Brooklyn

This bright Brooklyn co-op is worth the two floor walkup. The unit comes from the prewar, 16-unit cooperative 786 Washington Avenue, on the border of Prospect Heights. The price has gone up significantly over the years--in 2004 the apartment sold for $164,800, in 2014 it sold for $320,000 and now it's listed for $510,000. Over the years the one bedroom has gotten updates, like mosaic tile flooring in the bathroom. But it still retains wonderful historic details that includes tons of exposed brick.
Right this way for more photos

Distinctive Homes

July 13, 2017

Dry ice and solar power to be used in city’s $32M rat battle

Mayor Bill de Blasio declared Wednesday that he wanted "more rat corpses" in a $32 million crusade to rid the city's most plagued neighborhoods of the scurrying scourge. The New York Times reports that parts of lower Manhattan, the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx are the focus of the latest campaign that hopes to reduce the number of rats in those areas by 70 percent by the close of 2018. Among the battle's newly-forged weapons are 336 $7,000 solar-powered rat-proof garbage bins and an EPA-approved–and apparently very effective–method of killing rats in their holes using dry ice.
Psst...hey...pizza over here

City Living

First look at Central Park Tower’s palatial amenity spaces and apartment layouts

Central Park Tower renderings (Extell / AS+GG)

July 12, 2017

First look at Central Park Tower’s palatial amenity spaces and apartment layouts

We expected that Central Park Tower, the city's tallest-tower-to-be swiftly rising at 225 West 57th Street, would be giving Midtown record-smashers like 432 Park Avenue a run for their trophy-tower money. And now newly-revealed details uncovered from the building's EB-5 brochure offer a first glimpse of what the upcoming supertall's rivals could be up against. The preliminary overseas marketing images spotted by CityRealty show off the 1,550-foot-tall building's apartment layouts and the ultra-luxe amenity spaces that will sit high above the hotel and Nordstrom, the building's flagship retail tenant. Developer Gary Barnett's new condo development is the most expensive ever attempted in the city and is projecting a $4 billion sellout including retail and hotel tenants.
Sky palaces and amazing amenities this way

July 12, 2017

For $1.2M this little Bed-Stuy townhouse is ready for front porch rocking and backyard croquet

Located on one of those charmingly scruffy Bed-Stuy streets that seems to span three centuries with some "Little House on the Prairie" thrown in, this seriously detached house at 659 Madison Street, though it's only two stories high and 2,244 square feet, sits on a 25-by-100-foot lot. Asking $1.2 million, the three-bedroom home is still a lot bigger than the average condo–and what condo comes with a wrap-around porch? Though the listing says it's a single-family, it's actually a two-unit building, so there's even income potential.
Have a look around

Distinctive Homes

July 11, 2017

Hip loft with vaulted ceilings and a private roof deck asks $485K in Bay Ridge

The neighborhood of Bay Ridge, in southern Brooklyn, isn't exactly known for cool loft spaces. But this 850-square-foot, two-bedroom pad, at the cooperative 307 72nd Street, might be mistaken for being in Williamsburg. It has high vaulted ceilings with skylights, multiple exposures, exposed brick, and a lofted home office. A large private roof deck is the icing on the cake. And it's definitely cheaper than any two-bedroom in Williamsburg: while the apartment was last listed for $359,000 in 2012, it is now asking $485,000.
Go take a look

Distinctive Homes

July 10, 2017

Lena Dunham sells her first Brooklyn Heights apartment for $850K

Though she grew up in Tribeca, Lena Dunham attended high school at Brooklyn Heights' progressive St. Ann's. And after hitting it big with Girls, she bought her first solo apartment in 2012 at 145 Hicks Street, not far from the school. She paid $500,000 for the one-bedroom, 800-square-foot co-op, but two years later, she upgraded to a $4.8 million condo in The Heights building, which she shares with her musician boyfriend Jack Antonoff. Dunham was subleasing her original pad to his sister, fashion designer Rachel Antonoff, but WWD now reports that she's officially unloaded it for a very cool $850,000.
READ MORE

July 10, 2017

Two chances to live in hip Bed-Stuy from $947/month

Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for an affordable one-bedroom for $947/month or a two-bedroom for $1072/month at 452 Lafayette Avenue in Bedford-Stuy. Located at the intersection of Lafayette and Franklin Avenues, this apartment building sits near the Pratt Institute as well as plenty of shops, bars, and restaurants. Amenities include a roof terrace and laundry room, along with being just steps away from the G train.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): The QE7, 71 Broadway, Columbus Square and Portside Towers

July 9, 2017

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Emrys Fitzgerald

From Bowling Alley to Co-Living Rentals, The Lanes Makes its Debut in Long Island City [link] The Posthouse Debuts in Clinton Hill; Brand New Rentals from $2,013/Month [link] Move-In Ready Apartments at Columbus Square on Upper West Side Leasing with 1 Month Free [link] North America’s Biggest New Co-Living Building Tops Out in Long Island […]

