Manhattan

6sqft has been excitedly following the progress of photographers James and Karla Murray's Seward Park art installation "Mom-and-Pops of the LES," from the announcement that they'd been chosen through the Art in the Parks UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant Program to their wildly successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the wood-frame structure's build out. And now the piece, featuring four nearly life-size images of Lower East Side business that have mostly disappeared, is finally complete. James and Karla shared with 6sqft an exclusive time-lapse video of the installation process and chatted with us about why they chose these particular storefronts, what the build-out was like, and how they hope New Yorkers will learn from their message.
Watch the video and hear from James and Karla

Events & Things To Do

June 27, 2018

Landmarks approves Frick expansion plan despite protests from preservationists

All renderings courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects On Tuesday the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the most recent plan submitted by the museum for the expansion and renovation of the 1914 Gilded Age mansion it calls home in a 6 to 1 vote with one abstention, the New York Times reports. Three prior attempts by the museum in a quest to gain more space for exhibitions and programs were turned back amid vocal protests by neighborhood advocates and preservationists. The revised plan submitted by the project's architects Beyer Blinder Belle and Annabelle Selldorf includes the decision to restore the museum's original gated garden, which had been a point of controversy with those opposed to the project.
Find out more

June 26, 2018

242-square-foot West Village “Wee Cottage” is asking $550K

6sqft previously featured this unique West Village studio for its clever design back in 2014, when its owners, Jourdan Lawlor and Tobin Ludwig, turned the 242-square-foot pied-a-terre at 352 West 12th Street into a marvel of Swiss Army knife-like usefulness with brilliant design and custom solutions. The pair, who bought the charming co-op for just $270,000, christened it "The Wee Cottage" and invested about $33,000 in a renovation that became the stuff of micro-apartment legend, having been featured in numerous publications and heaped with accolades (Refinery29 named it the Coolest Tiny Apartment in NYC, for example, and it's an Instagram favorite). They rented it out for $3,000 a month in 2016, and now it's for sale asking $500,000.
Take a tiny tour

Distinctive Homes

June 26, 2018

$12M Soho loft was inspired by an opulent Parisian hotel and an art gallery past

This three-bedroom loft at 69 Wooster Street is the kind you don't often see in today's world of sleek designer spaces. Until 2014, it was the longtime home and personal gallery of prominent art collectors Eileen and Michael Cohen, who had lived there since Soho was, well, Soho. The current owner is a fashion designer who just finished a multi-year renovation adding a layer of one-of-a-kind opulence to an already dramatic space. The home, now on the market for $12 million, has been featured in Architectural Digest and other design publications, and we can see why, with everything from tin ceilings and exposed brick to gold-clad columns, dripping crystal chandeliers, a mirrored wall, and plenty of leather accents.
Don't miss the gold bathtub

See aerial renderings of COOKFOX’s massive St. John’s Terminal redevelopment

Rendering looking south down the Hudson River waterfront with COOKFOX’s design for 550 Washington on the left-hand side. Courtesy of COOKFOX.

June 26, 2018

See aerial renderings of COOKFOX’s massive St. John’s Terminal redevelopment

This past December, COOKFOX Architects released up-close renderings of their nearly two-million-square-foot St. John’s Terminal redevelopment in Hudson Square. COOKFOX, known for their commitment to contextual and sustainable development, created a five-building plan that, according to the firm, takes inspiration from the early Hudson Square factories and printing press buildings "with massing assembled around finely sculpted towers, detailed with geometrically rigorous setbacks and planted terraces." Now, CityRealty has uncovered two aerial views of the residential, retail, and commercial project that show just how massive this development will be.
More details ahead

PHOTOS: NYC’s first LGBTQ monument opens in Greenwich Village

Photo by Tia Richards for 6sqft

June 25, 2018

PHOTOS: NYC’s first LGBTQ monument opens in Greenwich Village

New York's first public monument to the LGBTQ community opened Sunday in the Greenwich Village, a historically significant neighborhood for the gay rights movement. Located in Hudson River Park and designed by local artist Anthony Goicolea, the monument honors the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, as well as all victims of hate and violence. "This memorial saddens us, when we think about the Orlando 49 senseless deaths, but it also enlightens us, and it also inspires us," Cuomo said on Sunday. "It inspires New Yorkers to do what New Yorkers have always done - what Anthony was referring to: to push forward, to keep going forward on that journey until we reach the destination that the Statue of Liberty promised in the first place."
Find out more

