Upper East Side

Rendering of The Kent via Beyer Blinder Belle; Photo via CityRealty Applications are now being accepted for 21 brand new, affordable condominiums at Extell Development's Upper East Side tower, The Kent. Designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, the 30-story building, located at 200 East 95th Street, has a facade covered in red brick with accents of dark metal. Qualifying New Yorkers earning between $79,333 and $119,250 annually can apply for the studio, one- and two-bedroom condo units, which range in price from $356,700 to $427,000.
Find out if you qualify

March 20, 2018

INTERVIEW: Developer Edward Baquero explains how he brought old-New York luxury to 20 East End

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

When I first interviewed Edward Baquero, President of Corigin Real Estate Group, his art curator, Elizabeth Fiore, was furiously texting him images from the Armory Show with potential art for two remaining walls in the stately 20 East End’s octagonal lobby. Baquero is a perfectionist to the nth degree with an obsessive eye for detail, highly skilled research capabilities, a luxurious aesthetic sensibility and a ridiculously funny sense of humor. These two alcove walls were just as important to Baquero as every other detail in his building, no matter how big or small. Nothing in 20 East End was chosen without thorough research and reason followed by multiple iterations of tests and retests. What Baquero created in 20 East End evokes a time when the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Rockefellers dominated Manhattan and defined luxury. Baquero is bringing back the best of the past and melding it with the present to create a model many will replicate in the future. Ahead, 6sqft talks with him about how he achieved this, his inspirations, and what it was like working with Robert A.M. Stern.
Hear what Edward has to say

March 13, 2018

For $3M, live in a historic Carnegie Hill townhouse with all the perks of a condo

By Hannah Frishberg

Located within the posh Upper East Side enclave of Carnegie Hill at 1281 Madison Avenue, this gracefully restored 1,712-square-foot townhouse-style duplex is stunning inside and out, and asking an even $3 million. The lofty 11-foot ceilings and generously-sized West-facing windows allow for plenty of air and light throughout the apartment, but perhaps the best part is that it's connected to an adjacent condominium and is afforded all the perks of that property.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

March 9, 2018

Can giant zoo animals sell a luxury condo in NYC?

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

After watching 200 East 59th Street’s most recent promotional video, the 35-story midtown building seems insanely voluminous and sturdy— with a whiff of hay? Developer Macklowe Properties just released this DBOX video showing giraffes, elephants, and rhinos (oh my!) galavanting around the city and in their new building. This video builds on the fiberglass 18-foot giraffes, elephants, and rhinos Macklowe found in Southampton and installed at the property last year.
Watch the whole video

New Developments

March 5, 2018

116-year-old Yorkville bakery Glaser’s announces summer closing

By Dana Schulz

When 6sqft met with Herb Glaser, the third-generation co-owner of Yorkville's 116-year-old German bakery Glaser's, he attributed the business' longevity to the fact that his grandfather "had the foresight and the ability to buy the building that we are in." So it came as a bit of a surprise when we learned over the weekend that the beloved bake shop will be closing its doors this summer. A bittersweet Facebook post stated that "After many years of daunting hours and hard work, the third generation of bakers have come to the difficult decision to hang up their bakers' hat and move towards retirement."
READ MORE

Uncategorized

March 2, 2018

Interior designer Bunny Williams lists tasteful Upper East Side co-op for $4M

Interior designer and "high society tastemaker" Bunny Williams has just listed her classic six Carnegie Hill apartment at the 1185 Park Avenue cooperative. The apartment--now full of antiques she has collected from around the world--is asking $3.995 million with a maintenance is $4,685 a month. (According to the New York Times, she purchased it for about $900,000.) The two-bedroom, three-bathroom spread is on the fourth floor of the 15-story prewar co-op, one of the last in the city designed with a drive-through central courtyard.
Take the interior tour

Distinctive Homes

As of today, the Met will start charging non-New Yorkers $25 for admission

Photo via Wiki Commons

March 1, 2018

As of today, the Met will start charging non-New Yorkers $25 for admission

By Dana Schulz

At the beginning of the year, the Met announced that it would begin charging non-New Yorkers (i.e. those without a state ID) $25 for admission, waiving its pay-what-you-wish policy that had been in effect since 1970. And as of today, that policy is officially being implemented through signs at all entrances, 14 new kiosks in the Great Hall, roaming museum staff with iPads, and a brochure that explains the new fee system, reports the Times.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

