Manhattan

The U.S. Senate voted 72 to 27 last week to confirm billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as Commerce Secretary. And now that he'll be busy renegotiating the terms of Nafta and defending allegations of his questionable ties to Russia, the "King of Bankruptcy" is ramping up efforts to sell his ostentatious Billionaires' Row penthouse. Curbed reports that the 14-room, "European-style" apartment first hit the market in 2015 for $21 million, then got a price chop to $18.5 million at the end of last year, and has now been reduced again to $16.5 million, less than the $18 million he paid for it in 2007.
Take a tour

March 3, 2017

Mysterious ‘Japan Land’ renderings reveal a lantern-inspired building near Penn Station

By Diane Pham

Currently, at the corner of 8th Avenue and 31st Street, diagonal from Penn Station, you'll find a parking lot, pizza joint, and a small coffee shop. However, Nobutaka Ashihara Architects (NAA) envisions something much more spectacular for this underused locale. According to CityRealty, NAA recently rolled out a brand new website, and prominently featured on their home page is a curious scheme for a lantern-like glass tower of about 12 stories called "Japan Land."
more views here

New Developments

March 3, 2017

This $2.45M Chelsea loft has authenticity, style and a magical roof garden

The authenticity? Built in 1922, Groff Studios is a former fur factory located at 151 West 28th Street in the old-school Flower District between 6th and 7th Avenues. The building's 16 full-floor 1,800 square-foot lofts have the high ceilings, original brick walls and open spaces loft lovers look for, plus the usual perks like a key-locked elevator and two staircases. Inside this quintessentially Manhattan home you'll find an open floor plan and 18 enormous windows lining three exposures. And there's that roof garden...
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

March 2, 2017

Grammy-winning producer Clive Davis lists posh Midtown co-op for $7.8M

Clive Davis, five-time Grammy Award-winning producer and current chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment, has an estimated net worth of $800 million, and when you've got that kind of cash, you can apparently buy seven-figure trophy co-ops and never live in them. Which is exactly what LL NYC reports he did at 465 Park Avenue, where in 2015 he bought two units for $3.4 million and combined them into one sprawling duplex. He then enlisted designer Greg Schriefer to create a contemporary and artistic version of a classic New York residence, and now that the renovations have been completed and that "things changed" for the unknown family member for whom he bought the home, it's hit the market for $7.8 million.
See it all right here

March 2, 2017

Rent this duplex in the Chelsea Theological Seminary for $28,000/month

By Emily Nonko

This duplex is located within one of the loveliest developments in Chelsea: the General Theological Seminary complex, which still holds a seminary but also now includes condos, community space and a hotel. This condo building, at 455 West 20th Street, offers residents access to the close, a picturesque private garden in the center of the complex. And this apartment up for grabs isn't too shabby, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms over 2,476 square feet. It's asking a hefty monthly rent of $28,000.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

March 2, 2017

Gracie Mansion’s new exhibit tells the story of NYC during World War II

In honor of the residence's 75th anniversary, the Gracie Mansion Conservancy has announced a new art installation titled "New York 1942," a collection of World War II-era objects that tell the story of New York City during this time, as well as of the period when Gracie Mansion became the official mayoral residence under Fiorello La Guardia. The exhibit will display more than 50 artifacts, documents, and pieces of art, including a signed World Series Yankees baseball, the Jacob Lawrence painting "The Migrants Arrived in Great Numbers," a photo from Weegee, ration tokens, and a first-edition print of "The Little Prince."
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Events & Things To Do

March 2, 2017

Hollywood heavyweights behind ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ list UWS pad for $1.29M

You may not know their names, but you certainly know their movies. According to the Post, Terence Winter—creator of "Boardwalk Empire" and the screenwriter who adapted “The Wolf of Wall Street”—and his wife Rachel— the Oscar-nominated producer of “Dallas Buyers Club”—have just listed their pied-a-terre at 104 West 70th Street for $1.29 million. While the home is a somewhat modest 700 square feet, it does boasts an excellent location just a few short blocks north of Lincoln Center. And, as one might expect from a showbiz power pair, fab interiors donning a mod-meets-old-Hollywood vibe.
have a closer look inside