June 25, 2018

Get a first look at the amenities at Bjarke Ingels’ High Line towers

Less than two weeks after HFZ Capital revealed the marble-clad interior renderings for Bjarke Ingels’ High Line-facing XI condo/hotel project at 76 Eleventh Avenue, they've now launched the official website. First spotted by Curbed, the site gives us our first view of the amenities such as the huge, glass-enclosed pool, as well as an up-close look at the "Bridge Lounge," the swanky amenity space located within the development's skybridge. The double-height podium bridge, which connects the asymmetrical, twisting towers, will have a retractable movie screen, private wine tasting room, bar, and library.
See all this and more

New renderings and details for Perkins Eastman’s 730-foot tower at controversial Two Bridges site

259 Clinton Street via Perkins Eastman

June 25, 2018

New renderings and details for Perkins Eastman’s 730-foot tower at controversial Two Bridges site

Additional details and a new rendering have been unveiled this week for a 62-story Lower East Side skyscraper designed by Perkins Eastman Architects, nearly two years after 6sqft first wrote about the project. Located at 259 Clinton Street, the tower is a part of a controversial three-building project coming to the waterfront of the Two Bridges neighborhood. According to YIMBY, latest plans for 259 Clinton Street, developed by Starret Development, call for a 730-foot tower, slightly higher than an earlier 724-foot proposal.
More this way

June 25, 2018

$750K brownstone aerie on the Upper West Side has classic Manhattan charm–and an elevator

This quintessential brownstone apartment on the top floor at 140 West 74th Street might not be what comes to mind when you think of penthouse living, but 10-foot ceilings, tons of exposed brick, and plenty of pre-war charm–coupled with a perfect spot on the Upper West Side–could make this co-op studio a top choice for a Manhattan pied-a-terre. A price of $749,000 and the fact that it's not a walk-up help make the case, as does the view of the tree-lined West 70s from a wall of windows.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

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

Images (L to R): New York By Gehry, The Pointe, The Addition and Jackson Park

June 23, 2018

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

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): New York By Gehry, The Pointe, The Addition and Jackson Park Renting in New York’s Tallest Apartment Building, New York by Gehry [link] Live at The Maya from $1,795/Month; No Fee Rentals in Jamaica Estates [link] The Pointe Debuts in Rego Park with 1 Month Free; New Rentals from $1,962/Month [link] […]

Real Estate Trends

June 22, 2018

This $5M Seaport District townhouse is just 12 feet wide and made of metal

What this newly built townhouse lacks in width, it makes up for in height (h/t CityRealty). Located on one of the historic area's original cobblestoned streets, at 246 Front Street, the 12-foot-wide home has four stories, plus a basement and private roof terrace. In addition to its narrow frame, the house also stands out for its unique metal facade, made entirely of steel and zinc.
See it all right here

Distinctive Homes

June 22, 2018

This $950K two-bedroom co-op is the picture of East Village tranquility

Asking just a hair under $1 million, this bright, charming co-op at 224 East 7th Street--on one of the neighborhood's most charming corners--is a not-too-shabby 850 square feet, and pretty chic to boot.
More East Village charm, this way

Distinctive Homes

Construction well underway for interactive LGBTQ monument in Greenwich Village

Rendering by Anthony Goicolea via Gov. Cuomo’s office

June 21, 2018

Construction well underway for interactive LGBTQ monument in Greenwich Village

A monument to the LGBTQ community is taking shape in Hudson River Park along the Greenwich Village waterfront. Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo chose Brooklyn-based artist Anthony Goicolea to design the monument, aimed at honoring both the LGBT rights movement and the victims of the 2016 Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. Although the Hudson River Park Trust told 6sqft an opening date of the installation isn't known yet, Urban Omnibus reported the monument is expected to be completed this month, coinciding with Pride Month.
More here

