Crain's New York Business

28/08/2025

Step onto an Amtrak train and you’re likely to enter a compact car with the stale odor that comes with thousands of riders passing through a decades-old train.

That’s not the case for the spacious new high-speed trains arriving on the popular Acela line from Boston to Washington, D.C., with what can only be described as a new train smell.

Amtrak launched the first of its new Avelia Liberty trains for riders along the Northeast Corridor from Boston’s South Station, snaking down the coast through New York, before reaching its terminus at Washington, D.C. after nearly a decade of planning and delays.

The sleek train is one of five new, 9-car sets that are hitting the rails, and are the first in a modern fleet of 28 that will fully replace the existing 25-year-old Acela trains by 2027.

The front car of the new train sets are recognizable by their longer snouts compared to their predecessors and come with a fresh white-and-blue paint job. Each set features one first-class and seven business class cars, and a cafe car. Inside, the train has several modern touches, including a spacious cabin, free high-speed internet and plush seats with power outlets and reading lights.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/amtrak-launches-new-acela-trains-faster-commutes?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

27/08/2025

A Harlem brownstone has once again led to a court battle for Doug E. Fresh.

About a year after losing a West 131st Street building to foreclosure, the rapper is fighting to reverse the court-mandated sale of a different stoop-fronted property, 541 Manhattan Ave., which a judge ordered sold this year to settle a delinquent tax bill.

Fresh, who claims to control a stake in the 4-story, Italianate-style multifamily site through his late mother’s estate, alleges he was never provided a notice that the building was at risk of being seized and similarly not given the chance to pay the overdue bill, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Manhattan state Supreme Court.

In the suit, Fresh, whose real name is Douglas Davis, also calls into question the valuation used for the sale of the prewar building, which traded for $102,000, a “shockingly low” number when considering the site was later collateralized for a $2.4 million loan, the lawsuit says. In their most recent appraisal of the site, city officials put its worth at $2.3 million, tax records show.

In addition to voiding No. 541’s sale, Fresh is also seeking damages of $5 million, based on the suit.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/rapper-doug-e-fresh-sues-void-foreclosure-harlem-brownstone?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

25/08/2025

Here’s the reality: In this city, you could find something exciting to do on the arts and entertainment front every day of the week – and nearly every hour of the day.

Whether it’s a performance by one of the leading dance companies in the world, a never-to-be-re-created museum exhibit, an original Broadway musical or a group of world-class musicians making magic, there’s something to suit every interest. The pleasures of such outings include the anticipation and the “Wow, did we just experience that?” afterglow.

With so much to choose from, consider our fall arts preview not a finite list but, rather, a series of entryways into what promises to be yet another outstanding season.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/arts-entertainment/nycs-2025-fall-arts-and-entertainment-preview

24/08/2025

Police commissioner Jessica Tisch has finally found a taker for her uptown co-op.

The 4,000-square-foot duplex on East 79th Street, which was first listed back in March 2024, has sold for $10.5 million, according to a tax record that appeared in the city register Wednesday.

Tisch and her husband, venture capitalist Dan Levine, had initially sought $13 million for the Upper East Side four-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath apartment, which features a living room with a gas fireplace, a formal dining room and Central Park Views.

The couple had to shave about 20% off the price to seal the deal, which closed Aug. 12, based on the register.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/nypd-commissioner-and-loews-heir-jessica-tisch-sells-her-duplex-co-op-about-11m?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

22/08/2025

The city has decided to allow self-driving taxi company Waymo to become the first company to test its autonomous vehicles in parts of Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.

The city Department of Transportation granted Waymo a permit to test up to eight autonomous vehicles, but they will have drivers at the wheel who will oversee operations at all times.

The company has until late September to test out its tech and then can apply for an extension to the pilot program, the Adams administration said. As part of the permit Waymo is required to regularly meet with DOT officials and report safety data.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/waymo-begin-testing-self-driving-cars-manhattan-and-brooklyn?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

21/08/2025

Transit officials are apparently acknowledging that the five day, in-office work week is dead.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to launch a daily pass for commuter rail geared toward employees who split their time between their Manhattan offices and home.

The unlimited daily pass on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad would be valid until 4 a.m. the next day. It’s designed to replace a round-trip ticket and on weekdays would cost 10% less than two one-way peak tickets.

The ticket is part of a proposed fare increase for the authority’s mass transit next year, including a 4.4% increase for one-way peak fares and weekly and monthly passes on commuter rail.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/mta-launch-daily-pass-aimed-hybrid-workers-5-day-office-week-fades?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

20/08/2025

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is proposing to reclassify the Gowanus Canal, a federal Superfund site, to water quality standards that would direct the city to make it clean enough for swimming.

The change would be a win for the city and real estate developers’ efforts to transform the surrounding community’s legacy of industrial pollution into a mixed-use neighborhood following the city’s 2021 rezoning of Gowanus.

