All articles by Alexandra Alexa

Construction breaks ground for Greenpoint Landing’s OMA-designed towers

Rendering courtesy of OMA/ nuur.nu

November 20, 2019

Construction breaks ground for Greenpoint Landing’s OMA-designed towers

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Construction is now underway on the next phase of development at Greenpoint Landing, which includes one acre of additional public waterfront space designed by James Corner Field Operations and two new residential towers designed by Rem Koolhaas’ international architecture firm, OMA. In addition to 745 units of mixed-income housing, the new towers will also add 8,600 square feet of ground-floor retail.
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New renderings show 72,600-square-foot public park coming to Brooklyn’s Pacific Park development

Renderings of park courtesy of MNLA

November 19, 2019

New renderings show 72,600-square-foot public park coming to Brooklyn’s Pacific Park development

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Developer TF Cornerstone this week released new renderings for two sites within Brooklyn's long-delayed Pacific Park development that have yet to break ground: 615 and 595 Dean Street. Their plans will bring 72,600 square feet of public open space with community amenities, 800 units of mixed-income housing, and retail to Pacific Park. In addition, Chelsea Piers is set to open a Field House that will offer a wide range of family and youth-focused programming when the site opens in 2023. 
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My 1,600sqft: In her eponymous shop and Soho loft, designer Michele Varian celebrates creativity

Our series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Soho loft and eponymous shop of designer Michele Varian. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

November 19, 2019

My 1,600sqft: In her eponymous shop and Soho loft, designer Michele Varian celebrates creativity

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For the design-minded, Michele Varian’s Soho storefront is a must-visit destination, stocked to the brim with her own designs alongside a rotating cast of 100+ designers. Since opening her first store in 2001, Michele has sought to create an oasis for quality pieces that straddle the line between tradition and modernity. Like a cabinet of curiosities, the shop offers an antidote to the increasing homogeneity of the retail experience in Soho. Just a couple blocks away on Broadway, Michele lives in a quintessential Soho loft with her rock star husband, Brad Roberts of the Crash Test Dummies. Michele’s signature aesthetic and eye for the handmade is apparent in the duo’s eclectic and inviting space, which is a testament to their lives together. Filled with bold pattern plays, curiosities from their travels, and Brad’s collection of musical instruments, there’s hardly a surface that doesn’t catch the eye or capture the imagination. Ahead, tour Michele’s shop and loft and find out how she balances (and often intertwines) work with life.
Take the tour
A first look inside the Waldorf Astoria’s historic conversion

Renderings by Noë & Associates/The Boundary

November 14, 2019

A first look inside the Waldorf Astoria’s historic conversion

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We now have a sneak peek inside the historic condo conversion currently underway at the Waldorf Astoria, now called The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria. Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group Co. has released an updated teaser website and new renderings of the project, which will bring 375 private residences and 350 renovated hotel rooms to the storied building. Condo sales were initially expected to launch this fall, but are now slated to hit the market in early 2020 with the project wrapping up by 2021.
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SOM reveals designs for new Disney HQ in Hudson Square

Renderings © SOM / bloomimages

November 14, 2019

SOM reveals designs for new Disney HQ in Hudson Square

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Last July, Disney purchased the rights to develop the property at 4 Hudson Square from Trinity Church for $650 million under a 99-year agreement and earlier this year tapped Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to design a new HQ for the media giant. SOM and developer Silverstein Properties have just revealed the first renderings of the project, which will occupy an entire city block and span across 1.2 billion square feet—including retail on the ground floor—and house up to 5,000 employees.
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Midtown’s Drama Book Shop gets a new location and a 2020 opening date

Rendering of the new shop, courtesy of David Korins

November 13, 2019

Midtown’s Drama Book Shop gets a new location and a 2020 opening date

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Midtown's 100-year-old Drama Book Shop has a new home and an opening date after being revived by Lin-Manuel Miranda and three “Hamilton” collaborators, the New York Times reports. Earlier this year, the garment district mainstay was forced to close due to rising rents. With investment help from the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Miranda's team bought the store from owner Rozanne Seelen and packed up the storefront at 250 West 40th Street, where it had been located since 2001. Since then, they've found a new location just one block south at 266 West 39th Street, which is expected to open in March.
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More businesses to shutter in LIRR concourse amid Penn Station renovations

