Manhattan

The Salvation Army unveils giant red kettle in NYC as need for support services remains high

Photo courtesy of The Salvation Army Greater New York Division

December 1, 2020

The Salvation Army unveils giant red kettle in NYC as need for support services remains high

With the need for support services at an all-time high coupled with a lack of foot traffic at retail stores due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Salvation Army has had to think outside the kettle this holiday season. While typically the charity group relies on its bell-ringers stationed outside of stores with red kettles to raise money for those in need, this year the Salvation Army is calling for digital donations. To bring attention to its online fundraising campaign, the group unveiled on Tuesday a giant 32-foot red kettle in Times Square.
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NYC AIDS Memorial debuts powerful sound installation for World AIDS Day

Photo: John Moore, Circular Space Photography

December 1, 2020

NYC AIDS Memorial debuts powerful sound installation for World AIDS Day

By Devin Gannon

The voices of New Yorkers affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic will be heard daily as part of a new program installed in Greenwich Village. In recognition of World AIDS Day on Tuesday, the New York City AIDS Memorial will launch a sound-based installation composed of speeches, poetry, music, and readings of texts related to the history of the epidemic. The hour-long program, titled Hear Me: Voices of the Epidemic, will be broadcast from the memorial nightly at 7 p.m. for the month of December, along with a new lighting installation.
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Listing photos courtesy of Warburg

December 1, 2020

For $349K, this Beekman studio is a tiny charmer

By Dana Schulz

This Beekman apartment may be small, but it's nothing if not charming. Located at the prestigious Southgate co-op at 434 East 52nd Street, the studio has plenty of pre-war details like beamed ceilings, oak floors, classic moldings, and an exposed brick wood-burning fireplace. It also has a foyer, two generous closets, a separate full kitchen, and a dressing nook outside the bathroom. And it's asking just $349,000.
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Distinctive Homes

You’ll need timed tickets to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree this year

Photo by Alex Haney on Unsplash

November 30, 2020

You’ll need timed tickets to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree this year

By Dana Schulz

Starting this Thursday, December 3, if you want a chance to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree for five minutes (yep, there's a time limit), you'll need to reserve advance tickets. In his press conference today, Mayor de Blasio outlined the new system, which includes closing 49th and 50th Streets between 6th and 7th Avenues to vehicular traffic and setting up four-person "pods" where guests will be directed to see the tree. "This is going to be a challenging holiday season in a lot of ways, but it's still going to be a beautiful one," said the mayor.
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Events & Things To Do

This $1.3M Yorkville duplex is classy, sassy, and perfect for a small family

Listing photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

November 30, 2020

This $1.3M Yorkville duplex is classy, sassy, and perfect for a small family

By Dana Schulz

Over in Yorkville, this $1,295,000 duplex has all the elegant details you'd expect from a pre-war co-op, with tons of chic, modern style mixed in. And with two en-suite bedrooms and a large rear garden, it's the perfect place for a small family. Located at 511 East 82nd Street, it's also just a few blocks from Carl Schurz Park and a quick walk to the Second Avenue Subway.
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Distinctive Homes

$2.5M full-floor FiDi condo has two outdoor spaces and World Trade Center views

Photo courtesy of Douglas Elliman

November 25, 2020

$2.5M full-floor FiDi condo has two outdoor spaces and World Trade Center views

By Devin Gannon

A spacious full-floor loft with two outdoor terraces in the Financial District is asking $2.48 million. The two-bedroom, two-bath condo is located at 119 Fulton Street and has perfectly-framed Freedom Tower views. The apartment features a newly renovated kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances, custom built-ins, keyed elevator access, and outdoor spaces on either end of the unit.
More ahead

Distinctive Homes

Flatiron’s new holiday art installation connects New Yorkers from a distance

Photos courtesy of Cameron Blaylock

November 24, 2020

Flatiron’s new holiday art installation connects New Yorkers from a distance

By Devin Gannon

A new public art installation opened on Monday in the Flatiron Public Plaza as part of the neighborhood's annual "23 Days of Flatiron Cheer" holiday programming. Designed by firm Studio Cooke John, the Point of Action installation consists of nine metal pavilions surrounded by six-foot concentric circles with ropes that part, creating a "spotlight" and allowing passersby to connect with one another. The firm's work was selected as this year's winning design by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and Van Alen Institute.
See it here

