Union Square

Back in November, the developer/owner of a pair of newly-landmarked buildings at 827-831 Broadway--noted for their cast-iron architecture and a rich cultural history that includes serving as home to artist Willem de Kooning--submitted a proposal for a four-story prismatic glass addition and landscaped roof terrace that architects DXA Studio say was influenced by de Kooning's work. Yesterday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission received the proposal with mixed reviews, feeling skeptical about whether or not cultural events should influence a building's architecture. After hearing testimony from a slew of local residents and preservationists who feel the glass topper is too large, the LPC decided to take no action on the plan, instead sending the team back to the drawing board to better detail the restoration aspects and reconsider the addition as perhaps shorter and further setback.
More details and renderings ahead

November 8, 2017

DXA Studio proposes prismatic glass addition for Willem de Kooning’s former Union Square home

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

Just a week after the pair of buildings at 827-831 Broadway was landmarked, not only for their cast-iron architecture but for their long cultural history that most notably includes serving as home to world-famous artist Willem de Kooning, the developer/owner has put forth a proposal for a four-story prismatic glass addition and landscaped roof terrace. Though the architects at DXA Studio say the modern topper's reflectivity is representative of two phases of de Kooning's work--his 1960s rural and pastoral landscapes as seen through the reflection of surrounding plantings and his late 1950s urban landscapes through the building reflections--local groups are not so convinced.
All the details ahead

From Willem de Kooning’s loft to the threat of the wrecking ball: The history of 827-831 Broadway

827-831 Broadway today via Wiki Commons (L); Willem de Kooning in his Fourth Avenue studio, April 1946. Harry Bowden, photographer. Harry Bowden papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.Via The Willem de Kooning Foundation. (R)

September 21, 2017

From Willem de Kooning’s loft to the threat of the wrecking ball: The history of 827-831 Broadway

Underneath the lyrical and much-admired sherbet-colored facades of the twin lofts at 827-831 Broadway lies a New York tale like no other. Incorporating snuff, sewing machines, and cigar store Indians; Abstract Expressionists; and the “antique dealer to the stars,” it also involves real estate and big money, and the very real threat of the wrecking ball. Ahead, explore the one-of-a-kind past of these buildings, which most notably served as the home to world-famous artist Willem de Kooning, and learn about the fight to preserve them not only for their architectural merit but unique cultural history.
Get the entire history

August 14, 2017

Look right into Stuyvesant Square Park through the huge windows at this $895K co-op

Tucked away on Rutherford Place, one of the prettiest streets in the neighborhood, this charming first-floor pre-war apartment sits along the eastern border of Gramercy and Union Square. Built in 1855 as a townhouse, the one-bedroom co-op at 224 East 17th Street has a large master bedroom and a small office space–and direct views of Stuyvesant Square Park.
See more of this pretty Gramercy pad

Distinctive Homes

July 27, 2017

CetraRuddy proposes sustainable designs for first office building along the Village’s ‘Silicon Alley’

An "oversized Silicon Alley" is what some are calling Mayor de Blasio's plan to transform Union Square and its southern stretches into the city's next tech hub. The main component so far is the massive Union Square Tech Hub proposed to replace the P.C. Richard & Son building on East 14th Street, but Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation are advocating that, in exchange for the building, the city rezone the surrounding blocks to prevent an influx of out-of-scale development. Despite their oppositions, CetraRuddy has revealed on their site two environmentally friendly proposals for the site at 799 Broadway, the former home of the St. Denis Hotel at the southwest corner of East 11th Street. Spotted by CityRealty, the 240-foot, 17-story office building would be the first catering to the Mayor's tech dreams, though the renderings are merely conceptual at this point.
All the renderings and details ahead

My 415sqft: Go inside a mini Union Square penthouse filled with Moroccan rugs and collectibles

6sqft’s ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Union Square penthouse studio of Leonard Shaver. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

July 11, 2017

My 415sqft: Go inside a mini Union Square penthouse filled with Moroccan rugs and collectibles

