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.

December 17, 2015

Colorful and Quirky Four-Bedroom With Pre-War Charm Asks $775K in Hamilton Heights

By Michelle Cohen

Some are saying that the next Harlem Renaissance is poised to happen in Hamilton Heights. And everyone's got their eye on Columbia University's planned 6.8 million-square-foot expansion into neighboring Manhattanville—it's expected to bring an influx of new residents. If you're looking to get in a little early—or you're just looking for a decent amount of living space in Manhattan that doesn't cost millions, this quirky four-bedroom co-op at 616 West 137th Street could be your lucky break.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

December 16, 2015

Beautiful Brownstone Rental in Fort Greene Sports Historic Details and a Spacious Kitchen

By Michelle Cohen

If you're going to inhabit a couple of floors of a brownstone, the top choice is definitely a parlor-garden combo; you get the grandeur of high ceilings, huge rooms and lots of light on the parlor floor, and then–ideally–you get a lower level that opens out to a pretty backyard. If you're extra lucky, the parlor floor has access down to the yard as well. This beautifully-restored duplex at 75 Willoughby Avenue in Fort Greene is just that perfect combination–hence the $7K a month rent. But what you get–three bedrooms, two baths, a gorgeous private backyard accessible from both floors in a mint-condition historic townhouse with all the trimmings–is about as good as it gets.
Have a look

Distinctive Homes

December 15, 2015

Designer’s Boldly Renovated West Village Pad Asks $1.15M

By Michelle Cohen

Let's start by saying we just might live in a paper grocery bag if it were on this street. Now that we've got that out of the way–this barely-big-enough one-bedroom co-op on a dreamy West Village block at 68 Barrow Street has more than location going for it. The double-exposure floor-through got a snappy makeover in 2013 by NYC designer/developers ASH–its owner is company founder Ari Heckman–and has been featured in New York Magazine among others. Bold design choices and a modern aesthetic set this co-op apart from the average Village aerie.
Check it out here

Distinctive Homes

December 14, 2015

Soho Loft Perfection ‘By the Same Designer as Barneys’ Asks $8.77M

By Michelle Cohen

This 3,162 square-foot three-bedroom loft at 104 Wooster Street hits all the high notes when it comes to just-right modern interior design and what we love about lovely Soho lofts. With interiors, according to the listing, "by the same designer as Barneys," the apartment last changed hands in 2012 for $5.35 million (below its $5.7M ask) to a partner in a commercial law firm; it looks to have gotten its expertly turned-out design upgrade since then–perhaps part of the reason for the $3M price-bump. Ascending by key-locked elevator to the fourth floor of this eight-unit boutique condo building on a quintessential Soho block, you'll immediately notice the light from a wall of windows and the presence of condo comforts like central air, built-in speakers and a home automation system. For celebrity cred, Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson ("Rain Man," "Diner," "Bugsy") owns a loft two floors below.
Get more loft inspiration this way

Distinctive Homes

December 11, 2015

This $23 Million Soho Loft Comes With Designer Furniture and a Motorized Headboard

By Michelle Cohen

This enormous and undeniably awe-inspiring condominium at 50 Wooster Street seems pretty straightforward: A huge Soho loft with a sleek and expensive-looking contemporary renovation. And you have a choice! You can rent this gleaming 4,800 square-foot downtown pleasure palace for $40k a month, or just buy it for a mere $23.3 million.
Find out more

December 10, 2015

This Pint-Sized Penthouse Has Two Terraces and a Big View of the Hearst Tower

By Michelle Cohen

A mere block from where Midtown’s newest Billionaires’ Row continues to rise along 57th Street south of Central Park, you'll find a thriving example of the classic New York City streetscape that has long-defined Midtown West, in places a jumble of skyscrapers, low-lying brick and rows of standard-issue mid-(20th)-century apartment buildings, in one of which you'll find this cozy co-op studio at 310 West 56th Street, described aptly by its listing as “the perfect pied-a-terre penthouse.” The 1964 co-op building is in a spot that’s getting more prime by the decade, already steps from the park, Columbus Circle and the Time Warner Center and blocks from Lincoln Center; then there’s that glittering condo canyon to the east and Bjarke Ingels’ game-changing Via rising to the west. The iconoclastic Norman Foster-designed Hearst Tower was among the vanguard–and it’s right across the street. Whoever lives here should probably be a fan of its gleaming white-and-glass geometric grid frame. Because they’re going to be seeing a lot of it.
Take a look

