All articles by Emily Nonko

Emily is a Brooklyn-based writer who has covered New York City real estate, architecture and design for Brownstoner, The Wall Street Journal, Dwell and other publications. You can follow her on Twitter @EmilyNonko.

December 13, 2017

Soho style arrives at this dreamy Turtle Bay loft asking $999K

By Emily Nonko

You wouldn't necessarily expect an artist loft up for sale in Turtle Bay, but here's one asking just a hair under $1 million at the Turtle Bay Towers condop complex. The open floorplan was renovated in the style of a Soho loft, according to the listing, but you get all the conveniences of being in East Midtown. After its renovation the space saw a big price jump in just a few years--it was asking $689,000 in 2012 before selling for $649,000.
Head inside

Distinctive Homes

December 12, 2017

Former ‘ Million Dollar Listing’ star lists Lenox Hill co-op that’s bursting with color for $4.8M

By Emily Nonko

Calling this apartment colorful would be a total understatement. Each room of the Lenox Hill co-op, at 875 Fifth Avenue, is decked out in bold paint colors, artwork, and decor. The space was renovated in 2014 by the interior designer Nick Olsen for Michael Lorber, a former star of "Million Dollar Listing," who purchased the pad in 2014 for $3.6 million. Now fully renovated, the three-bedroom spread overlooking Central Park is on the market for $4.795 million.
Check out the decor

Distinctive Homes

December 12, 2017

Announcing 6sqft’s 2017 Building of the Year!

By Emily Nonko

The votes have been tallied, and so it's time to name the 2017 Building of the Year! The winning title belongs to no other than One Manhattan Square, the Lower East Side meets Chinatown skyscraper that will be home to NYC’s largest outdoor private garden when it opens next year. The 800-foot-tall tower beat out 11 other significant NYC buildings in a competitive two-week competition held by 6sqft. Out of 3,782 votes cast, the Extell-developed, Adamson Associates-designed structure took first place with 959 votes or 25.35% of the total.
More on this year's winner!

December 11, 2017

Last day to vote for 6sqft’s 2017 Building of the Year!

By Emily Nonko

This year was all about new development redefining the New York City skyline. Construction moved along at a rapid pace, whether it be the topping out of Richard Meier's tower at 685 First Avenue or foundational work kicking off at Brooklyn's first supertall 9 Dekalb. In the next several years we'll see these buildings open and show off apartments at sky-high prices, but for now, we get to enjoy the construction process on some of the most notable new architecture to come to New York. We’ve narrowed down a list of 12 news-making residential structures for the year. Which do you think deserves 6sqft’s title of 2017 Building of the Year? To have your say, polls for our third annual competition will be open up until midnight on Monday, December 11th and we will announce the winner on Tuesday, December 12th.
VOTE HERE! And learn more about the choices.

New Developments

$80M Upper East Side mansion could set a record for most expensive townhouse ever sold in NYC

Google Streetview of 12 East 69th Street

December 11, 2017

$80M Upper East Side mansion could set a record for most expensive townhouse ever sold in NYC

By Emily Nonko

A 20,000-square-foot Upper East Side mansion--complete with its own red velvet movie theater, panic room, and double-height library, has entered contract priced at $80 million. And according to the Wall Street Journal, if it closes at that price the property will become the most expensive townhouse ever sold in New York City. The sale would beat out a record set just this year, when the 25,000-square-foot, 41-foot-wide townhouse at 19 East 64th Street belonging to art heir David Wildenstein closed for $79.5 million. This home, located at 12 East 69th Street, came on the market in 2013 for roughly $114 million but was delisted after a price cut to $98 million in 2014.
Find out more

December 8, 2017

Three $40M units go into contract at 432 Park, buyer may be assembling a mega-penthouse

By Emily Nonko

A massive deal has entered contract at one of New York's most exclusive condos, the super-skinny skyscraper 432 Park. Mansion Global spotted three neighboring penthouses that all entered contract this Wednesday. There's #92B, which was asking $40 million; #93B was asking $40.25 million; and #92A was asking $40.5 million. One of the condos served as a model penthouse (pictured above), which was designed and furnished by Kelly Behun. The developers, CIM Group and Macklowe Properties, would not comment on sales, so, for now, it’s unclear if a single buyer is responsible for the same-day transactions over the two floors. If so, someone has nabbed a nearly 12,000-square-foot mansion in the sky for around $120 million.
The buyer-or buyers-are a mystery

Real Estate Trends

Bethenny Frankel buys her second Hamptons retreat as an ‘investment property’

Listing photos courtesy of Chris Foster for Town & Country Real Estate

December 7, 2017

Bethenny Frankel buys her second Hamptons retreat as an ‘investment property’

