You may have heard about a new invasive menace in the US. The spotted lanternfly is a relatively recent arrival from China, and while they may be tiny, they have the potential to cause some serious problems. So let's talk about what these spotted lanternflies are, why they're here, and what we can do about them.

The pristine restoration of this Italianate loft building in Tribeca shows meticulous work by a team of preservation professionals. They succeeded in a minimally invasive scope of work that repaired the facade and brought back its grand original appearance.

The building was completed in 1861-62 for merchant Thomas Hope. For a century, its tenants included printers, clothing and shoe companies, and restaurants. Artists began to take residency on the upper floors during the 1970s. Their use ensured the building would survive, but a series of patches and repairs left it in less-than-ideal condition.

Throughout this project, care was taken to research and test treatments, and document existing conditions at every stage. The first step was removing a failing and inappropriate coating. Exposed historic fabric was repaired or if unusable, became the model for replacement pieces. Delicate, hand-carved Tuckahoe marble elements required several different approaches. The cast-iron entry level was rebuilt and the wood windows were replaced in kind. When the wind-damaged cornice was removed, signage from the original building name was revealed and restored: 131 Duane is once again known as the Hope Building.

AD joins Robert Garneau of Architecture Workshop PC in Manhattan, NYC, to tour a 1920s apartment brimming with sleek designs and space-saving innovations. “We wanted to maintain its rich character, but also offer the client a cozy, more contemporary space.” That client is television executive Tracy Underwood, a former president at ABC Signature who recently transitioned into an exclusive producing gig at 20th Television, a production company owned by Disney Television Studios. Based in Los Angeles, she purchased the apartment in 2021 as pied-à-terre for her frequent trips to New York City. At the time, she was living inside a Spanish bungalow-style home in LA’s Silver Lake community and said she wanted the interior aesthetics of the Manhattan apartment to be a departure from her life on the West Coast.