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.
The Frick will take over the Breuer building from the Met

The Met Breuer. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum.

September 26, 2018

The Frick will take over the Breuer building from the Met

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It was announced Friday that the Met Museum would lease the Breuer building to the Frick, the New York Times reports. According to an agreement between the two venerable art institutions, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will likely sign the Met Breuer on Madison Avenue over to the Frick Collection beginning in 2020. Doing so would allow the in-debt Met to free itself of the last three years of an eight-year lease and an $18 million annual expense and enable it to put funds toward improving the modern and contemporary galleries at its Fifth Avenue flagship. Likewise, the Frick would have a suitable temporary home while the Gilded Age mansion that it inhabits is being renovated.
Find out more
$3M Victorian gem in Prospect Park South is blessed with gorgeous details and outdoor space
September 25, 2018

$3M Victorian gem in Prospect Park South is blessed with gorgeous details and outdoor space

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Just under $3 million may seem steep for a house in Prospect Park South, but–in addition to being three blocks from the park–this beautifully preserved 1901 townhouse at 214 Marlborough Road is likely someone's Victorian Flatbush dream come true. The rambling and colorful home was designed by Benjamin Dreisler, who was among the area's most prominent architects of the day. Nearly 4,000 square feet provides room for seven bedrooms and grand living spaces, and there's a finished basement in addition. The home's millwork and moldings are among the neighborhood's finest–and in this neighborhood that's saying a lot.
Get a closer look
Hell’s Kitchen penthouse-in-a-mansion in former Christian Brothers HQ gets a price chop to $11M
September 24, 2018

Hell’s Kitchen penthouse-in-a-mansion in former Christian Brothers HQ gets a price chop to $11M

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If a massive, multi-storied townhouse is what you're looking for, you don't have to worry about penthouse FOMO with this listing. Spanning 7,000 square feet, with a two-story master bedroom that cantilevers out eight feet over the back garden, a back wall of glass and smart-everything, this single-family modern masterpiece at 416 West 51st Street, now asking just under $11 million, lets you keep your Billionaires' Row penthouse dreams–with the rest of the 25-foot-wide mansion just a quick elevator ride away. 6sqft featured the modern manse in 2016, when it was listed at $15 million. Built in 1910, this six-story building was the headquarters of the Christian Brothers, whose main role was to keep neighborhood youth out of trouble, from 1953 until 2011.
Still impressive
New report shows NYC landlords falsified 10,000+ work permits in 2.5 years

Image by Jorbasa Fotografie / Flickr 

September 24, 2018

New report shows NYC landlords falsified 10,000+ work permits in 2.5 years

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Recent news of Kushner Companies' filing of false documents outlining the residential makeup of their buildings in order to get construction permits has prompted a closer look at the practice, which, according to Politico, has been rampant among New York City property owners for years with few consequences. Last month the Department of Buildings fined Kushner Companies $210,000 for repeatedly submitting inaccurate paperwork. Tenant advocacy group Housing Rights Initiative (HRI) will release a report Monday outlining how landlords filed more than 10,000 deceptive PW1s (Plan/Work Applications) in the span of two and a half years.
What's going on here?
Plans, new renderings revealed for $2.5B redevelopment of Times Square’s Palace Theatre

Photo Credit: Courtesy L&L Holding Company

September 24, 2018

Plans, new renderings revealed for $2.5B redevelopment of Times Square’s Palace Theatre

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A year after renderings were released and three years after the project's approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, L&L Holding Company, Maefield Development, and Fortress Investment Group have revealed plans for TSX Broadway at 1568 Broadway, beginning with the demolition–planned for this winter–of the existing 1,700-seat landmarked Palace Theatre, which will be replaced by a 46-story tower with 550,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space. The theater will be elevated 30 feet and secured within the new building and will be completely renovated, after which an entirely new structure containing a 669-key luxury hotel will be built around it.
More renderings this way
Live in a Clinton Hill building with a roof deck and gym, from $867/month

The building sits near Underwood Park, Clinton Hill. Image: Wiki Commons

September 21, 2018

Live in a Clinton Hill building with a roof deck and gym, from $867/month

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At the crossroads where Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights and Fort Greene meet, apartments at this newly-minted seven-story, 38-unit building at 840 Fulton Street have in-unit laundry, plus the building features a residents' lounge, a fitness center, and a rooftop deck. Eight affordable units are currently available to households who earn between $31,612 and $62,580 (60 percent of the area median income) annually. The units range from $867/month studios to $1,123/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
Will 2018 be the year quirky and historic Hamilton Heights ‘Art House’ sells for $2.7M?
September 21, 2018

Will 2018 be the year quirky and historic Hamilton Heights ‘Art House’ sells for $2.7M?

