Via Pexels

A federal program designed to root out dirty money in real estate was drastically expanded Thursday, and will now apply to even more cash-deals in more cities. As of last week, all real estate purchases made through a limited liability company at or above $300,000 in 12 metropolitan area will be subject to the disclosure rules, known as the Geographic Targeting Orders, including New York City. The threshold previously varied across cities, starting at $3 million in Manhattan and $1.5 million in the city’s other four boroughs, as first reported by the Real Deal. Virtual currency deals are now subject to the disclosure rules as well.

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As 6sqft previously reported, the building that’s home to this four-bedroom East Village duplex condo at 12 Avenue A was at one time a speakeasy and dancehall. In the much less distant past (in 2016), the sprawling apartment was asking $24,500/month rent. While it still boasts a private roof deck, a huge movie screen, surround-sound, and luxury fixtures and finishes, it’s now asking a still-pricey $19,500 per month.

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Images (L to R): 136 West Houston Street, 223 Fourth Avenue, 10 Rutgers Street, and Halo LIC

• High-End Greenwich Village Rentals Available at Newly Constructed 136 West Houston Street=[LINK]
• 223 Fourth Avenue Offers Luxury Park Slope Rentals from $2,452/Month [LINK]
• Newly-Renovated Lower East Side Rentals at 10 Rutgers Street; No Fee + 1 Month Free[LINK]
• Halo LIC: Industrial-Inspired No-Fee Rentals with 1 Month Free in the Heart of Long Island City [LINK]
• Context? Fuggedaboutit! Luxury Rentals Debut in Flatbush at 8 Fairview Place [LINK]

SEE MORE RENTAL NEWS AND OFFERS HERE

Library or apartment? The lines are blurred at this amazing duplex co-op at 40 Fifth Avenue that just hit the market for $4,995,000. The entire maisonette spread is full of pre-war details mixed with modern amenities, but it’s the dramatic double-height living room that steals the show. The first level has creative built-ins that extend to the furniture, and the second floor is a wrap-around atrium balcony lined completely with bookshelves and window seats overlooking Fifth Avenue and 11th Street.

It doesn’t stop there for bibliophiles

John, a third generation Mohawk ironworker who helped raise One World Trade, photographed by Melissa Cacciola, via Melisssa Cacciola

“Skywalkers: a Portrait of Mohawk Ironworkers at the World Trade Center,” opens today at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The exhibit features photographer Melissa Cacciola’s tintype portraits of Kahnawake Mohawk ironworkers who volunteered in rescue efforts after 9/11 and helped raise One World Trade Center, Towers 2, 3, and 4, and the Calatrava Transportation Hub.

Find out more

Photo via Flickr cc

Today, flea markets, pop-up shops, and food halls are an everyday part of city life, but 25 years ago, this wasn’t the case. In 1993, after working for several years at Urban Space Management in the UK, Eldon Scott arrived in NYC with the goal of opening a holiday market similar to those he’d worked on developing in London. He quickly set up the Grand Central Holiday Fair and shortly thereafter the Union Square Holiday Market. Modeled loosely on Christkindlmarkts, traditional holiday street markets held during advent that began in Germany, the Union Square market is now a holiday tradition for New Yorkers and out-of-towners alike, with 150+ vendors.

More history and info about this year’s market

Rendering of Plaxall’s proposed, but not yet approved, mixed-use LIC project courtesy of WXY architecture + urban design

A plan to create 1,500 units of affordable housing in the Anable Basin area of Long Island City will most likely be scrapped, as Amazon prepares to open its headquarters on that same land, Politico reported. Amazon announced this week plans to bring its second headquarters to the Queens neighborhood on land currently owned by plastics company Plaxall, as well as some parcels owned by New York City. Previous plans from Plaxall and the city, who hired developer TF Cornerstone to build a mixed-use campus at the site, called for 1,250 and 250 units of affordable housing, respectively. But an Amazon spokesperson told Politico there will be no housing at its new complex.

Amazon in, affordable housing out

First reported by CityRealty, Oxford Properties Group filed a building permit application yesterday to construct a 588,000-square-foot commercial addition to the St. John’s Terminal building in Hudson Square, a property they acquired in January. As 6sqft previously reported, architecture firm COOKFOX will helm the conversion and it is expected that Google will buy or lease the building, which is projected to be finished in 2022. If Google sticks to this plan — in addition to their forthcoming expansions at Pier 57 and Chelsea Market — the tech giant would double their employee force in the area to roughly 20,000. (This announcement follows that of Amazon’s impending expansion at a similar scale in Long Island City.)

More details

Via Roman Kruglov on Flickr

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in July said it would face a budget gap of $634 million in 2022. Turns out, it will actually be much worse than that. The transit authority on Thursday rolled out its proposed 2019 budget and four-year financial plan, which now projects the budget deficit to climb to a staggering $991 million in four years. With this major budget crisis brewing, the MTA announced two new options for fare and toll increases in 2019 and possible service cuts, all while service deteriorates and ridership drops (h/t WSJ).

More on the fare hike here