Upper East Side

Yorkville's 10 Gracie Square is considered "one of New York City's most prestigious addresses" and "the most desirable residential building overlooking Carl Schurz Park," over the years attracting the likes of Alexander Woollcott, conductor Andre Kostelanetz, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek. And now Barack and Michelle Obama may be added to that list, as "multiple sources" told the Post that the former President and First Lady were seen arriving at the Upper East Side building to view apartments. The co-op, located just down the block from the Mayor's residence Gracie Mansion, has plenty of perks that would likely attract the Obamas, including an indoor basketball court for the hoops-loving Prez, pet-friendly policy (we can't imagine they'd leave Bo behind), and a super-secure underground drive-in garage that would allow them to enter privately.
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Celebrities

September 29, 2017

$4.8M Yorkville duplex is like a renovated townhouse in a grand pre-war building

This impossibly spacious three-bedroom duplex maisonette in a gracious Upper East Side pre-war co-op at 520 East 86th Street is really a "best of both worlds" situation. For the price of $4,755 million, you get the privacy and space of townhouse living on two floors, three bedrooms and your own private entrance with its own address. You also get the convenience of a full-time doorman and a chance to live in a covetable Manhattan co-op.
Tour this gorgeous vintage home

Distinctive Homes

September 28, 2017

$13.5M UES townhouse boasts one of Manhattan’s finest private gardens

The listing tells us this six-story townhouse at 140 East 65th Street on the Upper East Side, with 18 rooms accessible by a wood-paneled elevator, is "the antithesis of the familiar, plain-vanilla, cookie-cutter developer spec house," and we'd have to agree. Asking $13.5 million, its 7,000 interior square feet and 900 square feet of private outdoor space are brimming with magnificent design details that include one of the finest private gardens in Manhattan, designed by the Curator of Japanese Gardens at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
Check out the endless details and rooms to spare

Distinctive Homes

Octagonal ‘periscope’ tower proposed for Rafael Vinoly’s 249 East 62nd Street

Google Earth aerial rendering of 249 East 62nd Street’s proposed massing, via CityRealty

September 28, 2017

Octagonal ‘periscope’ tower proposed for Rafael Vinoly’s 249 East 62nd Street

Real Estate Inverlad's in-the-works residential project at 249 East 62nd Street is now one less ZD1 diagram away from being a reality. CityRealty reports that the customary diagram is now on file, giving us a look at the tower's proposed bulk–and the Department of Buildings has found the project, even with a few clever tricks up its sleeve, compliant with the city's zoning laws. The diagram shows that the skyscraper will elevate a number of the units within by using an octagonally-shaped core, periscope style, to peer out over their Upper East Side neighbors towards Central Park and the East River.
See how it works, this way

September 27, 2017

No one wants to rent Ivanka Trump’s Park Avenue apartment

After months of being on the market, the Manhattan pad of President Donald Trump’s daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump just won’t rent, despite three substantial price chops. The first daughter first purchased the two-bedroom, two bathroom condo at 502 Park Avenue in 2004 for $1.5 million. Upon her father’s election, Ivanka listed the apartment at Trump Park Avenue in November for $15,000 per month. In February, the price dropped to $13,000 per month. On Tuesday, the asking price was $10,450 per month, a 30 percent price cut since the presidential election, according to Bloomberg.
See inside

September 14, 2017

Billionaire sports team owner gets $17M discount on Upper East Side mega-mansion

A massive Upper East Side single-family townhouse at 50 East 69th Street was just wrestled off the market for an equally monumental $45 million, sources have told the New York Post. Joshua Harris, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and part owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, just bought the 21,070-square-foot house, which was listed at $72 million last September and reduced to $59 million in June. The 44-foot-wide limestone-clad building, known as the Dommerich Mansion, was built in 1917 in a neo-French classic style by architect Henry C. Pelton for Otto Louis Dommerich, who ran his family's family cotton business. It was most recently being used as a cosmetic surgery facility.
More details this way

September 14, 2017

Everything about this $495K Yorkville co-op is done just right–including the price

This adorable one-bedroom co-op at 326 East 73rd Street shows what designer talent can do for a small apartment. High ceilings, white oak floors, and a great Upper East Side location don't hurt matters much, while the stylish and well-appointed kitchen, elegant lighting, and reclaimed wood accents make this space seem like a find indeed. There are also quartz countertops, glass French doors, big closets, and plenty of sun to enjoy, and we're guessing a new owner will be doing just that, very soon.
More small-space style, this way

