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.
$1.4M Dumbo loft is decked out with tin ceilings and locally crafted millwork
January 23, 2018

$1.4M Dumbo loft is decked out with tin ceilings and locally crafted millwork

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If you're looking to live in Dumbo, as many are, loft living is definitely the way to go. 50 Bridge Street, built in 1907 as a warehouse in what is now the waterfront neighborhood's landmarked historic district is offering this two-bedroom condominium loft with ceilings over 10 feet, a recent renovation, and plenty of modern convenience. Asking $1.425 million, the 1,259 square-foot space brings tin ceilings and millwork by a local craftsman to the mix, setting this loft apart from so many of its white-box-and-brick neighbors.
See more of the loft
This boxy glass tower will replace the Lower East Side’s Sunshine Cinema

Rendering by Real Estate Arts via New York Times.

January 22, 2018

This boxy glass tower will replace the Lower East Side’s Sunshine Cinema

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As planned, the beloved Sunshine Cinema's screens went dark for good Sunday night in fittingly dramatic fashion, after a 10:15 showing of “Darkest Hour.” The movie theater, which served as a cultural touchstone in the rapidly changing Lower East Side neighborhood for its offerings of independent and foreign films since 2001, will be demolished and replaced by a 65,000-square-foot nine-story office building, according to East End Capital, who, with K Property Group purchased the 30,000-square-foot building for $31.5 million last year. The New York Times recently showed new renderings of the theater's replacement-to-be.
Find out more
Josh Hartnett’s Tribeca penthouse just sold for $3.55M
January 22, 2018

Josh Hartnett’s Tribeca penthouse just sold for $3.55M

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Back in July, 6sqft reported that the elusive Josh Hartnett ("Black Hawk Down," "Pearl Harbor") had surfaced to list his sprawling Tribeca co-op at 16 Hudson Street for $4.25 million. Though the corner penthouse, which Hartnett bought in 2004 for $2.4 million, looks massive, it’s only got one bedroom. The heartthrob actor-turned-producer just had a second child with longtime girlfriend Tamsin Egerton, so we're guessing more space is key. The 1,965-square-foot apartment with One World Trade Center views recently sold for $3.55 million, according to Mansion Global.
Get a final look
When it comes to attracting new residents, NYC wins big, but it’s complicated

Photo via WNYC/Flickr

January 19, 2018

When it comes to attracting new residents, NYC wins big, but it’s complicated

By
A new data analysis effort from the Washington Post titled "The top 10 places people are moving, and how their choices differ by race" offers some interesting insights into where people are ending up when they come from...elsewhere. Though it's not the article's intent, the first thing we notice is that New York City is number one in attracting sheer masses, huddled and otherwise. And the biggest comparable block of hopeful humanity is coming "from abroad." The attraction factor gets more complex, though, when we adjust for size, looking at the percentage of the overall population the newcomers comprise. In that case, metro areas like Colorado Springs and San Jose move to the top. And what about race? Even more complicated.
Read on
Pantone creator’s $39.5M Park Avenue pad may not be colorful, but it’s as classic as they come
January 19, 2018

Pantone creator’s $39.5M Park Avenue pad may not be colorful, but it’s as classic as they come

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This 17-room co-op in the Rosario Candela-designed 778 Park Avenue is the kind of apartment you don't see every day. The co-op's owner is equally unique: Pantone creator Lawrence Herbert is asking $39.5 million for the six-bedroom spread occupying the entire 11th floor, with interiors by designer Peter Marino (h/t Curbed).
Explore this grand example of Park Avenue living
Chris Rock’s cool Clinton Hill carriage house sells for $3.35M

Chris Rock image via Wikimedia Commons.