How the Second Avenue Subway is hurting Upper East Side businesses

96th Street entrance to the Second Avenue Subway, via MTA/Flickr

February 26, 2018

How the Second Avenue Subway is hurting Upper East Side businesses

By Cait Etherington

On Valentine’s Day, The Source, a long-running store on Third Avenue that sold everything from stationary and household cleaning products to cards and candles, closed its doors for good. Since early January, when the owner hung a going-out-of-business sign in his window, he had been telling Upper East Siders shoppers that he was shutting down for two reasons: rising rents but the drastic decline in business brought about by the Second Avenue Subway’s opening in January 2017. Although one might assume that a business like The Source is really a victim of Amazon and the rise of other online retailers, the increasing vacancy rates along Third and Lexington Avenues on the Upper East Side over the past year appear to confirm his speculation. As much as the Second Avenue Subway has been good news for businesses in Yorkville, its opening seems to have dealt a devastating blow to businesses located just west of the new line.
What’s the deal?

Transit

Rafael Viñoly’s octagonal-cored Upper East Side tower gets new rendering

Rendering of 249 East 62nd Street via Rafael Viñoly Architects

February 20, 2018

Rafael Viñoly’s octagonal-cored Upper East Side tower gets new rendering

First announced over a year ago and later approved by the city's Department of Buildings in September, Rafael Viñoly’s residential project planned for 249 East 62nd Street moved forward this week after the architect released a new rendering. As YIMBY reported, the 510-foot building will feature retail and a townhouse at its base, with apartments above it through the 12th floor. The uniqueness of this project's design lies with its 150-foot-tall octagonally-shaped core, aimed at raising the height of upper-level apartments without counting it toward usable square footage.
Details here

February 15, 2018

New York City’s priciest townhouse sets another record after $90M sale

Billionaire Len Blavatnik has broken the city's record for the most expensive townhouse after paying $90 million for an Upper East Side mansion, according to the New York Post. The seller, HNA Group, sold the home at 19 East 64th Street after recently picking it up in April for $79.5 million, a record at the time. Blavatnik, a music executive who already owns a home on 64th Street and paid $80 million for a home at 834 Fifth Avenue, has an estimated net worth of around $20.5 billion.
More this way

Real Estate Trends

February 14, 2018

The Obamas are not moving to the Upper East Side

Barack and Michelle Obama via Wiki Commons; One of 10 Gracie Square’s terraces overlooking the East River, via CityRealty Dreams of having Barack and Michelle Obama in New York City were dashed this week after a report dispelled any and all rumors about the presidential couple moving to Manhattan. According to New York Magazine, the Obamas are not purchasing the five-bedroom duplex at 10 Gracie Square that went into contract for $10 million last month. On background, a source told the magazine: "It's not happening. They certainly did not submit an application, and this never got to the point where a deal was even being floated."
More here

Celebrities

Drew Barrymore checks out two ritzy co-ops on the Upper East Side

Photo of Drew Barrymore via Wikimedia

February 1, 2018

Drew Barrymore checks out two ritzy co-ops on the Upper East Side

Following a split from her husband in 2016, actress Drew Barrymore is looking for a new abode on the Upper East Side and has been touring apartments on some of the neighborhood's priciest blocks. According to the New York Post, the star scoped out two co-ops priced over $5 million, one at 965 Fifth Avenue and another at 1125 Park Avenue. At the Fifth Avenue digs, she saw a $5.3 million two-bedroom spread with expansive Central Park views. And over on Park, she got a look at a $5.495 million newly renovated pad. Interestingly, both places are a bit, shall we say, mature for what we'd expect from Barrymore.
See them both here

January 31, 2018

Live in ‘Imperial’ style next door to the Carlyle on the Upper East Side for $1.65M

When modern renovations happen to grand pre-war homes on the Upper East Side, the result is often predictable at best, or over-the-top and garish. This lofty two-bedroom co-op at 55 East 76th Street in an 1883 Neo-Grec brownstone known as the Imperial is definitely an exception. Acclaimed contemporary architect Louise Braverman was able to combine the sleekness of a modern loft and the elegance of pre-war architecture seamlessly in this unique home in a classic uptown setting. The co-op is asking $1.65 million with the opportunity to combine it with unit #12 at $3.63M for the pair.
See more of this elegant apartment

