All articles by Michelle Cohen

Michelle is a New York-based writer and content strategist who has worked extensively with lifestyle brands like Seventeen, Country Living, Harper’s Bazaar and iVillage. In addition to being a copywriter for a digital media agency she writes about culture, New York City neighborhoods, real estate, style, design and technology among other topics. She has lived in a number of major US cities on both coasts and in between and loves all things relating to urbanism and culture.

New Isay Weinfeld-designed Four Seasons won’t resemble the historic restaurant at all

November 22, 2016

New Isay Weinfeld-designed Four Seasons won’t resemble the historic restaurant at all

By Michelle Cohen

The 21st century incarnation of the iconic Four Seasons restaurant set to open at 280 Park Avenue will bear no resemblance to the original, beyond the famous name and the sign that fronted the "Mad Men"-era power lunch spot in the Seagram Building, according to the restaurant's co-owner, Julian Niccolini. The New York Post reports that the team behind the "new" Four Seasons–Niccolini and partner Alex von Bidder, the Bronfman family, landlord Steve Roth of Vornado and representatives of landlord SL Green Realty–approved the new restaurant's design, by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld, last Friday.
A new femininity for the three-martini lunch?

Architecture And Design

Betsey Johnson unloads her pretty pink Upper East Side condo for $1.8M

November 22, 2016

Betsey Johnson unloads her pretty pink Upper East Side condo for $1.8M

By Michelle Cohen

Iconoclastic designer Betsey Johnson has found a buyer for her Upper East Side condo at 30 East 85th Street. The zany fashionista with a passion for pink purchased the 850-square-foot pad at the top of the market in 2008 for $1.85 million and listed it for $2.25 million in May. With no takers, the price was chopped to $1.8M in October, and the home recently went into contract according to the New York Observer.
See more of the girly-glam pad

Celebrities

Site of planned Norman Foster-designed Sutton Place condo tower to be auctioned off next month

November 21, 2016

Site of planned Norman Foster-designed Sutton Place condo tower to be auctioned off next month

By Michelle Cohen

The 262,000-square-foot project that includes plans for a 900-foot-tall luxury condominium tower drawn up by British architect Sir Norman Foster of Foster + Partners that embattled developer Joseph Beninati had hoped to build in the heart of Sutton Place is set to be auctioned next month, according to Crains. As 6sqft previously reported, the sale of the property at 3 Sutton Place was authorized in September to pay back creditors and partners who were owed money from the derailed project, and a source has told Crain's that an auction is scheduled for December 13 with bids due by December 8.
Find out more

Shipbuilding companies work around the clock to meet 2017 ferry service deadline

November 21, 2016

Shipbuilding companies work around the clock to meet 2017 ferry service deadline

By Michelle Cohen

City officials are pushing to have the $325 million citywide ferry service, helmed by Hornblower and managed by the city's Economic Development Corporation, up and running a few months before next November, when Mayor Bill de Blasio stands for re-election. As 6sqft reported in September, two bayou-based shipbuilding companies, Horizon Shipbuilding in Bayou La Batre, Ala. and the awesomely-named Metal Shark in Franklin, La., are racing to complete the 19 new boats scheduled to hit the water this summer. The ferry service will be the most extensive passenger ferry service of its kind in any U.S. city.
Get a sneak peek at the shiny new fleet-to-be

Transit

This $649K co-op has pre-war charm, East Midtown convenience and room to grow

November 21, 2016

This $649K co-op has pre-war charm, East Midtown convenience and room to grow

By Michelle Cohen

How much you love the location of this surprisingly-spacious-for-six-figures co-op at 155 East 49th Street just north of Turtle Bay in East Midtown might just depend on how much you like skyscrapers. Because though the spot is convenient to everything from MoMA and shopping to Grand Central Station and the subway, there are tall towers in every direction and many more, even taller, on the way. But this 10-story co-op does a pretty good job making the case for classic brick amid towers of glass and steel.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

This $2.6M Flatiron loft is creative, crafty and colorful as a wildflower garden

November 18, 2016

This $2.6M Flatiron loft is creative, crafty and colorful as a wildflower garden

By Michelle Cohen

Think of this loft co-op in a former garter factory at 32 West 20th Street as one big, soft, colorful tote bag–the kind your favorite third grade art teacher would pack to the brim every day–there are pockets for stuff, sure–in this case a bedroom and a bath and a half–but really it's a big, open space with room for floaty scarves, bright skeins of yarn, beads and baubles, paints and brushes. At 2,000 square feet there's plenty to work with when it comes to carving out just the kind of space you need.
Stop and smell the flowers, this way

