Manhattan

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

By Annie Doge

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.
READ MORE

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

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.
READ MORE

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’

Harlem's gentrification and increasing real estate prices aren't news at this point, but a local community board thinks certain real estate brokers have crossed a line. As DNAinfo reports, Keller Williams created a separate office for "SoHa," their new branding for South Harlem. Following in the footsteps of NoLo (SoHo + Nolita + Lower East Side), DoBro (Downtown Brooklyn), and Hellsea (Hell's Kitchen + Chelsea), the moniker is seen as an attempt to make buyers and renters feel like they're cashing in on the next trendy 'hood. But residents of the Central Harlem area, roughly West 110th to 125th Streets, feel the marketing tactic is "arrogant" and "disrespectful," and so Community Board 10 has introduced a resolution that would prevent brokers from using the nickname.
READ MORE

Uncategorized

February 24, 2017

$10M Upper East Side townhouse is introducing its neighbors to the future

Sleek casement windows and a minimalist grey facade are the first sign that this otherwise unassuming mid-block home at 419 East 84th Street isn't your average $9.99 million Upper East Side townhouse. Inside, the Euro-chic flush surfaces, exposed brick, and wide open spaces of a downtown loft condo span five stories, from the garden floor au pair suite to the floating glass staircase to a wood-beamed skylit top floor. At 6,000 square feet, though, it's the size of three lofts, with the added perk of being situated in classic Yorkville, just a block from Carl Schurz Park and two blocks from the new Second Avenue Subway.
Hop in the elevator and take the tour

Distinctive Homes

February 23, 2017

Sunday will be your last chance to brunch at the Waldorf Astoria’s Peacock Alley

Come March 1st the Waldorf Astoria will close its doors to the public in preparation for what's likely to be a lengthy conversion, as the New York icon transforms from luxury hotel to a hybrid of opulent condos and hotel rooms. While we can all rest assured that the Waldorf's stunning interiors will remain intact—from the historic ballrooms to exhibition space, dining rooms and banquet rooms—what will likely disappear for good (at least in their current form) are the lavish brunches held at Peacock Alley. As Metro NY reports, this Sunday, February 26th, will be your last opportunity to indulge in the hotel's utterly decadent weekend offering.
more details here

Events & Things To Do

February 23, 2017

Sad stretch of Canal Street retail may be replaced with this nine-story Passive House

If you've walked down Chinatown's Canal Street then you're certainly familiar with a string of stores at 312-322 Canal Street hawking cheap souvenirs to tourists and passersby. After a proposal to renew the depressed stretch of shops with a brand-new brick construction failed to pass Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) muster in 2011, a new, much more ambitious plan to replace the ramshackle building has finally emerged.
more details this way

New Developments

Renderings © Neoscape for Studio Gang Architects

February 23, 2017

Jeanne Gang reveals sparkly new renderings of High Line-hugging Solar Carve Tower

Renderings © Neoscape for Studio Gang Architects Just yesterday, 6sqft shared the news that Jeanne Gang's first ground-up project in NYC--the Solar Carve Tower at 40 Tenth Avenue--had begun construction along the High Line. Now, the Post shares new renderings of the jewel-like, glassy structure, which is so named for its employment of the firm's strategy that uses the sun's angles to shape a building. Along with these views of its chiseled edges, connection to the park, terraces, and interior spaces, comes word that developers Aurora Capital and William Gottlieb Real Estate have tapped Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield to begin leasing the 139,000-square-foot, 12-story boutique office building in anticipation of its 2019 opening.
Lots more details and renderings ahead

February 23, 2017

For $9.5M, this sprawling Gramercy co-op has a sunken living room and keys to the park

At a house-sized 3,809 square feet, this jumbo co-op at 50 Gramercy Park North, on the market for $9.5 million, is likely two apartments that were combined. As a result, there's more room for bedrooms, living and entertaining space and more floor-to-ceiling glass to take in the view. The building is also home to the Gramercy Park Hotel, so you get hotel-level amenities as part of the deal, along with a coveted key to the park.
Big rooms and big views this way

Distinctive Homes

February 22, 2017

Impeccably restored apartment in an 1839 Greek Revival townhouse asks $12,495/month in the Village

By Emily Nonko

The listing brags that this Greenwich Village co-op looks like something out of a movie, and we'd have to agree. A two-year restoration of this apartment, which occupies the third floor of the 1839 Greek Revival townhouse 158 Waverly Place, left the 2,000-square-foot space looking gorgeous. Historic details are paired with both intricate wallpaper patterns and modern amenities. The apartment, too, has hosted a notable crew of residents. The townhouse was built for Lambert Suydam, the former president of Manhattan Gas & Light Co., and then the third floor was later occupied by Oscar winning actress Judy Holliday between 1948 and 1952. The latest owner, Thomas Ruff, is a German photographer who purchased it in 2006 for $1.65 million, according to public records. And now the co-op can be rented for $12,495 a month.
Take a look

