Love Set in Stone: Bring Your Date on a Valentine’s Day Trolley Ride in Green-Wood Cemetery

Expect conditions to be a little more, um, icy. Photo courtesy of Green-Wood Cemetery

February 13, 2015

Love Set in Stone: Bring Your Date on a Valentine’s Day Trolley Ride in Green-Wood Cemetery

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What could be more romantic than a cozy mid-winter afternoon trolley ride through one of NYC’s most interesting national historic landmarks, Green-Wood Cemetery? Celebrate this most romantic of holidays with a bit of a gothic twist: Expert guide Ruth Edebohls will lead a tour highlighting historic power couples, romantic monuments and tales of love everlasting, both triumphant and grim. You can also view Civil War love letters […]

Tiny Brooklyn Apartment Is Covered with 25,000 Ping Pong Balls
February 13, 2015

Tiny Brooklyn Apartment Is Covered with 25,000 Ping Pong Balls

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From afar, the walls of this tiny Brooklyn apartment look they're covered in geometric wallpaper, but get up close and you're in for quite the surprise. Daniel Arsham, partner and co-founder of Snarkitecture, a cross-disciplinary firm that blends art and architecture, used 25,000 ping pong balls that had lost their bounce to create this incredible wall mosaic as part of an accelerated design experiment.
More on this incredible design
OBRA Architects’ Centrifugal Villa Is a Wooden Home with a Hollow Heart
February 13, 2015

OBRA Architects’ Centrifugal Villa Is a Wooden Home with a Hollow Heart

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OBRA Architects' Centrifugal Villa is not your average wooden family home. Located on a five-acre site in Southampton, it overlooks a pristine agricultural reserve framing the green landscape through its many all-around windows. Its name comes from its original circular layout, which in the architects' own words, is "arranged around a hollow center, as if the heart of the house had somehow fallen outside its body."
Learn more about this centrifugal wooden home
February 12, 2015

The Meatpacking District: From the Original Farmers’ Market to High-End Fashion Scene

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Why is it called the Meatpacking District when there are only six meat packers there, down from about 250?  Inertia, most likely. The area has seen so many different uses over time, and they're so often mercantile ones that Gansevoort Market would probably be a better name for it. Located on the shore of the Hudson River, it's a relatively small district in Manhattan stretching from Gansevoort Street at the foot of the High Line north to and including West 14th Street and from the river three blocks east to Hudson Street. Until its recent life as a go-to high fashion mecca, it was for almost 150 years a working market: dirty, gritty, and blood-stained.
Read the full history here
New Report Shows It’s More Expensive to Rent in Queens than in Brooklyn

Ridgewood via Cameron Baylock

February 12, 2015

New Report Shows It’s More Expensive to Rent in Queens than in Brooklyn

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A new report released today by Douglas Elliman shows that Queens has surpassed Brooklyn in most expensive rents. The median montly rent in Western Queens rose to $2,905 in January, a 30.7 percent jump from the same time last year. That's $4 more than North and Northwest Brooklyn's median rent, which only rose 2.5 percent to $2,901. We shouldn't be so surprised, though. With constant news of skyrocketing prices in Brooklyn, a lot of attention has been turned to Queens, especially up-and-coming neighborhoods like Ridgewood, as well as already-established hip spots such as Long Island City and Astoria.
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Following a Two-Year Renovation, Park Slope’s ‘Lighthouse’ Asks $7.5M
February 12, 2015

Following a Two-Year Renovation, Park Slope’s ‘Lighthouse’ Asks $7.5M

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A gut-renovated four-story townhouse on Garfield Place has just hit the market, asking $7.5 million. The owners of the “Lighthouse,” as it’s been christened, paid $2.6 million for it back in 2012. Then they hauled in the big guns—CWB Architects, Tamara Eaton Design, and Pilaster Contracting—to give it an intense two-year makeover. The result is a gorgeous five-bedroom home with Dinesen Douglas fir floors, a solarium, 880 square feet of exterior space, and a new two-story glass extension and rear wall.
More pics inside
$30M Mega-Mansion Coming to Soho; New Developments Heating up the Jamaica Real Estate Market
February 12, 2015

$30M Mega-Mansion Coming to Soho; New Developments Heating up the Jamaica Real Estate Market

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A massive, 13,000-square-foot mega-mansion is coming to Soho. Madison Equities will combine two existing townhouse development sites to create a completely customizable $30 million home. [NYDN] Several mega projects coming to Jamaica may prove to be the real estate tipping point for the Queens ‘hood. [TRD] Hudson Yards developers get $180 million in tax breaks. […]

