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.
‘Real Housewives’ Ramona Singer lists Upper East Side pad for $5M
June 21, 2018

‘Real Housewives’ Ramona Singer lists Upper East Side pad for $5M

By
“The Real Housewives of New York City” star Ramona Singer has put her renovated and refined five-bedroom apartment in The Richmond condo at 201 East 80th Street on the market for $4.99 million. According to the New York Post, the quintessential Upper East Side girl is pondering a move to parts south (but not too far south) for a change of pace. The corner apartment has panoramic city views and plenty of little luxuries.
Take a look
This rustic Finger Lakes cabin and taxidermy factory on 90 acres could be yours for just $1M
June 20, 2018

This rustic Finger Lakes cabin and taxidermy factory on 90 acres could be yours for just $1M

By
Located near the remote Ithaca-area village of Van Etten, NY, is a genuine, authentic, real live (or, mostly not) taxidermy factory for sale, asking $1.05 million. You don’t see a listing for a stuffed fauna foundry every day, but this one, it turns out, is enough to cover all the days. The 90-acre parcel in the heart of the state's Finger Lakes region includes a 2,927-square-foot classic log-and-stone three-home with hillside views. Also on the property are a tiny cottage overlooking a two-acre pond, 20 acres of fenced pastures, 70 acres of hardwood forest, an orchard, a fenced garden, a pole barn with tack room and an outdoor arena, a garage, and a woodshed–plus a workshop and office (more about those later).
Now, about that wildlife
Details revealed for the Whitney Museum’s upcoming Warhol exhibit

Image: Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” at MoMA, via Brando/Flickr

June 20, 2018

Details revealed for the Whitney Museum’s upcoming Warhol exhibit

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“To humanize Warhol and get people to actually look at what he made is not as easy as it might sound.” Donna De Salvo, deputy director and senior curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art had this to say to the New York Times among other newly-released details on what to expect in “Andy Warhol — From A to B and Back Again,” opening on November 12th. The show will be the first Warhol retrospective offered by a United States museum since 1989. De Salvo is referring to the myth of Warhol, in his lifetime and even more so after it.
Find out more
$4M Park Slope brownstone with interiors by Elizabeth Roberts embodies considered design
June 20, 2018

$4M Park Slope brownstone with interiors by Elizabeth Roberts embodies considered design

By
6sqft covered the stunning traditional-yet-modern design found in this Park Slope Italianate beauty at 359 Bergen Street nearly three years ago; a gut renovation by townhouse titan Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design brought custom architectural detailing with the designer's signature cool, clean backdrop and sophisticated, functional accents–and now it's for sale, asking $4 million. The 13-room house is set up as a two-family home, with a two-bedroom income-producing garden apartment and three floors above for the owners.
Brownstone envy, this way
NYC’s new housing lottery guidelines will help vulnerable and low-income New Yorkers
June 19, 2018

NYC’s new housing lottery guidelines will help vulnerable and low-income New Yorkers

By
Finding and applying for affordable housing in New York city can be a challenge for anyone. The application process can be confusing and daunting for those who need it most. Today the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Housing Development Corporation (HDC) announced new guidelines for the process that are intended to help provide access for low-income residents and protect people who have survived domestic abuse.
Find out about the new guidelines
NYC is the focus of Bjarke Ingels’ ‘Humanhattan 2050’ vision for protecting cities from future storms

Image via BIG

June 19, 2018

NYC is the focus of Bjarke Ingels’ ‘Humanhattan 2050’ vision for protecting cities from future storms

By
In 2014 6sqft reported on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Rebuild By Design contest to develop ways to shore up the city from future flooding. Among the short list of winners whose projects will receive funding was "The Big U" from Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), a flooding solution for Manhattan that doubles as a social environment, with over a third of the $920 million in prize money to go toward its development. Now BIG is making a bigger splash with a similar vision now on display at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, the Observer reports. Called "Humanhattan 2050," the project, created for the Biennale, which the firm calls "an academic exploration in urban environments and resiliency" could someday represent the first effort to keep cities safe while creating a new, improved social space along the waterfront.
Take a look
$7,000/month Dumbo triplex makes a splash with rustic details–and a rooftop beach
June 19, 2018

$7,000/month Dumbo triplex makes a splash with rustic details–and a rooftop beach

By
This classic industrial Dumbo loft at 50 Bridge Street is already ahead of the rental pack by being an extra-large one-bedroom, two-bath apartment that spans three levels. It has the prerequisite high ceilings and exposed beams plus a working fireplace, central A/C and large south-facing windows. It's asking $6,900 a month, which seems a bit steep (even with a swing in the middle of the living room), until you discover the massive private roof deck with all the summertime fun necessities including a hot tub, a cabana and more.
Let's take a closer look
‘Real Housewife’ Luann De Lesseps is selling her Hamptons home for $6.3M to move upstate

Image of Luann De Lesseps: Wikimedia Commons.

