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.

This $1.3M Upper West Side co-op’s design-forward renovation highlights its pre-war charm

All photos courtesy of Hayley Ellen Day

August 27, 2025

This $1.3M Upper West Side co-op’s design-forward renovation highlights its pre-war charm

By Michelle Cohen

This one-bedroom home at 151 West 74th Street has been lovingly renovated with color and material choices that make the classic pre-war co-op a rare find. Graceful architecture has been retained, while spaces have been opened up and enhanced with modern appliances, fixtures, and 21st-century comforts. Asking $1,295,000, this Upper West Side classic was finished with color and pattern carefully chosen to enhance its historic warmth.
get a closer look

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This $2M Kips Bay condo offers smart-home tech at every turn

Photos courtesy of Oleg Davidoff for The Corcoran Group

August 26, 2025

This $2M Kips Bay condo offers smart-home tech at every turn

By Michelle Cohen

Behind the sleek, white walls of this two-bedroom 15th-floor condo at 148 East 24th Street, a fully outfitted smart home integrates the latest in cutting-edge tech, from voice-activated lighting and climate control to the latest security and entertainment systems. Asking $1,995,000, the Manhattan condo's modern luxury doesn't end at the walls: A private balcony adds outdoor living to daily life.
it's all at your fingertips

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A new proposal may make the Gowanus Canal safe for swimming

Photo © Ondel Hylton

August 21, 2025

A new proposal may make the Gowanus Canal safe for swimming

By Michelle Cohen

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is attempting to get the Gowanus Canal reclassified to a degree of quality that would compel the city to clean it up enough for swimming, according to Crain's. The Brooklyn Superfund site is currently classified as a Class SD waterway, which supports fishing; a proposal that includes raising the quality of 30 waterways would redesignate the waterway as Class SC, allowing for swimming and boating. But are we ready to leave the banks for a swim in the canal's fragrant waters?
Don't dive in just yet

Policy

You don’t have to choose between townhouse and penthouse in this $3.9M Village co-op

Photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

August 21, 2025

You don’t have to choose between townhouse and penthouse in this $3.9M Village co-op

By Michelle Cohen

This pristine co-op atop 139 West 13th Street occupies the top two floors of a 25-foot-wide, 19th-century Greek Revival townhouse on a tree-lined Greenwich Village block. With interiors that have been featured in Architectural Digest, two living rooms, and a gorgeous private roof deck, the renovated three-bedroom home is asking $3,850,000.
townhouse, penthouse, your house?

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For $480K, this converted school in upstate New York is a magical country hideaway surrounded by wildflower gardens

Photos courtesy of Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty

August 20, 2025

For $480K, this converted school in upstate New York is a magical country hideaway surrounded by wildflower gardens

By Michelle Cohen

You'd never know this charcoal-hued wood bungalow at 289 Tunnel Hill Road, surrounded by patios and wildflowers, was once a school. Asking $480,000, the 1875 schoolhouse in a corner of upstate New York that straddles the Hudson Valley and the Berkshires has been converted into a charming two-bedroom, two-bath country cottage on a half-acre of flower beds, chicken coops, and spaces for outdoor living that include an outdoor kitchen, a three-season porch, and a separate detached, air-conditioned office.
tour this colorful upstate home

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Live the ‘Downton Abbey’ life off the grid on this 151-acre Gilded Age Tuxedo Park estate, asking $29.5M

Photo credit: Ian Alexander Nelson

August 19, 2025

Live the ‘Downton Abbey’ life off the grid on this 151-acre Gilded Age Tuxedo Park estate, asking $29.5M

By Michelle Cohen

On the market for the first time in over 30 years, "Renamor," a 151-acre estate in upstate New York's gated community of Tuxedo Park, is listed for $29.5 million. About 20 percent the size of Central Park, the estate is the largest property and most expensive ever listed in the Orange County enclave, as the Wall Street Journal reported. The Hudson Valley home, with its classic clay tiled roof, dormer windows, stone and stucco facade, tennis courts, several pools, a boathouse, a garage, a guesthouse, and several patios–surrounded by lawns and rolling hills–could easily be situated in the French countryside. But unlike most country estates, this property can operate entirely off the grid, independent of local utilities, with net-zero energy integration that includes a microgrid system.
an estate for the ages

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Asking $3.2M, this three-unit Boerum Hill townhouse hasn’t lost its old-world charm

Photos courtesy of Allyson Lubow for The Corcoran Group

August 18, 2025

Asking $3.2M, this three-unit Boerum Hill townhouse hasn’t lost its old-world charm

