Manhattan

It's hard to find a penthouse in downtown Manhattan that isn't impressive in one way or another, but this 1,600-square-foot space high above Christopher Street in the West Village has bragging rights to that rare and elusive refuge that few can claim: There's a private pool on its rooftop terrace. TBD Architecture + Design Studio was responsible for a total renovation of the stunning duplex (h/t Dezeen), resulting in a new multi-level rooftop deck with a hot tub, outdoor shower, bar area, and the aforementioned pool.
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Where I Work: The team behind Black Seed Bagels shows off their new Nomad shop

Head baker Dianna Daoheung and Black Seeds’ new Nomad location

August 17, 2018

Where I Work: The team behind Black Seed Bagels shows off their new Nomad shop

By Dana Schulz

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 Black Seed Bagels' new Nomad location. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! "We founded Black Seed with the goal of bringing extremely well-made bagels, bagel sandwiches, and coffee to everyone," said co-owner Noah Bernamoff. After he and Matt Kliegman met through a mutual friend while running separate restaurants (Matt, The Smile and the Jane Hotel ballroom and Noah, Mile End Delicatessen), they decided to open their first location of Black Seed Bagels in Nolita in 2014. The Montreal-meets-New York-style bagels became an instant foodie hit, and the partners now have locations in the East Village, Battery Park City, and, as of this week, Nomad. 6sqft paid Noah a visit at their latest location in the trendy Ace Hotel and chatted with him about Black Seed's journey. We also met with head baker Dianna Daoheung, who developed the shop's unique hand-rolled, wood-fired bagels (which garnered her a James Beard nomination) and expanded the menu to include sandwich collaborations with fellow NYC restaurants and chefs.
See the space and meet Noah and Dianna

Battery Maritime Building’s hotel-restaurant conversion is back on track

Via Ismael Leyva Architects

August 17, 2018

Battery Maritime Building’s hotel-restaurant conversion is back on track

The plan to convert the landmarked Battery Maritime Building into a hotel and Cipriani rooftop restaurant is back on schedule after an injection of capital into the project, Crain's reported on Thursday. Developer Midtown Equities will take a 30 percent stake, allowing construction to resume this fall or winter. In 2009, the city first approved a plan to redevelop the building, which sits at 10 South Street in the Financial District, but was delayed after a series of legal and financial setbacks.
More details here

Trump Tower apartment right below the president hits the market for $25M

Photo of Trump via Michael Vadon on Flickr

August 17, 2018

Trump Tower apartment right below the president hits the market for $25M

You don't need a security clearance to live below the President, but it might still be a challenge for whomever wants to buy the condo right below Donald Trump's Midtown residence. The Post reports that the duplex unit on the 64th and 65th floors of Trump Tower has just hit the market for $24.5 million and sources are saying it "directly adjoins" his bedroom. So how can the administration legally control the buyer? By convincing the condo Board to exercise a board waiver and buy the apartment themselves, according to the Post. And this may just work; a recent Business Insider investigation into a mysterious $1.5 million apartment Melania bought in the building shows that this was the only unit the Board had ever bought.
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Tenement Museum will open an info kiosk at the Market Line inside Essex Crossing

Image via Tenement Museum

August 16, 2018

Tenement Museum will open an info kiosk at the Market Line inside Essex Crossing

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

The Tenement Museum will open a new kiosk at the Market Line inside the Essex Crossing development on the Lower East Side, developer Delancy Street Associates announced on Thursday. The kiosk will feature a screen with tour times and other information about the museum. When it opens later this year, the Market Line will run three city blocks and include 100 locally-sourced food, art, fashion and music vendors. The market, projected to be the largest of its kind in New York City, sits inside Essex Crossing, a 1.9-million-square foot mixed-use development.
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Events & Things To Do

Google Street View of Federal-style rowhouses on VanDam Street

August 16, 2018

From George Washington to Hudson Square: The history of the Charlton-King-VanDam neighborhood

It’s an often-overlooked enclave with the largest concentration of Federal and Greek Revival style houses in New York City. Its origins can be traced back to historical figures as esteemed as George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jacob Astor, but it’s just as deeply connected to Italian immigrants and radical 20th-century innovators. The most dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker will have trouble telling you if it’s in Greenwich Village, SoHo, or Hudson Square. The tiny Charlton-King-VanDam neighborhood is, as its name would imply, located along charming Charlton, King, and VanDam Streets between Sixth Avenue and Varick Streets, with a little arm extending up the southernmost block of MacDougal Street just below Houston Street. It was only the fourth designated historic district in New York City when it was landmarked on August 16th, 1966, and for good reason.
Find out the full history

History

Manhattan’s public squares may not actually be square, but they matter

“Public squares, parks, and places in the City of New York.” Via NYPL Digital Collections.

