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.
Designation of South Village Historic District may mean approval for massive St. John’s Terminal project
October 21, 2016

Designation of South Village Historic District may mean approval for massive St. John’s Terminal project

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The Landmarks Preservation Commission's plans to add 10 additional blocks to the South Village Historic District are at the top of the agenda for city preservationist groups. As Crains reports, the addition of the historic district is also a condition for a City Council vote in support of the St. John's Center development, a 1.7 million-square-foot, mixed-use project proposed for 550 Washington Street across the street from Pier 40 in Hudson River Park. That project requires the council's approval, and City Councilman Corey Johnson said in August that he'd vote for the project, proposed by developers Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital Group, if the addition of the third and final phase of the historic district, currently bordered by Sixth Avenue, West Fourth Street, LaGuardia Place and Houston Street, goes forward. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), among others, has pushed for the landmarking of what would be the city's first tenement-based historic district.
Find out more
For $675K this industrial-chic West Village mini-loft is small but seductive–unless you’re afraid of heights
October 20, 2016

For $675K this industrial-chic West Village mini-loft is small but seductive–unless you’re afraid of heights

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Located in everybody's favorite part of the West Village–among the neighborhood's lovely and leafy historic streets but within blocks of the Whitney, the High Line and the Hudson River–this bright, funky, artist-designed studio at 92 Horatio Street is certainly not without its charms, including white-painted brick, a well-designed and stylish kitchen and bath, 12-foot ceilings and a custom-built lofted sleeping area that gets the bed and storage up and out of the way.
Get a closer look
Trump’s Wollman Ice Rink and Bronx golf course were more personal gain than public good

Photo via Flickr cc

October 19, 2016

Trump’s Wollman Ice Rink and Bronx golf course were more personal gain than public good

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Photo via Flickr cc Though few would deny that Donald Trump enjoys placing himself in the spotlight, WNYC reports that the Republican presidential nominee has a history of claiming to save the day on public projects when it turns out that he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain, and the city ended up holding the bag. Among his supporters, Trump has a reputation for stepping in to rescue abandoned city projects, a favorite example being Central Park’s Wollman Ice Rink. About thirty years ago, the rink had fallen into disrepair and had sat unused for six years due to the city’s inability to find the funds or move past the red tape involved in fixing it. Trump brought his “get it done” attitude to the project, offering to help fix the rink. In 1986, the city agreed to let him lend a hand. Though Trump completed the repairs on time and under budget, the rink repair job wasn't the act of philanthropy–nor the ongoing financial bonus for the city–that the candidate claims it was.
So what's the real story?
An art dealer’s loft plus a superfancy townhouse equal this $10M Tribeca triplex
October 19, 2016

An art dealer’s loft plus a superfancy townhouse equal this $10M Tribeca triplex

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There's a room for just about everything in this 5,500-square-foot triplex loft at 178 Franklin Street–including a coatroom, art studio, darkroom, home office and library, atrium courtyard, five bedrooms, three entrances, and one elevator. From the outside, the 1915 brick building has the same historic loft appeal as its Tribeca neighbors, promising industrial charm, columns and wood beams, soaring ceilings, and lots of exposed brick. The interior space delivers all of the above plus just about every luxury detail an all-out renovation can confer, including half a dozen flavors of Italian marble, remote-controlled toilets, magical showers, a kitchen range the size of an SUV, and custom everything else you could possibly buy for $9.9 million.
Explore the triplex
Modern $4.5M townhouse by the Williamsburg waterfront has an art studio, parking and four terraces
October 18, 2016

Modern $4.5M townhouse by the Williamsburg waterfront has an art studio, parking and four terraces

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6sqft previously featured this unusual property at 257 Berry Street, in the heart of trendy Williamsburg two blocks from the waterfront, when it was being offered as a $12,000/month rental. Now, just 14 months later, the glassy townhouse—whose exterior more resembles the neighborhood's ubiquitous new construction apartments—is on the market for $4.5 million. Though it may look nondescript-contemporary, the five-story single-family home packs a few impressive surprises, including an adjacent two-story art studio with direct street access and a loading dock.
Investigate the many interesting details in this modern townhouse
Approval process for new $24 billion Hudson River tunnels fast-tracked; construction could start in 2019
October 18, 2016

