Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.It’s not quite the prairie, but Hoboken feels downright roomy. Wander down the wide, busy sidewalks of Washington Street, the city’s main strip, past the poke joints and (so-so) bagel shops, or through the unusually narrow side streets that run east and west, and one thing becomes clear. Specifically, oncoming traffic. A pedestrian doesn’t have to play the same perilous game of New York City crosswalk chicken, where you squint through the windows of a massive metal box to...…Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.It’s not quite the prairie, but Hoboken feels downright roomy. Wander down the wide, busy sidewalks of Washington Street, the city’s main strip, past the poke joints and (so-so) bagel shops, or through the unusually narrow side streets that run east and west, and one thing becomes clear. Specifically, oncoming traffic. A pedestrian doesn’t have to play the same perilous game of New York City crosswalk chicken, where you squint through the windows of a massive metal box to...WW…

Filed under:Are economic development megadeals like Foxconn and Amazon worth the price—and the risk?Are economic development megadeals worth the price—and the risk? With cities trying to outbid each other for , it’s worth examining potential cautionary tales.the recent Foxconn deal in Wisconsin, a blockbuster, multibillion-dollar investment in bringing more manufacturing to the state, is indicative of the sad state of big-ticket economic development deals, and even more tragic in light of the cheaper, more effective options available.“Cities feel like there’s no alternative,” says Greg...…Filed under:Are economic development megadeals like Foxconn and Amazon worth the price—and the risk?Are economic development megadeals worth the price—and the risk? With cities trying to outbid each other for , it’s worth examining potential cautionary tales.the recent Foxconn deal in Wisconsin, a blockbuster, multibillion-dollar investment in bringing more manufacturing to the state, is indicative of the sad state of big-ticket economic development deals, and even more tragic in light of the cheaper, more effective options available.“Cities feel like there’s no alternative,” says Greg...WW…

Filed under:City Attorney Dennis Herrera says there’s broad power to commandeer buildings and land during an emergencySan Francisco’s civic government can seize seemingly any privately-owned land or buildings as part of its effort to protect people from the COVID-19 outbreak.In fact, according to San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, there are few limits on what certain public office holders may do with private property .—a response to queries from unnamed parties at City Hall—Herrera explains the process for commandeering properties, and the rules by which SF must abide if it takes...…Filed under:City Attorney Dennis Herrera says there’s broad power to commandeer buildings and land during an emergencySan Francisco’s civic government can seize seemingly any privately-owned land or buildings as part of its effort to protect people from the COVID-19 outbreak.In fact, according to San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, there are few limits on what certain public office holders may do with private property .—a response to queries from unnamed parties at City Hall—Herrera explains the process for commandeering properties, and the rules by which SF must abide if it takes...WW…

Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.As Sunset Boulevard curves towards downtown Los Angeles, Taix French Restaurant sticks out like an anomaly amid the strip malls, a single-story green-and-cream French chateau festooned with gabled roofs, half-timbering, and clinker bricks. At a meeting of L.A.’s cultural-heritage commission last month, two historians dramatically recounted these Francophone flourishes in great detail, emphasizing French pronunciations like porte-cochère, and noting that, in addition to this...…Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.As Sunset Boulevard curves towards downtown Los Angeles, Taix French Restaurant sticks out like an anomaly amid the strip malls, a single-story green-and-cream French chateau festooned with gabled roofs, half-timbering, and clinker bricks. At a meeting of L.A.’s cultural-heritage commission last month, two historians dramatically recounted these Francophone flourishes in great detail, emphasizing French pronunciations like porte-cochère, and noting that, in addition to this...WW…

Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.For the past three months, Echo Park Lake had become a refuge for Zachary Coughlin and Karissa DeAngelis. After sleeping on cold, unyielding sidewalks, the couple had experienced relatively peaceful nights here among a community of about 100 people who had pitched tents on the grass along the park paths, sharing their mornings with joggers making loops around the water, street vendors prepping ingredients under rainbow umbrellas, and toddlers ambling towards the playground....…Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.For the past three months, Echo Park Lake had become a refuge for Zachary Coughlin and Karissa DeAngelis. After sleeping on cold, unyielding sidewalks, the couple had experienced relatively peaceful nights here among a community of about 100 people who had pitched tents on the grass along the park paths, sharing their mornings with joggers making loops around the water, street vendors prepping ingredients under rainbow umbrellas, and toddlers ambling towards the playground....WW…

Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.When Jude Dennis Marovic bought Vero, a wine bar at 1483 Second Avenue on the Upper East Side, in June 2018, part of the deal was assuming its lease for the next six years. The landlord, an LLC called Alliance 77, agreed. And things seemed to be going okay for about a year, until August 2019. That was when Alliance 77 and Sky Management — a sizable real-estate company that appears to own Alliance — wanted to redevelop the site, which would require tearing down the building....…Every product is independently selected by editors. Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.When Jude Dennis Marovic bought Vero, a wine bar at 1483 Second Avenue on the Upper East Side, in June 2018, part of the deal was assuming its lease for the next six years. The landlord, an LLC called Alliance 77, agreed. And things seemed to be going okay for about a year, until August 2019. That was when Alliance 77 and Sky Management — a sizable real-estate company that appears to own Alliance — wanted to redevelop the site, which would require tearing down the building....WW…

It’s been a lifetime since places like the Three Deuces, Club Carousel, and the Downbeat , and in the time since, the number of clubs maintaining New York’s status as the gigging, beating heart of the jazz world had dwindled to a resilient core — even before the pandemic put the city’s most prominent live art on pause. With the closure of the Jazz Standard announced this week, the community has lost another gem: a large but charismatic venue considered a prestige destination for artists and audiences alike, one with top-dollar pay drawing top-tier talent like the Maria Schneider...…It’s been a lifetime since places like the Three Deuces, Club Carousel, and the Downbeat , and in the time since, the number of clubs maintaining New York’s status as the gigging, beating heart of the jazz world had dwindled to a resilient core — even before the pandemic put the city’s most prominent live art on pause. With the closure of the Jazz Standard announced this week, the community has lost another gem: a large but charismatic venue considered a prestige destination for artists and audiences alike, one with top-dollar pay drawing top-tier talent like the Maria Schneider...WW…

Filed under:Nothing says health and safety like heavily armed city employees notorious for not wearing masks.For the past few months, New York City has permitted diners to spill out of restaurants and onto curbs, transforming as restaurants try to stay afloat. Winter is coming, however, and there’s only so much of the year when most New Yorkers can comfortably sit outdoors, even under tents and heat lamps.But indoor dining is, clinically speaking, . Over the past six months, virologists have repeatedly demonstrated how efficiently COVID-19 leaps across tables when maskless people laugh and...…Filed under:Nothing says health and safety like heavily armed city employees notorious for not wearing masks.For the past few months, New York City has permitted diners to spill out of restaurants and onto curbs, transforming as restaurants try to stay afloat. Winter is coming, however, and there’s only so much of the year when most New Yorkers can comfortably sit outdoors, even under tents and heat lamps.But indoor dining is, clinically speaking, . Over the past six months, virologists have repeatedly demonstrated how efficiently COVID-19 leaps across tables when maskless people laugh and...WW…

In the 1950s, with urban sprawl, the creation of the indoor shopping mall, and the rise of the mega-department store, downtowns across the country began to lose patrons. As downtowns were drained of high-traffic commerce, they became a mishmash of lower-tier shopping experiences, like thrift stores and convenience markets. Santa Monica was no exception.Since the Victorian era, Third Street in downtown Santa Monica had been a bustling, vibrant commercial center of brick office buildings, entertainment venues, and civic organizations. But the Third Street of the postwar era, according to...…In the 1950s, with urban sprawl, the creation of the indoor shopping mall, and the rise of the mega-department store, downtowns across the country began to lose patrons. As downtowns were drained of high-traffic commerce, they became a mishmash of lower-tier shopping experiences, like thrift stores and convenience markets. Santa Monica was no exception.Since the Victorian era, Third Street in downtown Santa Monica had been a bustling, vibrant commercial center of brick office buildings, entertainment venues, and civic organizations. But the Third Street of the postwar era, according to...WW…

Filed under:It comes with a circular drivewayAtop the Oakland Hills sits this clearly contemporary abode that once housed living legend Kevin Durant, former player for the (struggling) Golden State Warriors.The home, which he rented, is now listed off-market for a cool $5,998,888Featuring seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and an ample 9,084 square feet, is practically a mansion (usually any pad measuring 10,000 square feet or more gets the arbitrary manse moniker, but who’s counting?). This sprawling home comes with floor-to-ceiling windows, an in-home theater, a curbed staircase (leading to...…Filed under:It comes with a circular drivewayAtop the Oakland Hills sits this clearly contemporary abode that once housed living legend Kevin Durant, former player for the (struggling) Golden State Warriors.The home, which he rented, is now listed off-market for a cool $5,998,888Featuring seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and an ample 9,084 square feet, is practically a mansion (usually any pad measuring 10,000 square feet or more gets the arbitrary manse moniker, but who’s counting?). This sprawling home comes with floor-to-ceiling windows, an in-home theater, a curbed staircase (leading to...WW…