Upper East Side

August 13, 2015

Marilyn Monroe and Milton Greene Conspired in This Upper East Side Townhouse

Back in 2006, this 3,500 square-foot four-story Upper East Side townhouse first surfaced on the rental market, and again three years later; in 2010, its owner attempted to find a renter for the winter holiday season (a portion of December) apparently without much luck. After bouncing through several different agencies, 127 East 78th Street landed at Sotheby's in 2011 with the intent of marketing the house as a summer rental for $25K; not much luck there either, as townhouse renters tended to want something more long term. A lesson seems to have been learned here, as there are no short-term stipulations mentioned in its new listing for $27,500.00 a month. What is mentioned is more interesting: The townhouse once belonged to famous fashion photographer Milton Greene–known for his collaboration with Marilyn Monroe on photo shoots as well as their joint film production company–and his wife, Amy. Marilyn considered the home a sanctuary among friends when she was in town. And though its interiors have likely been updated since Marilyn's day, the elegant Upper East Side enclave still retains the aura of an East Coast refuge for Old Hollywood.
Take a look around
August 11, 2015

Be Woody Allen’s Neighbor for $80K a Month in This Historic Upper East Side Townhouse

Trophy purchase, short-term refuge, or family home? Take your pick. This impressive and unique townhouse at 116 East 70th Street was previously owned by philanthropist George Soros’s ex, Susan Weber Soros, who bought the 5,688-square-foot home in 2012 for $22.5 million and proceeded to see it through a thorough renovation, updating infrastructure and interiors and installing every 21st-century comfort known to stratospherically-priced townhouse-owning man (or woman, as the case was). Post-renovation, the barrel-fronted, copper-clad townhouse changed hands in an off-market deal to an anonymous LLC for $31 million. The house was back on the market again for $33 million last February after only four months. With its price pared down to $28 million, it’s still seeking a buyer, but is now having a go at the rental market, too. The stunning single-family manse–all five floors of it–is being offered for $80,000 a month, which comes with the caché of calling Woody Allen your next-door neighbor.
Tour the house, this way
August 3, 2015

Summer Rental: This Upper East Side Townhouse with a ‘Dramatic’ Past Wants $25k for Five Weeks

This five-story townhouse at 50 East 64th Street between Madison and Park Avenues is available for rent, fully furnished, for five weeks only, from August 1 to September 7. The asking rent for that time is $25,000; according to the listing, it's "about half what this house would rent for on a conventional one year basis." Within its 6,000 square feet are 14 rooms and 1,500 square feet of outdoor space on three levels.  The recently-renovated home is as grand as it gets without going too far over the top; it's Upper East Side style sans velvet and chintz, opulence without clutter–though a wealth of decorator flourishes make it clear the interiors didn’t get this way by accident.
See what your month-long residence could look like
July 29, 2015

Rare UES Townhouse Addition Coming to Fifth Avenue’s Museum Mile

New buildings along Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side are hard to come by, but a rare development prospect may be in the works for a small site on a dormant stretch of the avenue in Carnegie Hill. Building permits filed yesterday detail the construction of a five-story residential addition atop an existing eight-story, 30-foot-wide townhouse at 1143 Fifth Avenue, between 95th and 96th Streets. The brick and limestone building designed by J.E.R. Carpenter, was erected in 1923, and up until recently, housed staffers of the French Embassy. Last June, the 16,000-square-foot, seven-unit property was unloaded by the French government for $36.4 million and picked up by a buyer listed as 1143 5th Ave LLC.
More on the potential development ahead
July 28, 2015

Donald Trump Gets $21M for Trump Park Avenue Penthouse

When you have $1.4 billion in assets, $21 million is a drop in the bucket, but the Wall Street Journal reports that's what Donald Trump just got for the sale of his penthouse in his namesake building Trump Park Avenue. The apartment is not too exciting, but it does boast 6,200 square feet, ten-foot ceilings, five bedrooms, seven-and-a-half bathrooms, and a private elevator. Trump bought the full-floor penthouse in 2002, when his company converted the Upper East Side building to condos, but never lived there. It first hit the market back in 2013 for $35 million and most recently got a price chop to $24.99 million.
Look around the whole place here
July 24, 2015

Roman Abramovich Closes on Third UES Townhouse for His $80M Makeshift Mansion

At the beginning of the year, news broke that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich had secretly bought a townhouse at 11 East 75th Street for $29.7 million, which followed his purchase of a townhouse two doors down for $18.3 million a month earlier. So, of course, we all assumed that he would snatch up the townhouse wedged in between to create his very own makeshift mansion. And now it's official, as the Daily News reports today that Abramovich has closed on the townhouse at 13 East 75th Street for $30 million, bringing his total up to nearly $80 million.
Find out more here
July 14, 2015

Upper East Side Townhouse With Chanel-Inspired Bathroom Asks $26 Million

Where to begin with this Upper East Side townhouse at 18 East 69th Street? There's the Chanel-inspired bathrooms, an impressive variety of wallpaper, and a bathtub in a bedroom. There's the sheer size of the property, which holds a two-story retail space, a penthouse apartment, and another duplex. Then, of course, there's the price, which comes in at $26 million. It's hard to keep track of everything going on at this property, but one thing's for sure–we've never seen anything like it before.
See the interior
July 13, 2015