Distinctive Homes

Over 97 percent of fines issued to deadbeat landlords never collected, audit shows

November 18, 2016

Over 97 percent of fines issued to deadbeat landlords never collected, audit shows

By Michelle Cohen

A recent audit by Comptroller Scott Stringer found that the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) only collected 2.46 percent of the $35.1 million in overdue fines sent to its enforcement unit in the past two years, meaning that tens of millions of dollars owed by bad landlords remained unpaid by October of 2015. Landlords get hit with fines of up to $1,000 a day for failing to fix items like a lack of heat or lead paint, but the audit charged that building owners are getting away with dodging the fines, the New York Daily News reports.
'A free pass to break the law'

Policy

November 17, 2016

City Planning Commission votes to raise fee for Theater District air rights transfers

By Michelle Cohen

The City Planning Commission has voted to up the cost of air rights transfers in the special Midtown Manhattan district that includes Broadway's theaters, The Real Deal reports. Currently, when developers purchase air rights from theaters between West 40th and West 57th Streets from Sixth to Eighth Avenues, they pay $17.60 per square foot to the Theater Subdistrict Fund. Transferable development rights can usually only be used for adjacent properties, but the city created the special district in 1998 to help the theater industry thrive amid sharply rising real estate prices; within the district, air rights can be moved more freely in a larger area outside the usual “arms length” restrictions.
What does this mean for Broadway theaters?

Policy

A penthouse off Central Park on the Upper East Side for $190K? Believe it!

November 17, 2016

A penthouse off Central Park on the Upper East Side for $190K? Believe it!

By Michelle Cohen

For those of you who say you'd live in a closet just to be near the park, this might be your dream home. And this petite penthouse at 103 East 84th Street isn't just any closet (though it does appear to be under 200 square feet); not only is this unique co-op in a lovely full-service elevator building off Park Avenue, but the space that has been called "Manhattan's most adorable penthouse" boasts a charming and sizeable private terrace to rival many a million-dollar property.
Find out more about this charming garret

Distinctive Homes

Triboro’s ‘Wrong Color Subway Map’ uses art as an antidote for subway confusion

November 16, 2016

Triboro’s ‘Wrong Color Subway Map’ uses art as an antidote for subway confusion

By Michelle Cohen

David Heasty and Stefanie Weigler, the husband-and-wife team behind Brooklyn’s Triboro design firm, want you to spend more time looking at the New York City subway map. To that end, they’ve created versions of the familiar underground map in vibrant colors that definitely aren’t part of the official MTA version. Intended as less of a subway map replacement and more of a "beautiful memento of the city," Triboro introduced their Wrong Color Subway Map this fall, citing Massimo Vignelli’s iconic 1972 design as inspiration (h/t Wall Street Journal).
More maps, this way

Transit

Popular Articles

Central Park squirrels: Once exotic, now basically in charge

November 16, 2016

Central Park squirrels: Once exotic, now basically in charge

By Michelle Cohen

Squirrels may be so common in today’s city parks that they threaten to make off with our junk food, but at one time the creatures were rare and exotic visitors whose delightful presence was carefully encouraged. Dan Lewis of Now I Know tells us that the ubiquitous squirrel may have been indigenous to North America, but Central Park's squirrels didn't come with the territory: The bushy-tailed natives had become all but extinct on Manhattan island by the 1850s due to rapid development. Just a year before the park’s creation, one lone squirrel, heading down a tree trunk on its way to extinction, stopped traffic as charmed New Yorkers marveled at the antics of the "unusual visitor" to the extent that they had to be dispersed by police, according to accounts by a paper of the day.
So how did they get here?

For $4.2M this four-bedroom Village loft condo is the picture of understated luxury and charm

November 16, 2016

For $4.2M this four-bedroom Village loft condo is the picture of understated luxury and charm

By Michelle Cohen

While the $4.2 million price may sound steep, this sprawling 10th floor loft at 8 East 12th Street on the east side of Greenwich Village checks the boxes for just about every dreamy detail you'd need or want in a city apartment. At 2,330 square feet with four bedrooms, closets galore and an enormous great room, there's more than enough space for family, friends and guests. High-floor views go all the way down to One World Trade, and high ceilings accentuate the brightness in every room–and then there are the sunsets. Though there may be no million-dollar parking spots or Olympic-sized pool, this covetable condo is far from no-frills. Central air, a laundry room, marble baths and a chef-ready European kitchen are just a few just-right details; the building is located in one of the finest spots a Manhattan dweller could ask for, just blocks from Washington Square Park, the East Village, the Union Square Greenmarket and nearly every subway in the city.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

