By Michelle Cohen, Wed, July 25, 2018 Photo via Chris Goldberg/Flickr
For followers of Manhattan real estate it would be hard to miss the bumper crop of innovative, eye-catching and pricey new developments rising what seems like daily in Tribeca; but big numbers for new towers may come as a surprise when they’re attached to old-school Yorkville on the Upper East Side. In the city that never fails to surprise, recent research from CityRealty shows that Tribeca and Yorkville are the top neighborhoods for new development condo sales so far this year. There are, of course reasons for the unlikely pairing at the top.
See who else is on the list
By Michelle Cohen, Tue, July 10, 2018 This pre-war one-bedroom co-op at 330 East 90th Street in the Upper East Side is laid out railroad-style and somewhat lacking in excess square footage. But the $475,000 ground-floor space has the rare city bonus of a private planted garden and deck with room for furniture and a grill. And besides being just a few blocks from the Q train, the apartment’s interiors are as charming as they are cleverly functional.
Have a look
By Dana Schulz, Thu, June 28, 2018 Photos © James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft
Four months after they announced their imminent closing, Yorkville’s 116-year-old German bakery Glaser’s will serve its final treats this Sunday. They shared the news via a bittersweet Facebook post that read, “After many years of daunting hours and hard work, the third generation of bakers have come to the difficult decision to hang up their bakers’ hat and move towards retirement.” Since last weekend, the lines have been wrapping around the block, with the bakers whipping up 1,650 of their black-and-white cookies at a time (they’re widely regarded as the original and the best in the city).
Get a look at those lines
By Dana Schulz, Wed, May 2, 2018 6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to real estate publicist Kelly Kreth’s Yorkville apartment. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!
What’s black and white and red all over? Kelly Kreth’s Yorkville apartment. The real estate publicist pegs her OCD diagnosis for the strict color palette–“it makes me feel safe,” she explains–but also the fact that her love for retro pieces, graphic art, and fashion-forward decor lends itself quite well to this tri-hued approach. We recently spent the afternoon getting to know Kelly and her dachshund puppy Biggie Smalls and learned more about what it’s like to live in just three colors, why she chose this Upper East Side ‘hood, and where she’s been able to find some of her fun and funky finds.
Meet Kelly and tour her home
By Michelle Colman, Mon, April 9, 2018 Photo via Ed Yourdon/Flickr
‘Tis the time of year for private school acceptance letters to arrive. Nervous teens and parents race to their inboxes and find out if they are given the honor of spending upwards of 50k a year on their children’s education, often at one of the Upper East Side’s highly prestigious institutions. At the same time, the starting gun sounds on the race to find an Upper East Side home to move to near school.
amNY reported that with the “private school bump,” not only do buildings see a jump in families moving their primary residences to the area but many see NYC residents buying “little studios for them and their kids for Monday through Friday just to be closer to the school so they don’t have to commute from Tribeca, the Lower East Side, or Chelsea.”
Hear from the pros
By Michelle Colman, Tue, March 20, 2018 When I first interviewed Edward Baquero, President of Corigin Real Estate Group, his art curator, Elizabeth Fiore, was furiously texting him images from the Armory Show with potential art for two remaining walls in the stately 20 East End’s octagonal lobby. Baquero is a perfectionist to the nth degree with an obsessive eye for detail, highly skilled research capabilities, a luxurious aesthetic sensibility and a ridiculously funny sense of humor. These two alcove walls were just as important to Baquero as every other detail in his building, no matter how big or small. Nothing in 20 East End was chosen without thorough research and reason followed by multiple iterations of tests and retests.
What Baquero created in 20 East End evokes a time when the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Rockefellers dominated Manhattan and defined luxury. Baquero is bringing back the best of the past and melding it with the present to create a model many will replicate in the future. Ahead, 6sqft talks with him about how he achieved this, his inspirations, and what it was like working with Robert A.M. Stern.
Hear what Edward has to say
By Dana Schulz, Mon, March 5, 2018 © James and Karla Murray for 6sqft
When 6sqft met with Herb Glaser, the third-generation co-owner of Yorkville’s 116-year-old German bakery Glaser’s, he attributed the business’ longevity to the fact that his grandfather “had the foresight and the ability to buy the building that we are in.” So it came as a bit of a surprise when we learned over the weekend that the beloved bake shop will be closing its doors this summer. A bittersweet Facebook post stated that “After many years of daunting hours and hard work, the third generation of bakers have come to the difficult decision to hang up their bakers’ hat and move towards retirement.”
Read more
By Cait Etherington, Mon, February 26, 2018 96th Street entrance to the Second Avenue Subway, via MTA/Flickr
On Valentine’s Day, The Source, a long-running store on Third Avenue that sold everything from stationary and household cleaning products to cards and candles, closed its doors for good. Since early January, when the owner hung a going-out-of-business sign in his window, he had been telling Upper East Siders shoppers that he was shutting down for two reasons: rising rents but the drastic decline in business brought about by the Second Avenue Subway’s opening in January 2017. Although one might assume that a business like The Source is really a victim of Amazon and the rise of other online retailers, the increasing vacancy rates along Third and Lexington Avenues on the Upper East Side over the past year appear to confirm his speculation. As much as the Second Avenue Subway has been good news for businesses in Yorkville, its opening seems to have dealt a devastating blow to businesses located just west of the new line.
What’s the deal?
By Annie Doge, Wed, January 24, 2018 Barack and Michelle Obama via Wiki Commons; One of 10 Gracie Square’s terraces overlooking the East River, via CityRealty
In October, 6sqft reported that Barack and Michelle Obama had been spotted on their way to view a listing in Yorkville’s 10 Gracie Square. At the time, it was speculated that they checked out a five-bedroom duplex that had gone into contract for $10 million shortly following the visit. The buyer wasn’t confirmed, but the unit has now closed for $9.64 million (h/t Katherine Clarke), purchased through a “Gracie Square Revocable Trust. So while it’s still not confirmed that the Obamas are moving to the Upper East Side, the building is one of New York City’s most prestigious addresses, located just a stone’s throw away from the Mayor’s residence and over the years attracting the likes of Alexander Woollcott, conductor Andre Kostelanetz, Gloria Vanderbilt and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek.
Take another look
By Emily Nonko, Thu, December 14, 2017 This Yorkville townhouse at 433 East 85th Street manages to strike the right balance between historic and modern. The home was built in the 1880s, according to the listing, but it has hit the market for the first time since a major renovation. Prewar details like wood-burning fireplaces and moldings are complemented by impressive new finishes of imported Calacatta Gold, marble glass mosaics, and natural limestone. And the backyard was totally redone, now decked out with 700 square feet of comfortable outdoor space. It’s all asking $6.5 million.
Take a look