By Emily Nonko

Bethenny Frankel, Bravo Real Housewife and founder of the Skinnygirl brand, has picked up a new home in the Hamptons. The New York Post reports that she's the buyer of the once bed-and-breakfast at 2623 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton, formerly known as the Morning Glory House. It was listed last year for $3.2 million and then made it down to $2.49 million. (The Post couldn't confirm Frankel's selling price.) And it's not her first home in the area, either. In 2015 she snagged a five-bedroom home in Bridgehampton asking $3.2 million. She plans to keep that one and has bought the Morning Glory House as an investment property.
Go inside her new digs

December 6, 2017

A six-story apartment with a townhouse feel asks $9.5M in Sutton Place

By Emily Nonko

It's not every day a six-story apartment hits the market in New York--and it feels like a bonafide townhouse within the new Sutton Place condo 441 East 57th Street. The four-bedroom pad, with a sprawling 5,550 square feet, has hit the market for $9.5 million. (After last selling in 2010 for $9.4 million, it's struggled on the market, asking everything between $13 and $9.499 million.) On top of tons of custom interior details, floor-to-ceiling glass doors open to a private 500-square-foot deck with all the outdoor perks.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

Renderings revealed for the renovated Condé Nast cafeteria, Frank Gehry’s first NYC project

Renderings via the Durst Organization/Studios Architecture

December 6, 2017

Renderings revealed for the renovated Condé Nast cafeteria, Frank Gehry’s first NYC project

By Emily Nonko

The fabled Condé Nast cafeteria--starchitect Frank Gehry's first ever project in New York--is getting a revamp and will reopen to new tenants in the Four Times Square office tower. The Post reports that the titanium-wrapped, fourth-floor venue is going to be integrated into a $35 million, tenants-only space in the 1.2-million-square-foot tower. The building's owner, the Durst Organization, says that while the space will have more seats, Gehry's signature elements have been preserved, like the curved-glass “curtains,” undulating titanium walls, and banquette seating nooks. 6sqft received a first look at
It'll now be run as a food hall

Architecture And Design

December 5, 2017

Cutting-edge Soho penthouse hits the market for a whopping $22.5M

By Emily Nonko

This distinctive penthouse is the work of Mark Foster Gage Architects, who is not afraid to turn your architectural world upside down. Here at 88 Prince Street, in Soho, he's taken a 12th floor penthouse unit and decked it out with eye-popping art, custom windows and lighting, a floating staircase and stunning skylight. The apartment last sold in 2008 for $5.8 million, according to public records. Post renovation, the co-op is on the market for an impressive $22.5 million (the second most expensive in the 'hood) with a monthly maintenance of $8,094.
Don't miss the interior

Distinctive Homes

Statue of Liberty Museum tops off construction ahead of 2019 opening

By Emily Nonko

Yesterday morning construction topped off at the Statue of Liberty Museum, a brand new $70 million building on Liberty Island designed by FXFOWLE and ESI Design. Project designs were released last fall; soon after the project was approved. Construction has been moving along steadily ever since, and today marked a milestone before the 2019 opening. Diane von Furstenberg, who is still working to raise money for the museum, and Stephen Briganti, president of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, signed their names on the beam symbolically hoisted to the top of the structure. Once it opens, the 26,000-square-foot space will hold an immersive theater and gallery that showcases the Statue of Liberty's original torch, framing stunning views of New York's most iconic monument.
Tour the construction site

Architecture And Design

December 4, 2017

$4.35M Connecticut home Marcel Breuer designed for himself got a glass and steel addition

By Emily Nonko

Marcel Breuer isn't just the architect behind the original Whitney Museum of Art--he's also known for his mid-century modern home designs. And now there's an incredible chance to buy the New Canaan, Connecticut home he actually designed for himself in 1951. The striking home has changed hands several times after Breuer's death, according to DesignBoom. But the current owner commissioned New York-based architect Toshiko Mori to extend the property. A steel and glass extension gives the property a modern edge, which also doubling its size to four bedrooms over 5,577 square feet. It's asking $4.35 million.
Get inside

December 1, 2017

Historic freestanding manse in Forest Hills Gardens asks $1.4M

By Emily Nonko

This freestanding Tudor home at 310 Burns Street was original to the master plan designed by Grosvenor Atterbury of the model housing community Forest Hills Gardens. The 175-acre enclave just south of the Forest Hills LIRR station and within the greater Queens neighborhood of Forest Hills was developed in the early 1900s as a private garden community with shared green space alongside urban convenience. Today the community consists of 11 apartment buildings and 800 free-standing--this being one of them. Situated right in the heart of "The Gardens," the historic home is up for grabs asking $1.418 million.
Get the interior tour

November 30, 2017

Subway fixes proposed by the RPA include ending 24-hour service and expanding Second Avenue line