Distinctive Homes

September 6, 2017

Over-the-top Upper East Side maisonette is back on the market for $19M

Well within the gracious walls of 135 East 79th Street, one of the Upper East Side's most coveted–and expensive–condominiums, this nearly 5,000-square-foot elevator duplex is for all intents a townhouse that feels like a penthouse. Except it's a maisonette, complete with separate street entrance and backyard. It’s also a condo, with access to the top-notch amenities one would expect from a recent big-ticket Carnegie Hill development. The unit first sold for $11.8 million in 2014 to convenience store heir Gerald Erickson, Jr., but he re-listed it just a month later, with the added benefit of over-the-top interiors, for a considerably elevated $18.4 million. It doesn’t look like things have changed much since then, but the maximalist pad has just reappeared on the market with an $18.995 million price tag.
Get a non-stop eyeful, this way

Distinctive Homes

September 5, 2017

EVENT: Explore the art and architecture of the Second Avenue Subway with a 6sqft editor

By 6sqft

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Second Avenue Subway's long-awaited opening, it's the perfect time to step back and marvel at the $4 billion infrastructure project. Join 6sqft senior editor Dana Schulz for a tour with the Municipal Art Society about the history, art, and architecture of the Second Avenue Subway. Taking place on Saturday, September 16th, the two-hour event will explore why it took nearly 100 years for the train's wheels to get rolling, how it was designed, and what engineering feats set it apart. Guests will also view the impressive collection of public art from Chuck Close, Sarah Sze, Vik Muniz, and Jean Shin, learning about these contemporary artists and the significance of their work.
All the event details right this way

A Guide to the gilded age mansions of 5th Avenue’s Millionaire Row – Part II

Mrs. Astor’s House on 65th Street and Fifth Avenue. Image via Library of Congress

August 28, 2017

A Guide to the gilded age mansions of 5th Avenue’s Millionaire Row – Part II

By Michelle Young

Last week, 6sqft went through the many mansions, predominately lost, along Millionaire's Row on Fifth Avenue up to 59th Street. Most of this stretch has been converted into upscale luxury retail and corporate skyscrapers, but Millionaire's Row continued northwards along Central Park, which opened in 1857. Though some have been lost, a significant number of these opulent Gilded Age mansions still stand within this more residential zone. The AIA Guide to New York City calls this area of Fifth Avenue from 59th Street to 78th Street the "Gold Coast," and rightly so. Walking up 5th Avenue, you'll first pass the decadent Sherry-Netherland Hotel with its recently uncovered 1927 Beaux-Arts mural and the Stanford White-designed Metropolitan Club, founded by J.P. Morgan in 1891 for friends who were rejected from the old-money Knickerbocker Club. But even before the construction of the Metropolitan Club, a mansion was rising less than a block away on 61st Street and Fifth Avenue.
Find out more about these incredible mansions here

August 9, 2017

A top-floor Madison Avenue studio a block from the park for $460K? Yes, it’s true.

This pre-war studio might not be huge (in fact it's only 550 square feet), but it has plenty of charm and even more location going for it. Tucked into the top floor of an elevator building at 1361 Madison Avenue, the diminutive co-op is asking $460,000 and not a penny more. Central Park is a block away, and the Upper East Side location is in the heart of the neighborhood.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

August 2, 2017

After four years on the market, $125M Pierre penthouse sells for a paltry $44M

The 16 room triplex that takes up the 41st, 42nd and 43rd floors of the legendary Pierre Hotel has finally sold for $44 million, a huge drop from its original $125 million asking price. Located at 795 Fifth Avenue, the penthouse was owned by Barbara Zweig, the widow of financier Martin Zweig, who first listed the property in 2013 after her husband’s death. According to The Real Deal, the pad features a library, four terraces, private elevator and costs $51,840 per month to maintain.
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July 31, 2017

Mr. Big (a.k.a. actor Chris Noth) snags little Upper East Side co-op for $1.8M

By Annie Doge

While he is known for playing hot shot New Yorker Mr. Big on "Sex and the City," actor Chris Noth has called New York City his home in real life since the 1970s. And since 1994, Noth has owned his apartment at 45 East 9th Street, the same building where Candace Bushnell lived, the writer behind the newspaper column and book that inspired the popular TV show. Recently, "The Good Wife" actor purchased a co-op at 139 East 66th Street on the Upper East Side for $1.85 million, reported LL NYC. The pre-war pad boasts just two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a bit on the small side for Mr. Big.
See inside

July 25, 2017

Manhattan’s first-ever water park is coming to the Upper East Side—and it looks like a giant dishwasher!

