Manhattan

The Country’s First Botanic Garden Was on 20 Wooded Acres at Today’s Rockefeller Center

View of Elgin Botanic Garden in 1801

March 30, 2016

The Country’s First Botanic Garden Was on 20 Wooded Acres at Today’s Rockefeller Center

Today, New Yorkers get to enjoy lush landscapes and beautiful plantings at the 250-acre New York Botanical Garden and the 52-acre Brooklyn Botanic Garden, but these outdoor oases weren't founded until 1891 and 1910, respectively. About 100 years prior, a public botanic garden sprouted up on 20 acres of land at what is today Rockefeller Center, and it was the first such garden in the nation. Elgin Botanic Garden was founded in 1801 by Dr. David Hosack, a physician, botanist, and educator, perhaps best known for serving as the doctor to Alexander Hamilton after his duel with Aaron Burr in 1804. He used his own money to purchase and landscape the grounds, and by 1805 it was home to more than 1,500 plant species, which he studied for medicinal purposes.
The full history of Hosack and the Elgin Botanic Garden

History

March 30, 2016

Richard Meier-Designed Tower Finally Begins Construction at Turtle Bay South Complex

By Ondel Hylton

Construction has finally begun on the westernmost lot of Sheldon Solow's Turtle Bay South master plan, 16 years after the developer purchased the site. Excavators are picking away at the 30,000-square-foot site at 685 First Avenue that has long held a surface parking lot and is just a small portion of a larger, long-planned development straddling First Avenue between East 35th and 41st Streets. Last August, plans were filed for 685 First, which will be a girthy 42-story residential tower with 555 rental units and 800,000 square feet of gross floor area. The tower is being designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier, a surprising choice given the American architect is best known for his modest-scaled projects and white exteriors, while Solow is best known for their monolithic towers sheathed in black glass curtain walls. Nevertheless, when complete, the tower will be Meier's largest ever project in New York and will be just one of four residential towers and a pavilion he is scheduled to design for the billionaire developer.
More details and renderings ahead

March 29, 2016

Across from Hudson Yards, Architect Proposes 9-Acre Floating Island As an Encore to the High Line

By Ondel Hylton

New York architect and longtime visionary Eytan Kaufman has drawn up a conceptual plan to connect the final leg of the High Line to a new island/pier in the Hudson River. Currently, the High Line gets tantalizingly close to the waterfront in its final spur around Hudson Yards, but then swerves inland towards an anticlimactic end at the Jacob Javits Center. Kaufman's scheme called Hub on the Hudson would build a pedestrian bridge over the West Side Highway, shuttling people from the elevated park to a sprawling, circular-shaped cultural and recreational center. It's quite similar to Barry Diller's proposed Pier 55 floating park, which is planned for a Hudson River site slightly farther south in the Meatpacking District. Extending more than 700 feet into the river, and spanning nearly nine acres in size, the pie-in-the-Hudson plan would build five interconnected pyramid-shaped buildings, comprised of an art center, restaurants, and publicly accessible open spaces. A circular elevated promenade would encircle the island, which Kaufman says would contrast to the linear procession of the High Line. At ground level there will be a central reflecting pool with a promenade leading out to a marina. The pentagonal, pyramidal and circular themes expressed in the plan make its spiritual intentions quite clear: To sail the High Line's tourists back home.
Check out all the renderings this way

Architecture And Design

Middle-Income Housing Lottery Opens for 16 Newly Renovated Apartments in Harlem

152 West 124th Street (L); 70 East 127th Street (R). Via Google Street View.

March 29, 2016

Middle-Income Housing Lottery Opens for 16 Newly Renovated Apartments in Harlem

By Dana Schulz

The Third Party Transfer Program (TPT) is an initiative of the NYC Department of Housing and Preservation Development that was created in 1966 where the city forecloses on properties with unpaid taxes and eventually transfers ownership to a developer who must rehabilitate the building if necessary and manage it as affordable housing. Two Harlem buildings, 152 West 124th Street and 70 East 127th Street, were renovated under this program and are now offering 16 middle-income units through the city's housing lottery. They range from $1,040/month studios to $2,165 two-bedrooms for persons earning anywhere between $36,995 and $107,875 annually, depending on household size.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