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This unusual three-family townhouse at 532 West 148th Street in Hamilton Heights was purchased by Portuguese-born architect Luis Da Cruz in 2006 for $995,000 and thoroughly renovated as a canvas for the artist's personal creative vision. Cruz restored the 1920 home's carved wood stairways and railings, moldings, five fireplaces, beamed ceiling, and exposed brick walls, and added his signature art pieces to an eclectic, bohemian decor, calling the house Musée Maison (Museum House) and making it his studio and workshop. He also hosted art events during which all of the work was for sale and he would perform tricks on aerial silks suspended from the ceiling. The house itself has been on and off the market since 2007. In 2015 6sqft featured the artsy listing at $2.5 million and again after a broker change in 2017 asking $2.7M. Now, another broker switch and more conventional photos–but no change in price–herald the latest attempt to find a suitably visionary buyer.
Tour the toned-down version of this unusual townhouse
Plan for eight-story hotel next to historic Merchant’s House Museum faces major setback
September 21, 2018

Plan for eight-story hotel next to historic Merchant’s House Museum faces major setback

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In June, a petition was filed in New York Supreme Court to prevent the construction of an eight-story hotel next door to the historic Merchant’s House Museum in the East Village. Now, Curbed reports, the proposal to build the hotel was unanimously rejected Thursday by the City Council’s subcommittee on zoning and franchises. The 186-year-old townhouse belonged to hardware merchant Seabury Tredwell, who bought the 10,000-square-foot residence for $18,000 in 1832.
Find out more
Grand Central Terminal celebrates 20 years of retail with 1998 pricing

Via Wikimedia

September 21, 2018

Grand Central Terminal celebrates 20 years of retail with 1998 pricing

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Grand Central Terminal is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its retail renovation; the iconic terminal's shops and restaurants will be offering 1998 pricing on select products and menu items on October 1. Participating businesses include Cafe Grumpy, The Campbell Bar, Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant, Moleskine, Dyptique and many more. In addition, there will be a special exhibition in Vanderbilt Hall celebrating the terminal’s storied 105-year history.
Find out more
Live in grand mansion style in this $5.25M Brooklyn Heights ‘house within a house’ co-op
September 20, 2018

Live in grand mansion style in this $5.25M Brooklyn Heights ‘house within a house’ co-op

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This townhouse-sized and undeniably grand parlor floor duplex at 196 Hicks Street (also known as 34 Pierrepont Street) in historic Brooklyn Heights is one of only three apartments within the "mansion annex" of the 200 Hicks Street cooperative. But unlike most townhouses, the 2,800-square-foot property steps from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade comes with around-the-clock doorman, plus secure storage and a gorgeous roof deck. The apartment does, however, have its own private stoop.
Take the grand tour
New report shows increased spending to house homeless New Yorkers in shelters

Photo via Public Domain

September 20, 2018

New report shows increased spending to house homeless New Yorkers in shelters

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According to a new city management report, during the 2017 fiscal year, the city spent an average of $99 a day to house single adults in facilities in New York City; in fiscal year 2018, that number grew to $117 a day, the Wall Street Journal reports. The cost of housing homeless families in shelters rose in fiscal year 2018 as well, with over 22,340 children living in shelters–an average of $192 a day compared to $171 in fiscal year 2017. It cost $147 each day to house adult families in fiscal year 2018 compared with $138 a day a year prior. According to the city's Department of Homeless Services, the bigger numbers are the result of an increased investment in services, repairs and security at shelters.
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Across from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, RXR plans a 10-building complex in a former printing press factory
September 20, 2018

Across from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, RXR plans a 10-building complex in a former printing press factory

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The Brooklyn Navy Yard and the area surrounding it continues to expand and live up to predictions calling it the city's new creative hotspot. Just a few months after the Navy Yard and developers broke ground on a nine-story mixed-use creative and manufacturing project at 399 Sands Street, RXR Realty has announced plans to renovate a 10-building, 650,000-square-foot block-long complex at the site of the former Mergenthaler Linotype Company printing press factory, across from the Yard. The refurbished complex will be home to industrial, design, and office space, with ground-floor retail, and restaurant tenants.
More renderings of the new creative space, this way
An architect’s historic UES townhouse with an elevator and a floating circular staircase asks $20M
September 19, 2018

An architect’s historic UES townhouse with an elevator and a floating circular staircase asks $20M