Image by Leif Knutsen on Wikimedia Commons

November 12, 2019

More businesses to shutter in LIRR concourse amid Penn Station renovations

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Beginning next April, at least 17 additional businesses in Penn Station's LIRR concourse will shutter to make way for the station's $600 million revamp. As the New York Post reports, the closings will impact the north-side of the concourse, which is operated by real estate developer Vornado. Commuter-favorites like Shake Shack, Pret a Manger, and two Starbucks locations are among the merchants who will close shop, leaving commuters with significantly fewer fast-food options. Papyrus, Godiva, and Le Bon Cafe are also on the list.
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Prime Park Slope duplex with a lovely private garden asks $6,500/month

Listing images courtesy of The Corcoran Group

November 12, 2019

Prime Park Slope duplex with a lovely private garden asks $6,500/month

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Right around the corner from Park Slope's bustling 5th Avenue, this two-bedroom duplex at 695 Degraw Street is convenient, cozy, and comes with a private, well-maintained garden. Located in a three-unit building dating back to 1899, the home still has some of its classic pre-war details alongside all of the modern conveniences that are on your list: central AC, a laundry room, and more. For the asking rent of $6,500 a month, the apartment can come partially furnished or vacant.
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The 9/11 Tribute Museum might be closing its doors

Google Street View of the 9/11 Tribute Museum in October 2017; Map data © Google

November 11, 2019

The 9/11 Tribute Museum might be closing its doors

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Google Street View of the 9/11 Tribute Museum in October 2017; Map data © Google The 9/11 Tribute Museum—perhaps “overshadowed” by the better-known Memorial Museum just a few blocks away—might be closing its 92 Greenwich Street location, as Crain’s reports. Real estate investment firm Thor Equities has placed the museum's three-story space on the market for $30 million. It’s not yet clear whether the museum will close down completely or be able to relocate.
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With a new ‘Arid Room’ focused on rare cacti and succulents, Tula is growing its roots in Greenpoint

Images courtesy of Tula Plants & Design

November 11, 2019

With a new ‘Arid Room’ focused on rare cacti and succulents, Tula is growing its roots in Greenpoint

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Less than a year after opening their new flagship in Greenpoint, Tula Plants & Design has expanded its lush storefront with a dedicated space for cacti and succulents. Owners Christan Summers and Ivan Martinez recently completed a 400-square-foot expansion in the nearly 100-year-old warehouse at 59 Meserole Avenue, adding a desert plant oasis to complement their tropical plant offerings. The “Arid Room” is packed with varieties young and old and specializes in sourcing rare, hard-to-find species.
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Essex Crossing’s Market Line food hall will open to the public before the end of the month

Images courtesy of QuallsBenson

November 11, 2019

Essex Crossing’s Market Line food hall will open to the public before the end of the month

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A few months after it was initially expected, Essex Crossing’s expansive and bazaar-like food hall, The Market Line, finally has an opening date. Phase one of the rollout is set to open its doors to the public on November 22, offering an initial mix of 30+ local vendors and restaurants, including NYC institutions like Ukrainian diner Veselka, family-run German butcher shop and Grocer Schaller & Weber, and 1920s tea parlor and bakery turned hip dim sum eatery Nom Wah.
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Penthouse inside 111 West 57th Street’s landmarked Steinway Building hits the market for $21M

Renderings by Hayes Davidson and images by Peter Murdock; courtesy of Douglas Elliman

November 8, 2019

Penthouse inside 111 West 57th Street’s landmarked Steinway Building hits the market for $21M

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Once home to the Steinway & Sons piano company, the landmarked building at 111 West 57th Street was acquired by developers JDS Development, Property Markets Group, and Spruce Capital Partners in 2013 for $217.5 million and has since become incorporated into SHoP Architects’ super-slender supertall tower rising next to it. Originally built in 1925, the Beaux-Arts building will house the lobby for the luxury tower and a small number of apartments, including this 5,200+ square-foot duplex penthouse that just listed for $21 million.
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Everything you need to know about NYC’s Veterans Day Parade: Route, street closings, & more

Photo by Sgt. Randall A. Clinton for MarineCorps New York on Flickr

November 8, 2019

Everything you need to know about NYC’s Veterans Day Parade: Route, street closings, & more

