Supersize those stairs. Mayor Bloomberg may be against big drinks and fries, but he wants stairs to be more visible in new construction. He issued an executive order this week to city agencies to design more prominent staircases that will supposedly encourage people to stay out of elevators. He also plans to introduce two bills to modify private development. The first bill will require that building owners give occupants access to at least one, clearly identified stairway in the building; and post signs that prompt stair use near elevators. The second bill increases access to and the visibility of stairways by permitting the use of hold-open devices in the doors of one stairway per building, for a maximum of three consecutive floors. Hold-open devices automatically shut in emergencies. It is all part of the Mayor’s plan to promote active design to improve our health.
If you passed 4857 Broadway in April you might have seen the start of construction of a seven story building with 28 apartments and ground floor retail. Next week, you could see it finished. Or, you could just watch a time-lapse video of the modular construction in a minute and a half. Including factory time, the project will have taken about ten months start to finish and, along with new modular apartments planned for Atlantic Yards, it may represent the future of construction in the City.
The EDC and Port Authority are requesting expressions of interest to develop 80 acres at the Teleport site on Staten Island. Half the site already has tenanted office development, and the request is wide open for purchase or lease of the site and development ideas.