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.

September 19, 2016

Video: Visit designer Kate Spade in her art-filled, unfussy Upper East Side home

By Michelle Cohen

Ultra-popular clothing and accessories designer Kate Valentine Spade invites us into the Upper East Side apartment she shares with her husband/business partner Andy Spade and young daughter, courtesy of People magazine. She's managed to snatch a free moment away from her new accessories line Frances Valentine to give us a whirlwind tour of her two favorite rooms.
Step inside and have a look

September 18, 2016

$900K brownstone condo is proof that your money still goes a little farther in Harlem

By Michelle Cohen

While the $899,000 ask on this two-bedroom, floor-through apartment at 30 West 126th Street in Harlem may not be a total steal, an apartment of this size with well-designed custom renovations, central heat and air, closet space, and a cozy balcony would likely be much more costly in many other Manhattan neighborhoods. And certainly a pretty brownstone block steps from shopping (a Whole Foods is on the way) and subways would up the price even more. Yet this brick-lined, light-filled home has every bit as much townhouse appeal as its West Village counterparts.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

September 16, 2016

Historic and possibly haunted mansion near Navy Yard is priced to scare at $4.5 million

By Michelle Cohen

Though we can see how the otherwise potential-filled historic–and allegedly haunted–Lefferts-Laidlaw mansion at 136 Clinton Avenue in the Clinton Hill/Navy Yard/Wallabout neighborhood may terrify prospective buyers with an ask of $4.499 million, an 1878 New York Times account describes the persistent and mysterious ring-and-run situation that apparently plagued the home’s then-resident, Edward F. Smith. Neither crafty attempts to discover who was responsible for “doorbells rung, doors rattled" on a nightly basis and a brick hurled through a window, nor police intervention could produce a culprit. The house became a fixture on the map of spiritualists who held seances on the sidewalk. Locals suggested the pesky poltergeist might be either a lawyer who had committed suicide on the premises, or, as Mr. Smith suggested (possibly with some sarcasm attached as it was, after all, Brooklyn), Satan.
Does this house look spooky to you?

September 16, 2016

Saudi billionaire seals the deal on the city’s highest home for record $88M

By Michelle Cohen

The most expensive apartment closing in New York City this year and one of the priciest sales ever is finally a done deal, reports The Real Deal. The apartment, the top penthouse at Rafael Viñoly-designed billionaire’s bunker 432 Park Avenue, is the priciest unit in the big-ticket building as well as being literally the city’s highest. As 6sqft previously reported, the buyer is Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Al Hokair. The sale price was $87.7 million—a skyscraping $10,623 per square foot.
More jumbo numbers, this way

Real Estate Trends

September 15, 2016

Ex-Fox News chair Roger Ailes tries to sell two Hudson Valley homes at a $1M+ loss

By Michelle Cohen

Scandal-plagued Fox News founding father and recent Donald J. Trump advisor Roger Ailes has put two of his Garrison, N.Y. homes on the market at significantly less than their purchase price, Variety reports. You may ask why Ailes has two homes in Garrison; in fact, Ailes owns a "hilltop compound" with over 20 acres and several houses in the quiet Putnam County hamlet.
Check out more photos, this way

September 15, 2016

City Council approves La Central development, bringing nearly 1,000 affordable units to the Bronx

By Michelle Cohen

On Wednesday the New York City Council voted to approve the La Central development project in the Melrose section of the Bronx, the Daily News reports. The project, which will be designed by FXFOWLE architects, is slated to bring 992 apartments to the borough, all of them designated as affordable housing under Mayor de Blasio’s mandatory inclusionary housing (MIH) legislation. It is the biggest project to be approved to date under the MIH rules, which require some income restricted apartments in projects that need the city's approval.
Find out more and see more renderings

September 15, 2016

For $1.6M this sweet Red Hook townhouse with a studio, garage and garden is a great condo alternative

By Michelle Cohen

While this compact and cute townhouse at 98 Pioneer Street on one of Red Hook's most Red Hook-y blocks may not be a grand mansion, at 2,148 square feet, it's bigger than most condos in its ($1.6 million) price range, and there's plenty of value packed in. First, a separate studio apartment with a garage and workshop, renovated and suitably adorable with garden access, is ready to be rented for extra income or used as a workspace or guest suite. There's a lovely landscaped garden, two additional balconies and plenty of thoughtful, modern renovations that you might find in newly-minted apartments with far less charm.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