Approval process for new $24 billion Hudson River tunnels fast-tracked; construction could start in 2019

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The $24 billion plan to construct two rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River has been designated a priority, which will get it fast-tracked through environmental and permitting stages and trim development time by a year or more, the Wall Street Journal reports; with construction beginning in 2019, the tunnels could be operational as early as 2024, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said at a news conference at Penn Station on Friday. Both Amtrak and NJ Transit will use the new tunnels, which are among the first steps in a broader plan by Amtrak find ways to handle double the current number of passenger trains running beneath the Hudson River.
Find out more
Plan to turn Sunset Park library into 49 low-income apartments moves forward
October 17, 2016

Plan to turn Sunset Park library into 49 low-income apartments moves forward

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In 2014 the news surfaced that Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) was planning to sell its Sunset Park branch at 5108 4th Avenue to a non-profit community development organization, Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC). The developer would demolish the 43-year-old building and build in its place a larger library with eight stories above that would contain 49 below-market-rate apartments, in part with public money allocated by Borough President Eric L. Adams. The developers say the plan will create housing for Brooklyn's neediest residents. Brooklyn Paper now reports that developers are preparing to pitch the project to Community Board 7’s land-use committee on November 3 as part of a public review process. The city council has the final say whether it goes through.
Find out more
$14.5M Annabelle Selldorf-designed Chelsea duplex was once a YMCA gym and running track
October 17, 2016

$14.5M Annabelle Selldorf-designed Chelsea duplex was once a YMCA gym and running track

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If you’ve got $14.5 million to invest, and you'd like living in Chelsea, you should grab this loft at 213 West 23rd Street right away. Because someone will. Lofts–even expensive architect-designed ones–make a stunning first impression but often disappoint when it comes to livability. This space, however–in the landmarked former home of the McBurney YMCA, whose gymnasium and running track make up the living areas–is a winner. Designed by Annabelle Selldorf, with interiors by Jeffrey Beers, this remarkable duplex spans a full 7,000 square feet, split between two levels with a soaring 29-foot-high living space at the center. Rooms–including four bedrooms–are organized in an intelligent and gracious plan for glamorous entertaining as well as maximum comfort and privacy.
Check out this amazing space (and find out more cool trivia about it)
Watch the time-lapse demolition of an entire Midtown block for supertall One Vanderbilt
October 17, 2016

Watch the time-lapse demolition of an entire Midtown block for supertall One Vanderbilt

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6sqft recently reported that One Vanderbilt, developer SL Green's new Midtown supertall, has secured $1.5 billion in financing, giving the green light to the 1,401-foot-tall, full-block office tower slated to rise at One Vanderbilt Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets directly adjacent to Grand Central Terminal. Demolition of a full block of commercial buildings next to Grand Central began a year ago to make way for the tower. Now, YIMBY brings us a time lapse video of the lengthy demolition courtesy of  One Vanderbilt’s PR team.
Watch an entire block of pre-war buildings disappear
This $825K Turtle Bay condop is a greenhouse and a treehouse with a little bit of loft
October 14, 2016

This $825K Turtle Bay condop is a greenhouse and a treehouse with a little bit of loft

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This unique condop (financially a co-op with condo-like rules) at 310 East 46th Street in Manhattan's genteel east Midtown Turtle Bay district is one of those apartments that makes you go, "hmm..." While it has plenty of eye appeal with a stunning glass atrium wall, Chrysler and Empire State Building views, 12-foot vaulted ceilings and custom teak built-ins, the current layout makes it hard to transcend long, narrow studio status, which makes the $825,000 ask seem like less of a deal. What's here, though, is a sight to behold; and there's potential. And amenities!
See what the options are
Public Advocate’s office releases watchlist of NYC’s 100 worst landlords
October 14, 2016

