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.

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

The closing of neighborhood grocery stores is leaving local shoppers stranded

November 4, 2016

The closing of neighborhood grocery stores is leaving local shoppers stranded

By Michelle Cohen

An important must-have when apartment hunting often involves the presence of a grocery store within a few blocks. A local food market, regardless of how harsh its fluorescent lighting or how narrow its aisles, is often the key to feeling part of civilization, especially when you've run out of milk for breakfast. The familiar branches of local chains–from Key Food to D'Agostino to the corner deli–are closing down across the city, in some cases leaving New Yorkers in something of a "grocery desert" surrounded by restaurants but without access to fresh ingredients and emergency baby supplies. According to the New York Times, the landscape is definitely shifting: Between 2005 and 2015, about 300, or eight percent, of the city's greengrocers–defined as "family-owned stores of less than about 7,000 square feet"–closed up shop and left the neighborhood.
What's causing the shift?

City Living

$500K designer-outfitted East Village co-op is kitty-approved, complete with built-in litter box

November 4, 2016

$500K designer-outfitted East Village co-op is kitty-approved, complete with built-in litter box

By Michelle Cohen

Even if you're cat-free there's still plenty to love about this stylish designer-renovated (junior) one bedroom co-op at 633 East 11th street in the charming heart of Alphabet City. The apartment, though petite, is a perfect mix of classic pre-war quality and modern, luxurious fixtures and finishes, including white painted brick, dark wood floors and a sleek European-style kitchen and bathroom. And, yes, according to the floor plan there's a built-in litter box tucked out of sight in the bath.
Look around

Distinctive Homes

14th Street and Williamsburg no-car zones proposed for L train shutdown

November 2, 2016

14th Street and Williamsburg no-car zones proposed for L train shutdown

By Michelle Cohen

Transit advocacy groups and politicians who have been promoting the idea of ridding Manhattan’s 14th Street of private car traffic during planned L subway tunnel repairs, and only allowing bus, bike and pedestrian traffic, have also suggested that the no-auto plan would be good for Grand Street in Williamsburg, the New York Post reports. Grand Street is a major neighborhood thoroughfare similar to 14th Street, and advocates say giving the streets to bikes, pedestrians and shuttle buses would be one way to lessen the impact of the shutdown.
Find out more

Transit

Rare collection of Alexander Hamilton’s unpublished letters headed for auction

November 2, 2016

Rare collection of Alexander Hamilton’s unpublished letters headed for auction

By Michelle Cohen

Auction house Sotheby's has announced the sale of a rare collection consisting of hundreds of Alexander Hamilton's letters and personal manuscripts held by his family at auction on Jaunary 18. Alexander Hamilton: An Important Family Archive of Letters and Manuscripts will offer a trove that contains, among others, love letters from the first United States Secretary of the Treasury to his wife, Eliza, and the condolence letter, sealed with black wax, that his father-in-law sent to her after Hamilton was killed in the infamous duel with Aaron Burr, the New York Times reports.
Find out more about this rare collection

Popular Articles

East Village loft in the historic Christodora House has loads of charm, space and park views for $5,500/month

November 2, 2016

East Village loft in the historic Christodora House has loads of charm, space and park views for $5,500/month

By Michelle Cohen

If you love classic prewar apartments but you also love the East Village, you might think you'll have to make some concessions when finding an apartment to rent among the neighborhood's tenement walk-ups and boxy new buildings. But don't give up until you've seen this unbelievably charming and spacious loft apartment in the venerable Christodora House at 143 Avenue B, on the rental market for $5,500.
Seeing is believing

Distinctive Homes

New renderings revealed for Essex Crossing’s 150,000 square-foot mega-market

November 1, 2016

New renderings revealed for Essex Crossing’s 150,000 square-foot mega-market

By Michelle Cohen

The Essex Crossing megaproject is taking shape in the Lower East Side, most notably with the Market Line, the 150,000 square-foot retail area serving the project's buildings. Within will be the new home for the neighborhood's beloved 76-year-old Essex Street Market, upon which concept the modern retail destination was built. As 6sqft previously reported, the SHoP Architects-designed market will be among the largest in the nation. Principal Rohan Mehra of the project's retail development firm Prusik Group told Curbed that he compares the new market to Seattle’s Pike Place Market or Barcelona’s La Boqueria, “hubs of activity” all. The Market Line will stretch over 700 feet across three buildings, incorporating the new city-operated Essex Street Market and several new spaces.
More renderings this way