March 2, 2017

Lottery opens for first affordable units at Essex Crossing, from $519/month

It's been almost exactly a year since Beyer Blinder Belle released renderings of Essex Crossing's site 5, a $110 million, 15-story mixed-use building that will give way to 73,000 square feet of retail space, where Trader Joes and Planet Fitness will move in, and a 15,000-square-foot adjacent park. Located just a block southwest of the Manhattan entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge at 145 Clinton Street, it will have 211 rental units, half of which will be reserved for low- and middle-income individuals. These 104 affordable apartments are now available through the city's online housing lottery, the first of the mega-development's 561 affordable residences to come online. They're set aside for those earning 40, 60, 120, and 165 percent of the area media income and range from $519/month studios to $3,424/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

March 1, 2017

Emmy Rossum bids farewell to her beautiful Sutton Place pied-à-terre

By Jon Dioffa

Actress Emmy Rossum's perfectly outfitted pied à terre has a new owner. LLNYC reports that a buyer has just scooped up the "Shameless" star's one-bedroom charmer at 455 East 57th Street for $1.1 million. Rossum quietly listed the home last November, just a month after she invited Elle Decor over to photograph the space. The full spread shares Rossum's journey of turning the "pied-à-teardown" into an elegant escape with the help of Brooklyn interior designer Antonino Buzzetta. According to Elle, Rossum asked Buzzetta for something "chic, European, the look of a modern girl who has inherited her grandmother's stuff." "I wanted it to have a young energy, but with old-fashioned touches," she said.
see more inside here

March 1, 2017

Lavish $65M penthouse unveiled at Robert A.M. Stern’s 70 Vestry

After selling the $50 million penthouse at the beginning of the year and celebrating the building's topping out last month, the Related Companies has unveiled the $65 million penthouse atop their Tribeca condo 70 Vestry, the largest apartment listed in New York this year. The massive, incredibly luxurious home is the crowning jewel of the Robert A.M. Stern-designed project, boasting close to 8,000 square feet of interior space designed by Daniel Romualdez and 3,687 square feet of private outdoor space across three levels and including a rooftop terrace. Benjamin Joseph, Executive Vice President at Related Companies, said in a press release, "A penthouse of this caliber has never before been offered in Tribeca, and may never be again."
See what all the fuss is about

March 1, 2017

Media mogul Adriana Cisneros looks to unload her $7.85M Chelsea townhouse

By Emily Nonko

This Chelsea townhouse at 332 West 20th Street is being sold off by a power couple: Adriana Cisneros, the CEO of Grupo Cisneros, a Venezuelan media and entertainment company, and her husband Nicholas Griffin, a novelist. They bought the pad in 2004 for $4.005 million and have put it on the market for nearly double, $7.85 million. The single-family, four-bedroom townhouse is decked out with fireplaces and a modern kitchen, not to mention a wall of bookshelves that would impress any writer.
Time to take the tour

Distinctive Homes

March 1, 2017

139th Street revisited: Bob Dylan’s former townhouse on Striver’s Row for sale for $3.7M

Not only has this landmarked four-story home standing among the rarely available townhouses in Harlem's Saint Nicholas Historic District–better known as Strivers' Row–been featured in district house tours–it used to belong to Bob Dylan. The early 1900s townhouse at 265 West 139th Street is one of a handsome row designed the firm of McKim Mead & White; the current owners purchased it from the enigmatic Pulitzer Prize-winning polymath for $560,000 in 2000. Times have been a-changin' in the central Harlem neighborhood, and it's now on the market for $3,689,000.
Take a closer look, this way

My 680sqft: A staging professional mixes family heirlooms and eclectic finds in a modern Harlem condo

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Harlem apartment of realtor and interior staging professional Ellen Silverman. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

February 28, 2017

My 680sqft: A staging professional mixes family heirlooms and eclectic finds in a modern Harlem condo

