Manhattan

July 6, 2017

Grand Central will temporarily restore intercity rail service for the first time in 26 years

Ahead of repair work set to begin at Penn Station next week, Amtrak said it will reroute some trains each weekday to Grand Central Terminal. For the first time since 1991, passengers will use the iconic Beaux-Arts terminal to reach destinations along the Hudson River Valley, like Rhinecliff, Hudson and Albany. As the New York Times reported, Amtrak will reroute six of their Empire Service trains to Grand Central instead of Penn Station from July 10 to Sept. 1.
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July 6, 2017

Locals employ new zoning strategy to keep skyscrapers from rising in Midtown East

In what they're calling an "unprecedented citizens' application," the East River 50s Alliance, a Sutton Place/Midtown community group, has mounted a renewed campaign to oppose an 800-foot tall condo tower that's rising at 430 East 58th Street, the Wall Street Journal reports. As 6sqft previously reported, the developers of the new tower, Gamma Real Estate, closed on the $86 million site earlier this year in a bankruptcy sale and hired Danish-born architect Thomas Juul-Hansen to design the new skyscraper. The group has filed an application for a zoning change that calls for a ban on tall towers in a 10-square-block area; developers regularly file for zoning changes that cover only the property they're looking to build on.
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July 5, 2017

Tenant holdout snarls developer’s plan to build Billionaire’s Row tower

Image via Google Street View With a legendary tenants' rights lawyer on board, a longtime leaseholder is standing fast against a developer's 'dream tower' plans, claiming their business has a valid lease and is being wrongfully evicted, according to the New York Times. Irving and Samuel Morano, the antiques dealers who own Metropolitan Fine Arts and Antiques, are the largest remaining tenant at 10 West 57th Street, a prime location opposite Bergdorf Goodman. 89-year-old developer Sheldon Solow has been amassing properties along the "Billionaire's Row" strip, where the Solow Building, his office tower at 9 West 57th Street stands, since 1977. With grand plans in place to erect a sleek Skidmore Owings & Merrill-designed 54-story hotel and condominium tower, Solow has evicted tenants, erected scaffolding and started demolition on one of the properties along the strip.
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July 5, 2017

Rebel Wilson is latest celeb to buy at Tribeca’s 443 Greenwich Street

Tribeca‘s 443 Greenwich Street claims to be "paparazzi-proof" thanks to its underground garage and interior courtyard, but there must be something more than those not-so-rare amenities that's drawing a celebrity roster like we've never seen. The latest big name to buy in the building is Rebel Wilson; WWD reports that the Australian actress, of "How to be Single" and "Pitch Perfect" fame, dropped $2.95 million on a two-bedroom condo, joining the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Meg Ryan, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Jennifer Lawrence, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, and Harry Styles.
Find out more about Rebel's new digs
June 30, 2017

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

Prices Drop at East Harlem Luxury Rental by Karim Rashid; Units Now Start at $2,000/Month [link] Clinton Hill’s 1007 Atlantic Avenue Launches Leasing & Affordable Housing Lottery [link] Flex Layouts in the Financial District; No-Fee, 1 Month Free & Guarantors Accepted [link] Special Offer at Charming Upper West Side Rental; Flex Lease Dates & $1,000 […]

June 30, 2017

Jimmy Choo co-founder Tamara Mellon finally sells UES penthouse at a $14M discount

You'll be hard pressed to find a pair of discounted Jimmy Choos, but the iconic shoe brand's co-founder Tamara Mellon didn't fare as well when it came to her Upper East Side penthouse, which sits atop the historic Carhart Mansion at 3 East 95th Street. Mellon bought the Carnegie Hill apartment from Seagram heir Charles Bronfman Jr. and first listed it for sale in 2014 for $34 million. After several price chops and an attempt as a $85,000/month rental, it's finally found a buyer reports LL NYC. Contemporary artist George Condo paid $19.8 million for the condo (no pun intended), much less than the most recent ask of $25 million.
Get a look around (you don't want to miss the shoe closet!)
June 29, 2017

Celebrity hotspot 443 Greenwich reveals ‘ultimate’ lofts

A-listers like Jake Gyllenhaal, Meg Ryan, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Jennifer Lawrence, and Harry Styles have all flocked to the desirable “paparazzi-proof” Tribeca building at 443 Greenwich Street, also known as the city's "celebrity dorm." Now, with more than $500 million in total sales under their belts, the property’s developer MetroLoft and real estate agency Cantor-Pecorella have revealed the building's “Ultimate Collection,” which includes the last penthouse listed for $55 million and six other apartments that range from $9 million to $11.25 million.
Check out some new interior views
June 29, 2017

Upper West Side penthouse masterminded by Italian designer Ettore Sottsass asks $19 million

