Month: March 2021

NYC’s 10 best under-the-radar picnic spots

March 8, 2021
Photo by Ben Duchac on Unsplash

Thankfully, with correct social distancing measures, picnics are considered a safe way to have fun this summer, and the city is filled with possibilities in the form of parks and gardens. New York City is also known for its accessible secrets, and our shortlist of urban escapes–whether hidden in plain sight or tucked away–are great to visit any time, but as off-the-beaten-path picnic spots, they shine.

A fenced-in nook at the Hallett Nature Sanctuary. Photo by Rhododendrites via Wikimedia Commons

1. The Hallett Nature Sanctuary in Central Park
Enter at 6th Avenue and Central Park South

One of the three woodlands (with the Ramble and North Woods), this section is often referred to as Central Park’s “secret garden.” It was closed off to the public by then-Parks Commissioner Robert Moses in the 1930s for use as a bird sanctuary. As a result, it remained largely untouched until 2001, when the lush four-acre peninsula was reclaimed and tended by the Central Park Conservancy as part of their Woodlands Initiative. The area continues to be a refuge for wildlife, but it’s also a newly-discovered favorite for park visitors seeking a peaceful haven. While the sanctuary is still fenced off, a rustic gate now marks the entrance to new pathways. The Hallett Nature Sanctuary is open daily from 10:00 A.M. until just before sunset; get directions here.

The Heather Garden at Fort Tryon Park. Photo via Wikimedia Commons

2. The Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park
Enter near Broadway and Dongan Place

Fort Tryon Park in upper Manhattan extends from 192nd Street and Fort Washington Avenue north to Riverside Drive near 200th Street. Located about 10 minutes from the Cloisters, this lesser-known city escape, designed by the Olmsted Brothers in 1935 for John D. Rockefeller, Jr., is abloom in season with jasmine, hellebores, and daffodils and features one of the largest heather collections in the country. The three-acre garden is also filled with trees, shrubs, and perennials for a botanical diversity that attracts birds, butterflies, and other beneficial wildlife. Perched on a series of slopes more than 200 feet above the Hudson River, the Heather Garden offers stunning views, making it one of the city’s many enchanting spots to enjoy a picnic. Download a map and guide here.

3. Gardens at the Church of Saint Luke in the Fields
487 Hudson Street, West Village

Built in 1821, the Church of Saint Luke in the Fields occupies a two-acre West Village block, with a series of gardens hidden behind high brick walls. Inside, you’ll find the more formal Barrow Street Garden and the older Rectory Garden with wrought iron tables and chairs and an impressive rose garden. You can see the ruins of the old parish, which burned in a fire in 1981, as you wander the paths or take shelter in the garden’s quiet nooks and green spaces. Hours: Monday – Friday 9 A.M. – 5 P.M.; Saturday and Sunday 12 p.M. – 4:00 P.M. Masks must be worn for the duration of the visit.

Chinese Scholar’s Garden, Staten Island Botanical Garden, Snug Harbor. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

4. The New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden at Snug Harbor
1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island

The New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden in Staten Island’s Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is one of two authentic scholar’s gardens in the United States and serves as a setting for a variety of multi-cultural events. The garden features magnificent rock sculptures resembling the mountains that inspired the poetry and paintings of Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist monks and other scholars. Visitors can explore eight pavilions, a bamboo forest path, waterfalls, a koi pond, Chinese calligraphy and a variety of Ghongshi scholar’s rocks including a 15-foot formation that towers over the central courtyard. * The Chinese Scholar’s Garden is currently closed due to the COVID crisis–check here for updates.

Valentino Pier, photo by Rhododendrites via Wikimedia Commons

5. Valentino Pier, Red Hook
Coffey Street at Ferris Street, Brooklyn

The Louis Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier is one of those urban gems that’s perfect just the way it is. A small beach area and benches along the pier offer big views of the Statue of Liberty, Governor’s Island, the Manhattan skyline, Staten Island, and New York Harbor. Well-tended green space adjacent to the pier is perfect for picnics.

