Manhattan

August 3, 2020

See the 193 new Rockefeller Center flags designed by the public

The iconic flags that surround the Rink at Rockefeller Center got a makeover over the weekend. Public art initiative "The Flag Project" opened on Saturday with 193 new flags designed by the public, as well as a number of well-known artists and designers. Led by Tishman Speyer, the installation aims to celebrate New York City as the city continues its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
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August 3, 2020

NYC’s latest set of outdoor dining open streets includes 13 blocks on the Upper West Side

Open streets outdoor dining along West 47th Street, photo by CityRealty On Friday, Mayor de Blasio announced that an additional 15 locations would be closing to traffic and opening their streets for outdoor dining through a combination of the city's Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs. This brings the total to 62 participating streets. Some of the latest include 13 blocks along Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side, another stretch in Chinatown, Koreatown, a few in Noho/Soho, and five blocks along Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights. Since restaurants were first able to open for outdoor dining when phase two began on June 22, more than 9,500 have signed on to participate.
The full list of open streets
August 3, 2020

Outdoor dining comes to two NYC food halls

With nearly 10,000 New York City restaurants open for outdoor dining, now even food halls are getting in on the Open Restaurants program. The Market Line at Essex Crossing on Friday opened a spacious outdoor patio and a menu made up of a mix of vendors from the Lower East Side food hall. And Time Out Market will reopen its fifth-floor rooftop and seating along the waterfront in Dumbo this week.
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July 30, 2020

Powerful photos show the COVID-19 crisis through the eyes of New Yorkers

The Museum of the City of New York will reopen on Saturday with a stunning new outdoor installation. The first phase of the museum's New York Responds project includes a photo exhibit depicting life in New York City in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests that kicked off in May and continue today. On view starting August 1, the powerful photographs have been installed at the Upper East Side museum's terrace and balustrade.
See it here
July 30, 2020

Chinatown’s historic Mott Street is transformed into an outdoor dining oasis

Chinatown's Mott Street got a colorful upgrade on Wednesday with a block-long outdoor installation designed by architect David Rockwell. His firm, Rockwell Group, launched DineOut NYC earlier this summer to help New York City restaurants safely open outside by providing design templates for creative ways to use sidewalk and street space. Mott Street, now closed to cars between Mosco and Worth Streets, serves as the program's first community-wide dining area, with multiple restaurants on the strip using the facilities.
More here
July 29, 2020

A zen garden with a sunken hot tub awaits at this $2.5M Greenwich Village co-op

This Greenwich Village co-op at 2 East 12th Street is the perfect year-round oasis. For those cold winter months, the interiors are super cozy, with two working fireplaces. But in the summer, the backyard is a true retreat. It's two levels, along with a side patio and, most notably, a sunken Japanese-style cedar hot tub. You'll also find a large Ipe wood deck with a built-in banquette, plenty of planters, and a cedar potting shed for all those gardening needs.
You've got to see this place
July 28, 2020

Karlie Kloss sells her West Village home for $2.4M

After listing her townhouse co-op in the West Village for $2.75 million last September, supermodel and philanthropist Karlie Kloss has found a buyer at the slightly reduced price of $2,382,609, reported CityRealty. The three-bedroom triplex at 151 Charles Street is chic and contemporary and has both a front garden and a second-floor terrace. Kloss bought it in 2012 for $1,975,000. She and husband Josh Kushner sold their Nolita apartment for $6.6 million last August.
Take a tour
July 28, 2020

$100M penthouse closes at 220 Central Park South, third-most-expensive NYC sale ever

Photo of 220 Central Park South in front of 111 West 57th Street (cropped) by Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons As of July 1, 2020, the average price per square foot for a New York City condo came in at $1,110, according to CityRealty. But this duplex penthouse at 220 Central Park South sold for a whopping $12,164 per square foot. First spotted by The Real Deal and confirmed in city property records, PH 76 at the Billionaires' Row tower just closed for $99,903,375, making it the third-most-expensive sale ever, behind billionaire Ken Griffith’s $238 million purchase also at 220 CPS in early 2019 and Michael Dell’s $100 million buy at One57 in 2015. The sale takes the number-three spot from a $92.7 million sale at 220 CPS, which sold in late 2019 to billionaire hedge-funder Daniel Och.
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July 28, 2020

$17.5M Tribeca penthouse has a 1,000-bottle wine room and a terrace bigger than most apartments

For someone who loves to entertain, this Tribeca penthouse 166 Duane Street can't be beaten. First off, it's huge--6,200 square feet inside and 1,200 square feet outside (larger than most NYC apartments!). This roof deck has several seating areas and an outdoor kitchen, and it's adjacent to a sunroom that has a wet bar. There's another wet bar in the media room, and when the bar runs dry, just head to the 1,000-bottle wine room.
See the whole place
July 27, 2020

Iconic West Village speakeasy Chumley’s is closing and auctioning off its memorabilia

