Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Robot furniture is happening. This is the single greatest thing to happen to humanity ever, the robots told us to say. The Bumblebee Spaces “A.I. Butler” furniture system uses heavy duty straps to lower and raise the furniture from the ceiling. Video by Jason Henry for The New York TimesPublished OnSept. 21, 2018 As Americans…
In the late 1980s Ruth Messinger, who was then on the New York City Council, was pushing a proposal to impose rent controls on commercial space to save small businesses from being pushed out by soaring rents. I called her “the most dangerous woman in New York” in a Crain’s editorial opposing her plan. I…
Getty Images. Photo by Drew Angerer In early 2019 the L train in New York City will shut down for 15 months to repair damage caused during Hurricane Sandy. Leading up to the closure, VICE will be providing relevant updates and proposals, as well as profiles of community members and businesses along the affected route…
Image wrap box Free blurb with Takeaway A growing share of new homes on Airbnb are year-round rentals owned by hosts who never live in them. These rentals now surpass private rooms inside a house occupied by the host, one of Airbnb’s traditional offerings, according to company data for a week’s worth of listings from…
Another day, another well-off older person reminding young people that our generation will probably always struggle to obtain the things our parents took for granted. Last year, it was Australian millionaire Tim Gurner asserting that if we just didn’t buy so much damn avocado toast, we’d be able to afford to purchase homes. This time,…
A lawyer for President Donald Trump arranged a $130,000 payment to a former adult-film star a month before the 2016 election as part of an agreement that precluded her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. Michael Cohen, who spent nearly a decade as a…
ToutCIM Group bought Uber Technologies Inc.’s Uptown Station in Oakland in one of the city’s biggest real estate deals of 2017. CIM paid $180 million for the 356,000-square-foot building, according to property records. The building’s renovation is expected to be completed in late 2018. It’s unclear how much additional money is required to complete the…
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.05% has struck again. Only this time the internet giant is shaking up an industry it hasn’t yet entered. Amazon’s potential entry into the pharmacy-services industry helped spur CVS HealthCorp.’s CVS -2.94% $66 billion bid for insurance giant Aetna Inc., AET 11.54% according to a person familiar with the matter. An acquisition of a major insurer was among roughly a dozen strategies CVS’s management team…
Yes, land-use restrictions make cities unaffordable. But they also keep inequality between regions from becoming even worse. It’s become perhaps the most widely accepted truism in urban development and economic policy circles: NIMBY zoning and overly restrictive land-use policies and building codes keep housing prices high, making superstar cities like New York and San Francisco…
Real estate startup WeWork Cos. has struck a deal to acquire Lord & Taylor’s flagship New York City store for $850 million, a move that will convert the landmark building into the startup’s headquarters next year. The transaction, part of an effort by Lord & Taylor’s parent Hudson’s Bay Co. HBC +2.04% to reduce its debt, is the most dramatic…