Ford Foundation Atrium, via Wiki Commons

6. The Ford Foundation Atrium
320 East 43rd Street, Midtown

Not all of the city’s lush, green picnic picks are outdoors. If you’re in need of a rainy-day alternative, you can enjoy lunch in a tropical garden paradise encased in a 10-story glass atrium. At this privately-owned public space, ferns and hanging vines drape from the building’s girders and the scent of gardenias and the sound of water filling a pool hidden amid a cluster of trees fill the air. The building’s glass walls create a temperate environment ideal for the atrium’s subtropical garden while creating a seamless flow of green space between the atrium and Tudor City Park to the east. * The Ford Foundation and its garden are currently closed due to the COVID crisis–check here for updates.

Pier 2 Uplands. Photo by Alexa Hoyer, courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy

7. Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 2 Uplands
Enter off Clark Street

The most recent addition to Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Uplands at Pier 2 is a 6,300-square-foot lawn with stunning Manhattan skyline views. It boasts nearly 1,300 new trees and shrubs, a new water play area made up of salvaged pieces of Pier 3, seating made of granite from the Brooklyn Bridge, and a noise-reducing berm to ensure your picnic is peaceful. Pier 2 is open daily from 6 am to 8 pm.

8. Creative Little Garden
530 East 6th Street, East Village

No list of lesser-known picnic spots would be complete without mention of the magical East Village gardens. Of these, the Creative Little Garden may not be the best-known but it may be the most enchanting. This elegant shade garden first got its lease in 1978. Long and narrow, it winds around a gravel path, rock garden, flagstone patio, and many seating areas. Quiet evening concerts happen on the regular, but it’s always possible to find a nook to hide in. * Note that some community gardens may remain closed due to the COVID Crisis–check here for updates.

6BC Community Garden. Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim via Flickr cc

9. 6BC Community Garden
622 East 6th Street between Avenues B and C, East Village

This Alphabet City community garden is one of the neighborhood’s larger public gardens, and it’s a joy to discover its secret spaces just steps from the bustling East Village scene. * Note that some community gardens may remain closed due to the COVID Crisis–check here for updates.

Ridgewood Reservoir via Wiki Commons

10. Ridgewood Reservoir
Highland Park, Ridgewood, Queens

Highland Park and the 50+ acre Reservoir sit atop the Harbor Hill Moraine, an ice-age-formed ridge, which means you get dramatic views of nearby cemeteries, East New York, Woodhaven, the Rockaways and the Atlantic Ocean. The famous Olmsted brothers designed the main drive and concourse on the southern portion of the Reservoir, which operated as a water supply for Brooklyn from 1858 to 1959. It is divided into three basins separated and enclosed by steep stone walls. The outer basins were drained decades ago; what you’ll find is the way nature overtakes a landscaped space if given the chance: The combination of forests, fields, and wetlands make this a uniquely ideal spot wildlife viewing. 127 bird species were recorded on its grounds along with opossum, raccoon, squirrels, voles, snapping turtles, garter snakes, and frogs.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on August 6, 2018, and has been updated
As reported by 6sqft.com POSTED ON TUE, JULY 7, 2020 BY

COVID-19, One Year Later: Pandemic created NYC rental crisis, but hope abounds for both relief and a real estate rebound

March 8, 2021
Photo via Getty Images

With the city practically shutting down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of thousands of renters lost their jobs and found themselves unable to pay their rent. The entire real estate industry, meanwhile, found itself in flux as well — as thousands headed out of the city, leaving plenty of vacancies and no one to fill them.

At the start of 2020, renters rejoiced at the news that broker fees for prospective tenants who did not go through a broker had been banned. The ban was a part of two bills, New York State passed two acts that were designed to help renters: Housing Security & Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and the Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act of 2019, which were meant to protect the rights of renters.

There had been some confusion regarding who the ban applied to, causing a stir in the real estate industry. The ban has since been put on hold.

With shutdowns starting in March, many were struggling to pay their rent and mortgages during the pandemic, on a residential and corporate level. This led to a number of businesses closing their doors, as well as lifelong New Yorkers seeking refuge on Long Island or in the surrounding areas.

“If the city does well, the real estate industry is going to do well,” James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), said on the Schneps Connects Podcast. “If the city is not doing well, real estate is going to have its issues and vice versa, the two are so intertwined.”