Events & Things To Do

French favorite Angelina Paris opens first U.S. tearoom in NYC

All photos courtesy of Angelina Paris

November 24, 2020

French favorite Angelina Paris opens first U.S. tearoom in NYC

By Devin Gannon

While traveling to France may be a distant dream at the moment, you can now get a taste of Paris in New York City. Century-old French patisserie Angelina Paris opened in Midtown near Bryant Park this month, bringing its beloved hot chocolate, signature Mont-Blanc pastry, and an all-day menu to its first U.S. location.
Delicious details this way

Food & Dining

Obama’s former Morningside Heights apartment lists for $1.45M

Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

November 24, 2020

Obama’s former Morningside Heights apartment lists for $1.45M

By Dana Schulz

During his time attending Columbia in the early '80s, President Barack Obama lived first on West 109th Street and then on East 94th Street. After graduating, he moved back to Morningside Heights, to a three-bedroom apartment at 622 West 114th Street. This fourth-floor walkup is now listed for sale, asking $1,450,000.
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Astor Place Hairstylists has been saved from closing

Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated the Phase 2 reopening with a visit to Astor Place Hairstylists on June 23, 2020. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

November 23, 2020

Astor Place Hairstylists has been saved from closing

By Devin Gannon

Just two days before it was set to close for good, Astor Place Hairstylists was saved by a group of New York investors. As the New York Post first reported, enough money has been raised to keep the East Village basement barbershop "open for at least another 75 years," businessman Jonathan Trichter told the newspaper on Monday. Astor Place Hairstylists announced last month plans to permanently close just before Thanksgiving due to a lack of business because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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City Living

Washington Heights will become first COVID micro-cluster zone in Manhattan

Map courtesy of the Governor’s Office

November 23, 2020

Washington Heights will become first COVID micro-cluster zone in Manhattan

By Dana Schulz

Since last week, many New Yorkers have been anticipating an announcement that the entire city will become an orange zone. This has been avoided at least for another day, but Governor Cuomo did announce that Washington Heights will become a precautionary yellow zone, hitting a 3.30% positivity rate. This is the first micro-cluster zone in Manhattan and the fifth and final borough to join this map. The governor also announced a dire situation on Staten Island in which an emergency overflow facility for COVID patients will open at South Beach.
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Policy

Gwyneth Paltrow’s childhood home on the Upper East Side hits the market for $15.5M

Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

November 23, 2020

Gwyneth Paltrow’s childhood home on the Upper East Side hits the market for $15.5M

By Dana Schulz

During her teenage years (h/t Wall Street Journal), actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow lived in this grand Upper East Side townhouse off Central Park at 9 East 92nd Street. According to city property records, her parents, late producer Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, owned the seven-bedroom home from 1984 to 1992. According to the Journal, Paltrow was 11 when her family moved from California to NYC, where she attended the prestigious Spence School, an all-girls private school just around the corner from her then-home.
Take a tour

November 20, 2020

Rent this Little Italy loft with original timber beamed ceilings and cast iron columns for $15K/month

By Devin Gannon

An apartment in a former Lower Manhattan police stable is currently renting for $15,000/month. Located at 136 Baxter Street, the Machinery Exchange building once housed horses for the NYPD when the department's headquarters were located at the historic Police Building. After decades as a manufacturing warehouse, the building was converted into condos in 2007. The available unit, which measures an incredible 2,600 square feet and contains four bedrooms, four baths, and two entrances, maintains its industrial roots with original timber beamed ceilings, exposed brick, and cast iron columns.
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Distinctive Homes

Built in 1829, this West Village townhouse is now a contemporary dream for $16.5M

Listing photos courtesy of Douglas Elliman

November 19, 2020

Built in 1829, this West Village townhouse is now a contemporary dream for $16.5M

By Dana Schulz

When you think of early 19th-century buildings, you don't often think about elevators, 102-bottle wine fridges, and roof decks with outdoor kitchens and fireplaces, but that's exactly what you'll find at this West Village townhouse at 327 West 4th Street. Asking $16,500,000, the home has four bedrooms, including a full-floor master suite, a solarium, a rear garden, three terraces, and a roof deck.
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Distinctive Homes