When Leonard Shaver moved into his studio penthouse 20 years ago, he never thought he'd be there two decades later. But thanks to a 320-square-foot terrace that not only makes the space feel twice its size but offers sweeping views of the skyline and Empire State Building, resurgence of the Union Square area, and the way his system of "organized chaos" has suited him, he now couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Admittedly a bit of a "hoarder," Leonard has an impressive set of Moroccan rugs, along with collections of Limoges Mona Lisa plates, Baccarat crystal, and shoes (yes, he even keeps them in the oven a la "Sex and the City"). 6sqft recently paid Leonard a visit to check out his home and learn about how he makes the small space work for himself and his two dogs Hunter and JJ.
Take the tour of Leonard's mini penthouse

The MTA considers a ‘car-free busway’ as L-train alternative

L train via Wiki Commons

June 7, 2017

The MTA considers a ‘car-free busway’ as L-train alternative

By Devin Gannon

L train via Wiki Commons To mitigate the nightmare commuters will face during the 15-month L-train shutdown, the MTA and the Department of Transportation presented four possible alternatives that would make a portion of 14th Street a car-free busway. Streetsblog NYC reported that during a Manhattan Community Board 6 meeting on Monday, the agencies laid out the following options: a standard Select Bus Service (SBS) along 14th Street, enhanced SBS that includes turn and curb restrictions, a car-free busway in the middle lanes along 14th and a river-to-river car-free busway. Agency officials predict between 75 and 85 percent of the daily 275,000 daily L riders will use other subway lines, with bus service possibly absorbing between 5-15 percent of displaced trips.
Find out more

May 30, 2017

Anthony Weiner’s $12K/month Union Square duplex is prematurely pulled

By Annie Doge

This Union Square apartment has certainly seen its fair share of scandal. Notorious former Congressman Anthony Weiner, along with wife and Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, moved into the duplex rental at Zeckendorf Towers in November 2014, just after his failed mayoral run and sexting scandal. And now that Abedin filed for divorce (nearly nine years since the couple announced their separation) after Weiner pled guilty to sending sexual text messages to a minor, they may finally be parting ways with the contemporary home. Three days ago, the Post reported that the unit hit the market for $11,900 a month, but the listing has since been pulled, perhaps from the publicity or because it was rented.
Take a look around

Celebrities

April 11, 2017

Contest winners suggest a car-free 14th Street with shuttles and bike lanes during L train shutdown

Advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has been trying to stay focused on grounded solutions–literally, as opposed to the tunnel and skyway ideas that are also being discussed–to mitigate the anticipated possible chaos when the dreaded 15-month L train shutdown hits. The organization is aiming for the ear of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the MTA which control street design and bus expansion, respectively. The group recently held an "L-ternative" contest seeking pedestrian-centered proposals for main transit corridors along the L line, such as 14th street, Gothamist reports. The winning proposal, called 14TH ST.OPS, imagines a (car) traffic-free 14th Street with a six-stop shuttle bus using dedicated lanes, plus protected bike lanes.
Check out the winning post-L-Train vision

February 3, 2017

$1.75M Flatiron loft is an art studio, office, library and cool bedroom retreat under one roof

The Flatiron District is known for its big, basic loft apartments, often creatively customized by residents, and this duplex co-op at 131 Fifth Avenue is no exception. Currently on the market for $1.75 million, the art-friendly home has understated bragging points like 15-foot ceilings and 10-foot windows overlooking 5th Avenue, as well as a full suite of interior design tools for creative living.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

February 1, 2017

See dazzling new renderings of Union Square’s Tammany Hall overhaul

The redevelopment of Union Square's Tammany Hall is moving full steam ahead. As CityRealty reports, leasing has launched, and along with a brand new website, a slew of new renderings showing off the historic building's impending transformation have also been revealed.
more here

New Developments

December 29, 2016

Bright one-bedroom pad off Union Square asks $4,900/month

By Emily Nonko

This one-bedroom apartment comes from the Zeckendorf Towers, a 1980s development that encompasses four 29-story towers with 630 apartments. Although it is a condo complex, you can rent this particular unit for $4,900 a month. It's particularly flexible as a sliding glass door that separates the bedroom also partitions off a bonus space which could be used as an office or nursery. The unit also benefits from built-in shelving and custom closets that maximize storage space.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

December 23, 2016

Rent the East Village party pad where Bret Easton Ellis wrote ‘American Psycho’