But throughout the year, New York City built up around $2.5 to $3.5 billion in owed back-rent, affecting 1.5 million households. With the rent struggles, the state enacted an eviction moratorium that kept tenants safe from losing their homes amid the pandemic.

However, many landlords began to push back, trying to find ways to get their renters out so they could collect rent from new tenants that could afford to do so.

“We are grateful for the state legislature for the measures that have kept tenants in their homes, but there is still predatory behavior from landlords,” said Rebecca Garrad, Campaigns Manager for Housing Justice for Citizen Action of New York. “They are threatening tenants, denying tenants services within their units and buildings, in an attempt to harass people out or cost save on backs of people who are the most vulnerable. There are some good landlords who worked hard to make this work, but on the other side, there are widespread predatory behaviors.”

The city’s homeless population also took a huge hit during the pandemic. According to Garrad, a disproportionate number of homeless New Yorkers were becoming infected with COVID-19 due to their inability to follow social distancing guidelines and as a result, furthering the virus’s grasp on the city at large.

“There are 92,000 homeless New Yorkers, based on shelter counts. We’ve had band-aid solutions with hotel rooms being utilizes to allow the homeless to socially distance themselves,” said Garrad. “When pandemic is brought under control, the solution that homeless New Yorkers go back to shelter/congregate settings are not sustainable or safe solutions. I think what’s troubling is we’ve seen a real highlight of the holes and gaps of systems that aren’t working, and a year later no systemic solutions to those stop-gap measures.”

Though there are programs in place to help mobilize funds, the full amount is not being put out to those who need it fast enough. For Garrad, it is in the best interest of the state to not only address the homeless crisis, but also to get legislative measures in place to be ready just in case something like this could happen again.

“There are two needs here, we still need a rapid response legislative solution to the large amount of back-rent owed, the federal funding in December and additional funding will come and need to be allocated in a way that is easy to distribute and make it a just solution for tenants, not just for landlords, said Garrad. “In addition to that, we need proactive legislation so we don’t end up in a crisis, whether it’s another pandemic or a climate crisis. We need to start addressing system changes in order to get this crisis under control.”

Falling prices

As many New Yorkers began to leave the city, rents started to drop.

By the end of the second quarter of 2020, StreetEasy found that Manhattan rents were falling and potential renters were boosting their searches in Brooklyn and Queens. According to StreetEasy, in November of 2020 rents in Manhattan dropped 12.7% year over year, the biggest drop since the Great Recession. Rents across the five boroughs continued to fall by varying amounts, making record lows for certain areas in Manhattan and the outer boroughs.

Despite the drops in price, some renters have seen their landlords raising rents during the pandemic, and, according to a Zumper report, New York City remained the second-highest rental market in the United States.

“It’s frustrating for renters because they’re seeing headlines that rents have plummeted but what they were seeing was that their rent went up,” said Allia Mohamed, co-founder and CEO of openigloo. “You can’t deny that there’s a rent cut across the five boroughs, it really depends on the neighborhood. People are definitely experiencing different rent scenarios. It’s not going to go back to 2020 levels overnight, it could take a year or two.”

openigloo is a renter app that launched in August 2020 that combines crowdsourced tenant feedback with open-source city data to provide New York renters with a platform to review landlords, building amenities, and get an inside look into any building or property owner across New York City. According to the openigloo’s data, 70% of users were looking for buildings with strong COVID-19 safety protocols. Renters were also on the hunt for landlords who were offering rent relief during 2020.

As we head deeper into 2021, StreetEasy predicts that Brooklyn will become the go-to borough for prospective NYC transplants as the borough offers amenities like green spaces and extra room to roam, which became big asks during the pandemic. Mohamed says that renters can take a beat and figure out where they want to live as New York starts to bounce back as rents are still decreasing.

“There are 12,000 empty apartments in Manhattan. We’re in a time where tenants can take longer than 5 minutes to think about where we want to live. Landlords are going to have to add more concessions. In 2019, 5 or 6 people were going after the same space. This is positive for renters and we hope to be the platform to help them through it,” said Mohamed. “Even though people are coming back to the city, there are still decreases in rent. … Rent has decreased 17% in Manhattan and 13% in Brooklyn, it’s encouraging renters to take their time and do their research.”

As reported by AMNY.com By