Manhattan

A new food hall opened this month in Manhattan's Garment District, adding some bold flavors to the mostly lackluster options in the neighborhood. Located at 231 West 39th Street, The Deco Food + Drink features eight family-owned vendors, a cocktail bar, and event space. An ode to 1920s New York, the Carpenter & Mason-designed space features an Art Deco aesthetic, with geometric tiles, bright blues, and brass accents framing each section.
See inside

Food & Dining

Construction of World Trade Center’s St. Nicholas Shrine will resume

The site in December 2018, Photo by Tdorante10 via Wikimedia Commons

January 3, 2020

Construction of World Trade Center’s St. Nicholas Shrine will resume

It's been more than two years since reconstruction work on the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at the World Trade Center stopped due to lack of funding, but the project is finally set to resume. On Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to form a new non-profit organization with an independent 13-member board—the Friends of St. Nicholas—who will oversee the remaining construction. The expected opening is slated for 2022.
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New Developments

Times Square’s Palace Theatre overhaul includes outdoor stage and ‘ball drop’ suites

Rendering courtesy of TSX Broadway

January 2, 2020

Times Square’s Palace Theatre overhaul includes outdoor stage and ‘ball drop’ suites

A mixed-use development project hopes to bring even more bright lights and theatrics to Times Square. A team of developers, led by L&L Holding Company, will provide the ultimate New Year's Eve experience at its new luxury hotel, part of the plan to transform the historic Palace Theatre into TSX Broadway. New renderings of the $2.5 billion project, which involves raising the theater more than 30 feet and building a 669-room hotel above it, show off suites with perfect views of the Times Square ball drop, the neighborhood's first outdoor stage, and immersive retail experiences.
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Sweeping views and a sculptural staircase stand out in this $8M Sutton Place duplex

Listing images by Evan Joseph; courtesy of Compass

January 2, 2020

Sweeping views and a sculptural staircase stand out in this $8M Sutton Place duplex

This Sutton Place duplex co-op is a corner unit on the 37th of 47 floors so it boasts sweeping views of the Midtown skyline and East River in every room. The five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bathroom residence spans over 6,300 square feet in the Emery Roth-designed tower at 425 East 58th Street, also known as The Sovereign. It's now on the market for $7,995,000, with a minimum 50 percent down payment required.
Get the full tour

Distinctive Homes

The Hell’s Kitchen Antiques Fair & Flea Market closed in 2018; Photo by S.J.I on Flickr

December 30, 2019

Famed flea market in Chelsea has closed

After nearly five decades in operation, a famed flea market in Chelsea officially closed on Sunday, the New York Times reported. Alan Boss, the owner of the Annex Antiques Fair and Flea Market, which first opened in 1976 on a corner lot on West 25th Street, said the landlords did not renew the market's lease. While Boss said he hoped to find a new location, there isn't much remaining in the expanding neighborhood. "The current location was the last available lot of any size," Boss told the Times.
More here

Real Estate Trends

December 30, 2019

21 experts on NYC’s most important projects of the past decade

By 6sqft

As the decade draws to a close, we're reflecting on the growth and evolution of New York City during the 2010s. In the past 10 years, the city has seen the rebirth of neighborhoods, the creation of a totally new one, the return of a major sports team to Brooklyn, and the biggest subway expansion in decades. We've asked notable New Yorkers to share which project of the past decade they believe has made the most significant impact on the city, from the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site to the revival of the Coney Island boardwalk.
The full list ahead

Architecture And Design

New Year’s Eve in numbers: Fun facts about the Times Square ball drop

Photo by Kohei Kanno on Flickr

December 30, 2019

New Year’s Eve in numbers: Fun facts about the Times Square ball drop

By Diane Pham

Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31, anticipation runs high as the world holds its breath waiting for the sparkling New Year's Eve Ball to descend from its flagpole atop One Times Square. We all know that the countdown starts at 10, but there are a handful of other fun facts to muse over when it comes to the city's most lauded tradition. From the wattage of the ball to the weight of trash produced to how long it takes to get it all cleaned up, see what we've rounded up, in numbers, ahead!
More on New Year's Eve in Times Square here

Events & Things To Do

168th Street and Astoria Boulevard subway stations finally reopen

MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford at the 168 St Station on Monday, December 23, 2019, along with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Assemblymember Al Taylor. Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit

December 23, 2019

168th Street and Astoria Boulevard subway stations finally reopen

By Dana Schulz

After a year, the 168th Street 1 train station has finally reopened, marking the first complete elevator replacement at this stop in more than 100 years. In addition, last week, the MTA announced that the Astoria Boulevard N, W station has reopened after nine months and the completion of the first phase of its station modernization.
More info

Transit

Image courtesy of Halstead.

