All articles by Alexandra Alexa

Patriotic composer John Philip Sousa’s former Long Island mansion seeks a reduced $9M

Listing images courtesy of Douglas Elliman

July 3, 2019

Patriotic composer John Philip Sousa’s former Long Island mansion seeks a reduced $9M

By Alexandra Alexa

Overlooking Manhasset Bay in Sands Point, Long Island the six-bedroom mansion at 12 Hicks Lane—otherwise known as Wild Bank—was home to “American March King” John Philip Sousa in the latter part of his life, from 1915 to 1932. By then, he had already written his most beloved marches, including Stars and Stripes Forever (the national march of the United States) and Semper Fidelis (the march of the United States Marine Corps). Like many of New York City’s elite at the time, he found an idyllic retreat on Long Island’s North Shore and lived in the home until his death at 77. The sprawling property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 but remained a private residence. On the market for exactly one year, the 2.6-acre estate has received several price chops before settling on its current asking price of $8.995 million.
The full tour, right this way

Distinctive Homes

Remarkably intact Renaissance Revival mansion on Riverside Drive seeks $8M

Listing images by Mike Tauber courtesy of Stribling at Compass

July 2, 2019

Remarkably intact Renaissance Revival mansion on Riverside Drive seeks $8M

By Alexandra Alexa

Also known as the Carroll Mansion, this five-story, nine-bedroom limestone townhouse at 86 Riverside Drive just listed with a price to match it’s potential: $8 million. The nearly 8,500-square-foot Elizabethan Renaissance Revival home was built in 1898 by Clarence True, one of the most celebrated architects of the Upper West Side at the turn-of-the-century. Flooded in light from northern and western exposures, the gorgeous property has most of the original architectural details intact, though needing a little attention.
The full tour, right this way

Two new gardens in Queens will provide a space for immigrant communities to grow

Image of the New Roots Community Farm in the Bronx by Kathleen McTigue, courtesy of International Rescue Committee (IRC)

July 2, 2019

Two new gardens in Queens will provide a space for immigrant communities to grow

By Alexandra Alexa

Building on the success of the New Roots Community Farm in the Bronx, two additional New Roots Gardens are currently underway in Queens, the Sunnyside Post reports. The gardens are being planted on both sides of 69th Street near Woodside Avenue and will include vegetable beds, flowers, a greenhouse, and seating areas. As part of a Department of Transportation initiative with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and NYC Parks GreenThumb, the gardens aim to create a community space for immigrants and refugees, as well as access to fresh and affordable produce.
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Your guide to getting around NYC on the Fourth of July

Image via Flickr

July 2, 2019

Your guide to getting around NYC on the Fourth of July

By Alexandra Alexa

If you're one of the estimated three million people who will be watching the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks spectacular, you'll need to factor in how MTA's service changes and planned traffic interruptions might affect your plans. Once you've picked a viewing spot, check out our comprehensive guide to getting around town (or out of town, if you prefer) below.
Know before you go

440-square-foot Bushwick studio is sleek and sunny for $345K

Listing images by Travis Mark, courtesy of the Corcoran Group

July 1, 2019

440-square-foot Bushwick studio is sleek and sunny for $345K

By Alexandra Alexa

Condo interiors are often less than inspiring—but a modern canvas that you can easily customize for your lifestyle is nothing to scoff at. This 441-square-foot studio in north Bushwick has all the bones you would look for: sunny southeastern exposures and hardwood floors, alongside efficient upgrades like central heating/cooling, your very own washer and dryer, and a topnotch security system. Located at 307 Cooper Street in a 2016 development nicknamed 18th Ward, the apartment is seeking a cool $345,000.
Take a peek inside

Distinctive Homes

Governor Cuomo wants to test self-driving subways in NYC

Image via Flickr

July 1, 2019

Governor Cuomo wants to test self-driving subways in NYC

By Alexandra Alexa

During a three-day trip to Jerusalem last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo toured the offices of Mobileye–a supplier of autonomous driving software—with the possibility of applying those same technologies to the MTA. "We have seen tremendous growth in software development for navigational systems to make automobiles safer and more reliable, and if this software works well on the road then we owe it to commuters to test its application for train and rail," Cuomo said in a statement.
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Jersey City will celebrate July 4th with NJ’s largest fireworks display and a concert headlined by Pitbull