January 18, 2018

Chris Rock’s cool Clinton Hill carriage house sells for $3.35M

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Back in May 6sqft noted that Chris Rock had just listed his tricked-out Clinton Hill carriage house for $3.85 million. The comedian bought the historic property at 239 Waverly Avenue in 1994 for just $370,000. The 1901 home was also listed for rent in 2013 with an ask as high as $15,000/month at one point. Records now show that the renovated residence with room for two or three bedrooms, a 23-foot-wide master suite with skylights, and the elusive urban perk of being above a private two-car garage sold in September for $3.35 million. That's well below the ask, but still a tidy profit for Rock, who was recently spotted, according to the New York Post, checking out a posh penthouse and a townhouse at the Element condo tower at 555 West 59th Street.
Find out more, take a tour
Hamptons mansion from Seinfeld’s ‘shrinkage’ episode sells for $5.7M
January 18, 2018

Hamptons mansion from Seinfeld’s ‘shrinkage’ episode sells for $5.7M

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6sqft reported last year that the Amagansett home at 45 Whalers Lane, featured in Seinfeld's unforgettable "ugly baby" episode—also known as "The Hamptons!"—was for sale, asking $8.75 million. Now, according to Curbed, the 4,000- square-foot Hamptons estate with sweeping oceanfront views that helped introduce the term "shrinkage" into modern day vernacular has just sold for a somehow-appropriate $5.725 million–about $3 million less than its original ask.
more views this way
For $1.3M, this South Slope duplex has lots of options and a private patio
January 17, 2018

For $1.3M, this South Slope duplex has lots of options and a private patio

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Just a block from Prospect Park in laid-back south Park Slope, this cozy two-bedroom (officially) at 497 12th Street gives you two distinct living areas, several bedroom options, and a sweet private garden. The parlor-and-ground-level duplex is a condominium, which allows for even more options in a high-rent neighborhood. Asking $1.299 million, the apartment has been renovated, but it retains plenty of warmth and pre-war detail including tin ceilings, exposed brick, decorative moldings and original pine floors.
Take a look
New middle-income lottery launches at Stuyvesant Town with apartments from $2,889 a month

Stuyvesant Town via StuyTown Property Services

January 17, 2018

New middle-income lottery launches at Stuyvesant Town with apartments from $2,889 a month

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A new housing lottery has just been launched at Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village. Households earning $86,670-$170,115/year are eligible to apply for one-bedrooms for $2,889/month and two-bedrooms for $3,543/month. Those who applied last year don't need to apply again; their names are already on a waiting list–though it's likely a long one; 6sqft previously noted that a 2016 waitlist for the downtown apartment complex stretched to 15,000 people. The deadline to apply for the new lottery is February 21, 2018.
Find out more
New rendering shows how Pacific Park is changing Brooklyn’s skyline; tallest tower on the way

Rendering by VUW Studios via L&L MAG.

January 16, 2018

New rendering shows how Pacific Park is changing Brooklyn’s skyline; tallest tower on the way

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Though Brooklyn's Pacific Park mega-development hasn't been in the news much lately, the site of headline-stealing Barclays Center and the world's tallest modular tower hasn't slowed its advancing impact on the borough's skyline. A new rendering courtesy of New York Yimby shows the full build-out of the project, including the addition of what could be one of Brooklyn's tallest towers. According to the rendering, the site's crowning skyscraper would be borough's tallest tower–if only on paper, and temporarily.
Find out more
Grand Upper East Side co-op below Bette Midler’s penthouse asks $20M
January 12, 2018

Grand Upper East Side co-op below Bette Midler’s penthouse asks $20M

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A rarely-available Fifth Avenue co-op with 50 feet of Central Park frontage–and Bette Midler for an upstairs neighbor–has hit the market for $20 million, according to Curbed. This classic 11-room, five-bedroom Upper East Side home at 1125 Fifth Avenue gets those cinematic park and skyline views; the Divine Miss M has the penthouse–featured in Architectural Digest in 2014–upstairs.
Take the grand tour
The South Bronx gets a new creative office hub at Union Crossing
January 12, 2018

The South Bronx gets a new creative office hub at Union Crossing

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We've been hearing so much about neighborhoods like Bushwick, Sunset Park, the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Long Island City ushering in a new era of creative industry. But the city’s next creative office hub is blossoming in the South Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Port Morris, and Hunts Point. CityRealty offers an update on newest addition to the area, to arrive by mid-2018: Union Crossing at 825 East 141st Street will bring more than 275,000 square feet of office and studio space with retail on the ground floor.
Find out more
For $1.15M, this little Upper West Side condo has a private rooftop that’s almost twice its size
January 12, 2018

For $1.15M, this little Upper West Side condo has a private rooftop that’s almost twice its size

