ON AN INCLUSIVE, WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE RIDE
The famous Coney Island attraction is
fully wheelchair accessible via stationary cars with level boarding.
A tunnel from the Coney Island
Boardwalk to the historic Deno’s Wonder Wheel provides an accessible route to the $10
per ride Brooklyn landmark.
CONEY ISLAND JULY 4, 2026
Annual hot dog eating contest took
place right around the corner.
SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT
The only
other thing I would add to the super-comfortable room is a grab bar and shower
wand in the outstanding shower.
Grab bars and
wands are not just for people with disabilities.
We all like
to have something to steady ourselves with late night in an unfamiliar shower.
And the
shower wand -- it just plain reaches places that even the nicest overhead
nozzle cannot.
Bottom line,
if work is taking you to Midtown – or your vacation needs a very well-run lodging
close to transit, book an Empire State Building-facing room at Executive Hotel
le Soleil New York.
SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT
I specifically wanted a room with a mini fridge.
I have lost more than 100 pounds and the key to it is eating fruit and grains for breakfast and storing healthy snacks along with almond milk for cereal, etc.
I even
emailed to confirm the fridge at booking time.
On arrival,
the fridge was room temp, but I figured they maybe just plugged it in.
The next
day, my berries looked like they were not doing well.
By the night
of the first full day, my nonfat milk had spoiled and I realized that the
fridge was barely cooling.
On the plus
side, I phoned the next early morning and they switched out the fridge for a
great one.
Whoever came to the room put every last item in the fridge exactly as I had left it + they did not disturb one square inch of the other parts of the room.
Bravo.
SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT\
For less than $3 one-way, the ferry takes you to Long Island City, Wall Street area, Upper East Side and several key stops in Queens.
I used the Hornblower
NYC Ferry Service for a lot of work and leisure mobility.
It worked for
Manhattan skyline photos at dusk, for running along the river for exercise and
for transit that also gave tourist-class views of the city in late summer.
SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT
I never used a taxi or ride share.
Koreatown food is blocks away.
A huge Whole
Foods is a few blocks up by Bryant Park, so I could get milk, berries, cereal
and more for breakfast in the room.
The 34 special bus stops very close by and it's a great east-west connector, especially the route that stops at FDR and the East River.
That's
exactly where the NYC Ferry (water taxi) stops.
SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT
Daily housekeeping was not done due to COVID.
But I don't like daily intrusions and if I needed a spare towel, shampoo, anything -- it was in my room in lightning speed.
The front desk as warm and fast for check in.
View of Empire State building through large
window in room was a cool bonus.
The
neighborhood was quiet at night -- as this is not exactly hipster ground zero
location.
There is
major train transit nearby at Herald Square, Penn Station and Times Square.
SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT
The price point was amazing.
A $250 to $300 room for $150 (plus taxes).
Very quiet
room with a great bed and efficient layout.
I loved the walk-in
shower with endless hot water.
The room is
not big, but I don't come to New York to sit in the room.
The storage
space, mainly a vertical tower with all kinds of drawers and open cubes, was
the best I've seen in a compact room.
It had a
great desk (also my breakfast bar) and closet. Lots of outlets and two charging
stations on the clock radio.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
“Milan or
New York, for example are already widening sidewalks, pedestrianizing streets
and increasing bike lanes,” Cristina Garrido said, noting that Barcelona has
converted parking lots into civic space.
“The pandemic has accelerated a change that had to be done if we wanted our cities to be sustainable in a mid/long term.
From now on, cities will be more people-centered, and they will have more public spaces allocated for people.”
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
Cristina Garrido -- Director of Innovation for CitiesToBe, an urban platform powered by Barcelona-based Smart Cities Consultant anteverti –
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
“The current
gold standard for this with small-scale development is Portland, Oregon, which
passed its residential infill program (RIP) last fall,” said Strong Towns
Senior Editor Daniel Herriges.
found that significant affordability benefits would be achieved by the policy the city ended up passing, which provides a sliding scale of allowed FAR for buildings between four and six units -- if they provide rent-reduced affordable units.”
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
Strong Towns
is a nonprofit focused on strengthening the urban core while eliminating
budget-busting sprawl development.
is that of
building density or floor area ratio (FAR) bonuses into the zoning code
specifically for affordable units,” Senior Editor Daniel Herriges said.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
Strong Towns Senior Editor Daniel Herriges emphasizes that the 15-minute neighborhood saves cities the high cost of maintaining sprawl.
“It's important to remember that the cost premium for compact, mixed-use neighborhoods is largely a function of artificial scarcity, he said.
“Fifteen-minute
neighborhoods, and the kinds of housing that work well in them, are not
expensive to create or maintain.
They often
have high real-estate values only because they are very popular and we haven't
built enough of them in the last few decades.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
We also regularly partner with community organizations on local hiring and public art installations,” David Lombino said.
“We take
accessibility very seriously at Two Trees -- all of our buildings are ADA
compliant and the vision behind the construction of Domino Park was to create
an inclusive, accessible open space for all.”
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
David Lombino
said Two Trees’ philosophy of diverse community building includes supporting
local businesses, artists and community groups.
“We make a
concerted effort to curate small businesses that suit neighborhood needs and
make an intentional decision to not rent to chains that can pay top dollar.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
“Two Trees has generated approximately 400 high-quality affordable housing units in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
We have an
additional 500 affordable units in the pipeline at our Domino Sugar Factory
redevelopment site, and another 260 proposed units at River Ring, a new project,”
David Lombino, Principal at Two Trees, said –
noting that
low-income units are identical to market-rate apartments, have access to all
amenities and do not have separate entrances (a controversial feature in other
developers’ projects.)
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
“More recently, Domino Park has served as a critical place for New Yorkers throughout the pandemic with painted circles that encourage social distancing on the lawn, which received international recognition and became a replicable model for parks around the world,” David Lombino, Principal at Two Trees, added.
Two Trees -- which has developed a portfolio worth more than $4 billion, including more than 2,000 apartments – agrees that the 15-minute neighborhood must include affordable housing.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
Founded in 1968, Two Trees is best-known for transforming an aging waterfront warehouse district into the DUMBO arts and tech hub in Brooklyn.
“Domino Park along the Brooklyn waterfront in Williamsburg, which Two Trees financed, constructed and operates, embodies this type of approach.
In designing the six-acre
waterfront park, we held dozens of community-based meetings and feedback
sessions so we could understand what the local community wanted in a new public
space,” Lombino said.
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
To create a truly authentic place, you have to involve the community to gather input on what they need and want for the health and longevity of their neighborhood,” said David Lombino, Principal at Two Trees.
“We’ve
worked to keep the human experience at the forefront of our work, always
thinking about the social power of the built environment.”
OLD-FASHIONED COMPACT, CONVENIENT, MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT FOR A MODERN, POST PANDEMIC, WALKABLE WORLD
From a developer’s standpoint, the 15-minute city makes sense to Two Trees, a Brooklyn-based, family-owned real estate development firm.
“The secret
of placemaking is understanding what the local community values and how we can
help infuse those values into the neighborhood and be real partners to our
neighbors,” said David Lombino, Principal at Two Trees.