June 18, 2018

‘Real Housewife’ Luann De Lesseps is selling her Hamptons home for $6.3M to move upstate

By
Back in 2017 6sqft reported on the growing trend that saw celebrities and the well-heeled-and-hip ditching the hamptons for upstate and Catskills getaways. "Real Housewives of New York" regular Luann De Lesseps must have just gotten the memo; she's put her Sag Harbor house on the market for $6.25 million–and she's asking $150,000 in rent for the place during August. The New York Post quotes a friend of the former countess: “She loves the Hamptons, and her house, but it’s time for a change. The Hamptons is changing, and she’s looking elsewhere to summer. She’s in love with the Catskills.”
Find out what she's leaving behind
Historic Upper West Side mansion built for a Dow Jones founder asks $12M
June 18, 2018

Historic Upper West Side mansion built for a Dow Jones founder asks $12M

By
Designed by prolific Upper West Side architect Charles T. Mott in 1891 for Dow Jones founder Edward Jones, the facade of this five-story townhouse at 325 West 76th Street hints at the rich history and the grand details within. The current owners renovated this 20-foot-wide, 7,515-square-foot home in the 21st century, slowly and meticulously preserving historic details in the transformation back to single-family mansion. This turn-key historic house is on the market for $11.9 million, including six bedrooms, an elevator, a screening room, a top-of-the-line kitchen and several entertaining spaces.
Take a five-story tour
$2M boho Nomad live-work loft is an artists’ dream–or a blank slate
June 15, 2018

$2M boho Nomad live-work loft is an artists’ dream–or a blank slate

By
A rare find in 21st-century Manhattan, this light-filled loft at 50 West 29th Street in go-go Nomad is a legit live/work space with a history of artists-in-residence. Asking $1.995 million, it's also a high-floor co-op with Empire State Building views in one of the city's hottest neighborhoods, with great bones and plenty of potential. In its current state of artsy maximalist splendor, the two-bedroom home has plenty of character and room for creating and living.
Get a closer look
Cole Porter’s former Manhattan townhouse in historic Sniffen Court enclave has sold for $4.8M
June 15, 2018

Cole Porter’s former Manhattan townhouse in historic Sniffen Court enclave has sold for $4.8M

By
Tucked within the Sniffen Court Mews in Murray Hill, blocked from the public by a private gate off East 36th Street, composer and songwriter Cole Porter’s former townhouse has sold for $4.8 million (h/t New York Post). The former engraver's studio, located in one of just a few private mews in New York City at 156 East 36th Street originally served as stables during the Civil War era.
Find out more
Take an insider’s tour of Flushing’s ethnic food at the Flushing’s World Fair this weekend

The intersection of Kissena Boulevard and Main Street in Flushing. Image: Wikimedia Commons

June 14, 2018

Take an insider’s tour of Flushing’s ethnic food at the Flushing’s World Fair this weekend

By
Flushing, Queens is a dining destination for serious foodies and fans of any of a cornucopia of authentic Asian and Indian delights; from June 15-17, you can sample the international cuisine with discounts and a tour to help you with the highlights; the Flushing's World Fair is a three-day expo that brings together the businesses, cultural institutions and historic landmarks of the diverse and dynamic community.
Find out more about the food tour
Tom Brokaw lists 56-acre Westchester family compound on a private lake for $6.3M

Tom Brokaw image via Wikimedia Commmons.

June 14, 2018

Tom Brokaw lists 56-acre Westchester family compound on a private lake for $6.3M

By
Newscaster/household name Tom Brokaw has listed the 56-acre estate in Pound Ridge, NY that he and his wife, Meredith Auld, have owned for nearly 20 years, The Real Deal reports. The listing, asking $6.3 million, appeared on Tuesday according to property records. The family compound includes a 4,000-square-foot main house, a pool house and a caretaker's cottage, all on a private five-acre lake.
Take a 56-acre tour
NYC commits $500M in plan to build thousands of affordable apartments for seniors on unused land

Photo via Wiki Commons

June 13, 2018

NYC commits $500M in plan to build thousands of affordable apartments for seniors on unused land