By Michelle Cohen

Behind a facade of lavender brick, the 1899 townhouse at 145 Wyckoff Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, offers plenty of ways to live surrounded by history and create the optimal amount of space. The townhouse, asking $3,200,000, is currently set up as an owner's duplex with two units above. All have original details and have been updated in recent years with modern kitchens and baths, with the added brownstone Brooklyn perk of a charming backyard.
take the townhouse tour

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For $3.4M, this Ditmas Park Victorian with a wraparound porch and a two-car garage brings breathing space to city living

Photos courtesy of Allyson Lubow

August 13, 2025

For $3.4M, this Ditmas Park Victorian with a wraparound porch and a two-car garage brings breathing space to city living

By Michelle Cohen

The first thing you'll notice about the rambling Victorian house at 320 East 18th Street in Ditmas Park will likely be the wide, welcoming front porch. Asking $3,400,000, this Brooklyn home was built in 1899 and has been beautifully preserved and updated for 21st-century living. In addition to the porch, the 4,000-square-foot house has a two-car garage, a finished basement, and large, light-filled rooms on three floors.
take a look around

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Bob Dylan’s former Striver’s Row townhouse hits the market again for $3M

Images courtesy of Allyson Lubow for Sotheby’s International Realty, unless noted otherwise

August 1, 2025

Bob Dylan’s former Striver’s Row townhouse hits the market again for $3M

By Michelle Cohen

The landmarked early 1893 townhouse at 265 West 139th Street on Harlem’s famed Strivers’ Row historic district has the added distinction of having been Bob Dylan's home from 1996 to 2000. The cultural icon sold the McKim Mead & White-designed townhouse for $560,000, and it was listed again, as 6sqft reports, for $3.7 million in 2017. After 13 decades of cultural and architectural significance, the home, on the street's coveted residents-only alley, has benefitted from upgrades and enhancements that promise to keep it relevant and gracious for 21st-century homeowners. It's currently listed for $3 million.
139th street, revisited

Asking $9.5M, this Upper East Side carriage house was once Mark Rothko’s studio

Photos courtesy of Yale Wagner for Sotheby’s International Realty

July 28, 2025

Asking $9.5M, this Upper East Side carriage house was once Mark Rothko’s studio

By Michelle Cohen

Situated on East 69th Street’s historic "stable row," this unique Romanesque Revival carriage house at 155 East 69th Street has a storied past and an unusual configuration. The 50-foot-wide building's dramatic interior space was once the studio of artist Mark Rothko. Later, the carriage house was divided into sound studios, including Junco Studios, where Elvis Presley re-recorded the ending of his first film, "Love Me Tender." Asking $9,500,000, the property contains a not-for-profit foundation and a stunning private residence. Standout features include an elevator and a private garage.
tour this unusual property

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This designer-renovated $5M Sag Harbor home is a wonder of timeless summer living

Photo credit: Lena Yaremenko

July 25, 2025

This designer-renovated $5M Sag Harbor home is a wonder of timeless summer living

By Michelle Cohen

If you'd prefer your Hamptons house to be a beachy, European-style retreat rather than an over-the-top decorator showcase, this Sag Harbor Village home fits the bill. Renovated and expanded by AD100 designer Neal Beckstedt, the 1890s home has added modern amenities to a beautiful island refuge with minimalist interiors and historic materials that reflect its history. Asking $4,950,000, the house is surrounded by patios, manicured gardens, and a heated gunite pool.
take the tour

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For $13.9M, this five-story Upper East Side limestone townhouse has two wine rooms, just to be sure

Photo credit: Brown Harris Stevens

July 24, 2025

For $13.9M, this five-story Upper East Side limestone townhouse has two wine rooms, just to be sure

By Michelle Cohen

This turn-of-the-century limestone-clad townhouse at 57 East 74th Street is a fine example of Gilded Age glamor enhanced by glamorous 21st-century design. Asking $13,900,000, the 8,200-square-foot home offers five floors of gracious living, a fully finished cellar, and two private outdoor spaces. As with any respectable Upper East Side townhouse, the home, designed by architects Buchman and Deisler, has a celebrity connection or two. Actress Phoebe Cates and her husband, actor Kevin Kline, once lived here, and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt lived next door from 1959 to 1962.
Gilded age glamor, this way

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For $2.95M, this Bed-Stuy townhouse is all about the Brooklyn brownstone design aesthetic

