Did You Know the First TV Yule Log Was Aired in 1966 From Gracie Mansion?

Original footage of the Yule Log via WPIX-TV

December 24, 2015

Did You Know the First TV Yule Log Was Aired in 1966 From Gracie Mansion?

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If you grew up in a house without a fireplace, there's a good chance the Yule Log played on the television during Christmas. This somewhat strange annual broadcast was, in fact, created for homeowners longing for the glow of a hearth, but also as a way to give station employees some time off. So in 1966, WPIX Channel 11 set up a camera at Gracie Mansion, then occupied by Mayor Lindsay, and filmed one of the home's flickering fireplaces for 17 seconds using 16 millimeter film. It was spliced together into a three-hour loop with holiday carols playing in the background, and there the Yule Log was born on Christmas Eve at 9:30pm. This same footage ran for four years, but but when WPIX wanted to do a new shoot at the Mayor's residence, it was an Oriental rug that halted the plans.
Find out what happened and how the yule log is once again a Christmas tradition
Brooklyn’s First 1,000+ Foot Tower Moves Forward, Developers Close on Last Site Needed
December 24, 2015

Brooklyn’s First 1,000+ Foot Tower Moves Forward, Developers Close on Last Site Needed

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It's official, developers Michael Stern and Joe Chetrit have closed on the Dime Savings Bank building at 9 DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn for $90 million, providing them with the air rights needed to build the borough's tallest tower. According to Crain's, who first broke the news, Stern and Chetrit will be able to transfer the bank building's 300,000 square feet of unused development rights to the new structure's site at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension. As 6sqft previously reported, the new tower will soar more than 1,000 feet and is being designed by SHoP Architects. It will also be the city's tallest building outside of Manhattan when complete.
on the deal here
See How Much Central Park Has Changed Since the ’80s in These Before-and-After Photos
December 24, 2015

See How Much Central Park Has Changed Since the ’80s in These Before-and-After Photos

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In 1980, the Central Park Conservancy was formed as a nonprofit organization to manage the park under a contract with the City of New York and the Parks Department. As 6sqft noted in a previous interview with the Conservancy, they're made up of "gardeners, arborists, horticulturists, landscape architects, designers, tour guides, archeologists, a communications team, and even a historian," all of whom help to maintain the park as the gorgeous urban oasis we know and love today. But before this, the park faced countless political and economic stressors, and without a central body to oversee it, entered a state of disrepair and neglect. It culminated in the '80s (as the Conservancy worked on a plan for its rehabilitation) with barren patches of land, graffiti tags, and dead plants. Since it's hard to imagine Central Park in such a state, the Conservancy has provided these incredible before-and-after photos that show just how far the beloved space has come.
See all the photos here
Bright Art Deco One-Bedroom in Gramercy Park Is for Sale by Owner, Asking $1.2 Million
December 24, 2015

Bright Art Deco One-Bedroom in Gramercy Park Is for Sale by Owner, Asking $1.2 Million

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It's true, this unseasonably warm weather isn't anything to complain about. But it's hard to look at a fireplace like the one pictured above and not start pining for a winter chill. The grand marble fireplace (which is also wood-burning...perfect for wintertime!) belongs to a one-bedroom apartment at 242 East 19th Street, an Art Deco co-op building in Gramercy Park. Constructed in 1926 and converted to a cooperative in 1984, the 15-story brick Italian Renaissance-style building holds 113 apartments. And since many of the surrounding buildings are low-rise, there's a great view from the building's roof deck. This apartment has the spacious rooms that you often find in prewar apartment buildings. It's a one-bedroom, although there's an office space without a window that could be used as a second bedroom. It's up for sale for $1.2 million by owner and photographer Julia Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri (known simply as Indrani).
See more
Steals & Deals: Two-Bedroom Apartments for Just Six Figures!
December 23, 2015

Steals & Deals: Two-Bedroom Apartments for Just Six Figures!

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That elusive creature, the two-bedroom apartment for under $1 million, is alive and well, even in some of the city's most sought-after neighborhoods. They're not easy to find, but diligence—and access to great listings—goes a long way. 6sqft's rounded up a few two-under-one finds now on the market in great nabes like Park Slope, Harlem and Prospect Heights, and even on a stretch just a half-block from amazing Central Park.
See what beautiful two-bedroom deals we've found ahead
Google Officially Signs Lease for 250,000 Square Feet at SuperPier
December 23, 2015

Google Officially Signs Lease for 250,000 Square Feet at SuperPier

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Just in time for construction to commence in the new year, things are swiftly moving ahead at Pier 57, aka the SuperPier. Last month, 6sqft uncovered a slew of new renderings of the the 450,000-square-foot, $350 million development, which is set to include 250,000 square feet of office space for a major technology company, a 170,000-square-foot food and retail market from Anthony Bourdain, and an elevated park with an outdoor movie and performance amphitheater on the roof to be used for screenings for the Tribeca Film Festival. Google has long been assumed as the office tenant, and according to the Wall Street Journal, it's official, as the company has "signed a 15-year lease with development team Youngwoo & Associates LLC and RXR Realty." Bourdain's food hall is also expected to close soon.
More details this way
Jonah Hill Spotted Eyeing Noho Condo Conversion The Schumacher

Current photo of the Schumacher by 6sqft

December 23, 2015

Jonah Hill Spotted Eyeing Noho Condo Conversion The Schumacher

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Looks like Jonah Hill is battening down the hatches in hopes of finding a new Downtown pad. Three years ago, the actor bought a Soho loft at 27 Howard Street for $2.65 million, but put it on the market in August 2014 for a hefty $3.8 million. Back in March, he chopped the price to $3.5 million, and now a tipster tells us that he was seen taking photos outside The Schumacher, the newly unveiled Noho condo conversion at 36 Bleecker Street.
Check out Jonah's options
Bio-Inspired HEAVN Caffeine Lamp Will Boost Your Attention Levels Like Coffee
December 23, 2015

Bio-Inspired HEAVN Caffeine Lamp Will Boost Your Attention Levels Like Coffee

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It's been estimated that roughly 70 percent of working people spend more than six hours a day basking in the artificial light of a computer screen. Research has concluded that overstimulation by artificial light can have negative consequences on your health as bad as metabolic problems, insomnia, depression, concentration disorders, headaches, fatigue and increased stress. This unfortunate reality for today's working population was the inspiration for the development of HEAVN Caffeine, an innovative office light designed to mimic the therapeutic frequencies of natural light. The light is said to not only make you more productive by optimizing your biorhythms—"it boosts your attention levels with the push of a button, just like a strong espresso," says its designers—but it will also help you stay healthier.
FInd out more here
Gramercy Park Will Open to the Public on Christmas Eve; Inside the Apartments from ‘Elf’
December 23, 2015

Gramercy Park Will Open to the Public on Christmas Eve; Inside the Apartments from ‘Elf’

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Commoners can enter Gramercy Park on Christmas Eve to hear holiday caroling. [TONY] Not surprisingly, a food hall called the Pennsy is opening next month above Penn Station. [Gothamist] Here’s what Christmas would cost you in 1932. [NYP] All the apartments in the Christmas movie “Elf” are pretty incredible. [Brick Underground] Starbucks rules in Manhattan, but […]

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New York in the ’60s: The City Was Dirty and Crime-Ridden, but It Was Never Boring

Photo by Garry Winogrand via Worcester Art Museum

December 23, 2015

New York in the ’60s: The City Was Dirty and Crime-Ridden, but It Was Never Boring

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“New York in the ’60s” is a memoir series by a longtime New Yorker who moved to the city after college in 1960. From $90/month apartments to working in the real “Mad Men” world, each installment explores the city through the eyes of a spunky, driven female. In the first two pieces we saw how different and similar house hunting was 50 years ago and visited her first apartment on the Upper East Side. Then, we learned about her career at an advertising magazine and accompanied her to Fire Island in the summer. Our character next decided to make the big move downtown, but it wasn’t quite what she expected. She then took us through how the media world reacted to JFK’s assassination, as well as the rise and fall of the tobacco industry, the changing face of print media, and how women were treated in the workplace. She also brought us from the March on Washington to her encounter with a now-famous political tragedy that happened right in the Village–the explosion at the Weather Underground house. Now, in the last installment of the series, the girl takes a look at just why New York in the '60s was such a special place to her.
Her thoughts this way
MAP: See the World’s Urban Population Grow Over 2,000 Years
December 22, 2015

MAP: See the World’s Urban Population Grow Over 2,000 Years

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While we all like to think of New York City as the center of the universe, our little metropolis really only started to pulsate in the last couple hundred years. Way, way before this (think 1 A.D.) ancient civilizations like the Mayans experienced "urban booms" of their own. This mind-boggling interactive map made by Esri puts thousands of years of global population growth into perspective, ultimately showing us that NYC is kind of just a blip on the radar—or in this case, the 2,000-year timeline of life.
Access the map this way
StudioMDA Explores Fantasy and Sexuality in a Hank Moody-Inspired Bedroom
December 22, 2015

StudioMDA Explores Fantasy and Sexuality in a Hank Moody-Inspired Bedroom

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It's commonly known that Hank Moody, the main character from Showtime's Californication is an ex-New Yorker making his way through the wild streets of Los Angeles. But this small factoid didn't stop the agency responsible for the show's marketing from building a New York homage to the sexual freedom explored by Moody and many of the other characters in the show. As described by StudioMDA, the designers behind this out-of-the-box deliverable, "the bedroom we designed for him is a perfect room for one of his trysts – a place where pleasure and fetishism are tangible and the boundaries between desire and reality are blurred." Well, we couldn't have said it better ourselves.
See it all right here
Stubby Shotgun-Style House Asks $775K in East Bed-Stuy
December 22, 2015

Stubby Shotgun-Style House Asks $775K in East Bed-Stuy

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Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn is a neighborhood that's famed for its architecture: majestic Italianate, Neo-Grec, Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne townhouses, churches and schools line a majority of the side streets. But this little house, at 288 Chauncey Street in East Bed-Stuy, stands in a category all its own. It looks more "New Orleans shotgun house" than Brooklyn townhouse, although it does boast a classic, historic cornice. It's also rare to see a townhouse in the neighborhood that's so stubby, with a one-story front facade (The home is actually a compact two-story, but the lower level sits mostly underground). What's even the proper price tag for such an oddball home? A few years ago, it was asking $350,000, but now that the Bed-Stuy market is so hot it's aiming high with an ask of $775,000.
Check out the interior
Cameron Diaz Unloads Her $4.25M West Village Pad in Less Than Two Months
December 22, 2015

Cameron Diaz Unloads Her $4.25M West Village Pad in Less Than Two Months

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The market may be in its winter slump, but that hasn't affected Cameron Diaz, whose West Village apartment has gone into contract after just 47 days, reports the Observer. The actress bought the two-bedroom home in 2008 for $2.95 million and then enlisted famed California-based designer Kelly Wearstler to outfit the pre-war condo with lots of gilding and luxe finishes. After purchasing a $9.5 million home in the Walker Tower two years ago and recently marrying musician Benji Madden, Diaz put the 12th Street residence on the market for $4.25 million last month.
Take a look around
Studio DB’s Tribeca Penthouse Strikes the Perfect Balance of Beauty and Functionality
December 21, 2015

Studio DB’s Tribeca Penthouse Strikes the Perfect Balance of Beauty and Functionality

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Tribeca has been a NYC hot spot for well over a decade and is home to one of the city's most sought-after zip codes. Thanks to its large stock of lofts and historic architecture, the trendy 'hood is chock full of drool-worthy real estate, and this classic penthouse is no exception. The home was renovated in 2014 by the design team at Studio DB, who set out to make the space both beautiful and functional for the homeowners' growing family.
See the whole renovation
6sqft’s Most Read Stories of 2015!
December 21, 2015

6sqft’s Most Read Stories of 2015!

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It's that time of year when we take a look back at all the news-making topics that caught the eyes of 6sqft's readers. Jump ahead for our top stories of 2015 in everything from new developments to architecture to product design, people, celeb real estate and NYC history. You can also peruse 2014's most popular posts here to see how they compare!
all the top stories of 2015 here
Pitch a story icon Know of something cool happening in New York? Let us know:
The American Panorama Uses Modern Maps to Create an Historic Atlas of the U.S.
December 21, 2015

The American Panorama Uses Modern Maps to Create an Historic Atlas of the U.S.

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Well ahead of his time, naval historian Charles Paullin created the Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States in 1932. Its 700 maps covered all sectors of American life, from geographic boundaries to topography and European settlement to the development of railroads. Last year, the University of Richmond digitized these maps, and they've now taken inspiration from the catalogue to create a modern version of the project. Called American Panorama, the platform aims to be an "historical atlas for the online era," according to CityLab. The four interactive maps currently on the site are: The Forced Migration of Enslaved People; The Overland Trails; Foreign-Born Population; and Canals.
Learn more right here
More Details Revealed for Bjarke Ingels’ High Line Towers
December 21, 2015

More Details Revealed for Bjarke Ingels’ High Line Towers

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The latest project to come from starchitect-of-the-moment Bjarke Ingels is a set of towers that will rise along the High line at 76 11th Avenue. The renderings made waves a month ago when the angular, asymmetrical structures were revealed, and at this time it was also announced that the project would encompass a hotel, retail space, and around 300 luxury condos. But new plans filed by developer HFZ Capital Group, first uncovered by The Real Deal, show that the towers' four-story base will not include a hotel, but rather retail and office space, likely because "[commercial office space] vacancy rates in the [Meatpacking District] are notoriously low–around 2 percent–while prices are high."
Find out more
Did Mast Brothers Fool Us Into Buying Crappy Chocolate?; ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ Monetized
December 21, 2015

Did Mast Brothers Fool Us Into Buying Crappy Chocolate?; ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ Monetized

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How the Mast Brothers fooled the world into paying $10 a bar for crappy hipster chocolate. [Quartz] A 30,000-square-foot bowling and karaoke amusement complex is coming to Bushwick. [Gothamist] Hess Triangle, the city’s smallest piece of real estate, gets the cartoon treatment. [New Yorker] The ridiculous amount it would take to buy all the items in […]

The Food Hall Obsession Makes Its Way to Staten Island
December 21, 2015

The Food Hall Obsession Makes Its Way to Staten Island

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Following a slew of recent headlines–Anthony's Bourdain's food and retail market headed for the SuperPier, the mega-market coming to Essex Crossing that will be one of the largest in the world, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten's seafood-themed food hall planned for the South Street Seaport–6sqft recently posed the question: Is the city's food hall obsession about to burst? Though the votes were divided, the trend has shown no signs of slowing down, especially considering that it's now making its way over to the often-forgotten borough of Staten Island, with perhaps the most gimmicky name we've heard yet. Curbed reports that the team behind Gansevoort Market has partnered with Empire Outlets developers BFC Partners to open a locally curated food market by late 2017. Dubbed MRKTPL, the hall will span 15,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space that will "tie together the history of the New York Harbor with modern communal spaces to eat and gather," as per the press release.
More details this way
MAPS: Where to Find the Top Available One-Bedroom Rental Bargains Under $2,500
December 21, 2015

MAPS: Where to Find the Top Available One-Bedroom Rental Bargains Under $2,500

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Can't seem to qualify for those popular affordable housing lotteries, or stuck on a waiting list 70,000 names long? Well, like many of us who are searching for low-priced rentals, you'll have to forage the city's daunting open market. The typical choices include shacking up with multiple roommates in prime neighborhoods, enduring long commutes in far-flung locales, or having to deal with an un-renovated, pre-war walk-up building. To make your search for these rather un-glamorous apartments a bit easier, we produced a list and map of currently available one-bedroom rentals that are priced furthest below their neighborhood medians. But act fast, because these units disappear quickly.
Check out the interactive maps and listings this way
A Historic and Festive Three Bedroom in Cobble Hill Asks $6,000 a Month
December 21, 2015

A Historic and Festive Three Bedroom in Cobble Hill Asks $6,000 a Month

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The holidays are a notoriously hard time to sell and rent apartments, so we appreciate that this rental unit at 416 Henry Street in Cobble Hill is just going ahead and getting into the holiday spirit. A Christmas tree is on display in the lovely living room with its big windows and ceiling moldings. 416 Henry Street is a four-story brownstone building that holds three units, this being on of them. What appears to be a floor-through unit, holding three-and-a-half bedrooms and two bathrooms, is on the rental market for $6,000 a month. Looks like it last rented in 2013 for $4,300 a month.
Check it out
Architensions’ Writing Pavilion Is a Tiny Backyard Retreat for Two Brooklyn Creatives
December 20, 2015

Architensions’ Writing Pavilion Is a Tiny Backyard Retreat for Two Brooklyn Creatives

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Most Brooklyn creatives head to the local cafe when they need to escape to get work done, but this lucky couple can retreat right to their backyard garden (h/t Inhabitat). They enlisted local firm Architensions to design a space where they can find "a condition of isolation or immersive solitude" for writing and drawing. The result is the Writing Pavilion, a 50-square-foot wooden structure that is light-filled and serene, but purposefully simple and void of distractions.
Find out more about this outdoor escape

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