Ellen Silverman grew up in the large apartment complexes along Eighth Avenue in Chelsea with "three mothers"--her grandmother who worked at Macy's for 40 years, her aunt who worked for Butterick Patterns, and her mother who loved browsing furniture stores. Needless to say, decorating and design have been in Ellen's blood from the beginning. After moving out on her own, she lived for 20 years in the architecturally rich pre-war co-ops of Washington Heights, but five years ago, she found herself in a brand-new condo in burgeoning Harlem. Determined to bring that old-warm charm into an otherwise "white box," Ellen used her upbringing to influence the design of her new home, blending family heirlooms, eclectic and colorful accessories and art, and plenty of personality--all of which led her to start her own staging company, Staging With Style.
Take a tour of Ellen's home

City’s planned Garment District rezoning will reduce protections for fashion companies

Image via Wally Gobetz/Flickr CC

February 28, 2017

City’s planned Garment District rezoning will reduce protections for fashion companies

Just two weeks after the city announced that they'd spend $136 million to create the "Made in NYC Campus," a hub in Sunset Park that will provide affordable space for film and fashion companies, it's come to light that the de Blasio administration has been planning a rezoning of Manhattan's Garment District. As Crain's explains, this could potentially roll back rules that require landlords to rent a portion of their buildings to fashion companies, a clear push to drive these businesses toward lower cost space in Sunset Park.
More info ahead

Policy

Mayor pulls Theater District air rights plan after disputes with City Council over floor price

Image via Wiki Commons

February 28, 2017

Mayor pulls Theater District air rights plan after disputes with City Council over floor price

Image via Wiki Commons The de Blasio administration pulled the plug Monday on proposed legislation that would give the city a 20 percent cut of any air rights sales in midtown Manhattan's Theater District, according to Crain's. The reversal followed disputes with City Council members over a key element–a floor price for the sales. The proposal had been part of a long effort to get theater owners to up the amount they contribute to a fund used for venue maintenance and support for smaller theaters. There is now speculation as to whether the move could cast a shadow on the administration's Midtown East rezoning plan, which is a similar policy initiative.
Find out more

Policy

February 28, 2017

City’s most expensive rental is back for $500K/month, chauffeur-driven Jaguar included

As 6sqft asked when the 39th floor at The Pierre Hotel at 795 Fifth Avenue hit the rental market two years ago, if you’ve got the cash, why buy when you can rent for $6 million a year? Now that opportunity to refresh your enormous outlay every month is again seeking a renter at $500,000/month, keeping its title as the city’s most expensive rental. The massive 4,786-square-foot space has merely a butler’s kitchen, but the assumption is, of course, that you wouldn't want to be slaving over a hot stove in a full-service hotel anyway. And that service includes twice-daily maid service, an on-call physician, room service, two restaurants and a chauffeur-driven Jaguar.
See what this hefty price tag gets you

February 27, 2017

‘The Daily Show’ host Trevor Noah buys a $10M Stella Tower penthouse

By Jon Dioffa

It looks like Trevor Noah's $15,000 rental at Stella Tower was just a space for him to kill time while waiting to move upstairs into a $10 million penthouse. The Journal reports that Noah closed today on the top-floor duplex apartment that spans the 17th and 18th floors of the 1927 Ralph Walker-designed skyscraper. In all, the star's new spacious abode measures 3,600 square feet and comes encircled by a large, 930-square-foot terrace with sweeping views of the city.
see more inside

Celebrities

February 27, 2017

Gwyneth Paltrow’s all-white Tribeca penthouse gets $3M price chop and lots of listing photos

Though not notable for leading a private lifestyle (might we mention her very public "conscious uncoupling" and certain intimate products that she's touted on her blog Goop), Gwyneth Paltrow has been reticent to showcase interior photos of her Tribeca penthouse. She first listed the pad at 416 Washington Street last March for $14.25 million; after chopping the price to $12.85 million in November, she self-published a few images on Goop; but now that it's taken a third cut to $9,995,000, it looks like Gwynie is loosening up. LL NYC first spotted the new listing with Compass, which now has plenty of views, from the famous fuzzy nap zones, to the living room swing made of an antique Indoor door, to endless swaths of white marble and ethereal hand-painted wall coverings.
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February 27, 2017