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This neo-Federal townhouse, less than a block from Central Park at 9 East 81st Street, received recent exterior and interior renovations from architect Peter Pennoyer–whose work epitomizes Upper East Side style–in partnership with the renowned landscape architect Madison Cox. Better yet, the home's owners since 2014 are Christopher Davis and Sharon Davis, who is herself a celebrated New York City-based architect (you can see her work featured on 6sqft here and here.). The listing says the house has been "fully and continually renovated by the current owner," so we can see why it's so stunning. It was last purchased for $22 million, and it's currently asking $19,950,000. But with features like an elevator, a grand floating spiral staircase, and 6,150 square feet of living space over five floors, we wouldn't rule out a bidding war.
Take the grand tour
City calls on artists to add flair to drab construction fences in two-year pilot program

“Breathing Wall” by Monika Bravo. Photograph courtesy of the artist via NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

September 19, 2018

City calls on artists to add flair to drab construction fences in two-year pilot program

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On September 12, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs announced a search for applicants for a new pilot program called City Canvas, Archpaper reports. The program was designed to beautify New York City’s visual landscape by installing large-scale–and temporary–artwork on its endless construction fences and 270 miles of sidewalk sheds. The protective construction structures are an everyday eyesore for New Yorkers, but current building codes prohibit altering them. The City Canvas program circumvents that ban by allowing select artists and cultural institutions to add visual art to the visual affronts.
Find out more
Times Square Theater to get a $100M makeover; developer hopes for Apple, Amazon, or Coke

Rendering of the theater post-renovation. Image: Stillman Development International

September 19, 2018

Times Square Theater to get a $100M makeover; developer hopes for Apple, Amazon, or Coke

By
New York developer Stillman Development International LLC has signed a 73-year-maximum lease on the Times Square Theater on West 42nd Street with plans for a $100 million makeover in keeping with neighbors like Hershey’s Chocolate World and Old Navy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shuttered for almost 30 years, the theater, which opened on September 30, 1920 with Florence Reed starring in "The Mirage," is seen by some as the last vestige of the neighborhood's descent into late 20th century blight before rising to new heights as a tourist mecca.
A new idea: Retail!
Schedule for 2018 Open House New York sites and events is now live
September 18, 2018

Schedule for 2018 Open House New York sites and events is now live

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Last week brought a sneak preview of the 16th annual Open House New York; the schedule for tours, events, and access to typically off-limits sites has been released. OHNY is happening on Friday, October 12, Saturday, October 13 and Sunday, October 14. Highlights include recently-opened sites like 3 World Trade Center, Domino Park and Pier 17,  construction previews of 150 Rivington and Hauser & Wirth Gallery West 22nd Street and specially curated series like Works by Women, MAS 125, Factory Fridays and Open Studios. There's also an event guide, interactive map showing where ("open access" only) sites and events are located throughout the five boroughs and an itinerary planner.
More about OHNY 2018 this way
Interactive map lets you explore Prospect Park’s 200 tree species
September 18, 2018

Interactive map lets you explore Prospect Park’s 200 tree species

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Through a $75,000 Urban Forestry Grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Prospect Park Alliance recently surveyed about 12,000 of the park's 30,000 trees. The survey provides a nuanced picture of the park’s ever-changing ecosystem and important insights into the economic, environmental and health benefits of "Brooklyn’s backyard." You can view an interactive map of Prospect Park’s trees and their benefit to the community here; you can also examine the results on the Prospect Park TreeKeeper Interactive Map.
To the trees
Could affordable housing plans for Willets Point be scrapped for airport construction parking?

Willets Point from Citi Field. Image: Wiki Commons.

September 18, 2018

Could affordable housing plans for Willets Point be scrapped for airport construction parking?

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The city and developers have filed preliminary plans to pave a 6.5 acre stretch of city land for 665 parking spots, Crains reports. The economic development site within the industrial neighborhood of Willets Point, in Corona, Queens also known as the Iron Triangle was slated for a cleanup of its toxic soil and the creation of affordable and senior housing, plans which resulted in the demolition of a cluster of small businesses.
Find out more
$2.4M Tribeca loft has a cool corner layout, arched windows, and amazing views
September 17, 2018

$2.4M Tribeca loft has a cool corner layout, arched windows, and amazing views

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This corner artists' loft at 6 Varick Street is about as classic as a downtown Manhattan loft can get, with original steel beam columns, massive oak beams and arched windows, original wooden plank floors, exposed brick walls, and 10-foot-tall tin ceilings. In addition to being on a high floor, the loft's corner configuration gives it an unusual layout that sets it apart from the standard "white box." Unobstructed views to the south and east look out over the neighborhood. The condop loft's current interiors–a cozy and bright combo of shabby-chic and Scandinavian-inspired–show just how pretty even the most industrial loft can be.
Tour the loft
Roman Abramovich signs over Upper East Side megamansion to ex-wife in $92M transfer
September 17, 2018