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December 9, 2015

This $14.8M UWS Townhouse Does Not Have a Pool in the Back Yard

By Michelle Cohen

But it almost did. In 2008, when Turkish millionaire and Mavi Jeans mogul Ragip Ersin Akarlilar and his wife bought this historic 1870 four-story Italianate home at 51 West 83rd Street among the brownstones of the Upper West Side for $4.3 million, it was in need of renovation. Plans were drawn for a gut overhaul, including a sleek wall of glass at the back that could open up to encompass an outdoor swimming pool (shown here in the Post). Neighbors balked at the proposed additions, and a kerfuffle ensued. Akarlilar eventually obtained permission from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, permits were granted, and work began. According to the Observer, the homeowners “unintentionally fell in love with another house,” and sold the home, mid-reno, for $6.8 million to a buyer/flipper who intended to finish the ambitious job–sans pool. Forward to now. The home recently hit the market for $14.8M. The renovation is not only quite attractive, but an additional lower level has made the home a whopping 6,300 square feet with a nifty bi-level backyard.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

December 8, 2015

For $3.5M This Sweet Nolita Loft Doesn’t Give Up Condo Comforts

By Michelle Cohen

Named for its envy-inspiring spot in downtown Manhattan's chic Nolita neighborhood–where Soho and Little Italy meet the colorful edges of Chinatown, the Solita building at 161 Grand Street is a classic 1911 loft building that was converted to condos in 2001. Among its 18 rarely-available half- and full-floor units–one of which belonged to Sofia Coppola and hubby Thomas Mars until they sold it in 2012–is this updated and colorful 1,831 square-foot two-bedroom loft, which just arrived on the market for $3.5 million. With a private elevator, central air, package-fetching super, video intercom and rooftop terrace, there's no need to trade condo comfort for loft bones. But the price–about a million more than its (most recent) 2012 sale price–more likely reflects the tiny collection of impossibly cool boutique shopping, dining and residential blocks that have long been among the city's most coveted while retaining at least some of their charming, ever-so-slightly gritty old New York feel.
Look around the loft

Distinctive Homes

December 7, 2015

This $8.5M Turtle Bay Townhouse Is a Timeless Classic With Pops of Modern

By Michelle Cohen

Without hype or hyperbole—though certainly compliment-worthy—this 1890s townhouse on a classic and lovely East Side block has all the modern upgrades you'd need, thanks to complete renovation in 2006. And for traditional brownstone buffs, 327 East 51st Street’s refined facade, gated courtyard, interior details and traditional stoop all add up to a quintessential New York City townhouse. Mechanicals, plumbing, lighting and electrical systems have all been updated and now include a new Crestron home audio system, a four-zone HVAC system, four automatic gas fireplaces, a state-of-the-art security system and lots of well-planned storage space.
READ MORE

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December 4, 2015

Greenwich Village Townhouse Flip Seeks $23.5M After Fancy Reno and Price Chop

By Michelle Cohen

The current owner of this seven-story landmarked townhouse–a real estate firm called Good Property–purchased it for $9.3 million in November of 2012, and proceeded to give it a top-to-toe renovation, clearly with luxury buyers in mind. The 1848 Greek Revival home on a pretty Village street catty-corner from Washington Square Park had been several market-rate apartments, and is now a single-family showstopper with an elevator, a super-premium kitchen, modern gas fireplaces, tri-level rear glass walls and doors, a landscaped backyard with an outdoor kitchen, an upper patio and a "penthouse lounge" on the roof. It was escorted back to the market in November of 2014 at $25 million; after a broker switch it's still thinking big at $23.5 million.
check out all seven floors