Public Advocate’s office releases watchlist of NYC’s 100 worst landlords

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New York City Public Advocate Letitia James released this year's annual "Worst Landlords Watchlist" Thursday at a tenants' rights rally in lower Manhattan. The interactive database lists the top 100 building owners who have racked up the most violations (like rats, roaches and dirty elevators, to name just a few) relative to the number of buildings they own. This data is gathered from the Department of Buildings and Department of Housing. Three of the city's five worst landlords according to the list have been on it for two years in a row. The top three offenders–Harry D. Silverstein, Allan Goldman, and Efstathios Valiotis–own buildings throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Silverstein received 2,032 HPD violations and 50 DOB violations over 575 units in eight buildings.
Find out if your landlord is on the list
‘City of Women’ turns the subway map into an homage to the city’s greatest females
October 13, 2016

‘City of Women’ turns the subway map into an homage to the city’s greatest females

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Modern cities are filled with signs that mark history, and that history often bears men's names. In New York City, for example, we have Astor Place, Washington Square, Lincoln Center, Columbus Circle, Rockefeller Center, and Bryant Park, just to name a few. In introducing a new book that addresses this status quo, The New Yorker points out that history-making women, on the other hand, "are anonymous people who changed fathers’ names for husbands’ as they married, who lived in private and were comparatively forgot­ten, with few exceptions," and that their names are notably missing from our streets. In their forthcoming book “Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas,” Rebecca Solnit and Joshua Jelly-Schapiro offer us a New York City subway map that attempts to set the record right. “City of Women” pays homage "to some of the great and significant women of New York City" in the places they lived and made a difference.
See the full-size map here
Brooklyn, Queens are more expensive than they’ve ever been; Manhattan rents are down
October 13, 2016

Brooklyn, Queens are more expensive than they’ve ever been; Manhattan rents are down

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Market reports are in from the third quarter of this year, and sales numbers are setting new records, especially in Brooklyn and Queens. From Douglas Elliman, numbers show sales prices in Brooklyn and Queens climbing for the fourth year in a row across the board for condos, co-ops and one- to three-family homes, as well as luxury properties (defined as the upper 10 percent of the market). The median sales price rose 8.7 percent to $735,000; the average sales price went up 14.8 percent to $983,511; the median sales price for luxury properties rose 23.5 percent to $2.5 million. All three numbers represent record increases. The rising market has likely been the result of a healthy job market in New York City and population growth that's five years ahead of schedule.
Find out more
$3.65M lavish Harlem townhouse is full of marble, mirrors, and chandeliers
October 13, 2016

$3.65M lavish Harlem townhouse is full of marble, mirrors, and chandeliers

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Built in 1900, this lavishly restored townhouse at 148 West 119th Street is on one of Harlem's most desirable blocks in the Mount Morris Park Historic District. Constructed as part of one of the neighborhood's first developments, the four-story Italianate brownstone has been bestowed with a renovation worthy of a decorator show house, with no expense or luxury spared (and lots of marble, mirrors and chandeliers). Two fully loaded terraces add outdoor living to mix, and details like central air, radiant floor heat and high-end appliances keep everything running smoothly. Bonus: there's a studio apartment on the ground floor.
Tour this single-family masterpiece
Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford to be George Clooney’s neighbor at Norman Foster’s Midtown tower
October 12, 2016

Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford to be George Clooney’s neighbor at Norman Foster’s Midtown tower

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Rande Gerber and wife Cindy Crawford have purchased the apartment just upstairs from George and Amal Clooney's at the Norman Foster-designed One Hundred East Fifty Third Street, according to Page Six. As 6sqft recently reported, the Clooneys just scooped up a high-floor (though not the $65 million penthouse they reportedly viewed) apartment at the glassy tower. Longtime pals Clooney and Gerber recently sold their matched pair of adjoining Mexican villas, christened Casamigos–the same name as the duo's tequila brand, which is reportedly expanding its presence in New York City.
Check out the interiors at the new celebrity-approved tower
This charming co-op on a magical East Village block has layout options, storage solutions and a $799K ask
October 12, 2016