Upper West Side buildings to dump Trump name following petition

Trump Place Apartments courtesy of Nick Normal’s Flickr

November 15, 2016

Upper West Side buildings to dump Trump name following petition

By Michelle Cohen

“The building is beautiful, the service is impeccable,” Marjorie Jacobs, a resident of the Upper West Side complex currently known as Trump Place told Bloomberg in October, “But the name is very embarrassing." An outcry by similarly-minded residents and a petition have culminated in the decision to remove the president-elect's name from the buildings and instead name them according to their street addresses at 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard, reports Crains.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

Live a Tribeca artist’s loft life in the center of it all for $7,500K/month

November 15, 2016

Live a Tribeca artist’s loft life in the center of it all for $7,500K/month

By Michelle Cohen

When you tell them you live in a loft, this sprawling specimen is pretty much what you'd hope to be describing. For a mere $7,500 a month, this newly-renovated picture of loft living at 6 Varick Street (known for its authentic-but-updated lofts), where Tribeca is arguably at its most Tribecan–if not its most quiet–even comes with art supplies, or at least a place to store them.
Have a look around, this way

Distinctive Homes

#NotMyAIA: Architects reject AIA statement pledging to ‘work with’ Trump

Promises and reality: Trump’s failed attempts to build the world’s tallest buildings in NYC

November 15, 2016

#NotMyAIA: Architects reject AIA statement pledging to ‘work with’ Trump

By Michelle Cohen

. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) issued a statement last Wednesday pledging that "The AIA and its 89,000 members are committed to working with president-elect Trump to address the issues our country faces, particularly strengthening the nation's aging infrastructure." The statement issued by organization chief Robert Ivy assured that the country's architects would help the incoming president and congress with construction industry-related matters: "During the campaign, president-elect Trump called for committing at least $500 billion to infrastructure spending over five years,” said Ivy–possibly providing an imperative for the message. But that does not appear to be reason enough for members, who say they do not necessarily "stand ready to work with him and with the incoming 115th Congress.” A swift and indignant backlash led to an apology by Ivy released early this week.
Read on

This $3.5M Tribeca apartment has the bones of a loft, the polished interiors of a mansion

November 14, 2016

This $3.5M Tribeca apartment has the bones of a loft, the polished interiors of a mansion

By Michelle Cohen

This two-convertible-to-three-bedroom condominium at 58 Walker Street has all the credibility it needs as an authentic Tribeca loft, but wood-paneled walls, a marble-mantled fireplace and super-luxe details assure there won't be any need to sacrifice grown-up elegance. 13-foot ceilings, massive loft windows and exposed brick walls within a cast iron loft building frame a 1,927 square-foot home whose interiors were created by the design team of kureck/jones. An added rare-in-a-loft perk: There's a private terrace off the master bedroom.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

Queens, Brooklyn see ‘drastic’ rise in foreclosures

November 14, 2016

Queens, Brooklyn see ‘drastic’ rise in foreclosures

By Michelle Cohen

October brought a significant spike in home mortgage foreclosure rates, according to The New York Post, with more than 1,100 homes heading into foreclosure. That number represents a 32 percent increase from the previous month and a 37 percent increase from one year ago, with 400 new cases in Queens (nearly twice as many as a year ago). 365 cases were recorded in Brooklyn, a 20 percent increase, with the state overall seeing a 15 percent increase since September and 10 percent year over year, according research by Attom Data Solutions.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

This $3M Clinton Hill townhouse gives you another chance to weigh in on the tub-in-the-bedroom trend

November 13, 2016

This $3M Clinton Hill townhouse gives you another chance to weigh in on the tub-in-the-bedroom trend

By Michelle Cohen

While a bathtub and hand shower in the bedroom may conjure images of East Village walkups with the shower tucked next to the kitchen fridge, or worse, the free-standing bathtub has been appearing in the best of boudoirs for some time now. This $2.995 million two-family brownstone at 107 Greene Avenue in historic Clinton Hill puts the tub at a jaunty angle right smack in the middle of the master bedroom. The rest of the home is the obligatory mix of painstakingly restored original details (wide plank hardwood floors, tin ceilings, marble mantles, original lighting fixtures and medallions, hardwood doors with elegant glass doorknobs) and modern updates (washer/dryer, Viking kitchen, laundry room), and 3,600 square feet of space, plus rental income, may be worth getting lathered up over.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Lawsuit: Co-op board told Madonna she can’t have daughter Lourdes stay at her pad when she’s out

