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.

April 23, 2019

Pier 35 eco-park and ‘urban beach’ is open to the public

By Michelle Cohen

After years of anticipation, Pier 35 on the East River waterfront is officially open (h/t Curbed). The project, designed by SHoP with Ken Smith Workshop, consists of a new eco-park and an "urban beach" anchoring the northern flank of the East River waterfront esplanade and providing much-needed public space on the waterfront. The park also functions as a habitat restoration feature: "Mussel Beach" was created to replicate the characteristics of the original East River shoreline.
See more of pier 35, this way

April 22, 2019

Behold views and shoes for days at this $875K Clinton Hill condo

By Michelle Cohen

Located in a newly-minted boutique condominium building on a bustling Clinton Hill corner, this sun-filled one-bedroom home at 500 Waverly Avenue, asking $875,000, has both space and views to its credit. And if you're a shoe collector, you'll be inspired.
More, this way

New rendering shows 277-foot tower rising next to Williamsburgh Savings Bank

Rendering courtesy of Stonehill Taylor. Bank image via Wikimedia cc.

April 22, 2019

New rendering shows 277-foot tower rising next to Williamsburgh Savings Bank

By Michelle Cohen

The 26-story tower rising at 159 Broadway next to South Williamsburg's landmarked, domed Williamsburgh Savings Bank is making progress on its way to becoming 21 condos and a hotel. A new rendering courtesy of architectural firm Stonehill Taylor depicts the 277-foot-tall tower on the rise thanks to air rights above the bank, purchased by developer Cornell Realty Management along with the lot adjacent the bank hall.
More this way

New Developments

Photo by Al Siedman of VHT, courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

April 18, 2019

This cute slice of a Clinton Hill townhouse has rooms for everyone, a garden and a roof deck for $2.8M

By Michelle Cohen

This beautifully renovated single-family brick townhouse at 151 Willoughby Avenue among the elegant brownstone blocks of Clinton Hill may be narrow, but within its walls are five bedrooms, seven working wood burning fireplaces, a gracious parlor, a stylish and well-appointed eat-in kitchen, a family room, a back yard, and a roof deck. Though the home, asking $2.795 million, is ready for modern living, it's filled with unique details.
Take the townhouse tour

Distinctive Homes

Census data shows New York City’s population has been shrinking for the first time in over a decade

Via Pexels

April 18, 2019

Census data shows New York City’s population has been shrinking for the first time in over a decade

By Michelle Cohen

According to U.S. Census Bureau information released Thursday, the number of people moving into New York City's five boroughs has fallen for the first time in decades, the Wall Street Journal reports. The city's population saw a drop of 0.47 percent to 8.4 million–still the highest of any U.S. metro area–between 2017 and 2018. And more people left than arrived: International migration dipped, lowering the city’s population in 2017 and 2018. Overall, cities in the nation's south and west saw the biggest population growth, with the area that includes Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington seeing the most growth of any metropolitan area.
A trend reverses

City Living

April 17, 2019

Renovation Diary: A Clinton Hill townhouse makes room for layers of history and modernist design

By Michelle Cohen

Our Renovation Diary has been following 6sqft writer Michelle Cohen as she takes on the challenge of transforming a Brooklyn townhouse in the historic Clinton Hill neighborhood into a site-sensitive modern home. She previously shared plans for the 150-year-old building and the first big steps she and her husband, a public health lawyer and antique lighting dealer, have taken to make their dream home a reality, including two years of hunting, planning the renovation, and assembling the professionals needed to make it happen (and how the homeowners made the best of all the waiting time). With Landmarks' signoff and permits in hand, a year-long renovation began. Below, the results, with plenty of hindsight, advice, resources and construction photos on the way.
Hear from Michelle and see the transformation

Marymount School puts grand Upper East Side mansion on the market for $32M

Photo credit: Will Ellis of DD Reps, courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

April 17, 2019

Marymount School puts grand Upper East Side mansion on the market for $32M

By Michelle Cohen

Currently home to Marymount School of New York, this grand–even by Upper East Side standards–12,300-square-foot property at 2 East 82nd Street, asking $32 million, could give new meaning to the term "private school." Originally built as a residence around 1898 by architect Alexander McMillan Welch of Welch, Smith & Provot, the home's first owners were Mr. Albert Gould Jennings, owner of a Brooklyn lathe works, and his wife, who lived here until 1940. Behind its landmarked limestone-and-brick facade, many of the original turn-of-the-century details remain, and an elevator services all floors.
Tour this unusual city mansion-turned-school