March 29, 2016

Construction Update: The Style Condominium Takes Shape in East Harlem

By Emrys Fitzgerald

Two years after renderings were first unveiled, 6sqft brings a construction update for a two-building condominium complex rising in East Harlem. Known as the Style and developed by the the Fane Organization, the property sits on a block-through parcel of land between East 131st and 132nd Streets, bound by Madison and Park Avenues. The Style's 31 residences are housed in two buildings with distinct addresses on opposite ends of the lot, but they're unified by an interconnecting lobby and courtyard. Gene Kaufman Architects is handling the design of the buildings, which are similar, but not identical. Despite the project's bold name, however, they're quite ordinary in design. The most distinguishing feature are sand-colored frames encircling the exteriors' windowed and black-paneled areas, reminiscent of Midtown's Solow Building (but without the bell bottoms).
More details ahead

March 29, 2016

$2.5M Greenwich Village Loft Offers Plenty of Light For an Indoor Garden

By Michelle Cohen

It can be tough to find the sophistication of a Manhattan apartment building and still get the open space and old-school industrial feel of a loft, but this $2.5 million, two-bedroom co-op at 111 Fourth Avenue does a great job with the best of all possible worlds. In an amazingly convenient (though perhaps a little busy if you're seeking a neighborhood vibe) spot at the crossroads of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and steps from Union Square, you're getting enviable city views, finely finished interiors and building amenities like an elevator, laundry, landscaped roof decks and parking, while scoring all the open loft architecture, 1920s construction and walls of casement windows you could possibly wish for.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

March 28, 2016

Victoria’s Secret Model Amy Hixson Buys $875K Harlem Condo

By Annie Doge

Over the summer, 6sqft discovered that model Amy Hixson, who has graced the pages of GQ and Victoria’s Secret, was looking to unload her custom-designed, bespoke East Village pad for $899,000. She purchased the home for $625,000 in 2010 and then undertook a three-month renovation with Own Entity designers. The pad sold in August for $916,000, and using that extra profit the blonde beauty has now snapped up a two-bedroom Harlem condo for $875,000.
READ MORE

Real Estate Trends

March 28, 2016

Actor Chris Lowell Sells Double-Height Greenwich Village Loft for $1M

By Annie Doge

Former "Veronica Mars" actor Chris Lowell listed his Greenwich Village loft for $1.195 million back in November, just three months before buying another loft, this time in Soho, with girlfriend and fellow actor Kerry Bishé (from the AMC drama “Halt and Catch Fire” and the film “Argo”). The cute couple's new home, a triplex with outdoor space and tons of exposed brick, cost almost double at $2.25 million, which is why it's perfect timing that Lowell unloaded his bachelor pad. The Observer reports that he got $1,050,000 for the co-op at 67 East 11th Street, which boats 16-foot ceilings, double-height windows, and cast iron columns.
Take a look around

‘Eloise From Hell’ Spent 35 Years in the Plaza for $500/Month, Until Donald Trump Came Along

Illustration by Hilary Knight, courtesy of Simon and Schuster

March 28, 2016

‘Eloise From Hell’ Spent 35 Years in the Plaza for $500/Month, Until Donald Trump Came Along

By Michelle Cohen

Remember the story of Herbert J. Sukenik, the famous Central Park West "hermit holdout?" Developers paid the rent-controlled curmudgeon $17 million and gave him a free massive pad overlooking the park in a legendary buyout. His female counterpart might be one Fannie Lowenstein, whom none other than Donald Trump is said to have ended up bestowing a sprawling suite in the venerable Plaza Hotel at 1 Central Park South, complete with a Steinway grand piano and maid service. For zero dollars a month. For life. Here’s how the story of the woman the hotel staff referred to as “the Eloise from Hell” became yet another Manhattan rent regulation legend, as told by Vice.
Find out more

March 28, 2016

Toll Brothers Top Off West Village Development at St. Luke in the Fields’ Courtyard

By Heather Cooper Vivares

Last November, 6sqft reported that Toll Brothers' upcoming residential building 100 Barrow Street had just made its way above ground to street level. Now just four months later, the West Village development has topped off at 12 stories and 130 feet. As pictured above, the building’s bare concrete skeleton still has a way to go, but it's expected to be finished sometime late this year or early next year. Since it's part of the the Greenwich Village Historic District, the building's designers, Barry Rice Architects, had to win approvals from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The lower half will be clad in Flemish brick to match the neighborhood's 19th century aesthetic, while the top will be sheathed in a glass curtain wall with bronze-metallic panels.
Find out more

New Developments

March 28, 2016

Recently Sold for $10M in Bidding War, Furnished UES Townhouse Now Renting for $50K/Month