Distinctive Homes

15 Hip Holiday Markets and Indie Pop-Up Shops in NYC

By Michelle Cohen

December's first days bring dozens of holiday gift markets whose aim is to find new homes for a wealth of shiny goodies and crafty gifts. We're all familiar with the big NYC markets, but some of the best scores–and the most fun–can be found at smaller, cooler pop-ups and local markets throughout the city. Some are only around for a weekend, others for the whole month or longer. In addition to locally-made jewelry and crafts, vintage finds, artfully curated fashions, home items and other things we didn't know we needed, these hip retail outposts offer up DJs, drinks, food, tarot readings, nail art, music, and family fun to keep shoppers' spirits bright.
Find out where to get the goods, this way

December 3, 2015

City’s Once-Priciest One-Bedroom Rental Gets a $225K Price Chop, Now Only $75K a Month

By Michelle Cohen

When 6sqft became aware last February of the most expensive one-bedroom rental listing in the city, a $300,000 a month 1,200-square-foot (nope, we didn't forget a zero) penthouse atop the Surrey Hotel at 20 East 76th Street on the Upper East Side, we asked cheekily, "Why buy a $3.6 million dollar home when you can pay the same amount of money to live in a modest one-bedroom for a year?" Now that the unit–still on the market though with a fresh new broker–has gotten a hefty haircut of $225,000, it looks in comparison like a straight-up bargain at less than a million a year. So what are we getting for the still-significant monthly outlay?
Let's see what the fuss is about

Distinctive Homes

December 2, 2015

This Sun-Filled Upper East Side Townhouse Triplex Is $35K a Month–Classy Furniture Included

By Michelle Cohen

This three-story 1890 townhouse at 53 East 75th Street fits in perfectly with its neighbors on a classically elegant Upper East Side street just two blocks from Central Park. On the rental market for $35,000 a month, this tony triplex gives you over 4,000 square feet of living space, including an elevator and plenty of windows and sunlight, particularly from the kitchen's wall of solarium windows–great for soaking up rays on winter days.
Explore all three floors

Distinctive Homes

December 1, 2015

Tribeca ‘Inverted Warehouse Townhouse’ of Concrete, Glass and Corten Steel Asks $20M

By Michelle Cohen

Behind the unassuming facade of an 1890s Tribeca warehouse at 75 Warren Street (once home to the Rumsey Pump & Machine Co.), this five-story, 10,000-square-foot modern-industrial home is the kind of townhouse you don't see every day, at any price. Introduced as "the most architecturally significant townhome to come to market downtown in over 20 years," this unique residence saw a complete redesign by innovative architecture firm Dean/Wolf, known for their ability to use architectural constraints as powerful generators of form, that took five years and a budget of $4.5 million. The house departs from the more commonly seen eight-figure townhomes and penthouses in two main ways. First is the inverted layout and second, the designers used innovative forms like Corten (weathering) steel panels, hung and layered with frameless art glass that floats through three floors, illuminating unexpected places; a glass-wrapped courtyard/terrace at the home's core that becomes a prism; a 23-foot skylit ceiling; and double-story bookshelves that hang into the den from the fourth floor.
See all this and more

November 30, 2015

This Cozy, Elegant UES Duplex Is the Perfect Manhattan Winter Retreat

By Michelle Cohen

With its toasty fireplaces–including one in the master bedroom–elegant pre-war details, dark chocolate floors and walls of casement windows for watching the snowflakes fall on gorgeous historic homes, this duplex at 170 East 78th Street looks like a prime spot to make the most of a Manhattan winter. The designed-to-the-nines 1927 co-op is asking $2.995 million, with a considerable monthly fee of almost $5,000; interestingly, the ask is less than the $3.5 million price that accompanied its turn on the market in 2010. On a gorgeous Upper East Side Block, this pre-war home is as classic as it gets; though it's listed as a two-bedroom, a look at the floor plan shows possibilities for one or two more with ease. Rooms are gracious and bright, and we can totally see boughs of holly, New Year's Eve merriment and snow days before a roaring fire in just about any of them.
Step inside where it's warm