New renderings show rebuilt, non-bouncing Squibb Bridge in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Rendering by Arup, courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

April 17, 2019

New renderings show rebuilt, non-bouncing Squibb Bridge in Brooklyn Bridge Park

By Michelle Cohen

Brooklynites are hoping the third time's a charm for the trouble-plagued Squibb Bridge, a 450-foot-long wooden walkway connecting Squibb Park to Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The bridge has had what Brooklyn Bridge Park president Eric Landau called a "challenged history.” But the park has been working with engineers at Arup to find ways to make the new bridge safe (h/t Curbed). Possible solutions included retrofitting the existing bridge, which would cost $4 million and take about a year, and building a new bridge from scratch atop the current concrete in-ground support structures, with a cost of about $6.5 million and an 18-month schedule. The latter plan was chosen, and the new bridge will be made from pre-fabricated steel, which means it should be safe for years to come rather than needing significant maintenance soon.
More on Squibb Bridge 3.0, this way

Architecture And Design

Mayor de Blasio begins first-ever lead paint testing program in 135,000 NYCHA apartments

Image via Wikipedia

April 16, 2019

Mayor de Blasio begins first-ever lead paint testing program in 135,000 NYCHA apartments

By Michelle Cohen

Mayor Bill de Blasio kicked off a new lead-based paint testing program today, to be implemented in NYCHA apartments. 135,000 apartments will be tested with portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers as part of the mayor's LeadFreeNYC plan to eliminate childhood lead exposure. The effort will determine whether lead paint is present and abate any hazards found in the tested units, which were built before the federal ban on lead paint in 1978.
Find out more

Policy

Get a first look at City Winery’s new Pier 57 location

Rendering courtesy of City Winery/Fox Greenberg PR.

April 15, 2019

Get a first look at City Winery’s new Pier 57 location

By Michelle Cohen

After much anticipation, Tribeca venue City Winery recently announced that it will leave its 10-year home at 155 Varick Street for a new 32,000-square-foot space at Pier 57 in Hudson River Park. The Pier will be anchored by Google and occupies a highly visible location at West 15th Street. The venue has just released renderings of both the exterior and the inside of the new space.
Find out more

Renovated Webster Hall will host Jay-Z, Patti Smith for official reopening concerts

By Michelle Cohen

The historic East Village music venue Webster Hall is scheduled to reopen on April 26, 2019 after being closed for nearly 19 months for renovations. The concert hall was first opened in 1886, making it New York's oldest still-operating venue. According to AMNewYork, the Marlin concert room, Grand Ballroom and studio space have had a complete overhaul; the venue, which was acquired by Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment and AEG Presents (parent company of The Bowery Presents) in 2017, has announced a reopening concert featuring Jay-Z performing "The B-Sides," as well as a month of notable shows that will include Patti Smith, MGMT, Built To Spill, Sharon Van Etten, Broken Social Scene, Real Estate and more.
Find out more

Photo by Rise Media courtesy of Corcoran.

April 15, 2019

$1.6M Village penthouse loft has a 1,000-square-foot roof terrace

By Michelle Cohen

This one-bedroom top-floor loft at 12 East 14th Street at Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village near Union Square has plenty merits for loft lovers. But the best bonus might be the co-op's private 1,000-square-foot landing strip-sized roof terrace.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

For $18M, own a 95-acre North Fork vineyard with two wineries and a historic cottage

Aerial photo by Dead On Design, courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

April 15, 2019

For $18M, own a 95-acre North Fork vineyard with two wineries and a historic cottage

By Michelle Cohen

Situated in Cutchogue on Long Island's picturesque North Fork, the historic estate vineyard owned by the late film executive Michael Lynne ("Lord of the Rings" trilogy) who was a key figure at New Line Cinema as well as a wine connoisseur is seeking a new owner. Asking $17.9 million, the 95-acre property includes a cottage and five parcels of land. The property is home to Bedell Cellars, a pioneering family-owned winery. Also included in the sale is the Corey Creek Vineyards winery.
Tour the vineyard grounds and historic estate