This Hotel des Artistes apartment, now on the market, comes with an incredible interior decor story. Bloomberg notes that it belongs to the French-born entrepreneur/photographer/art collector/playboy Jean Pigozzi, who purchased it in 1986. Soon after, he enlisted Ettore Sottsass, designer and founder of the Memphis Group, to redesign it. Sottass, at the time, was at the height of his fame, and ended up designing every nook and cranny. (He passed away in 2007, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art will host a retrospective of his work this summer.) As Pigozzi told Bloomberg, "He designed 100 percent of everything... Every table, every sofa, every book shelf, every sink, every doorknob." He even helped Pigozzi expand the design into the adjacent duplex that he purchased a few years later. Now, the fabulous penthouse is on the market for $19 million.
Take the grand tour
June 29, 2017

Historic Gramercy townhouse from Bob Dylan album cover sells for $23M

An 1846 townhouse, once owned by former New York City mayor and publisher James Harper, has sold for $23.09 million in an off-market deal. The historic Greek Revival home located along Gramercy Park features sun-filled rooms, high ceilings, and elaborate crown molding, and it comes with a coveted key to the park. But the biggest bragging rights, as the New York Post learned, are that Bob Dylan sat on the stoop of the red-brick house for the cover of his album "Highway 61 Revisited."
See inside
June 29, 2017

$3.5M classic Noho loft has just enough luxe to make it a new-condo competitor

On the seventh floor of a Noho loft building at 46 Great Jones Street overlooking the fashionable neighborhood's cobblestone streets, this 2,000 square-foot loft-lover's dream of a co-op contains plenty of loft details and just enough dazzle to appeal to buyers of a $3.5 million properties in 21st-century Manhattan. Celebrity cachet is included: 6sqft just reported that Sheryl Crow's super-cool loft in the same building just sold for $2.72 million.
Take the tour
June 28, 2017

Here are the 10 wealthiest neighborhoods in New York City

In 2016, the New York Metro Area was home to the highest number of “ultra-wealthy” residents in the world. A new report shows about 8,350 residents with a net worth of at least $30 million called the Big Apple their home last year, an increase of about 9 percent from last year. When focusing on just the five boroughs, most of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods can be found in Manhattan, as Curbed NY discovered. Taking this year’s title as the richest NYC enclave? The Upper East Side.
See the full list
June 28, 2017

Map: Where to watch the Macy’s fireworks this July 4th

Here's a handy guide outlining some prime spots for experiencing Macy's Fourth of July live fireworks extravaganza this Tuesday evening; in addition, the folks that put on the show have provided a helpful interactive neighborhood finder so you're well situated when things go boom. Take a fun quiz here, then find out the best spots to watch from. Or just check out some prime spots here.
More info this way
June 28, 2017

$1M Upper West Side townhouse duplex has a terrace and a fireplace for all-season character

A one-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side for around a million seems almost too good to be true as it is; this townhouse duplex at 172 West 82nd Street is all that plus a terrace and a wood-burning fireplace for $1.01 million. While the interior reads more East Village than Upper West with two walls of exposed brick, a fresh renovation is uptown-efficient. This walk-up co-op is in a charming bay-windowed brownstone on an equally charming tree-lined block.
Get a closer look
June 27, 2017

With two terraces and a fireplace, this $1.6M Chelsea duplex feels like a compact house

This pint-sized penthouse perched atop an elevator building at 368 West 23rd Street in West Chelsea manages to pack everything you need into two levels of renovated, sun-filled space and look good doing it. Asking $1.6 million, the one-bedroom co-op is freshly renovated with two full baths, new hardwood floors, central air conditioning, a wood-burning fireplace, and a washer/dryer. But it's the impressive expanses of terrace that make the biggest impression.
Get a closer look
June 26, 2017

Gwyneth Paltrow sells Tribeca penthouse with fuzzy nap zones for $10.7M

Gwyneth Paltrow's pristine, all-white Tribeca penthouse has officially sold. City records reveal that the home Paltrow previously shared with former husband Chris Martin has closed for $10.727 million (h/t Observer). The 3,892-square-foot spread at 416 Washington Street has been on the market since March 2016, listed about a year after the "conscious uncoupling" of the flaxen-haired duo. Although the penthouse saw some price chops from its original price tag of $14.25 million, it did sell above its last ask of $9.995 million—and well above the $5.1 million it was purchased for back in 2007.
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June 26, 2017

Cuomo unveils winning design for NYC’s first public monument to LGBT people

To coincide with pride weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that artist Anthony Goicolea had been chosen to design the first official monument to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to be commissioned by the State of New York. According to the New York Times, the statue will be built near the waterfront piers in Hudson River Park. The monument's design features nine boulders bisected in places with glass, which can act as a prism, emitting a rainbow pattern. Governor Cuomo formed the LGBT Memorial Commission after the deadly attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. in 2016; A request for designs for a new memorial went out in October of this year. Hudson River Park's waterfront piers have figured prominently in the history of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
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June 26, 2017

