Manhattan

Trump SoHo sees sharp drop in event bookings, increase in layoffs

Photo of Trump SoHo via Trump Hotels

May 25, 2017

Trump SoHo sees sharp drop in event bookings, increase in layoffs

Trump SoHo, a $450 million, 46-story hotel condominium at 246 Spring Street, has suffered from a sharp decline in corporate event bookings and an increase in staff layoffs. Documents reviewed by WYNC show the once $700-per-night hotel now offers rooms for under $400 a night, less than most of the city’s five- and even four-star rated accommodations. Plus, managers plan on laying off 12 room attendants out of the hotel’s 80 total housekeeping staff and removing turn-down service. While last year the hotel booked 29 large corporate events between January and mid-May, this year just 11 events were booked, with fewer well-known names.
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Events & Things To Do

May 25, 2017

Art Nerd New York’s top event picks for the week – 5/25-5/31

By Lori Zimmer

Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer shares her top art, design and architecture event picks for 6sqft readers! Take advantage of this long weekend to get outside and enjoy the city. Sign up for a free walking tour of Central Park or Bryant Park, or head to Washington Square Park for the 82nd year of the Outdoor Art Exhibit. If adventure is your thing, ferry over to Governors Island for their new zip line adventure, or take the boat to Ellis Island for Untapped Cities’ insiders' tour. Check out a sculpture by the Strokes’ Fabrizio Moretti at the beautiful Elizabeth Street Garden, or role play with Ryohei Kawanishi at the Museum of Arts and Design. Finally, treat yourself to a free concert by the New York Philharmonic, inside the history St. John the Divine Cathedral on Memorial Day.
Details on these events and more this way

May 25, 2017

Robert Moses’ former Yorkville home lists for $2M

By Michelle Cohen

"Master builder" Robert Moses–he of the 13 expressways that crisscross New York City–spent the 1970s living with his wife, Mary Grady Moses, in a three-bedroom co-op at 1 Gracie Terrace in Yorkville on Manhattan's Upper East Side (h/t NYPost). We can see how the home's sweeping river views would inspire the subject of Robert Caro’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York,” when pondering the conflicting issues of a complicated and changing city. The apartment is now for sale asking $1.95 million.
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May 25, 2017

Beautifully preserved 1827 West Village Federal row house asks $13.9M

By Michelle Cohen

One of a pair of Federal-style row houses on the longest unbroken stretch of Federal/Greek Revival homes in New York City, 39 Charlton Street was built in 1827 to exacting standards by a builder-carpenter at a time when the area, now a tony enclave where the West Village meets Soho, was known as Richmond Hill. This 25-foot-wide home has been called one of the city's finest examples of Greek Revival/Federal houses. The house and its neighbor are regarded by the Landmarks Preservation Commission as “the two best (and best preserved) examples...whose exquisitely detailed entrances with original doors and leaded glass sidelights convey many of the style’s most distinctive qualities.” Both the interior and exterior of this unique home, now on the market for $13.85 million, have retained an extraordinary level of original detail.
Tour this historic home

May 24, 2017

First look at CetraRuddy’s proposed hotel-apartment tower for Hudson Yards

By Devin Gannon

Back in September, the developer Joseph Chetrit filed plans to build a 48-floor mixed-use tower with 421 hotel rooms and 135 residential units in the Hudson Yards neighborhood. Now, the wait is over as renderings of Chetrit Group’s proposed tower at 541-545 West 37th Street have officially been revealed. As CityRealty learned, CetraRuddy Architecture is designing the high-tech skyscraper, which is expected to rise 622 feet and overlook the future Hudson Boulevard Park. The building will span 621,000 square feet and include exhibition, retail, hotel and residential spaces.
More details and renderings