Photo credit: Allyson Lubow for Sotheby’s International Realty

July 22, 2025

For $2.95M, this Bed-Stuy townhouse is all about the Brooklyn brownstone design aesthetic

By Michelle Cohen

In the heart of Brooklyn's Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, this 20-foot-wide Neo-Grec brownstone at 408 Macon Street has a history as colorful as its updated and on-trend decor. The townhouse was featured in 6sqft in 2019, when Australian expats Jeremy Andrew–the artist Jeremyville–and creative director Megan Mair renovated and listed the home for $2.7 million. Back on the market for $2,950,000, the home's latest incarnation gets lots of color and creative flair from re-do duo Brownstone Boys.
brownstone lovers, check it out

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Surround yourself with greenery on the terrace of this colorful $2.4M Midtown condo

All photos courtesy of Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

July 21, 2025

Surround yourself with greenery on the terrace of this colorful $2.4M Midtown condo

By Michelle Cohen

A Midtown Manhattan apartment has its advantages, but it's likely not the first neighborhood you'd choose if you're looking for a home with tree-shaded outdoor space. Asking $2,380,000, this two-bedroom condominium at the notably narrow "sliver" building known as Number 5 at 5 East 44th Street offers the surprise of a south-facing terrace that runs the length of the apartment, which itself is somewhat of a colorful surprise. The building, instantly recognizable by its bold façade of white metal panels and striking red and yellow accent columns, was designed by Alan Ritchie of Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects.
take the tour

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This $5M Soho co-op is what happens to artists’ lofts when artists leave

All photos courtesy of Celeste Godoy for The Corcoran Group, unless otherwise noted

July 17, 2025

This $5M Soho co-op is what happens to artists’ lofts when artists leave

By Michelle Cohen

Few disagree that it's the people who bring color to New York City's vibrant neighborhoods. We know the stories of an artist-populated Soho of yore, and the Artist-In-Residence "loft law" that helped make it possible. The neighborhood's affordable-to-artists days are long gone (along with the apartment's AIR designation), but we remain charmed by its lofts, for their proportions, and a fantasy of their past.
blank canvas to white box, this way

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Layers of texture and moody hues make this $20M Chelsea townhouse a design maximalist’s dream

Photo credit: Evan Joseph Photography

July 16, 2025

Layers of texture and moody hues make this $20M Chelsea townhouse a design maximalist’s dream

By Michelle Cohen

When the current owners of this five-story (plus roof terrace) townhouse at 462 West 23rd Street moved in, they turned to friend and interiors expert Amy Kolker of Jane Street Projects to transform the white-box building into a lush urban mansion ready for working, living, and entertaining on a grand scale. The result: A maximalist's dream of layered rugs, plush furniture, dreamy landscaped terraces, and statement marble on unexpected surfaces. Asking $19,950,000, the Chelsea townhouse was featured in Architectural Digest, introducing the world to its dark, dramatic style.
six levels, one elevator, this way

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Connecticut estate once owned by composer Richard Rodgers asks $15M

Photos courtesy of Alan Barry

July 15, 2025

Connecticut estate once owned by composer Richard Rodgers asks $15M

By Michelle Cohen

Situated on 39 private acres in Fairfield County, Connecticut, this rambling estate offers a modern-style home, a guest house, a barn, a pool house, and a two-story office pavilion–and that's just the basics. Asking $15,000,000, the property, recently renovated and updated for 21st-century living, was the home of music legend Richard Rodgers. The composer, known for "The Sound of Music," "Oklahoma!" and many more, lived there from 1965 until his death in 1979.
tour the estate

Behind this $7.9M Upper East Side townhouse is a magical hourglass-shaped private garden

Photo credit: Brown Harris Stevens

July 11, 2025

Behind this $7.9M Upper East Side townhouse is a magical hourglass-shaped private garden

By Michelle Cohen

This four-story single-family townhouse at 208 East 62nd Street in the Upper East Side's Treadwell Farm Historic district offers 5,000 square feet of life-ready space, from the cellar to the sun-filled top floor (with a private elevator to take you there). Asking $7,895,000, this iconic uptown home has another stunning surprise in the form of a curvaceous, tree-shaded south-facing garden retreat.
take the townhouse tour

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Modern Fort Greene townhouse designed by David Adjaye for artist Lorna Simpson asks $6.5M

Photos courtesy of REPN/Kellen Houde for Corcoran

July 9, 2025

Modern Fort Greene townhouse designed by David Adjaye for artist Lorna Simpson asks $6.5M