August 15, 2018

Manhattan’s public squares may not actually be square, but they matter

Built to emulate Great Britain's enviable squares, which were actually square, Manhattan's public squares were created in the celebrated New York City tradition of being whatever they pleased–and definitely not square. According to the New York Daily News, Manhattan doesn't have any actual squares at all: Lisa Keller, executive editor of the Encyclopedia of New York City, said "Americans just call it a square if it's bigger than a breadbox." But those 40 squares from Madison to Foley, Herald and Greeley have been vital in defining the city's public spaces; they were its first parks, and a predecessor to the granddaddy of all squares, Central Park.
Squares that shaped the city

August 15, 2018

George and Amal Clooney’s supposed illegal Soho rental hits the market for $16M

In April, sources said that George and Amal Clooney were renting a duplex apartment at 116 Sullivan Street. They also said that the owner of the 19th-century Soho townhouse, Richard Fertig, converted this apartment into an "illegal hotel" for "transient use." Likely in light of the city's new Airbnb law that requires the company to disclose the names and addresses of hosts, Fertig has listed the entire six-story home for $16 million.
Get a look inside

August 15, 2018

Where I Work: Go inside SHoP Architects’ aviation-inspired offices in the Woolworth Building

By Dana Schulz

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 touring the Financial District offices of SHoP Architects. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! The largest collection of WWII-era spotter planes in the world, a massive copper section of the Barclays Center facade, a materials library with hundreds of samples of everything from fabric to flooring--these are just some of the surprises you'll come across in SHoP Architects' offices in the iconic Woolworth Building. The firm's projects include buildings at mega-developments like the Domino Sugar Factory and Essex Crossing, the twisting American Copper Buildings, and the world's future tallest residential skyscraper 111 West 57th Street, and their office certainly embodies this creativity and range of work. After taking a tour of the space, 6sqft chatted with Associate Principal Angelica T. Baccon about this very special office design, what a typical day is like at the firm, and, of course, the backstory behind those planes. We also met with Materials Librarian Kate Smith to learn a bit more about this rare resource that helps inform the ideas at SHoP.
Take the tour!

August 15, 2018

$10K per month rent seems fitting for this photo-ready Tribeca loft

From the wide-plank oak floors to the sleek contemporary kitchen and exposed brick walls, this two-bedroom loft in a former textile merchant's building at 40 Walker Street looks like it could be the perfect bachelor pad, as long as the smooth operator in residence is willing to fork over $9,995 a month for the Tribeca condo.
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Construction underway for Roman Abramovich’s Upper East Side mega-mansion

Via LPC

August 14, 2018

Construction underway for Roman Abramovich’s Upper East Side mega-mansion

Russia-born billionaire Roman Abramovich is moving ahead with his plan to construct a mega-mansion on the Upper East Side, the New York Post reported on Monday. Abramovich's original proposal in 2016 called for an "18,255-square-foot mansion with a six-foot front yard, 30-foot backyard and pool in the cellar" across a combination of three townhouses on East 75th Street. Although the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected that first plan, a proposal that kept similarly-styled facades and added a fourth property was approved soon after.
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August 14, 2018

Michael Cohen lists Tribeca condo as a $25,000 rental just four months after buying it

Photo of Michael Cohen via Wikimedia As they say, never underestimate desperate people. In May, Michael Cohen, the disgraced former personal lawyer of Donald Trump who is now under federal investigation, put his $9 million Trump Park Avenue apartment on the market as collateral against a bank loan. So it was a bit surprising when he turned around dropped nearly $7 million on a condo in Tribeca's flashy new condo tower 111 Murray Street. But it makes a bit more sense now, as The Real Deal learned that Cohen has listed the 19th-floor apartment as a $25,000/month rental. He made the purchase as an "investment" after allegedly facing pressure to defer the taxes on the $3.3 million sale last year of his Trump World Tower apartment; by closing on a new unit, he was able to take part in the 1031 exchange that allows investors to roll proceeds from one transaction over to another.
Get the scoop