December 23, 2019

This Yorkville studio gets top-floor light for a bargain basement $325K

Asking $325,000, this cozy co-op's Yorkville location at 321 East 89th Street between Central Park and Carl Schurz park means you've got a choice between the two green spaces–and the new Q line stops three blocks away. The tucked-away top-floor studio is served by an elevator, so getting home doesn't have to be a workout.
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Distinctive Homes

Judge overturns city’s plan to rezone Inwood

Photo by kathryn on Flickr

December 20, 2019

Judge overturns city’s plan to rezone Inwood

A state Supreme Court judge on Thursday overturned land-use changes approved by the City Council in 2018 to rezone the neighborhood of Inwood. A group of local residents and preservationists filed a lawsuit against the rezoning last December, claiming the plan did nothing to protect the community from displacement, as well as other effects of gentrification. In the decision, Judge Verna Saunders said the city "failed to take a hard look at the relevant areas of concern identified by the public" and did not comply with a state environmental quality review.
Learn more here

Policy

Artist Kent Monkman’s new murals at The Met reexamine Manhattan’s colonial past

Photos by Anna-Marie Kellen

December 19, 2019

Artist Kent Monkman’s new murals at The Met reexamine Manhattan’s colonial past

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

Two new paintings by Canadian Cree artist Kent Monkman are now on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Great Hall. As part of a new series in which the museum invites contemporary artists to make work in response to the Met collection, Monkman reappropriated motifs from Western artists such as Emanuel Leutze and Eugéne Delacroix to tell a different narrative that foregrounds themes of arrival, migration, displacement, and the Indigenous experience.
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Events & Things To Do

December 19, 2019

14 historic sites of the abolitionist movement in Greenwich Village

As this year marks 400 years since the first African slaves were brought to America, much attention has been paid to what that means and how to remember this solemn anniversary. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission issued a story map highlighting landmarks of the abolitionist movement in New York City. Absent from the map were a number of incredibly important sites in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and Noho, which were a hotbed of abolitionist activity through the 19th century, as well as the home of the city’s largest African American community. Ahead, learn about 14 significant sites of the anti-slavery movement.
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History

For $24 million, a penthouse in Rafael Viñoly’s latest Nomad tower features an impressive loggia

Images by Colin Miller

December 19, 2019

For $24 million, a penthouse in Rafael Viñoly’s latest Nomad tower features an impressive loggia

As we’ve watched Rafael Viñoly’s Nomad tower at 277 Fifth Avenue rise, its pared-down yet distinctive facade has drawn our attention to the building’s double-height, open-air loggias that appear to be carved out of the building’s uppermost corners. Now that the building is complete, new images of a recently listed penthouse offer a glimpse of what those spaces are like from the other side. Seeking $24 million, the residence is one of four penthouses atop the 720-foot tower, spanning roughly 4,520 square feet.
Get the full tour

Photo credit: VHT courtesy of Compass

December 19, 2019

St. Mark’s studio with a working fireplace is a cozy little slice of East Village life for $475K

Though St. Mark's Place in the East Village may not be the colorful alt-culture adventure it once was, it's still central to a neighborhood that never stops moving. This compact co-op studio at 87 St. Mark's Place is in the center of it all, yet it's buttoned up, fitted out, and ready for the next adventurer to enjoy. Attributes like a working fireplace and a built-in Murphy bed make the space feel like home.
More cute studio, this way

Distinctive Homes

Chase, Joe Coffee, and By CHLOE. are now open in former Union Square Coffee Shop location

Photo by 6sqft

December 18, 2019

Chase, Joe Coffee, and By CHLOE. are now open in former Union Square Coffee Shop location

The prominent Union Square storefront on 16th Street and Union Square West that was home to sceney restaurant Coffee Shop for 28 years has changed quite a bit since the former diner closed its doors last October. Reports that yet another Chase branch and an outpost of vegan chain By CHLOE. would open in its place were confirmed a few months ago, and now the transformation is complete. A new location for Joe Coffee is also open in the building, and, interestingly, is part of a partnership with Chase, according to the Wall Street Journal. With an entrance on 16th Street, By CHLOE.'s colorful storefront stands where the former diner's back dining room used to be, while the Union Square side has lost its iconic neon sign for ubiquitous Chase branding.
Find out more right here

Food & Dining

Photo credit: Travis Mark courtesy of Compass

December 18, 2019

$3.2M FiDi loft stands out behind a historic Palladian window

Asking $3.15 million, this floor-through loft in a beautiful old Lower Manhattan building has the look of a timeless residence in a changing city. More ornate than most and definitely a standout on its block, 42 Ann Street is a landmarked 19th-century commercial building with only seven condominium units within. Spanning 2,700 square feet, the two-bedroom condo has been recently renovated with artfully-designed spaces and luxurious fixtures and finishes.
Tour this timeless condo conversion

Distinctive Homes

NYC’s third-priciest apartment ever just sold at 220 Central Park South for $92.7M

Via Vornado Realty Trust and Robert A.M. Stern Architects

December 17, 2019

NYC’s third-priciest apartment ever just sold at 220 Central Park South for $92.7M

