Manhattan

As the threat of climate change grows, parks in New York City are working to become more resilient. Officials on Thursday broke ground on an $18.3 million waterfront playground at the Battery in the Financial District. The Battery Playscape, as it's being called, is expected to be one of the city's largest sustainable parks. It will triple the size of the current playground and will feature a rainwater runoff system and a wide variety of durable plants.
See the design

48-year-old Chinatown restaurant Jing Fong temporarily shuts down

Photo by josh s jackson via Flickr cc

March 13, 2020

48-year-old Chinatown restaurant Jing Fong temporarily shuts down

By Dana Schulz

NYC's largest Chinese restaurant, Jing Fong, has temporarily shut its doors at 20 Elizabeth Street amid the coronavirus health crisis. The situation is two-fold for the iconic dim sum restaurant; not only is business down 30 to 40 percent, according to the Post, but since the restaurant has 800 seats, they fall under Governor Cuomo's order that gatherings of 500 or more be shut down. The effect of the pandemic has been especially hard for restaurants in Manhattan's Chinatown, as well as those Chinatowns in Flushing and Sunset Park.
Find out more

Food & Dining

This Greenwich Village rental with Parisian panache is asking $7,500/month

Photo courtesy of The Corcoran Group

March 13, 2020

This Greenwich Village rental with Parisian panache is asking $7,500/month

Custom wooden shutters, a wood-burning fireplace, and original casement windows bring a European flair to this Greenwich Village rental. A two-bedroom corner unit in the Windsor Arms co-op building at 61 West 9th Street is asking $7,500/month and it comes fully-furnished with "designer-grade pieces," according to the listing.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Amazon will buy former Lord & Taylor flagship from WeWork for over $1B

Photo courtesy of Lord & Taylor

March 13, 2020

Amazon will buy former Lord & Taylor flagship from WeWork for over $1B

After The Real Deal first learned of the possible deal in late February, the Post is now reporting that Amazon is doling out $1.15 billion to acquire Midtown's Lord & Taylor building from WeWork. Rumors that Amazon would potentially lease the building circulated last summer ahead of WeWork's planned IPO. The sale will have big implications for both companies, giving WeWork much-needed capital and representing Amazon's largest real estate acquisition to date. According to the Post, the landmark building will become Amazon's NYC headquarters and home to "several thousand employees in the coming years."
More details

Uncategorized

2,000 spots open on waitlist for middle-income apartments across East Harlem

The building at 1660 Madison is near Central Park’s Conservatory Garden; Photo by Cultivar 413 / Flickr cc

March 12, 2020

2,000 spots open on waitlist for middle-income apartments across East Harlem

A housing lottery is launching to replenish the waitlist for a number of rental buildings in East Harlem. Starting Monday, applications will be accepted for 2,000 spots on a waitlist for buildings at 1890-1990 Lexington Avenue, 1940-1962 First Avenue, 420-455 East 102nd Street, 1295-1309 Fifth Avenue, and 1660 Madison Avenue. New Yorkers earning 150 and 160 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, ranging from $1,667/month studios to $3,714/month four-bedroom apartments. Eligible applicants will be randomly selected and placed on the waitlist for future vacancies.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Bronx Brewery to open second location in the East Village

Photo by Carlos Corona

March 12, 2020

Bronx Brewery to open second location in the East Village

The Bronx Brewery is moving downtown. The local brewing company announced on Wednesday plans to open a pilot brewery and taphouse this fall in a multi-level East Village spot at 64 Second Avenue. The Bronx Brewery East Village will also feature a kitchen with "special guest" chefs and space for live music.
Details here

Uncategorized

Peak’s main dining room and views, photo by Charissa Fay

March 11, 2020

See inside Peak, the 101st-floor restaurant at Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards is already home to restaurants from acclaimed chefs like José Andrés, David Chang, and Thomas Keller, but as of tomorrow, a new modern American dining option opening in the neighborhood will create an even higher standard, literally. The 10,000-square-foot restaurant and bar Peak will sit on the 101st floor of 30 Hudson Yards, the development's tallest tower. Not only does it connect to the 1,100-foot-high sky deck Edge below, but it offers insane 360-degree views and a chic design scheme. Ahead, see some of the first photos of Peak.
Details and views here