September 14, 2016

Look inside Karim Rashid’s futuristic HAP Five condo rising in East Harlem

By Michelle Cohen

The Karim Rashid-designed eight-story, 75-foot residential building at 329 Pleasant Avenue in East Harlem has started to take shape after addressing a gauntlet of public outcry, reports CityRealty.com. Renderings of the condominium building from HAP Investment Developers were met with resistance from the community for their original turquoise and magenta color scheme–a typical Rashid design element–which, it was feared, would clash with the the neighborhood's century-old buildings. As 6sqft previously repoted, HAP toned down the color scheme, and it now features white balconies bordered with a gradually-fading shade of pink .
See more progress and interior renderings this way

September 13, 2016

$867 million in federal subsidies for three NYC sports stadiums a big loss

By Michelle Cohen

A recent Brookings institute study shows that federal government subsidies of big-ticket sports stadium construction are essentially money down the drain, The Real Deal reports. Three New York City stadiums--Yankee Stadium, Citi Field (both completed in 2009) and the Barclays Center--have accounted for a significant portion of these subsidies in the form of tax-exempt bonds, which have resulted in the loss of $3.7 billion in federal government revenues since 2000.
Not exactly a surprise...

September 13, 2016

$1.25M UWS co-op is part loft, part townhouse and part palazzo

By Michelle Cohen

Maybe you’ve noticed some of those unusual historic townhouses nestled between much larger buildings that are scattered about New York City, and the geometric gem of a limestone townhouse at 35 Riverside Drive on the Upper West Side is one of those. Within, an equally out-of-the-ordinary co-op is now on the market for $1.25 million. With a barrel-and-zigzag facade punctuated in places by cylindrical columns that might look right at home on a Roman palazzo, a triangular sleeping loft and a lovely shaded wood-clad deck off the bedroom, there’s plenty to behold in this one-bedroom, third-floor aerie. Views of Riverside Park (right across the street) and the Hudson River add up to a home that's definitely “not your cookie cutter apartment,” as the listing says.
Check out more of this unique unit

Distinctive Homes

Why people hate revolving doors and how to curb the phobia

By Michelle Cohen

You know that moment of awkwardness when you’re sucked in to a totally irrational game of chicken with up to three other human beings while attempting to do something as simple as enter your office building through an innocuous-seeming revolving door? While it was reportedly first patented in 1888 by a man who couldn’t deal with having to hold regular swinging doors open for the ladies, the revolving door comes with its own means of sorting us according to levels of everyday neurosis. The first revolving door was installed in a restaurant called Rector’s in Times Square in 1899. And that’s probably when people started avoiding it. Will some part of me get stuck? Do I have to scurry in there with someone else? 99% Invisible got their foot in the door and took a closer look at how this energy-efficient invention still gets the cold shoulder and how to fight the phobia.
How to turn this trend around

September 12, 2016

This compact Park Slope co-op is a down-to-earth home in a heavenly location for $700K

By Michelle Cohen

This renovated one-bedroom co-op at 799 President Street in the heart of prime north Park Slope has all the comforts covered; it's easy on the eyes, and it doesn't cost the world. Old-world details like exposed brick, decorative moldings and fireplaces, and a bay window meet modern conveniences like an en-suite bath, stylish renovated kitchen, and recessed lighting. Plus, Prospect Park is a few blocks away, as is Whole Foods and a constellation of cafes, shops, and restaurants.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

September 9, 2016

$1.3M mid-century-modern home in NJ has Eichler lines and Manhattan skyline views

By Michelle Cohen

Eichler homes are rare on the East Coast, and why be a brand snob? This mid-20th-century gem in West Orange, NJ has plenty of modernist style and views of the NYC skyline. On a private gated road in Essex County, on the southeastern ridge of the Watchung Mountain (known for their many scenic vistas overlooking the New York City and New Jersey skylines and for their rare ecosystems of endangered wildlife, plants and rich minerals) this dramatic crescent-shaped home could be the answer to your modern house dreams. "Restored, not renovated," the three-bedroom residence has contemporary comforts and mid-century charm, along with a well-engineered floor plan and plenty of outdoor space.
READ MORE