For $749K this Park Slope parlor co-op is an historic brownstone dream, outdoor space included

Photo by Allyson Lubow for the Corcoran Group

April 12, 2019

For $749K this Park Slope parlor co-op is an historic brownstone dream, outdoor space included

By Michelle Cohen

If you're dreaming of a Park Slope brownstone but don't have the required millions to spend, this one-bedroom co-op at 420 4th Street just a few blocks from Prospect Park asking $749,000 might be the answer. The parlor-floor home has 11-foot ceilings, pocket doors, stained-glass transom windows, a working wood-burning fireplace and even a private deck set in the neighborhood's verdant collection of back gardens.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

Bronx Commons via Danois

April 12, 2019

South Bronx development with new music hall opens affordable housing lottery, units from $328/month

By Michelle Cohen

A lottery has officially opened for 288 newly-constructed units at the Bronx Commons development at 443 East 162 Street in the Melrose neighborhood in the South Bronx. In addition to the affordable apartments, the mixed-use development offers retail, a landscaped public plaza–and the 14,000 square foot, 250-seat Bronx Music Hall, a concert hall with rehearsal spaces and an outdoor performance and recreational space among other amenities.
Find out more, this way

Affordable Housing

Village bookshop Bookbook closing in May, owners planning pop-ups

Image courtesy of Bookbook.

April 12, 2019

Village bookshop Bookbook closing in May, owners planning pop-ups

By Michelle Cohen

Independent Village bookstore Bookbook–born Biography Books–at 266 Bleecker Street will be closing its doors on May 15, according to owners Carolyn Epstein and Charles Mullin, who say a rent hike was the final straw in the shop's 35-year run. The shop was known for its packed bookshelves and browsable book table beneath an outdoor awning. The book-selling pair plan to pop up at various locations, including the Abingdon Square Farmers Market in the neighborhood–but you won't find them selling books online.
Bid farewell with a big sale

City Living

This Park Slope garden duplex has funky vintage style within and a sweet back patio for just over $1M

Photo by Russ Ross.

April 11, 2019

This Park Slope garden duplex has funky vintage style within and a sweet back patio for just over $1M

By Michelle Cohen

This colorful co-op at 487 6th Avenue in Park Slope three blocks from Prospect Park is brimming with vintage-modern charm throughout its two custom-designed levels. The duplex–currently being used as a two-bedroom–is asking $1,050,000, and it's uniqueness goes beyond decor. Just a few cool features in 1,100 square feet of indoor space include a customized office area with a built-in library nook with antique salvage doors and windows and an original mural hand-painted by a celebrated picture book maker; at the rear, a one-of-a kind treehouse overlooks a landscaped garden.
Have a look around

Distinctive Homes

Photo Credit: E’lisha Holmes for IKEA U.S.

April 10, 2019

Take a peek inside the new Upper East Side IKEA

By Michelle Cohen

There's a new IKEA in town, right in the middle of the Upper East Side at Third Avenue and East 60th Street; The new IKEA Planning Studio opens to the public on April 15. Here's a snapshot of what to expect from the store's urban-focused sibling. It'll be a little different from the other IKEA locations; you'll be able to browse inspirational room settings focused products and solutions suited for city living and get free home design planning assistance.
More of what you'll find inside

April 10, 2019

Tour Westchester’s Octagon House, the world’s only eight-sided, fully-domed Victorian home

By Michelle Cohen

Known as the Armour–Stiner (Octagon) House, this unique home in Irvington-on-Hudson, NY, is the only known residence constructed in the eight-sided, domed colonnaded shape of a classic Roman Temple. The octagon-shaped domed Victorian-style home was listed for rent a few years ago by its current owner, preservation architect Joseph Pell Lombardi, for a hefty $40,000 a month, as 6sqft reported. Now for the first time in its history the house is open for guided tours, so you don't have to fork over a fortune to experience one of the world's most visually unique homes. The house is also available as a location for film and photography.
Take the armchair tour