For three Saturdays in August, nearly seven miles of NYC thoroughfares, from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, will be closed to traffic as part of the city’s annual Summer Streets program. And this year's event has some pretty adventurous offerings, including a 270-foot waterslide, rock-climbing wall, and a 165-foot-long zipline. Guests will also get to visit Manhattan's first-ever water park on the Upper East Side, courtesy of LG Electronics. The giant inflatable park, called LG QuadWash™ Water Park, will measure 30-feet wide by 50-feet long and it's designed to look like both the interior and exterior of LG's new dishwashers, including cutlery-shaped slides, jet stream sprinklers, and "3rd rack" monkey bars.
Learn how you’ll be able to play in a giant dishwasher

Events & Things To Do

July 25, 2017

$350K UES studio designed in the ’80s by Adam Tihany resembles a luxury train car

By Emily Nonko

A quirky studio designed by the interior designer Adam Tihany, praised as one of the greatest American interior architects by the New York Times, has hit the market for $350,000. The design has essentially remained unchanged since the apartment was featured in an early 1980s issue of Metropolitan Home, which compared the design to that of a luxury train car. According to the listing, this modest interior, packed with inventive storage, is an early example of Tihany's world renowned hotel work (some of his commissions include the Mandarin Oriental in Vegas, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and two Four Seasons in Dubai). It's located in the 16-unit Upper East Side co-op 223 East 78th Street, which has one more studio for sale asking $315,000.
Check it all out

Distinctive Homes

Photo via Nick Allen on Flickr

July 19, 2017

Experts say NYC’s noise issues will only grow worse

With its 8.5 million residents, honking taxis, constant construction and vibrant nightlife scene, New York City remains one of the noisiest places on Earth. Although quieter neighborhoods like the Upper East Side once offered a quiet reprieve from the city’s cacophony, these pockets of peace are getting harder to find as NYC’s population expands. As the New York Times reported, despite the fact that noise pollution has already been linked to harmful health effects like stress, hypertension and heart disease, about 420,000 noise complaints were filed citywide with the city’s 311 hotline in 2016, more than doubling the number of complaints made in 2011.
Find out more

July 14, 2017

After three years, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s childhood home on the UES sells for $25M

James T. Lee, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' grandfather, was a prolific NYC developer at the beginning of the 20th century, bestowing upon the city some of its most elegant co-ops like 998 Fifth Avenue and the Rosario Candela-designed 740 Park Avenue. He himself took up residency in the latter building when it was completed in 1930 and gifted another apartment in the Upper East Side building to his daughter Janet and her husband John V. Bouvier; Jackie O lived there with her parents between the ages of two to seven. In more recent years, hedge fund manager David Ganek and his wife bought the duplex in 2005 for $19.1 million, using it to also showcase their impressive modern art collection. The couple first listed the home for $44 million in 2014, and after several price chops, it's finally sold $25.25 million reports the Journal. Jacob M. Safra of the billionaire Safra family, of Brazilian banking fame, is the buyer.
Take a look

July 10, 2017

Jane Pauley and Garry Trudeau drop $2.2M on a rather un-newsworthy Upper East Side co-op

By Annie Doge

New anchor Jane Pauley and "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau have dropped $2.2 million on a very un-newsworthy co-op at 166 East 61st Street in Lenox Hill. The couple's last real estate transaction was in 2005 when they traded a $13 million Central Park West pad for a much more modest $1.6 million co-op at 7 Beekman Place in Turtle Bay. Their newest buy, while rather bland, is about 20 blocks north and closer to the park and offers three bedrooms, three baths, and skyline views.
Get a look

July 10, 2017

Cozy Yorkville duplex with a private terrace asks $575K

By Emily Nonko

Just two blocks away from the new Second Avenue subway stop at 96th Street is this very adorable duplex co-op. It's located at 226 East 95th Street, in Yorkville, a small 29-unit elevator cooperative. This particular apartment last sold in 2014 for $475,000 and is now asking $575,000. A spiral staircase from a brick-walled living room leads up to the single bedroom, which has a sliding door out to the lush private terrace.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

July 6, 2017

Mega-developer Aby Rosen lists art-filled Upper East Side townhouse for $20M

By Annie Doge

Big-time real estate developer and man about town Aby Rosen has put his extravagant Upper East Side townhouse at 16 East 78th Street on the market for $19,950,000, a good deal more than the $8.4 million he paid for it back in 2004. According to LL NYC, the listing comes just a week after his other nearby home at 5 East 80th Street, which he's rented for 15 years for nearly $23,500 a month, narrowly escaped the auction block. Rosen expressed interest in buying the property, which could be why he's decided to part ways with this residence. Listing photos show the art collector's impressive contemporary collection, as well as the full-full master suite, roof deck, and garden.
See it all right here

Editor’s note: Original reports listed George Condo as the buyer of the Carhart Mansion’s penthouse, belonging to Tamara Mellon, but he actually bought a different unit in the building from Merrill Lynch’s Do Woo Kim.