By Emily Nonko

Today the nonprofit Regional Plan Association released its Fourth Regional Plan, a collection of broad and sweeping suggestions to make the MTA's very bad subway system start working again. In fact, there are more than 60 suggestions total in the 351-page document, which the association has been working on for years to improve infrastructure throughout the tri-state area. The RPA explicitly ignores political realities, but in the past their suggestions have proved influential over the region. And so they've offered up a few biggies to the MTA: ending 24/7 subway service, eight new or extended subway lines, and taking away the responsibility of subway maintenance and repairs from the beleaguered transit agency.
Read details of these ambitious proposals

Transit

Artists plan to install eight life-size sculptures of powerful women across New York

Rendering courtesy of Gillie and Marc

November 29, 2017

Artists plan to install eight life-size sculptures of powerful women across New York

By Emily Nonko

The husband-and-wife sculpture team Gillie and Marc have an ambitious plan to install bronze sculptures of powerful women throughout New York City beginning next year. Over 25 years, Gillie and Marc have completed over 100 commissions for sculptures in public places and businesses in more than 40 cities. (In New York, their work has been everywhere from Rockefeller Center to the Fulton Center, and they plan to install the world's largest rhino sculpture in Manhattan next year.) But in all their commissions, they were shocked to find that only one was to celebrate a woman. To help narrow the glaring gender gap in public monuments, the artists plan to install eight life-size bronze sculptures of powerful women across New York City as a public art exhibition. It's set to debut in 2018, and until the public has a chance to vote on which women should be featured.
Learn more about the art project

November 29, 2017

For $11M, a former Chelsea parking garage transformed into a concrete-clad apartment

By Emily Nonko

This is a quirky New York apartment if we've ever seen one. It occupies a former Chelsea parking garage at 239 West 18th Street that was later used as a warehouse to store vinyl records. At some point down the line it was converted to a four-unit condo. And this particular unit encompasses much of the building: a third floor loft, a commercial space on the ground floor, storage in the basement and garage, exclusive use of building's roof, 7,500 square feet of air rights, and indoor parking. (All that space covers 6,143 square feet total.) The architect-designed interior retains the grittiness of the parking garage, awash in concrete finishes from the floor to the bathtub. The whole shebang is asking $11 million.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

November 28, 2017

INTERVIEW: Why SpareRoom and Breaking Ground partnered to combat NYC’s homelessness crisis

By Emily Nonko

Over the past few years, New York City's homeless crisis has gotten worse. A recent study reported a 39 percent increase in homelessness over 2016, making last year the highest homeless population since the survey began in 2005. While the city scrambles to address the rising population, a roommate company and nonprofit housing organization recently teamed up to help lessen the burden of New Yorkers who find themselves unable to afford housing. Despite operating on opposite ends of the housing market, roommate matching site SpareRoom partnered with Breaking Ground, the largest provider of supportive housing in NYC, this November. The partnership was suggested by the public after SpareRoom launched Live Rent Free, a contest where the company pays one roommate’s monthly rent and one person’s entire rent for a whole year. (It was inspired by founder Rupert Hunt's New York roommate search, in which he found two roomies to share his West Village loft for $1 a month.) The resulting partnership--which is running in tandem with the Live Rent Free contest--matches the monthly prize amount dollar-for-dollar with an in-kind donation to Breaking Ground to fund their Transitional Housing program. So far, SpareRoom has donated $3,314. With 6sqft, Matt Hutchinson, Director at SpareRoom, explained why the company felt motivated to address homelessness and its future plans to engage with Breaking Ground. Brenda Rosen, President and CEO of Breaking Ground, also explains how the organization's Transition Housing program works, and why the homelessness crisis is something all New Yorkers--regardless of what they pay in rent--should be aware of.
Continue reading for the Q&A

November 28, 2017

Landmarks votes to consider Philip Johnson’s postmodern AT&T Building for historic designation

By Emily Nonko

This morning the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to calendar the postmodern skyscraper at 550 Madison Avenue, designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1984. The world’s first skyscraper built in a postmodern style was originally known as the AT&T Building, as the tower served as the company headquarters. Sony moved in in the 1990s, giving it the nickname of the Sony Tower. Last year, the building sold to the Olayan Group and Chelsfield for a whopping $1.4 billion. Their resulting renovation plan, led by Snøhetta, has elicited protest from preservationists who do not want to see changes to the building's impressive arched entryway. Now that the tower's calendared, the developers' $300 million renovation will eventually come up for a landmarks vote by the LPC.
See renderings of Snøhetta's proposal

