September, 2015 | 6sqft

Finding the time and money to properly adorn your living space is challenging in any capacity, and living in a city as expensive as New York makes it that much more difficult. However, this bustling metropolis is not only filled with people, it's also home to all of their furniture! As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure, and New York is the perfect town to hunt for good deals on vintage pieces that are often better in quality and better looking than what you'd buy new from IKEA (minus the ferry ride). To save you time, we've put together this list of some of our favorite NYC spots to hunt for cheap vintage furniture and accessories. We also included a few new and not so new websites that also offer excellent deals.
The best shops to find great deals here

September 15, 2015

Is Bjarke Ingels Redesigning the New York Public Library Flagship?

Bjarke Ingels is most certainly on his way to New York architectural greatness, and scattered on the path behind him are the remains of Norman Foster's abandoned designs. Curbed has caught wind that the baby-faced starchitect is currently being considered for the redesign of the New York Public Library's landmarked Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street. Yesterday afternoon, Theodore Grunewald, Vice President of the Committee to Save the New York Public Library, tweeted that both Bjarke Ingels and Ennead Architects were among the eight finalists being considered for the project—a list that also includes Studio Gang Architects and Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
Find out more here

Architecture And Design

September 15, 2015

Never-Built Coney Island Globe Tower Would Have Been a Massive Boardwalk in the Air

In 1906, architect Samuel Friede announced his plans to build the Coney Island Globe Tower, a 700-foot-tall, 11-story structure that would have contained the Brooklyn neighborhood's attractions in one giant globe in the air. A New York Tribune cover revealing the project said investors were being offered "a ground floor chance to share profits in the largest steel structure ever erected...the greatest amusement enterprise in the whole world...the best real estate venture." Had the $1,500,000 plan gone through, the whimsical structure (part Unisphere, part Eiffel Tower) would have contained restaurants (one of which would rotate), an observatory, the United States Weather Observation Bureau and Wireless Telegraph Station, a vaudeville theater, the world's largest ballroom, bowling alley, roller skating rink, casinos, 50,000-room hotel, 5,000-seat hippodrome, and a four large circus rings.
Read the rest of the history

History

September 15, 2015

Obama No Longer Staying at the Waldorf Astoria; 32nd Street Plaza to be Cleared of Homeless for Pope

Obama is no longer staying at the Waldorf Astoria, purportedly because of China’s Anbang Insurance Group’s takeover of the hotel. [Guardian] The city’s office building boom still isn’t enough to meet demand. [Crain’s] The homeless will be cleared from an area near the 32nd Street plaza between Penn Station and Herald Square in anticipation of the Pope’s arrival. [NYP] Brokerage […]

Real Estate Trends

September 15, 2015

There’s a Secret Bathhouse Modeled After Ancient Greco-Roman and Ottoman Traditions in Tribeca

We don't always have enough free time to escape NYC as often as we'd like (or need). However, when we find ourselves desperate for some immediate R and R there are a few gems of tranquility hidden inside the walls of this concrete jungle. One breathtaking example is AIRE's Ancient Bath House located right in Tribeca behind a very unassuming cast iron storefront (we didn't know it existed either!). This sexy newcomer offers guests access to a suite of amenities including pools of hot, warm, cold and ice water; jet and salt baths; and a steamy hammam.
Have a look inside the incredible space ahead

September 15, 2015

Gorgeous Roof Garden Atop This $3M Flatiron Loft Has an Outdoor Cinema and Cinematic Views

By Michelle Cohen

As much as we love lofts, they're sometimes better in theory than reality; they're either too slick and highly customized as someone's dream palace, or they're a little too raw and lack privacy and separation of space. And their rooftops, while huge, are often gritty urban spaces. In the penthouse loft at 22 East 18th Street asking $2.995 million, you can have your cake in a custom kitchen worthy of a newly-minted luxury apartment and eat it in a verdant enchanted roof garden high above the Flatiron district. This one- (convertible to two-) bedroom co-op has authentic 1900 cast-iron loft bones, details and all, state-of-the-art interiors and mechanical systems (central air and sound and a private elevator to name just a few), plus tons of light and, perhaps best of all, a magical common roof garden with self-irrigated plantings, benches and a custom outdoor cinema–and movie-worthy views of the city.
Have a look around, this way...

Distinctive Homes

Distinctive Homes

From the pool to the pergola, this $1.1M Hudson Valley home blends Colonial with contemporary

This $2.85M Crown Heights townhouse is an unspoiled historic beauty on an extra-long lot

Steve Madden's former Trump Palace pad lists for $11.5M

For $2.2M, this two-family Bed-Stuy townhouse has three levels of outdoor space

Amy Schumer paid $6.25M for Central Park West condo

Amy Schumer sells Brooklyn Heights townhouse at $1.25M loss

This $2.7M Chelsea duplex condo feels like a modern house with a private back garden

For $3M, this charming Nomad loft has a rooftop deck with an outdoor shower

The highest penthouse in Brooklyn's tallest residence lists for $16.75M

$4M Prospect Heights penthouse has three bedrooms, a wraparound terrace, and views in every direction

VIEW ALL

September 15, 2015

Convivial Production’s Structured Hanging Planters Are Perfect for Crawling Greens and Succulents

In a recent edition of 6sqft's Apartment Living 101 we featured the best plants for apartment dwellers, which put us on the lookout for cool planters to house all your leafy greens. This Structured Hanging Planter from designer Chentell Stiritz of Convivial Production Inc. was created specifically for crawling plants and succulents. The planters are made to order and constructed in porcelain and stoneware.
More on the planters here

September 15, 2015

Brooklyn Brownstone by McGrath II Shines With Subtle Color Palettes and Curated Accessories

The mother-daughter design team that makes up McGrath II recently renovated this beautiful Brooklyn brownstone. Their eclectic but elegant aesthetic combines traditional furnishings with contemporary style, resulting in a whole that's definitely greater than its parts. Not only is their ability to curate refined yet surprising design accessories apparent in all of their projects, their talent for selecting subtle colors outlined by bold, bright accents is also always worth another look.
Explore the space in greater detail

$20M Allocated to New Technology That Will Let NYC Vehicles ‘Talk’ to Each Other

Traffic jam photo via joiseyshowaa/flickr

September 15, 2015

$20M Allocated to New Technology That Will Let NYC Vehicles ‘Talk’ to Each Other

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that $42 million will be allocated to new technology in New York City, Tampa, and the state of Wyoming that allows vehicles to "talk" to one another and their surroundings "in order to reduce congestion, prevent accidents, and cut emissions," according to Daily Intelligencer. The city is receiving $20 million of the funds, with which it will create "connected vehicles" that can hopefully reduce traffic accidents by up to 80 percent. By gaining access to real-time traffic data, both drivers and pedestrians will be alerted (or do the alerting) of potential hazards.
Learn about the specifics of what this technology entails

September 15, 2015

Emoji Designed for New Yorkers; Go-To Navigation App HopStop Closes After 10 Years

HopStop, the life-saving navigation app used by everyone new to the city, will be no more. [NYDN] Historic photos of Rosh Hashanah through the years on the Lower East Side. [Bowery Boogie] Wouldn’t it be great if there was a Metrocard emoji? Or how about a black & white cookie? [Village Voice] Map shows the most […]

Uncategorized

New Report Says Landmarked Districts Don’t Protect Affordable Housing

Historic brownstones in Brooklyn Heights via City Realty

September 15, 2015

New Report Says Landmarked Districts Don’t Protect Affordable Housing

The war wages on between the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and citywide preservationists. Many thought the contention between the groups over whether or not historic districts lessen affordable housing was a personal sentiment of former REBNY president Steven Spinola. But his successor John Banks has released a new report that claims landmarking doesn't protect affordable housing. The report looks at the number of rent-stabilized units in landmarked and non-landmarked districts between 2007 and 2014, finding that "citywide, landmarked properties lost rent stabilized units (-22.5%) at a much higher rate (-5.1%) than non-landmarked properties." Of course preservationists quickly fired back. Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) calls the study "bogus" and says it does nothing to address how many units would have been lost had these areas not been landmarked.
More on the report

September 14, 2015

Russian Castle on Long Island With 35 Bathrooms Asks a Whopping $100M

Find out about her very eventful move downtown

Imagine stepping into an overly opulent palace in St. Petersburg where you find an indoor lazy river, myriad fountains, a two-story built-in dollhouse, a private shooting range, 13 bedrooms and 35 bathrooms. You'd probably guess you had stumbled upon the estate of a former czar. But then imagine you weren't actually in Russia, but on Long Island, New York, and the property's owner had no royal lineage, but rather made his fortune in the NYC real estate market. This is the Estate at Kings Point, an over-the-top estate designed to resemble the Peterhof Grand Palace in St. Petersburg, built in 1928 by the late Soviet Union billionaire Tamir Sapir as a display of his wealth (and possibly his ego). An unknown buyer (shielded by an LLC) bought the palace from Sapir in 2013 for $15.85 million, and they're now looking to make an unfathomable profit, re-listing the home for $100 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Check out the unbelievable estate

Our series “New York in the ’60s” is a memoir by a longtime New Yorker who moved to the city after college in 1960. Each installment will take us through her journey during a pivotal decade. From $90/month apartments to working in the real “Mad Men” world, we’ll explore the city through the eyes of a spunky, driven female. In our first two installments we visited her first apartment on the Upper East Side and saw how different and similar house hunting was 50 years ago. Then, we learned about her career at an advertising magazine… looking in on the Donald Drapers of the time. In our fourth installment, we accompanied her to Fire Island during the warm summer months. Now, our main character decides to make the big move downtown, but it’s not quite what she expected.