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re-fashioNYC Makes It Easy to Clean Out Your Closet by Coming to You
February 12, 2015

re-fashioNYC Makes It Easy to Clean Out Your Closet by Coming to You

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NYC Fashion Week kicks off today–what better time to de-clutter, de-hoard, and make some room in your closet. Every year New Yorkers jettison approximately 200,000 tons of clothing, shoes, handbags and other textiles and clothing items. re-fashioNYC is a partnership between the NYC Department of Sanitation and Housing Works that is making it easier than ever to donate those items instead. The convenient in-building service will supply collection bins to your apartment building (with over 10 units), workplace, gym, school or other public building, then collect the contents whenever the bins are full. re-fashioNYC is completely nonprofit and charitable–all proceeds from donations support the charitable mission of Housing Works to end homelessness and AIDS. Nothing donated is sent to landfills.
Find out more
Spectacular Park Slope Mansion Comes with Private Parking and a Twice-Reduced Price
February 12, 2015

Spectacular Park Slope Mansion Comes with Private Parking and a Twice-Reduced Price

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A short walk from Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza is a row of four neo-classical townhouses that have been presiding over Plaza Street West in Park Slope since the late 1800s. Anyone strolling past will be instantly charmed by the intricately carved cornices, striking wrought iron doors, and relief-cast designs gracing the limestone façades. As beautiful as they are on the outside, one can only imagine what treasures can be found inside. And the residence at #5 does not disappoint.
Check out this home's spectacular interior
Carmelo and LaLa Anthony Score an $11 Million Pad Overlooking the High Line
February 12, 2015

Carmelo and LaLa Anthony Score an $11 Million Pad Overlooking the High Line

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New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony and wife LaLa have been on the hunt for a Chelsea home since last fall, and after touring countless multi-million dollar homes (like this one and this one) it looks like the pair have settled on a High Line-adjacent condo at Cary Tamarkin’s new 10-story, 15-unit complex at 508 West 24th Street. The Post reports that the hoopster is putting down $11 million for a massive full-floor home.
Check it out here
Pier 55 Floating Park Moves Forward with a Lease Deal
February 12, 2015

Pier 55 Floating Park Moves Forward with a Lease Deal

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Last we heard about Pier55–the 2.4-acre futuristic floating park and performance space proposed by billionaire media mogul Barry Diller that would jut 186 feet into the Hudson at 13th Street–Community Board 2 had mixed feelings about the project. They liked Thomas Heatherwick's design, but cited concern over the lack of transparency from Diller and the Hudson River Park Trust. Despite these feelings, though, we've learned today from the Times that the Trust approved a lease agreement with Pier 55 Inc., a nonprofit group controlled by Diller, to help develop the $130 million public space. Diller has already pledged $113 million toward the project through the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation (his wife is fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg). So, what's next?
What's to come for Pier 55
HBO’s Robert Durst Crime Documentary Series Premieres, Is Creepy but Fascinating

Photo: HBO

February 12, 2015

HBO’s Robert Durst Crime Documentary Series Premieres, Is Creepy but Fascinating

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“The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” the six-part HBO documentary series about the black-sheep older brother of commercial developer Douglas Durst of the multibillion dollar Durst Organization (developers of One World Trade Center), premiered on February 8th. Andrew Jirecki, the director of the series, has a long-held fascination with the program's subject, first directing a feature film, “All Good Things,” in 2010, starring Ryan Gosling in the Durst role. Robert Durst sat for over 20 hours of interviews with the filmmaker–the basis of the controversial series, the draw of which is that it “stars” Robert Durst (now 71) as himself.
more on the series here
The New Broadway Plan Could Bring 3,000 Housing Units to West Harlem, 50 Percent Will Be Affordable

Broadway and 146th Street, a typical stretch in West Harlem

February 11, 2015

The New Broadway Plan Could Bring 3,000 Housing Units to West Harlem, 50 Percent Will Be Affordable

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You may remember the Harlem Promenade project, which proposed transferring air rights over the Amtrak rail lines in West Harlem to create affordable housing and using the sale of the air rights to pay for $170 million in community improvements in Hamilton Heights, including a High Line-esque park. We've now learned that the project has taken on a new life as the New Broadway Plan, which may be smaller in scope than the original plan, but would be the largest creation of affordable housing in Manhattan since 1959 if fully realized. It would also make a huge dent in Mayor De Blasio's goal of creating or preserving 200,000 affordable units over ten years. The Plan proposes a rezoning of portions of Broadway from 125th to 155th Streets in order to build 3,000 new units of housing, 50 percent of which will be permanently affordable, and to equalize the amount of new affordable to market rate housing stock, which is currently at a disproportionate ratio of 20 percent to 80 percent, respectively.
Get the scoop here
A New Bjarke Ingels or Rem Koolhaas-Designed Development Could Be Coming to the High Line
February 11, 2015

