Over the last decade, many historic buildings and cultural institutions throughout New York City have disappeared. The result has been the transformation of neighborhoods and the city’s character.
Nathan Kensinger looks at ten buildings that have disappeared from New York City in the last decade, and the effect of those losses on neighborhoods. "As new development projects and rezonings reshaped the city, it also lost countless historic buildings and cultural institutions; dive bars, bungalows, churches, and even entire neighborhoods were wiped off the map."
In Harlem, Manhattanville is an industrial neighborhood that is quickly disappearing as Columbia University expands its campus. The loss, says Kensinger, is buildings and other structures that capture the essence of the city and connect the present to the past. "What has been erased in Manhattanville is the same type of vernacular architecture that is vanishing throughout New York City: diners and tenement buildings, cobblestone streets and slaughterhouses, auto body shops and horse stables.”
He writes about a variety of other places that are completely or mostly gone, including the Cedar Grove Beach Club in Staten Island, the 5 Pointz warehouse and graffiti haven in Long Island City, and the S.W. Bowne Grain Storehouse on the Gowanus Canal.
"New York has always been a dynamic place that changes and reinvents itself. But these recent developments represent something different, where billionaires and politicians conspired to maximize private profits and enrich private developers by destroying thousands of small businesses and dozens of neighborhoods," notes Kensinger.
FULL STORY: A decade of destruction in New York City
Mayor de Blasio Stresses Affordable Housing in State of the City Address
In his State of the City Address on Feb. 3, the New York City mayor made it clear that his overriding priority is affordable housing. He targeted six neighborhoods in all five boroughs where development will be required to include affordable housing.
Staten Island Road Widening Project Moves Forward
New York’s Department of Transportation plans to double the width of a Staten Island street to accommodate more vehicular traffic.
Former Landfill Doubles as Public Park, Energy Producer
Once the world’s largest dump, Freshkills Park now offers new city park space and powers local households with biofuel.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie