Spotlight: Phil Kline Puts a Twist on Holiday Caroling With Unsilent Night
December 4, 2015

Spotlight: Phil Kline Puts a Twist on Holiday Caroling With Unsilent Night

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What started out as a simple idea for composer Phil Kline has became a beloved holiday tradition in New York. A fan of cassette tapes, Phil had been composing pieces for boomboxes when he wrote a holiday-themed piece set on four tracks to be played simultaneously on several boomboxes. In 1992, he gathered a group of New Yorkers for a modern take on caroling in which they walked down lower Fifth Avenue with boomboxes playing his piece. The performance was a resounding success and a yearly seasonal event known as Unsilent Night was set in motion. A little over two decades since that first performance, Unsilent Night has grown in magnitude and now draws a crowd of several hundred who still use a few boomboxes that are interspersed among a sea of smartphones. It has has been adopted by cities around the world, but even with this international recognition it finds its way back home each year. Phil is currently preparing for his 24th New York performance on Saturday, December 12th, so with the event a week away, 6sqft spoke to Phil to learn about his love of boomboxes, the idea behind Unsilent Night, and how one evening 23 years ago has become an annual holiday musical tradition.
6sqft's interview with Phil Kline right ahead
Cute Chelsea Studio Maximizes Space With Casement Windows and Private Terrace
December 4, 2015

Cute Chelsea Studio Maximizes Space With Casement Windows and Private Terrace

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This is not your average studio apartment. For starters, it's located inside a brownstone at 405 West 21st Street, in Chelsea. (The five-story property has actually been split into 12 different apartments.) It is also lofted, to create some more space in the otherwise cozy apartment. And a beautiful wall of casement windows brings in tons of light. But the big perk of this studio is that those windows look out onto private outdoor space, which is definitely not a typical offering of a tiny pad. This lovely private patio, which looks out onto the surrounding townhouses, adds an extra 400 square feet. All this—including the fact that it's furnished—makes for quite the pricy studio apartment, at $4,500 a month.
Take a look
Celeb Photographer David LaChapelle Makes a Sale on His Charming Chelsea Abode
December 4, 2015

Celeb Photographer David LaChapelle Makes a Sale on His Charming Chelsea Abode

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After placing his West Chelsea home on the market just five months ago, it looks like famed photographer David LaChapelle (he's shot everyone from Madonna to MJ to Leo and Lady Gaga) has made a sale. LaChapelle's bright beauty at 427 West 21st Street sold for its $2.46 million asking price, providing a pretty tidy profit for the artist who paid just $1.74 million for the space in 2011. According to the Observer, LaChapelle decided to shed the apartment because he now spends most of his time in LA and Hawaii—the latter where he owns a remote 18-acre forest on the island of Maui.  But while LaChapelle enjoys warmer West Coast and island climates, the new buyer of his Chelsea pad should find themselves just as comfortable in his former residence. The one-bedroom home is quite a unique space with plenty of historic details highlighted by lots of light.
Have a look inside the photographer's former home
A New App Helps Renters Break Their Leases
December 4, 2015

A New App Helps Renters Break Their Leases

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Being a lease breaker here in New York can be like wearing a scarlet letter around town, and on top of that there's the hefty fees often associated with moving out early. But sometimes with life's uncertainties it's unavoidable. To make the transition a lot smoother, a new app called Flip "lets renters sell the remaining months of their unwanted lease to a pre-qualified tenant," according to DNAinfo. The platform launched today and already has 300 leases up for grabs.
Find out more
Buy Muhammad Ali’s Former New Jersey Villa for $750,000
December 4, 2015

Buy Muhammad Ali’s Former New Jersey Villa for $750,000

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Just as his conviction for draft evasion was overturned and he was able to return to the ring, Muhammad Ali took up residency in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The three-time world heavyweight champion lived from 1971-1974 in this five-bedroom "Tuscan-style villa" that spans over 10,000 square feet and 1.5 acres. After Ali moved out, McDonald's franchiser Tony Micale bought the ranch and added amenities like a tennis court, glass-enclosed hot tub room, and catering kitchen. To boot, there's a stunning central atrium, a huge glass chandelier from Ali's days, marble heated flooring, a 45-foot bar, a volleyball/ basketball/ shuffleboard court, and an in-law suite. Good news if you want to get in on a piece of boxing history; Curbed reports that the sprawling estate is listed for just $750,000.
See the entire property this way
Truffles Privé Redefines the Meaning of Eclectic With an Opium Bed and Lockers for Booze
December 4, 2015

Truffles Privé Redefines the Meaning of Eclectic With an Opium Bed and Lockers for Booze

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Located in northern Tribeca, just across from Hudson River Park on the border of Soho, the Truffles Privé is a 7,000-square-foot private club attached to two large full-service apartment buildings. Back in 2009, this exclusive and beautifully decorated club helped to rent 90 of the 291 apartments in just six weeks after being on the market with no advertising. The interior design was the result of a collaboration between interior architecture firm Povero & Company and the design team lead by David Cafiero. The details that make up this interior are an eclectic combination of intelligent curation and out-of-the-box creativity.
Take a look around
First Look at Private Chelsea Residence Designed by TEN Arquitectos
December 4, 2015

First Look at Private Chelsea Residence Designed by TEN Arquitectos

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Here's a first look at the mysterious home being built at 217 West 20th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Chelsea. Plans filed with the Department of Buildings in 2014 detail the construction of a six-story, 10,000-square-foot, single-family residence designed by Enrique Norten's TEN Arquitectos. The occupancy schedule indicates that the first level will contain a garage, and a single dwelling unit will encompass all floors above. The exterior rendering posted on the project's construction fence depicts an impervious-looking first floor clad in a bronze-colored material. The next five levels are enclosed in a transparent glass curtain wall with brise-soleil screens floating beyond the building face. TEN has used this sun-shading and privacy tactic for many of their Latin American projects and the nearby Americano Hotel in West Chelsea.
More here
Greenwich Village Townhouse Flip Seeks $23.5M After Fancy Reno and Price Chop
December 4, 2015

Greenwich Village Townhouse Flip Seeks $23.5M After Fancy Reno and Price Chop

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The current owner of this seven-story landmarked townhouse–a real estate firm called Good Property–purchased it for $9.3 million in November of 2012, and proceeded to give it a top-to-toe renovation, clearly with luxury buyers in mind. The 1848 Greek Revival home on a pretty Village street catty-corner from Washington Square Park had been several market-rate apartments, and is now a single-family showstopper with an elevator, a super-premium kitchen, modern gas fireplaces, tri-level rear glass walls and doors, a landscaped backyard with an outdoor kitchen, an upper patio and a "penthouse lounge" on the roof. It was escorted back to the market in November of 2014 at $25 million; after a broker switch it's still thinking big at $23.5 million.
check out all seven floors

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New Renderings of One Vanderbilt, Midtown’s Future Tallest Office Tower
December 3, 2015

New Renderings of One Vanderbilt, Midtown’s Future Tallest Office Tower

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The digital production studio Visualhouse has posted on their website our first motion video look at SL Green's 63-story office tower known as One Vanderbilt. Hailed to forever change the face of Midtown East and reinvigorate the business district, the $1 billion-plus, 1.6-million-square-foot tower was unanimously approved by the City Council this past summer, thus granting SL Green the green light to begin construction of the supertower immediately. Visualhouse's newly released renderings provide us with a clearer picture of how the building's full-block base will meet the street, and also remind us just how gargantuan the tower will be. According to the tower's architects Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), the tower will rise 1,401 feet to its spire, making it the second tallest building in the city upon completion. However, unlike the pencil-thin supertalls underway around Central Park, the project will throw up a substantial amount of bulk into the air.
See all the renderings
15 Hip Holiday Markets and Indie Pop-Up Shops in NYC
December 3, 2015

15 Hip Holiday Markets and Indie Pop-Up Shops in NYC

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December's first days bring dozens of holiday gift markets whose aim is to find new homes for a wealth of shiny goodies and crafty gifts. We're all familiar with the big NYC markets, but some of the best scores–and the most fun–can be found at smaller, cooler pop-ups and local markets throughout the city. Some are only around for a weekend, others for the whole month or longer. In addition to locally-made jewelry and crafts, vintage finds, artfully curated fashions, home items and other things we didn't know we needed, these hip retail outposts offer up DJs, drinks, food, tarot readings, nail art, music, and family fun to keep shoppers' spirits bright.
Find out where to get the goods, this way
Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber List Lovely Amagansett House for $6M
December 3, 2015

Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber List Lovely Amagansett House for $6M

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One of Hollywood's cutest couples has listed their Hamptons home that is possibly just as adorable as they are. Curbed reports that Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber have put their Amagansett residence on the market for $5,850,000. The 6,100-square-foot shingle-style cottage is "a charming blend of beachcomber chic and traditional style," according to the listing for the six-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom home. And in true Hamptons fashion, it's the outdoor space that's really magnificent. In addition to the gunite pool, there's a pool house with a pergola-covered terrace, an outdoor brick fireplace, and sprawling landscaped gardens.
See the entire spread
Pacific Park’s 550 Vanderbilt Tops Out; Affordable Rentals at Greenpoint Landing Start at $494
December 3, 2015

Pacific Park’s 550 Vanderbilt Tops Out; Affordable Rentals at Greenpoint Landing Start at $494