By
As part of the new city budget, New York City has committed $500 million toward a plan to construct thousands of new apartments for low-income senior citizens on vacant public housing land, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new units would also free up existing NYCHA units currently occupied by seniors for people currently on wait lists for housing.
Find out more
Asking $3.75M, this corner townhouse in Clinton Hill has an art studio and romantic garden
June 13, 2018

Asking $3.75M, this corner townhouse in Clinton Hill has an art studio and romantic garden

By
Built 1892 by prestigious Brooklyn architect John G. Glover, the Romanesque Revival townhouse at 231 Washington Avenue in the heart of Clinton Hill anchors the corner of its block with a presence that matches the best of the historic neighborhood. With a three-sided projecting bay masked by an imposing arcade around arched windows on the parlor level, this one-time mansion of stone and Roman brick is accessed by a two-part stoop. The well-maintained 4,300-square-foot, three-family corner house is over 22 feet wide and filled with original details.
Take the tour
New marble-clad interior renderings revealed for Bjarke Ingels’ High Line-facing XI
June 12, 2018

New marble-clad interior renderings revealed for Bjarke Ingels’ High Line-facing XI

By
Renderings via Dbox for HFZ Capital Group Back in April, 6sqft brought you a new batch of renderings showing Bjarke Ingels and developer HFZ Capital's XI (or the Eleventh) at 76 Eleventh Avenue ahead of a May 7 sales launch. The West Chelsea hotel-condo project is notable not only for being Ingels’ first NYC condo project but for its asymmetrical, twisting silhouette. Those renderings showcased the pair of towers and their sky-bridge, along with, for the first time, the central courtyard and an apartment interior. Now, as Curbed learned, we get a preview of the project's interiors, clad in several different flavors of dramatically-veined creamy beige and white statement marble and pale chevron flooring with wood accents–and stunning NYC and river views in every direction.
See more, this way
Approved $89B NYC budget includes discounted transit fares for low-income riders

Image by Ged Carroll on Flickr

June 12, 2018

Approved $89B NYC budget includes discounted transit fares for low-income riders

By
Mayor Bill de Blasio reached an agreement with City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on a new city budget, the New York Times reports. The $89.2 billion budget includes funding for discounted MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. 6sqft reported last week on the deal struck between the mayor and the city council to provide about $100 million to fund the program. Johnson has been a tenacious and vocal supporter of the Fair Fares program, in which the city will subsidize the cost of providing half-price MetroCards to New Yorkers who fall below the federal poverty line, or a household income of $25,000 for a family of four. Nearly 800,000 New Yorkers could benefit from the discounted fares. The initial allocation in the budget will pay for six months of the program beginning in January, with further financing will be forthcoming in future budgets.
Find out more about Fair Fares
This East Village duplex condo hides a solarium, a garden and minimalist interiors for $2.2M
June 11, 2018

This East Village duplex condo hides a solarium, a garden and minimalist interiors for $2.2M

By
The East Village is famous for its creative and quirky-cool spaces, and this surprisingly spacious duplex at 407 East 12th Street is on the cool end of quirky, as long as you don’t mind a bit of street-level living and a more-than-bargain price tag at $2.195 million. The stylishly renovated 1,400-square-foot two-bedroom condo with a charming private garden looks as much like a southern California pad as a New York City apartment, complete with glass-clad solarium. Times are good in the neighborhood: The adjacent one-bedroom unit was listed last year for $1.7 million and sold in three months for about $1.6M.
Take the tour
3 World Trade Center officially opens, the fourth WTC building completed

Via Silverstein Properties

June 11, 2018

3 World Trade Center officially opens, the fourth WTC building completed

By
Right on schedule for a June opening, developer Silverstein Properties took the lead in celebrating on Monday the highly anticipated opening of 3 World Trade Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Led by CEO Larry Silverstein, the morning celebration at 3 World Trade Center at 175 Greenwich Street marked the official completion of four of the five buildings in the new World Trade Center complex. With nearly 40 percent of the building leased on opening day, the 80-floor tower designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners rises to 1,079 feet. "Starting with 7 WTC and the rest of the towers that followed, we sought to create modern, environmentally-conscious and technologically-advanced offices," Larry Silverstein, the chairman of Silverstein Properties, said in a statement. "Places that foster creativity where young people would want to work and collaborate. That meant great architecture and sustainable design, but also improved transportation, a more vibrant streetscape, new shops and restaurants, great public spaces, and exciting and fun public space art."
Find out more
City reaches settlement, agrees to spend $2B on NYCHA improvements after federal probe

