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.

Step into the Victorian era inside this $5.6M Upper West Side brownstone on Edgar Allan Poe Street

Photo credit: Scott Wintrow / Gross & Daley for Sotheby’s International Realty

April 12, 2022

Step into the Victorian era inside this $5.6M Upper West Side brownstone on Edgar Allan Poe Street

By Michelle Cohen

Asking $5,595,000, this circa 1890 single-family brownstone at 340 West 84th Street is on the market for the first time in over half a century. The Romanesque Revival townhouse, designed by architect Joseph H. Taft, sits among a row of nine homes built together in the Riverside-West End Historic District. If you feel the home's 18-foot width isn't sufficient, its neighbors at 342 and 344 are also for sale.
Step into the 1890s on the Upper West Side

Distinctive Homes

Brooklyn Heights carriage house loft has a private roof deck and Brooklyn Bridge views for $2.2M

Photo courtesy of The Corcoran Group

April 11, 2022

Brooklyn Heights carriage house loft has a private roof deck and Brooklyn Bridge views for $2.2M

By Michelle Cohen

In a prime spot at the intersection of Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo, this out-of-the-ordinary duplex loft at 7 Everit Street is in a 19th-century carriage house. Asking $2,195,000, the co-op loft is on the upper floors of the former horse and carriage storage facility for the Eagle Warehouse next door. The Brooklyn Bridge and East River views from almost every window of the two-bedroom home are as iconic as the building itself, and a sprawling private roof terrace provides a chance to enjoy the view in the open air.
Tour this unusual Brooklyn loft

Distinctive Homes

Booze-to-go is back on the menu in New York

Photo of New Yorkers drinking on St. Mark’s Place by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

April 8, 2022

Booze-to-go is back on the menu in New York

By Michelle Cohen

As part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's state budget negotiations, restaurants will once again be able to add alcoholic drinks to delivery and takeout orders. To keep restaurants afloat at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, to-go cocktail, wine, and beer service was given the green light for 15 months. When public health precautions were scaled back, customers returned to the city's eateries, and alcoholic drink delivery was 86'd. The law, which will take effect when the budget is passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, will allow restaurants to offer to-go booze for the next three years, Gothamist reports.
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This $6.8M Upper East Side duplex has 3,000 square feet of living space and a huge terrace

Photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman Realty

April 8, 2022

This $6.8M Upper East Side duplex has 3,000 square feet of living space and a huge terrace

By Michelle Cohen

Asking $6,750,000, this duplex penthouse co-op atop 53 East 66th Street has been renovated where it counts, but it's as classic an uptown Manhattan residence as it gets, a block from Central Park. Nearly 3,000 square feet of interior space on two floors is wrapped by 1,000 square feet of private terrace on the top floor.
See more, this way

Distinctive Homes

For $65M, this remarkable Gilded Age mansion on the UWS has a rooftop conservatory and river views

Photo credit: LPG for Sotheby’s International Realty

April 7, 2022

For $65M, this remarkable Gilded Age mansion on the UWS has a rooftop conservatory and river views

By Michelle Cohen

Asking $65,000,000, the 12,000-square-foot, seven-story Renaissance Revival-style townhouse at 25 Riverside Drive (h/t WSJ) on Manhattan's Upper West Side harkens back to the city's Gilded Age, when Riverside Park was lined with single-family mansions. Unmistakeable from the outside, the palatial corner property with rounded facades of limestone and brick has breathtaking river and palisades views from three exposures, 70 windows, and a rooftop conservatory. Built in the 1890s, this unique home was designed by prominent architect C.P.H. Gilbert for American Book Company editor-in-chief Herbert Horace Vail.
Tour this amazing Riverside Drive mansion

Distinctive Homes

This $2.3M Bed-Stuy brownstone has everything you’d want in a home, plus a top-floor apartment

Photo credit: Stefano Ukmar

April 6, 2022

This $2.3M Bed-Stuy brownstone has everything you’d want in a home, plus a top-floor apartment

By Michelle Cohen

This 1870s brownstone at 342 Decatur Street in the neighborhood's landmarked Stuyvesant Heights district, asking $2,300,000, checks all of the boxes for Brooklyn townhouse living. Graceful architectural details like marble mantles and chair rails have been preserved and enhanced. A considered renovation from designer Allegra Muzzillo of ACM Interiors has added stylish and functional upgrades and luxuries. There's a landscaped, paved backyard and a finished basement rec room. Finally, the owners' space on the first three floors is topped by a move-in-ready floor-through apartment for rental income.
Take the townhouse tour