Real Estate Trends

July 7, 2017

Extell’s Central Park Tower will have a $95M penthouse and 100th-floor ballroom

With massive condominiums, private elevators and a 100th-floor ballroom that overlooks Central Park, Gary Barnett and Extell Development won’t have much trouble luring the world’s richest to their ambitious $4 billion Central Park Tower. Although the building at 217 West 57th Street, slated to be the tallest residential tower on Earth and most expensive in NYC, won’t be completed until 2019, the Real Deal discovered the building’s floorplans and the price breakdown for each unit. According to filed documents, 20 of the 179 condominiums in the building have a price tag of $60 million and above. The most expensive unit listed? A $95 million penthouse that contains four bedrooms, a 2,000-square-foot terrace and an outdoor pool.
See the floorplans

Live in Williamsburg’s trendiest corner starting at $722/month

Image via Smoragasburg

July 7, 2017

Live in Williamsburg’s trendiest corner starting at $722/month

Image via Smoragasburg Walk a block to sunbathe in McCarren Park; two blocks to play a game at Brooklyn Bowl; three blocks to schmooze at the trendy hotel trifecta of the Wythe, Williamsburg Hotel, and William Vale; and four blocks to hit up Smorgasburg at East River State Park. Normally a location like this would cost you a pretty penny, but as of today, New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for 10 affordable units at 174 North 11th Street. The apartments range from $722/month studios to $900/month two-bedrooms, and building amenities include a common roof terrace, fitness center, parking, bike storage, and a coin-operated laundry room.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

July 6, 2017

$589K co-op is nestled on the charming single block of Fiske Place in Park Slope

Fiske Place is a quiet, single-block of Park Slope between Carroll Street and Garfield Place, one block to Prospect Park. Inside this brick building at 19 Fiske Place is a one-bedroom co-op that's just hit the market for $589,000. If you don't mind a two-flight walkup, the apartment is bright and stylish, with a renovated kitchen and corner bedroom that overlooks the building's garden. The last recorded sale for the space was in 2005 for $349,000.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

July 6, 2017

$2.5M Red Hook house has a Cali boho vibe–and an outdoor kitchen

Topanga Canyon retreat? Stinson Beach surf shack? If you guessed either you'd be wrong, but this fully-detached single-family home at 71 Dikeman Street in Red Hook, asking $2.5 million, definitely has a California bohemian vibe that's perfect for the laid-back waterfront neighborhood. In addition to a well-executed renovation, the two-story house has a 50-foot landscaped garden with an outdoor kitchen that's the picture of summer leisure living.
Tour this laid-back beach shack

Distinctive Homes

July 6, 2017

Two chances to live in prime Bed-Stuy for $1,114/month

Starting today, New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for two, $1,114/month two-bedroom apartments at 183 Tompkins Avenue in Bed-Stuy, quite the deal considering market-rate two-bedrooms are renting for $2,600. The new six-story building has just 10 units total and is a five-minute walk from the Myrtle- Willoughby G train and 10 minutes from the Myrtle Ave J, M, and Z. Apartments have large windows, high ceilings, wood floors, and kitchens with dishwashers and stainless steel appliances, and the building offers some private balconies, a rooftop, and a virtual doorman.
The full details

Affordable Housing

July 5, 2017

Pretty pre-war co-op in Fort Greene has two bedrooms and stylish details for under $1M

In the heart of the lovely neighborhood of Fort Greene, Brooklyn at 141 Lafayette Avenue, just a block from Fort Greene Park and a few minutes from BAM, this graciously-sized and thoughtfully-appointed pre-war co-op is asking $995,000. With two real bedrooms, central A/C, and a nice renovation, that seems like a pretty good deal for this pricey neighborhood.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

July 3, 2017

Affordable housing lottery opens for 14 East Williamsburg units, starting at $589/month

Back in early 2016, 6sqft shared a new housing lottery for three Williamsburg buildings, one of which was 37 Ten Eyck Street in East Williamsburg between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street. The vacant lots were purchased in 2014, along with a fourth site at 33 Ten Eyck Street, by the Housing Development Corporation to build 100 percent affordable buildings. That final building is now complete and its 14 units are available to those earning 40 or 60 percent of the area media income. They range from $589/month one-bedrooms to $1,121/month two-bedrooms, and the building offers an elevator, outdoor area, intercom system, bicycle storage, and laundry facilities.
All the details here

Affordable Housing

Images (L to R): Frank 57 West, 237 11th Street, 180 Water Street and 1 QPS Tower

June 30, 2017

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Emrys Fitzgerald

Prices Drop at East Harlem Luxury Rental by Karim Rashid; Units Now Start at $2,000/Month [link] Clinton Hill’s 1007 Atlantic Avenue Launches Leasing & Affordable Housing Lottery [link] Flex Layouts in the Financial District; No-Fee, 1 Month Free & Guarantors Accepted [link] Special Offer at Charming Upper West Side Rental; Flex Lease Dates & $1,000 […]

Real Estate Trends

June 30, 2017

$3,250/month Williamsburg apartment comes furnished with chic, tropical decor

This Williamsburg condo at 259 Ainslie Street isn't massive at 652 square feet, but it's furnished and full of chic, creative decor--from the sunny bedroom to a living room packed with patterned pillows, rugs and greenery. There's a little outdoor space, too, with a private balcony off the living room. If you're digging the zen, tropical aesthetic, this is up for rent at $3,250 a month.
Tour the space