June 21, 2018

PHOTOS: See Moynihan Train Hall’s massive skylight being installed

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

After starting construction last summer, Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM)'s reimagined Moynihan Train Hall is now beginning to take shape. Part of Governor Cuomo's Empire Station Complex revamp of Penn Station, the old James A. Farley Post Office will be transformed into a crystal palace-esque boarding concourse with a 92-foot high skylight atop the 1913 building's original steel trusses. CityRealty recently got an exclusive aerial look at how construction is progressing on the glass skylights ahead of the Train Hall's anticipated 2020 opening.
See more construction shots

June 21, 2018

‘Real Housewives’ Ramona Singer lists Upper East Side pad for $5M

“The Real Housewives of New York City” star Ramona Singer has put her renovated and refined five-bedroom apartment in The Richmond condo at 201 East 80th Street on the market for $4.99 million. According to the New York Post, the quintessential Upper East Side girl is pondering a move to parts south (but not too far south) for a change of pace. The corner apartment has panoramic city views and plenty of little luxuries.
Take a look

June 21, 2018

Help preserve the untold stories of the Stonewall Riots by donating personal photos, letters

Via Wikimedia Did you participate in the Stonewall Inn Riots of 1969 and the period of LGBTQ activism in New York City between 1968 and 1971? Do you know someone who did? If so, consider contributing pride memorabilia from that moment in history to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, which is compiling a collection to preserve the history of Stonewall. The project, Stonewall Forever, launched last year after Google granted the LGBT Center $1 million to preserve oral histories and experiences of those present during the riots.
Find out more

History

Grand Central Terminal Lobby via Wikipedia

June 21, 2018

How preservationists and Jackie O got the supreme court to save Grand Central Terminal in 1978

By Emily Nonko

On June 26th, 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a momentous decision that wouldn't just save a cherished New York landmark, it would establish the NYC Landmarks Law for years to come. This drawn-out court battle was the result of a plan, introduced in the late 1960s, to demolish a significant portion of Grand Central Terminal and erect a 50-story office tower. Though the proposal may seem unthinkable now, it wasn't at the time. Pennsylvania Station had been demolished a few years earlier, with the owners citing rising costs to upkeep the building as train ridership sharply declined. The NYC Landmarks Law was only established in 1965, the idea of preservation still novel in a city practicing wide-scale urban renewal. Finally, Grand Central wasn't in good shape itself, falling apart, covered in grime, and home to one of the highest homeless populations in New York City. But a dedicated group of preservationists--aided by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis--took the fight to the highest levels of the court. Keep reading to find out how, as well as learn about the celebrations planned by the MTA surrounding the anniversary.
Here's how Grand Central was saved

Katie Couric sells her Park Avenue pad for $7.8M

Update 6/21/18: The Post now reports that Couric’s apartment closed for $7,780,000, according to property records. The buyers are Dana Wallach Jones, general counsel for the Guggenheim Museum, and Michael Jones, the CFO of Lambert Television. The couple is active on the board of the American Museum of Natural History, which is just across the park from their new digs.

June 21, 2018

Katie Couric sells her Park Avenue pad for $7.8M

By Annie Doge

Twenty years ago, celebrated news anchor Katie Couric bought a classic, five-bedroom co-op at 1155 Park Avenue. But after remarrying in 2014 to financier John Molner in 2014, the couple upgraded to a $12 million, full-floor apartment at the Peter Pennover-designed 151 East 78th Street. Couric first listed her longtime Upper East Side home this past October for $8.25 million; she then dropped the price to $7,995,000 at the end of January, and now the Post reports that the home has gone into contract.
Take a look

Details revealed for the Whitney Museum’s upcoming Warhol exhibit

Image: Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” at MoMA, via Brando/Flickr

June 20, 2018

Details revealed for the Whitney Museum’s upcoming Warhol exhibit

“To humanize Warhol and get people to actually look at what he made is not as easy as it might sound.” Donna De Salvo, deputy director and senior curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art had this to say to the New York Times among other newly-released details on what to expect in “Andy Warhol — From A to B and Back Again,” opening on November 12th. The show will be the first Warhol retrospective offered by a United States museum since 1989. De Salvo is referring to the myth of Warhol, in his lifetime and even more so after it.
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

June 20, 2018

Did Ariana Grande just drop $16M on a condo in Zaha Hadid’s Chelsea building?

