Infrastructure

50 West Street

Public Plaza, Pedestrian Bridge Outside 50 West Street Revealed, Financial District

4:00 pm on July 25, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Now that exterior work has completed on 50 West Street – the 64-story, 191-unit mixed-use tower dubbed simply “50 West” under development in the Financial District – crews are now focused on building a 6,800-square-foot public plaza around the base of the building and a pedestrian bridge over West Street (a.k.a. the West Side Highway). Renderings of the spaces have been revealed by the Wall Street Journal. The 24-hour plaza will feature an art gallery, a café, vegetation, and seating. The pedestrian bridge, dubbed the West Thames Street Bridge, will feed directly into the plaza. It will boast steel structural supports and a glass roof and walls. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is building the new pedestrian bridge, which will replace the Rector Street bridge located a block northward. Demolition of the Rector Street bridge and construction of the new one is expected to last two years.

Redesigned Subway Station

Gov. Cuomo Unveils Designs for Future of New York City Subway

7:00 am on July 19, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has revealed the design for New York City’s 1,025 newly crafted subway cars, in addition to unveiling plans to renovate and upgrade 31 subway stations throughout the city. The details were presented on New York State’s website. Of the 1,025 new subway cars, 750 of them will boast accordion-like connectors to increase capacity, a configuration known as open gangway. The doors will also open wider, increasing from 50 inches in width to 58 inches, enhancing the flow of passengers. Other changes to the exterior include a slightly redesigned front with larger windows, LED headlights, and blue coloring. Amenities in the interior include Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, new digital displays and advertising, and security cameras.

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The Lowline

Lower East Side’s Lowline Underground Park Moves Forward with First City Approval

6:30 am on July 15, 2016 By Reid Wilson

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED) have selected the team behind the Lowline proposal to lease the vacant, 60,000-square-foot Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, located under Delancey Street between Clinton and Norfolk streets on the Lower East Side. This marks the first city approval for the project, bringing it significantly closer to reality. The public park would take up roughly 43,500 square feet of the abandoned terminal.

401 East 34th Street

Single-Story, 6,000-Square-Foot Retail Building Filed at 401 East 34th Street, Kips Bay

6:30 am on July 13, 2016 By Reid Wilson

Property owner UDR has filed applications for a single-story, 6,179-square-foot retail building at 401 East 34th Street, located on the corner of East 35th Street and First Avenue in Kips Bay. The new structure will host a restaurant on the ground floor and retail space in the cellar. It will be located on the grounds of Joseph Slifka Park, where a playground currently exists. The new retail space won’t have to be approved through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) even though it’s being built on public park space. In October of 2015, Community Board 6 voted to allow retail project to proceed without a rezoning/city approval. Brooklyn-based Much Architecture is the architect of record. The park – which was built as part of the 35-story, 706-rental-unit residential building View 34 (previously known as Rivergate) – will also see an overhaul, with upgrades including a new dog run and an artificial turf area.

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