New legislation has been proposed to help NYC’s bird population. (Getty Images)
Life in this city moves pretty fast! In the words of the immortal Ferris Bueller, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. To keep you up to speed, we’ve compiled a quick roundup of what One Block Over’s editors have been reading, discussing, and buzzing about this week. Here’s what’s happening in NYC real estate:
Making City Buildings More Bird-Friendly
Some consider New York’s never-ending onslaught of shiny glass towers to be an eyesore. But how many have considered that these glass monoliths are also a major source of bird deaths? Tens of thousands of birds are killed each year from crashing into buildings, said ABC News. The city council aims to address that sad fact with new legislation that would require “bird-friendly glass” (which has patterns or textures that are visible to birds) in all new construction in the five boroughs.
Thousands of New Apartments to House the Homeless
Thankfully, the city council is also working on legislation to help human New Yorkers — specifically, to alleviate NYC’s growing homeless crisis. The New York Times reported that the plan would require developers of designated affordable-housing projects to set aside 15% of the units for the homeless — that could add 1,000 new apartments for the homeless per year. Many other cities where homelessness is an issue, including Boston, already have such “set-aside” laws in place, the Times said. The bill has broad support and is expected to pass next week.
City Trash Cans to Get a Redesign
The Department of Sanitation has unveiled a new city trash can design, replacing the green metal-mesh receptacles that had gone unchanged for nearly a century. After an international design competition that generated 200 entries, Fast Company offered a profile of the winner: It is 50% lighter, slimmer and easier for sanitation workers to manage, and durable enough to stand up to everything city streets can throw at it — or in it, as the case may be.
Gerrit Cole Is Coming to NYC!
If anyone outside the city has been wondering what’s happening in NYC this week, here’s your answer! Big-deal MLB pitcher Gerrit Cole has signed a nine-year, $324-million-dollar deal with the New York Yankees. The 29-year-old sensation is coming from the Houston Astros, and is originally from California, so it looks like he’s going to be needing some NYC digs pretty soon. Young, famous, and fabulously rich: Where in the metro area will Cole choose to live? Let the speculation begin. (Among our staff, it already has!)
Manhattan Rentals Under $3,000 Article continues below
Run for Your Lives: It’s SantaCon
Finally, this weekend marks the single worst day of the year in NYC: SantaCon. Time Out has a full explainer of the horrific holiday event, which begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday the 14th (because what better time to start binge drinking than 10 a.m.?) and goes until the last Santa passes out in the street, pukes on a passerby, or gets arrested. The parade of drunkenness starts in Times Square this year, which is strangely appropriate somehow, and will meander its way down to the East Village from there. Plan accordingly.
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