Nearly everything is custom-made at this $3M East Village two-bedroom

All photos courtesy of Travis Mark for Sotheby’s International Realty

November 18, 2020

Nearly everything is custom-made at this $3M East Village two-bedroom

By Devin Gannon

No detail was overlooked in the design of this two-bedroom home in the East Village. From the custom chef's kitchen to the walls of built-in shelving and storage, the apartment at 170 Second Avenue manages to be extremely efficient without sacrificing sophistication. Currently asking $2.995 million, the apartment sits on the 12th floor of a pre-war co-op that was completed in 1928.
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Distinctive Homes

Indoor dining at City Winery will require $50 on-site COVID test

Photo of the main venue by Adam Pass

November 18, 2020

Indoor dining at City Winery will require $50 on-site COVID test

By Devin Gannon

Entertainment venue and restaurant City Winery will launch next week a coronavirus testing pilot program for guests who want to dine indoors. The Pier 57 establishment, which just opened its new flagship location last month, will require all patrons and staff to take a rapid COVID-19 test before entering on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings only. Those visiting City Winery on those two days will make a reservation via Resy online and make a payment of $50 per person for the test. It's the first restaurant to create a COVID testing program for indoor dining, according to City Winery.
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Food & Dining

Penthouse inside historic Central Park South tower’s copper roof to be auctioned off

All renderings courtesy of Concierge Auctions and Nest Seekers International

November 17, 2020

Penthouse inside historic Central Park South tower’s copper roof to be auctioned off

By Devin Gannon

A three-level penthouse apartment in a Billionaires' Row building with pre-approved, construction-ready designs will hit the auction block next month. Currently listed for $40 million and appraised at $100 million after renovations, the apartment at 150 Central Park South will sell with no reserve to the highest bidder during an online auction hosted December 18 to December 22 through Concierge Auctions. Plans from SPAN Architecture call for a five-bedroom, five and a half bathroom penthouse with four terraces and unobstructed Central Park views.
More here

Distinctive Homes

Krispy Kreme opens on the Upper West Side

Renderings courtesy of Krispy Kreme

November 17, 2020

Krispy Kreme opens on the Upper West Side

By Devin Gannon

Finally, some sweet news. Krispy Kreme on Tuesday opened its latest New York City shop at the corner of Broadway and 96th Street on the Upper West Side. The new doughnut shop comes after the company opened a new store in Harlem and a massive flagship in Times Square this summer, part of a Krispy Kreme expansion in the city.
Delicious details here

Food & Dining

Blacked-out Bowery loft with customized ‘graffiti’ asks $3M

Photo credit: Shannon Dupre

November 17, 2020

Blacked-out Bowery loft with customized ‘graffiti’ asks $3M

By Dana Schulz

The black walls at this Noho condo don't make the space feel as dark as you'd expect, but they do succeed in adding a subtle gritty feel to the two-bedroom home. Located at 344 Bowery, the apartment was designed by Francisca Trujillo, who, according to the listing, took inspiration from "New York’s garage-rock scene," even hiring street artists to cover the elevator door and foyer with graffiti installations. The floor-through, two-bedroom loft is asking $3 million.
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Distinctive Homes

The 2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has officially arrived in NYC

Photo by Michael Vadon via Wikimedia

November 16, 2020

The 2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has officially arrived in NYC

By Devin Gannon

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has taken its rightful place in Midtown. This year, a 75-foot tall, 11-ton Norway Spruce from Oneonta, N.Y. will serve as the centerpiece for the famous event. Donated by Daddy Al's General Store, the approximately 80-year-old tree last week was cut down, hoisted by a crane, and delivered by flatbed truck to Manhattan on Saturday. The public cannot attend the tree lighting ceremony this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the live event will be broadcast nationally on December 2.
More here

Events & Things To Do

Go inside the new glass dome atop Union Square’s Tammany Hall

Photo by Christopher Payne | ESTO

November 16, 2020

Go inside the new glass dome atop Union Square’s Tammany Hall

By Dana Schulz

If you've walked by Union Square over the past year, you might have spotted something different. Rising atop Reading International's landmarked Tammany Hall is a modern glass-and-steel dome. BKSK Architects designed the addition, which can house a variety of commercial uses, with the building's history in mind. Though many associate Tammany Hall's history with political corruption, BKSK wanted people to understand that its namesake is actually Lenape Chief Tammanend, who worked towards a peaceful relationship with 17th-century European settlers. Ahead, see amazing photos of the dome's exterior and interior and hear from BKSK partner Todd Poisson about its construction and how it was conceived to resemble a turtle breaking out of water.
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David Adjaye and Aston Martin collaborate on residences and luxury car at 130 William in FiDi