$3,300/month prewar co-op is just one block from Columbia University

Any Columbia students out there in search of summer housing? This charming apartment, from the prewar cooperative 609 West 114th Street, is now renting. Besides the great Morningside Heights locale, a half block from the campus and a half block from Riverside Park, you get interior details like 10-foot ceilings, crown moldings and French doors. A corner location and windows everywhere you look stream in sunlight throughout the day. Although in a co-op building this apartment has been rented out for years, and was last asking $2,900 a month in 2015.
Check it out
June 24, 2017

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

A Look Inside Harlem 125 as the New Rental Debuts on Harlem’s Main Street [link] Leasing Special on West 72nd Street: Apartments Above Trader Joe’s Listed with 1 Month Free [link] Newly Launched Jersey City Rental Partners with Airbnb, Achieves Record Price Per Square Foot [link] Live in Brooklyn’s Tallest Building: New ‘Hub’ Rental Tower […]

June 23, 2017

The history behind 42nd Street’s lost Airlines Terminal Building

For more than 30 years, the Art Deco-style Airlines Terminal Building served millions of travelers as a spot where flight tickets servicing New York could be purchased and where passengers could board shuttle buses to take them to the various airports. The building, located on the southwest corner of Park Avenue and 42nd Street, sat on the former site of the Hotel Belmont, which was built in 1906 and later demolished in 1930. Construction of the Airlines Terminal began in 1939 to create the chic, futuristic design, which included a steel frame and a crown flanked by two eagles.
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June 23, 2017

$1.5M UES co-op features 13-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling shelving

This south-facing apartment comes from the prewar cooperative known as Morgan Studios, at 170 East 78th Street on the Upper East Side. A thoughtful renovation didn't take anything away from the prewar charm---the living room still looks stunning with 13-foot ceilings and large casement windows, alongside a wood-burning fireplace with a custom mantle. A ladder helps access the floor-to-ceiling shelving, and a staircase leads to the upper-level bedroom and kitchen. This was just listed under $1.5 million, after last selling in 2009 for $1.35 million.
Take the grand tour
June 23, 2017

PHOTOS: First steel column installed at 1401-foot One Vanderbilt, NYC’s second-tallest skyscraper

With the installation of its first steel column, One Vanderbilt, soon to be New York City’s second-tallest skyscraper, officially began vertical construction on Friday. Banker Steel Company provided the 26,000 tons of domestically milled and fabricated structural steel for development, which included the first 20-ton column installed. According to the team, the construction of One Vanderbilt is three weeks ahead of schedule. SL Green Realty and AECOM Tishman say the supertall skyscraper will add to the modernization of East Midtown’s business district, as the office building will boast column-free floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, and 360-degree views.
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June 23, 2017

$3,500/month West Village rental is flexible, functional, and fun

This parlor floor co-op at 135 Perry Street in the West Village is more than meets the eye: Listed as a one-bedroom for $3,500 a month, it’s configured as a studio–and according to the listing, it was once a two-bedroom. So whatever you imagine for the space, it could be a reality. Of course, you’ll have to get permission from the owner as it’s currently being offered as a rental. And we’re guessing the co-op board will need to be involved. If you leave it the way you found it, you'll still have a stylish if somewhat linear home in a neighborhood everyone's fighting over.
Have a loook
June 22, 2017

Topher Grace’s West Village pied-à-terre hits the market for $4.25M

Actor Topher Grace of “That ’70s Show” fame bought this full-floor loft at 59 Bank Street for $2.2 million in 2006, but ever since 2011 he's been renting it out, first for $14,000 a month and several years later for $16,000. After unloading his Los Angels home for $1.7 million in the summer of 2015 and marrying actress Ashley Hinshaw in May 2016, Grace is finally ready to unload the West Village condo, as LL NYC tells us that it's hit the market for $4.25 million.
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June 22, 2017

Full-floor Chelsea co-op combines elegant history, modern luxury–and a private balcony

This two-bedroom co-op occupies a full floor in West Chelsea's Fitzroy Townhouses at 440 West 23rd Street, a grand row of converted 19th century Italianate homes–once owned by Clement Clark Moore–in the neighborhood's historic district. A loft-like open layout frames a balance of 21st century comfort and historic details like high ceilings, hardwood floors and a natural stone mantel above one of the apartment's of two fireplaces. A south-facing private terrace adds the luxury of outdoor space to this urban refuge.
Take the tour
June 22, 2017

Rich wood and brick decorate this renovated East Village rental, for $13,995/month

This East Village rental, at the Pear Tree Place condo at 203 East 13th Street, is rich in prewar material. The 11-and-a-half-foot ceilings are lined with wood beams, the walls are covered with exposed brick and the floor with a maple wood. The three-bedroom pad, on the rental market for $13,995/month, also comes with some perks: a planted terrace off the kitchen, an audio/visual system with two drop-down movie screens, and heated floors in the bathrooms.
Now go see it