This 10,720-square-foot, 32-foot-wide mansion with Riverside Park as a backyard and river views was built in 1879 as part of the Upper West Side‘s “gold coast.” When hedge fund manager Roy Niederhoffer purchased the home for $12.9 million in 2013, it had been split up into multiple units. Niederhoffer restored the six-story home to its original mansion-style glory and is now selling the home for just under $16 million. The grand home at 40 Riverside Drive is possessed of the city’s third largest ballroom in a private house, and as Bloomberg reports, the seller is accepting bitcoin, as he’s a fan of the cryptocurrency.

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The Vessel upon topping out in December 2017, courtesy of Related-Oxford

The Vessel–Thomas Heatherwick’s 150-foot-tall, honeycomb-shaped, climbable public art installation at Hudson Yards–is expected to open to the public this coming spring, and in advance of tickets becoming available in February (yes, apparently you need to reserve a spot to climb the thing), you can now sign up for an advanced place to be notified when the “schedule” opens up. There will be dedicated time slots, at least in the beginning when the attraction is sure to be flooded with New Yorkers, but since the structure can hold a whopping 1,000 people at a time, this shouldn’t be much of a problem. Read more

Via Handel Architects

During a City Planning Commission hearing on Wednesday, local residents and officials of the Two Bridges community voiced their strong opposition to four towers planned for the Lower Manhattan neighborhood. Those who testified against the buildings questioned the developer’s draft environmental impact study (DEIS), which found the projects would not cause displacement, amNY reported. Developers also announced measures to mitigate the potential adverse effects on the neighborhood, which include upgrading the F train station at East Broadway, improving public parks, and implementing flood protection measures.

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Image courtesy of Trader Joe’s.

Yet another Trader Joe’s store has landed in New York City; the quirky discount grocery chain’s newest location is scheduled to open tomorrow at the new Essex Crossing development on the Lower East Side, Bowery Boogie reports. The new TJ’s–the seventh in Manhattan–is located in the lower level of 400 Grand Street, and the 30,000-square-foot emporium is being hailed as the largest one on the Eastern Seaboard.

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Designed as an artist’s cooperative apartment building and the largest “studio” building in the city, the Hotel Des Artistes at 1 West 67th Street on the Upper West Side is one of NYC’s most famous and illustrious buildings. As one of a constellation of style stars in Ari Seth Cohen’s “Advanced Style” universe, former model, artist and muse to fashionistas of all ages Beatrix Ost is beloved for her perfect balance of creativity, confidence and cool. In a rare confluence of New York City fabulousness, the apartment Ost has shared with her husband, Ludwig Kuttner, since 2006 is on the market for $4 million–and the offbeat but ridiculously stylish space is every bit what we’d expect.

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After her late husband, Bobby Zarin, passed away earlier this year, original “Real Housewives of New York” cast member Jill Zarin has put her Upper East Side condo on the market for $3.3 million, after living there for 18 years. Since her daughter is also out of the house, she told Forbes, “it’s time for a change of scenery,” which likely be warmer weather since she added, “Since I love tennis, I want to spend more time in a climate that is suited for it.” Likely in anticipation of selling, Jill renovated the three-bedroom apartment at 401 East 60th Street less than a year ago, working with designers at Schoeller + Darling on a contemporary makeover.

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Photo via Nick Normal’s Flickr

In May, after a year of resistance from the Trump Organization, a judge ruled that an Upper West Side condo could have the president’s name expunged from the exterior of their 46-story building. Condo owners at 200 Riverside Boulevard voted to remove the bronze letters spelling “TRUMP” on the building, where they have hung for nearly two decades. Today they get their wish as their building joins three neighboring ones in dumping the Trump sign, the New York Times reports. Workers will remove the offending letters from the front and rear facades of 200 Riverside Boulevard; the building will become known merely by its address, like so many others in the city.

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It’s hard to believe actress Mariska Hargitay has been starring as NYPD Lieutenant Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: SVU” for nearly two decades, but when it comes to her living situation, she likes to change things up a bit more. She and her husband, actor Peter Hermann, bought a stunning Upper West Side brownstone for $7 million in 2012, and they’ve now put it on the market for $10.75 million. Hermann told the Wall Street Journal that they’ve decided to sell because their “family needs have changed,” but they’d remain in the neighborhood. The six-story, 6,000+ square-foot home is located at 45 West 84th Street, between Central Park West and Columbus, and is “loaded with color and vibrancy,” according to Hermann, thanks to a collaboration with designer Jeffrey Bilhuber.

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This prime Greenwich Village floor-through home at 19 West 9th Street just off lower Fifth Ave offers a fortunate opportunity: Located on the original garden floor in a row of three adjoining 1870s Italianate townhouses comprising a 16-unit boutique co-op, the space, asking $1.35 million, is currently divided into two studio units. The two apartments had previously been one open floor plan, and rejoining them, according to the listing, is as easy as re-opening a hallway closet to connect front and back.

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