Manhattan

March 7, 2017

Waldorf Astoria’s iconic interiors officially made a New York City landmark

In news that will come as a surprise to no one, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously this morning to designate the interiors of the famed Waldorf Astoria a New York City landmark. According to Curbed, the decision was made within minutes without hesitation from any of the board members. The announcement also comes hot on the heels of the hotel's closure just one week ago, as its new owners, Anbang Insurance Group, undertake what's expected to be a three-year renovation and conversion that will bring forth 840 updated hotel rooms and 321 luxury condos.
more details here

March 7, 2017

Great Game Changers: How the Pan Am Building redefined Midtown architecture

By Carter B. Horsley

Perhaps the most detested Midtown skyscraper by the public, this huge tower has nevertheless always been a popular building with tenants for its prime location over Grand Central Terminal and its many views up and down Park Avenue. It is also one of the world’s finest examples of the Brutalist architecture, commendable for its robust form and excellent public spaces, as well as its excellent integration into the elevated arterial roads around it. However, there is no argument that it is also immensely bulky with a monstrous height. As shown in the photograph ahead, to its north, the building completely overshadows the Helmsley Building, an iconic product of Warren & Wetmore's Terminal City complex. The pyramid-topped Helmsley Building once straddled the avenue with remarkable grace, and as one of the city’s very rare, “drive-through” buildings, it was the great centerpiece of Park Avenue. But by shrouding such a masterpiece in its shadows, the Pan Am Building (today the MetLife building) desecrated a major icon that will unfortunately never recover from such a contemptible slight on a prominent site.
Read more about the significance of this building here

March 7, 2017

Lottery opens for historic brownstone-replacing apartments in Harlem, from $659/month

By Dana Schulz

The block of East 126th Street between Madison and Park Avenues was once a rare, uninterrupted row of century-and-a-half-old brownstones. But many of them sat vacant in recent years, their windows boarded up and adorned with graffiti. One of these was number 58 in the middle of the block. In 2012, its roof was caving in and its floors collapsing. The city deemed it structurally unsound, as the Times reported at the time, and slated it for demolition. Despite arguments from local preservationists that this would destroy the historic block's uniformity, the site was replaced with a new modern, mixed-use rental building that extends through to 125th Street. The building, which goes by 69 East 125th Street, topped off this past summer and now its 15 affordable apartments--20 percent of the total 75 rentals--are available through the city's lottery process. They're available to those earning 60 percent of the area median income and range from $659/month studios to $797/month two-bedrooms.
Find out more

Affordable Housing

March 7, 2017

Live upstairs from Bethenny Frankel in this $4.75M Soho loft

By Michelle Cohen

For a while, anyway, as the Skinny Girl mogul and RHONY regular recently listed her renovated pad downstairs at 22 Mercer Street. But the cobblestones of Soho's Cast Iron District boast more than enough celebrities to withstand the loss, and this 2,392-square-foot loft has had its own renovation; on the market for $4.75 million, it's stellar enough that it doesn't matter who the neighbors are.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

March 6, 2017

This striking $3.9M duplex six is as classic Upper East Side as it gets

By Michelle Cohen

In an architecturally striking 1929 apartment building designed by George F. Pelham, among the elegant residences of tree-lined 75th Street half a block from Central Park, this unique two-floor co-op at 14 East 75th Street is the picture of Upper East Side perfection. Set up as a "classic six," dramatic details like sixteen vertical feet of windows go beyond classic. According to the listing this duplex, asking $3.85 million, is the first available in the building in 20 years.
Check out both floors

Distinctive Homes

March 6, 2017

Airbnb listing at Trump Tower raises questions about security

By Dana Schulz

Not even a $500,000 a day security bill or threat of frequent evacuations could stop Airbnb from infiltrating Trump Tower. The Times found a listing on the rental site for an apartment in the Midtown fortress that had been available since at least September until they last week contacted Airbnb, at which time it was taken down. The $300-$450 a night rental didn't explicitly state the address but was described as "the most secure and unique building" and asked that potential renters be "politically neutral" and not engage in political displays within the building. Despite these strange stipulations and the added nuisance of protestors and having to go through a Secret Service screening, the apartment is booked for most of the next few months, reviews are surprisingly positive, and it has a five-star rating.
But how did this all get past the secret service?