This charming co-op on a magical East Village block has layout options, storage solutions and a $799K ask

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7th Street between Avenues C and D is arguably the most charming and magical block in the East Village, where tenements give way to colorful but well-tended historic townhouses interrupted only by the venerable Flowerbox condominium building and a sturdy brick apartment building or two and surrounded by a delightful collection of cafes, restaurants and some of the city’s best community gardens. Yes, it’s a hike to the subway, but there are buses aplenty and the East River Park bike and running path is just steps away. It’s hard to imagine an apartment here that’s anything but charmed and lovable, and the one-bedroom co-op at 255 East 7th, listed at $799,000, meets those high expectations–for value if nothing else in a neighborhood of $1M+ studio "lofts" and the occasional apartment with a shower in the kitchen.
Take a look around
Young singles make up 60 percent of lower Manhattan, but they’re spending their cash elsewhere
October 11, 2016

Young singles make up 60 percent of lower Manhattan, but they’re spending their cash elsewhere

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A report released Monday by the Downtown Alliance shows that the area south of Chambers Street in lower Manhattan is chock full of young New Yorkers with plenty of disposable income; the development advocacy group hopes the news will result in the creation of more options for them to spend it. Crains reports on the survey, which found that 60 percent of apartments in a growing residential sector that includes the Financial District, Battery Park City and the South Street Seaport are home to single tenants and roommates with no children, one of the highest concentrations of young singles–defined as 18- to 44-year-olds, in the city. This spendy demo hits the town every other night on average, blowing about $1,000 a month, adding up to $356 million a year. But according to the report, half of that is spent in other neighborhoods due to a lack of "appealing options" in the area.
Tap a keg, stat
$14.5M West Village townhouse survived a designer renovation with historic details intact
October 11, 2016

$14.5M West Village townhouse survived a designer renovation with historic details intact

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On a postcard-pretty block of the West Village, the single-family townhouse at 66 Charles Street was recently cleared of all imperfections in a top-to-toe reconstruction by noted architect David Hottenroth and master builder Hobbs Incorporated, while retaining many of its original details. The 1899 Italianate-style home offers 3,600 square feet of covetable Village townhouse living with every modern comfort and convenience to make daily life easy. The house sold for just under $8 million in 2014, and now, after its multi-year renovation it's asking $14.5 million.
View the old and the new
New $3.3M Park Slope townhouse is a modern take on timeless design
October 10, 2016

New $3.3M Park Slope townhouse is a modern take on timeless design

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It’s hardly breaking news that new construction townhouses are among the most popular architecturally significant ideas that developers are offering luxury buyers; a few are probably headed for a construction site near you. With all the enchantments of a modern house in the desert, woods or suburbs–and all the conveniences and innovations of Brooklyn’s Park Slope, this 2,256-square-foot home at 253 8th Street is the latest of such offerings in a section of the Slope generally better known for innovation than preservation.
Take a contemporary townhouse tour
New renderings revealed for Richard Rogers’ glassy ‘Pearl on the Park’ at One Beekman
October 10, 2016

New renderings revealed for Richard Rogers’ glassy ‘Pearl on the Park’ at One Beekman

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CityRealty.com offers new renderings via Urban Muse that reveal architect Richard Rogers' 25-story mixed-use Financial District residential development, One Beekman at 1 Beekman Street. The 95,000-square-foot building, known as “Pearl on the Park,” the first New York City residential building for Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, will have a glassy facade and utilize a glazing system at its base that lends a greater transparency to the building's lobby and street-level retail establishments. Included will be three commercial units of about 4,500 square feet each and one retail unit of approximately 3,200 square feet.
See the renderings
Model Erin Heatherton runs afoul of condo board, lists her chic West Village pad for $2.85M
October 7, 2016

