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After Sandy

After Sandy

Building Sand Castles: Storm-Resistant Designs for Far Rockaway Revealed

By Kim Velsey 7/18/13 3:23pm

Seeding Office's design includes a wavy boardwalk and windmills.

Now that question raised repeatedly in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy—should we be re-building or developing New York’s storm-ravaged waterfront at all—has largely been answered in the affirmative (with the notable exception of several neighborhoods in Staten Island where the city bought out many residents), the city now faces the question of how.

While Mayor Bloomberg’s idea-packed, 432-page A Stronger, More Resilient New York plan covers all the bases and then some (ahem, SeaPort City), the unveiling of the four finalists for the FAR ROC Design Competition adds some new ideas to the mix. The competition, which the city launched in April, resulted in 117 proposals for Arverne East, a massive oceanfront parcel in Far Rockaway that is slated for a future affordable housing development. And while the city is unlikely to adopt any of the proposals whole hog (though it would be fascinating if they did), a number of elements may well be incorporated into the 80-acre development, as well as many others around the city. Read More

After Sandy

Tenants In Sandy-Damaged Buildings Protest Landlord-Friendly Rent Reduction Policy

By Kim Velsey 3/22/13 5:33pm

Sandy is still causing headaches. Bureaucratic ones.

After Hurricane Sandy, rent-stabilized tenants living in damaged buildings with diminished services were told—and believed—that they would be able to get rent reductions for the entire time they were without services.

The Rent Stabilization Code stipulates that reductions are given from the time the service is lost. But, as rent-stabilized residents at Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town have discovered, they might only be eligible for reductions starting in March—a four-month discrepancy that could be worth thousands of dollars per tenant. Read More

After Sandy

Superior Ink Dries: Residents and Listings Return to Saltwater Damaged Building

By Kim Velsey 12/19/12 6:23pm

Olly, olly oxen free!

Earlier this month, the stars, titans of finance and assorted rich people who call Superior Ink home got some good news: the building, which was seriously damaged in Hurricane Sandy, was ready for re-habitation. Residents have been able to return since December 8, several sources told The Observer.

In mid-November, management informed residents—which include  Mark Jacobs and Hilary Swank and Kings of Leon’s Caleb Followill—that they might be not be able to return for months because seawater had entered the building’s pipes. Some residents were reportedly quite miffed that they would have to extend their stays at The Mark and The Pierre. Read More

After Sandy

Land Ho! South Street Seaport Museum Reopening Comes Into View

By Kim Velsey 12/11/12 4:54pm

The Museum's lobby after Sandy. (South Street Seaport Museum)

When Hurricane Sandy’s flood waters receded from Lower Manhattan, the sense of relief was short-lived for the businesses, residents and non-profits who returned to find their buildings waterlogged and severely damaged. The South Street Seaport Museum, with an estimated $22 million in damage, was among the more tragically doused.

That all the Museum’s historic boats and exhibits escaped basically unscathed was a consolation, certainly, but the Museum could hardly show them to anyone without heat, electricity, elevators or escalators. Read More

After Sandy

Vicarious Vertigo: Up Close and Personal with the Collapsed One57 Crane

By Kit Dillon 11/26/12 5:47pm

The One57 crane.

It’s a time-honored tradition for men doing ballsy, ridiculous and risky things to photograph their exploits.  Thankfully the steel workers over at One57 are no exception. They recently yielded to this impulse, taking a series of shots of their work  securing the now- famous crane destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.  The removal of which is, according to Curbed, slated to begin the week of December 3rd.  It’s a difficult job. A new crane has to be built to lower the old one down to the ground and there are legal actions to be settled, of course. But in the meantime we can all look at these pictures the workers took and feel relief that’s it’s not us out there. Read More

After Sandy

Sandy Will Cost New York an Estimated $19 B., Mayor Wants Feds to Cover Half

By Christopher Brennan 11/26/12 3:27pm

from the NYC Mayor's Office

As New York continues to grapple with closed subway stations and an overcrowded shelter system following Hurricane Sandy’s late October destruction, the City is looking for a little help from its friends in Washington. Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent a letter to members of New York’s Congressional delegation today, estimating the damage caused by late October’s superstorm at $19 billion in public and private losses. Read More

After Sandy

Lights, Water, Brrr: Power Restored to Knickerbocker Village, But the Heat Is Still Spotty

By Kim Velsey 11/15/12 9:10pm

Don't leave me in the dark: the cold complex.

While much of Manhattan is thrumming along almost as though Sandy never happened, pockets of the borough have remained without electricity and heat. Among them: Knickerbocker Village, the 1,600-unit affordable housing complex at Monroe and Cherry streets, whose residents have become increasingly disgruntled as the cold, dark days drag on.

Today, there’s some good news at least. The building management announced that by 4 p.m. power had finally been restored to the entire building. Or at least, basically the entire building. Anticipating angry calls from almost-dead cell phones, their release warned that it was conceivable “that a small handful of units might be without power” because some units may, inadvertently, have “not been plugged into the main circuit.” Read More

After Sandy

Hurricane Sandy Does Little to Dissuade Buyers From Lower Manhattan

By Kim Velsey 11/13/12 10:15am

Will prices drop in Zone A?

Buildings along the southern lip of Manhattan are still pumping water from their basements almost two weeks after Governor Andrew Cuomo led a chorus of voices warning that violent storms and extreme weather patterns are the new normal. But the market for residential real estate seems, by and large, completely unphased. Hurricane Sandy may have flooded the city, but she has not dampened the desire to buy real estate in Lower Manhattan. At least not yet.

It is, of course, still early to judge what effect, if any, the hurricane will have on the Manhattan market, but real estate professionals say that cold—and wet—feet have not been an issue in showings and closings during the weeks since Sandy hit. (Banks, on the other hand, are feeling less confident, with a number insisting on inspections to rule out structural damage for loans on buildings in Zone A, even those that have long been in contract.) Read More

After Sandy

Let the Great MTA Cleanup Begin

By Matt Chaban 10/30/12 9:40pm

The love below. (MTA/Flickr)

We’ve been hearing all day that this the most devastating disaster the MTA has ever experience. On Sunday, the subway celebrated its 108th birthday. Never, ever have the tunnels flooded like they did after Hurricane Sandy. It will be days, probably at least a week before service is back underground, and even then, who knows before everything returns to normal. But we will return, as MTA CEO and chairman Joe Lhota made clear in a rousing statement earlier tonight. Read More