The Shed via Wikipedia

May 24, 2017

Michael Bloomberg gives $75 million to Hudson Yards arts center The Shed

By Michelle Cohen

Michael R. Bloomberg has added a $75 million contribution to what the New York Times calls "New York's first new cultural institution in recent memory," the arts center known as The Shed, part of the new Hudson Yards development on Manhattan's far west side. The former mayor's gift brings the total raised for the project to $421 million of its $500 million capital campaign. The new arts center has gotten much of its funding from a small group of billionaires that includes Related Companies' Stephen M. Ross and media mogul Barry Diller. Set for completion in 2019, the eight-level structure, designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro in partnership with the Rockwell Group, will host performances, concerts, visual art, music and other events.
A 'tool kit for artists'

Image via Alan Bloom/Flickr

May 24, 2017

Governor Cuomo and the MTA announce a competition to fix the NYC subway system

By Devin Gannon

Image via Alan Bloom/Flickr Seeking innovative solutions to fix the mess that is the New York City transit system, Governor Cuomo on Tuesday launched a competition called the “MTA Genius Transit Challenge.” Just one of the governor’s recently proposed ideas to fix the subway, the international competition challenges participants to develop ideas for better signaling, new car designs, and WiFi throughout the system, including in tunnels. The winner of each category will receive $1 million and a possible contract deal with the state. In addition to the challenge, Cuomo announced he has created a Penn Station Task Force to devise alternative transportation solutions during Amtrak’s track work at the station this summer.
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May 24, 2017

Greet the sun from your solarium or tech-friendly garden in this $1.7M East Village duplex

By Michelle Cohen

This unusual East Village one-bedroom duplex condo in the Village Mews at 407 East 12th Street checks all the boxes without shouting–that is, it lets a rare and fabulous garden paradise do the talking, which in this case means asking for $1.695 million. The 750-square-foot home was recently renovated from tip to toe, and the design is tasteful without being generically "luxe." And while this not-huge condo wouldn't work for a growing family or a communal crew, it looks heavenly for anyone seeking, an "oasis away from city living" while situated on a lovely street in the heart of what could be called an oasis of city living, with its 24-hour energy and unending list of destinations of every kind.
Here comes the sun

Distinctive Homes

May 23, 2017

REVEALED: Early studies of David Adjaye’s Wall Street Tower, his first skyscraper in NYC

By Devin Gannon

Three years after completing his first New York City building, an affordable housing complex in Harlem called the Sugar Hill Development, starchitect David Adjaye is back. This time, he'll be working with David Lichtenstein's Lightstone Group to design a 61-story, 750-foot-tall condominium in the Financial District at 130 William Street known as the Wall Street Tower. Early conceptual studies uncovered by CityRealty show a gold-trimmed prism set against rigid rows of arched windows, as well as a glimpse at what the 244 apartments and amenity spaces will look like.
See the impressive renderings

Midtown’s tiny Greenacre Park fights for light among sky-high skyscrapers

Terry Tynes via flickr (CC)

May 23, 2017

Midtown’s tiny Greenacre Park fights for light among sky-high skyscrapers

By Devin Gannon

As a small oasis in the center of Manhattan, Greenacre Park is home to honey locust trees, azaleas, pansies and a 25-foot-high waterfall, all taking up just 6,360 square feet of space. However, the city’s plan to rezone Midtown East to allow for more commercial buildings worries some advocates who say it may deplete Greenacre Park from any sunlight, as the Times reported. But the Municipal Art Society, New Yorkers for Parks, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Councilmember Daniel Garodnick, are backing a campaign called "Fight For Light" to protect the park's right to sunlight.
Get the full scoop

Policy

May 23, 2017

VIDEO: West 8’s proposal for NYC’s largest private garden at One Manhattan Square

By Devin Gannon

Adding to its unique character, Extell's One Manhattan Square will soon be home to NYC's largest outdoor private garden, detailed in a new video released today by the developer. The proposal, designed by urban planning and landscape architecture firm West 8, includes more than an acre of garden space for residents to both work and socialize, boasting indoor and outdoor grilling spaces, ping-pong tables, a putting green, children's playground, adult tree house, tea pavilion, and an observatory made for stargazing.
Watch the video here

Pier 55 project files appeal to stop work order; Durst says he backed opposition

Photo via Pier 55 Inc.