By Michelle Cohen

Bidding wars have become too familiar to cause much of a shock, and things have cooled down a bit in the city's most competitive markets, but a nice turn-key townhouse can still bring out the competition in full force. This was certainly the case when this four-story townhouse at 235 East 72nd Street changed hands for $10.1 million–well over the $9.5 million ask–after a bidding war between developers Naftali Group and Toll Brothers in February. The former emerged victorious, though rumor has it that both parties may have plans for amassing properties on the prime Upper East Side block. The furnished townhouse is now seeking a short- or long-term tenant to fork over $50,000 a month for the privilege of dwelling on its four renovated floors of five-bedroom spaciousness. The 5,250-square-foot 1910 house has been completely furnished with no detail left unfinished, and since it's managed by onefinestay, renters won’t have to pay utilities and get to enjoy perks like hotel-grade linens and towels, maid service, 24/7 concierge services, and iPhones with unlimited local calls and curated property and neighborhood information.
See all 5,250 square feet of this turn-key townhouse

Distinctive Homes

March 26, 2016

Permits Filed for Karim Rashid’s Soho Condos at 30 Thompson Street

By Ondel Hylton

A new building application was filed yesterday for a seven-unit condominium at 30 Thompson Street in Soho. New York-based Karim Rashid has been reported as the project's designer, though Heritage Architecture is listed as the architect of record. The boutique development is led by a joint venture involving between the Weis Group, Walker Ridge, and the Mavrix Group The permits detail the project will rise eight stories and 113 feet. The ground floor will house the lobby and off-street parking, while each of the high-ceilinged floors above will host just a single, floor-through residence. The mid-block site between Grand and Watts streets is located on a lightly-traversed stretch with an eclectic mix of building types and styles. The development will replace a one-story garage and will rise directly behind the glassy new condominium tower, 325 West Broadway.
more details this way

March 25, 2016

Actor Stephen Dorff Lists Chelsea Penthouse Loft With Party-Ready Roof Deck for $3M

By Michelle Cohen

The Chelsea loft penthouse at 251 West 19th Street belonging to actor Stephen Dorff just hit the market for $3 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. The apartment's best feature is undoubtedly its 850-square-foot private roof terrace with a wet bar/kitchen, outdoor shower and Empire State Building views. Dorff was a teen heartthrob in the '90s–known for the boxing film, "The Power of One" (1992), and the 1998 superhero film “Blade”–and an indie It Boy of sorts in the following decade, appearing in cult films like John Waters' "Cecil B. Demented" and slacker/grunge time capsule "S.F.W.." A stream of typical "evil guy" roles followed until 2010, when he starred in the Sofia Coppola film "Somewhere," which, perhaps ironically, is the tale of a disaffected hotel-dwelling actor. But Dorff has definitely worked hard if nothing else. And he may finally be seeing the benefits: WSJ quotes the actor in a 2013 interview as describing his less-than-savvy spending habits during the early days of his career: "After movies, I would rent these really expensive houses, and then I would run out of money and have to do another movie. I didn't like that feeling of having to take something I didn't want," he says. "Now I'm into buying—forget this renting stuff."
See more of this indoor-outdoor duplex

SHoP’s Dancing East River Towers Top Out With Plenty of Flood-Proofing Below

Construction shots via R. Douglas/Tectonic

March 25, 2016

SHoP’s Dancing East River Towers Top Out With Plenty of Flood-Proofing Below

By Ondel Hylton

Three-and-a half years after Superstorm Sandy, New York developers are taking to the sea at a faster pace than ever. The most dramatic changes are in store for the East River shoreline, where more that two dozen developments are in construction or planned on both the Brooklyn and Manhattan sides. Ranging from the two million-square-foot Cornell Tech campus to the second largest condominium tower in the city going up at One Manhattan Square, the developments will usher in thousands of new residents and a sprinkling of workers to the flood-prone areas. As of late, the tidal strait's most striking addition has been a pair of asymmetrical, copper-clad towers at 626 First Avenue in Murray Hill. Last week, the team led by Michael Stern's JDS Development topped off construction on the 470-foot-tall southeastern tower. The taller 49-story, 540-foot northwestern tower finished its vertical rise some time earlier this month.
How is the project protecting itself from another possible storm?