Photo via Wikimedia

June 11, 2018

City reaches settlement, agrees to spend $2B on NYCHA improvements after federal probe

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New York City has agreed to fork over $2 billion in the next 10 years to settle a federal prosecutors’ investigation into safety and health issues at buildings run by the by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the Wall Street Journal reports. The city has been ordered to repair buildings run by the country's largest city housing authority after an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s District Office, which began in 2015, checked reports of crumbling conditions across the authority's 325 developments.
Find out more
Progress, pricing and new renderings for David Adjaye’s 130 William Street skyscraper
June 8, 2018

Progress, pricing and new renderings for David Adjaye’s 130 William Street skyscraper

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Back in April 6sqft reported on the progress of British-Ghanian architect David Adjaye's first NYC skyscraper at 130 William street, with the nearly-800-foot tower at street level and rising. Adjaye, who has achieved international renown for projects like the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and named one of TIME’s 2017 most influential people, was inspired by the  historic masonry architecture of the Financial District for the new building's anything-but-ordinary design. And we're now seeing more of that design: The New York Times reveals information on what the pricing for the building's 800 units is likely to be once sales launch, along with some new renderings of its unique architecture and interiors.
Let's hear those prices. And when can we move in?
New Jersey City rental debuts in leafy, historic Hamilton Park

Interior ‘canyon’ with stepped terraces via HWKN.

June 7, 2018

New Jersey City rental debuts in leafy, historic Hamilton Park

By
Following the much-documented Jersey City launches of the Journal Squared and Ellipse projects, a new rental building has opened at 485 Marin Boulevard in JC's Hamilton Park neighborhood, known for its historic Victorian homes and streets lined with colorful cafes, shops and restaurants. The new residence comes from KRE Group– the developers behind the Journal Squared project–and is offering studios and one, two and three-bedroom apartments that start at $2,300 for a studio with the added incentive of a free month on a 13-month lease and two free months on a 26-month lease.
Get a closer look
Study: A former freight line on the Lower Montauk branch could help a Queens transportation desert
June 7, 2018

Study: A former freight line on the Lower Montauk branch could help a Queens transportation desert

By
How do you connect the fastest-growing census tract in the U.S. to New York City’s public transportation hubs? Architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), whose New York City work includes the master plan for Hudson Yards, One Vanderbilt and Two Waterline Square, has released a "visioning study" that explores how the repurposing of the QNS, an 8.5 mile Lower Montauk Branch rail line, into a new transit line in Queens that could revitalize neighborhoods, provide affordable housing, create jobs and add transit service to the over nine square miles of New York City that contain three of the city’s largest and most successful Industrial Business Zones (Maspeth, Long Island City, and North Brooklyn) and two of Queens’ largest central business districts (Long Island City and Jamaica Center), adding to the long-term growth of those districts and creating thousands of potential new jobs.
Find out more
City’s Gowanus rezoning draft calls for more public space, residential development

The banks of the Gowanus. Image courtesy of Department of City Planning

June 6, 2018

City’s Gowanus rezoning draft calls for more public space, residential development

By
Attempts to rezone the area surrounding the Gowanus Canal, a neighborhood both affluent and in transition, have been in the works for over a decade. Now, Brownstoner reports, the long-anticipated Draft Planning and Land Use Framework of Gowanus has just been released by the Department of City Planning (DCP). The 188-page report is the result of 100 hours of outreach since the launch of the Gowanus PLACES Study in 2016 as well as information contained in a previous Bridging Gowanus Study released in 2014.
Find out more
REVEALED: First look at Williamsburg’s Domino Park ahead of Sunday opening

Photo credit: Daniel Levin

June 6, 2018

REVEALED: First look at Williamsburg’s Domino Park ahead of Sunday opening

By
Two Trees Management announced today that Domino Park, the long-awaited new waterfront recreational public space at the 11-acre Domino Sugar Factory site, will celebrate its grand opening this Sunday, June 10. In April, 6sqft revealed renderings of the new park and esplanade that will anchor the three-million-square-foot Williamsburg mega-development at the Domino Sugar Factory site, designed by James Corner Field Operations (of the High Line fame). The quarter-mile long public park, located just north of the Williamsburg Bridge, celebrates the history of one of the city's most iconic industrial waterfront sites with adaptively reused syrup tanks, warehouse columns, and original cranes (now painted the park's signature turquoise color "untealed"). There will also be a taco kiosk from Danny Meyer, a water feature, bocce courts, and a children's playground designed by Mark Reigelman as a reinterpretation of the original factory.
Check out industrial artifacts, water features and more
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