The East Village loft owned by novelist and literary bad boy Bret Easton Ellis is available for rent for $5,900 per month. Ellis has been renting out the studio apartment since he decamped for Los Angeles a decade ago; he told the Observer he's been holding on to the 950-square-foot, second-floor condo in the American Felt Building at 114 East 13th Street as a back-up plan, "if Los Angeles just doesn’t work out." The "American Psycho" scribe says he spent the late '80s living in the lofty studio–in his early 20s at the time–writing the iconic 1991 novel of late 20th century privilege, materialism and delusion and throwing massive Holly Golightly-esque bashes packed with his contemporaries back in the day in an East Village very different from today's.
Check it out

December 16, 2016

Governor Cuomo announces ‘Subway Therapy’ Post-Its will be preserved

Among the more positive things to emerge from the 2016 election was the very visible outpour of love and solidarity by New Yorkers, who not only took to the streets together to stand up for what they believe in, but without inhibition expressed their anger, fears, hopes and words of comfort for one another on colorful Post-Its stretched along the 14th Street-6th/7th Avenue subway corridor. Recognizing the historic nature of this spontaneous art movement, Governor Cuomo announced this morning that the New-York Historical Society will partner with the MTA to preserve some of the thousands of "Subway Therapy" sticky notes that have materialized over the last weeks.
more details here

Plans and renderings revealed for Mount Sinai’s downtown expansion

Renderings by SAN for Ennead Architects and Perkins Eastman

October 12, 2016

Plans and renderings revealed for Mount Sinai’s downtown expansion

By Metro New York

Mount Sinai Health System announced on Tuesday that phase one of a $500 million project to rebuild Mount Sinai Beth Israel and create the new “Mount Sinai Downtown” network is set to start. The network will expand and renovate three sites of outpatient facilities, according to the hospital, which will stretch from the East River to the Hudson River below 34th Street. The network will include 35 operating and procedure rooms and 16 physician practice locations with more than 600 doctors.
renderings this way

Uncategorized

July 27, 2016

For $1.2M This Bright Village Loft Is at the Crossroads of Everything

This $1.195 million co-op at 9 East 13th Street just off Fifth Avenue is a classic vintage downtown Manhattan loft updated for the 21st century. In a bustling spot at the crossroads of old and new near NYU and Parsons and between Union Square and Washington Square Park, the building may be old but as with most lofts, this bright one-bedroom home's interiors are filled with light and lots of white, brick and pale wood. And this particular loft has the distinction of having an impressive amount of private finished outdoor space perched above the Village scene.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

December 18, 2015

$13K Furnished Rental Is a Mix of All the Coolest Downtown Dwellings

The kitchen says Greenwich Village, the bedroom reads East Village, and the large living space is pure Soho loft. Located just south of Union Square and a few blocks from almost everything else in the universe, this good old fashioned "loft-style home" at 816 Broadway is the perfect mix of cool downtown dwellings. Unless you're seeking total peace and quiet (which rules out most of New York City) there isn't much downside–other than the $13K a month rent–to moving right in to this hip, well-stocked apartment with the world just outside your door. This furnished home is available for six months or less (January-September); weekly cleaning and utilities are included in the rent.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

October 6, 2015

Union Square Bachelor Pad With Indian Decor Has Its Very Own Coffee Bar

By Rebecca Paul

Getting settled in Manhattan can be challenging, but with help from the designers at Peti Lau Inc. this bachelor from Bangalore, India created a place to call home with an epic interior inspired by his love for travel, all things vintage, and coffee. Located in Union Square, this 1,800-square-foot one-bedroom apartment boasts a variety of noteworthy design details, including a cafe-inspired kitchen and tchotchkes and rugs gathered from the owner's trips to Africa, Morocco and India.
Take a look around

September 15, 2015

Gorgeous Roof Garden Atop This $3M Flatiron Loft Has an Outdoor Cinema and Cinematic Views

As much as we love lofts, they're sometimes better in theory than reality; they're either too slick and highly customized as someone's dream palace, or they're a little too raw and lack privacy and separation of space. And their rooftops, while huge, are often gritty urban spaces. In the penthouse loft at 22 East 18th Street asking $2.995 million, you can have your cake in a custom kitchen worthy of a newly-minted luxury apartment and eat it in a verdant enchanted roof garden high above the Flatiron district. This one- (convertible to two-) bedroom co-op has authentic 1900 cast-iron loft bones, details and all, state-of-the-art interiors and mechanical systems (central air and sound and a private elevator to name just a few), plus tons of light and, perhaps best of all, a magical common roof garden with self-irrigated plantings, benches and a custom outdoor cinema–and movie-worthy views of the city.
Have a look around, this way...