March 25, 2016

This $925K Upper West Side Co-op Has Pre-War Details and a Hand-Painted Tableaux

By Michelle Cohen

When looking at Manhattan apartments, it's hard sometimes to avoid the cookie-cutter trap, especially when looking at one-bedrooms. Pre-war units can be more diverse, but there's still plenty of the generic. This lovely one-bedroom co-op in an elevator building at 329 West 108th Street is definitely exceptional in that regard. The combination of two 1890s townhouses that resulted in this boutique co-op brought with it interior details like warm wooden beams, mosaic tiles, oversized bay windows and leaded glass–which remain to charm and set the apartment apart from the crowd. Everywhere you look in this know-it-when-you-see-it home, you'll find turn-of-the-previous-century, museum quality details: quarter- and rift-sawn oak herringbone and parquet floors, leaded glass, ornate moldings, and original woodwork surrounding oversized doorways, windows and nearly 11-foot ceilings.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

March 24, 2016

Madonna Caught Posting Fake ‘No Parking’ Signs Outside UES Mansion

By Annie Doge

Madonna seems to really be going off the rails lately, with multiple reports of wild performance antics and showing up late to concerts. But her questionable behavior isn't just reserved for the stage, as TMZ is reporting that she "concocted a scheme to snag precious parking spots in front of her super expensive NYC apartment, and the authorities came down on them like a brick." Reports say that her people put "Tenant Parking Only" signs along the block, as well as painted the curb yellow and embossed it to say "NO PARKING," despite the fact that these are all public parking spots.
Get the scoop

Celebrities

March 24, 2016

Don’t Miss Toyota’s Ten-Story, Climbable Times Square Billboard

By Ondel Hylton

Today's your last chance to catch three professional climbers and one "daredevil amateur" scale a 100-foot-tall billboard in Times Square. The three-dimensional advertisement is for Toyota's new RAV4 Hybrid and features a scale-able rock-climbing wall that rises ten stories and is mounted along the northeast corner of the DoubleTree Hotel at 1568 Broadway (47th Street and 7th Avenue). The wall has a 96-foot vertical climb with more than 100 hand holds for the team of five climbers, made up of Christina Fate and her fiance, RAV4 Rally driver Ryan Millen, David Morton, an expert climber and technical consultant for the project, and veteran ice climbers and mountain guides Eric and Adam Knoff.
Should more interactive advertisements come to Times Square?

Architecture And Design

March 24, 2016

Rent at Soho’s Nearly Complete 75 Sullivan Street, Units Start at $8,500 Per Month

By Ondel Hylton

In the shadow of Property Market Group's bricky condominium at 10 Sullivan Place, P. Zaccaro Co., Inc. (PZCo) is putting the finishing touches on their ground-up, seven-story rental building at 75 Sullivan Street. In case you couldn't tell by the title, this is NOT an affordable housing story. Rather, it presents a rare opportunity to rent in a newly-constructed building in Soho, which for the most part has mainly built very high-end condo buildings and boutique office spaces in recent years.
More details on the rentals here

March 24, 2016

‘Scarface’ Director Brian De Palma Buys Second Co-op in Fifth Avenue Building for $1.8M

By Michelle Cohen

Filmmaker Brian De Palma just bought a second unit at 1 Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village according to city records. The famous director of "Scarface" and "Carrie" already owns an apartment on the 23rd floor of the Gold Coast building, where's he's lived since at least 1989, but his latest acquisition is a two-bedroom unit for which he paid $1,750,000.
Find out more about the building's celebrity residents

March 24, 2016

Rent Michael C. Hall’s Greenwich Lane Pad for $15K a Month

By Michelle Cohen

"Dexter" star Michael C. Hall (whom you might also love from "Six Feet Under" or David Bowie's "Lazarus") made celebrity real estate news just last week for the purchase of a $4.3 million two-bedroom apartment in the new Greenwich Lane complex at 160 West 12th Street. Now the New York Post reports that the apartment is available for rent for $15,000 a month. The actor, who successfully fought cancer at age 38, recently married longtime girlfriend Morgan Macgregor, an associate editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books. He also recently sold his Los Feliz home for $4.85 million, so while the couple may be warming up to New York City living, it makes sense to put the prime Village property to good use from day one.
See more of the Greenwich Lane pad

March 23, 2016

Curvaceous ‘Morph Tower’ Begins Its Rise at 15 Hudson Yards, Abutting the Culture Shed

By Ondel Hylton

The foundation mat has been poured, and Hudson Yards' first residential building, Tower D at 15 Hudson Yards, is beginning its climb into the burgeoning far west side skyline. Situated alongside the High Line, at the northeast corner of West 30th Street and Eleventh Avenue, 15 Hudson Yards will house nearly 400 apartments and soar more than 900 feet high upon completion. Discounting the enormous spire on the New York Times Building, the tower will be for a short while the tallest building in Manhattan west of Eighth Avenue. It will also abut the Culture Shed, likely to be the city's next great cultural venue. The skyscraper will be the first of two residential towers that Related Companies and the Oxford Properties have planned for eastern rail yards. The second will be the 1,000-foot-tall 35 Hudson Yards, and they will join the 900-foot Coach Tower at 10 Hudson Yards and the 1,296-foot 30 Hudson Yards.
More details and renderings ahead

