1982: Loft living poised for legal status
In the early 1980s an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 families were living in New York City industrial lofts. Twenty-five years ago this month, their occupancy in those spaces was legalized by the New York State Senate. The bill stood still in the Senate for two years before Democrats gained leverage for it by agreeing to support Republicans’ proposed repeal of New York City’s tax on real estate transactions valued at more than $1 million.
The bill, which became Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law, required landlords to bring legalized loft buildings into compliance with the city’s residential building code. The cost of this work would be covered by increases in tenants’ rents, the bill stipulated. At the same time, the New York City Loft Board was established to oversee the necessary conversions, set the initial pricing of rents, and arbitrate disputes between tenants and landlords.
The law was originally due to expire on June 30, 1996, but it has been continually renewed. As of press time, it was due to expire at the end of last month, and Senate Democrats and the Spitzer administration were pushing for its renewal.
Residential conversions of loft buildings began in the 1950s. The formerly industrial spaces were mostly occupied by artists with limited budgets who needed large spaces in which to work. Loft residency led Soho, Noho and Tribeca to later become fashionable places to live for the well-heeled. Today, residential loft conversions abound in outer-borough areas like Williamsburg and Long Island City.
1932: Construction of Radio City resumes
Wage negotiations with building trade unions were resolved 75 years ago this month, allowing the resumption of work on the Radio City project in Rockefeller Center. After a two-month strike, 3,000 steelworkers, bricklayers, electricians and other builders resumed construction of the development. It included the RKO Building, RKO Photoplay Theatre, the RCA Building and the International Music Hall, also known as Radio City Music Hall.
Upon its completion in December 1932, Radio City Music Hall was the largest theater in the world, with 5,874 seats and a ground-floor area of 32,600 square feet. It is still the largest and most famous theater in the United States, and home to the biggest pipe organ built for a movie theater: the Mighty Wurlitzer.
The theater’s goal was to provide entertainment in a luxurious setting that would still be affordable to the general public. Donald Deskey designed the Art Deco interior, complete with 60-foot ceilings, full-length draperies and chandeliers. The stage features three large elevators that allow for rapid scene changes and the elevation of entire bandstands and choruses. The hall opened on December 27, 1932, with a performance by Martha Graham, Ray Bolger and Gertrude Niesen; the following year it introduced its best-known act, the Rockettes. In 1978, the interior was declared a landmark, and it underwent a seven-month, $70 million restoration. In recent years, the theater has been home to award ceremonies including the Daytime Emmys, the Tony Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards and the Grammys.
1907: Future R subway line approved
The Rapid Transit Board voted to approve a Fourth Avenue subway line in Brooklyn 100 years ago this month, laying the groundwork for the present-day R line and the transformation of the housing stock in Bay Ridge.
On October 29, 1909, the Board of Estimate approved a budget of $15.8 million for construction, and ground was broken on the project on November 13, 1909, at Flatbush Avenue between DeKalb Avenue and Willoughby Street. When first opened in 1920, it was called the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit No. 2 line. Upon the line’s construction, Bay Ridge, formerly an enclave of mansions and summer homes for the wealthy, witnessed an influx of Manhattan workers. Demand for commuter housing led to the replacement of large homes with high-rises. A few mansions remain today, including the Gingerbread House on 82nd Street and Narrows Avenue.
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit sold the subway to New York City on June 1, 1940. In October 1949, the line was extended again to Astoria, Queens. Its name was changed to RR in 1960, and it became the R in 1985.