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If you're dreaming of the Upper West Side, and outdoor space is at the top of your list, you'll want to see this cozy walk-up condo at 105 West 77th Street. You might not even mind that it's only 454 square feet inside. Of course, 11-foot ceilings help, and amazing city views don't hurt either. You're right around the corner from the Museum of Natural History and Central Park, but the best addition by far is a 730-square-foot private roof deck just up a spiral staircase.
Get a closer look
Golden Globe-winner Alexander Skarsgård checks out $5M Brooklyn Heights fixer-upper

Alexander Skarsgård image: Wikimedia Commons

January 11, 2018

Golden Globe-winner Alexander Skarsgård checks out $5M Brooklyn Heights fixer-upper

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6sqft reported back in August that actor Alexander Skarsgård of “Big Little Lies” and “True Blood” fame had scooped up It-girl Parker Posey's East Village aerie for $2.3 million. It looks like the top-floor townhouse co-op gave the recent Golden Globe Award-winner a taste for townhouse living: The Post reports that Skarsgård may have his eye on a $5 million brick rowhouse in Brooklyn Heights in need of some TLC but with plenty of potential.
Take a peek
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star Ellen Pompeo lists modern Hamptons farmhouse for $3.8M

Ellen Pompeo image: Disney ABC via Flickr.

January 11, 2018

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star Ellen Pompeo lists modern Hamptons farmhouse for $3.8M

By
Ellen Pompeo recently listed her impossibly verdant Sag Harbor home at 1645 Millstone Road for $3.79 million, the New York Post reports. The actress, who plays the leading role of Dr. Meredith Grey in “Grey’s Anatomy,” bought the property for $925,000 in 2011. Overlooking over eight acres of rolling farmland, the newly-renovated 2,400 square-foot farmhouse, built in 2103, splits the difference between modern convenience and simple charm. The property came with a cottage that Pompeo tore down to build the current home.
Take a look
Upper East Side mansion with Warhols and a gold-plated couch is back on the market for $24M
January 10, 2018

Upper East Side mansion with Warhols and a gold-plated couch is back on the market for $24M

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A five-story townhouse at 132 East 62nd Street in the Upper East Side that has resurfaced on the market for $24 million comes complete with artworks by Andy Warhol, Anish Kapoor, and Roy Lichtenstein, books signed by William Faulkner and Joan Didion–and an oil painting by Frank Sinatra (h/t Curbed). The decked-out manse was renovated from stem to stern by jewelry designer (and singer Duncan Sheik's mom!) Suzanne Sheik, who bought it from a Chanel exec and sold it in 2010 to "an accomplished designer" who spent another three years renovating. The home appeared on the market for $27 million in 2014, and as a rental for $65,000 a month.
Check it out
Affordable senior housing lottery now open in new Corona, Queens passive house building

Rendering via HANAC

January 10, 2018

Affordable senior housing lottery now open in new Corona, Queens passive house building

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Rendering via HANAC 46 newly-constructed affordable units at the HANAC Corona Senior Residence at 54-17 101st Street in Corona, Queens are now available via the city's affordable housing lottery. According to QNS, it will be the first affordable senior housing structure in the United States to meet the Passive House Institute design standards and the first affordable housing complex in Corona in three decades. Individuals or households that have at least one household member who is 62 years of age or older and who earn between $0 and $38,200 annually are eligible to apply. Five percent of units will be set aside for mobility-disabled applicants and two percent for vision- or hearing-disabled applicants.
Find out more
LPC sends glassy addition to Willem de Kooning’s former Union Square loft back to the drawing board
January 10, 2018

LPC sends glassy addition to Willem de Kooning’s former Union Square loft back to the drawing board

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Back in November, the developer/owner of a pair of newly-landmarked buildings at 827-831 Broadway--noted for their cast-iron architecture and a rich cultural history that includes serving as home to artist Willem de Kooning--submitted a proposal for a four-story prismatic glass addition and landscaped roof terrace that architects DXA Studio say was influenced by de Kooning's work. Yesterday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission received the proposal with mixed reviews, feeling skeptical about whether or not cultural events should influence a building's architecture. After hearing testimony from a slew of local residents and preservationists who feel the glass topper is too large, the LPC decided to take no action on the plan, instead sending the team back to the drawing board to better detail the restoration aspects and reconsider the addition as perhaps shorter and further setback.
More details and renderings ahead
Harry Houdini’s one-time Harlem townhouse conjures a buyer at $3.6M

Houdini image: Wikimedia Commons.