June 30, 2017

Jimmy Choo co-founder Tamara Mellon finally sells UES penthouse at a $14M discount

You'll be hard pressed to find a pair of discounted Jimmy Choos, but the iconic shoe brand's co-founder Tamara Mellon didn't fare as well when it came to her Upper East Side penthouse, which sits atop the historic Carhart Mansion at 3 East 95th Street. Mellon bought the Carnegie Hill apartment from Seagram heir Charles Bronfman Jr. and first listed it for sale in 2014 for $34 million. After several price chops and an attempt as a $85,000/month rental, it's finally found a buyer reports LL NYC. Contemporary artist George Condo paid $19.8 million for the condo (no pun intended), much less than the most recent ask of $25 million.
Get a look around (you don't want to miss the shoe closet!)

June 28, 2017

Here are the 10 wealthiest neighborhoods in New York City

By BASIS Independent Manhattan

In 2016, the New York Metro Area was home to the highest number of “ultra-wealthy” residents in the world. A new report shows about 8,350 residents with a net worth of at least $30 million called the Big Apple their home last year, an increase of about 9 percent from last year. When focusing on just the five boroughs, most of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods can be found in Manhattan, as Curbed NY discovered. Taking this year’s title as the richest NYC enclave? The Upper East Side.
See the full list

Real Estate Trends

June 23, 2017

$1.5M UES co-op features 13-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling shelving

By Emily Nonko

This south-facing apartment comes from the prewar cooperative known as Morgan Studios, at 170 East 78th Street on the Upper East Side. A thoughtful renovation didn't take anything away from the prewar charm---the living room still looks stunning with 13-foot ceilings and large casement windows, alongside a wood-burning fireplace with a custom mantle. A ladder helps access the floor-to-ceiling shelving, and a staircase leads to the upper-level bedroom and kitchen. This was just listed under $1.5 million, after last selling in 2009 for $1.35 million.
Take the grand tour

Distinctive Homes

June 14, 2017

New private school brings top global academic program to NYC’s Upper West Side

BASIS Independent Manhattan, a K-8 private school teaching the acclaimed BASIS Curriculum, is opening this fall in a 45,000-square-foot school at 795 Columbus Avenue. Although new to NYC, BASIS Curriculum Schools is no strangers to praise. Steadily since 1998, they've grown their network to 28 campuses around the world while gathering many accolades, including that of U.S News and World Report. This year, BASIS Curriculum Schools was ranked #5 on the publication's list of the "Top 10 Best High Schools in the Country." Designed with the modern child in mind, BASIS Independent's upcoming Manhattan campus will feature state-of-the-art facilities that support everything from daily physical education in the elementary grades, multiple recess breaks, weekly engineering sessions, and, for middle school students, the study of chemistry, physics, and biology in a laboratory setting. Indeed, thoughtful spaces designed to elevate performance are at BASIS Independent's heart, and they work in tandem with the school's curriculum developed to provide students with the strongest academic foundation—and for a fraction of the tuition expected in NYC, at that. Ahead, Head of School Jesse Rizzo shares how the upcoming New York City schoolhouse has been designed to help create and fortify Manhattan’s next school community.
find out more about BASIS' Manhattan school here

City Living

June 9, 2017

David Rockefeller’s historic Upper East Side mansion lists for $32.5M

David Rockefeller, billionaire philanthropist, former head of Chase Manhattan, and grandson of John D. Rockefeller, passed away just three months ago at the age of 101. For the 69 years prior, he lived with his wife Peggy at this historic Upper East Side mansion at 146 East 65th Street. Now, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the rare 40-foot wide townhouse has hit the market for $32.5 million, and the listing photos showcase Rockefeller's impressive collection 18th-century furniture and Chinese and European porcelains (paintings by Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse, and Picasso have unfortunately been blurred out).
Learn more about the storied home

Celebrities

Some Trump Palace apartment owners want to remove the building’s name

Google Street View

June 5, 2017

Some Trump Palace apartment owners want to remove the building’s name