Distinctive Homes

There’s a place for all of your collections in this $749K two-bedroom Prospect Heights co-op

Photo courtesy of The Corcoran Group

April 5, 2022

There’s a place for all of your collections in this $749K two-bedroom Prospect Heights co-op

By Michelle Cohen

With the right apartment, every time you come home can feel like getting a fresh perspective on life. Staying organized can help, and for $749,000, this bright, light-filled co-op at 382 Prospect Place comes with the infrastructure required to put everything in its place. Walls are lined with attractive built-in shelving, ready to display your books, art, handmade tableware, and quirky collectibles.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

Whitney Houston’s former recording studio comes with this $1.6M New Jersey home

Photo credit: Rivers Gate Productions for Kienlen Lattmann Sotheby’s International Realty

April 4, 2022

Whitney Houston’s former recording studio comes with this $1.6M New Jersey home

By Michelle Cohen

The three-bedroom home on a wooded lot at 1 Cross Way may look unassuming, but the property, listed for $1,599,000, has a celebrity secret. The home is the former guest house for the Whitney Houston estate in Mendham, New Jersey. The current owners bought the property from Houston, who was born in Newark, in 2010 and kept her recording studio just as it was. The space is ready for another life as a music studio, or as a stellar soundproofed home office.
See more of this understated suburban retreat

On the Upper East Side, this $2.6M co-op is a pre-war classic, complete with step-down living room

Photo courtesy of Fox Residential

April 4, 2022

On the Upper East Side, this $2.6M co-op is a pre-war classic, complete with step-down living room

By Michelle Cohen

Located on a high floor, spanning 2,400 square feet, this three-bedroom co-op at 180 East 79th Street has just become available for the first time in many years. Asking $2,595,000, the Lenox Hill apartment is a standard classic six with pre-war bones, from its beamed ceilings to a gracious entry foyer and step-down living room.
Step in and have a look around

Distinctive Homes

$1.58M Seaport duplex condo is in Manhattan’s third-oldest building

Photo credit: Rise Media

April 1, 2022

$1.58M Seaport duplex condo is in Manhattan’s third-oldest building

By Michelle Cohen

Situated on cobblestoned Water Street in Lower Manhattan, this two-bedroom duplex condo, asking $1,575,000, sits behind the charming facade of what is said to be the borough's third-oldest surviving building. Built around 1773, the listing tells us, the Captain Joseph Rose House at 273 Water Street is “the oldest dwelling and shop, and the third oldest building surviving in Manhattan.” The apartment within, however, offers every contemporary convenience, with the extra perk of a private roof deck with World Trade Center and city skyline views.
Take a look behind the historic facade

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On a historic block in Hamilton Heights, this $6.25M townhouse adds color to traditional elegance

Photo courtesy of Douglas Elliman

March 31, 2022

On a historic block in Hamilton Heights, this $6.25M townhouse adds color to traditional elegance

By Michelle Cohen

This 25-foot-wide townhouse at 330 Convent Avenue in the landmarked Hamilton Heights historic district has lost none of its original mansion grandeur. Though its layout is very much in the style of the traditional Victorian-era mansion, the 6,400-square-foot, five-story property has modern convenience–from the elevator to the custom security system–on its side. Well maintained and updated, the home, now asking $6,250,000, features a landscaped private backyard, a gated private garden entrance to a separate studio apartment, 11-foot ceilings, and original details.
The elevator stops at every floor

Distinctive Homes

NYC opens safe haven site in the South Bronx for homeless New Yorkers

Mayor Eric Adams announces the opening of the Morris Avenue Safe Haven site in the Bronx. Photo credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

March 30, 2022

NYC opens safe haven site in the South Bronx for homeless New Yorkers

By Michelle Cohen

Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday the opening of the Morris Avenue Safe Haven site in the Bronx. The new facility will expand shelter access with 80 beds as well as offer on-site medical, mental health, and substance abuse services to New Yorkers who need them. The new facility is part of Adams' Subway Safety Plan to add 500 low-barrier beds for homeless New Yorkers, with 350 of them to be made available this week.
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$2.7M Noho loft is in a perfect downtown location with a private roof terrace to top it off

Photo credit: Evan Joseph Photography

March 30, 2022

$2.7M Noho loft is in a perfect downtown location with a private roof terrace to top it off

By Michelle Cohen

The top-floor "penthouse" loft condominium atop a classic Noho building at 298 Elizabeth Street is the embodiment of old-school downtown Manhattan living (though its $2,700,000 price tag is strictly new New York). On a picture-perfect tree-lined street, surrounded by, well, everything, this 1,400-square-foot home has the additional perk of a huge private roof deck from which to gaze at the city skyline.
Noho loft living, this way