August 13, 2018

New SHoP Architects-designed Pier 17 is making progress, looking sharp

Howard Hughes Corporation's re-launch of the SHoP Architects-designed Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan's Seaport District kicked off this summer, with exciting plans for food, drink, art, architecture, retail, and entertainment concepts finally being realized. The first two venues in the new complex–the Heineken Riverdeck waterfront bar, designed by Woods Bagot, and the Fresh Market Hall restaurant–are open for business and the district's 2018 rooftop concert series officially began on July 28 with a free opening-day performance by Jon Batiste and the Dap-Kings. The rest of the new complex in what historically was the city's first 24-hour district is still under construction, but designs are taking shape on the way to transforming the existing building into a vibrant destination and a 21st century 24/7 live/work/play community.
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New Developments

Anthony Bourdain’s Columbus Circle condo hits the rental market for $14K/month

Photo of Bourdain via Wikimedia; photo of Time Warner Center via Joe Schulz on Flickr

August 13, 2018

Anthony Bourdain’s Columbus Circle condo hits the rental market for $14K/month

Anthony Bourdain's Columbus Circle apartment has hit the rental market, nearly two months after the chef's death. Located on the 64th floor of the Time Warner Center, the two-bedroom condo is asking $14,200/month, as first reported by TMZ. In addition to high-end condos, the building is home to CNN's NYC headquarters, the same network that carries Bourdain's popular Parts Unknown series.
More here

Aerial view of Roosevelt Island. Image: Schizoform via Flickr.

August 13, 2018

Cuomo announces deal to keep 360 Roosevelt Island apartments affordable for 30 more years

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that an agreement had been reached to keep over 360 Roosevelt Island apartments in the Westview housing development, currently in the Mitchell-Lama rental program, affordable for 30 more years. Without the agreement, the Westview's owner could have removed the building from the middle-class housing program and converted all of the apartments to market rate immediately. Instead, Westview will be able to exit from the Mitchell-Lama program but tenants will be offered first-time ownership opportunities at deeply affordable and below-market prices. Simultaneously, long-term affordability protections will be provided for tenants who continue to rent.
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RENTING IN NYC: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): 500 Metropolitan Avenue, Alvista Towers, 38 Sixth Avenue and Revetment House

August 11, 2018

RENTING IN NYC: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): 500 Metropolitan Avenue, Alvista Towers, 38 Sixth Avenue and Revetment House 500 Met: Williamsburg Rentals from $2,852/Month Debut Above New Hotel [link] Embankment House: Premier No Fee Apartments in Jersey City from $2,600/Month [link] Introducing Talo38: Luxury Rentals to Debut Near LIC – Astoria Border [link] Revetment House; Historically-Attuned Jersey City […]

Real Estate Trends

St. Patrick’s Cathedral $7M air rights deal blocked by exclusive men’s club

Image via Wikimedia

August 10, 2018

St. Patrick’s Cathedral $7M air rights deal blocked by exclusive men’s club

In March, the Archdiocese of New York reached a deal to sell 30,000 square feet of development rights from St. Patrick's Cathedral to MRP Realty and Deutsche Bank, the owners of 405 Park Avenue in Midtown East. But, as Crain's reported on Thursday, an exclusive men-only club has undercut the Archdiocese by offering the developers the deal at a lower price. The Brook, known for its billionaire clientele, will sell its air rights over its property at 111 East 54th Street to the owners of 405 Park Avenue. The owners plan to use the air rights to add four new floors to the 17-story property, a high-end office building.
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Policy

August 10, 2018

Sepia tones create a cavernous living space in this $3.75M Village duplex with a rooftop haven

This decidedly non-cookie-cutter co-op at 200 Mercer Street where Noho and the Village meet is a fine example of the surprises that await behind the doors of New York City's apartments. The two-bedroom duplex, currently on the market for $3.75 million has had a complete modern renovation with a studied eye for design detail that transcends the merely trendy. Every comfort and convenience has been considered, from the wood-burning fireplace, central air-conditioning and laundry to integrated speakers and home automation, and a private roof deck is covetable in any home.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

Financing secured for the second phase of Hudson Yards park

Phase 1 of Hudson Park & Boulevard via Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

August 9, 2018

Financing secured for the second phase of Hudson Yards park

Financing has been secured for the extension of Hudson Park and Boulevard at Hudson Yards, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. The first phase of the park developed with the extension of the 7 subway line to 34th Street and opened in 2015. The extension, which is part of a $500 million investment, includes a three-acre park that will run over an Amtrak rail cut from West 36th Street to West 39th Street, between 10 and 11th Avenues. This addition expands the parkland at Hudson Yards by 75 percent.
More here