Update: A representative from A.J. Willner tells 6sqft that the auction has been cancelled due to the landlord objecting to the restaurant's right to sell the equipment. The lastest iconic eatery to shutter in the wake of the COVID pandemic is Chumley's. Opened in 1922, the West Village bar and restaurant was a speakeasy during Prohibition, becoming famous as a literary haunt for the likes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and J.D. Salinger. It faced an uncertain future in 2007 when a collapsed wall forced it to close; 10 years of red tape followed, but Chumley's reopened in 2016, albeit with a new owner and fancier menu. However, Untapped New York first heard the news that Chumley's will not reopen following the city's shutdown orders, and they are auctioning off everything from their restaurant equipment to the tufted leather banquettes to the iconic literary memorabilia.
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July 27, 2020

52-year-old Chinese-Cuban restaurant La Caridad closes on the Upper West Side

Last week, West Side Rag noticed a "for lease" sign on the window of La Caridad 78, a beloved Chinese-Cuban restaurant that has been on the corner of Broadway and 78th Street for 52 years. Neighbors had speculated about its closing in the days prior after seeing the restaurant's furniture and other interior items taken out. As Florence Fabricant wrote in the Times, "It was one of the city’s best-known purveyors of Chino Latino food," serving up dishes like "fried rice with plantains or Chinese pepper steak with Cuban black beans."
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July 27, 2020

Dramatic Upper East Side townhouse has private parking and a posh backyard for $9.9M

It's almost unbelievable that all this space is within a Manhattan home, but this townhouse at 236 East 72nd Street on the Upper East Side is as real as they come. Listed for $9,880,000, the 5,000-square-foot house is anchored by a dramatic, double-height living room with ceilings almost 21 feet high and massive, cathedral-like windows. Outside, the 40-foot-long garden is surrounded by planters and beautiful landscaping and boasts a fountain and two seating areas. But perhaps the most enviable feature is the private parking garage.
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July 24, 2020

Neiman Marcus is closing its flagship at Hudson Yards

Neiman Marcus is closing its massive flagship store at Hudson Yards just weeks after filing for bankruptcy in May and a little over a year after first opening at the development. The retailer will also permanently close three other locations, two stores in Florida and one in Washington, according to the Dallas Morning News. Hudson Yards developers Related Companies and Oxford Properties have already started marketing the 190,000-square-foot space as office space.
Details here
July 24, 2020

Inwood rezoning plan can move forward, appeals court rules

The plan to rezone Inwood can move forward, a state appeals court ruled on Thursday. The decision comes after a judge in December overturned the land-use changes approved by the City Council in 2018 to rezone 59 blocks of the northern Manhattan neighborhood. But in their decision, the appellate court said the City Council "acted properly and consistently" with review procedures.
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July 24, 2020

See inside an apartment at the world’s tallest residential building

It's been nearly two years since sales launched at Extell's Central Park Tower and one year since the 1,500-foot condominium topped out along Central Park South, making it the tallest residential building on the globe. And now, we've got our first look inside one of the enviable apartments at this Billionaires' Row building. The model residence is a 3,401-square-foot, three-bedroom corner unit on the 43rd floor, priced at $17,500,000. Not surprisingly, the interiors are decked out to the nines, but, of course, it's the insane views we can't stop ogling.
Take the full tour
July 23, 2020

For under $1M, this West Village co-op is a stylish starter home with a rooftop oasis

If you've always dreamed of living in the West Village, this junior one-bedroom at 92 Horatio Street might be the place to start. Not only is the location spot on, but the $950,000 co-op was gut-renovated four years ago, resulting in a super stylish and unique home. The icing on the cake, though, is the private rooftop oasis that has views of the Empire State Building and Hudson River.
Go up to the roof deck
July 23, 2020

Jeffrey Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion lists for $88M

The "cursed" Upper East Side mansion of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has hit the market for $88 million. Located at 9 East 71st Street on one of the city's wealthiest blocks, the townhouse is considered the largest single-family home in New York City, rising seven stories and measuring more than 28,000 square feet. Epstein was charged federally last year for abusing dozens of underage girls and women at many of his properties, including his Manhattan mansion.
See inside
July 23, 2020

CNN president Jeff Zucker finds a buyer for his glitzy $17.5M Upper East Side home

After purchasing his Upper East Side co-op for $12.3 million in 2007, CNN chief executive Jeff Zucker first put the five-bedroom apartment on the market in February for $17.5 million. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that Zucker and his wife Caryn have found a buyer for the large, glitzy pad, though the buyer's identity and final sale price have not yet been made public. Located at The Verona at 32 East 64th Street, the home is full of elegant touches like Venetian plaster walls, three working fireplaces, and a private elevator landing.
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July 22, 2020

Susan Sarandon lists massive Chelsea duplex for $7.9M

The dramatic Chelsea duplex owned by actress Susan Sarandon for nearly 30 years has hit the market for $7.9 million. Located at 147 West 15th Street within the luxury co-op building La Fabrique, the massive 6,000-square-foot apartment boasts a flexible layout with six bedrooms, four exposures, and a gallery foyer on the eighth floor. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the Academy Award winner, a native of Queens, said she plans to downsize to a smaller pad nearby and has no intention of leaving the city. "I’ve always been a New Yorker and I’ll continue to be a New Yorker," Sarandon said.
Take the tour
July 22, 2020