By Dana Schulz

Despite some trepidation about the luxury sales market, the year is finishing strong, at least near Billionaires' Row, which was just named the most expensive street in the entire world. As the NY Post first reported, property records filed today show a $92.7 million penthouse sale at 220 Central Park South, making it the third-most-expensive NYC 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. Though it was purchased by an anonymous LLC, the Wall Street Journal uncovered that billionaire hedge-funder Daniel Och is the buyer.
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Real Estate Trends

Billionaire’s Row tops list of most expensive streets in the world

Looking north towards Billionaires’ Row in early October © 6sqft

December 17, 2019

Billionaire’s Row tops list of most expensive streets in the world

A new study of the top "ultra-prime" locations in the world dispels any doubt that Billionaire's Row is living up to its name. London-based property consultancy Knight Frank, along with Douglas Elliman, looked at the number of homes sold for over $25 million since 2015 and found the greatest concentration along Midtown's 57th Street, where 41 transactions have been closed in the last five years at an average price of $38.5 million. Manhattan cracked the top ten three more times, with Central Park South coming in third, followed by Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue in fourth and seventh place.
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Real Estate Trends

Photos courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

December 17, 2019

This $2.6M Upper West Side brownstone co-op has a beautiful back garden and a well-appointed cellar

On a gorgeous brownstone-lined street on the Upper West Side, this garden-floor co-op at 50 West 70th Street is less than a block from Central Park. In case you don't even want to venture that far, this $2.565 million home has a lovely landscaped private garden just beyond a wall of sliding glass doors. Technically a duplex, with several possibilities for bedrooms, this renovated co-op occupies the ground floor and the floor below in a 23-foot-wide 1893 townhouse. The renovation has incorporated well-considered finishings throughout, and an open layout gives it a loft-like feel. The large lower level means there's lots of space to use for whatever you need most.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Borough president rejects plan for five-building luxury development in Harlem

Aerial view of the project; Credit: Davis Brody Bond

December 17, 2019

Borough president rejects plan for five-building luxury development in Harlem

A developer's plan to rezone a neighborhood in Central Harlem to make way for a mixed-use development hit another roadblock this week. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer on Monday rejected a rezoning application filed by the Olnick Organization to construct five 28-story luxury towers and one mid-rise building located at the existing Lenox Terrace complex. In her recommendation, Brewer said the project lacks the "public and private investments necessary to make it a prudent exercise of planning for future growth."
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Policy

Snap a photo with the ‘2020’ New Year’s Eve sign in Times Square

Photo by Ian Hardy for Countdown Entertainment

December 16, 2019

Snap a photo with the ‘2020’ New Year’s Eve sign in Times Square

The new year has arrived in New York City...at least in numbers. Two seven-foot-tall numerals, the "2" and "0" in 2020, are currently on display in Times Square, offering the public a chance to snap a photo with the famous digits before they are placed on top of One Times Square. The 2020 signage sits below the crystal-filled New Year's Eve ball and will light up at midnight on December 31, marking the start of a new decade.
Details here

Events & Things To Do

Practice your putting at this $3.65M Tribeca penthouse, featuring three outdoor spaces

Listing images by DDreps; courtesy of Compass

December 16, 2019

Practice your putting at this $3.65M Tribeca penthouse, featuring three outdoor spaces

This duplex at 73 Worth Street in Tribeca comes with three terraces, one of which has been converted into a private putting green. Despite boasting a true rarity, the unit has a history of being competitively priced in one of Manhattan’s most expensive neighborhoods: It last sold in 2010 for $2.475 million and is now seeking $3.650 million, making it the only four-bedroom with outdoor space currently available in Tribeca under $5 million.
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Distinctive Homes

Asking $50M, the Greenwich Village Milbank House is twice as wide as the average townhouse

Photo credit: Cary Horowitz for Brown Harris Stevens.

December 16, 2019

Asking $50M, the Greenwich Village Milbank House is twice as wide as the average townhouse

Between Russian-born billionaire Roman Abramovitch's three-townhouse Upper East Side combo, Sarah Jessica Parker's Village two-fer plans, and the many similar but less newsworthy grandiose schemes by modern-day moguls to collect and build dream castles, the mega-mansion may seem like a sign of 21st-century excess. But the practice has a long history, as evidenced by this 54.5-foot-wide Greenwich Village property at 11 West 10th Street that just hit the market for a trophy-level $50 million, which could set a townhouse record below 34th Street, according to the New York Times. Built by renowned architect Ernest Flagg in the early 1800s, the duo was combined in the early 1900s by investor Jeremiah Milbank, creating a 16,560-square-foot, L-shaped property surrounded by 5,690 square feet of private terrace. Today, it's been renovated from stem to stern and is ready to welcome a new decade's decadence.
Megamansion tour, this way

Distinctive Homes

Gramercy Park will open to the public on Christmas Eve for one hour

Photo by Sean Brady, courtesy of the Gramercy Park Block Association

December 13, 2019

Gramercy Park will open to the public on Christmas Eve for one hour