Distinctive Homes

January 26, 2018

$9M Upper East Side duplex is dressed up like a Park Avenue socialite

Besides being an architectural gem, designed by William Alciphron Boring and completed in 1911, 521 Park Avenue is the rare classic pre-war Upper East Side building that's also a condominium (it was converted in 1987). This sprawling duplex is the result of a high-floor two-unit combo. The resulting 3,000+ square-foot corner apartment has as much space and impressive pre-war detail as you'd expect from an address like this one.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

January 24, 2018

Subway map designer Massimo Vignelli’s Upper East Side home hits the market for $6.5M

The Upper East Side home of iconic designer-duo Lella and Massimo Vignelli will be listed for $6.5 million, according to the New York Times. The 3,900-square-foot three-bedroom duplex at 130 East 67th Street features super high ceilings, wide plank oak floors and a beautiful library. The Italian-born couple first bought the home in 1978 for $250,000, and it served as their first New York abode. While best known in NYC for his 1972 design of the subway map for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Massimo, who died in 2014, is also credited with creating iconic branding for companies, like the big brown bag logo for Bloomingdales. His wife, Lella, who died in 2016, was a licensed architect and created furniture and tableware for Vignelli Designs. According to the son of the late couple, Luca, the apartment served as a "cultural hub for artists and designers."
See inside the mod duplex

Did the Obamas just close on this classy Upper East Side duplex for almost $10M?

Barack and Michelle Obama via Wiki Commons; One of 10 Gracie Square’s terraces overlooking the East River, via CityRealty

January 24, 2018

Did the Obamas just close on this classy Upper East Side duplex for almost $10M?

In October, 6sqft reported that Barack and Michelle Obama had been spotted on their way to view a listing in Yorkville's 10 Gracie Square. At the time, it was speculated that they checked out a five-bedroom duplex that had gone into contract for $10 million shortly following the visit. The buyer wasn't confirmed, but the unit has now closed for $9.64 million (h/t Katherine Clarke), purchased through a "Gracie Square Revocable Trust. So while it's still not confirmed that the Obamas are moving to the Upper East Side, the building is one of New York City's most prestigious addresses, located just a stone's throw away from the Mayor's residence and over the years attracting the likes of Alexander Woollcott, conductor Andre Kostelanetz, Gloria Vanderbilt and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek.
Take another look

January 19, 2018

A magical private patio is tacked onto this $599K co-op in Lenox Hill

Summer feels far away... but this apartment's lovely patio will at least bring back memories of New York's warmer months. The very private, enclosed outdoor space is a part of this one-bedroom at the Lenox Hill cooperative 150 East 61st Street. After selling in 2010 for $400,000 it's back on the market asking $599,000. The ground-floor abode boasts some unique design quirks like colorful wallpaper and decor, but a new buyer will have an opportunity to make the interior--as well as that awesome patio--their own.
Head inside

Distinctive Homes

January 19, 2018

Pantone creator’s $39.5M Park Avenue pad may not be colorful, but it’s as classic as they come

This 17-room co-op in the Rosario Candela-designed 778 Park Avenue is the kind of apartment you don't see every day. The co-op's owner is equally unique: Pantone creator Lawrence Herbert is asking $39.5 million for the six-bedroom spread occupying the entire 11th floor, with interiors by designer Peter Marino (h/t Curbed).
Explore this grand example of Park Avenue living

Distinctive Homes

January 12, 2018

Grand Upper East Side co-op below Bette Midler’s penthouse asks $20M

A rarely-available Fifth Avenue co-op with 50 feet of Central Park frontage–and Bette Midler for an upstairs neighbor–has hit the market for $20 million, according to Curbed. This classic 11-room, five-bedroom Upper East Side home at 1125 Fifth Avenue gets those cinematic park and skyline views; the Divine Miss M has the penthouse–featured in Architectural Digest in 2014–upstairs.
Take the grand tour

Rent ‘Real Housewives of NYC’ star Sonja Morgan’s notorious Lenox Hill townhouse for $32K/month

