Brooklyn

A housing lottery has launched for five newly-constructed middle-income units at 876 Bergen Street in the rapidly growing Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. The 8-story, 16-unit building is located near Classon Avenue surrounded by popular restaurants, bars and lots of public transportation options. Amenities include an outdoor garden, a rooftop lounge, 24-hour security cameras, a laundry room and bike storage. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for one-bedroom apartments for $2,415/month.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

February 5, 2018

Sleek and edgy Broken Angel House-replacing condo in Clinton Hill asks $1.5M

This top-floor two-bedroom condominium at 4 Downing Street in Clinton Hill, we're told, is "an iconic turn of the century building recently completely reimagined and overhauled as a boutique condominium." Said overhaul was undertaken in 2015 by Barrett Design and Development on what was previously the indeed-iconic Broken Angel House, once among Brooklyn’s most unique landmarks. Artist Arthur Wood purchased the original tenement building in 1979 for $2,000 and subsequently transformed it into a whimsical, livable sculpture, complete with stained glass windows made from bottles and glass, a cathedral-like glass addition, and brick wings. It was also the backdrop for the documentary "Dave Chappelle’s Block Party." The two-bedroom unit is on the market for $1.55 million; it was purchased as new construction two years ago for $1.42 million.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

Extell’s Brooklyn Point tower will have the highest rooftop pool in the city

Brooklyn Point renderings via Williams New York

February 5, 2018

Extell’s Brooklyn Point tower will have the highest rooftop pool in the city

By Dana Schulz

It's no surprise that the supertall savants at Extell--who are currently constructing the 1,550-foot Central Park Tower as the world's tallest residential building--used their first foray into Brooklyn to smash yet another sky-high record. The Post reports that the developer's City Point tower, dubbed Brooklyn Point, will boast the highest rooftop pool in the entire city. Sitting at the top of the 720-foot luxury condo at 138 Willoughby Street, it will be a 27-foot-long saltwater infinity pool, complete with a full lounge area, a stargazing observatory, and space for outdoor movie screenings.
More details and views ahead

NYC RENTALS: This week’s roundup of rental news & offers

Images (L to R): 325 Kent Avenue, Instrata Gramercy, 63 Wall Street and Watermark LIC

February 3, 2018

NYC RENTALS: This week’s roundup of rental news & offers

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): 325 Kent Avenue, Instrata Gramercy, 63 Wall Street and Watermark LIC Leasing Launches at 490 Lefferts Avenue; New Brooklyn Rentals Start at $2,000/Month Long Island City Hot Block: Live at the Crescent Club and Get 1 Month Free 63 Wall Street Luxury Rentals: 2.5 Months Free on 17 Month Leases + […]

Real Estate Trends

Live off of bustling Broadway in Bushwick, from $2,726/month

Photo courtesy of CityRealty

February 1, 2018

Live off of bustling Broadway in Bushwick, from $2,726/month

A housing lottery launched on Thursday for three middle-income units in the Brooklyn artist enclave of Bushwick. The five-story building at 22 Melrose Street sits just off of Broadway, a busy thoroughfare that offers lots of restaurants, bars and galleries. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for two-bedroom apartments for $2,726/month and just one three-bedroom apartment for $3,143/month.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

February 1, 2018

$749K co-op in Prospect Heights has prewar charm with customized touches

This apartment comes from one of the grand prewar co-op buildings off Eastern Parkway, located in the Prospect Heights Apartment House District and designed to be Brooklyn's alternative to Park Avenue. Located at 135 Eastern Parkway and known as the Turner Towers, the 1926 building holds nearly 200 lovely prewar pads. This one, now on the market for $749,000, is an oversized one- bedroom with beamed ceilings, plaster details, herringbone parquet, the original hardware, and vintage doors. Those classic elements are joined by some more modern, customized touches in storage. The Prospect Heights apartment's grown significantly in value since 2008, when it last sold for $450,000.
See the full space