Interactive 3D map of Lower Manhattan updates new developments daily

Lower Manhattan is the nation's third-largest business district and in recent years its residential building stock--both conversions of historic structures and new developments--has exploded. To track this booming urban landscape, the Alliance for Downtown New York launched an interactive 3D map to serve as a "comprehensive visualization" of the area, tracking all current and future developments within the square mile below Chambers Street. In addition to residential, office, and hotel properties, LM3D also breaks down restaurants, retailers, transit, parks and open space, landmarks, and vacant land.
Learn more about the map

Uncategorized

February 27, 2017

$1.6M Washington Heights row house is on a hidden historic street across from Manhattan’s oldest home

In the heart of the Jumel Terrace Historic District in Washington Heights, already known for the Morris Jumel Mansion, the oldest house in Manhattan, the quaint row houses of Sylvan Terrace are tucked away on one of the city’s “secret” streets. The mansion is not only famous for being General George Washington's temporary headquarters during the Revolutionary War but for hosting dignitaries from John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton; in more modern times, "Hamilton” fans may know it as being the spot where the musical’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda penned songs from the Broadway hit. The historic row of houses, built in the 1880s, was restored by the Landmarks Preservation Commission; 16 Sylvan Terrace was further renovated by its current owners and is now on the market for $1.625 million.
Take a peek inside this historic row house

February 27, 2017

Maya Lin-designed Tribeca mansion lists for $35M

Despite the claim by some preservationists that the building looked like "a block of swiss cheese," back in June the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Maya Lin Studio's design of a contemporary mega-mansion in the heart of Tribeca's historic district. The plans call for a five-story, 20,000-square-foot home at 11 Hubert Street--including incredible amenities such as an 82-foot swimming pool, basketball/squash court, four-car garage, and an open-air courtyard--and, as the Post reports, the corner site has just hit the market for $35 million, though this doesn't include the $15 million it'll cost to actually build the house.
Find out more about this opportunity

February 27, 2017

Sun worshippers: Rent this West Village townhouse with terraces and glass walls for $25K a month

While it's immediately evident that this quaint brick townhouse at 65 Bedford Street in the West Village couldn't be in a more charmed location, a connected panel of windows on the home's top floor is the only indication of more to come. The 4,000-square-foot, 20-foot-wide renovated townhouse has the necessary combination of modern and traditional, including an elevator, walls of windows and multiple terraces. The entire package–four bedrooms, four stories–is on the rental market for a one- year lease at $25,000 a month.
Check out all those windows

Distinctive Homes

February 24, 2017

Plans for SHoP’s 10-story wooden condo tower squashed

By Diane Pham

SHoP's proposed wooden tower has gotten the axe, reports The Real Deal. The wood high-rise which was slated to rise along 18th Street in Chelsea has been scrapped, as a downturn in the market has forced developer Sy Ghassemi to change course.
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February 24, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

By Ondel Hylton

FiDi’s 180 Water Street Announces March Opening; Now Leasing No Fee Rentals + One Month Free [link] Renovated Apartments at Stonehenge Tower on Upper West Side Leasing with Two Months Free + $1,000 Security Deposits [link] Renovated Apartments in Prospect Heights Offer One Month of Free Rent with 14-Month Leases [link] Amenity-Packed QLIC Offering One […]

Real Estate Trends

February 24, 2017

Ivanka Trump’s Park Avenue starter pad, still without a buyer, gets a rental price chop to $13K a month

As 6sqft previously reported, Ms. Trump and husband Jared Kushner, now senior adviser to President Donald Trump, first listed their apartment at 502 Park Avenue for $4.1 million in December; Ivanka purchased the home for $1.52 million in 2004. The classic and somewhat girly Park Avenue pad with Tiffany-box blue walls has also been on the rental market, first at $15K and, as Mansion Global reports, just reduced to $13,000 a month. Ivanka also owns one of the building’s penthouses–it's the Trump/Kushner family's main home when they're in town– that she bought for $16 million nearly six years ago.
Tour the classic uptown condo

February 24, 2017

South Harlem community board wants brokers to stop calling it ‘SoHa’