” the Woolworth Building, completed in 1913, is one of the most famous skyscrapers in the country. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert, the structure is hailed as an excellent example of Neo-Gothic style, boasting turrets, ornate vaulted ceilings, and Gothic-style roofing. The Woolworth Building was the tallest structure in New York City until 1930.   

Located on the Upper East Side, the Seventh Regiment Armory, or Park Avenue Armory, was designed in the Gothic Revival fashion in 1880. The building, which once served as headquarters for the Seventh New York Militia Regiment, now houses the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy, a nonprofit cultural institution that presents unique visual and performance art. 

Though perhaps not as extravagant as other buildings, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension is another example of where Gothic Revival can still be seen today. Built in the mid-1800s, Greenpoint’s oldest church features simple yet strong characteristics of the style: stained glass windows and pointed arches are prevalent throughout.  

No matter how big or small the structure, buildings designed with Gothic Revival in mind serve as both a picture into the past and an inspiration for the future. The style carries stories dating back hundreds of years, memories of a moment when the romantics were revered, and elegance was enlightening. 

On the merits of the approach, American Landscape Architect Charles Jencks put it best when he was quoted saying the following: “If you look at Gothic detailing right down to the bottom of a column or the capital of a column, it’s a small version of the whole building; that’s why, like dating the backbones of a dinosaur, a good historian can look at a detail of a Gothic building and tell you exactly what the rest of the building was, and infer the whole from the parts.”

The era may have ended, but the legacy of Gothic Revival remains strong in New York. Walk through the city and look for the identifiable features – ornate stained glass, elegant pointed arches, vaulted ceilings – and it may surprise you how easy it is to spot when you know what you’re looking for. 

The post History of Gothic Revival Architecture in NYC  appeared first on CitySignal.