By Michelle Cohen

For the two decades since it rose at 208 Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood, this modern townhouse has been recognized as an important architectural addition to the streetscape. Asking $6,500,000, the four-story single-family residence is also home to a working artist's studio, making it a perfect model for creative Brooklyn living. As reported recently in the New York Times, Lorna Simpson, a renowned American photographer and multimedia artist with a current exhibition at the Met, and her husband, artist James Casebere, were looking for a place to live and create; after searching for a suitable space among the borough's historic brownstones, the pair hired British architect David Adjaye to design, from the ground up, a building that transcended the traditional amount of light free wall space.
Tour this architectural gem

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This $4M Upper West Side co-op is an elegant classic six on two floors

Courtesy of Scott Wintrow – Gamut Photo

July 8, 2025

This $4M Upper West Side co-op is an elegant classic six on two floors

By Michelle Cohen

This two-level co-op at 257 West 86th Street embodies the graceful architecture you'd find in a Gilded Age Manhattan home, with the addition of modern design flair. Asking $3,950,000, the three-bedroom home is in a 1906 co-op building originally built as artist studios. Though its six-room layout is indeed classic, it's spread out over two floors for a sophisticated townhouse feel.
take the tour

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Watch the fireworks from the private rooftop garden above this $2M East Village co-op

Photos courtesy of DDreps

July 3, 2025

Watch the fireworks from the private rooftop garden above this $2M East Village co-op

By Michelle Cohen

This penthouse co-op at 300 East 4th Street at the intersection of Avenue C offers loads of classic East Village charm, with updated interiors and a 750-square-foot private rooftop terrace. Asking $1,995,000, the distinctive downtown aerie still retains some of the architectural elements of its former life as a church rectory for the Mission Church of the Holy Cross, built in 1887.
check out the view

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This $7.8M Tuxedo Park estate brings modern luxury to a onetime Gilded Age playground

Photo Credit: Ian Alexander Nelson, Jump Visuals

July 2, 2025

This $7.8M Tuxedo Park estate brings modern luxury to a onetime Gilded Age playground

By Michelle Cohen

America’s first gated community, Tuxedo Park–birthplace of the formal tuxedo–in New York’s Orange County was once home to Gilded Age royalty like J.P. Morgan and the Astors. Asking $7,795,000, the six-acre estate known as Brook Farm is anchored by an 8,250 square-foot home bounded by a 49-acre nature preserve. Within this private wilderness, you'll find resort-level amenities like a saltwater pool and spa, a tennis court, a private pond, a waterfall, and a running path–all just an hour from Manhattan.
take the tour, no tuxedo required

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$2M Greenpoint duplex has a soundproofed music room and a private deck

Photo credit: Rachel Kuzma /Real Estate Productions for The Corcoran Group

July 1, 2025

$2M Greenpoint duplex has a soundproofed music room and a private deck

By Michelle Cohen

In the heart of Greenpoint near the Williamsburg border, this 1,658-square-foot duplex condo in the McCarren at 61 Engert Avenue has warmth, character, and a designer renovation. Interiors go beyond the standard drywall box on both floors, with the addition of loads of custom closet space, flexible bedrooms, and a soundproofed music room. Asking $1,999,000, the two-floor home also has the bonus perk of private outdoor space.
take the tour

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This $4M Park Slope brownstone has a backyard big enough for a vegetable garden

Photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

June 26, 2025

This $4M Park Slope brownstone has a backyard big enough for a vegetable garden

By Michelle Cohen

On the market for the first time in over 50 years, this two-family townhouse at 744 Carroll Street may not be sporting a brand-new re-do, but it's more than ready for classic Park Slope brownstone living. Asking $3,995,000, the 3,700-square-foot home currently offers a garden apartment with a triplex above (with capacity to build an additional 1,700 square feet). Interiors have been well-kept, retaining their graceful original architectural details; the home's standout feature, however, may be an extra-long backyard with winding stone paths, secluded gathering spots, and a vegetable garden.
get lost in the woods in the middle of brooklyn

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For $2.9M, this updated Bed-Stuy brownstone has a private rooftop sun deck

June 25, 2025

For $2.9M, this updated Bed-Stuy brownstone has a private rooftop sun deck

By Michelle Cohen

Outdoor space is a rare commodity in the city; a leafy backyard or a roof deck adds a coveted dimension to warm-weather living. This four-story townhouse at 271 Decatur Street in Stuyvesant Heights has both. Asking $2,895,000, the historic townhouse has a two-part stoop and a detailed, ornate facade. Inside, a 21st-century renovation reflects modern design choices.
Brownstone tour, this way

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