Distinctive Homes

November 26, 2015

Architect-Owner of This Polished-yet-Casual Village Loft Asks $3M

By Michelle Cohen

Century-old bones and clean white walls frame the well-proportioned interior spaces of this warm, sophisticated two-bedroom loft in Greenwich Village, the result of a recent gut renovation by the architect-owner. John Berg of BergDesign Architecture, with his wife Jennifer Desmond, purchased the sunny downtown co-op at 250 Mercer Street for $1.5 million in May of 2013, two years and an impressive renovation ago. The bright high-floor unit is now on the market for $2.9 million. We’ve featured some of the architect’s projects, and this apartment's renovation is detailed on the BergDesign site, with the imperative of keeping "three priorities: durability, casual living and contrasting rich materials" for a family with small children in mind.
Have a look at how a gut renovation transformed the space

Distinctive Homes

November 24, 2015

$4.25M Greenpoint Waterfront Penthouse Adds Up to 3,168 Square Feet of Historic Loft Perfection

By Michelle Cohen

If you want real loft living without many of the sacrifices (except the $4.25 million ask, of course) that often come with it, this stunning full-floor Greenpoint "historic penthouse" atop 190 West Street is your unicorn. Modern, stylish and well-crafted finishes, comforts like central air and radiant floor heat, windows and views that never quit, and a prime location add up to a dream loft. Wait, did we mention the 3,600 square feet of private outdoor space?
Check out pre-war historic loft perfection, this way

Distinctive Homes

November 23, 2015

Former House & Garden Editor Lists Upper East Side Co-op for $4.75M

By Michelle Cohen

If you're fan of the elegant, old-fashioned Upper East Side, pre-war co-ops and stylishly-decorated interiors, you can't go wrong with this five-room, two-bedroom-plus home at 563 Park Avenue. The seller is the former editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure magazine (and before that, Condé Nast's House & Garden, where she replaced Anna Wintour as EIC), Nancy Novogrod and her husband, John, an estate attorney; so we'd expect that show-house-worthy interiors are a given.
READ MORE

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November 20, 2015

This Upper East Side Townhouse Makes Up in Charm What It Lacks in Its 13-Foot Width

By Michelle Cohen

When you've got a house that's just a hair over 13 feet wide, you'd better know a good interior design pro. Fortunately the owners of this slender 1899 townhouse at 259 East 78th Street took that caveat to heart when they purchased it for $2 million in 2009. It's now on the market for $5.5 million, and every inch of its 2,600 square feet has been put into use with enough warmth, character and smart design decisions to keep any "narrow-minded" thoughts at bay. And there's nothing skimpy about the location on a gorgeous townhouse-lined street just a few blocks from Central Park on the Upper East Side.
Have a closer look inside this charmer

Distinctive Homes

November 19, 2015

Live Like a Snowbird With Sunrise Views in This Williamsburg Rental for $3,450/Month

By Michelle Cohen

They call people who head to Florida for the winter “snowbirds,” flying off to southern climes to avoid the chilly season. This one-bedroom condo at 275 South First Street, on the rental market for $3,450 a month, resembles that seasonal roost in a subtropical spot, albeit with the substantial bonus of amazing Manhattan views and a prime Williamsburg location. Three sunny exposures and two terraces provide your imagination with a big boost in conjuring the beachfront experience and giving winter the brush-off.
See the whole place

Distinctive Homes

November 18, 2015

Bought for Just $7,600 in the ’70s, Prospect Heights Co-op Returns 43 Years Later for $2.15M

By Michelle Cohen

In the statuesque Art Deco-style Turner Towers co-op along what’s arguably the most picturesque stretch of the grand Olmsted and Vaux-designed boulevard in Prospect Heights, this sprawling four-bedroom residence at 135 Eastern Parkway has been a family home for 43 years. The current owner moved to–and fell in love with–the neighborhood in the early ‘70s, when it was on the cusp of far darker times. How she came to acquire the spacious 14th-floor apartment, with unobstructed views over the treetops, the park and to the Verrazano Bridge and beyond, for $7,600 (nope, that’s not a typo) is a classic New York story.
Read More on the brains, luck and community spirit of Brooklyn in the 70s