September 9, 2016

Bandleader Cab Calloway once lived in this historic Fieldston Tudor now listed for $2.1M

By Michelle Cohen

The well-tended Fieldston Historic District–one of New York City’s only privately owned neighborhoods–in the Bronx neighborhood of Riverdale is considered one of the city’s best-preserved early 20th century suburbs, unique for its collection of revival-style Tudor, Mediterranean, and Colonial homes. One of those homes, an unassuming but charming Tudor at 4746 Iselin Avenue, is now on the market for $2.1 million. In addition to suburban tranquility with a New York City address, the home comes with a jazzy footnote of fame: It was once home to legendary jazz singer, bandleader and Cotton Club regular Cab Calloway, who died in 1994 at the age of 86. Built in around 1932, the house offers five bedrooms, original details, lovely restorations and lots of modern comforts–all just twenty minutes from Lincoln Center. The home consists of two stories for living and entertaining and some particularly magical outdoor spaces for gardening and relaxing.
Tour this Bronx historic gem

September 8, 2016

Opulent private West Chelsea mansion takes shape in Karim Rashid’s former neon-filled pad

By Michelle Cohen

The "unbridled luxury" promised for a townhouse at 357 West 17th street is taking shape. Architect Andres Escobar was tapped by Wonder Works Construction Corp., developer of Williamsburg's pricey Oosten condominium complex, to turn the five-floor, 25-foot-wide building into a 12,000-square-foot mansion with five bedrooms, eight (!) baths, a glass elevator, a swimming pool and a two-car garage. Wonder Works purchased the West Chelsea property for $9.35 million in 2014 from designer/developer Karim Rashid, who had lived in–and occasionally rented out–a candy-colored, neon-furnished loft in the existing townhouse. Now, CityRealty.com reveals new renderings from Wonder Works showing a rooftop deck, a chandelier-graced library, a sleek two-car garage and more.
Check out the mansion-to-be

September 8, 2016

Freshly-renovated North Slope co-op is cool, calm and covetable and asking $895K

By Michelle Cohen

The interiors at this completely charming Park Slope home in a gorgeous historic townhouse at 134 Lincoln Place will seduce you from the start. And the location on a cinematic brownstone block in the heart of north Park Slope is one of the city's most sought-after and fought-over for everything from the schools and neighborhood amenities to its proximity to Prospect Park. But if a real two-bedroom apartment with any space to spare is high on your priority list, this 850-square-foot charmer may come up a little short.
Tour the apartment

Distinctive Homes

September 7, 2016

Video: The first of 300 new R179 subway cars has (finally) arrived at the MTA’s 207th Street yard

By Michelle Cohen

The future has arrived, and it's delayed, of course. The first of the city's shiny new subway cars was delivered to the MTA yard at 207th street in Inwood last night. The new R179 cars are being made upstate by Canadian company Bombardier and are slated to replace old cars on the C, A, J, M and Z lines (the trains on the C line are the oldest); a final decision on which lines will get the new cars hasn't been made at this time. The newly-arrived car is a test model, though; we won't be packing into the new cars like sardines until at least 2018.
See the future pulling in

Transit

September 7, 2016

Manhattan meets Montmarte in a designer’s $2.45M Nomad penthouse

By Michelle Cohen

House Beautiful calls designer Leslie Klotz's rooftop loft "a wonderful mashup of Manhattan and Montmartre," and the homeowner says visitors are reminded of a Parisian artist's garret, though this designed-to-the-nines Nomad penthouse at 66 Madison Avenue is definitely more soigné than starving artist. A gut renovation of the space–it was once the building's boiler room–by the designer and former Banana Republic PR executive resulted in a light-filled aerie topped with a web of massive skylights and blessed with enough terrace space to accomodate her love of indoor/outdoor living and entertaining. Now on the market for $2.450 million, the apartment atop the full-service Madison Parq co-op is located in of one of the city's hottest downtown neighborhoods
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

September 6, 2016

Mogul vs. mogul: Is Douglas Durst trying to stop Barry Diller’s offshore park?