Photo of Sonja Morgan courtesy of Andrea Arden’s Flickr

January 11, 2018

Rent ‘Real Housewives of NYC’ star Sonja Morgan’s notorious Lenox Hill townhouse for $32K/month

The Lenox Hill townhouse owned by Sonja Morgan has experienced about as many ups and downs on the market as the "Real Housewives of New York City" star herself. After years of trying to sell, Morgan is now renting her five-story, five-bedroom home at 162 East 63rd Street for $32,000/month. The hilarious hot-mess, who was formerly married to J.P. Morgan heir John Morgan and went bankrupt following their divorce, is currently being sued by her bankruptcy attorneys for not paying them a court-ordered fee of $350,000. Built in 1899, the Upper East Side townhouse features an elegant foyer, a spacious living room with a gas fireplace and a lush landscaped garden.
See inside

January 10, 2018

Upper East Side mansion with Warhols and a gold-plated couch is back on the market for $24M

A five-story townhouse at 132 East 62nd Street in the Upper East Side that has resurfaced on the market for $24 million comes complete with artworks by Andy Warhol, Anish Kapoor, and Roy Lichtenstein, books signed by William Faulkner and Joan Didion–and an oil painting by Frank Sinatra (h/t Curbed). The decked-out manse was renovated from stem to stern by jewelry designer (and singer Duncan Sheik's mom!) Suzanne Sheik, who bought it from a Chanel exec and sold it in 2010 to "an accomplished designer" who spent another three years renovating. The home appeared on the market for $27 million in 2014, and as a rental for $65,000 a month.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

Anti-Trump financier sells Trump Palace pad for less than half of original ask

“The problem is real and will not go away anytime soon.” Image via Google Street View.

January 4, 2018

Anti-Trump financier sells Trump Palace pad for less than half of original ask

Back in June 6sqft reported on efforts by former Goldman Sachs executive Laurence Weiss, who had been trying to sell his 3,600-square-foot, four bedroom apartment at Trump Palace at 200 East 69th Street for two years, to get the building's residents to agree to ditch the Trump name. Weiss had originally asked $15 million for the Upper East Side condo and still had no buyer even at $8.9 million. The building's name remains, but Weiss has finally sold the apartment–for $7.4 million, The Real Deal reports.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

January 2, 2018

This $28.75M Upper East Side townhouse is seven floors of wow factor, plus a roof terrace

The listing for this 10,000-square-foot townhouse at 51 East 80th Street calls it an "inspirational brownstone oasis," and for mere mortals who aren't planning to acquire a $28.75 million home, it's inspirational living at its finest. The 1883 Upper East Side residence recently received a thoroughly modern renovation that elevated the home's historic charm to "wow" levels.
Take the grand tour

Distinctive Homes

December 18, 2017

William Lescaze’s modernist Upper East Side townhouse asks $20 million after a gut reno

One of New York City's earliest modern residences, designed by architect William Lescaze on the Upper East Side, is searching for a new owner after a gut renovation. Known as the Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House, after its first owners, it was built at 32 East 74th Street in 1934. Lescaze was a Swiss-born, American architect credited with pioneering modernism in America. He designed New York's first modernist home for himself in Midtown East (pictured to the right) one year prior to this uptown commission (pictured to the left). At 32 East 74th, any remnants of his interior design have mostly disappeared after years on and off the market. The current owner paid $14.5 million for it in 2015, gutted it, and re-listed it as an investment property holding three duplex rental units. As Curbed points out, it's now asking a cool $20 million.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

December 14, 2017

1880s Yorkville townhouse, fresh off a renovation, is asking $6.5M

This Yorkville townhouse at 433 East 85th Street manages to strike the right balance between historic and modern. The home was built in the 1880s, according to the listing, but it has hit the market for the first time since a major renovation. Prewar details like wood-burning fireplaces and moldings are complemented by impressive new finishes of imported Calacatta Gold, marble glass mosaics, and natural limestone. And the backyard was totally redone, now decked out with 700 square feet of comfortable outdoor space. It's all asking $6.5 million.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

December 12, 2017

Former ‘ Million Dollar Listing’ star lists Lenox Hill co-op that’s bursting with color for $4.8M