Roman Abramovich signs over Upper East Side megamansion to ex-wife in $92M transfer

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6sqft recently reported that construction had begun on Russia-born billionaire Roman Abramovich's Upper East Side megamansion combo of three existing  townhouses on East 75th Street. Plans for the megamansion with a pool, art room, backyard and a glass and bronze curtain wall connecting the three townhouses in the rear, designed by Stephen Wang + Associates, were approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in November of 2017. The LPC approval came a few months after Abramovich announced a split from arts patron and businesswoman Dasha Zhukova, whom he married in 2008 and with whom he has a son and a daughter. Now, the New York Post reports, Abramovich has transferred ownership of the properties at 9, 11 and 13, along with at least one other Upper East Side address to his ex.
Find out more
$3M Greenwich Village co-op does urban farmhouse right
September 17, 2018

$3M Greenwich Village co-op does urban farmhouse right

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The visual impact of the interiors at this 1838 Greenwich Village townhouse co-op at 7 East 9th Street is one of sophistication, considered design and a high-end rustic aesthetic. In addition to an exquisite renovation, this top-floor penthouse, asking $2.895 million, comes with private roof ownership. From your private landing (we assume this means stair landing, since no elevator is mentioned), enter the two-bedroom home through a casement-windowed atrium, keeping in mind that the included architectural plans can help you envision the possibilities of an upper level with a third bedroom, third bathroom and rooftop terrace.
Take a look, imagine the possibilities
An UES townhouse is transformed in the Arts and Crafts style, with a self-pollinating rooftop garden
September 14, 2018

An UES townhouse is transformed in the Arts and Crafts style, with a self-pollinating rooftop garden

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For a client who had attempted two previous renovations in an Upper East Side townhouse that had retained its grand details from a 1937 remodel, the third time was a charm with the guidance of architect Anik Pearson. The townhouse received a complete overhaul of its infrastructure and service core to maximize performance and efficiency, with the layer of history reflected in its rooms and details carefully restored and preserved. Among the best of the renewal was the redesign of an existing rooftop garden to include sustainable elements like a grass roof, live-roof sedum and herb garden modules, a vegetable patch, a flower cutting garden, an orchard, a worm compost and a beehive for pollination.
Take a look
$13.5M UES mansion has a glass elevator, a 50-foot-wide garden, and two floors of the mansion next door
September 14, 2018

$13.5M UES mansion has a glass elevator, a 50-foot-wide garden, and two floors of the mansion next door

By
Manhattan's Upper East Side is filled with enormous private mansions with configurations that you'd never guess from looking at their tidy facades, and the five-story, 20-room bow-fronted house at 207 East 71st Street, asking $13.5 million, is no exception. This 10,550-square-foot brick manse, built in 1982, is one of three in a row erected by friends who happened to be prominent real estate professionals. In this particular case, the already massive house includes a long-term lease on the first two floors of the adjacent mansion, allowing for a 50-foot-wide garden–one of the widest in Manhattan.
Tour the mansion
Steven Mnuchin lists swank Park Avenue co-op for $33M
September 14, 2018

Steven Mnuchin lists swank Park Avenue co-op for $33M

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has just listed the Park Avenue duplex that has been in his family since the 1960s for $32.5 million, the New York Post reports. Mnuchin bought the 12-room, 6,500 square-foot Upper East Side duplex from his aunt for $10.5 million in 2000, so even if the co-op in tony 740 Park Avenue doesn't fetch the ask, he'll pocket a tidy profit. The Rosario Candela-designed building is known for its wealthy residents who have included Rockefellers, Kochs and Bronfmans as well as being Mrs. Onassis' childhood home. The former Goldman Sachs investment banker and Hollywood film producer was based in California before accepting a position with the Trump administration and has never claimed the Park Avenue home as his primary residence.
See more, this way
CNBC anchor Sara Eisen lists renovated, polished-rustic Chelsea loft for $2.6M
September 13, 2018

CNBC anchor Sara Eisen lists renovated, polished-rustic Chelsea loft for $2.6M

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The renovated two-bedroom Chelsea loft owned by CNBC co-anchor Sara Eisen ("Squawk on the Street," "Power Lunch") and her husband Matthew Levine, head of U.S. Programming at Bloomberg TV, just hit the market for $2.595 million. The 1,200-square-foot condominium is in the Spears Building at 525 West 22nd Street, a former factory built in 1880 and converted in 1996. Twelve-foot beamed ceilings, exposed brick, and polished concrete floors pay homage to the building’s historical roots, while recent updates assure modern comfort and design.
More pictures, this way
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