By Michelle Cohen

Once again in the news is media mogul Barry Diller's futuristic offshore cultural pier development at Pier 55 on the Hudson River. The proposed park project, known informally as Diller Park after its main backer, who is chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp and is married to fashion designer Diane Von Furstenburg, is helmed by the Hudson River Park Trust. The New York Times reports that the project’s main opponent, a civic group called The City Club of New York, may have an equally powerful backer. According to Diller, there is a deep-pocketed "hidden hand” funding the legal actions against the park. In a recent interview, Diller said, “The backer of all this is one Douglas Durst.”
Find out more

September 6, 2016

$495K Park Slope brownstone co-op has a roof deck and a kitchen that hides when you’re not using it

By Michelle Cohen

Tucked into one of the gorgeous century-old townhouses on a center Slope block just a stone's throw from Prospect Park, this fourth-floor co-op at 53 Montgomery Place is a cozy cabin of a penthouse walk-up, complete with a private roof deck offering killer city views. While this one-bedroom apartment is indeed cozy, custom renovations have made the space a versatile and charming home.
READ MORE

Distinctive Homes

September 2, 2016

For $2.38M, an Upper East Side maisonette with a generous side of landscaped garden

By Michelle Cohen

This two-bedroom co-op at 11 East 92nd Street tops the menu for prime location and well-designed space: In Carnegie Hill half a block from Central Park, with spacious bedrooms on opposite sides, the elegant first-floor home offers a wood-burning fireplace and pretty pre-war details like a step-down living room. But the best surprise is the generous private landscaped side and rear garden paradise with its own brick fireplace.
What else comes with that?

Distinctive Homes

September 1, 2016

Bright apartment in historic Stuyvesant Heights brownstone offers a lot of space for $1,850/month

By Michelle Cohen

With lots of space, a wealth of pre-war details and plenty of natural light, this third-floor one-bedroom-plus-office brownstone apartment at 513 Macon Street in the historic Stuyvesant Heights section of Bed-Stuy looks like a pretty good deal at $1,850 a month. It also offers a fully renovated kitchen and bath with new appliances and a convenient location near the A and C trains. Besides trees and townhouses, you're surrounded by the restaurants and cafes that have been making this neighborhood a new favorite.
See more of this cute Bed-Stuy pad

Distinctive Homes

August 31, 2016

Kate Spade founder’s boho East Village townhouse returns as a $40,000/month rental

By Michelle Cohen

We'll take any opportunity to admire the four-story townhouse at 215 East 12th Street in the East Village, just south of the bustle of Union Square, and its appearance on the rental market for $40,000 a month is as good an excuse as any. Just a few months ago, the townhouse owned by Pamela Bell, one of the founders of fashion brand Kate Spade, popped up for sale at $16 million accompanied by many pretty pictures of its gently renovated historic-chic interiors and beautifully-preserved 1800s origins. Bell bought the house in 2007 for $4.3 million, so there's a tidy sum to be made if it snags a buyer; in the meantime, renters get a chance to experience nine-bedroom garden-filled townhouse living in a vibrant, 24-hour neighborhood.
Take the tour

August 30, 2016

Cozy Park Slope duplex comes with a sunny garden and wood-burning fireplace, all for $780K

By Michelle Cohen

While this one-bedroom Park Slope co-op at 443 Seventh Avenue might not exactly be sprawling at 700 square feet, for $780,000 the diminutive garden duplex packs a lot of living space into its two-and-a-half levels. The large and sunny patio garden is the obvious draw for summer parties and spring planting. A wood-burning fireplace ups the cozy factor in cooler months. And a loft level sandwiched between upstairs and down might be just the place to store your seasonal gear off-season. Two blocks away, Prospect Park is another warm-weather plus, and living steps from welcoming spots like Talde and Cafe Grumpy makes it easy to stay warm in winter.
Pick your sandwich, this way

Distinctive Homes

August 29, 2016

Like father like son: The Trump legacy of housing discrimination

By Michelle Cohen

Black potential tenants who just wanted a decent place to live were routinely turned away at the Trump family’s Queens housing complexes and others. Housing activists and equal housing organizations took note, and in 1973 Trump Management was sued by the Justice Department for discrimination. Some of those tenants who stood firm remember the indignities all too well. The New York Times took a look at the early days of the Trump empire, when Donald's father, Fred C. Trump, built and managed middle-income residential complexes like the Wilshire Apartments in Jamaica Estates, Queens. A former employee of the elder Trump tells the Times that when receiving applications from potential tenants who happened to be black he was told, "Take the application and put it in a drawer and leave it there."
Get a closer look at the Trump legacy

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