Manhattan

Though it seems hardly a week can go by without a flurry of news from Manhattan's newest instant neighborhood, Hudson Yards, the west side mega-project–the largest private development in the nation's history–developed by Related Companies and Oxford Propertied Group now has announced that Friday, March 15th will be its official opening date. In addition to a grand opening celebration, the Public Square and Gardens and the neighborhood's centerpiece, Thomas Heatherwick's "Vessel," are set to open on that date; more importantly, The Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards will be officially open.
Off to quite a start

Real Estate Trends

January 23, 2019

Sweet Hamilton Heights living at this historic $3.85M brownstone on Convent Avenue

Homes along the coveted tree-lined Convent Avenue in Hamilton Heights rarely become available, but here's a chance to own a piece of NYC history. The five-bedroom brownstone at 325 Convent Avenue just hit the market with an asking price of $3,850,000. The last time this property sold was back in 2001 when it was snagged for a mere $585,000! This 4,500-square-foot brownstone is a fantastic investment filled with original details, a beautiful garden, and a manicured front lawn.
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Distinctive Homes

Huge food and music complex coming to FiDi’s 28 Liberty

Image: Wikimedia Commons

January 22, 2019

Huge food and music complex coming to FiDi’s 28 Liberty

A massive new venue will be serving up food and entertainment on the ground floor of 28 Liberty Street–originally named One Chase Manhattan Plaza–the New York Post reports. Legends Hospitality will be opening a 35,000-square-foot space, designed by noted architect Jeffrey Beers, that will feature live music and a restaurant. The property's historic Noguchi rock garden will be incorporated into the new venue.
Food, music, film, this way

Food & Dining

On the Upper East Side, Emery Roth’s First Hungarian Church of New York may become a landmark

Google Street View of the church

January 22, 2019

On the Upper East Side, Emery Roth’s First Hungarian Church of New York may become a landmark

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has voted in favor of giving a calendar spot in the landmark designation process to the First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York, one of few religious properties designed by the noted New York City architect Emery Roth–himself a Hungarian immigrant. The church is also significant for its importance to the Hungarian-American community that settled in the Upper East Side's Yorkville neighborhood.
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Policy

City’s new $1.45B East River Park flood protection plan leaves community groups high and dry

Image courtesy of David Shankbone via Flickr

January 22, 2019

City’s new $1.45B East River Park flood protection plan leaves community groups high and dry

Last July, Rebuild by Design, a collaborative organization formed to address the affects of climate change, released an RFP for a stewardship partner for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), a reconstruction of the 64-acre, 1.5-mile East River Park. The project, a flood protection system conceived in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and budgeted at $760 million, was the first of three phases in a series of self-sufficient flood zones stretching from West 57th to East 42nd Streets. In October, the Mayor's Office announced an updated $1.45 billion design that would begin in spring of 2020. 70 percent of the original design was updated, ostensibly to allow flood protection to be in place a year earlier, by summer 2023. But, as the New York Times reports, the new plan, which basically calls for burying the park beneath 8-10 feet of landfill and starting over–has left community groups who participated in the original plan feeling like they've been hung out to dry.
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January 22, 2019

Legendary designer Halston’s former UES house and famed party spot is off the market after four years

After being on the market for four years, the iconic Halston House at 101 East 63rd Street finally sold to an anonymous buyer for an undisclosed amount last week. The modernist property, one of only three residences in Manhattan designed by famed architect and former Yale School of Architecture dean Paul Rudolph, is best known as the home of designer Halston in the 1970s where he hosted lavish parties attended by the likes of Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Truman Capote, and Jacqueline Onassis. It first hit the market in 2015 for $40 million when it was rumored that art dealer Jeffrey Deitch was interested in making a deal. One year later, the listing received a significant price chop to $28 million. According to a press release, the buyer was taken with the home's rich cultural history and is an admirer of Rudolph's architecture.
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January 18, 2019

Former Broadway design warehouse is now a soaring Chelsea home asking $18.5M

A stunning converted warehouse in Chelsea hit the market this week for $18,500,000. A beautiful study of scale and proportion, the residence at 536 West 29th Street features a central atrium with 32-foot ceilings, a 700-square-foot private garden, and a Japanese white glass terrace. Exposed brick for days and custom woodwork throughout give the expansive, column-free space a distinctive character. And the original wood beams are from the building's early 20th-century days as a production and art studio for Broadway sets.
Take a closer look

Distinctive Homes

Rendering courtesy of Wordsearch

January 18, 2019

Can Extell make Central Park Tower the most expensive condo in U.S. history?