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This year's Veterans Day Parade—hosted by the United Way Veterans Council—will celebrate its centennial as more than 30,000 people march up Fifth Avenue on Monday, November 11 to honor veterans of the United States military during the annual holiday. While the organizers stress that the parade is a non-partisan and non-political event, President Donald Trump will make history this year as the first sitting president to attend the celebration. The president will not be marching in the parade but he will be giving an opening address at Madison Square Park.
Read on for more details and the full list of street closures
For $3.85M, get perfectly framed views of the Empire State Building at this Nomad condo

Listing images by Etian Gamliely; courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty

November 7, 2019

For $3.85M, get perfectly framed views of the Empire State Building at this Nomad condo

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This two-bedroom condo at 225 Fifth Avenue features an efficient layout and comes in mint condition, but what really sets it apart is its central Nomad location and the enviable views that come with it. Across the street from Madison Square Park, the corner living room overlooks Fifth Avenue with direct views of the Empire State Building and the vibrant new “Gilded Lady” mural painted by artist Tristan Eaton as an homage to the neighborhood’s history. The unit last sold in 2011 for $2.4 million and is now on the market seeking $3.85 million.
Get the full tour
Sprawling residence inside Central Park West’s historic ‘castle’ seeks $6.5M

Listing images by Travis Mark; courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty

November 7, 2019

Sprawling residence inside Central Park West’s historic ‘castle’ seeks $6.5M

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This 120-year-old turreted brick-and-brownstone castle has a fascinating (and somewhat grim) history as the city’s first cancer hospital. Designed by Charles C. Haight in 1887 in the French Renaissance style, it later became a nursing home before it was converted to a very unique residential condominium in 2005. Units don’t often come on the market but when they do, they offer a scale that’s hard to match in the city, with 13-foot ceilings throughout, massive interior spaces, and Central Park a stone’s throw away. This three-bedroom residence at 445 Central Park West is now on the market for a relatively cool $6.445 million, considering the living room alone is larger than most NYC apartments.
Take a look around
First major exhibition to highlight African American culinary history coming to Harlem next year

Exhibition renderings courtesy of the Museum of Food and Drink

November 6, 2019

First major exhibition to highlight African American culinary history coming to Harlem next year

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Next February the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) will bring together the country’s first exhibition celebrating the countless ways in which African Americans have shaped American cuisine. Curated by Dr. Jessica B. Harris, a leading expert on the foods of the African Diaspora, African/American: Making the Nation’s Table will take place at The Africa Center in Harlem and feature musical selections by Questlove, tastings by Chef Carla Hall, and a restoration of the historic Ebony Magazine Test Kitchen.
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This $950K Westchester home is part schoolhouse, part general store, part carriage house

Listing images by James Patrick Cooper; courtesy of Compass

November 5, 2019

This $950K Westchester home is part schoolhouse, part general store, part carriage house

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You wouldn’t be able to tell from looking at this unassuming Tarrytown home that it’s actually a mash-up of historical structures, though the remaining steeple provides a little clue about its past. The current kitchen and dining area was once a carriage house, the living room once served as the town’s general store and post office, and the parlor room was a one-room schoolhouse in the 1700s. The three structures were fused together in 1900 to create what is now 13 Heritage Hill Road. Spanning nearly 2,500 square feet, the three-bedroom residence is on the market for $950,000.
Take a look around
Three years after promising $5M West Village house to the Lenape, Louise Bourgeois’ son backtracks

6 Weehawken Street in 2017; Map data © 2019 Google

November 4, 2019

Three years after promising $5M West Village house to the Lenape, Louise Bourgeois’ son backtracks

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Three years after Jean-Louis Goldwater Bourgeois announced plans to transfer the deed of his West Village townhouse to a nonprofit organization run by a former chief of the Ramapough Indians—part of the Lenape Nation, the original Manhattanites—the millionaire activist (and artist Louise Bourgeois' son) has decided to hold onto it after all. Bourgeois was working on plans to transform the historic wood-frame home into a patahmaniikan, or a prayer house, when he decided that he was in fact "married to this building" and no longer eager to give it away, as the New York Post reports.
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New York Public Library’s iconic lions are back on guard and better than ever

Photo from this afternoon, by 6sqft

November 1, 2019

New York Public Library’s iconic lions are back on guard and better than ever

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After spending the last two months outside of public view getting a “full spa treatment,” the New York Public Library’s majestic lions are back to guarding the institution. Patience and Fortitude have been in place since the 42nd Street Library opened in 1911 and were named by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia during the Depression to signify the characteristics New Yorkers needed to survive the tough times. The iconic duo was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers out of porous Tennessee pink marble, making them quite susceptible to the elements and the toll of time. The pair requires conservation efforts every seven to 10 years and were last restored in 2011. The last bits of the scaffolding will be removed during the day on Friday, just in time for the annual Library Lions fundraising gala on Monday, November 4.
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See inside The Collective’s ‘short stay’ co-living concept, now open in Long Island City

