Manhattan

There have been some big price chops for an apartment at 740 Park Avenue, one of New York's most iconic co-ops, once lived in by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis herself. The former first lady—whose grandfather developed 740 Park in 1929—lived in this apartment between the ages of two to seven. It is now owned by David Ganek, a hedge fund manager, who has used the Rosario Candela-designed co-op as a home for his impressive modern art collection. He first listed it in 2014 for $44 million, and now it's on its third price chop down to $29.5 million.
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Distinctive Homes

November 15, 2016

Down to the wire, 2nd Avenue Subway requires ‘unprecedented’ work to meet December deadline

There are just seven weeks left for the MTA to wrap works on the 2nd Avenue Subway if they want to meet their December 31st deadline. According to the Times, at yesterday’s MTA board meeting, officials relayed that an “unprecedented” effort would be required in order to wrap Phase 1 of the project on time.
read more here

Transit

November 14, 2016

This $3.5M Tribeca apartment has the bones of a loft, the polished interiors of a mansion

By Michelle Cohen

This two-convertible-to-three-bedroom condominium at 58 Walker Street has all the credibility it needs as an authentic Tribeca loft, but wood-paneled walls, a marble-mantled fireplace and super-luxe details assure there won't be any need to sacrifice grown-up elegance. 13-foot ceilings, massive loft windows and exposed brick walls within a cast iron loft building frame a 1,927 square-foot home whose interiors were created by the design team of kureck/jones. An added rare-in-a-loft perk: There's a private terrace off the master bedroom.
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Distinctive Homes

Trump hopes to spend weekends in NYC at Trump Tower during presidency

Interior image Refinery29

November 14, 2016

Trump hopes to spend weekends in NYC at Trump Tower during presidency

It appears that Donald Trump missed the memo that being President is a round-the-clock job, not a 9-5 gig. As the Times reports, the president-elect has been asking aides how many nights he'll have to pass in D.C., and whether or not he'll be able to stay in his 5th Avenue penthouse on weekends. "He has told them he would like to do what he is used to, which is spending time in New York when he can," writes the paper. During the campaign, Trump would often forgo local hotels, opting instead to fly to NYC late at night just so he could sleep in his own bed.
find out more here

Celebrities

November 14, 2016

Chandeliers and custom closets at this $3.25M Greenwich Village co-op

There's lots of lofty space at this three-bedroom apartment at 303 Mercer Street, a Greenwich Village cooperative. Two units were combined into one and the seamless space was designed with chic, upscale finishes like mahogany doors, crown moldings and Brazilian hardwood floors. (Not to mention three different chandeliers.) The listing calls it Greenwich Village’s only three-bedroom, two-bathroom pad under $3.5 million with an ask of $3.25 million.
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Distinctive Homes

November 11, 2016

This $675K prewar studio is right across from the Museum of Modern Art

This 650-square-foot pad is nestled inside a six-story, Beaux Arts brick and limestone townhouse located just across the street from the Museum of Modern Art. Located at 35 West 54th Street, in Midtown West, this is a former one-bedroom apartment renovated into a spacious, open studio by its owner architect. The reno retained some of the classic Beaux Arts details while giving the interior a modern look.
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Distinctive Homes

November 11, 2016

432 Park Avenue will become a beacon of light beginning Monday

Just in case you had trouble spotting the Western Hemisphere's tallest residential tower, beginning Monday, 432 Park Avenue will debut a brand new lighting feature that will turn the 1,396-foot supertall into a glowing beacon. As LLNYC reports, 32 LEDs will fill the tower's five open-air "drum floors" where the building's mechanicals are situated. 432 Park's starchitect, Rafael Viñoly, worked with HDLC Architectural Lighting Design to develop the scheme.
more details here

Architecture And Design

November 11, 2016

Lawsuit: Co-op board told Madonna she can’t have daughter Lourdes stay at her pad when she’s out

By Michelle Cohen

In a recent court filing, Madonna's attorney wrote that the pop star was “entitled” to have her “adult daughter” Lourdes live in the $7.3 million duplex that she purchased in 2008, The New York Post shares. As 6sqft previously reported, Madge sued the board at 1 West 64th Street, known as Harperley Hall, in April after they attempted to ban the performer's family and staff from being in the apartment when she wasn't there. According to court papers, the co-op building's board illegally changed her original lease in 2014 to say that no one under 16 could reside in the apartment unless an adult over age 21 was present.
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Celebrities

Trump Tower residents are sick of protestors; problem unlikely to improve

Photo via Kristal T/Flickr

November 11, 2016

Trump Tower residents are sick of protestors; problem unlikely to improve

Since Donald Trump announced his run for office, Trump Tower, where the President-elect both lives and keeps his political headquarters, has been a hotspot for protestors. While in the past few months, inconveniences haven't escalated far beyond anti-Trumpers stopping by to give the building the finger, after the 2016 election results were announced, it's become veritable zoo outside the 5th Avenue tower as thousands have convened to denounce (and to be sure, support) a Trump presidency. The situation has become a major disruption for residents of the luxury skyscraper who are now annoyed with the crowds. As The Post so fittingly writes, "It’s not so easy being a member of the 1 percent if you live at Trump Tower."
more on the complaints here