March 23, 2016

Breathalyzer Entrepreneur Lists Iconic Plaza Condo for $2.39M

By Michelle Cohen

A gracious layout, unique pre-war details–including the signature bathroom finishes–and amenities unmatched in any Manhattan building make this one-bedroom condominium in the legendary Plaza Hotel and Residences at 1 Central Park South as enviable now as ever. Currently asking $2.389 million, this perfectly maintained apartment offers all the cachet of Plaza living and every modern convenience. The home's floorplan–offering a spacious entry foyer and a huge living/dining space–could even handle the addition of another bedroom or any number of alternative configurations. The unit faces the garden, and oversized windows allow warm light to infiltrate every corner.
Tour this classic Central Park South home

Distinctive Homes

Despite Landmarks Approval, 190 Bowery May Shed Its Iconic Graffiti After All

190 Bowery getting a bath; photo via Bowery Boogie

March 23, 2016

Despite Landmarks Approval, 190 Bowery May Shed Its Iconic Graffiti After All

By Michelle Cohen

Though the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a proposal to restore the former Germania Bank Building at 190 Bowery with its controversial coat of graffiti intact, the on-again-off-again spray paint layer looks to be on its way out according to onlookers (h/t Bowery Boogie). Power-washing and a "paint-removal system" are reportedly underway, disappearing decades of scrawl.
Refresh your memory on what's in the future for 190 Bowery

Architecture And Design

March 22, 2016

First Look at Scaled-Down West Village Condos Slated for 111 Leroy Street

By Ondel Hylton

Moving past a resounding rejection from the local community board, Property Markets Group (PMG) is forging ahead with a smaller, as-of-right plan to build a condominium and townhouse development at 111 Leroy Street. On a Belgian block stretch of the street, bestriding leafy West Village and mixed-use Hudson Square, the development will replace a long-time parking lot and small commercial building at the northeast corner of Leroy and Greenwich streets. Permits filed last year indicate PMG is seeking to build a 10-story condo tower with five adjoining townhouses. In all, the development will span 44,000 square feet, just half the scope PMG asked the community board to approve last year. That abandoned option called for a larger 30-unit condo building anchoring the site’s corner and spanning much of the Leroy Street frontage. Towards the eastern end of the site, they proposed a modest five-story affordable senior supportive housing facility as a concession to build bigger.
More details ahead

March 22, 2016

It Will Cost $3M to Repair Hudson Yards Train Station, Six Months After Opening

By Dana Schulz

The Post reported last week that the Hudson Yards 7-train subway station, which opened just this past September after more than ten years of planning and delays, was a "disgusting, moldy mess," noting that "leaks, flooded bathrooms and water damage" had put nearly half the escalators out of service. According to a plumber, it's due to poor construction, with the ceilings not being made waterproof. If this wasn't disturbing enough, especially considering the station's $2.45 billion price tag, the Times has new information straight from the MTA: "A spokesman for the authority, Kevin Ortiz, said the contractor, Yonkers Contracting, would pay $3 million to fix the leaks. The work began last Friday and will take up to three months, Mr. Ortiz said."
Get a look at the damage

March 22, 2016

Tribeca Film Festival Co-Founders List Massive Dakota Spread for $39M

By Emily Nonko

Some big-time New Yorkers are selling their big-time pad at The Dakota, the most iconic cooperative in the Upper West Side. Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, the couple that founded the Tribeca Film Festival with Robert De Niro, have just listed their sprawling five-bedroom apartment for no small sum—$39 million. The couple purchased the apartment more than 20 years ago, but announced their divorce in early 2014. Now, this very impressive home—actually an assemblage of four apartments covering over 7,500 square feet, with 165 feet of frontage along Central Park—is up for grabs.
Let the drooling begin

Distinctive Homes

March 21, 2016

Wide-Open, Floor-Through Loft in Tribeca Hits the Market for $5.8 Million

By Emily Nonko

On the entire second floor of D'Arte House, the Tribeca condo at 354 Broadway, is this sprawling, 4,164-square-foot apartment. In true loft style there are very few walls up, with the living area, dining area and master bedroom all open to one another. An enclosed terrace, currently used as a massive closet, and the two bathrooms are one of the few spaces that have been walled off -- the rest remains pure, lofty openness.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

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One Domino Square

8 South 4th Street

Williamsburg

Spectacular living on the Williamsburg waterfront

1 beds starting at $1,925,000
2 beds starting at $2,055,000
3 beds starting at $3,030,000

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