May 23, 2017

Pier 55 project files appeal to stop work order; Durst says he backed opposition

By Michelle Cohen

6sqft reported in March on the latest developments in the on-again-off-again status of the $200 million Barry Diller-funded offshore park/performing arts center proposed for Pier 55 on the Hudson River; though construction began last November, opponents of the project, led by the City Club of New York, gained a victory in the form of a ruling by Judge Lorna G. Schofield that agreed with group’s claim that the Army Corps of Engineers had not conducted a sufficient environmental review on how the 2.4-acre park would affect fish and wildlife. The judge ordered that work stop at the site and called for a review of alternatives for building along Hudson River Park, a maritime sanctuary. Now, the New York Times reports that the Corps of Engineers, with the project's sponsor, the Hudson River Park Trust, has filed an appeal of the decision.
And what about that Diller-Durst feud

May 23, 2017

Second Avenue Subway ridership continues to grow; MTA to add more trains

By Dana Schulz

Just a month after opening on the first of the year, the Second Avenue Subway had eased congestion on the Lexington line by 11 percent. Now, nearly five months in, that figure has more than doubled, with ridership on the 4/5/6 decreased by 26 percent and a whopping 40 percent during peak morning hours. Moreover, Second Avenue's average weekday ridership is up from 140,000 to 176,000 passengers, an increase which has prompted the MTA to add two additional train trips during rush hour come this November.
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Transit

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

Images (L to R): Journal Squared, 507 West Chelsea, 525 West 52nd Street and Yorkshire Towers

May 22, 2017

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

By Ondel Hylton

Two-Tower Hell’s Kitchen Rental Debuts with Impressive Leasing Special [link] More Than Views – A Closer Look at Jersey City’s 53-Story Rental, Journal Squared [link] No-Fee Apartments with 2 Months Free at 507 West Chelsea, Luxe Living on the High Line [link] New Harlem Rentals Debut on 125th Street; Apartments from $1,994/Month [link] $1,000 Deposits […]

Real Estate Trends

52 wave sculptures designed by celebrities like Slash and Cara Delevigne hit NYC

Jason deCaires Taylor’s “Silent Evolution” wave via Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation

May 22, 2017

52 wave sculptures designed by celebrities like Slash and Cara Delevigne hit NYC

By Devin Gannon

Ocean conservation nonprofit Project 0 has partnered with luxury skin care brand La Mer, to bring 52 wave-shaped sculptures designed by artists and entertainers like Keith Richards, Slash, Sienna Miller, Rita Ora, Cara Delevigne to NYC. Between May 20 and June 21, the La Mer Wave Walk will feature public art pieces throughout the five boroughs to raise awareness about ocean conservancy, as DNA Info learned. The installations will be up for auction on June 21, with all proceeds going to the charity La Mer Blue Heart Oceans Fund for Project 0.
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Senators request interior landmark status for two NYPL reading rooms

Rose Main Reading room via NYPL

May 22, 2017

Senators request interior landmark status for two NYPL reading rooms

By Michelle Cohen

State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger have asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the Rose Main Reading Room at the New York Public Library's main branch and the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room at the 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue branch as interior landmarks, according to DNAInfo. The library's main branch, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, was given landmark designation in 1967 and Astor Hall and the grand staircases within the building were designated as interior landmarks in 1974. Interior landmark designation would give the two reading rooms–favorites of literary greats including Norman Mailer, E.L. Doctorow and Elizabeth Bishop–the same protection moving forward.
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May 22, 2017

Late billionaire’s ex lists spectacular Stanhope penthouse with five terrace gardens for $65M