Mike Myers sells second Soho penthouse after three years

Photo of Mike Myers via Wikimedia

August 9, 2018

Mike Myers sells second Soho penthouse after three years

Finally! Back in 2007, Mike Myers bought two units in Soho's 72 Mercer Street--a sixth/seventh-floor duplex penthouse for $8 million and a fifth-floor two-bedroom for $3.4 million. The idea was likely to combine them, but he never made the jump, instead deciding to list them in 2015, first individually and then for a combined total of $21.5 million. In April, he finally unloaded the penthouse for the reduced price of $13.2 million, and now the Post reports that the smaller unit has also gone into contract. Though the final sale price isn't yet available, it was last listed for $4 million.
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The best affordable and student-friendly off-campus neighborhoods in NYC

Columbia campus, via Pixabay

August 9, 2018

The best affordable and student-friendly off-campus neighborhoods in NYC

By Cait Etherington

If you can’t bear the idea of living in the dorms for another year, you’re not alone. Unless you happen to go to Columbia where over 90 percent of students live on campus, there's a high likelihood you’ll be searching for your own apartment at some point during your college years, just like 57 percent of students at NYU and 74 percent at The New School. And if you're like most students, you’ll be looking for an apartment far from downtown that strikes the right balance between affordability, commutability, and access to services. To help you make the smartest decision possible, 6sqft has compiled a list of affordable, student-friendly neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn. By New York City standards, all of these are both safe (e.g., reported fewer than 1.5447 crimes per 1000 people in June 2018) and within reach (e.g., on average, three-bedroom units can still be rented for less than $5,000 per month). Using July 2018 City Realty data on average neighborhood rents, we've broken down how much you’ll pay on average to live in a three-bedroom shared unit in each of these neighborhoods. We’ve also provided average commute times to both Union Square, which is easily walkable to NYU, The New School, and Cooper Union, and to the Columbia University campus.
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59-block Inwood rezoning vote draws protests from residents who fear its character will be lost

Inwood Hill Park; Image: Dana via Flickr.

August 9, 2018

59-block Inwood rezoning vote draws protests from residents who fear its character will be lost

On Wednesday the City Council approved a rezoning plan for a 59-block section of Inwood, a neighbhorhood often referred to as the "last affordable neighborhood in Manhattan," the New York Times reports. The plan was approved last week by the city's zoning subcommittee and the Land Use Committee. The Inwood rezoning is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to rezone neighborhoods across the city as part of the push to create and preserve 300,000 affordable housing units by his goal date of 2026. Inwood is the fifth neighborhood–including the also-controversial East New York and East Harlem–to be approved for rezoning under the plan.
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21-story Union Square tech hub gets green light from City Council despite community concerns

Rendering via NYCEDC

August 8, 2018

21-story Union Square tech hub gets green light from City Council despite community concerns

The New York City Council voted Wednesday to approve plans to build a new tech hub on city-owned land at 124 East 14th Street near Union Square. As Crain's reported, last Thursday the building received the go-ahead from the zoning subcommittee that was reviewing the development of the 21-story building that supporters expect will be a resource for the "tech-for-good" community and provide jobs for lower-income workers. The project is being developed jointly by the city's Economic Development Corp. and developer RAL Development Service; it is expected to open in 2020. The proposed tech center, which the mayor hopes will nurture budding entrepreneurs in the technology field and bring over 600 jobs to New Yorkers, is planned at the site of a P.C. Richard & Son store, in an area already filled with new developments with more on the way.
Not everyone is excited, however

LPC approves Morris Adjmi’s condo project for East Village gas explosion site

Courtesy of Morris Adjmi Architects

August 8, 2018

LPC approves Morris Adjmi’s condo project for East Village gas explosion site

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved on Tuesday a seven-story condo on the site of the 2015 East Village gas explosion. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, the project was first presented to the commission in July but was sent back to the drawing board over concerns regarding the windows and gloomy coloring. According to Curbed NY, the firm's new design features a brighter facade, more traditional windows to reflect the character of the East Village and a permanent plaque to honor the two people that died during the explosion.
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August 8, 2018

News anchor Cynthia McFadden’s UES townhouse, once home to director Elia Kazan, asks $6M