Model Erin Heatherton runs afoul of condo board, lists her chic West Village pad for $2.85M

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If former Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secret model—and onetime Leonardo DiCaprio arm candy—Erin Heatherton loves food and fashion, she must have followed her heart when she renovated the 1,345 square-foot, two-bedroom Village condo at 1 Morton Square. The just-rustic-enough interiors feature authentic details like exposed beams and stacked wood in the kitchen, but a La Cornue range and a massive custom walk-in closet are the stuff of dreams. Heatherton purchased the apartment in 2012 for $1.72 million, but reportedly her not-model behavior regarding loud music irked the condo board so much they sued her—and then there's the matter of her delinquent condo fees, according to the New York Post. She's now selling the pretty pad for $2.85 million.
Tour the surprisingly sedate apartment
Developer of the world’s tallest prefab tower in Brooklyn is exiting the modular business

Image via Field Condition

October 6, 2016

Developer of the world’s tallest prefab tower in Brooklyn is exiting the modular business

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After boasting that it had “cracked the code” on modular construction, with plans for a Brooklyn factory, developer Forest City Ratner is exiting the prefab building business, reports the New York Times. The factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard will be sold to Roger Krulak, a former Forest City executive, along with the technology used to construct the world's tallest prefabricated steel structure, the 32-story 461 Dean Street in the Pacific Park complex in Brooklyn. Construction on the building has just been completed and 461 Dean is weeks from getting its first residents.
Find out more
NYC bridges and tunnels getting $500M overhaul including LED light shows and electronic tollbooths
October 6, 2016

NYC bridges and tunnels getting $500M overhaul including LED light shows and electronic tollbooths

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that the tolling system on the city’s bridges and tunnels owned by the MTA–that would be Robert F. Kennedy, Throgs Neck, Verrazano-Narrows, Bronx-Whitestone, Henry Hudson, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial, and Cross Bay Veterans Memorial bridges and the Queens-Midtown and Hugh Carey (formerly Battery) tunnels–will be getting a $500 million overhaul. Cuomo also announced that the $500 million the MTA will asked to contribute to pay for the new collection system will also cover new LED lights on some of the city’s bridges.
Cashless tollbooths and disco bridges, this way
Buried treasures from the city’s past will be on view at a new Manhattan research center
October 5, 2016

Buried treasures from the city’s past will be on view at a new Manhattan research center

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New York City has catalogued and created a digitized archive of the many buried artifacts from its past; Wednesday the Landmarks Preservation Commission is officially opening a repository of those countless artifacts. The New York Times reports that the Nan A. Rothschild Research Center–the first municipal archive devoted to a city’s archaeological collection, has found a home in Midtown Manhattan. More than a million artifacts will now be available for viewing by researchers and scholars by appointment; a digital archive is already available. The climate-controlled repository at 114 West 47th Street contains artifacts from 31 excavated sites from all five boroughs, including the city’s first major historical dig, the Stadt Huys (now 85 Broad Street in Lower Manhattan), which, when the artifacts were discovered in 1979, raised the idea that archaeological treasures were buried beneath old buildings.
Find out what you can dig up at the digital archive
$2.65M laid-back Carroll Gardens townhouse has historic charm and crayon-box cool
October 5, 2016

$2.65M laid-back Carroll Gardens townhouse has historic charm and crayon-box cool

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This unassuming townhouse at 189 Luquer Street starts out with the advantage of being in a particularly cool little section of otherwise postcard-perfect Carroll Gardens, near Gowanus and the Columbia Street Waterfront without being a hike to the subway and steps from some of the best restaurants in the borough (Buttermilk Channel, Frankie's). While the home may not be palatial at 1,848 square feet, there are four bedrooms and a lovely outdoor space. It's move-in-ready if not decked out in marble and European kitchen gear, and the current owners clearly know the value of colorful surroundings. Rather than the usual shades of pale, crayola colors wake the bedrooms from boredom, and bright pops of red and riots of pattern appear in unexpected places
Tour the rainbow
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