Distinctive Homes

Historic grandeur, renovated interiors, and city convenience at this $3.8M Fieldston home

Photo credit: Daniel Milstein

March 29, 2022

Historic grandeur, renovated interiors, and city convenience at this $3.8M Fieldston home

By Michelle Cohen

Located in the Riverdale neighborhood of Fieldston in the Bronx, the former home of noted New York labor attorney and mediator Theodore Kheel is for sale for $3,800,000. Built in 1918, the Georgian Revival-style brick home at 407 West 246th Street–known locally as Kheel House–received a complete renovation in 2008, two years after the home's current owners purchased it from Kheel; still very much in evidence are its classic brick facade, graciously-proportioned rooms, high ceilings, bespoke millwork, and four fireplaces.
Tour this stately estate

Distinctive Homes

Lever Club will bring a new dining and lounge option to Lever House tenants after renovation

Rendering ©TMRW

March 28, 2022

Lever Club will bring a new dining and lounge option to Lever House tenants after renovation

By Michelle Cohen

In January, 6sqft reported the $100 million renovation of the landmarked Midtown Lever House skyscraper, led by the building's original architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), had begun. On Monday it was announced the redeveloped Manhattan icon will be home to Lever Club, an exclusive restaurant and lounge for tenants. The new venue will span the building's entire third floor and have 15,000 square feet of outdoor terrace space.
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For $985K, this Windsor Terrace co-op offers three bedrooms, Deco details, and Prospect Park proximity

Photo credit: Al Seidman, VHT for The Corcoran Group

March 28, 2022

For $985K, this Windsor Terrace co-op offers three bedrooms, Deco details, and Prospect Park proximity

By Michelle Cohen

In an Art Deco building surrounded by gardens, steps from Prospect Park, this sprawling co-op at 71 Ocean Parkway is officially a two-bedroom, but a gracious layout allows for a third. Asking $985,000, this classic parkside pre-war pad also offers lots of closet space, custom built-ins, and modern renovations for a turnkey move-in experience.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

This $7.3M Brooklyn Heights townhouse is ready to be both home and office

Photo credit: Shannon Dupre, DDReps for The Corcoran Group

March 25, 2022

This $7.3M Brooklyn Heights townhouse is ready to be both home and office

By Michelle Cohen

This four-story home at a bustling Brooklyn Heights crossroads is ready to be home, office, or whatever appears in your Brooklyn townhouse dreams. Asking $7,250,000, the 25-foot-wide home at 21 Schermerhorn Street, built in 1855, offers at least seven bedrooms, lots of sunlight, gracious proportions and intact historic details. Three floors of living space top what is now a dentist's office with a charming back garden.
Imagine the potential, this way

Distinctive Homes

This $16M Upper East Side townhouse is like a small city on seven levels, with a basketball court on top

Photo credit: Evan Joseph for The Corcoran Group

March 24, 2022

This $16M Upper East Side townhouse is like a small city on seven levels, with a basketball court on top

By Michelle Cohen

Built in 1901, the Upper East Side mansion at 164 East 70th Street received a thorough and considered renovation by BWArchitects in partnership with PSA Studios and Kari McCabe. The 7,400-square-foot, 20-foot-wide townhouse unfolds on seven levels including a finished basement, with the interior space opened dramatically from front to back. Asking $16,250,000, this dazzling property offers at least five bedroom suites and endless flexibility along with architectural fabulousness. Topping it all off is a windowed basketball court on the seventh floor.
Take the seven-floor tour

Distinctive Homes

Spring for some furniture must-haves–on sale now at 18 of our favorite stores

Miranda velvet sofa. Photo courtesy of Kardiel.

March 23, 2022

Spring for some furniture must-haves–on sale now at 18 of our favorite stores

By Michelle Cohen

While it may seem that the world of consumer goods is one perpetual sale, when we're really in the market for something specific, a discount can really help. Furniture is expensive, and the wealth of choices can be overwhelming. Sometimes a seasonal sale–or a hidden clearance section–can be just the push we need to acquire that brilliant piece we've been coveting. Below are some opportunities to furnish your space with the help of sales that are happening right now.
Buy more, save more, this way

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This $7.5M historic townhouse is a well-preserved piece of 19th-century West Village

Photo credit: Empire Optix for Sotheby’s International Realty

March 23, 2022

This $7.5M historic townhouse is a well-preserved piece of 19th-century West Village