By Annie Doge

Photo of Ariana via celebrityabc on Flickr; 520 W 28th photo via Corcoran Group The whirlwind romance between pop-singer Ariana Grande and SNL-star Pete Davidson reached new heights this week. The newly engaged duo reportedly moved into a $16 million condo at 520 West 28th Street, the High Line-strapping building designed by late starchitect Zaha Hadid. TMZ reported on Wednesday that the couple snagged a 4,000-square-foot five-bedroom in the futuristic West Chelsea apartment. While it's not yet known whether they bought the multi-million dollar apartment or are just renting the unit, we know Pete likes Chelsea: Sources told 6sqft he's been seen getting groceries at the Whole Foods in the neighborhood.
See inside the couple's new condo

Celebrities

June 20, 2018

Where I Work: Tour FXCollaborative’s Flatiron architecture office with partner Dan Kaplan

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 the Flatiron office of architecture firm FXCollaborative. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! To mark their 40th anniversary, architecture firm FXCollaborative recently debuted their new name (formerly FXFOWLE), along with a slew of big-name projects such as the Statue of Liberty Museum, a nearly 1,000-unit affordable housing development in the Bronx, and Downtown Brooklyn's One Willoughby Square, which will be the borough's tallest office building as well as the firm's new home. Ahead of their big move when the tower is completed in a few years, 6sqft paid a visit to FXCollaborative's current Flatiron office space to see how these prolific architects make their magic happen, thanks to a behind-the-scenes tour and talk with senior partner Dan Kaplan. From sustainable architecture and office design to equality in architecture and the importance of collaboration, learn how FXCollaborative remains one of NYC's top firms after four decades.
Take the tour and hear Dan’s thoughts

June 20, 2018

Preservationists, architects urge LPC to landmark Philip Johnson’s AT&T Building

During a nearly two-hour public hearing on Tuesday, passionate preservationists, architects, and community groups testified in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission in support of designating the postmodern skyscraper at 550 Madison Avenue as an individual landmark. Best known as the AT&T Building, the 37-story tower was designed by Philip Johnson, along with his partner John Burgee, and completed in 1984. As postmodernism's first skyscraper, 550 Madison has stood out for its pink-gray granite facade, arched entryway and Chippendale-inspired crown. A wide range of people on Tuesday voiced support for giving 550 Madison landmark designation, including architectural critic Paul Goldberger. In his testimony, Goldberger cited his own 1978 New York Times review of the building, before it was built, when he called the AT&T Building "a major monument" of postmodernism and "the most provocative and daring skyscraper to be proposed for New York since the Chrysler Building."
More this way

Policy

David Adjaye reveals interiors for luxury FiDi condo, his first NYC tower

Renderings by Binyan

June 19, 2018

David Adjaye reveals interiors for luxury FiDi condo, his first NYC tower

With construction officially underway at 130 William Street and sales launching for the 244 condos later this month, Sir David Adjaye hosted an event last night to reveal the interiors of his 800-foot Financial District tower. And they're just as chic as expected, with finishes made from materials sourced from all over the world and hardware designed by the starchitect himself. Adjaye Associates collaborated with Hill West Architects on the project. "In defining the design for 130 William, I not only sought to celebrate New York City’s heritage of masonry architecture, referencing the historical architecture once pervasive upon one of the city’s earliest streets," Adjaye said. "However, and more importantly, 130 William has been crafted to focus on the new possibilities of urban, vertical living."
See the renderings here

June 19, 2018

$3M Gramercy loft in former brewery dons original wood ceilings and beams

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Built in 1896, the Gramercy Park Habitat at 205 East 22nd Street is a former brewery with a ton of charm and original details including beamed ceilings and wooden columns. This three-bedroom loft in the condominium, currently listed for $3,149,000, is draped head-to-toe in this vintage woodwork and is also flooded with light from a wall of windows looking out onto one of the neighborhood's most charming streets.
See more this way

Distinctive Homes

Reaching over 1,000 feet, 35 Hudson Yards tops out as the mega-project’s tallest residential building

Construction photo via CityRealty

June 19, 2018

Reaching over 1,000 feet, 35 Hudson Yards tops out as the mega-project’s tallest residential building