Manhattan

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.
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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

Architecture and urban design research group Terreform ONE has offered a proposal for a 12-story commercial building in the works across from Petrosino Square in Nolita that goes beyond any of the city's existing architectural curveballs, angles, and anomalies. The non-profit group has revealed plans to create an eight-story-high monarch butterfly sanctuary, or "Lepidoptera terrarium," that would serve as the building's façade and line its atrium.
More sanctuary in the city, this way

Marc Jacobs slashed $4M off his West Village townhouse and found a buyer the next day

Listing images by Rich Caplan; courtesy of the Ryan Serhant Team at Nest Seekers International

March 2, 2020

Marc Jacobs slashed $4M off his West Village townhouse and found a buyer the next day

Marc Jacobs' West Village townhouse had been on the market for almost a year when he relisted the property at 68 Bethune Street with a new agency and a price chop last week. The New York Post reports the property went into contract the very next day, proving that sometimes a price cut makes all the difference. The fashion designer first listed the four-story, nearly 4,800-square-foot home last April for $15.9 million after having purchased it for $10.5 million in 2009. The new listing hit the market at $12 million but the final sale price is still unknown.
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See the Waldorf Astoria’s glamorous, residents-only pool

Image credit: Noe & Associates/The Boundary

March 2, 2020

See the Waldorf Astoria’s glamorous, residents-only pool

The Waldorf Astoria is still closed for a major renovation, but it appears on track to becoming more luxurious than ever. The latest rendering to be released (which we spotted over on The Post) shows the skylit pool that will be available to residents of the recently branded Towers of the Waldorf Astoria, where 375 condos will be sold for the first time in the history of the storied property.
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Common brings modern co-living to historic Strivers’ Row in Harlem, from $1,600/month

Photos by Seth Caplan for Common

February 28, 2020

Common brings modern co-living to historic Strivers’ Row in Harlem, from $1,600/month

Co-living startup Common has opened its third Harlem location in the St. Nicholas Historic District, better known as Strivers’ Row for the long list of African American luminaries who lived along the two-block stretch. Common brings its modern approach to the area, with a handful of private bedrooms now available at 267 West 139th Street from $1,600 to $2,200 a month.
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Distinctive Homes

Before + After: How an Upper West Side couple renovated their 440sqft studio after a building fire

Photos by Pixy Interiors for Sweeten

February 27, 2020

Before + After: How an Upper West Side couple renovated their 440sqft studio after a building fire

When a blaze broke out on the rooftop of Dianna and Todd's Upper West Side co-op building they luckily sustained no major damage, but their walls and floors did suffer some impairment. Since moving into the high-floor duplex three years prior, the couple had been planning to renovate their home, and after the incident, they took the plunge. Because the 444-square-foot studio duplex had an efficient layout, their contractors advised them to keep the current setup and focus the budget on modernizing the kitchen and bathroom, brightening up all the rooms with paint and stain jobs, and incorporating colorful decor and functional furnishings.
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Elevated country style and modern convenience define a $7.5M Hell’s Kitchen townhouse

Photo credit: Guillaume Gaudet courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

February 27, 2020

Elevated country style and modern convenience define a $7.5M Hell’s Kitchen townhouse

Amid the new tall towers of midtown Manhattan's west side, we may forget the streets of historic townhouses that have made Hell's Kitchen a unique residential neighborhood for so long. Asking $7.5 million, this beautifully renovated home at 438 West 44th Street sits on a tree-lined block, with 5,223 square feet of living space within, spread over six floors and two family-sized units. The entire home is served by an elevator and has been thoroughly updated with new mechanicals throughout, while retaining its historic character and charm.
Explore the many levels

Distinctive Homes

Massive Lenox Terrace redevelopment has been rejected by the City Council Zoning Committee

Rendering credit: Davis Brody Bond

February 27, 2020

Massive Lenox Terrace redevelopment has been rejected by the City Council Zoning Committee

The City Council's Zoning Committee voted unanimously to reject a proposed redevelopment of Harlem's Lenox Terrace housing complex on Wednesday. The site's owner, the Olnick Organization, has been seeking approval for a mixed-use development with five 28-story towers to be constructed at the complex. This week's decision is expected to be a sign of what's to come when the project comes to a vote before the full City Council next month. But Olnick has already signaled that they have a scaled-down backup plan for the site that won't require a rezoning.
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Policy

Thurgood Marshall’s former Hamilton Heights co-op hits the market for $550K

Photo credit: Rise Media, Courtesy of Compass

February 27, 2020

Thurgood Marshall’s former Hamilton Heights co-op hits the market for $550K

Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court's first African-American justice, lived in Harlem as a young adult, even serving as a vestryman at St. Philip's Protestant Episcopal Church at 134th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. His home was a bit farther north in Hamilton Heights, at 409 Edgecombe Avenue near 154th Street. Notably, the building was also home to prominent African American figures such as W. E. B. Du Bois, painter Aaron Douglas, civil rights activist Roy Wilkins, and artist Elizabeth Catlett. Justice Marshall's former co-op, a spacious two-bedroom, is now owned by actress Erica Ash, known for her work on MadTV and The Big Gay Sketch Show. She's just put it on the market for $550,000.
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Museum of Natural History’s new Halls of Gems and Minerals will open this fall

A conceptual rendering of the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, opening in fall 2020 at the American Museum of Natural History. Rendering courtesy American Museum of Natural History.

