WXY’s Claire Weisz, 2/22 Cocktails & Conversation
A Boost in Federal Funds Expedite Hurricane Sandy Recovery Efforts
Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (Courtesy of David Sundberg/ESTO)
Now that Congress has passed the $51 billion emergency aid package, Mayor Bloomberg is forging ahead with the recovery plans. The City will set aside $1.77 billion in federal funds dedicated to rebuilding homes, businesses, public housing and infrastructure that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Bloomberg did, however, warn that it could likely take a few months for the programs “to be approved and implemented.” Since the storm, the city, in conjunction with FEMA, has helped homeowners in New York through its Rapid Repairs Program. Read More
After Hurricane Sandy, Thousands of Buildings Added to FEMA’s New Flood Maps
Damage from Hurricane Sandy. (David Sundberg / ESTO)
In post-Hurricane Sandy New York, it looks like Zone A is expanding, and stretching beyond waterfront properties to encompass buildings farther inland. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released preliminary new maps on Monday revealing that an additional 35,000 homes and buildings are now listed in flood zones. Business and homeowners included in these new zones will likely see their insurance rates rise.
Restoration of Brooklyn’s 3,200-Seat Loew’s Kings Theater Underway
Inside Loew’s Kings Theater. (Courtesy NYC Mayor’s Office)
The lights on the Loew’s Kings Theater’s marquee have been dark for over 35 years since the last showing of Islands in the Stream in 1977. In fact, the entire king-size, 3,200-seat, French-Baroque movie palace is looking quite dim these days, much of its ornate plasterwork worn, damaged, or missing from years of decay and neglect and its terra-cotta facade in need of cleaning. City officials had to string ropes of temporary construction lights through the still grandiose, if a little shabby, lobby, just to make the announcement on Wednesday that Brooklyn’s largest indoor theater is coming back to life in a big way thanks to $93.9 million in new investment from public and private sources.
Ray LaHood will stay on as U.S. Secretary of Transportation for President Obama’s second term, a reversal from statements he made last year. Bloomberg is reporting that LaHood said he would be “sticking around for a while” during an inauguration ball last night, but he and a DOT spokesperson declined to elaborate or say how long he might remain with the administration. LaHood has been a strong proponent of high speed rail, among other forward-thinking transportation concepts gaining traction in cities across the country. He said recently at Chicago’s Urban Forum, “High-speed rail is coming to America. There’s no stopping it. We are not going back.”
Manhattan West’s Railyard-Spanning Platform Breaks Ground
Manhattan West. (Courtesy Brookfield)
Manhattan’s far west side is about to become one of the busiest construction sites in the country. Last Tuesday morning, officials gathered at the corner of 9th Avenue and West 33rd Street to celebrate the second major groundbreaking in the Hudson Yards District, Brookfield Properties’ trio of new SOM-designed towers comprising the Manhattan West development to be built over a large rail yard serving Penn Station. The $4.5 billion project’s first phase, construction of the north portion of the railroad-spanning platform that will eventually support development, is now underway, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speculated that the second half of the platform could be underway in coming months. Excavation has been ongoing since the fall of 2012.
New York City Breaks Ground on High Bridge Restoration
(Courtesy New Yorkers for Parks)
Officials broke ground today on the long anticipated restoration of New York’s High Bridge connecting the Bronx with Manhattan. Built in 1848 and today the city’s oldest bridge, the 1,200-foot-long span had long been a popular strolling bridge, even making an appearance in Edith Wharton’s 1913 novel Custom of the Country. The landmarked bridge was closed to the public in the 1970s, but after construction wraps up on the $61 million rehabilitation, strolling New Yorkers and bicyclists can once again cross high above the Harlem River—116 feet—and connect with the city’s growing waterfront Greenway. (See also: Photos of High Bridge before renovation.)
Improvements include pedestrian safety measures like accessibility ramps, viewing platforms, and new lighting. An eight-foot-tall cable mesh fence to prevent jumpers and throwing trash will also line each side, a point that drew criticism from some in the community who believe it’s unnecessary and will spoil views. In a statement released at the groundbreaking ceremony, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called High Bridge “one of our city’s great treasures.” He continued, “It will bring people here from all over the five boroughs, and even all over the world, to see some of the most spectacular views in the city.”