Photo via Flickr cc

July 1, 2019

Jersey City will celebrate July 4th with NJ’s largest fireworks display and a concert headlined by Pitbull

By Alexandra Alexa

Jersey City is getting ready to celebrate its sixth annual Fourth of July Festival, an epic full day celebration from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Exchange Place Plaza. The free event, called 50STAR FIRESHOW, will feature a carnival, beer festival, and a concert headlined by Jersey City’s own Akon and rapper Pitbull, before culminating with the largest fireworks display in the state.
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Events & Things To Do

Book-filled Chelsea loft with a private roof terrace seeks $1.25M

Listing images by Tim Waltman

June 28, 2019

Book-filled Chelsea loft with a private roof terrace seeks $1.25M

By Alexandra Alexa

This “character-rich,” loft penthouse at 244 West 23rd Street offers stylish downtown living with a great Chelsea address that puts you right next to the Highline, art galleries, and everything else the vibrant neighborhood has to offer. But if you don't feel like venturing out, there's a huge library to keep you occupied. The one bedroom co-op filled with prewar details was recently renovated and just hit the market for $1.25 million.
Look inside

Distinctive Homes

Google Maps can predict how crowded your subway or bus will be

Photo © 6sqft

June 28, 2019

Google Maps can predict how crowded your subway or bus will be

By Alexandra Alexa

Google Maps has just released a couple of upgrades that should make New Yorkers' commutes a little bit easier, or at least, slightly more predictable. From now on, the app will be able to tell you how crowded your subway, bus, or train might be, so you can decide if you prefer to squeeze in or wait for a vehicle where you're more likely to snag a seat. The upgrades also expand the app's live traffic delays for buses (which began rolling out in December 2017) to cities that didn't already provide those updates.
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Need to get around NYC during WorldPride weekend? The subways want to help

Image: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit

June 28, 2019

Need to get around NYC during WorldPride weekend? The subways want to help

By Alexandra Alexa

The crowds at this weekend's WorldPride events are expected to break records, with an estimated 4.5 million people attending Sunday's Pride March, including 115,000 marchers. The MTA is showing its Pride this weekend by making it easier for you to join the festivities. We can finally share some good weekend service news: the authority is suspending all L train tunnel rehabilitation work this weekend and will increase service on other lines to accommodate all revelers. If you want to secure a spot on the Parade route, make sure you get there early as they're sure to fill up fast.
Here's what you need to know

Popular Articles

$1.3M Cobble Hill condo adds contemporary details to traditional loft bones

Listing images by Matt Vacca, courtesy of Compass

June 27, 2019

$1.3M Cobble Hill condo adds contemporary details to traditional loft bones

By Alexandra Alexa

Located in a former warehouse at 29 Tiffany Place that was converted to condos in 1999, this loft-like Cobble Hill pad underwent a recent renovation which, among other upgrades, transformed it from a three bedroom to a two bedroom with a bigger living room. The unit last sold in 2015 for $1.155 million, and has just hit the market asking $1.295 million.
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Equinox opens its largest new fitness club at Hudson Yards

Rendering courtesy of Equinox

June 27, 2019

Equinox opens its largest new fitness club at Hudson Yards

By Alexandra Alexa

Equinox has officially opened the doors to its 100th fitness club at 35 Hudson Yards, just ahead of the very first Equinox Hotel opening next month. The 60,000-square-foot location— Equinox’s largest new built yet—stretches over two floors and includes a 15,000-square-foot pool and sundeck set against the backdrop of Hudson Yards’ signature landmark, the Vessel.
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Rem Koolhaas’ OMA reveals New Museum expansion on the Bowery

Renderings via OMA/Bloomimages.de

June 27, 2019

Rem Koolhaas’ OMA reveals New Museum expansion on the Bowery

By Alexandra Alexa

Renderings via OMA/Bloomimages.de The New Museum has revealed the first look at plans for its second building, designed by OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas in collaboration with Cooper Robertson. The design replaces an existing property at 231 Bowery that the museum acquired in 2008 with a seven-story, 60,000 square-foot building that will double the museum’s exhibition space, provide a permanent home for its cultural incubator NEW INC, as well as increased public amenities and improved circulation. As 6sqft reported when the project was first announced in 2017, this will be OMA’s first public building in New York City.
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Owner of Book Culture says stores are in danger of closing, urges the city for assistance