Distinctive Homes

June 30, 2017

This Stuyvesant Heights brownstone with a perfect Brooklyn back yard asks $4,500/month

This compact brownstone rental in Bed-Stuy's pretty Stuyvesant Heights historic district of awaits summer festivities on a landscaped private back terrace. $4,500 a month gets you three bedrooms on two stories and a finished basement plus covetable private outdoor space in one of the borough's most buzzed-about neighborhoods.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

June 28, 2017

Map: Where to watch the Macy’s fireworks this July 4th

Here's a handy guide outlining some prime spots for experiencing Macy's Fourth of July live fireworks extravaganza this Tuesday evening; in addition, the folks that put on the show have provided a helpful interactive neighborhood finder so you're well situated when things go boom. Take a fun quiz here, then find out the best spots to watch from. Or just check out some prime spots here.
More info this way

My 1100sqft: Designers Laura Yeh and Zach Jenkins turn a blank Bushwick loft into a pastel dreamscape

6sqft’s ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Bushwick loft of designers Laura Yeh and Zach Jenkins. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

June 27, 2017

My 1100sqft: Designers Laura Yeh and Zach Jenkins turn a blank Bushwick loft into a pastel dreamscape

By Diane Pham

Creativity runs high in this Bushwick loft, which comes as no surprise when you learn that it's the home of Laura Yeh, a designer at cult beauty brand Glossier, and Zach Jenkins, a furniture and lighting designer at the ultra-luxe Hellman-Chang. The duo moved into their space roughly one year ago following a cross-country road trip that brought them from their previous home in San Francisco to NYC. Although Laura, having studied at Parsons, was no stranger to the city, Zach had never lived in New York. Thus, as new beginnings go, the couple opted to start fresh in Bushwick with an 1100-square-foot cavern with plenty of room to flex their creative prowess. Ahead, see how Laura and Zach use airy style, refined textures, and beautiful furniture designed, built, or restored themselves to turn a nondescript space into a perfectly edited pastel dreamscape.
go inside their dreamy loft

June 27, 2017

Young Projects upended the traditional Brooklyn townhouse design for this Williamsburg renovation

You wouldn't guess it from first glance, but this property on the corner of Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg was originally a modest 1900s brick townhouse. Architecture and design firm Young Projects was tasked with modernizing and expanding the existing structure, for which they took a bold approach that they call "a radical break from Brooklyn’s traditional townhouse typology." The massive rear addition is clad in perforated, corrugated zinc, "subtly playing off the scale, proportion, fenestration and texture of the existing townhouse." The interior is just as dramatic, with a massive, curving staircase that wraps around a double height living room.
You have to take a look inside

June 27, 2017

Brooklyn’s iconic ‘Watchtower’ sign coming down to make way for Kushner’s Panorama office complex

For nearly 50 years, the neon red 15-foot-tall ‘Watchtower’ sign has sat atop the former headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses luminously overlooking Brooklyn Heights. However, earlier this month, the religious group filed a permit application seeking to remove the sign. According to The Real Deal, this comes almost a year after developers Kushner Companies, CIM Group and LIVWRK Holdings purchased the spot at 25-30 Columbia Heights for $340 million with plans to convert the building into a 635,000-square-foot office complex, “Panorama.”
Find out more

New Developments

June 26, 2017

90 years ago today, Coney Island’s iconic Cyclone roller coaster opened

On June 26, 1927 the Coney Island Cyclone opened in Brooklyn. The iconic wooden coaster, located on the corner of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street, is one of the oldest functional amusement rides in the United States. While it only cost $.25 to ride when it first opened, today it costs about $10. Found at Luna Park, the coaster takes you over 2,640 feet of track at 60 miles per hour, with 12 drops (the highest an 85-foot, 60-degree plunge) and 27 elevation changes in roughly two minutes.
See a historic video of the coaster in action

History

June 26, 2017

Live in Al Capone’s former Park Slope home for $2.85M

No bribes or back-door deals necessary. Al Capone's former Park Slope townhouse, where he lived in the 1920s before heading to Chicago, has just hit the market for $2.85 million, reports the Post. "Scarface" may not recognize his former home today, as listing broker Bren Salamon notes that while the exterior remains nondescript, inside, the three-family residence has been completely renovated with high-end appliances, outdoor decks, and all new finishes.
Get a look

Images (L to R): Hub, The Forge, The Corner and The Lane

June 24, 2017

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Emrys Fitzgerald

A Look Inside Harlem 125 as the New Rental Debuts on Harlem’s Main Street [link] Leasing Special on West 72nd Street: Apartments Above Trader Joe’s Listed with 1 Month Free [link] Newly Launched Jersey City Rental Partners with Airbnb, Achieves Record Price Per Square Foot [link] Live in Brooklyn’s Tallest Building: New ‘Hub’ Rental Tower […]

Real Estate Trends

June 21, 2017

Brooklyn casual gets colorful in this $2.8M Carroll Gardens townhouse