By Annie Doge

The 7,067 square-foot penthouse at 995 Fifth Avenue owned by Claude Wasserstein, ex wife of the late Bruce Wasserstein, former chair of investment firm Lazard, was just listed for the first time since a brief stint on the market in 2010. Wasserstein, who died in 2009, was the brother of the late playwright Wendy Wasserstein. The 11-room, five-bedroom duplex atop the Rosario Candela-designed former Stanhope hotel was purchased by Ms. Wasserstein for $34.8 million in 2008, The Real Deal reports. In addition to five garden-like wraparound terraces crafted by landscape designer Madison Cox, "epic NYC views" and 72 linear feet of Central Park frontage, the full-service building offers top-drawer amenities like a gym and a spa. But does all of that add up to $65 million–$9,285 per square foot?
Get lost in the terraces and gardens overlooking Central Park

Distinctive Homes

Renderings revealed for controversial mixed-income tower on top of UES playground

Rendering via NYCHA

May 19, 2017

Renderings revealed for controversial mixed-income tower on top of UES playground

By Devin Gannon

After over a year-long debate, the city has finally unveiled renderings of a mixed-income tower set to rise on an existing playground at the Holmes Towers public housing complex in Yorkville. The New York City Housing Authority’s plan, which falls under the city’s NextGen program, will construct a 47-story building among the complex on East 93rd Street, as well as a new 18,000-square-foot recreation and community center run by Asphalt Green (h/t DNA Info). The new building will feature 300 total units, with half of them at market-rate prices and half of them affordable. However, an alleged plan to separate the floors by income level, as well as the fact that high-end housing is coming to a low-income site where the community wasn't consulted, has sparked a good deal of controversy.
Get the whole story

Lower East Side’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema will close next year

Photo via East End Capital

May 19, 2017

Lower East Side’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema will close next year

By Devin Gannon

The Lower East Side will be losing a neighborhood fixture next year. Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema at 139-143 East Houston Street will be closing its doors when its lease expires in January 2018, to make way for a new mixed-use development with retail and office space. As the Post reports, the theater, which was built in 1889 and first opened in 1909 as the Houston Hippodrome, was sold for $31.5 million to developers East End Capital and K Property Group.
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New Developments

May 18, 2017

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard renting at Midtown’s swanky MiMA tower

By Annie Doge

The Mets’ powerhouse pitcher Noah Syndergaard is renting a posh two-bedroom apartment at Manhattan View at MiMA while recovering from a partially torn lat muscle, according to the Post. The star player, admirably known as “Thor” because of his long locks, lives with his girlfriend Alexandra Cooper and fellow Mets pitcher Robert Gsellman in the rental at 460 West 42nd Street, which was designed by Arquitectonica and boasts views of the Hudson River, George Washington Bridge, Columbus Circle and Central Park. Though there aren't details on his specific unit, two-bedroom rentals start at around $6,000 a month.
See inside the units at MiMA

Celebrities

May 18, 2017

Glamorous Yorkville penthouse once home to Irving Berlin lists for $7.9M

By Dana Schulz

Growing up at the turn of the century on the Lower East Side, which was then home to the Yiddish Rialto (the largest Yiddish theater in the world at the time), is how legendary Hollywood songwriter Irving Berlin was first exposed to music and theater. But later in life, he moved his family uptown, first to Sutton Place and then to 130 East End Avenue, an Emory Roth-designed co-op in Yorkville right across from Carl Schurz Park. He lived in the penthouse duplex, which biographer Laurence Bergreen described as "a formal, stately dwelling with impressive views of the East River," from 1931 to 1944. Now, the still-stately and "One of a Kind" home has just hit the market for $7.9 million.
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May 18, 2017

Alec Baldwin sells Eldorado apartment for $1.25M

By Annie Doge

When he's not channelling his inner Trump, Alec Baldwin spends a good deal of time buying and selling NYC real estate. He and wife Hilaria welcomed their third child in the fall, presumably making their current $12 million three-bedroom home in Greenwich Village’s Devonshire House a bit too small (Alec also owns the unit next door, and as 6sqft reported, he sold another one-bedroom in the building for $2.1 million in 2015). The couple was seen scoping out a couple Nomad-area places this fall, but they may now be ready to make the jump as Alec has unloaded yet another apartment, this time uptown at the Eldorado on Central Park West. The unit was an annex, or perhaps maids quarters, for a larger spread in the building, which Alec sold for $9.5 million in 2011. Six years later, he's found a buyer for its counterpart, scoring $1.25 million from private equity firm founder and political economist David E. Spiro.
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May 18, 2017