Photos courtesy of Book Culture

June 26, 2019

Owner of Book Culture says stores are in danger of closing, urges the city for assistance

By Alexandra Alexa

Photos courtesy of Book Culture The latest independent bookstore in danger of closing is the Upper West Side's beloved Book Culture. Owner Chris Doeblin issued an open letter earlier this week in which he urges the city to provide assistance in the form of an immediate loan. Despite good business—they've been able to expand to three storefronts uptown and one in Long Island City—Doeblin has stated that he would need a minimum of $500,000 to keep things afloat and fend off the "awful spiral" of unpaid vendor debts and loans.
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City Living

Rent Guidelines Board approves modest increases for rent-stabilized apartments

Image by Jorbasa Fotografie / Flickr

June 26, 2019

Rent Guidelines Board approves modest increases for rent-stabilized apartments

By Alexandra Alexa

In front of a packed auditorium at Cooper Union’s Great Hall last night, the Rent Guidelines Board voted on rent hikes for the city’s one million rent-stabilized apartments, the New York Times reports. The board voted 5-4 and approved a 1.5% increase on one-year leases and 2.5% on two-year leases. The new rents will kick in on October 1.
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Port Authority proposes extensive fare and toll hikes for bridges, tunnels, and AirTrains

Image via Wiki Commons

June 26, 2019

Port Authority proposes extensive fare and toll hikes for bridges, tunnels, and AirTrains

By Alexandra Alexa

The Port Authority is set to propose a series of comprehensive fare hikes across all its bridges, tunnels, and trains at a board meeting this Thursday, as amNY reported. A series of policy changes would be implemented along with the increases, including a new “ground transportation access fee” at major airports, a $4 charge for both pickups and drop-offs in ride-hail services, a $4 pickup fee for taxi trips, and an increase in AirTrain fares from $5 to $7.75. The additional revenue—about $235 million a year—would go toward the agency’s much-needed infrastructure improvements. The agency will also seek approval for a $4.8 billion increase in its 10-year spending plan, aimed toward upgrades at the area’s three major airports.
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Transit

Facebook is close to securing new office space at 50 Hudson Yards

Image courtesy of Related-Oxford

June 25, 2019

Facebook is close to securing new office space at 50 Hudson Yards

By Alexandra Alexa

The technology sector at Hudson Yards may soon see a big boost. According to reports by Crain’s, Facebook is negotiating on a one million+ square foot space at 50 Hudson Yards, the 1,000-foot-tall office tower co-developed by Related and Oxford Properties Group that became the city’s most expensive office building at $4 billion. The arrival of Facebook would solidify the Midtown neighborhood as a major tech hub in the city. Amazon—who already occupies offices at 5 Manhattan West—is rumored to be looking at additional space in neighboring 2 Manhattan West.
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Designed by Ai Weiwei, this $5.25M upstate retreat is perfect for art lovers

June 25, 2019

Designed by Ai Weiwei, this $5.25M upstate retreat is perfect for art lovers

By Alexandra Alexa

Described as “livable art” by listing agent Graham Klemm, the only private residence in the States designed by Chinese artist and political activist Ai Weiwei has just hit the market for $5.25 million. Located on a sprawling property about two hours away from New York City in bucolic Ancram, the home was built in 2006 as a weekend retreat for Christopher Tsai, one of the artist’s biggest collectors. Weiwei collaborated with Swiss-based HHF Architects on the streamlined residence, designed to highlight the art it would house as well as the surrounding landscape. The current owners—who are also art collectors—bought the property in 2013 for $4.25 million.
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Everything you need to know about this year’s NYC Pride March

Image via Flickr

June 25, 2019

Everything you need to know about this year’s NYC Pride March

By Alexandra Alexa

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and culminating the monthlong WorldPride festivities, this year’s NYC Pride March taking place on Sunday, June 30 is set to be the largest Pride parade since the tradition launched in 1970. Approximately two million people attend the event each year, making it the biggest Pride celebration in the world, and that number should easily be surpassed this year.
Routes, street closures, and more