Distinctive Homes

August 19, 2015

This Flatiron Rental Offers Classic Loft Living, Modern Luxury, and Curious Built-Ins

Back in the 20th century, before luxury loft condos were a thing, artists, heiresses and the adventurous lived large in city lofts, and while the artists needed the square footage for living and working, others enjoyed the idea of carving out living areas in a cavernous open space with ceilings so high you almost couldn't see them, and windows almost as big. It was a world of (private) freight elevators and DIY kitchens (the look of which today's high end kitchens emulate). This Flatiron loft at 10 East 18th Street offers a hangar-esque 2,700 square feet of living space accessed by private keyed elevator; exposed brick walls are lined with oversized windows and there are plenty of custom-built luxuries that are more professionally-crafted than DIY; though there's no floor plan, it's listed as having two bedrooms and 2.5 baths. There are also more modern comforts than you'd find in an old-school loft, such as a wine cooler, central air and a Bosch washer-dryer–and there's a totally 21st century price tag of $14,000 a month.
Take a look around this huge loft

Distinctive Homes

July 7, 2015

Kimberly Peck’s All-White Union Square Loft Is Surprisingly Perfect for a Modern Family

By Shiloh Frederick

Normally, white is a color families shy away from in fear of kid-related accidents. But daring architect Kimberly Peck has brushed off the age-old design restriction in this Union Square loft renovation that makes white the central color. Addressing the growing family's needs, she carved a second bedroom and bathroom out of the loft's 1,375 square feet, in addition to enlarging the kitchen. Working with the space's characteristic wooden floors and exposed brick walls, Peck created a space that's stylish, yet still homey.
See the renovation here

What’s the Meaning Behind Those Peculiar Red Frames Found in Union Square Station?

Images by This Hidden City

June 19, 2015

What’s the Meaning Behind Those Peculiar Red Frames Found in Union Square Station?

You've surely walked past these bright red frames beneath 14th Street-Union Square numerous times, but probably haven't given much thought to why they are there—or if you have, you've likely just assumed they were another one of the city's unfinished construction projects. But as it turns out, these seemingly simplistic outlines hold great significance, each piece pointing to a very special time in New York's transportation history.
Find out more here

May 18, 2015

$4M Loft in Greenwich Village Will Make You Think You’re in Paris

By Aisha Carter

The charm of Greenwich Village is undeniable. You have tree-lined streets, shops and celebrities. Well this $3.995 million full-floor pad at 54 East 11th Street is not to be outdone. We'll put it this way, If this loft were the setting of an episode of "Sex and the City" it would be called "An American Girl in Paris Without Actually Leaving New York."
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

February 3, 2015

Then and Now: From Luchow’s German Restaurant to NYU Dorm

For those of us who came to the city within the past decade, it's hard to imagine East 14th Street without its stretch of bulky NYU dorms, big-box supermarkets, and mini-chain restaurants. But of course this wasn't always what the area looked like. In the late 19th century, the area centered around Irving Place, was full of entertainment venues like the Academy of Music, the city's opera house, Steinway Hall, Tammany Hall, and the City Theatre movie house. And at the heart of it all was a restaurant that catered to both the theater crowd and the German population of the East Village–Luchow's. Luchow's was established in 1882 at 110 East 14th Street at Irving Place when German immigrant August Lüchow purchased the café/beer garden where he worked as a bartender and waiter. It remained in operation for a full century, becoming an unofficial neighborhood and city landmark, until it was replaced by NYU's University Hall dormitory.
Read the full history here

November 6, 2014

BKSK Proposes an Undulating Glass Topper for the Landmarked Tammany Hall