$550K Noho one-bedroom is a cozy perch in a perfect downtown neighborhood

By Michelle Cohen

This bright and airy co-op at 308 Mott Street in Noho may not have a 35-foot-long terrace, but it is, as the listing says, both charming and efficient, with plenty of storage and enough room for a guest or two. The lovely tree-lined blocks that surround the building are home to elegant buildings both historic and new, and quaint shops, theaters and restaurants just far enough from the bustle of Soho. It's an expensive enclave, home to celebrities galore, so the $550K ask makes this charming apartment seem like quite a find.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

May 17, 2017

Watch Herzog & de Meuron’s ‘Jenga Tower’ rise in 60 seconds

By Diane Pham

56 Leonard is one of NYC's most exciting recent architectural additions. Dreamt up by Herzog & de Meuron, the skyline-altering condo tower rises 57 stories with an undeniable acrobatic grace, carefully staggering its floors in a cantilevering Jenga-like configuration that also appears to be in perfect equilibrium. Although the project developed by the Alexico Group and Hines took nearly a decade to build, a new video (h/t The Real Deal) released by the developers fast tracks the long and arduous process, neatly wrapping up 10 years of work into just over 60 seconds.
see the full timelapse here

The Campbell Apartment: Grand Central Terminal’s historic ‘secret’ bar reopens

Image of The Campbell Bar via Facebook.

May 17, 2017

The Campbell Apartment: Grand Central Terminal’s historic ‘secret’ bar reopens

By Michelle Cohen

Though we're getting used to bidding farewell to our favorite vestiges of old New York, the May 17 reopening of historic and elegant cocktail establishment Campbell Apartment brings a rare reprieve to that familiar scenario, as The New York Times reports. Shuttered in July, the iconic lounge tucked away deep within Grand Central Terminal will reopen as an expanded version of the original. Both its slightly hidden nature and the establishment’s dress code will not be returning in its newest incarnation. The new, easier-to-find bar will be run by the Gerber Group, who says they want the bar to be less stuffy, hopefully without losing any of the historic and genteel appeal that made it a favorite grown-up rendezvous spot and a great way to impress a date.
Find out the story behind this unique NYC space

May 17, 2017

Asking $750K, this little Chelsea apartment launched an interior design startup

By Michelle Cohen

This cozy and chic one-bedroom co-op at 221 West 21st Street on a quiet and leafy Chelsea block may not boast a lot of square feet, but its well-curated design makes it feel more like a home than a tiny Manhattan apartment. It's a success story we've seen over and over again; in this particular case, the home's small-space makeover was the inspiration for successful designer-client matchup service Homepolish–the homeowner, a coder for Buzzfeed, went on to partner with the interior design company's founder to help others find smart design solutions. The fifth-floor apartment is currently asking $750,000.
Check out some of the cool details

Distinctive Homes

May 16, 2017

Gwathmey-designed Police Building duplex in former gymnasium returns for $18.5M

By Michelle Cohen

240 Centre Street, formerly the New York City Police Headquarters, is somewhat known for its splashy pads with amazing details and high price tags–like this $40M penthouse in the building's clocktower dome–that are better at getting attention than finding buyers; this remarkable duplex in the Nolita landmark is no exception. Late New York Five architect Charles Gwathmey designed this reborn 6,600 square foot home that includes what was once the police gymnasium. The stunning co-op has been on and off the market since 2008, at one point asking $31M (h/t Curbed); the four-bedroom apartment just reappeared on the market $18.5 million.
Tour this one-of-a-kind Manhattan masterpiece

Distinctive Homes

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