"Some people wonder if Mr. Barnett will become a victim of the condo explosion he helped create," wrote the Wall Street Journal today in a rare expose of Extell's Gary Barnett, referring to the success he had with One57, considered the catalyst for the supertall, ultra-luxury condo boom, and the more challenging climate he's facing with the Central Park Tower. The latter, which will be the world's tallest residential building at 1,550 feet, launched sales in October, but in a soft luxury market, it's not a sure bet that the mega-developer will be able to achieve his projected $4 billion sellout and the title of the nation's most expensive condominium ever. In a likely noncoincidental move timed with the Journal story, Extell today launched the tower's new website (h/t Curbed), and it gives us mere mortals some of the first views inside the billionaire bunker.
See inside and hear from Barnett himself

January 18, 2019

After more than two years, Hudson Heights’ cliffside ‘Pumpkin House’ sells for $2M

Back in 2016, 6sqft reported that the iconic “Pumpkin House,” a 1920s townhouse cantilevered from a cliff in Hudson Heights, had hit the market for the first time since 2011 for $5.25 million. Still without a buyer the following summer, the 17-foot-wide, six-bedroom brick home at 16 Chittenden Avenue received a price chop to $4.25 million. The unusual home—standing 250 feet above the Henry Hudson Parkway—finally found its new owner this Thursday, when it sold for a deeply discounted $2 million, as reported by the New York Post.
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Harlem exhibit shows an intimate side of MLK on the civil rights hero’s 90th birthday

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta being greeted by Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (left) and labor leader A. Philip Randolph (right) at the Pan American World Airways terminal, in New York City: Image: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. (1950 – 1959).

January 18, 2019

Harlem exhibit shows an intimate side of MLK on the civil rights hero’s 90th birthday

Open as of January 15, a new photography exhibit titled, "Crusader: Martin Luther King Jr." at the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center considers Reverend King as man, traveler and friend. The show offers an intimate travelogue of the civil rights leader’s visits to India, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance in Oslo, Norway, and work as a crusader for non-violent civil rights action, captured by noted photographers of the day.
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City pulls permits for Extell’s controversial Upper West Side tower

Rendering courtesy of Binyan Studios/Snøhetta

January 17, 2019

City pulls permits for Extell’s controversial Upper West Side tower

Less than two months after rejecting a challenge against the tallest tower planned for the Upper West Side, the Department of Buildings has decided to pull permits for Extell Development’s 775-foot tower at 50 West 66th Street, as NY1 first reported. In December, opponents argued that the Snøhetta-designed structure was misusing structural voids—where a building’s mechanical equipment is stored—to add height without increasing square footage. They said the 160-foot mechanical spaces were designed not out of necessity, but presumably to boost the overall height of the apartments—and their price tags. Now, the DOB has made a surprise reversal, ruling that these spaces do not meet the current standards of the New York City Zoning Resolution.
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January 17, 2019

World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein sells Upper East Side apartment at a loss

By Annie Doge

He may have hit it big at the World Trade Center redevelopment, but super-developer Larry Silverstein lost nearly $5 million on the sale of his long-time Park Avenue apartment. He first put the residence at 500 Park Avenue on the market for $13.9 million a little over a year ago, not long after he and his wife Klara bought a $34 million penthouse at Silverstein Properties' own development 30 Park Place, which overlooks the WTC site. The Silversteins have now sold the Upper East Side home, according to the Post, but for only $9.3 million.
Have a look around

Make way for the Women’s March on NYC: Street closings, maps and more

2017 Women’s March on NYC; image: mathiaswasik via Flickr.

January 17, 2019

Make way for the Women’s March on NYC: Street closings, maps and more

The streets of NYC will fill once again this Saturday, January 19 for the third annual Women's March on New York City. The first march took place in 2017, as a demonstration in support of women's rights and in resistance to a growing list of gender-related injustices during the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Last year's march drew an estimated 200,000 participants. As with any jubilant mass display of human resilience, there will be street closings. Read on for info on where to march, how to avoid traffic snarls and what makes this year's march different.
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Events & Things To Do