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The controversial condos atop the Mezritch Synagogue have hit the market. The luxury units start at $2.95 million. [Curbed] Pacific Park‘s first residential building 550 Vanderbilt has topped out at 17 stories. [6sqft inbox] Aby Rosen files plans to convert a former Noho women’s shelter to a “commercial behemoth” with the help of starchitect Annabelle […]

Flatiron’s 21W20 Finally Unshrouded – Take a Virtual Walk Through the Penthouses
December 3, 2015

Flatiron’s 21W20 Finally Unshrouded – Take a Virtual Walk Through the Penthouses

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Two penthouse units (yes, two) remain at Gale International's boutique condominium development 21W20. The 15-story mid-rise is Gale's first foray into the Manhattan market and has already placed 11 of the building's 13 full-floor homes into contract at an average price of $2,528 per square foot. Slated for occupancy by year's end, the project's construction netting has finally come down and the finishing touches are now being applied to the lobby. The 35,000-square-foot building is seamlessly nestled into the heart of downtown's Flatiron neighborhood within its timeless Ladies' Mile Historic District and presents a contextual exterior of blackened stainless steel, brick, and glass crafted by New York-based architects Beyer Blinder Belle. From street level, the building climbs unassumingly from a 25-foot-wide footprint. However, its upper four stories cleverly spill over onto the adjacent garage building, ultimately creating four breathtaking, 100-foot-wide penthouses.
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Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 12/3-12/7

Luminaries via Arbuckle Industries

December 3, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 12/3-12/7

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In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd‘s philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top picks for 6sqft readers! With half of the art world in Miami for Art Basel, this week is a good time to support the local artists and artisans who make this city great. Check out the cross stitch work of Phil Davison at FUCHS Projects. Become part of the art yourself at artist collective CHERYL's latest soiree, which welcomes all walks of life to immerse themselves in art while dancing the night away. Give your nose a treat at the interesting Museum of Feelings, a temporary museum sponsored by Glade that fuses scent with emotion. Experience a musical light show by 650 lanterns at Brookfield Place. Learn about self portraiture in photography at the Camera Club of New York. Test your limits of participation at the debut of Marina Abramovic's new project, in which the artist has created an installation and platform for listening to Igor Levit perform Goldberg. And finally, see a live performance of "A Christmas Carol" by WXQR that features actress Kathleen Turner.
All the best events to check out here
Victoria’s Secret Model Isabeli Fontana Tries to Sell Her Central Park South Pad for $2.65M
December 3, 2015

Victoria’s Secret Model Isabeli Fontana Tries to Sell Her Central Park South Pad for $2.65M

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A pretty apartment for a pretty person: The Italian-Brazilian Victoria's Secret model Isabeli Fontana (who first appeared in the lingerie catalogue at age 16) is selling her two-bedroom co-op at 120 Central Park South (aka the Berkeley House), according to the Observer. She bought the apartment in 2013 for $1.66 million. Previously, the model has lived at Trump Place on Riverside Boulevard and a condo at 88 Greenwich Street. This apartment, which was totally remodeled by Fontana (is that a self portrait we see?), has some good things going for it. It's got lots of windows and views of the park, tons of closet space and some old-world details.
Check it out
‘Open Gangway’ Subway Trains Getting a Trial Run in NYC

An open gangway subway in Berlin, photo via Second Avenue Sagas

December 3, 2015

‘Open Gangway’ Subway Trains Getting a Trial Run in NYC

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Despite the improved service that the MTA has been promising, most New Yorkers still find themselves crammed into subway cars like floundering sardines. But a newfangled, more spacious train could increase capacity by 8-10 percent. Second Avenue Sagas explores part of the MTA's 2015-2019 capital plan, released earlier this fall, that calls for the purchase of "10 open-gangway prototype cars with the $52.4 million expenditure allocated for 2016." This type of train, basically one long subway car with no doors in between, is popular all over the world, in most cities in China and Japan, in Berlin, Paris, and London, to name a few. It's not known yet when exactly they'll make their debut, how they'll be designed, or on what subway line they'll run, but of course the new idea comes with some concerns.
More details this way
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City’s Once-Priciest One-Bedroom Rental Gets a $225K Price Chop, Now Only $75K a Month
December 3, 2015

City’s Once-Priciest One-Bedroom Rental Gets a $225K Price Chop, Now Only $75K a Month