November 11, 2016

The Urban Lens: Chaz Langley captures the people and places that make Chinatown tick

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Chaz Langley explores the people and establishments breathe life into Chinatown. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Nashville native Chaz Langley moved to New York to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter/actor/model, but along the way began snapping iPhone photos of his adopted city as another creative outlet, finding the process therapeutic. Through his Instagram account, he tells the stories of the people, places, and things that inspire him, using his other skill set of graphic design as a way to curate his collections. In "A Stroll in Chinatown" he captures the unique cultural establishments of Chinatown and the everyday comings and goings of the neighborhood's residents.
See all the photos here

Places

November 10, 2016

East River Skyway endorsed by local politicians as L train alternative

It looks like the East River Skyway is getting a big boost from local elected officials. Three politicians have jumped on the idea, including U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, City Councilman Stephen Levin, and State Assemblyman Joseph Lentol. The trio together drafted a letter to Mayor de Blasio, encouraging him to back the transit initiative as a solution to impending L train closure. "This is the coolest thing we could do for the neighborhood," Lentol, told DNA Info. "I don’t want to denigrate the BQX but this is even a greater plan to have a gondola going from Brooklyn to Manhattan forever."
find out more here

Transit

November 10, 2016

UWS school rezoning proposal aims to reduce crowding and increase integration

By Metro New York

After 25 meetings in two years and amid a mix of public outcry and support, the New York City Department of Education unveiled its final proposal to rezone District 3 on the Upper West Side Wednesday. The move hopes to lessen overcrowding and nurture integration at 11 schools from West 59th Street to West 116th Street. […]

November 10, 2016

Studio Seilern designs boxy, mixed-use tower for West Chelsea’s ‘starchitects row’

The stretch of Eleventh Avenue that winds through Chelsea in the 20s has become a hotbed of starchitecture activity ever since plans were announced for the High Line. ArchDaily brings us the latest project that may rise along the corridor, and though it doesn't have the name recognition of its neighbors, its interesting design, inspired by MoMA's famed sculpture garden, fits right in. The 24-story glass tower from London's Studio Seilern Architects will have commercial space for a gallery on the lower levels with residential units above. Judging from the views, the project site appears to be near the corner of West 21st Street and Eleventh Avenue, directly across from Norman Foster's 551W21 and a block north of Jean Nouvel's 100 Eleventh Avenue and Frank Gehry's IAC Building.
More renderings and details this way

November 10, 2016

Sports Illustrated model Kate Bock picks up sleek, $1.35M Greenwich Village duplex

By Annie Doge

Things have been heating up between Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player Kevin Love and Canadian supermodel Kate Bock, but the Sports Illustrated beauty doesn't seem to be settling down in Ohio anytime soon. The Post reports that she's the lucky new owner of this sleek Greenwich Village duplex, last listed for $1.35 million. Located in the Cast Iron Building at 67 East 11th Street, the one-bedroom loft boasts a mod, all-white interior highlighted by two enormous ten-foot windows and a contemporary floating staircase.
Take a look around

November 9, 2016

Spectacular Upper East Side apartment is enlivened with vivid colors and uncommon shapes

By Rebecca Paul

The Upper East Side is home to a plethora of elegant residencies, and the interior of this 79th Street apartment from the design firm S.R. Gambrel is luxury at its best. Each room is impeccably outfitted to tell its own story, individual in point of view, but still fits together into one cohesive aesthetic. From the vivid color palette and wall decor to the ornate light fixtures and floor textiles, everything in this home is vibrant, lively and not to be missed.
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Distinctive Homes

November 9, 2016

Historic church near Penn Station to be converted to modern retail space

The Church of St. John the Baptist, located at 213 West 30th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, has stood in Midtown since 1872. Designed in the French Gothic-style by architect Napoleon LeBrun, it first served New York City's German population and was later assumed by the Capuchin Friars. In 1974, a brown brick Brutalist structure was added on the other side of the site at 210 West 31st Street, facing Penn Station, to serve as the Capuchin Monastery of St. John the Baptist. This two-story building was recently acquired by KBS Capital and Onyx Equities, who plan to spend $14.2 million converting the property into a 30,000-square-foot retail space, reports The Real Deal. Though initial plans don't seem to touch the 144-year-old church, a rendering of the 31st Street project shows a glassy, neon-laden facade.
More details ahead

New Developments

November 9, 2016

Lincoln Center: From Dutch enclave and notorious San Juan Hill to a thriving cultural center

