More than 100,000 people have taken the free ferry over to Governors Island so far this year, up from 56,000 in 2007 and 26,000 in 2006. Today the Times takes a look at the 172-acre island's new-found popularity among everyone from crowd-surfing punks to exuberant swing dancers. If only those groups could one day share the same dance floor! Oh, and let's not forget the island's appeal for miniature golfers. The Figment celebration of participatory......

Architect Craig Dykers (of Norwegian-based design firm Snøhetta ) was joined by Mayor Bloomberg and other officials at 7 World Trade Center this morning to unveil new renderings for a downsized World Trade Center memorial museum and pavilion at the site of the former twin towers. The $80 million polygonal pavilion, which is being financed by New York State, will range in height from 57 to 72 feet and have about 40,000 square feet to......

A small hotel chain that got some ink spilled about it last year in The NY Times, The Ace Hotel, will now bring its charm to New York. They're currently setting up shop at 29th and Broadway, and bringing a Stumptown Coffee (a favorite amongst Pacific Northwesters) with it. The grand opening will be in Winter 08/09, and it will come with a new restaurant from the people behind The Spotted Pig. The Ace tell......

Rendering courtesy ICRAVE As if you needed any more reasons to choose Jet Blue over other airlines, Grub Street got their hands on renderings for the dining and drinking areas of the airline's renovated Terminal 5 at JFK airport, scheduled to reopen October 1st. While it does give one pause that the design is being done by ICRAVE, the same firm that unleashed Crobar upon our fair city, their vision is certainly a cut above......

Yesterday the Port Authority unveiled designs from three architects competing to build a 1.3 million-square-foot skyscraper atop the dreary west side bus terminal's north wing. Officials say they’ll choose a winning design in the next couple months, and construction on the office tower could start next year, or maybe 2010; but what's the rush? Demand for office space in New York City isn’t exactly critical. The three designs are all for a tower that......

It's been three years since we've gotten a look at what the High Line park – currently under construction on what was once an overgrown elevated railway – will look like. Today the Friends of the High Line, who've come a long way in their crusade to turn the disused tracks into an easily accessible urban oasis, joined Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe to unveil the ambitious design renderings. Friends of the High Line co-founder Robert......

General Growth Properties released the details of their redevelopment plan for South Street Seaport today. GGP's CEO John Bucksbaum said, "Our vision for the transformation of the Seaport is the centerpiece of GGP's commitment to New York and its residents. We are proud to work closely with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to preserve and restore the unique character of this historic area while addressing the immediate and long-term needs of Lower......

Rallies aren’t just for grassroots activists – moneyed developers can hold them too, as Bruce Ratner proved yesterday by financing an afternoon rally in downtown Brooklyn to support his beleaguered Atlantic Yards project. Organizers of the so-called “Brooklyn Day” event handed out free hot dogs and T-shirts to passersby in an attempt to drum up enthusiasm for the $4.2 billion project, though there were no free turkeys to fully evoke the Tammany Hall spirit.......

In presenting their argument for a massive demolition and construction project in the West Village – one that would raze the distinctive O’Toole Building (pictured) – representatives of St. Vincent’s hospital told the Landmarks and Preservation Commission yesterday that it will have to shut down if their proposal is not approved. Last month the commission unanimously rejected the hospital’s $1.6 billion development plan, which would demolish nine buildings to make room for a 329-foot-tall medical......

A rendering of St. Vincent’s proposal from 11th street. The shaded area represents the dimensions of the original plan. Courtesy FxFowle Architects, PC. After being sent back to the drawing board by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, St. Vincent’s will be presenting a slightly smaller-scale proposal before the commission on June 3rd. St. Vincent’s administrators originally sought approval to raze a number of buildings in Greenwich Village – including the historically significant O’Toole Building, built......

A rendering of the planned new hospital from the southwest. The proposed new condominium tower and town houses is seen to its right. (Pei Cobb Freed & Partners) Earlier today the Landmarks Preservation Commission firmly rejected a proposal by St. Vincent’s Hospital to raze a number of its buildings in Greenwich Village and construct a new 329-foot-tall, $800 million hospital building. Under the terms of the deal, St. Vincent’s would sell eight buildings to......

Rendering courtesy of Municipal Art Society; original aerial photo by Jonathan Barkey. As a counterpoint to the new renderings of Frank Gehry's redesign for the Atlantic Yards flagship tower, here's a different perspective on the project's future look. The Municipal Art Society [MAS] has assembled a compelling slideshow that serves as a sort of dystopian crystal ball, depicting what could come come if Bruce Ratner moves forward with his development on 22-acres of land in......

Developer Bruce Ratner and architect Frank Gehry have announced that ‘Miss Brooklyn,’ the 620-foot residential and commercial tower planned for the 22-acre Atlantic Yards project, has been scrapped. In its place they’re proposing a building called ‘B1’: a 511 foot tall structure that will now house commercial tenants only. If they can be found – Forest City Ratner has yet to secure an anchor tenant for what will now be 650,000 of commercial space. B1’s......

Renderings of the Whitney downtown provided by the Whitney Museum. In March it was announced that The Whitney received a generous donation from Leonard A. Lauder (to the tune of $131 million). The donation came with a caveat -- they wouldn't be able to sell their Marcel Breuer building on Madison Avenue; however, it looks like they received the funding they needed to move forward with a satellite museum in the Meatpacking District. The......

Preliminary work could begin as soon as next month on the ambitious $500 million plan to transform Governors Island into a premiere destination for cyclists, nature lovers, large-scale music concerts and rock climbing. Last December a consortium of five design companies was chosen to turn the flat southern part of the island into an oasis with manmade hills and a shoreline promenade. Ultimately (say, 2013?) 90 acres of parkland will be remade for anyone willing......

Last month, word on the Boardwalk was that two former Atlantic City hotels (the Howard Johnson and Holiday Inn) would morph into a boutique hotel named the Chelsea (no relation). Further bringing a Manhattan feel to the has-been Jersey destination is the oft-celeb-drenched scene of Manhattan's Beatrice Inn; the club's operators, Paul Sevigny and Matt Abramcyk amongst them, have been charged with creating "a vibe." The collaboration had AC's Visitors Authority declaring, “The New York......

Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission is holding a public hearing to consider the largest proposal in its 43-year history: An application by the St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center to demolish eight structures in Greenwich Village on West 11th and 12th Streets, near Seventh Avenue, and construct an $800 million, 21-story, 329-foot-tall hospital and condominium tower. Falling to the wrecking ball would be the 1963 O’Toole Building which houses the hospital. The plans are strongly opposed......

The fate of McCarren Park Pool turned around after being landmarked and given a $50 million gift from Bloomberg, yet its future look is still up in the air. Following the February 4th meeting, last night another Community Board meeting was held to discuss The Pool. This time architects Rogers Marvel and The Parks Department were on hand to present conceptual plans. Curbed has the reveal, but they note the renderings are merely "draft images......

Michael Lappin, CEO of the managing company for what is being called the "New Domino", responded yesterday to our questions about the proposed project via email. The iconic Domino Sugar sign is not included in these renderings. [We photoshopped it back in, above.] Is there any plan to preserve that somewhere at the site? We are making every effort to save the sign. We are looking at different engineering solutions regarding the “where and......

Earlier this year some renderings for a Governors Island redesign were released. Out of the five contending designs, all of which the NY Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussof called "unambitious", a winner was finally chosen. Earlier today at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer announced the Dutch firm West 8 has been selected to recreate the open space on the island. This was one of the firms that Ouroussof pointed out......