A New Bjarke Ingels or Rem Koolhaas-Designed Development Could Be Coming to the High Line

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The High Line is continuing its trajectory as the destination for the city's most exciting new architecture, and it looks like another starchitect could soon join the already impressive roster of designers making their mark on the area. The New York Post reports that HFZ Capital Group is currently in the works to bring a "monumental" new structure to a lot located next to the elevated park at 76 11th Avenue—a site that spans from 17th to 18th and across 10th to 11th Avenues. Although the parcel is still in contract (expected to close in April), HFZ has reportedly already tapped Bjarke Ingels (BIG) and Rem Koolhaas for initial drawings, which were revealed by the company's head, Ziel Feldman, yesterday at the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association luncheon. The renderings are said to show "triangular structures that won't block views".
Find out more here
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Experience the City’s Skyscrapers in Cartoons with The New Yorker’s Bob Mankoff
February 11, 2015

Experience the City’s Skyscrapers in Cartoons with The New Yorker’s Bob Mankoff

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Condé Nast's move into One World Trade Center means more than just the offices of Vogue settling in downtown, but also some other 3,000-odd editors, writers and advertising folks that make up the publishing giant's empire. Amongst these magazines is, of course, The New Yorker. In this week's installment of the magazine's "Cartoon Lounge," cartoon editor and cartoonist Bob Mankoff takes a moment to commemorate the magazine's move into the supertall icon by musing over the skyscrapers that have appeared in The New Yorker since the city's 1920s building boom. From his office on the 38th floor of One World Trade, watch as he shares his favorite cartoons and his own experience of seeing the New York City skyline as a kid in Queens. This video is sure to make you smile!
Watch the video here
CWB Architects’ Bug Acres Uses a Screened Porch to Bring the Outdoors In
February 11, 2015

CWB Architects’ Bug Acres Uses a Screened Porch to Bring the Outdoors In

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Standing among an idyllic garden with centenarian trees, a stream and granite rocks, this beautiful Woodstock retreat is perfect for a relaxing weekend away. Dubbed "Bug Acres," it was built to replace an old property that used to stand on the same site, and it was exclusively designed for "amplifying the owner’s visual and auditory experience of the landscape from the interior spaces," according to CWB Architects. Our favorite part of the house is the screened cedar porch, which comes complete with minimal decoration and a sweet wood-burning stove, letting you be one with nature from the comfort of a warm home.
Learn more about this woodland retreat with a stream
Snøhetta Transforms a Gowanus Warehouse into a Mural Studio for Cuban Artist José Parlá
February 11, 2015

Snøhetta Transforms a Gowanus Warehouse into a Mural Studio for Cuban Artist José Parlá

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You've probably seen the murals of Cuban-American artist José Parlá in the lobbies of One World Trade Center and the Barclays Center. With such high-profile clients, it's no wonder he worked with starchitecture firm Snøhetta, who completed the 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilion, to create his personal artist's studio. Collaborating together, Parlá and Snøhetta transformed a Gowanus warehouse into a double-height workspace that retains industrial characteristics of the building like beamed ceilings, exposed piping and electrical fixtures, and concrete floors. To tailor the studio to their client's needs, the firm re-opened old skylights to let natural light in to the middle of the work space, and they painted all the walls neutral grey tones so Parlá's bright paintings really stand out.
More on the project
A Rich (and Potentially Famous) Buyer Snags the Penthouse at 250 West for $29.5 Million
February 11, 2015

A Rich (and Potentially Famous) Buyer Snags the Penthouse at 250 West for $29.5 Million

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After yoyo-ing on and off the market over the last two years, the penthouse at 250 West has finally found a buyer. City records filed this afternoon reveal that the unit traded hands for $29.5 million, way down from its original $42 million asking price back in 2013. The buyer was shielded under an LLC, but it was previously reported that the penthouse was being marketed to high-profile individuals, celebs amongst them, given its private entrance separate from the door used by the rest of the residents. Leonardo DiCaprio was rumored to be one of the names to have checked out the space—though he eventually purchased a pad at the Delos. With that in mind, we wonder who nabbed this Tribeca deal.
Check out the interiors here
Former Greenpoint Night Club Turned Spectacular Live/Work Loft Wants $11M
February 11, 2015

Former Greenpoint Night Club Turned Spectacular Live/Work Loft Wants $11M

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You wouldn’t exactly know it from the exterior, but inside this two-story brick and steel warehouse is a renovated loft with all the size and flexibility anyone could ask for to create a dream home. In 2010, artist Matthew Day Jackson bought the former Studio B nightclub for $2 million. He gave it a serious makeover, creating a 15,000-square-foot live/work space, which is now asking $11 million.
More pics inside

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