Food & Dining

Governors Island announces free programming ahead of May 1 opening

Photo by Kreg Holt

March 11, 2020

Governors Island announces free programming ahead of May 1 opening

With the weather finally warming up, it's time to start planning spring and summertime activities. The Trust for Governors Island on Monday unveiled its lineup of free programming for the island's 2020 season, which officially kicks off on May 1. Throughout the season, more than 30 organizations will bring installations, exhibitions, workshops, and more to the 172-acre site, with most programs focusing on visual art, climate change and environmental science, and culture.
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

Image: Velvet via Wiki Commons

March 11, 2020

City alleges Chelsea Hotel owners harassed tenants during renovation

Lawyers for the city's Department of Housing Preservation announced Friday that the Chelsea Hotel’s owners did not qualify to receive a Certificate of No Harassment (CNH)–the document required for them to continue renovations to convert the dilapidated landmark into a luxury hotel with apartments. The document is required under a decades-old law to protect Single Room Occupancy residences from tenant harassment. As The Real Deal reports, The city's allegations of harassment are the result of tenant complaints that since owners Richard Born and Ira Drukier of BD hotels began work after acquiring a stake in the property in 2016, conditions like leaky ceilings, exposed electrical wires, high lead levels, vermin and lack of heat have made living there unsafe.
Find out more

Policy

Photo credit: Evan Joseph Studios, The Hudson Advisory Team/Compass

March 10, 2020

Concrete, stone, plaster, and an enviable terrace elevate this $5M Tribeca loft

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

Modern condominium living gets a loft-industrial lift in this $4,995,000 two-bedroom Tribeca duplex at 471 Washington Street. In addition to a hefty collection of concrete, plaster and statement stone, a planted terrace provides abundant outdoor living potential. It's all done with clean lines, authentic materials and lots of light.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Pubs, parades, and politicians: The Irish legacy of the East Village and Greenwich Village

Photo of White Horse Tavern (bottom left) courtesy of Wikimedia; Photo of the Merchant’s House Museum (bottom right) courtesy of Village Preservation on Flickr

March 10, 2020

Pubs, parades, and politicians: The Irish legacy of the East Village and Greenwich Village

For many, celebrating Irish American heritage in March brings one to Fifth Avenue for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, or perhaps a visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. But for those willing to venture beyond Midtown, there’s a rich Irish American history to be found in Greenwich Village and the East Village. While both neighborhoods became better known for different kinds of communities in later years – Italians, Ukrainians, gay men and lesbians, artists, punks – Irish immigration in the mid-19th century profoundly shaped both neighborhoods. Irish Americans and Irish immigrants played a critical role in building immigrant and artistic traditions in Greenwich Village and the East Village. Here are some sites connected to that great heritage, from the city's oldest intact Catholic Church to Irish institutions like McSorely's Old Ale House.
More here

Photo credit: DD Reps, courtesy The Corcoran Group

March 10, 2020

Sonja Morgan of ‘Real Housewives of New York’ hopes to unload UES townhouse for $10.75M

By Annie Doge

Could $10,750,000 be the lucky number for Real Housewives of New York star Sonja Morgan? The socialite bought the townhouse at 162 East 63rd Street in 1998 for $9.1 million with her ex-husband John Adams Morgan (grandson to the J.P. Morgan). After divorcing in 2008, Sonja first listed the home for $12 million in 2009, with three separate listings over the next six years fluctuating between $7 and $9 million. In 2018, she began renting the home for $32,000/month. And as of this past November, Sonja switched the listing to Corcoran and listed it as both a rental and a sale.
Look around

To offset Coronavirus-related dips in attendance, tickets for six Broadway hits will be only $50

Photo credit: Mihai Bojin via Flickr

March 10, 2020

To offset Coronavirus-related dips in attendance, tickets for six Broadway hits will be only $50

As Coronavirus fears begin impacting Broadway attendance, producer Scott Rudin is slashing ticket prices to keep theatres full, Deadline reports. Starting this Thursday at noon, all remaining March tickets for Rudin's popular productions—To Kill a Mockingbird, West Side Story, The Lehman Trilogy, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The Book of Mormon—will be available for only $50.
This could be the deal you've been waiting for