Bloomberg Businessweek Design 2013
World-renowned designers and creative executives across a variety of disciplines, such as architecture, graphic design, robotics, city planning, 3D printing, data visualization, genomics, corporate branding, and more, will break out of their silos to discuss the state of the industry, their creative process, and ways in which design can make the world better, smarter, cooler, and more innovative.
In December 2009, Bloomberg purchased Businessweek magazine and named Josh Tyrangiel the editor. Since then, the magazine has undergone a complete reconception and redesign, helmed by creative director Richard Turley. In 2012, the magazine earned the prestigious general excellence award for general interest publications from the American Society of Magazine Editors, Magazine of the Year award from the Society of Publication Designers, multiple awards from AIGA, D&AD and the Art Director Club, plus a Webby award for the best news-tablet app. Josh Tyrangiel was also named Ad Age‘s Editor of the Year. The magazine was featured in the “Graphic Design Now In Production” exhibition at the Walker Gallery, Minneapolis, and in “Designs of the Year” at the Design Museum in London. Reuters media critic Jack Shafer named Bloomberg Businessweek “the best magazine in America” while Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs, called the magazine’s Jobs memorial “The best issue of any kind produced in the past five years.”
Over the last few months, there’s been much talk about rebuilding smarter after Hurricane Sandy to prepare for the next super storm. But one alternative has gone under the radar until today’s State of the State Address when New York Governor Cuomo proposed the Recreate NY-Home Buyout Program that would provide funds to buy out homeowners who wish to sell their properties and relocate elsewhere. Capital New York reported that a resident estimated that 60 percent of his Fox Beach community in Staten Island wants a buyout, and through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, that just might be possible. But for a buyout to happen, it requires a several-step process that would need the “Bloomberg administration to petition the state for grant money.” If Cuomo follows through on his proposal, residents of Fox Beach and other waterfront communities who want to relocate might get their wish. (Photo: David Sundberg/ESTO)
Making Room: New York Micro-Apartments on Display Beginning January 23
Rendering of the “Making Room” exhibition. (Courtesy Resource Furniture)
Think you could live in just 325 square feet? While Manhattan is already famous for its cramped quarters, micro-apartments are poised to take space efficiency to the next level with Murphy beds lurking behind sofas and roll-away walls concealing closets. You’ll have a chance to test drive one of the tiny abodes at a new exhibition, Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers, organized by the Museum of the City of New York and the Citizens Housing & Planning Council.
Bloomberg Looking Up Again at Richard Rogers’ Three World Trade
3 World Trade. (Courtesy Silverstein Properties)
Almost a year ago, reports surfaces that, without an anchor tenant, the 80-story Three World Trade tower by Pritzker-winner Richard Rogers of Rogers, Stirk, Harbour + Partners would be lopped off at seven stories. Without an anchor tenant signing up for at least 400,000 square feet of space in the $300 million tower, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey will not guarantee the project’s debt. Mayor Bloomberg is optimistic, though, telling the New York Post last week that the tower is “closer than anyone realizes” to landing that all-important tenant, which could be GroupM, a subsidiary of advertising giant WPP. The Post said the company is interested in 550,000 square feet of the tower’s 2.8 million total square feet. If a deal is signed and construction continues, the tower could be complete in 2015.
Bloomberg also delivered the not-unexpected news that Norman Foster’s 88-story Two World Trade tower will likely remain a stump for the near future. SOM’s One World Trade and Fumihiko Maki’s Four World Trade are expected to be finished by the end of the year. In the meantime, take a look back at Silverstein’s blockbuster video rendering of the complete World Trade Center site.
New York City Looks to Extend East River Ferry Service Through 2019
East River Ferry service. (Branden Klayko / AN)
After launching a year-and-a-half ago, New York City’s East River Ferry service, has wildly surpassed ridership estimates and Mayor Bloomberg is looking to extend the initial three-year trial period to 2019. So far, more than 1.6 million passengers have paid the $4 fare (or $5 if you take your bike) to ride on the fleet of 149-passenger and 399-passenger boats along the East River between Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Governors Island (the NYC Economic Development Corporation predicted that 1.3 million would ride the service in its entire three-year pilot). The ferry pilot program was launched to promote economic development along the city’s waterfront, and has been seen as a boon to such waterfront projects as the Williamsburg Edge. The city has issued an RFP for a future ferry operator to take over once the current contract with BillyBey Ferry Company expires in 2014.
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