Uncategorized

March 6, 2017

Hidden underground tunnel will take you from Rockefeller Center to Times Square

By Michelle Cohen

New York City's avenue blocks are long, as are its winters; getting from Rockefeller Center to Times Square can be an unpleasant, cold and crowded experience–unless you take the underground passageway, the city's largest, that spans the entire two-block-plus distance. Below, take a virtual stroll from avenue to avenue (and from the B/D/F/M to the N/R/W subways): Enter on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Street and exit at Seventh Avenue and 49th Street–and buy yourself a few more minutes before you burrow into that parka.
Take a virtual trip through the tunnel

City Living

March 6, 2017

Luxe Noho developments embattled in a $10M lawsuit over a 20-foot alley

By Dana Schulz

When the swanky new condo 1 Great Jones Alley began construction in 2015, part of the plan was to repave the 20-foot-wide, 137-foot-long Noho passageway with Belgian blocks and install a fancy new steel and mesh gate, turning this tiny street into a private walkway and driveway for residents. However, since the alley is not an official city street and is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation, a 19th-century easement agreement said the other building that backs up to the alley, boutique co-op 684 Broadway, must also have access to it and retains part ownership. But the owners of the co-op are not happy with Madison Capital Realty's attempt to market the alley as a private amenity for 1 Great Jones Alley, and therefore have filed a $10 million lawsuit, according to the Post.
Get the full story

Uncategorized

The best design museums in New York City

Lead Image: © Leong Leong Architects for their installation Past Futures, Present, Futures

March 6, 2017

The best design museums in New York City

By Diane Pham

New York is an international center for design. World-famous architects and designers have learned here, lived here, and worked here. And New York shows off the immense talent in the city and elsewhere with some of the world's greatest design museums. Here is a small sample of some of the best places to see the latest and greatest works, as well as where to dig when you're looking for inspiration from the past.
See our top picks here

March 6, 2017

Waitlist opens for middle-income apartments at downtown’s historic Front Street

By Dana Schulz

In 2005, the Durst Organization and COOKFOX Architects completed a restoration of 11 landmarked rowhouses along the historic, cobblestoned Front Street in the South Street Seaport, preserving the nearly 200-year-old structures. In addition, they constructed three new buildings on the block between Beekman Street and Peck Slip to offer a total of 13 street-level retail spaces and 95 residential units above. The New York State Housing Finance Agency provided more than $46 million in funding for the project, and as such stipulated that five percent of the apartments be reserved as below-market rate. Back in 2012, a waitlist opened for these units, and as of today, the next waitlist is accepting applications. The middle-income homes are available to those earning no more than 150 percent of the area median income and range from $2,268/month studios to $2,913/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

March 6, 2017

$2.95M for a modernized townhouse with a glass terrace right in Central Harlem

By Emily Nonko

A big renovation left this four-story townhouse at 310 West 137th Street, in Harlem, feeling sleek and modern. Configured as a triplex over a rental apartment on the garden floor, the house boasts an open living plan, a new kitchen decked out with marble finishes, and also a glass terrace that looks out over a large backyard garden. While the inside feels brand spanking new, the exterior still boasts a historic facade. The property is now up for grabs, priced just under $3 million.
See the inside

Distinctive Homes

March 3, 2017

FREE RENT: It’s all about the views in this week’s roundup of NYC’s rental concessions

By Ondel Hylton

Live in SHoP’s American Copper Buildings from $2,975/Mo; Read Carter’s New Review [link] Behold the Views (Present & Future) from Midtown’s 555TEN, Now Leasing with Two Months Free Rent [link] Leasing Begins at Jersey City Urby, Vertical Community + Stunning Views from $2,000/Month [link] Take In the Incredible Views at 1 QPS Tower; LIC’s Newly-Opened […]

March 3, 2017

‘Show-stopping’ Hamilton collection includes love letters and a lock of hair

By Michelle Cohen

Historic collections expert Seth Kaller throws his hat into the Hamilton ring for this year’s Antiquarian Book Fair, happening March 9-12 at the Park Avenue Armory. The Alexander Hamilton Collection (part of a larger collection titled “The Genius, Passions, Foibles and Flaws of our Founding Fathers” ) promises to be a unique collection of original letters, documents and imprints relating to the life and times of the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and founder of the New York Post, shown for the first time and offered for sale at the book fair.
See what's in the collection

March 3, 2017

‘One57 of assisted living’ moves forward, developers file plans with DOB

By Diane Pham

The market for ultra-luxury condos may be cooling down, but developers appear to be much more optimistic about posh senior housing. Last year, 6sqft reported that Welltower Inc., the country’s largest senior housing owner by market value, had teamed up with Hines to develop the “One57 of Assisted Living,” an upscale facility at 56th Street and Lexington Avenue boasting $20,000/month rents. Now, it appears that the project is moving forward as Curbed tells us plans have been filed with the DOB to start construction.
additional details this way

March 3, 2017

Wilbur Ross cuts price of Billionaires’ Row penthouse for the third time

By Annie Doge

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

By Michelle Cohen

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

By Annie Doge

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

By Dana Schulz

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."
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

March 2, 2017

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

By Annie Doge

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

By Dana Schulz

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

By Dana Schulz

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

By Michelle Cohen

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

By Dana Schulz

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

182
183
184
185
186

Manhattan

Pitch a Story

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Interested in seeing the property in person?

Distinctive Post Form

Get in Touch

Send us a Tip

Interesting in learning more about purchasing a new home?

Thinking about selling your home?

Sell a Home (Footer)

Before You Move On from this Page.

Your Daily Doseof NYC Life!

Before You Move On
from this Page.

Your Daily Dose
of NYC Life!