Events & Things To Do

New renderings reveal amenities at Eliot Spitzer’s Williamsburg-waterfront development

Renderings courtesy of Citi Habitats New Developments

June 25, 2019

New renderings reveal amenities at Eliot Spitzer’s Williamsburg-waterfront development

By Alexandra Alexa

New renderings of 420 Kent Avenue, the Williamsburg waterfront development located just south of the Williamsburg Bridge, offer a first peek at the building’s amenity package as the project enters its final phase of construction. Set to open for leasing in August, residents will have access to more than 25,000 square feet of indoor amenities, in addition to 80,000 square feet of outdoor space—including an outdoor pool and a 400-foot-long waterfront esplanade—and 20,000 square feet of retail space. The development’s public esplanade will link the entire Brooklyn waterfront and is set to officially open on July 4th—just in time to give Williamsburg residents a front-row seat to the Macy’s Fireworks Show on the East River.
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See inside the Wing’s new HQ in the East Village’s historic Stuyvesant Polyclinic building

Images by Tory Williams

June 24, 2019

See inside the Wing’s new HQ in the East Village’s historic Stuyvesant Polyclinic building

By Alexandra Alexa

As co-working firm The Wing continues to grow, they’ve moved into a new home that takes the idea of a corporate headquarters to the next, uber-cozy level. The company has taken over all 22,000 square feet and four floors of the former Stuyvesant Polyclinic building at 137 Second Avenue with a sprawling office space that fits the brand’s design-forward signature: pastel colors, branded wallpaper, chic custom furniture and a host of features for women, including a lactation room.
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Yayoi Kusama’s insanely popular infinity rooms return to New York this fall

Image via Flickr

June 24, 2019

Yayoi Kusama’s insanely popular infinity rooms return to New York this fall

By Alexandra Alexa

When Yayoi Kusama last took over David Zwirner Gallery with one of her Infinity Mirror Room installations in 2017, over 75,000 people flocked to experience the awe-inspiring (and very selfie-friendly) exhibition. At times during its 80-day run, the show was so popular that visits were limited to 60 seconds and wait times reached six hours. If you weren't one of the lucky ones then, you'll get another chance this fall when a new exhibition dedicated to the artist's work opens at David Zwirner on November 9, as Time Out reported.
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Events & Things To Do

Williamsburg duplex filled with light, storage, and sweet details lists for only $895K

Listing images by Rise Media

June 24, 2019

Williamsburg duplex filled with light, storage, and sweet details lists for only $895K

By Alexandra Alexa

It’s not easy to find anything under $1 million in Williamsburg these days, but this $895,000 condo at 37 Powers Street comes in comfortably under the mark. Built in 2008, the unit comes with a rare combination of high-end features—central AC, a built-in sound system, a central vacuum system—and charming details, like exposed brick and beams. A loft space on the second floor provides a flexible home office, second bedroom, or guest room, while large closets throughout cover all your storage needs.
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Distinctive Homes

Charming studio on a tree-lined block in Cobble Hill seeks $395K

Listing images by Allyson Lubow

June 21, 2019

Charming studio on a tree-lined block in Cobble Hill seeks $395K

By Alexandra Alexa

The sweet details at this classic Cobble Hill studio will distract you from the caveats of small-space living, including a charming fireplace framed by exposed brick to anchor the living space. And if that doesn’t get you, the centrally located address at 177 Amity Street certainly earns this petite, 350- square-foot pad it’s $395,000 asking price.
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Distinctive Homes

Port Authority reveals $1B plan to make PATH trains less crowded, more efficient

Image via Flickr

June 21, 2019

Port Authority reveals $1B plan to make PATH trains less crowded, more efficient

By Alexandra Alexa

With daily ridership on the PATH train hitting record highs, the Port Authority has announced a new plan to ease the crowds and provide improved service. Over the next three years, the PATH will get a new signal system, 72 new rail cars, and increase capacity by up to 40 percent on its Newark-World Trade Center Route—that means room for about 18,000 extra riders during rush hour—by running longer, nine-car trains. “We want this plan to be game-changing,” said Executive Director Rick Cotton.
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Transit

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