Images courtesy of The Collective

November 1, 2019

See inside The Collective’s ‘short stay’ co-living concept, now open in Long Island City

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London-based co-living company The Collective has opened its first U.S. location at the former Paper Factory Hotel in Long Island City. Designed in collaboration with Palette Architecture, the 125-room location will focus on a "short stay" model ranging from one-night to 29-day stays. Members will have access to communal living areas and wellness services, as well as a soon-to-launch restaurant and cultural programming. The company already has plans to expand on today’s opening by adding 100 additional rooms on top of the existing building by 2021. 
Take a look around
NYC Council passes $1.7B plan to add 250 miles of protected bike lanes and 1M sqft of pedestrian space

Image via Wikimedia Commons

October 31, 2019

NYC Council passes $1.7B plan to add 250 miles of protected bike lanes and 1M sqft of pedestrian space

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On Monday, after initially expressing concerns over City Council Speaker Corey Johnson's "Streets Master Plan," Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council came to an agreement over the bill, which passed yesterday. The sweeping $1.7 billion plan will require the city to build 250 miles of protected bike lanes and 150 miles of protected bus lanes. In addition, it will add one million square feet of pedestrian space over the first two years.
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First and tallest tower in Manhattan West complex is now open

Image courtesy of James M Hooker / CTC Creative

October 30, 2019

First and tallest tower in Manhattan West complex is now open

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The doors of One Manhattan West have officially opened. The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed tower spans across 67 stories and 2.1 million square feet of office space, and at 995 feet, it’s the tallest building in the development.  Located at the corner of Ninth Avenue and 33rd Street, the tower is the first building within Brookfield Properties’ eight-acre Manhattan West complex to open. It’s already 90 percent leased, with tenants including Accenture, the National Hockey League, Skadden Arps, and Slate.
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Soho loft from first ‘Real World’ season is back on the market for $6.8M

Listing images courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

October 30, 2019

Soho loft from first ‘Real World’ season is back on the market for $6.8M

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This iconic Soho loft at 565 Broadway comes with a storied past and a newly reduced price: $6.8 million. Located on the corner of Prince Street and Broadway, the building was originally designed by John Kellum as the headquarters of Ball, Black & Co, the top 19th-century jeweler before Tiffany’s. In 1992, the loft was the inaugural setting for MTV's first season of "The Real World." A few years later in 1995, sculptor Edwina Sandys—the granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill—bought the duplex with her husband, architect Richard Kaplan, for $950,000, according to the New York Post. Originally listed in 2013 for $10.95 million, it's been on and off the market since.
Take a look around
Stunning 1845 Brooklyn Heights townhouse transformed by The Brooklyn Home Company asks $14.5M

Listing images courtesy of Lindsay Barton Barrett/Douglas Elliman

October 29, 2019

Stunning 1845 Brooklyn Heights townhouse transformed by The Brooklyn Home Company asks $14.5M

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Recently renovated by The Brooklyn Home Company, this 1845 Greek Revival townhouse in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District strikes a beautiful balance between historic details and modern design. The 8,250-square-foot residence at 81 Pierrepont Street is filled with ornate millwork, organic finishes, and lots of natural light. The turnkey property is seeking $14.5 million, making it one of the most expensive properties currently on the market in Brooklyn.
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Lottery launches for 57 low-income units for LGBT seniors across the street from Crotona Park

Photo via CC on Wikimedia

October 28, 2019

Lottery launches for 57 low-income units for LGBT seniors across the street from Crotona Park

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Seniors who identify as LGBT often experience housing discrimination, but dozens of affordable openings at one of New York City's first subsidized developments targeted to this vulnerable population aim to create a different experience. Non-profit developer HELP USA partnered with advocacy group SAGE to create the mixed-use development at 775 Crotona Park North in the Bronx, which will combine low-income housing with an LGBT-oriented Senior Center on the ground floor. Starting Tuesday, individuals or households that have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older and who qualify for Section 8 can apply for the 57 available units. Eligible residents will pay 30 percent of their income for rent.
Here's everything you need to know to apply
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