February 27, 2020

Museum of Natural History’s new Halls of Gems and Minerals will open this fall

The American Museum of Natural History announced this week that the new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals will be opening in fall of 2020. Named for longtime museum supporters Roberto and Allison Mignone, the long-awaited redesign will be a dazzling showcase for one of the greatest collections of its kind. The new Halls will be connected to Studio Gang’s 235,000-square-foot Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.
More about the exhibitions and gallery, this way

See the approved plans for Trader Joe’s new Upper East Side store under the Queensboro Bridge

Renderings and photos by Madd Equities LLC, via LPC

February 26, 2020

See the approved plans for Trader Joe’s new Upper East Side store under the Queensboro Bridge

In a public hearing on Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission reviewed and approved an application to open a Trader Joe’s in the city-owned space underneath the Queensboro Bridge on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The cavernous space, known as Bridgemarket, is regarded for its 5,000-square-foot Guastavino-tiled arcade as well as its unique location. Former tenant Food Emporium moved out in 2015. The bridge and the space beneath it were designated a city landmark in 1974. The LPC applauded the proposal's "sensitive approach" to the space.
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Policy

Judge upholds decision to halt Two Bridges megatowers from rising

Rendering: Handel Architects.

February 26, 2020

Judge upholds decision to halt Two Bridges megatowers from rising

State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron upheld an August 2019 ruling that four towers planned for the Lower East Side Two Bridges development cannot move forward. The judge’s decision invalidates the City Planning Commission’s 2018 approval of the towers on the grounds that City Council authority regarding the land-use review process was illegally bypassed and that the controversial skyscrapers must go through the city's full application process. The ruling prevents the Department of Buildings from issuing permits until the multi-billion dollar project has the proper approvals. The decision represents a rare victory for those opposed to the skyscrapers, including the City Council and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and several Lower East Side and Chinatown community groups.
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Live the Soho life in a former photographer’s live/work loft for $6.5K a month

Photo credit: Rise Media courtesy of The Corcoran Group

February 26, 2020

Live the Soho life in a former photographer’s live/work loft for $6.5K a month

This former photographer's studio and residence at 49 Howard Street is the kind of classic Soho loft that we don't see too often these days. Comprised of 1,800 square feet of open space, the loft checks all the boxes: 11-foot tin ceilings, hardwood floors, oversized windows , exposed brick and industrial pipe shelving frame the third floor walk-up condominium unit, available to rent for $6,500 a month. You don't have to be an artist to live here, but your art will look right at home if you happen to be one. And unique interior features–like a bronze soaking tub and stone infinity sink–keep things interesting.
Eyeful of industrial loft goodness, this way

Photo (cropped) by Alex Proimos via Wikimedia Commons

February 26, 2020

The Met reveals new commissions for summer roof garden and facade niches

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced two new sculpture commissions to be installed in the museum's facade niches and the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden later this year. Mexican artist Héctor Zamora will create a site-specific intervention on the roof titled Lattice Detour that's set to open on April 21. On September 9, American artist Carol Bove will unveil new sculptures in the building's Fifth Avenue facade niches, becoming only the second artist to activate the building's exterior in this way. The works are still in progress but Sheena Wagstaff, the Met's Leonard A. Lauder Chairman of Modern and Contemporary Art, hinted that Zamora's piece will "invite us to reconsider the panoramic view of the city skyline" and Bove's installation will feature "colorful stylized abstractions."
More details

Events & Things To Do

Photo credit: Michael Weinstein Studio courtesy of The Corcoran Group

February 25, 2020

Live like the prince of Nolita at this $14.5K/month furnished loft in the Police Building

For a mere $14,500 a month, you can rent the style, space, and service of a bygone era in this princely pad in downtown Manhattan's iconic Police Building at 240 Centre Street, complete with fancy furnishings, two bedrooms, two baths and 1,400 square feet of space. The landmarked Beaux-Arts cooperative at the confluence of Soho, Nolita, and Little Italy is known for its history, its opulent architectural flourishes, and for the impeccable level of service provided for residents.
Chandeliers and Chinoiserie, this way

Distinctive Homes

Gracie Mansion’s largest art exhibition explores social justice and inclusion

All photos by Michael Appleton/NYC Mayor’s Office

February 25, 2020

Gracie Mansion’s largest art exhibition explores social justice and inclusion

By Devin Gannon

A new art exhibition is open at Gracie Mansion, the fourth and final installation of Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray's tenure. Catalyst: Art and Social Justice, which will also be the largest ever hosted at the historic home in Yorkville, features more than 75 works created by over 50 artists since the 1960s. With a focus on inclusion, the exhibit explores the connection between art, justice, and the social change movements behind it all.
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Events & Things To Do