Events & Things To Do

$595K Morningside Heights pad is a flexible two-bedroom near Columbia and Riverside Park

Listing images by VHT; courtesy of The Corcoran Group

March 10, 2020

$595K Morningside Heights pad is a flexible two-bedroom near Columbia and Riverside Park

Conveniently located near Columbia University and only one block from Riverside Park, this two-bedroom in Morningside Heights is sunny, flexible, and recently upgraded. It’s in an HDFC co-op building at 175 Claremont Avenue so income restrictions will apply, but if you qualify, the apartment is a sound investment at $595,000.
READ MORE

Distinctive Homes

$1.97M Central Park West penthouse is rich in color, architecture, and private outdoor space

Photo credit: Evan Joseph and Alyssa Brody courtesy of Compass

March 9, 2020

$1.97M Central Park West penthouse is rich in color, architecture, and private outdoor space

This Upper West Side brownstone duplex co-op at 31 West 70th Street, asking $1,968,300, is a confluence of Manhattan apartment dream factors: It's half a block from Central Park, has a wealth of private outdoor space, and is filled with rich architectural details that keep the cookie-cutter blues far away. The renovated pre-war duplex is currently set up as a two-bedroom home with two and a half baths, but it can easily be expanded to include three bedrooms with plenty of space left to spare.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

This incredibly detailed 3D replica of Manhattan took 1,000 hours to complete

Photos courtesy of Empire State Realty Trust

March 6, 2020

This incredibly detailed 3D replica of Manhattan took 1,000 hours to complete

French artist Johann Perathoner has created a panoramic 3D replica of Manhattan that is currently on view in the Empire State Building’s lobby. Though compact in scale, the composition is ambitious in scope and captures an incredible amount of detail in its small size. Made up of vibrant colors and 100 different textures that include rhinestones and fake diamonds, the piece took Perathoner more than 1,000 hours to complete.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

Well-known author sells Upper East Side carriage house with an artist’s studio for $11M

Photos by Devin Groody/Rise Media courtesy of Compass

March 6, 2020

Well-known author sells Upper East Side carriage house with an artist’s studio for $11M

By Dana Schulz

Fans of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series will love getting a look inside author Ann Brashares's gorgeous Upper East Side carriage house, which she just sold for $11 million, reports the Post. Brashare and her husband, painter Jacob Collins, bought the 7,200-square-foot home at 167 East 69th Street in 2001 for $3.65 million from the Sculpture Center. They first listed it in 2018 for $18.95 million, with a price chop to $15 million this past July. Not only does the home have beautiful interior architecture, but it boasts a huge artist's studio and a garage with a curb cut.
Have a look around

Real Estate Trends

The Lower East Side’s ‘vertical village’ at One Manhattan Square unveils interior amenities

Image courtesy of Extell/One Manhattan Square

March 6, 2020

The Lower East Side’s ‘vertical village’ at One Manhattan Square unveils interior amenities

Extell Development Company's largest-ever luxury residential property, One Manhattan Square, has introduced a standout collection of indoor amenities twice the size of the White House, including four pools, a full-sized basketball court, a bowling alley and a cinema, Located on Manhattan's Lower East Side on the East River waterfront, the 847-foot-tall, 815-unit condominium tower–it was 6sqft's 2017 Building of the Year–boasts unobstructed panoramic water and skyline views, but its amenities package is the real standout. Extell has called the residence "a true vertical village," with 100,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities–more than anywhere else, the company claims, in New York City.
Have a look at some of those fab amenities

Tenants at Stuy Town sue Blackstone in anticipation of rent increases this summer

Photo by Kelly on Wiki Commons

March 5, 2020

Tenants at Stuy Town sue Blackstone in anticipation of rent increases this summer