November 27, 2017

$975K Park Slope railroad apartment still manages to charm with pre-war details

By Emily Nonko

The railroad apartment--a classic layout across New York City--isn't everybody's cup of tea. Not everyone wants to bypass a hallway to walk through a series of directly connected rooms, but in the case of this Park Slope co-op, each room is especially charming. The floor-through railroad occupies the third floor of 719 Carroll Street, a brick townhouse that's been converted into a small eight-unit cooperative. At 80 feet long, the apartment is lined with prewar details that include a bay window, decorative fireplace, and some exposed brick. It last sold in 2009 for $625,000 before hitting the market at $975,000.
Do the walk-through

Distinctive Homes

MTA hires Toronto’s Andy Byford to fix growing subway woes

Photo via Wikipedia

November 22, 2017

MTA hires Toronto’s Andy Byford to fix growing subway woes

By Emily Nonko

After a wide-ranging investigation by the New York Times into the failures of the New York City subway system, the MTA is trying to step up its game, announcing that Andy Byford will become the next president of New York City Transit, the MTA agency responsible for subways, buses, para-transit services, and the Staten Island Railway. (Talk about pressure.) Byford, however, has a good track record after five years of reducing delays, improving rider satisfaction, and modernizing the Toronto Transit Commission. The MTA's plan, according to the Times, is to change up leadership to "restore accountability and change a culture that for years has left the system lacking adequate funding or support." But they're already dealing with a high rate of turnover, as this will mark the agency’s fifth full-time leader in the past ten years.
He still faces massive challenges

November 22, 2017

$980K Village co-op maximizes space with smart storage and a bonus outdoor patio

By Emily Nonko

This Greenwich Village apartment, at the cooperative 175 Bleecker Street, is within cozy quarters. But the ground-floor, one-bedroom unit is more than meets the eye post-renovation. It's packed with some ingenious storage, a lofted second bedroom space, and a dreamy private patio. After last selling in 2015 for $849,000, it's back on the market with a steeper ask of $980,000. Will someone be willing to spend close to $1 million on a well-designed but modest apartment, right in the heart of the Village?
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

November 20, 2017

Stunning church details were woven into this $3,925/month Bushwick rental

By Emily Nonko

This 1890s brick church and school, located at 626 Bushwick Avenue right in Bushwick, has gotten a second life as a new development rental known as the Saint Marks. The church details aren't all extinct, with brickwork and vaulting in some of the apartments. This two-bedroom unit is one of the most stunning in the building--and it's now asking $3,925 a month. The top-floor location means that the elaborate arched ceilings decked out with mosaic tilework and carved wood tower above this lofty pad.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

November 17, 2017

The penthouse at Shigeru Ban’s Metal Shutter Houses tries its hand as a $25K/month rental

By Emily Nonko

The penthouse that tops the Metal Shutter Houses, a Chelsea condo designed by Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban, boasts almost as much outdoor space as it does within. The four-bedroom, four-bathroom duplex penthouse spans 3,319 square feet, with almost 2,000 square feet of landscaped terraces surrounding it and offering incredible views. The pad originally sold for $11.4 million, according to Curbed, then hit the market in 2011 for $12.95 million. After no takers, it was listed this summer for $12.9 million. And now it's trying its hand as a rental, at a hefty monthly cost of $25,000.
You have to see the outdoor space

Distinctive Homes

November 16, 2017

Chelsea townhouse with modern Danish design asks a cool $11M

By Emily Nonko

This Chelsea townhouse at 449 West 24th Street has some bragging rights both inside and out. Exterior-wise, the 21-foot-wide home is surrounded by greenery and outdoor space on a block of other historic townhouses. Inside, over 4,073 square feet, mid-century and Danish interior design has added a unique and modern touch. Big walls of glass, finally, connect the indoor and outdoor elements. If you're digging the connection, the property has just hit the market for a cool $11 million.
Explore each floor

Distinctive Homes

Dannon Yogurt’s fruity history in the Bronx

Photo courtesy of Dannon

November 14, 2017

Dannon Yogurt’s fruity history in the Bronx

By Emily Nonko

The Bronx is home to your favorite European-sounding ice cream brand--and it's also the place where a European yogurt was outfitted for American tastes. Back in 1919, in Barcelona, Spain, Isaac Carasso started making yogurt after learning about scientific advances fermenting milk at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. He founded the "Danone" yogurt company--named after his young son Daniel--and invented yogurt's first industrial manufacturing process. Isaac's son, Daniel, eventually brought the business to France, but then moved to New York in the midst of World War Two. In 1942, Daniel Carasso changed the name Danone to Dannon to make the brand sound more American. It was the first American yogurt company located in the Bronx at a time when few Americans knew what yogurt was. The rest, as they say, is history, with hand-delivered yogurt making its way around the city, and the American taste preferences leading the company to invent fruit-based flavors you still see today.
Keep reading for Dannon's NYC history

History

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