January 9, 2018

Harry Houdini’s one-time Harlem townhouse conjures a buyer at $3.6M

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The 6,008-square-foot four-story townhouse at 278 West 113th Street that once belonged to master escape artist Harry Houdini has sold for $3.6 million–a full $1 million below its original ask–according to Mansion Global. 6sqft reported last June that the former home of the illusionist, magician and one of the most talked-about celebrities of the early 20th century and his wife, Bess, had hit the market for $4.6 million. Houdini–born Erich Weiss, the son of a rabbi from Budapest, lived at the Harlem home for 22 years until his death in 1926.
This house is no illusion
Daniel Craig may be the buyer of this $6.75M fixer-upper Cobble Hill brownstone

Daniel Craig image via Flickr

January 8, 2018

Daniel Craig may be the buyer of this $6.75M fixer-upper Cobble Hill brownstone

By
. Actor Daniel Craig is the latest of the Hollywood brigade to land in Brooklyn, according to the New York Post. The 21st century James Bond and wife Rachel Weisz have reportedly scooped up the Cobble Hill townhouse at 22 Strong Place formerly owned by author Martin Amis. The home was damaged in a fire in 2016; Amis and wife Isabel Fonseca, who've moved to a Downtown Brooklyn apartment, offered the property complete with intact (despite the blaze) recent renovations and landmarks-approved plans for repairs as per the listing.
READ MORE
Window-wrapped turrets offer three-way views in this $6M Chelsea aerie
January 8, 2018

Window-wrapped turrets offer three-way views in this $6M Chelsea aerie

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This almost-3,000-square-foot corner condominium on the fifth floor of Chelsea's historic O'Neill Building at 655 6th Avenue is the result of a 2007 conversion designed by award-winning architectural firm CetraRuddy. Asking $5.975 million, the three-bedroom loft is one of the building's most dramatic units due to its window-wrapped, curved rooms, enormous living space, and panoramic cityscape views.
See the rest
Six chances to live near Green-Wood Cemetery, from $1,035 a month

Green-Wood Cemetery via Wiki Commons

January 5, 2018

Six chances to live near Green-Wood Cemetery, from $1,035 a month

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A rental building with some stellar amenities at 198 19th Street in a rapidly-developing section of Greenwood Heights is now accepting applications for six newly-constructed affordable units. The five-story residence is just a few blocks from Green-Wood Cemetery, the popular Park Slope and Gowanus neighborhoods, and the D and R trains. An impressive amenities package includes a common roof deck, gym and recreation space, basement storage, furnished common area, and washers and dryers in each unit. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the $1,035/month one-bedroom apartments and $1,175/month two-bedroom units.
Find out if you qualify
Snedens Landing house that may have been George Washington’s office sells for $1.6M

George Washington image: Wikimedia Commons.

January 4, 2018

Snedens Landing house that may have been George Washington’s office sells for $1.6M

By
Located in the in the under-the-radar Rockland County celebrity enclave of Snedens Landing, this 18th century stone house, home of landscape designer and photographer Judy Tompkins for 60 years until she passed away at age 90 last May is rumored to have served as George Washington's office when his men were guarding the ferry service from the cliffs of the Palisades. 6sqft previously noted the home's rich history, beautiful interiors, and gorgeous perennial gardens created and tended by Tomkins, when the property hit the market last summer for $1.6 million. Now, the New York Post reports that the home has sold for its full asking price.
Check out the beautiful gardens
$6.95M historic West Village townhouse has a rooftop solarium with Freedom Tower views
January 4, 2018

$6.95M historic West Village townhouse has a rooftop solarium with Freedom Tower views

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In the middle of a lovely cobblestoned block in the coveted West Village, the five-story Federal-style townhouse at 334 West 12th Street was built in 1853, but its charms hold up against its neighbors in the Greenwich Village Historic District and beyond. Asking $6.95 million, the 20-foot-wide single-family townhouse has two entrances, five bedrooms, a rear garden that looks like something out of an Italian villa, a large south-facing terrace with views of the Freedom Tower, and its crowning jewel, a skylit solarium brimming with greenery.
See more photos
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