MAP: What languages New Yorkers speak at home, by neighborhood

November 1, 2016

MAP: What languages New Yorkers speak at home, by neighborhood

By Michelle Cohen

Life in New York City in all its diversity means hearing a colorful mix of languages spoken every day. Web developer and artist Jill Hubley's new census map (h/t Gothamist) shows us which languages are spoken by New Yorkers at home in their neighborhoods. Hubley intially created the Languages of NYC map for a GISMO exhibit at the Queens Museum entitled, "Map Mosaic: From Queens to the World" with data from the United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The result is a colorful tableau of native tongues, from Russian in Brighton Beach to Spanish in Sunset Park, with large swaths of French Creole in Brooklyn and Chinese in lower Manhattan–and those are the ones we already expected. The map allows you to view "islands" of one or more languages or to view them all.
Check out the map

Uncategorized

FiDi Birkinstock penthouse on the rental market for $20K, international antiquities included

November 1, 2016

FiDi Birkinstock penthouse on the rental market for $20K, international antiquities included

By Michelle Cohen

This 3,500-square-foot penthouse atop the Setai Wall Street at 40 Broad Street in the Financial District is a stunning home by NYC standards, but the condominium also includes a world tour's worth of collected fixtures. The two-bedroom penthouse belongs to Alex Birkenstock–scion of the trendy-crunchy European sandal family–who bought the posh pad in 2011 for just under $6 million. An attempt was made in 2104 to sell the apartment for $13 million as 6sqft previously reported. But even after being eventually chopped to $9 million, the pad still doesn't appear to have changed hands. Now it's for rent for $19,995 a month, amazing spin-the-compass collections and all. For starters, there's a 1,000-pound steel and brass safe bought from the Bank of France...
Take the tour

12 experts suggest creative ways to handle 9 million future New Yorkers

October 31, 2016

12 experts suggest creative ways to handle 9 million future New Yorkers

By Michelle Cohen

With New York City's population on its way to nine million, the city's infrastructure may be impressive, but it has its limits–including red tape and resource shortages–that will make it difficult to withstand the projected surge. Reminding us of the transformative innovations of Robert Moses–he of the big ideas and ego to match–Crains invited 12 firms who make their living wrangling infrastructure to hit us with some big ideas. Ahead of the upcoming summit, "Getting Ready for 9 Million New Yorkers," they've shared these visions for future (bigger, better) New York from top architects, designers and real estate experts. Ideas include some that have already proven themselves (repurposing existing track beds) and some already in the works (Bushwick's Rheingold brewery project) to others that Robert Moses might not love (shrinking the city's highways).
Take a look at these futuristic ideas for moving the city forward.

This $7.5M West Village townhouse was once home to Derek Jeter and A-Rod

October 31, 2016

This $7.5M West Village townhouse was once home to Derek Jeter and A-Rod

By Michelle Cohen

According to the listing for this otherwise nondescript brick townhouse on a pretty West Village street, both Derek Jeter and fellow former Yankee Alex Rodriguez were one-time residents. Jeter was renting the 2,800 square-foot home until last spring, and Curbed tells us that while Courtney Love took a look but didn't bite, the four-story home at 56 Bank Street has been on the market for quite some time, most recently asking $7.495 million.
Take a look inside

$600M overhaul at the Lambert Houses underway to bring 1,665 affordable housing units to the Bronx

October 28, 2016

$600M overhaul at the Lambert Houses underway to bring 1,665 affordable housing units to the Bronx

By Michelle Cohen

When it comes to affordable housing, the Bronx is booming. 6sqft previously reported that proposals were being heard to bring 1,665 affordable apartments to the site of the Bronx Zoo-bordering Lambert Houses, which would double the development's current affordable housing units, triple the existing retail space, create a new public school, and help to better integrate the community into the surrounding neighborhood. As reported by the Times, Phipps Houses, the complex's nonprofit owner and developer, has moved ahead on plans to demolish the existing 14 buildings and build taller towers, a project that's gotten a $600 million price tag.
Find out more

Affordable Housing

For New York City rats, getting here is easy, surviving is tough

October 28, 2016

For New York City rats, getting here is easy, surviving is tough

By Michelle Cohen

To investigate the question, “What is a New York City rat, and where did it come from?” the New York Times checks in with researchers at Fordham University, led by Jason Munshi-South, who have embarked on a rat-tracking study to find the answer to that very question (among others). It turns out that–much like the city's millions of two-legged inhabitants–the answer is "everywhere," from Galapagos and Brazil to New Zealand and Japan.
We're all immigrants at some point

City Living

‘Judgmental Maps’ unleash culture on the geography of modern cities

October 27, 2016

‘Judgmental Maps’ unleash culture on the geography of modern cities

By Michelle Cohen

Residents of today's cities and neighborhoods are acutely aware of the cultural histories and social nuances that shape them almost as much as their streets and bridges, architecture and businesses. A few years ago Trent Gillaspie's "judgmental maps," from his site by the same name, hit a nerve and went viral; the totally unserious (but not necessarily inaccurate) maps pair geography with a snapshot of real life in modern cities, towns and neighborhoods. Gillaspie's "Judgmental New York City" was spot on in many ways with its Manhattan of "amply rich people," "super rich people," "aging punks" and the "worst train station ever" and a Brooklyn that went from Jay-Z to Zombies. Now, Gillaspie is releasing a book (h/t Untapped) of his signature reality-check maps, including an updated New York City map and the city's neighborhoods, decoded.
Your city, judged