Distinctive Homes

Where I Work: Weaving and dying indoor hammocks with Bushwick design collective Pouch

The pouch team, L to R: Textile Designer Taylor McMahon; Fabricator Emma Cook; Design Director Melissa Riling; Founder/CEO/Design Director Robert James Ramirez

February 1, 2018

Where I Work: Weaving and dying indoor hammocks with Bushwick design collective Pouch

By Dana Schulz

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring high-end interior hammock company Pouch's Bushwick studio.Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! Picture yourself lounging in a hammock. Perhaps you're a kid on summer break in the backyard or on a trip to the islands relaxing on a beach. Wherever this vision takes you, it's that weightless, carefree feeling that probably comes to mind, which is the sensation that Bushwick-based design collective Pouch is trying to recreate inside the home with their handmade hammocks. According to founder and design director Robert Ramirez, the company believes the feeling of being on vacation should be incorporated into everyday life and that their product provides "a moment of retreat and relaxation amid the craze of city life." Working with a group of artisans in El Salvador who employ a traditional Salvadoran weaving technique and a fellow Bushwick company that naturally dyes all the cotton (using materials like tree bark and avocado pits), Robert has taken his family's roots and brought them to what is arguably the maker capital of the country. 6sqft recently visited Pouch's Brooklyn studio to learn more about the company and see how the hammocks are made, step-by-step.
Learn more about Pouch and tour their studio

A $2.5B plan will bring an additional 5 million square feet to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Overview of Brooklyn Navy Yard via Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

February 1, 2018

A $2.5B plan will bring an additional 5 million square feet to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

The transformation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard from a warship building site into an industrial tech-hub got an extra boost this week after a non-profit announced a $2.5 billion building plan that would quadruple its current workforce. As Bloomberg first reported, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which serves as the site's property manager on behalf of the city, plans to add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space to the site, with a little over half of it going towards one large complex.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

February 1, 2018

Jemima Kirke is selling her luxuriously bohemian Carroll Gardens townhouse for $4.5M

"Girls" star and rock royalty Jemima Kirke has just listed her boho-chic Brooklyn brownstone, according to WWD. The 19th-century townhouse at 408 Clinton Street in photogenic Carroll Gardens has been restored and decor-ed to luxurious hippie-glam perfection by popular architect Richard H. Lewis and now seeks a buyer for $4.5 million.
Take the tour

INTERVIEW: Flank Development’s Mick Walsdorf on bringing timber construction back to NYC

360 Wythe Avenue, courtesy 320 and 360 Wythe/Flank

January 31, 2018

INTERVIEW: Flank Development’s Mick Walsdorf on bringing timber construction back to NYC

Last November, news broke that Manhattan-based firm Flank Architecture + Development would construct two mid-rise office and retail buildings made of timber in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the first to be built in New York in over a century. Located at 320 and 360 Wythe Avenues, they are currently rising three and five stories, constructed from raw Canadian wood, which will be engineered into nail-laminated timber panels. The timber structure will rise above the concrete foundation, then it'll be covered by a brick facade. Flank co-founder Mick Walsdorf has said the ambitious project "will expand the limits of traditional construction and usher in a new era of sustainability-minded building practices." The firm has grown significantly since Walsdorf and Jon Kully were studying together at Columbia's Graduate School for Architecture, envisioning the possibilities of a joint architecture and development firm. Since then Flank has tackled the development and design of residential and commercial projects across the city, from The Boerum condominium in Brooklyn to the condo conversion at 40 Walker Street in Tribeca. With 6sqft, Mick discusses the history of the firm and the benefits of tackling both the architecture and development side of a project in New York City. He also gets into detail about why Flank decided to take on timber construction, and how construction is expected to unroll this year.
Keep reading for the full interview