10 iconic streets and spots in NYC open for outdoor dining

Since Mayor Bill de Blasio rolled out the open restaurants program last month, allowing eateries to serve diners on sidewalks and in adjacent parking spots, over 9,000 eateries have reopened for outdoor dining. Offering another lifeline to the struggling industry, especially now that indoor dining has been postponed indefinitely, the city has also closed more than 40 blocks to traffic for its weekend-only open streets dining program, overseen by community organizations and neighborhood Business Improvement Districts. With so many al fresco dining options available, we're rounding up the most iconic New York City streets and establishments now open for outdoor dining, from the most photographed block in Brooklyn and New York's oldest bar in Queens to open-air plazas with views of city landmarks.
More this way
July 22, 2020

$3M Tribeca loft is a white-washed wonderland

A true Tribeca loft is not too hard to come by, but this three-bedroom home at 77 Hudson Street definitely stands out from the rest. Just listed for $2,999,000, the home has been whitewashed from floor to ceiling, giving the space a casual beachy vibe. But when mixed with all those classic loft details--beamed ceilings, stainless steel accents--this vision in white is really something special.
Look around
July 21, 2020

Field of sunflowers exhibit takes over Four Freedoms Park to honor 100 years of women’s suffrage

A massive field of sunflowers has been installed at the monumental staircase at FDR Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island. The park's new exhibit, which was created together with the New-York Historical Society and the League of Women Voters, comes ahead of the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment's ratification and aims to symbolize the continued push for full equality today. The installation measures 12 feet by 100 feet and features text from the amendment, which was ratified on August 18, 1920: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
More this way
July 21, 2020

The secret history of Julius’, the oldest gay bar in NYC

On the corner of West 10th and Waverly Place sits Julius’ Bar, New York City’s oldest gay bar. Constructed in the middle of the 19th-century, the landmarked Greenwich Village building first opened as a grocery store and later became a bar. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously operating bars in the city, Julius’ is also known for its historic “Sip-In" on April 26, 1966, when members of the Mattachine Society--one of the country’s earliest LGBT rights organizations--protested the state law that prohibited bars from serving "suspected gay men or lesbians." Not only did the demonstration lead to the courts ruling in 1967 that gay people had the legal right to assemble and be served alcohol, but it also became one of the most significant instances of gay rights activism before the Stonewall Riots in 1969. Like many businesses forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, especially now that indoor dining is on hold indefinitely, Julius' owner Helen Buford is struggling to pay the bills and launched a fundraising campaign this month to help save the bar. Ahead, go behind the scenes of Julius' while it remains closed, learn about its unique history from longtime bartenders Daniel Onzo and Tracy O’ Neill, and hear more from Helen about the struggle to survive as a small business during COVID-19.
Go behind the scenes
July 20, 2020

NYC’s latest Whole Foods store opens at new Hudson Yards development

New York City's newest Whole Foods Market opened in Hudson Yards on Friday, becoming the grocery store chain's 14th Big Apple location. Located at 450 West 33rd Street, the market sits on the ground level of 5 Manhattan West, a 15-story office tower that is part of the six-building complex Manhattan West. The new Whole Foods measures more than 60,200 square feet and features a number of local vendors, like Threes Brewing, Café Grumpy, and Beecher's Handmade Cheese, as well as a spacious set up for outdoor dining.
Details here
July 17, 2020

Sarah Jessica Parker asks Citi Bike to help save 100-year-old Greenwich Village restaurant

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, longtime Greenwich Village resident Sarah Jessica Parker posted a heartfelt note to Citi Bike, hoping they can help save one of her favorite local restaurants. Gene's Restaurant has been located on West 11th Street near 6th Avenue for 101 years. But because of a Citi Bike rack right outside their front doors, the Italian restaurant has been unable to set up outdoor dining and is struggling from the pandemic fallout. "I'm happy to help move the @citibike rack just a bit east to make room for some outdoor seating. Whatever it takes," wrote SJP, who is a Citi Bike rider herself.
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July 16, 2020

The highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere is set to reopen at Hudson Yards

Edge, the 1,100-foot-tall outdoor observation deck at Hudson Yards, is expected to reopen next week with safety precautions taken to "new heights." The sky-high deck first opened to the public on the 100th floor of 30 Hudson Yards in March, only to close two days later because of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, as New York City prepares to enter phase four of reopening, Related Companies says visitors could start experiencing Edge as soon as July 20, with new timed-entry tickets and public health measures created in collaboration with the Mount Sinai Health System.
What you need to know
July 15, 2020

Open-air cafe proposed along the East River in historic South Street Seaport

An open-air waterfront restaurant and bar could be coming to the South Street Seaport Historic District. The Howard Hughes Corporation and the city's Parks Department on Tuesday presented a proposal to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a new concession along the East River Esplanade under the FDR Drive overpass. Designed by Woods Bagot, the "Blockhouse Bar" would be a year-round establishment, with plans to add decking over the pavement, planters, and vinyl coverings during the winter months.
Get the details