By Michelle Young

The glossy cultured patina of Lincoln Center reveals nearly nothing of what the neighborhood once was, and New Yorkers, accustomed to the on-going cycle of building and demolition, have likely forgotten (or never knew) about the lively San Juan Hill neighborhood that was demolished to make way for the famous cultural center. Any such development dating from the 1960s wouldn't be without the fingerprints of the now-vilified Robert Moses, who was more than willing to cut up neighborhoods both poor and wealthy in the eye of progress.
Learn more about Lincoln Center's incredible past here

November 9, 2016

Target opening a store in new Hell’s Kitchen condo

Over the summer, Chinese developer Xinyuan Real Estate filed plans to build a seven-story, 105,305- square-foot condominium at 615 Tenth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen, their second NYC project after the Oosten in Williamsburg. The address had formerly been home to a Hess gas station until Xinyuan bought the site last January for $57.5 million. Their new 82-unit project, dubbed Hudson Garden, will also have a 29,000-square-foot retail base along the western blockfront between West 44th and 45th Streets, for which the Post reports Target has signed a lease.
More details

New Developments

November 9, 2016

Soori High Line penthouse with its own private pool hits the market for $22.5M

The new Chelsea condo Soori High Line, at 522 West 29th Street, has made headlines for apartments that come with their own private pools. And now one of the building's most luxurious condos has hit the market—a penthouse triplex asking $22.5 million. This pad boasts nearly 20 foot ceilings and one incredible, 25-foot-long, four-foot-deep heated rooftop pool.
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November 8, 2016

Bleecker Street co-op with a custom wall unit and built-in bar asks $895K

This one-bedroom co-op at 77 Bleecker Street--also known as Bleecker Court--has been totally re-imagined by the architecture and interior design firm Mancini. They added a custom wall unit to the living room (with its own built-in bar!), upgraded all the finishes and fancied up a lofted office space. This smartly designed pad in Greenwich Village is now up for sale, asking $895,000.
More photos this way

Distinctive Homes

November 8, 2016

Photographer Danica O. Kus provides new interior views of Bjarke Ingels’ Via 57 West

Photograph © Danica O. Kus For architectural photographers, Bjarke Ingels' self-described "courtscraper" Via 57 West is a dream. From its sharp angles and unique tetrahedron design to its winding courtyards and geometric interiors, the 32-story rental offers plenty of artistic shots. A couple months ago, just as the Midtown West project wrapped up construction, Iwan Baan released a set of images that showed new vantages of the central outdoor space and views of how the building fits in with the skyline. Now, ArchDaily shares a collection of photos from Danica O. Kus, these providing never-before-seen looks at Via's interior spaces--including the lobby, pool, and balconies--as well views of the the building's public art piece and highly artistic shots of its facade.
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Architecture And Design

November 8, 2016

Even more pricey condos are coming to Billionaires’ Row

Back in September, there were murmurs that the Feil Organization had plans to convert a 57th Street office building into residences. As it turns out, Billionaires' Row will indeed soon find itself with another 34 high-end condos in tow. As Yimby first reports, plans were filed last week to convert a 14-story, 1907 commercial tower at 140 West 57th Street into a mixed-use property that would keep an existing grocery story at its base, but transform the building's upper 12 floors into 70,885 square feet of upscale living space.
more details here

November 8, 2016

Don’t miss your $23M chance to be Donald Trump’s downstairs neighbor

By Annie Doge

This "yuge" Trump Tower penthouse hit the market back in October 2015, but its $23 million price tag and location just a few floors below Donald Trump's personal residence have apparently not been the biggest selling points. As 6sqft previously noted, the sprawling (albeit gaudy) condo was once owned by the Donald himself, back when his parents lived there and when he reportedly rented it out for $110,000 a month to buddy Michael Jackson and then-wife Lisa Marie Presley. But if you're still itching to be neighbors with the presidential candidate, it's not too late.
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November 8, 2016

$975K for a flexible East Village co-op with lots of exposed brick

Here's an East Village co-op with a little room to grow. Located at 71 East 3rd Street, this is a two-bedroom apartment in which a third bedroom could be carved out of the large living room. Otherwise, it's a charming pre-war apartment with exposed brick in nearly every room, a cast iron tub and four exposures with views out toward the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center. And it's just hit the market for $975,000.
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Distinctive Homes

November 7, 2016

Proposed Penn Station-topping free-fall ride gets new video, details

When developers at Brooklyn Capital Partners and designers at AE Superlab revealed their proposal to erect the world's tallest free-fall ride atop Penn Station, it seemed like perhaps a commentary on Governor Cuomo's big-ticket overhaul of the station. But in fact, the team hoped their 1,200-foot Halo, as it's being called, would rise along with the renovations, serving as "an interactive beacon for the city." As 6sqft reported, "the ride’s 11 cars... could be modified to move as quickly as 100 miles per hour giving it a top-to-base free fall of about six seconds." A freshly uncovered video shows this in action, and a new project website provides more details on the logistical components, 20-month construction time period, and $130 million in annual projected revenue.
Plenty more details this way

November 7, 2016

Interior renderings, more details revealed for Richard Meier’s Turtle Bay tower