Construction Maison

NEW YORK, NY — In the summer of 1977, New York City was — literally and figuratively — on fire. It was the summer of disco fever, of Studio 54. It was the summer of Yankees mania. It was the summer that catapulted Ed Koch to City Hall. And in mid-July, it turned into the summer of darkness, when an epic, five-borough power outage — deemed an "act of God" by Con Ed — plunged the city into two days of total blackout. Airports shut down. News stations went off the air. Thousands were stuck in underground subway tunnels . Meanwhile, in the streets, the down-and-out — at their breaking point after years of municipal layoffs and a steady surge in violent crime — rioted and looted with abandon. Arsonists reportedly set more than 1,000 fires across the city in a single day. The Bronx, it would later be said, was burning. It was also the Summer of Sam. Want more local news? Sign up here to receive free newsletters and alerts from the New York City Patch . In spring 1977, police con...

1. If you can make it here… New York has long been the ultimate testing ground for businesses. But the city’s population density also makes it an important laboratory for startups, especially in today’s on-demand economy. Food- delivery pioneer Seamless survived the dot-com crash, paving the way for the arrival of meal-kit services such as Blue Apron and Plated a decade later. Related View this story in its original print layout Density has also been instrumental to the growth of ride-hailing and car-sharing companies. Most of them, including Uber and Lyft first gained their footing in smaller cities, then made New York their biggest market. Via, the on-demand ride-pooling service, launched here in 2013, is the exception: Its founders chose New York, figuring riders packed together on subways and buses wouldn’t need much persuading to share a car with strangers, especially when it cost just $5. article continues below advertisement App- based transportation startups have flocked t...

The 11th-hour deal that put the United Nations on a midtown site long covered by East River slums and slaughter-houses came in a frantic rush on Tuesday the 10th of December 1946, just the day before the General Assembly 's deadline for decision. All at once, John D. Rockefeller Jr. had offered to buy the land from developer William Zeckendorf and donate it to the UN. "If this property can be useful to you in meeting the great responsibilities entrusted to you by the people of the world," the old philanthropist told the delegates, "it will be a source of infinite satisfaction to me and my family." As it happened, the good deed would not only please the famously generous family , it would eliminate a potential rival to Rockefeller Center: Zeckendorf had announced plans to fill the site with a center of his own, with apartments, offices and a new Metropolitan Opera House . As it also happened, there was some question whether Zeckendorf had suffic...

We offer our predictions on communities that will rank among the city's most desirable in 2026. Plus a look at developers who are working to make those visions a reality. February 18, 2016 (page 7 of 7) 8 developers with insight who are rethinking our urban neighborhoods   BY DEBRA SMIT G reat neighborhoods — with ample green space , commerce and good housing stock — empower their residents to grow and prosper. Developers are key when it comes to weaving together the physical threads of a community, particularly in urban neighborhoods frayed by years of blight and decay. These are among the developers who are working to revitalize some of the city’s most challenged neighborhoods, striving to be restorers of streets in which to dwell. All have one eye, certainly, on the bottom line. Still, they are well aware of expectations that they give measured consideration to quality of life in the neighborhoods in which they build.   Wi...