When Blackstone and Ivanhoé Cambridge bought Stuy Town for $5.3 billion in 2015, they reached a deal with the city that would allow them to deregulate and raise rents on 6,200 rent-regulated units beginning in July 2020. On Wednesday, tenants filed a lawsuit to block Blackstone from going forward with the rent hikes, The Real Deal reports. As part of the original agreement, the city allowed Blackstone to cap rent increases at 5 percent each year, which is considerably more than the 1.5 percent outlined in last year's new rent laws. The lawsuit argues that this conflict should require Blackstone to adjust the agreement in accordance with the new law.
More info

Policy

March 5, 2020

The American Museum of Natural History’s most vibrant new exhibit is an in-depth exploration of color

For most of us, color is such a seamless part of how we experience the world that we don’t think to stop and question it. But color is more than just a visual phenomenon, it carries symbolic and cultural meanings, has the ability to impact our mood, and in the natural world, it plays a critical role in the survival of many species. The many dimensions of color will be explored in The Nature of Color, a new exhibition opening at the American Museum of Natural History on March 9th.
More details

Events & Things To Do

March 4, 2020

REVEALED: Hudson Yards’ 1,100-foot-high sky deck Edge

By Dana Schulz

Thanks to Rolling Stone's awesome Women Shaping the Future event today, 6sqft got a first look at Edge, Hudson Yards' observation platform that extends 80 feet from the 100th floor of 30 Hudson Yards. As though being 1,100 feet above ground wasn't dizzying enough, the Western Hemisphere’s highest outdoor sky deck also has a glass floor. Ahead, get a first look at this truly one-of-a-kind experience and its incredible 360-degree views before it opens to the public on March 11th.
READ MORE

New Developments

Images courtesy of Douglas Elliman.

March 4, 2020

$3.3M Chelsea condo has High Line views and a private terrace

This full-floor two-bedroom condo at 519 West 23rd Street is a 1,700-square-foot perch above the High Line elevated park in the center of the city's West Chelsea gallery district. The 11-unit High Line 519 was the first newcomer to rise along the park and has since been joined by a veritable "starchitects' alley" of notable buildings. Asking $3.3 million, the apartment has 10-foot ceilings, hardwood floors and direct views over High Line Park through floor-to-ceiling windows. Also among its highlights: A covered 75-square-foot private terrace off the bedroom.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Sales launch for Waldorf Astoria’s luxury condos, starting at $1.7M studios

Rendering by Noë & Associates/The Boundary

March 4, 2020

Sales launch for Waldorf Astoria’s luxury condos, starting at $1.7M studios

Residential condo sales have launched at the newly-imagined Waldorf Astoria, which has been closed for renovations since 2017. The launch, complete with a new website offering a sneak peek inside the iconic building, comes at a time when ultra-luxe apartments have become a tougher sell in a market loaded with competition and unsold units, as The Real Deal reports. The residential portion of the building sits above the renovated hotel, with 375 condos and 50,000 square feet of amenities including private bars, a 25-meter pool and a fitness center.
Get a closer look

City says 200 Amsterdam doesn’t have to chop 20 floors off (yet)

Rendering courtesy of Binyan Studios

March 4, 2020

City says 200 Amsterdam doesn’t have to chop 20 floors off (yet)

On Tuesday the city halted a judge’s order to stop construction–or, rather, deconstruction and demolition–on the 55-story condominium tower at 200 Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal reports. Last month, 6sqft reported that State Supreme Court Judge W. Franc Perry ordered the city to revoke the building permit for the Upper West Side’s tallest tower north of 61st Street, ruling that developers SJP Properties and Mitsui Fudosan America would have to chop the building's height by as many as 20 stories to conform to zoning limits. This week's ruling means work can continue on construction of the skyscraper despite opposition from activists and critics.
Find out more

Policy

This $750K East Village co-op has more than its share of tranquility and closet space

Images courtesy of Douglas Elliman

March 3, 2020

This $750K East Village co-op has more than its share of tranquility and closet space

Though it's located on busy 14th Street at the crossroads of Union Square and the East Village, this just-right-sized one-bedroom co-op at 243 East 14th Street promises pin-drop quiet within its walls. It also offers more closet space than the average Village pad.
More closets, this way

Distinctive Homes

Renderings courtesy of Terreform ONE, Mitchell Joachim, PhD

March 2, 2020

An eight-story monarch butterfly sanctuary may be the façade of a new Nolita building