By Michelle Cohen

It would be difficult to pass by the landmarked townhouses of Grove Street and not take notice of this perfectly-preserved snapshot of life in the West Village of the 1800s. Asking $7,500,000, 4 Grove Street is one of four featured on a "Landmarks of New York" plaque that immortalizes these Greek Revival homes built between 1825 and 1834. The 2,200-square-foot, three-story brick townhouse has retained its 19th-century architecture, with arched entryways, exposed brick, and wood beams. Within is the highest level of timeless comfort in the form of renovated marble bathrooms, a greenhouse, a private outdoor garden, wood-burning fireplaces–and a wine cellar built into an underground street tunnel from the same era as this unusual home.
Tour this home filled with history

Penthouse atop Upper East Side’s historic former Hotel Wales hits the market for $23M

Photo credit: VMI Studios

March 22, 2022

Penthouse atop Upper East Side’s historic former Hotel Wales hits the market for $23M

By Michelle Cohen

Capping the reinvention of the former Hotel Wales at 1295 Madison Avenue as luxury condominium residences, a newly-constructed 4,179-square-foot penthouse spanning the building's highest floor has just arrived on the market. The $23,000,000 home in the Carnegie Hill Historic District contains five bedrooms and seven bathrooms; its biggest asset, however, may be the 3,114 square feet of wrap-around terraces on two levels with Central Park views, an outdoor kitchen with a wet bar, a fireplace, and a butler’s pantry.
Get a peek at this parkside penthouse

$7.9M Upper East Side townhouse with a glass rear facade takes live-work balance to a new level

Photo credit: Eitan Gamliely for Sotheby’s International Realty

March 21, 2022

$7.9M Upper East Side townhouse with a glass rear facade takes live-work balance to a new level

By Michelle Cohen

From its distinctive mansard roof to a full-height lower-level office floor, 240 East 68th Street is a unique find on one of Manhattan’s loveliest blocks. Asking $7,900,000, this 5,400-square-foot single-family townhouse mixes 19th-century traditional style and stunning contemporary design, then adds the convenience of ample office space. Originally constructed in 1899, the home currently has seven bedrooms, five working fireplaces, a roof terrace, a glass-paned rear facade–and an elevator to put all of it within easy reach.
Meet the many sides of this unique townhouse

Distinctive Homes

Prospect Heights brownstone with an Elizabeth Roberts renovation and terraced garden asks $4.5M

Photo credit: Stephano Ukmar

March 18, 2022

Prospect Heights brownstone with an Elizabeth Roberts renovation and terraced garden asks $4.5M

By Michelle Cohen

Located in the heart of historic Prospect Heights, 275 Park Place is the kind of four-story, two-family brownstone designers' dreams are made of. Consisting of an upper triplex and a garden-level one-bedroom apartment, the pristine late-19th-century home is beyond turn-key. With a renovation–it was featured in New York magazine–helmed by noted architect Elizabeth Roberts, every bit of infrastructure was replaced, while retaining its stunning original details. Asking $4,500,000, the property also boasts the unique extra-long lot only found in a few Brooklyn neighborhoods, giving it a 90-foot back garden with two terraces above.
Enviable interiors and gorgeous gardens, this way

Distinctive Homes

This $2.5M Red Hook townhouse gets sustainable modernism right

Photo credit: DDReps/Shannon Dupre

March 17, 2022

This $2.5M Red Hook townhouse gets sustainable modernism right

By Michelle Cohen

This stunning free-standing townhouse at 19 Wolcott Street in Red Hook is a well-executed combination of sustainable construction and beautiful modern design. Innovative materials and an architect's eye are the backdrop for 21st-century living, with enviable features that include a spacious raised deck, an outdoor garden, and a fully enclosed garage with an electrical panel ready to install a charger. This modern classic of a three-bedroom Brooklyn townhouse, asking $2,500,000, was built using energy-efficient passive house construction throughout and solar panels above.
Tour this modern Brooklyn house

NYC launches online platform with free access to 9.3 million historical birth, death, and marriage records

Courtesy of The New York City Municipal Archives

March 16, 2022

NYC launches online platform with free access to 9.3 million historical birth, death, and marriage records

By Michelle Cohen

The New York City Municipal Archives has launched a digital search platform as part of a mass digitization project that will ultimately provide online access to 13.3 million historical birth, death, and marriage records. At 70 percent complete, the NYC Historical Vital Records Project currently has 9.3 million genealogical records accessible in digital form, free of charge.
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History

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