Manhattan’s Garment District is the latest neighborhood to receive an award from the NY Forward program, a state-funded initiative that supports strategic revitalization plans across New York. The $4.5 million award will specifically support local efforts to create a robust economic district with attractive investment opportunities, engaging public spaces, and improved public safety.
Last Friday evening, YIMBY attended a plaque unveiling dedicated to the late James Vincent Forrestal at 17 Beekman Place in Turtle Bay. The residential building, located by the corner of Beekman Place and East 50th Street, formerly served as Forrestal’s private home and is now owned by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and its diplomatic missions. The event was attended by Luxembourg Prime Minister H.E. Xavier Bettel, Karen Donfried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. State Department, Lt. Col. James Hendon, Commissioner, NYC Department of Veterans’ Services, and Francesca C. Forrestal, the sole grandchild of the Forrestals.
City officials recently celebrated the commencement of construction on a new public health laboratory and contagion testing center at 40 West 137th Street in Harlem. The facility will serve as headquarters for New York City Public Health Laboratory and will be operated by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Construction is taking shape on the High Line Moynihan Connector, a nearly 1,200-foot-long extension of the High Line that will connect the elevated park with the five-building Manhattan West complex in Midtown West. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in collaboration with James Corner Field Operations, the connector will comprise two 600-foot-long bridges built by Turner Construction Company. Work is proceeding under a $50 million public-private partnership between Empire State Development (ESD), Friends of the High Line, and Brookfield Properties, and will culminate in easier access to Moynihan Train Hall and Penn Station. The connector runs along West 30th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues and turns 90 degrees to the north at Dyer Avenue to reach the Manhattan West plaza above West 31st Street.
Construction is nearing completion on the New York Korea Center, the new seven-story home of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York at 122-126 East 32nd Street in Murray Hill. Designed by Samoo Architects and Engineers (SAMOO) and developed by Level Group, the 120-foot-tall structure will yield 36,500 square feet and is aiming for LEED Certification. KSK Construction Group is the general contractor for the property, which is located between Park Avenue South and Lexington Avenue.