Campaign to save Westsider Books raises $27,000 in just one day

Via Google Street View

January 17, 2019

Campaign to save Westsider Books raises $27,000 in just one day

Editor's Note 1/22/19: Westsider Books has been saved after over 800 people contributed to the campaign, raising more than $52,000 in just four days. The campaign's organizer, Bobby Panza, told 6sqft: "It's beautiful to see the community, at large, come together like this. Sometimes you don't know what you have until the precipice of losing it. Most times you can't go back and do anything, but here we could. And we did. Thank you to everyone involved. I hope we cherish the great things we love, like Westsider Books and patronize them to keep them in business." News broke earlier this week that the beloved Westsider Books, the Upper West Side's last used book store, would be shutting its doors next month after 35 years at its home on Broadway between 80th and 81st Streets. Co-owner Dorian Thornley had told UWS blog West Side Rag that he would consider staying open if he could raise $50,000. And now a group of locals are trying to do just that, starting a Go Fund Me campaign and raising more than $27,000 in just one day! A tipster tells 6sqft that after hearing the news, a stunned Dorian said, "This renews my faith in humanity."
Get the whole scoop

Uncategorized

January 17, 2019

For $825K, this Hell’s Kitchen duplex is as efficient as it is charming

On a tree-lined block in Hell’s Kitchen, this two-bedroom co-op just hit the market for a cool $825,000. The cozy 800-square-foot duplex at 455 West 43rd Street offers a loft vibe filled with beautiful details—dramatic high ceilings, wood floors, exposed brick, a spiral staircase, and a fireplace—along with all the modern amenities you need to live in true comfort.
Get the tour

Distinctive Homes

Cuomo pledges $23M for Hudson River Park project in State of the State speech

Rendering by Pier55 Inc/Heatherwick Studio

January 17, 2019

Cuomo pledges $23M for Hudson River Park project in State of the State speech

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State speech Tuesday included a $23 million pledge to go toward the completion of Hudson River Park. That nearly-hidden line item in the state budget represents the governor's mediation efforts in a billionaire-vs.-billionaire feud involving Barry Diller's 2.7-acre park at Pier 55 on the water near West 14th street (often referred to as Diller Park), Crains reports.
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Architecture And Design

Where I Work: How design firm ICRAVE makes memorable experiences at its Nomad studio

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and businesses of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re going inside innovative design firm ICRAVE’s Nomad studio. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch!

January 17, 2019

Where I Work: How design firm ICRAVE makes memorable experiences at its Nomad studio

By Devin Gannon

According to the founder of hospitality design firm ICRAVE, Lionel Ohayon, it’s not about the materials used in a project, but the memories created. “I always say, people may hate or like our spaces, but the most important thing is that they remember them,” the Toronto-native told us. Through design, the innovative studio focuses on creating memorable experiences for its clients, a long and varied list that includes the Dallas Cowboys and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The firm’s mission is ingrained in the culture at ICRAVE, a 40-member team consisting of graphic designers, architects, and public relations pros, an office where creativity is fostered through a mixture of collaboration and independence. The open layout of the studio makes this work culture possible, with custom-designed doors and partitions to transform the space into however necessary. On a recent tour of ICRAVE’s studio near Madison Square Park, Ohayon told 6sqft about the firm's wide range of projects and how his team turns ideas into unforgettable adventures.
See iCRAVE's studio and meet Lionel

Where I Work

Demolition permits filed for world’s tallest teardown at 270 Park Avenue

The existing 270 Park Avenue, MikePScott via Flickr

January 17, 2019

Demolition permits filed for world’s tallest teardown at 270 Park Avenue

Demolition permits were filed Tuesday for the JPMorgan Chase HQ at 270 Park Avenue, CityRealty reports. The building will be the tallest planned demolition in history. The filing is a significant step for the bank on the way to replacing the 1.5-million-square-foot Modernist tower previously known as the Union Carbide Building with a 2.5-million-square-foot skyscraper, to be designed by British Pritzker Prize winner Norman Foster/Foster + Partners architectural firm.
Down with the old, up with the new

New Developments

January 16, 2019

Architectural styles combine in this historic Greenwich Village townhouse, now asking $13.5M