Whole Foods Market’s first 365 store on the East Coast opens in Fort Greene

Rendering of entrance via Two Trees Management

January 31, 2018

Whole Foods Market’s first 365 store on the East Coast opens in Fort Greene

Whole Foods Market 365 opened its first East Coast location in Fort Greene on Wednesday, further cementing Downtown Brooklyn as a burgeoning commercial hub. The 30,000-square-foot store is located in Two Trees' 300 Ashland Place, a mixed-use development with 379 amenity-rich rentals above it. As the seventh 365 location in the country, the lower-priced grocery store will offer high-quality products free of artificial flavors, sweeteners and preservatives.
Get the details

New Developments

January 30, 2018

Cozy $625K Park Slope co-op has an air of royalty about it

This top-floor one-bedroom at 781 Union Street in prime north Park Slope may be a walk-up but its aspirations transcend the pedestrian. Perched atop a townhouse co-op, the light-filled apartment has seen a recent renovation within its pre-war pedigree and offers options and plenty of living space.
Have a look

Distinctive Homes

Report: Airbnb listings removed up to 13,500 long-term rentals in NYC over past three years

Photo courtesy of Airbnb

January 30, 2018

Report: Airbnb listings removed up to 13,500 long-term rentals in NYC over past three years

Airbnb is responsible for the loss of between 7,000 and 13,500 long-term rental units in New York City while increasing the median long-term rent in the city by $380 a year, says a new report from McGill University. The study, commissioned by the union Hotel Trades Council, also found 87 percent of entire-home reservations are considered illegal under state law (h/t Politico NY). Mayor Bill de Blasio last year announced his plan to expand the city's Office of Special Enforcement to crack down on illegal short-term rentals; it is illegal for NYC landlords to rent entire apartments for fewer than 30 days.
More this way

January 30, 2018

In Prospect Park South, a freestanding Victorian lined with stained glass lists for $3.25M

Prospect Park South is a neighborhood dominated by historic, freestanding homes, transporting you to a suburbia of New York City. One of those stunning homes at 171 Marlborough Road has just hit the market for $3.25 million. Some locals may know this home as the local Poulet Palace--the backyard's big enough to run a chicken coop. But a peek inside reveals impressive architectural details that include millwork, trims, moldings, columns and decorative balusters. The restored leaded and stained glass is the showpiece of the home, with a unique arched passageway from the dining room to the magical rear porch.
See the rest

Distinctive Homes

Three chances to live in a new building on the Williamsburg-Bushwick border for $2,253/month

Photo via CityRealty

January 30, 2018

Three chances to live in a new building on the Williamsburg-Bushwick border for $2,253/month

Applications are now being accepted for three newly constructed middle-income units at 126 Boerum Street, located in the trendy area of East Williamsburg, just off the Bushwick border. The brand new rental offers an on-site laundry room and central air. Just steps to the L-train at Montrose and the J/M at Lorimer, the apartment building sits near lots of coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for three one-bedroom apartments for $2,253/month.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe’s one-time Clinton Hill townhouse is $8,000/month

Photo fo Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe via Rena Silverman/Flickr

January 29, 2018

Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe’s one-time Clinton Hill townhouse is $8,000/month

The second floor of this Clinton Hill townhouse at 160 Hall Street once housed punk legend Patti Smith and her then-boyfriend, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The year was 1967, and the rent was $80 a month. As the New York Post points out, that translates roughly to about $600 a month today. Now, the completely renovated townhouse dating back to 1901 is on the market for a whopping $8,000 a month. And it's far from "aggressively seedy" as Smith once described it.
Take a look around

Six things you didn’t know about the Prospect Heights Apartment House District

Photo courtesy of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council

January 26, 2018

Six things you didn’t know about the Prospect Heights Apartment House District

By Historic Districts Council

This post is part of a series by the Historic Districts Council, exploring the groups selected for their Six to Celebrate program, New York’s only targeted citywide list of preservation priorities. Constructed on a lost fragment of the original footprint of Prospect Park, the Prospect Heights Apartment House District is a concentration of 82 apartment buildings dating from 1909-1929. This development was promoted by the Prospect Park Commissioners to attract high-quality construction to complement the nearby Park, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Public Library. The buildings, representative of a period in Brooklyn history when building patterns shifted to accommodate a rising middle class, remain exemplary for their architectural integrity and as housing stock for a diverse population. As one of this year's Six to Celebrate recipients, the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and the Cultural Row Block Association on Eastern Parkway are working to garner local support and submit a proposal for historic district status from the LPC.
Find out six little-known facts about this handsome district