Bethenny Frankel sells Hamptons home after taking a loss on her Soho condo

2623 Montauk Highway. Photo credit: Chris Foster, courtesy of Compass

February 25, 2020

Bethenny Frankel sells Hamptons home after taking a loss on her Soho condo

It's been a busy 2020 so far for Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel, who's finally unloaded two properties: her Soho condo and one of her Hamptons retreats. The Post reported last week that Frankel sold her seven-bedroom residence in Bridgehampton for $2.28 million after listing it for $2.99 million. It's a good thing she made a slight profit there because her Soho condo ended up selling for a significant loss. After almost three years on the market, Frankel sold her two-bedroom apartment at 22 Mercer Street for $3.65 million, the Observer reported last month. That's a $550,000 loss compared to the $4.2 million she paid for the pad in 2014—and more if you factor in what she spent on an extensive renovation.
Check out both residences

February 25, 2020

Apple signs lease for four floors at 11 Penn Plaza

After the Post first reported speculations of the deal in January, they now report that Apple will lease four floors of space at 11 Penn Plaza. Sources told the Post that the tech giant became interested in the 1.15-million-square-foot building that stretches along Seventh Avenue between West 31st and 32nd streets across from Madison Square Garden after losing out to Facebook on a spot in the Farley Building. However, those with knowledge of the deal say that Apple has only signed a five-year deal, which may suggest that they are still keen on finding a larger, more permanent home in NYC.
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Real Estate Trends

‘Versailles’ on the Upper East Side hits the market as a $55M townhouse with rental income

Photo credit: OLR and RARE Photography for Silvette Julian, Compass

February 25, 2020

‘Versailles’ on the Upper East Side hits the market as a $55M townhouse with rental income

We bet your home doesn't have 24-carat gilded gold moldings... but if you feel like upgrading to such a regal residence, this $55 million Upper East Side townhouse is just the ticket. Located at 10 East 62nd Street, just off Central Park, the landmarked Beaux-Arts building is currently configured as a triplex, two duplexes, and a common penthouse, all of which are currently being rented out. The triplex has been on and off the rental market for years, going for as much as $60,000 a month. In addition to the gold details, it's dripping with marble, hand-painted murals, and wrought-iron staircases.
See it to believe it

Distinctive Homes

February 24, 2020

Affordable housing waitlist reopens for Hamilton Heights’ PS 186, starting at $526/month

Back in 2016, Dattner Architects completed the restoration of a former early 20th-century school building in Hamilton Heights to a mixed-income affordable rental building that also serves as a new home for the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem. The Residences at PS 186 launched their first affordable housing lottery back then, and they've now opened up spots on a re-rental waiting list. New Yorkers earning 40, 60, 130, or 165 percent of the area median income are eligible to apply for units ranging from $526/month studios to $3,142/month two-bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

$20K/month Nolita loft is colorful, modern, and above a library

Photos courtesy of The Corcoran Group

February 24, 2020

$20K/month Nolita loft is colorful, modern, and above a library

285 Lafayette Street was built in 1886 as the Hawley & Hoops chocolate factory. In 1999, a rooftop addition was added and the building was converted to condos. Today, the open-floor lofts in a prime Nolita location are a celebrity magnet; David Bowie bought the penthouse in 1999 (his widow Iman still lives there), and Courtney Love and Ian Schrager are also former residents. But you don't have to be a star to appreciate the colorful, modern design of this three-bedroom unit, currently renting furnished for $20,000 a month. Another added bonus is that the Soho branch of the New York Public Library is in the base of the building.
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Distinctive Homes

You can rent the only Plaza apartment with a private elevator for $46,000 a month

Listing photos courtesy of Elegran

February 21, 2020

You can rent the only Plaza apartment with a private elevator for $46,000 a month

As if living in the Plaza wasn't posh enough, this mansion apartment is the only residence in the building to have a private elevator and a personal grand staircase with a private landing. Of course, it'll cost you--$46,000 a month. But that gets you 4,665 square feet of space, four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, and Central Park views from every window. And the home comes fully furnished.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

For $7.5M, George S. Kaufman’s one-time ‘European’ townhouse on the Upper East Side

Photos by Guillaume Gaudet, courtesy The Corcoran Group

February 21, 2020

For $7.5M, George S. Kaufman’s one-time ‘European’ townhouse on the Upper East Side

Celebrated playwright George S. Kaufman lived at 158 East 63rd Street in the 1920s, when he was part of the Algonquin Round Table circle of New York artists. As such, a young Moss Hart visited him at his Upper East Side home and later described seeing the home for the first time as an "illuminating and expensive moment" in his autobiography "Act One." The townhouse is now on the market again for $7.5 million, and its show-stopping features--a deep garden, European-style architecture, and a handsome library--are all still intact.
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Distinctive Homes

Levain is bringing its giant cookies to Noho

Cropped from a photo by City Foodsters via Flickr cc

February 20, 2020

Levain is bringing its giant cookies to Noho