Curbed
architecture

What Was Trump Tower?

His co-star, his political launch pad, his longest-term companion.
  1. An Island of Affordable Housing at the World Trade Center A third of the tower’s residents will have cheap rent and expensive neighbors.
  2. Everyone in the Hamptons Is Reading The Guest “Simon is every wealthy middle-aged man I know.”
  3. On New York’s First 110-Degree Summer Day, What Will Break First? Asphalt like molasses, grounded planes at midday, sun-buckled railroad tracks: a sweat-inducing list.
  4. U.S. Women’s Soccer Fans Are Having a Moment “I’m overstimulated.”
  5. The Sloth King of Long Island Tried His Hand at Venomous Lizards But was ordered to pay a fine for it, which the exotic-animal purveyor says he paid “no problem.”
  6. We’re Paying to Catsit Now? On Listings Project, people are charging subletters $2,800 a month for the pleasure of cleaning a litter box.
  7. What’s in the Subway Water That Drips on Your Head? A semi-scientific inquiry.
  8. Why Are Citi Bike’s Electric Bikes Always Broken? Some blame teen riders, but it’s likely the bikes themselves.
  9. The Look Book Goes to a West Village Med-Spa At Ject, clients get everything from Botox and filler to plasma under-eye treatments.
  10. Is Universal Studios Landscaping or Strike Busting? A suspiciously timed trim for some ficuses left writers in blazing heat on the picket line, sans shade.
  11. Reconsidering the Grand Civic Staircase At Steven Holl’s Hunters Point Library and across the city, a familiar architectural gesture has become a trap.
  12. A Makeover for Third Avenue More bike and bus lanes on the Upper East Side. It’s better!
  13. The Cube Is Back Refreshed and ready to spin.
  14. Times Square’s New Thrill Ride Looks Like It Came From Las Vegas But it’s just another classic New York developer gambit.
  15. The Gilgo Beach Murder Suspect Was a Busy New York Architect Rex Heuermann’s clients included Cipriani, Target, and Nike.
  16. Angelina Jolie Had to Have Basquiat’s Former Studio To open her concept store about tailoring.
  17. So Is the BQE Going to Collapse? Talking to the former chief engineer of the DOT about highway nightmare scenarios and the long, long road to a real fix.
  18. Yu & Me Books, After the Fire The Chinatown shop needs a gut renovation, but more than $320,000 in donations will keep the business afloat and staff paid.
  19. David Adjaye, Falling Starchitect Celebrity architects are propped up by a hive of workers. His may undo him.
  20. Is Taylor Swift’s Sidewalk Properly Maintained? Dozens of tickets from the Department of Sanitation say one thing. Neighbors insist it’s fine.
  21. 262 Fifth Is the Skinny di Tutti Skinnies Just 26 apartments in an 860-foot tower.
  22. New York’s First Narcan Vending Machine Is Working In Brownsville, the city’s latest experiment in harm reduction has already stopped overdoses.
  23. ‘I Sold My Soul, But Warhol Would Be Proud’ Meet the M.F.A. grads pumping out wall art for mid-tier hotel chains and retirement homes.
  24. It’s Aphids Those bugs swarming the city are native New Yorkers.
  25. Sex, Analysis, and 40 Communal Apartments on the Upper West Side The Sullivanians’ New York, revisited.
  26. McNally Jackson Joins the Elizabeth Street Garden Fray An appeals court ruled the affordable-housing development could move forward; the bookstore was not pleased.
  27. Two Penn Station Plans That Finally Look Promising Could they converge to make the nation’s worst rail hub much better?
  28. ‘I Wasn’t Prepared for How the Art World Treated Hannah’ A conversation with the Brooklyn Museum’s director, Anne Pasternak, a few weeks after the debut of “It’s Pablo-Matic.”
  29. An E-Bike Trade-in Program That No Delivery Workers Have Heard Of Uber’s programs to get risky e-bikes off the streets have not reached — or convinced — many food-delivery workers who use them.
  30. You May Soon Have to Pay More to Drive That SUV in New York A state bill proposes that owners pay much more for their heavier (and deadlier) vehicles.
  31. Is the Spherical Listening Room at the Shed an Innovation or a Gimmick? Trying out the Sonic Sphere.
  32. The Look Book Goes to the Apollo Spring Benefit Diddy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were among those honored at the theater’s annual fundraiser.
  33. Designing Cop City What the evolution of the tactical village, from Riotsville to Atlanta, reveals about policing.
  34. Listening In at the Brooklyn Museum The scene at the critically panned show “It’s Pablo-matic.”
  35. The United Order of the Tents Might Be Spared Demolition A tax exemption means the country’s oldest benefit society for black women can actually fix its crumbling Bed-Stuy headquarters.
  36. A Brooklyn Heights Carriage House Holds a Major Asian Art Archive The former home of the artists John and Richenda Rhoden was a serendipitous, and natural, fit for the collection.
  37. Who Is the Family Fighting a Street-Safety Proposal? A campaign against redesigning McGuinness Boulevard can mostly be traced to the Argentos, a major film-industry family.
  38. Everybody Loves the New La Guardia Airport. What About the Art? The airport’s $22 million face-lift breaks away from corporate schlock.
  39. The Surfside-Condo Disaster Site Will Be a Zaha Hadid Tower Many of the victims’ families wanted to turn it into a memorial.
  40. Can New York City Even Enforce Its Airbnb Rules? Staffing shortages under Mayor Adams are making implementation difficult, according to city councilmembers.
  41. Lever House Gets a Squeaky-Clean Restoration Precisely reproducing its opening-day sheen. Next up: the Waldorf.
  42. What New York Should Do Next Time There’s Smoke According to the experts, basically the exact opposite of what we did this time.
  43. Learning to Live in the Smoke What six years of California’s worst wildfires, and two kids, have taught me about getting by.
  44. The Look Book Goes to the Yayoi Kusama Opening We stopped by the artist’s new exhibit at David Zwirner gallery.
  45. It Was a Weird Day in New York There’s a wild, chaotic feeling that comes over us as a city when it seems like no one is in charge.
  46. ‘It Wouldn’t Bring Back My Son, But Other Lives Would Be Saved’ For the third year in a row, the mothers behind Sammy’s Law are proposing that the state allow NYC to control its own speed limits.
  47. The Human Bones Seller of Bushwick The 23-year-old owner swears there’s nothing creepy about his business.
  48. Talking to an Air-Quality Expert About That Haze Should you go outside? Wear a mask? Let us explain.
  49. No Water? No Subdivision. The end of Arizona’s desert sprawl may be near. It’s a good first step.
  50. Pilgrimage to the Meadowlands (Taylor’s Version) How to get an army of Swifties to the MetLife Stadium — and its parking lot.
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