A Look Inside SJP’s West Village Brownstone

http://video.vogue.com/watch/vogue-diaries-73-questions-with-sarah-jessica-parker

A great, quirky interview with this infamous New Yorker.

One57’s Park Hyatt Opening August 28th

Gary Barnett’s super tall and super expensive (super everything for that matter) mixed use tower on 57th Street is home to multi-million dollar condos as well as the Park Hyatt Hotel.  According to Curbed, the hotel is slated for an August 28th opening with rooms STARTING at $855/night.  If this tower can successfully pull everything off, it will truly be an enclave for the one percent.   

 

Million Dollar Marble For Billionaire Developer Gary Barnett

Take a quick look inside the Italian quarry where One57’s marble originated from. Super high standards for New York’s newest super-tall skyscraper.

Watch The World React To Beyoncé’s Newest Album Release

This Map of Beyoncé-Related Tweets in Real Time After the Album Dropped Is Flawless

This map shows the 1.2 million tweets that were sent out within the first 12-hours of the Beyonce’s fifth studio album’s release – and then some. The album’s incredible success was made possible today thanks in part to the power of social media. If you are looking for the definition of a viral marketing campaign success story, look no further than Mrs. Carter.

MAP: Renters vs. Owners – Where Are They & How Does New York Compare

Curbed.com recently pulled census data showing just how many New Yorkers – all 8,336,697 of them – own their apartments. Not surprisingly, the percentage was significantly under the surrounding area and national averages. Just 32.6% of New Yorkers own property. Manhattan chimed in with the lowest ownership rate, while the other boroughs reported slightly higher ownership rates, especially on the fringes of New York City proper.

A high rental population comes as the price of real estate in New York keeps climbing out of control. Many would be home buyers simply cannot afford the million dollar price tag that comes with almost every Manhattan listing. In addition, a population like that of New York City is significantly more fluid. With so many transplants moving into the city not knowing if or how long they will stay in New York, renting is clearly the next best answer. The map can be expanded outward to include the entire country. Take a look at everything here: http://www.census.gov/censusexplorer/censusexplorer.html

Pretty interesting information – as renting becomes more and more popular in the United States, expect home ownership to continue to decline.

PHOTO: Second Avenue Subway Taking Shape Quickly (via @trdny)

The Second Avenue Subway project has been either proposed/in planning for almost a century now.  it appears that work is finally starting to take shape as the largest subway expansion in over 50 years passes some significant milestones.  Mayor Bloomberg expressed his both optimism and dismay with the project’s slow progress.  While there is a “50/50 chance [he] will see the subway come to fruition,” Phase 1 has a completion date of December 2016.  While a significant amount of work still remains, a clear foundation and infrastructure has been completed as a rough outline of the project takes shape. The project reached a milestone earlier this year after wrapping up all blasting for the initial Phase 1 (out of four total segments).

Assuming work continues on schedule, (which surprisingly enough, has been the case for the past four years now…) Phase 1 will extend the Q train across 63rd Street up to 95th Street three years from now.  Phase 2 will extend the Q train all the way up to 125th Street.  Phase 3 will be the longest segment  and will create – the T line – running from 63rd and Second Avenue down to Houston Street.  The fourth and final phase will extend the T line down to Hanover Square at the bottom of Manhattan.  

All in all, this project will eventually come to revolutionize the East Side.  Look for an increase in real estate prices as the project nears its completion date.  Not only will noise and other construction complaints begin to subside, but foot traffic, local business development, and of course access to an entirely new train route will bring large amounts into this area of Manhattan.  As the project moves further downtown, expect areas in Midtown East, Alphabet City, and the Lower East Side to benefit as well.  Granted the  entire project does not have a completion date…these changes are most certainly off in the distant future.  Hopefully work will continue on schedule!

“Harlem To Become America’s Largest Free Wi-Fi Hotspot” via @Gothamist

Harlem will soon become the United States’ largest free wireless zone.  The now five-year-old plan being rolled out in three phases, eventually giving over 80,000 Harlem residents (13,000 public housing residents) access to the internet.  

I feel that this is nothing short of incredible.  WiFi or access to the internet is something so many of us take for granted today.  Granted it isn’t fun paying the $50/month, but I would not have it any other way.  Simply put, we are living in a world where you must have internet access.  For better or for worse, we have reached a point where internet has become a basic human right.  So much so that this WiFi hotspot is actually just compliance with U.N. law.  Whether it’s our phones, pcs, tablets, watches, clocks, TVs, lights, or basically any other 21st century product, internet access has an important part to play.  

Hopefully this pilot program can be expanded to cover the entire city.  In a world where cities are in fierce competition for attracting young, smart, and talented citizens, the right to internet access would certainly build a competitive edge.  Not only will individuals be attracted to a WiFi city, the very residents themselves would be guaranteed access to a tool used in every form of business, education, etc. today.

For the entire Gothamist article, click the link here.

Gentrification Complete – Williamsburg Finally Gets A Starbucks

Believe it or not, Starbucks still does not have a location in Williamsburg.  After years and years of gentrification, it appears that the tipping point has finally been reached.  The coffee shop will soon call 405-409 Union Avenue home (a few steps away from the Metropolitan subway stop).

For more info on the story, check out EaterNY’s article.

 

MTA Made A Timelapse Video Showing 50,000 Runners Starting The NYC Marathon

Taken from Business Insider, this video captures all 50,304 runners who finished the marathon earlier this month. It is quiet amazing and definitely worth the three minutes.

What New York May Look Like In 2033

These are all planned developments that have either started construction, or are well into the stages of development/planning.  Very cool things headed to this city – Penn Station may be a little bit of a stretch among others, but the general idea is heading in the right direction.