History

City selects de Blasio donors to build pair of towers on NYCHA property in Boerum Hill

Rendering of 120 3rd Avenue via Aufgang Architects

January 26, 2018

City selects de Blasio donors to build pair of towers on NYCHA property in Boerum Hill

The city announced on Thursday their selection of two developers, Arker Companies and Two Trees Management, to build two 16-story apartment towers on parking lots at Wyckoff Gardens, a New York City Housing Authority property in Brooklyn. However, according to the Daily News, the owners of both companies have raised a total of $124,600 for Mayor Bill de Blasio, bringing into question the influence of donations on the city's choice of the two developers.
More this way

January 25, 2018

In Clinton Hill, two Brooklyn Home Company-designed carriage houses ask $3.4M apiece

We love the uniqueness of restored 19th century carriage houses, in part because we don't see them on the market as often as standard-issue townhouses. In this case you get two chances at owning one: Adjacent carriage houses at 409 and 411 Vanderbilt Avenue in Clinton Hill just emerged from top-to-toe renovations by designer fix-and-flip favorites The Brooklyn Home Company. They're up for sale for $3.4 million and $3.35 million, respectively.
See double, take the tours

January 23, 2018

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

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

Distinctive Homes

With redevelopment imminent, are Red Hook’s industrial spaces at risk?

Red Hook waterfront; photo courtesy of Sunghwan Yoon’s Flickr

January 23, 2018

With redevelopment imminent, are Red Hook’s industrial spaces at risk?

Like many waterfront communities in New York City, Red Hook is posed for a major redevelopment, with officials itching to bring new housing, commercial space and even mass transit to the industry-heavy Brooklyn neighborhood. In Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address this month, he said the neighborhood is "full of untapped potential" and called on the Port Authority to "accelerate consideration of relocating its Red Hook maritime activities to free up this waterfront for more productive community use." While almost all of the area is zoned for manufacturing purposes, there's been a significant reduction of industrial space in Red Hook, concerning its long-time residents as retail space has started displacing manufacturing, according to Crain's.
More this way

Real Estate Trends

January 22, 2018

Lavish Renaissance Revival brownstone just outside Prospect Park asks $6M

This five-story Brooklyn brownstone--packed with pre-war details--is less than 25 yards from the borough's beloved Prospect Park. Located at 572 1st Street in Park Slope, it's currently configured as an owner’s triplex with a rental duplex on the top two floors. And it's huge: the building measures 22 feet wide and 52 feet deep, with 18 feet extensions on two levels. Details include everything from tiled fireplaces to stained glass to enormous mirrors to ornate woodwork. It's just been listed for the substantial sum of $5.995 million.
Take a look around

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

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

City to open homeless shelter adjacent to One57 on Billionaires’ Row

Image © 6sqft

January 18, 2018

City to open homeless shelter adjacent to One57 on Billionaires’ Row

Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to open a new homeless shelter for 150 single adult men on Manhattan's Billionaires' Row, part of the city's initiative to open 90 new shelters over the next five years. According to the New York Post, a former hotel at 158 West 58th Street, the Park Savoy, will be converted into the shelter and open in March. The Central Park South building sits behind One57, a supertall known for the city's most expensive residential sale ever: a penthouse that sold for $100 million in 2015.
More this way

Policy

Lottery opens for 140 affordable units at Greenpoint’s tallest tower, from $613/month

Renderings of The Greenpoint courtesy of Neoscape

January 17, 2018

Lottery opens for 140 affordable units at Greenpoint’s tallest tower, from $613/month