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When 6sqft became aware last February of the most expensive one-bedroom rental listing in the city, a $300,000 a month 1,200-square-foot (nope, we didn't forget a zero) penthouse atop the Surrey Hotel at 20 East 76th Street on the Upper East Side, we asked cheekily, "Why buy a $3.6 million dollar home when you can pay the same amount of money to live in a modest one-bedroom for a year?" Now that the unit–still on the market though with a fresh new broker–has gotten a hefty haircut of $225,000, it looks in comparison like a straight-up bargain at less than a million a year. So what are we getting for the still-significant monthly outlay?
Let's see what the fuss is about
Revealed: See the Insanely Luxurious Amenities Inside Extell’s Controversial 80-Story LES Tower
December 2, 2015

Revealed: See the Insanely Luxurious Amenities Inside Extell’s Controversial 80-Story LES Tower

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Extell hasn't been making many friends with its new tower currently on the rise at 250 South Street, right next to the Manhattan Bridge. But even with hordes of locals cursing the mega-sized 80-story tower, Extell seems unfazed by the hate. Not only have they been unwavering about the development's 850-foot out-of-context height (the Manhattan Bridge is only 330 feet tall, mind you), the developer also has little interest in selling any units to anyone stateside, instead marketing their condos first to Asian buyers. Now, The Lo-Down has gotten their hands on the brochure that's being sent to Asia's wealthiest, an 88-pager revealing fancy apartment interiors and all of the "over-the-top" amenities that will fill the building, including things like a 70-seat movie theater, a tree house, a tea pavilion, a putting green, a sunken tranquility garden, a bowling alley, 75-foot indoor pool, a dog spa, a cellar bar...As written in the packet: "One Manhattan Square will redefine downtown luxury living."
Images inside the the tower here
Supermodel Irina Shayk Lists Mod West Village Condo With Massive Shoe Closet for $4M
December 2, 2015

Supermodel Irina Shayk Lists Mod West Village Condo With Massive Shoe Closet for $4M

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It looks like Sports Illustrated supermodel Irina Shayk and boyfriend Bradley Cooper may be shacking up. The Observer reports that the Russian-born beauty has listed her modern apartment at 166 Perry Street in the West Village for $3,995,000. She bought the 2,462-square-foot duplex for $1.96 million back in 2010 when she was dating soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, but now she'll likely be joining Cooper on his house hunt. He most recently scoped out a sprawling $8.5 million spread at the Hubert in Tribeca, which, although quite attractive, lacks the massive shoe closet (and hidden stripper pole!) that Shayk currently has.
Check it out
Living Near a Subway May Be Good for Your Mental Health; The Majority of NY Airbnbs Are Probably Illegal
December 2, 2015

Living Near a Subway May Be Good for Your Mental Health; The Majority of NY Airbnbs Are Probably Illegal

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According to a new study, it is likely that more than half of Airbnb’s NYC rentals violate short-term leasing laws. [NYP] Here are the best NYC neighborhoods for freshly graduated young professionals. [BI] A new study suggests that living close to public transportation “could contribute to reduced risk of depression.” [CityLab] Digesting Mayor de Blasio’s plan […]

Kuiper Belt Planter’s Design Is Dedicated to Undiscovered Life Forms
December 2, 2015

Kuiper Belt Planter’s Design Is Dedicated to Undiscovered Life Forms

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From Russian designer Katerina Kopytina this series of hanging pots was designed as a dedication to the life forms still waiting to be discovered. The series is entitled "Kuiper Belt" and is named after the part of the solar system, which when discovered, was responsible for Pluto losing its status as a planet. Each pot represents a new form of life denoted by its symbol found on the bottom of the pot.
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Sony Tower Conversion to Get 113 Robert A.M. Stern-Designed Condos

550 Madison rendering via Dbox

December 2, 2015

Sony Tower Conversion to Get 113 Robert A.M. Stern-Designed Condos

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Curbed spotted the freshly launched teaser site for the Chetrit Group's Sony Tower conversion, now going by the name 550 Madison, which revealed several new details about the project. The most notable is that Robert A.M. Stern will be designing the "opulent" condos, and we assume this includes the $150 million triplex penthouse. Interestingly, Stern was once a student of Philip Johnson, who is responsible for the ground-breaking Sony Building. In all, there will be 113 condo units on floors 21-43, up from the previously reported 96, as well as a 170-key luxury Parisian hotel and high-end ground-floor retail.
More details this way
This Sun-Filled Upper East Side Townhouse Triplex Is $35K a Month–Classy Furniture Included
December 2, 2015

This Sun-Filled Upper East Side Townhouse Triplex Is $35K a Month–Classy Furniture Included

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This three-story 1890 townhouse at 53 East 75th Street fits in perfectly with its neighbors on a classically elegant Upper East Side street just two blocks from Central Park. On the rental market for $35,000 a month, this tony triplex gives you over 4,000 square feet of living space, including an elevator and plenty of windows and sunlight, particularly from the kitchen's wall of solarium windows–great for soaking up rays on winter days.
Explore all three floors

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