This five bedroom townhouse at 37 West 11th Street is an impeccable property nestled within Greenwich Village’s “Gold Coast," the seven-block stretch of Fifth Avenue between 14th Street and Washington Square Park where you’ll find some of the most refined homes in the city. Originally built in 1848 in the Greek Revival style, it was given Italianate flourishes in the 1920s and now exemplifies both genres of New York City townhouse architecture. The home has only had five owners in its 170-year history, and it’s easy to see why nobody would want to let this gem go. Now on the market for $13.5 million, a chance to own this rare piece of New York architectural history in a prime location has opened up.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

January 16, 2019

Rustic and industrial touches mix at this $725K Chelsea co-op

Distressed whitewashed brick walls and country chic accessories come together with raw lighting and stainless accents at this Chelsea co-op, creating a vibe that is both rustic and industrial at the same time. The one-bedroom unit at 261 West 22nd Street has just hit the market for $725,000, and it's got plenty of perks like an in-unit washer-dryer, a renovated kitchen, and plenty of custom storage.
Have a look

Distinctive Homes

Upper West Side’s last used bookstore will close after 35 years

Inside Westsider Books, via Google Street View

January 15, 2019

Upper West Side’s last used bookstore will close after 35 years

The age of Amazon is now more in-your-face than ever for local bookstores. And though the Lower East Side's McNally Jackson and Midtown's Drama Book Shop were recently saved, it looks like the Upper West Side's beloved Westsider Books will not be so lucky. West Side Rag reports that the shop, which opened on Broadway between 80th and 81st Streets 35 years ago, will close next month amid decreasing sales.
What happened?

Uncategorized

My 500sqft: Author William Middleton trades Texas life for High Line views in Related’s Abington House

Our series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to author William Middleton’s West Chelsea apartment. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

January 15, 2019

My 500sqft: Author William Middleton trades Texas life for High Line views in Related’s Abington House

Writer William Middleton is no stranger to cities, having spent five years in NYC, 10 years in Paris, and 10 years in Houston, where he moved to work on the biography "Double Vision," about French couple Dominique and John de Menil, who transformed the Houston art scene. But after 16 years researching and writing, William knew he wanted to move back to NYC. A little over a year ago, he moved into Related's Hudson Yards-adjacent rental Abington House, where his handsome one-bedroom boasts an incredible view right onto the final spur of the High Line. Using his favorite dark gray paint color and a wall of floating bookshelves, William transformed his one-bedroom into a "clean and modern" oasis for himself and his six-year-old French Bulldog, Hubert. Ahead, take a tour of William's home and hear about his urban experiences, why he chose this building and neighborhood, and what it's like to have one of the best people-watching perches in all of NYC.
Take the tour

January 15, 2019

A 20-foot wall of windows stuns in this romantic Gramercy Park townhouse, asking $15M

There are many blocks in New York that leave us drooling, but the original “block beautiful” is 19th Street between Irving Place and Third Avenue, one block away from Gramercy Park. Most of the brick and brownstone rowhouses on the block were built in the 1850s but were considered dour by the turn of the century. After moving to New York in 1906, British architect Frederick Sterner bought the home at 139 East 19th Street and renovated it with what would become his playful signature touch: a coat of tinted stucco, shutters, decorative ironwork, and a projecting tile roof. Many—if not most—of the other homes on the block received Sterner makeovers, giving the street a distinctive charm. Now you can own the house right across the street from Sterner’s own, at 140 East 19th Street, for $15,250,000.
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Distinctive Homes

Amazon could be the Chrysler Building’s new tenant

Via Creative Commons

January 14, 2019

Amazon could be the Chrysler Building’s new tenant

By Devin Gannon

Amazon is close to reaching a deal to lease 10,000 square feet at the Chrysler Building, the New York Post reported on Sunday. News of the impending lease comes less than a week after it was reported that the Art Deco landmark is up for sale. Amazon announced in November plans to open a massive office complex in Long Island City to serve as their "HQ2." The company will start moving to the neighborhood this year, temporarily leasing space at One Court Square, a 50-story building with incredible views of the Manhattan skyline.
More here

Real Estate Trends

Affordable housing wait list opens at the iconic Manhattan Plaza Mitchell-Lama apartments

Manhattan Plaza (photo via LIHC Investment Group)

January 14, 2019

Affordable housing wait list opens at the iconic Manhattan Plaza Mitchell-Lama apartments