September 14, 2015

New York in the ’60s: Moving Downtown Comes With Colorful Characters and Sex Parties

By Penelope Bareau

History

September 14, 2015

Historic Soho Townhouse With Massive Rec Room and Skylights Galore Asks $16.3M

By Michelle Cohen

We'd figure that a large and lovely townhouse on a prime Soho block would have a hefty price tag just by virtue of its location; this four-story, 20-foot-wide-by-100-foot-deep home is no exception. But for your $16.3 million, you're getting an 1832 house that, after a three-year gut renovation, achieves a rare level of near-perfection. The couple who purchased the house at at 27 Vandam Street from revered choreographer Paul Taylor in 2009 for a (relatively) mere 3.3 million reconfigured what was at the time four apartments into one grand single-family residence while retaining its historic character. The result: Every detail–and there are many–in this home is state-of-the-art and every inch has been custom-designed for maximum comfort, convenience and peerless good looks.
Tour the interior of this beautiful house

September 14, 2015

VIDEO: Take a Sweeping Drone Tour of Bjarke Ingels’ West Side Pyramid

Few NYC projects are as architecturally exciting as the massive tetrahedron on the rise along West 57th Street. The design, which is the creation of starchitect-of-the-moment Bjarke Ingels, will soar 460-feet from its site (fun fact: the Great Pyramid of Giza stands 455 feet tall) and is slated for completion later this year. While the final form can already be appreciated by passersby from street level at this point—the architect has by now led camera crews through what he calls the "courtscraper" ("the lovechild of a courtyard building and a skyscraper," to be exact)—here's a spectacular, and quite poetic we might add, new video produced by Dark Horse that gives us expansive ariel views of the whole thing through the eye of a drone.
watch the drone tour here

Will Brooklyn Soon See a Slowdown?; Smorgasburg and BK Flea Are Moving to Sunset Park

New NY rulings say that your apartment might be rent-stabilized after all. Brick Underground has the details. [BU] Office rents being paid at 425 Park Avenue could be the highest in history at $300 per square foot. [Crain’s] Real estate experts are warning about a possible housing glut in Brooklyn. [WSJ] Here are some places where you […]

Real Estate Trends

September 14, 2015

Studio Cheha’s Awesome BULBING LED Lamps Are Actually 2D Cutouts

Talk about space-saving design. We're all for products and furniture that help us use space efficiently, but we like these 2-dimensional LED desk lamps either way. At first glance it's difficult to understand how this lamp is flat, but at closer inspection you'll see the 3D illusion is achieved with a flat laser-carved acrylic surface. The clever desk accessory comes from Studio Cheha, a design firm located in Tel Aviv, and can be pre-ordered through their Kickstarter project.
More on the lamps

September 14, 2015

Pile: Transforming, Space-Saving Furniture for Life on the Ground

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

German designer Karl Frederik Scholz joined Israeli Michal Blutrich to create Pile, a stackable space-saving furniture system for relaxation and conversation right on the floor. Perfect for small apartments, the collection features different shaped and colored items that can be arranged into various horizontal, vertical or compact combinations. Pile also has seat cushions, a table, and a lamp that adapt to different needs and put a multi-hued, sculptural twist on traditional Japanese tatami mats.
Learn more about this multifunctional furniture system

Shop

September 14, 2015

Resolution: 4 Architecture’s Romantic Brooklyn Townhouse Renovation Is a Bevy of Soft Textures

This beautiful four-bedroom Brooklyn townhouse was renovated by the New York architecture firm and 6sqft favorite Resolution: 4 Architecture. The project added a significant addition to a traditional single family row house, bringing with it a new roof deck and sleek media room. The interior palette consists mostly of white and neutral wood tones enhanced with poppy adornments like large floral wall art or boldly colored accent walls. Expansive windows dominate the communal areas, making each space feel open and airy regardless of the square footage.
READ MORE

September 14, 2015

Explore the Met From Your Desktop With This Interactive Hand-Illustrated Map

Now that adult coloring books are sweeping the nation, we don't have to hide our love for youthful illustrations and activities--like this new hand-drawn map of the Metropolitan Museum of Art called MetKids Map. The fun interactive platform is dotted with yellow and red circles for which children search and click, opening a separate window full of information about a gallery or work of art.
See more of the fun illustration and learn how it works

Events & Things To Do

September 14, 2015

You Can Be Carnegie Deli’s Pickle Mascot; Opening Day of the New 7 Train Extension