February 22, 2017

Buy Karim Rashid’s sleek, candy-colored Hell’s Kitchen condo for $4.75M

By Annie Doge

Industrial designer/architect (and lover of all things pink and white) Karim Rashid once told 6sqft, "Color is life and for me, color is a way of dealing with and touching our emotions, our psyche, and our spiritual being," and this philosophy is clearly on display in his personal Hell's Kitchen home. If you're a fan of this quirky aesthetic, you're in luck; Curbed tells us that Rashid's super-sleek townhouse-condo at The Dillon recently hit the market for $4.75 million.
Take a tour of the whole place

Image via Wiki Commons

February 22, 2017

125-year-old Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine finally declared a city landmark

Image via Wiki Commons On Tuesday the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate the 125-year-old Cathedral Church of St. John The Divine, the world's largest cathedral; in addition, 115 neighboring buildings became the Morningside Heights Historic District. The designated district runs from West 109th to 119th streets between Riverside Drive and Amsterdam Avenue and includes the famously unfinished cathedral and surrounding campus. With the designation, calendared by the LPC in September, comes a 3-D online map that provides more information about the buildings in the district, most of which were constructed between 1900 and 1910, including townhouses dating back to the late 1800s as well as pre-war apartment buildings.
Find out more

February 22, 2017

Inside New York’s little-known graphic design gem, The Herb Lubalin Study Center

Icy, metallic, and unabashedly serious is how one might describe The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art building in the East Village. But deep within its mash of raw concrete, steel beams, and metal screens is an unlikely 800-square-foot treasure chest filled with tens of thousands of design and typographical ephemera spanning multiple decades. Known as The Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography, the quaint and cozy space opened in 1985 as an archive dedicated to the work of Herb Lubalin, an American graphic designer best known for his playful art direction at Avant Garde, Eros and Fact magazines, as well as his groundbreaking design work completed between 1950 and 1980 (including the original World Trade Center logo). As one would expect, the center is filled with one-of-a-kind Lubalin works that range from posters, journals, magazines, sketches, and packaging, most of which came from his studio, his employees, or via donation by Lubalin enthusiasts. However, what many will be surprised to know is that Lubalin's materials make up just 20 percent of the center’s entire collection. Indeed, about 80 percent of what's tucked away comes from other influential designers. And those flat files not dedicated to Lubalin are filled with rare works from icons that include Push Pin Studios, Seymour Chwast, Milton Glaser, Lou Dorfsman, and Massimo Vignelli.
go inside here

Architecture And Design

February 22, 2017

Jeanne Gang’s ‘Solar Carve Tower’ begins its rise on the High Line

For an architect who had yet to break into the NYC scene, Jeanne Gang is now moving full steam ahead. Her firm, Studio Gang, received LPC approvals back in October for their much-hyped, $340 million Museum of Natural History expansion, and now, CityRealty tells us that construction has begun on their razor-edged glass tower along the High Line. Dubbed "Solar Carve Tower" for the firm's strategy that "uses the incident angles of the sun’s ray to form the gem-like shape," the 12-story office building will be Gang's first ground-up project when completed.
Find out more

February 21, 2017

$2.6M for a ‘sleek and sexy’ modern condo right off Union Square

By Emily Nonko

The aren't many glassy condo developments in Greenwich Village, but this one at 3 West 13th Street has an apartment up for sale. The two-bedroom pad occupies the entire eighth floor and is accessed by a private key-locked elevator. Floor-to-ceiling windows, white tile flooring and a modern gas fireplace lend to an aesthetic the listing dubs "sleek and sexy."
See the full apartment

Distinctive Homes

February 21, 2017

Marvel at the downtown Manhattan skyline from the many terraces of this $8.5M Tribeca penthouse duplex

One of the best ways to enjoy Manhattan living is to be surrounded by the city's ever-changing, mesmerizing skyline, especially if you're lucky enough to be gazing from your own private perch. At this duplex penthouse atop the 12-unit condominium at 92 Warren Street in Tribeca, currently asking $8.5 million, the opportunities to do just that are many. Two spacious balconies and a roof deck afford dizzying views of the surrounding skyscrapers, classic lofts and the Hudson River–and you're getting the same amazing eyeful even if you stay indoors.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

February 20, 2017

Jason Biggs and Jenny Mollen list uber-stylish Tribeca loft for $3M

By Annie Doge

"American Pie" and "Orange is the New Black" actor Jason Biggs married actress and author Jenny Mollen in 2008, after they met filming "My Best Friend's Girl." Five years later, the trendy couple bought a sprawling Tribeca loft at 288 West Street for $2.55 million, enlisting designer-to-the-stars Cliff Fong (with whom they'd worked previously on two L.A. homes) to outfit the space with a combination of modern furniture and accessories from Wayfair.com, their extensive art collection, and playful and comfortable pieces to accommodate their three-year-old son Sid--all of which blend seamlessly with the loft's brick walls, exposed timber framing and beams, raw pipes, and open floorplan. They've now decided to put the apartment on the market, and it's asking a not-especially, marked-up price of $2,995,000.
Tour the entire loft

February 19, 2017

$5K/month shabby-chic Flatiron District co-op has a solarium and private terrace