By Michelle Cohen, Tue, July 16, 2019 Photo: Ajay Suresh via Flickr.
According to Property Shark’s just-released ranking of New York City’s most expensive neighborhoods, Tribeca once again takes the top spot in residential sales with a median price of $4.34 million. The bigger news is Hudson Yards, on the list for the first time as the city’s second-costliest neighborhood in Q2 of 2019 at $3.86 million. Also notable was Little Italy, the city’s third most expensive neighborhood, which saw median home prices increase by 153 percent over last year’s numbers.
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By Devin Gannon, Tue, July 16, 2019 Our series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all five boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to interior decorator Habiba Koroma’s apartment in Central Harlem. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!
Habiba Koroma always had an eye for design, but she never imagined her passion could be pursued professionally. It was not until her mother became ill that she gained the courage to follow her decorating dreams. But it wasn’t simple. After leaving her job at a nonprofit, Habiba went on many informational interviews, held an internship at a residential firm, and received her degree from the Parsons School of Design. Now as an interior design consultant for Restoration Hardware, Habiba has been able to surround herself with the latest trends, all while learning about materials and getting inspiration for her own place.
Both Habiba’s skill set and enthusiasm for design are on display in her Central Harlem apartment, which has been featured on Apartment Therapy and wallpaper company Spoonflower. Not only has she expertly mixed colors and patterns, but she’s also created a special–and kid-friendly–space for her three-year-old son Miles. Habiba transformed an IKEA bunk bed into a fun hideout for Miles, filled with books, toys, and a whiteboard. There’s even a colorful ball pit on the top bunk. Ahead, meet Habiba, tour her apartment, and learn how she keeps things Miles-friendly without ever sacrificing style.
Meet Habiba and tour her pad
By Alexandra Alexa, Mon, July 15, 2019 Image via Flickr
Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo put out a request for proposals for 5 World Trade Center, the last remaining site at World Trade Center’s southern end and the former home of a Deutsche Bank Building that was severely damaged during the September 11 attacks. The RFP seeks commercial or mixed-use proposals for a roughly 900-foot-tall building, that may include a residential component. As the process continues to unfold—and rapidly, with a site tour for interested developers scheduled on July 22—local residents worry that their voices are being left out, as Daily News reported.
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By Michelle Cohen, Mon, July 15, 2019 Via StuyTown Property Services
As 6sqft reported last month, the state recently passed legislation containing landmark changes to rent regulations that were set to expire, significantly strengthening New York’s rent laws and tenant protections. Private-equity giant Blackstone Group, who purchased the massive 11,000+ unit Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village apartment complex for $5.5 billion in 2015, is among landlords who say the new rent regs will keep them from making important property upgrades, Crain’s reports. Blackstone says it is pausing apartment renovations and other planned work at Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village as a result of rule changes which dramatically limit the allowable rent increases landlords can charge as a result of renovations and repairs.
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By Devin Gannon, Mon, July 15, 2019 Preliminary design for Corlears Hook Bridge Landing
The city unveiled last week an updated design for its plan to protect an area stretching from the Lower East Side to East 25th Street from flooding. The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) presented on Thursday its preliminary design for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR) to Community Board 3, as Curbed NY reported. In response to concerns from residents about the closure of East River Park during the construction period, the city’s updated design incorporates community suggestions, including a new amphitheater and an outdoor fitness area. See the plan
By Nicole Mondrus, Fri, July 12, 2019 All photos courtesy of the Garment District Alliance
One of the city’s busiest neighborhoods is getting a little slice of peace. The Garment District Alliance and the city’s Department of Transportation unveiled a new street art installation Wednesday afternoon. The nearly 180-foot painting by artist Carla Torres, “Nymph Pond,” takes up the stretch of Broadway between 37th and 38th Streets. The best part? The block with the mural is being temporarily set aside as an “urban garden” until the end of the summer.
See it here
By Michelle Cohen, Fri, July 12, 2019 Photo credit: Yale Wagner for Sotheby’s International Realty.
On the market for the first time in over 60 years, asking $17.995 million, this 20-foot-wide Beaux-Arts mansion stands among the most desirable blocks of the Upper West Side. Designed by the architectural firm Welch, Smith and Provot–the firm also designed the Duke-Semans Mansion on Fifth Avenue later owned by Carlos Slim–the six-story, 9,575-square-foot home at 5 West 73rd Street is one of the neighborhood’s most architecturally significant houses; among its most compelling features are iconic views of another Upper West Side classic, the Dakota.
Take the grand tour of this grand home
By Alexandra Alexa, Fri, July 12, 2019 Real Housewives of New York City star Ramona Singer has officially parted ways with her beloved Upper East Side apartment of 20 years. The empty-nester decided to list the four-bedroom Yorkville abode last year and downsize to a smaller space now that her 24-year-old daughter, Avery Singer, is no longer living at home. She initially listed the unit for $4.995 million and, as The Real Deal reports, just closed for a little over $4 million. Singer has already found a new home about 20 blocks south, where she’s been settling in with her old furniture. “It’s good when you move that you have your same furniture, ’cause it makes you feel familiar and not so strange,” she recently told Bravo.
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By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation, Thu, July 11, 2019 An illustration of the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, via Wiki Commons
On July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton crossed paths for the last time. That was the date of their infamous duel on the cliffs of Weehawken, New Jersey when Burr exacted his long-desired revenge upon Hamilton with a gunshot to the abdomen. But this was not the first time the two men’s lives and careers came in contact. One such place of frequent intersection for the bitter rivals was Greenwich Village – where Burr lived and Hamilton ultimately died. And it’s in Greenwich Village, and the nearby East Village and Soho, where many reminders of these two titanic figures of early American politics can still be found today. Ahead, learn about five sites where Burr and Hamilton made history.
Get all the history
By Devin Gannon, Thu, July 11, 2019 Via Wikimedia
While upgrading water mains under Washington Square Park in 2015, city workers unearthed two 19th-century burial vaults containing the skeletal remains of at least a dozen people. As part of Landmarks Preservation Commission protocol, intact burials were left untouched, but the city had removed several hundred bone fragments. Four years later, plans to rebury the remains under the park are moving forward as the Parks and Recreation Department presents its idea to place the fragments in a “coffin-sized” box, according to the Villager.
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