Architecture And Design

Mixed feedback from LPC on proposed open-air pavilion at Fulton Ferry Landing

Rendering by Starling Architecture

April 9, 2019

Mixed feedback from LPC on proposed open-air pavilion at Fulton Ferry Landing

By Michelle Cohen

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday gave mixed reviews for a proposed new concession pavilion outside of the landmarked fireboat station at the Fulton Ferry Landing. The proposal, chosen last December by the Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP), includes constructing an outdoor restaurant and bar that would connect to an adjacent utility shed and sit in front of the two-story fireboat station, previously home to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. While Alex and Miles Pincus, the operators of the proposed space, designed the outdoor concession to be simple and airy, some LPC commissioners expressed concern over the structure possibly blocking views of Manhattan and the need to keep the space as open as possible.
See the proposed project

$3.2M historic Bed-Stuy home keeps the details and gets the designer treatment

Photos by DD Reps, courtesy of Compass

April 9, 2019

$3.2M historic Bed-Stuy home keeps the details and gets the designer treatment

By Michelle Cohen

The landmarked 1894 row house at 386 Stuyvesant Avenue, among the elegant Beaux-Arts limestones of Brooklyn's Stuyvesant Heights neighborhood, has the impressive layout and scale of a trophy brownstone and the interiors of a designer show house. Brought back to life by designer duo Dahill Bunce, the two-family home is asking $3.195 million. Rich in original detail, the 19' x 48' home has a few surprises that set it apart, like a convenient "summer kitchen" leading to an enviable back garden.
Take the tour

April 8, 2019

Aussie artist Jeremyville’s renovated Bed-Stuy brownstone asks $2.7M

By Michelle Cohen

This two-family townhouse at 408 Macon Street in Bed-Stuy's Stuyvesant Heights Historic District was renovated a few years ago by Australian expats Jeremy Andrew–the artist Jeremyville whose colorful feel-good graphics have a sizable following–and Megan Mair. The creative pair–she's a creative director, curator and brand strategist–bought the home for $1.5 million in 2013, when it was divided up into three units. They gave it a top-to-toe renovation, as featured in Brownstoner. The 3,400-square-foot four-story Neo-Grec brownstone was built around 1880 by local builder Charles Isbill.
Townhouse tour, this way

Distinctive Homes

Construction progresses on $10M retail project with a roof terrace at 70 West 93rd Street

Rendering courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle

April 8, 2019

Construction progresses on $10M retail project with a roof terrace at 70 West 93rd Street

By Michelle Cohen

It's been in the works since 2015, but the 15,000-square-foot glass-enclosed retail addition fronting the apartment tower at 70 West 93rd Street is quickly coming together, I Love the Upper West Side neighborhood blog reports. The new retail addition, designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, is replacing the outdoor plaza that surrounded the rental building.
More renderings, this way

New Developments

Gov. Murphy fears New Jersey will get the short straw in congestion pricing details

Via Flickr

April 5, 2019

Gov. Murphy fears New Jersey will get the short straw in congestion pricing details

By Michelle Cohen

As details like discounts and transit perks are discussed in the wake of New York’s newly approved plan to levy a congestion fee on vehicles entering Manhattan’s business district south of 61st Street, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has voiced objections to the plan, saying it it could be unfair to New Jersey residents, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the New York Post, commuter rail discounts are on the way for New York City residents coming from areas–such as some in northeast Queens–not served by subways, where the MTA agreed to knock 20 percent–$45–off monthly passes for LIRR commuters entering and leaving Penn Station. The MTA will also invest $3 million for express bus service from Queens to Midtown.
What's the problem here?

Sample the wares and see what’s new at NYC’s top flea and food markets

Image courtesy of Brooklyn Flea; photo credit: Scott Lynch

April 5, 2019

Sample the wares and see what’s new at NYC’s top flea and food markets

By Michelle Cohen

The city's local flea and food markets set up shop in springtime, bringing irresistible edibles and covetable goods to a neighborhood near you. Though dates and locations vary and favorite vendors come and go, the mighty market phenomenon keeps growing. The shop-and-nosh mecca Brooklyn Flea again changes locations (hello, WTC!), a favorite night market returns in Queens, and the Manhattan classics are back to offer more of what you didn't know you couldn't live without. Some of the best fairs are the most fleeting, and one-offs like the annual Renegade Arts and Crafts Fair are always worth the trip. The list below rounds up the city's top food and flea picks. Let the hunting and gathering begin!
Plan your market strategy

Events & Things To Do

All articles by Michelle Cohen

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