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November 17, 2015

Actress, Writer, Singer and Real Estate Scion Isabel Rose Lists $14 million Tribeca ‘Paradise’

By Michelle Cohen

You can add Tribeca pioneer and Mariah Carey neighbor to the long list of things that describe the ebullient seller of this 5,027-square-foot downtown mansion-in-the-sky at 90 Franklin Street. In an interview, Rose, a member of one of the city's most prominent real estate families (developing company Rose Associates manages more than 30,000 apartments and owns the Chelsea Landmark building among others) tells of how she moved to the pricey downtown neighborhood in 2000, when it was "filled with factories and a few brave artists," purchasing the apartment for (sitting down?) $3.4 million. The novelist, actress and singer who just released an album of classics and performs at venues like Joe's Pub, is the creative force behind the apartment's many art and music-related accents. The condominium residence, in one of Tribeca's many grand Deco-era buildings, needs no song and dance to give it legs. Its vast size (listed at five bedrooms, and there's room for at least two more), prime location on one of the neighborhood's most iconic streets, and luxurious no-detail-overlooked interiors do a fine job on their own of justifying the $14 million ask. In addition to Carey, notable building residents have include Ben Stiller and Bob Vila.
Check out the impressive space here

Distinctive Homes

November 16, 2015

$2.5M Brooklyn Waterfront Condo Has a Gorgeous Garden and a Wall Made of Shipping Containers

By Michelle Cohen

The loft-like apartments at 360 Furman Street–known as One Brooklyn Bridge Park–have made headlines in the past; the building was among the first wave of luxury conversions of its kind in the borough; it’s surrounded by one of the city’s favorite waterfront parks; it contains what was for a time the most expensive apartment listing in Brooklyn, and the list goes on. The building’s most alluring features are the stunning Manhattan and East River views from some of the apartments (others have less-stunning views of the BQE), luxury finishes, and convenience to the best of Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan. Interiors tend to be sleek and contemporary; it's not the first place you’d expect to find a wall crafted from shipping containers. This spacious and versatile three-bedroom apartment, on the market for $2.5 million, feels more like a laid-back loft with high-end details than a sleek new condo, with creative custom additions and steel-framed walls of glass overlooking a verdant garden-filled 600-square-foot terrace.
Check out this lofty space

Distinctive Homes

November 13, 2015

This Sprawling Park Slope Classic Seven in ‘Brooklyn’s Flatiron Building’ Asks $2.59M

By Michelle Cohen

Believe it or not, there are still some cases where your money goes farther in Brooklyn. Take this four-bedroom classic seven at 47 Plaza Street West in north Park Slope, a sprawling elegant pre-war co-op in the 1928 Rosario Candela-designed building sometimes referred to as “Brooklyn’s Flatiron” due to it's pizza-slice form–which gives the home's interior a unique, er, angle. The 2,350-square-foot apartment has been recently renovated, making it comparable to the size of a modest suburban house. It’s one of those co-ops where just looking at the floor plan makes you long for a time when tiny apartments weren't a thing (Yes, there’s a separate servants’ entrance as is often the case in these co-ops). And while the ask of $2.59 million might seem like a lot, a comparable Manhattan residence might easily be twice that much, if not more.
Tour this glamorous parkside pad

Distinctive Homes

November 12, 2015

Pretty Pink Co-op Asking $435K Has Pre-War Potential

By Michelle Cohen

Though we so often hear that an eye for interiors–or a good decorator–can make even the smallest apartment feel like a gracious home, we love to see real-life examples that aren't in magazines shot by highly-paid photographers. This slender Upper East Side one-bedroom co-op at 330 East 94th Street with a relatively manageable $435,000 price tag is an inspiring example. In addition to the fact that with ownership comes the right (co-op board willing of course) to transform the space with any number of clever solutions, it would take far less to create a charming pied-a-terre, for example, without that level of effort or expense.
Look around

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