November 11, 2016

Lawsuit: Co-op board told Madonna she can’t have daughter Lourdes stay at her pad when she’s out

By Michelle Cohen

In a recent court filing, Madonna's attorney wrote that the pop star was “entitled” to have her “adult daughter” Lourdes live in the $7.3 million duplex that she purchased in 2008, The New York Post shares. As 6sqft previously reported, Madge sued the board at 1 West 64th Street, known as Harperley Hall, in April after they attempted to ban the performer's family and staff from being in the apartment when she wasn't there. According to court papers, the co-op building's board illegally changed her original lease in 2014 to say that no one under 16 could reside in the apartment unless an adult over age 21 was present.
Find out more

Celebrities

It will cost a whopping $811M to repair the Brooklyn Bridge

November 11, 2016

It will cost a whopping $811M to repair the Brooklyn Bridge

By Michelle Cohen

When repairs on the 133-year-old Brooklyn Bridge began in 2010, it was estimated that the massive project would cost about $508 million. Now, that estimate has hit $811 million–$200 million higher than estimates from as recent as last year and almost 60 percent higher than the original number, the New York Post reports.
Why the price hike?

Transit

Real estate industry likely to benefit from a Trump presidency

November 10, 2016

Real estate industry likely to benefit from a Trump presidency

By Michelle Cohen

The city's real estate industry isn't too worried about a Donald Trump presidency. Real estate insiders feel that the man whose family's fortune was made in the industry and padded by its favorable tax breaks, foreign investments and still-rising market will be unlikely to bite the hand that has fed it so well, Crains reports.
Loopholes safe; affordable housing not so much

NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan keeps townhouse, sells duplex condo in Williamsburg

November 10, 2016

NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan keeps townhouse, sells duplex condo in Williamsburg

By Michelle Cohen

Popular NY1 news anchor Pat Kiernan made news himself when he and his wife Dawn and their two children moved from an Upper West Side co-op to a four-story townhouse at 135 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. The Kiernans bought the house for $2.03 million–a neighborhood record for a single-family home–and proceeded to undertake major renovations. Turns out that in 2013 the Kiernans also purchased a two-bedroom, two-bath duplex at 171 North 7th Street for $860,000. The condo must have become one property too many; it was recently sold for $1.095 million (h/t Observer).
Have a look, this way

Celebrities

Smart microphones are recording city sounds to help create a quieter New York

November 7, 2016

Smart microphones are recording city sounds to help create a quieter New York

By Michelle Cohen

Researchers at New York University and Ohio State University are installing microphones at points throughout the city that will learn to recognize the pneumatic drills, bizarrely noisy Fresh Direct trucks and other street sounds that form our familiar daily cacophony. The recording devices use technology that was developed to identify migrating birds, the way the Shazam app records and identifies song snippets. The New York Times reports that the study will begin collecting 10-second bits of audio at random intervals, then begin labeling the urban din using UrbanEars, a machine-listening engine. The sensors are being trained to identify the many "sonic irritants" that plague city life, including the seasonal (snow plows, air conditioners) and the maddeningly ceaseless (garbage trucks, construction). The project, called Sounds of New York City (Sonyc) has the goal of creating an aural map that could help the city track and control noise pollution in addition to empowering residents to get involved.
Hear all about it

City Living

$18M Upper East Side townhouse duo hides rear boulder wall with a storied history

November 7, 2016

$18M Upper East Side townhouse duo hides rear boulder wall with a storied history

By Michelle Cohen

This almost-matched pair of townhouse apartment buildings at 316-318 East 77th Street on the Upper East Side is fronted by nondescript, fairly utilitarian facades, but the rear courtyard "rocks" an historic secret in the form of a massive chunk of Manhattan bedrock known as Lion’s Rock. In recent times the property was the site of a restaurant by the same name. The big boulder was part of the establishment’s rear garden, complete with water trickling from a spring that was a part of the old Saw Mill Creek. Lion’s Rock restaurant closed in the 1990s, but the rock remains (and probably will for the foreseeable future). But more interestingly, the rock is all that remains of a very different Manhattan.
A woods, and maybe a park

Renovated two-family house in Bushwick charms inside and out for $995K

November 6, 2016

Renovated two-family house in Bushwick charms inside and out for $995K

By Michelle Cohen

Priced at just under a mil, with a very sweet two-bedroom rental, a lower owner's duplex with a finished basement, and 2,700 square feet of total space, this unassuming house at 36 Pilling Street in eastern Bushwick has a lot going for it. The turn-key home has been renovated with restraint, with added comforts like a laundry room and a large private, planted yard.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

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