City Living

For $10K this perfect Soho loft comes with everything you need plus a few scary surprises

October 26, 2016

For $10K this perfect Soho loft comes with everything you need plus a few scary surprises

By Michelle Cohen

This two-bedroom loft six floors above a cobblestoned Soho street may just be the perfect downtown spot to call home for an extended visit to New York City. The short-term rental, available beginning in December through January 15th, is right smack in the middle of the city's chicest shopping zone, but is enough floors up to get peace and quiet, great light, and a chance to enjoy the quintessential loft interiors that come with the 1870 building. Also, your holiday HQ at 108 Wooster Street, asking $10,000, comes fully furnished: You've been warned.
Don't let your new roommates wig you out

Distinctive Homes

The arty maps of ‘Nonstop Metropolis’ show NYC the way locals experience it

October 25, 2016

The arty maps of ‘Nonstop Metropolis’ show NYC the way locals experience it

By Michelle Cohen

When writers and artists–particularly ones who have a keen understanding of cities–venture into the world of maps, you can bet the results will be fascinating and illuminating. "Nonstop Metropolis," a new atlas by Rebecca Solnit and Joshua Jelly-Schapiro (6sqft recently discovered the “City of Women” subway map from the book) offers 26 New York City maps that “cue us into understanding who is here” according to Solnit. As Wired puts it in their review, the result is “a diverse array of deeply particular maps” that combine imaginative and fanciful imagery with the colorful cultural history beneath the city’s diverse neighborhoods and landmarks and the people who live among them.
Check out some fabulous maps

Events & Things To Do

Report: Construction spending beat $127B over past three years, set to surpass 2007 peak

October 25, 2016

Report: Construction spending beat $127B over past three years, set to surpass 2007 peak

By Michelle Cohen

An estimate by the New York Building Congress has construction spending in 2016 at more than $43.1 billion, beating the $41.6 billion high of 2007 and reflecting a 26 percent increase from last year's $34.4 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The surge in construction, led by mega-project Hudson Yards on Manhattan's West Side and public projects like the Second Avenue Subway, has led to rising construction costs and an attendant surge in the demand for skilled labor, bringing workers to the city from all over the U.S.
Find out more about what's driving the new boom

Real Estate Trends

Home aroma: Signature scents are the newest NYC building amenity

Image: John Watson via flickr.

October 24, 2016

Home aroma: Signature scents are the newest NYC building amenity

By Michelle Cohen

Something is in the air at luxury apartment buildings looking for new ways to charm residents. The idea of “aromatizing” building common spaces to entice buyers and renters with seductive scents is gaining popularity among developers, according to The New York Times. A growing number of the city's rental and condo buildings have begun to infuse their halls with fragrance via building ductwork or standalone scent machines. With any luck, the result will be something far, far away from the smell of your subway stop in August.
It smells good, but is it working?

Nomad penthouse with two kitchens and a pool asks a neighborhood record-setting $68.5M

October 24, 2016

Nomad penthouse with two kitchens and a pool asks a neighborhood record-setting $68.5M

By Michelle Cohen

As 6sqft previously reported, sales prices in Nomad rose 43 percent over the past five years, a fact that the developers of 212 Fifth Avenue very likely had in mind when they put a $68.5 million price tag on their building’s penthouse. If the sprawling apartment sells for anywhere near its asking price, it will set a record as the most expensive sale in Nomad. This newly-minted trophy triplex atop 212 Fifth Avenue is the crown (as the listing calls it) that occupies the 22nd, 23rd, 24th floors of a recently converted 1912 condominium building. There are five bedrooms and 5,730 exterior square feet including (at least one) pool.
Get a helicopter view of this sky-mansion

Distinctive Homes

$625K West Soho co-op is simple and sweet–and the place next door is for sale

October 21, 2016

$625K West Soho co-op is simple and sweet–and the place next door is for sale

By Michelle Cohen

It's hard to find any complaints about this uncomplicated one-bedroom co-op at 57 Thompson Street asking $625,000. The coveted Downtown location east of 6th Avenue where Soho meets Tribeca is prime. While cozy, it's not a studio; there are decent-sized rooms, generous closets and even an entry foyer. Pre-war charm is present and accounted for, and windows and paint keep it bright and cheerful.
Consider the options

Distinctive Homes

98
99
100
101
102