The DEC currently ranks the Gowanus Canal as a Class SD waterway that is high-enough quality to support limited fishing. Under a proposal that would reclassify as many as 30 waterways to strengthen their water quality, the DEC has proposed that the agency redesignate the Gowanus Canal as Class SC, to raise its water quality to also be suitable for swimming and boating.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/climate/new-york-may-reclassify-gowanus-canal-swimmable?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

19/08/2025

Regular subway commuters are familiar with the announcement: “The train is delayed due to a sick passenger.”

In a system with 472 stations traveled by more than 4 million riders per day, some New Yorkers are bound to fall ill. Sometimes sick riders safely exit the train quickly and can wait for care on the platform. But when the passenger can’t exit the train, service is put on hold, causing delays that can cascade through the system.

In the first six months of the year, 1,345 such incidents of sick or injured passengers have spurred 8,878 subway delays for commuters, Metropolitan Transportation Authority data shows.

The authority defines a delay as when a scheduled train arrives at its final stop more than five minutes late, when it skips a planned station or when it is canceled altogether. These incidents usually involve riders who have fainted or vomited; in other cases, passengers may have suffered a heart attack or a seizure, according to the Fire Department of New York.

In 2020, the number of unwell passengers who caused train delays was 1,662; in 2024, 2,443 sick passengers caused service to halt, MTA data shows.

Read more here: https://www.crainscleveland.com/restaurants/naf-naf-grill-open-taco-bell-cantina?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

18/08/2025

It doesn't just feel like buildings are sprouting up everywhere in Downtown Brooklyn; the numbers back it up.

The neighborhood, sandwiched among Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Fort Greene and Boerum Hill, is more than halfway through what's panning out to be its biggest year yet for housing development, according to the most recent quarterly report from the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership's real estate team.

During the first six months of this year, a record-breaking more than 3,700 units were completed, with an additional 1,183 on the way and slated to wrap before 2026. The number of units completed so far this year already shatters the previous record high of 2,925 units completed in all of 2022, according to the report.

Read more here:

The boom is likely a result of the neighborhood’s 2004 rezoning.

15/08/2025

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to award a $1.9 billion contract next week to bore tunnels and begin to build two new Harlem subway stations for the much-anticipated extension of the Second Avenue subway.

MTA officials have chosen Connect Plus Partners, a joint venture between the Nanuet, New York-headquartered Halmar International and the Barcelona, Spain-based FCC Construction, to bore a pair of tunnels between 120th Street along Second Avenue up to 125th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.

The contract is a substantial milestone for the MTA’s $6.9 billion expansion of the Q line 1.5-miles north with three new stations in Harlem, which are expected to serve riders by 2032.

The MTA will formally approve the contract at a special board meeting on Monday.

“This is a very big deal. It’s continued evidence that the Second Avenue subway is really happening,” the MTA’s president of construction and development, Jamie Torres-Springer, told Crain’s in an interview. “The board will be acting on the most significant contract that really is advancing the project.”

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/mta-award-19b-contract-build-second-avenue-subway-tunnels-stations?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

14/08/2025

By the logic of the city’s pro-housing push, if more units are produced, rents will come down. But the reality might not be so simple, according to new data from listing service StreetEasy.

In the past year, some of the neighborhoods with the biggest boosts in inventory actually also saw double-digit price hikes, based on the data, which ranked the areas by the size of their increase in available rental units from July 2024 to July 2025.

Brooklyn’s Gowanus enclave, which has been awash in residential construction, for instance, had 392 more apartments to choose among last month versus in July 2025, or 144% more supply. That was good enough for a first-place finish on StreetEasy’s list of the 10 biggest inventory swings.

But Gowanus' rents did not drop with the boost in listings, as might be expected under the laws of basic economics. In fact, rents climbed, and by a lot, soaring 25% for a median of about $4,900 last month, according to the data, which counted new units but also existing apartments.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/streeteasy-report-shows-rising-housing-inventory-doesnt-always-translate-lower-rents?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own

13/08/2025

Electric vehicle giant Tesla is laying the groundwork to launch robotaxis in New York City.

A new job posting on Tesla’s website states that the company is looking to hire prototype vehicle operators in Queens who must be familiar with automated and driver-assisted systems. The operators would be paid up to $33.66 per hour to collect data on the vehicles' operations for between five and eight hours per day.

The company hasn’t filed for permits to operate robotaxis in the city, according to the city’s Department of Transportation, but officials noted that hiring drivers to monitor the vehicles is a necessary step toward acquiring permits. Tesla did not return requests for comment.

Tesla is likely seeking to catch up to its competitor, Google-affiliated Waymo, which in July began testing robotaxis in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn and has requested DOT permits to commercially operate its vehicles.

Read more here: https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/tesla-makes-move-bring-robotaxis-new-york-city?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=soc-own