All residence images courtesy of Aston Martin

November 12, 2020

David Adjaye and Aston Martin collaborate on residences and luxury car at 130 William in FiDi

By Devin Gannon

Five apartments for sale at Sir David Adjaye's first New York City tower have been custom-designed by luxury carmaker Aston Martin. Located on the 59th and 60th floors of 130 William, a 66-story condo in the Financial District, the exclusive units come with a special edition Aston Martin DBX, an SUV designed in collaboration with Adjaye. The five condos include two penthouses, one priced at $11.5 million and the second at $10.5 million, and three loggia residences, priced at $3.985 million, $5.985 million, and $10 million.
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West Village condo of the late Alan Rickman lists for $1.7M

Photo credit: Compass

November 12, 2020

West Village condo of the late Alan Rickman lists for $1.7M

By Dana Schulz

Late British actor Alan Rickman, known for, among countless other roles, playing Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series, lived primarily in England, but he had a great affinity for New York City. When he performed on Broadway (he was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Noel Coward's Private Lives) he resided in his pied-à-terre in the West Village. After his passing in 2016, his estate has now listed the one-bedroom condo at 321 West 13th Street for $1,695,000. According to brokerage Compass, Rickman had "impeccable taste and a keen sense of design," which is shown in the gut renovation he undertook after purchasing the top-floor apartment for $995,000 in 2009.
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See New York City’s newest public park at the Upper West Side’s Waterline Square

All photos courtesy of Elizabeth Felicella

November 12, 2020

See New York City’s newest public park at the Upper West Side’s Waterline Square

By Devin Gannon

New photos of the public park at the Waterline Square development were released this week, showing off the nearly three acres of green space designed by MNLA. Positioned in the middle of the three glassy Upper West Side towers, Waterline Square Park offers a tucked-away oasis for the community, along with a huge playground and unique water features. When it officially opened this summer, the park hosted a number of socially-distanced events including live music performances and yoga classes.
See it here

Architecture And Design

The Harlem Hellfighters: African-American New Yorkers were some of WWI’s most decorated soldiers

New York’s famous 369th (Old 15th) Infantry Regiment arrives home from France. From the National Archives via Wikimedia Commons

November 11, 2020

The Harlem Hellfighters: African-American New Yorkers were some of WWI’s most decorated soldiers

By Lucie Levine

By the end of World War II, the Croix de Guerre, France’s highest military honor, would be awarded to the 369th Infantry Regiment. Better known as the Harlem Hellfighters, the regiment was an all-black American unit serving under French command in World War I, and they spent a stunning 191 days at the Front, more than any other American unit. In that time, they never lost a trench to the enemy or a man to capture. Instead, they earned the respect of both allies and enemies, helped introduce Jazz to France, and returned home to a grateful city where hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers turned out to welcome home 3,000 Hellfighter heroes in a victory parade that stretched from 23rd Street and 5th Avenue to 145th Street and Lenox.
The whole history

History

November 11, 2020

Tired of roommates? Here are 5 studios in NYC renting for under $2,500/month

By Devin Gannon

Sharing space with roommates in a small New York City apartment has never been easy. But doing so during a pandemic while many are still working from home? Almost impossible. As winter approaches and takes safe outdoor activities with it, now may be a good time to look for your own apartment. And with average rents still down compared to the same period last year, you're more likely to scoop up a decent deal. For those ready to ditch the roommates, we've found five studio apartments perfect for one, from a sunny Sutton Place rental for $1,538/month to a $2,479/month junior one-bedroom with amenities in Gramercy Park.
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Distinctive Homes

Can Times Square ever be completely car-free?

Rendering courtesy of 3deluxe

November 10, 2020

Can Times Square ever be completely car-free?

By Devin Gannon

It's been over ten years since cars were first banned in some sections of Times Square. Is it time for additional street closures along bustling Broadway? In a new design study, the Germany-based architecture firm 3deluxe has reimagined Times Square to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists, trading vehicular traffic lanes for recreational activities, landscaped features, and public transportation. The concept comes as New York and other cities continue to reexamine the value of safe public space as the fight to control the coronavirus pandemic continues.
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