New York’s First-Ever Penthouse: A 54-Room Upper East Side Mansion Built for a Cereal Heiress

There’s nothing like owning thousands of square feet of living space inside a penthouse, particularly in a town where power is measured by the size of one’s apartment. Ever wonder when the very first penthouse was built in Manhattan? It was in 1925, when George Fuller Construction Company decided to develop a 14-story apartment house at 1107 Fifth Avenue between 91st and 92nd Streets.
The rest of the story this way
June 29, 2015

Joan Rivers’s Opulent UES Penthouse May Have a New Owner

It's been almost five months since the late, great Joan Rivers's opulent Upper East Side penthouse hit the market for $28 million, and now the Post is reporting that the lavish triplex at 1 East 62nd Street may have a new owner. "Last Thursday, its final day, art and antiques storage specialists packed and hauled the remainder of what was heading to Christie’s and elsewhere... The sale’s not gone to contract, but there is a buyer," notes the paper.
Find out more here
June 26, 2015

Live in the Funky Former UES Factory of 1930s Gnome Bakers for $14K

There are few things in life more charming than a gnome. We're willing to bet Americans would take more vacations if they could just pack that little guy from Travelocity along with them. Well, we'll do you one better. We are talking an actual gnome house. That's right, this $14,000 rental at 316 East 59th Street was once home to Gnome Bakers, a little bakery that sold oddly shaped breads and rolls.
More pics inside
June 17, 2015

Opulent Trump Park Avenue Penthouse Hangs onto $35M Price Tag

It looks like Trump Park Avenue's Penthouse 31/32 is still looking for a buyer, a year and a half after a chopping $10 million off of its $45 million asking price. This 6,278-square-foot duplex has such a storied past on the market, you practically need an ESPN commentator to narrate it Kentucky Derby style. It made its first showing in 2007, asking $45 million. It raised the price to $51 million in 2008, after renovations. It returned in 2009, after another hiatus, asking a much lower $31 million. Then it disappeared for a few years before reappearing in 2013 with its original price tag of $45 million. Three months later it slashed $10 million off the price, landing at $35 million. Will this lavish home ever find the perfect owner with the perfect wallet?
More pics inside
June 10, 2015

$120M UES Townhouses-to-Mansion Combo Officially Hits the Market

On Monday, news broke that the three Upper East Side townhouses owned by the billionaire Safra family were being quietly marketed as a $120 million combination to be turned into one giant mega-mansion. Today, the listing at 12-16 East 62nd Street has officially hit the market, and there's some pretty impressive floorplans to give prospective buyers an idea of how their palatial home could look. Also up for grabs is the brownstone next door to the trifecta at 18 East 62nd Street. This wouldn't combine as easily as the other three, as their cornices, ceilings, and floors all line up, but it could make a pretty spectacular guest house.
Ogle the floorplans here
June 9, 2015

Jil Sander CEO’s 5th Avenue Apartment Gets an Ultra Minimalist Renovation by Thomas Phifer

Jil Sander's CEO, Constance Darrow, and her husband, Angelo Lombardi, are constantly traveling between Milan and New York. But when they stay in the Big Apple they have a stunning, ultra contemporary space to rest their heads. Located in a prewar building on Fifth Avenue, the couple's love nest is a modern renovation by Thomas Phifer and Partners that opts for the scant over the ostentatious. Though living in such sparse quarters would make many feel uncomfortable, this space embodies a very powerful air by having almost nothing in it.
Learn more about this ultra minimal Fifth Avenue Apartment
June 8, 2015

Three UES Townhouses List for $120M, Could Be Single-Family Mansion

Most of us can only dream of owning a townhouse on the Upper East Side, so the idea of having three of them seems downright silly. But that's exactly what's for sale on East 62nd Street–three adjacent townhouses that are being sold as a package deal for their potential to be combined into one giant, 30,000-square-foot mansion. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the $120 million listing, and the Daily News revealed that the billionaire Safra family, of Brazilian banking fame, is behind the company listed as the seller. Currently, the three limestone, six-story homes at 12, 14, and 16 East 62nd Street are divided into 13 apartments with one doorman, though they can be delivered vacant. Together they boast 23 fireplaces, 11 terraces, and two roof decks. What makes the trifecta perfect for a combination is the fact that the homes are pretty much identical, with their cornices, ceilings, and floors all lining up.
More details ahead
June 8, 2015

No One Will Dare Challenge Your Throne in This $29M Palatial Pad

Here's a particularly gaudy apartment for those who want to literally feel like a king and queen of their palace. This six-story, 13,000-square-foot mansion at 7 East 84th Street came on the market for the first time in almost two decades in 2013, asking $30 million. It appears that after two years and no takers, it has finally lowered the price by a whole million, landing at $29 million. It's appropriately located inside the Metropolitan Museum Historic District, so its statues must feel right at home. Plus, it has a temperature-controlled wine cellar and tasting room in the basement that looks like it's straight out of "Game of Thrones," so we had to take a look.
More pics inside
May 28, 2015

Commissioner of Baseball Robert Manfred Buys $5.6M UES Penthouse

Just in time for the height of MLB season, Robert Manfred, the freshly appointed Commissioner of Baseball who is a known Yankees fan, has scooped up an Upper East Side penthouse condo. He and his wife Colleen paid $5,575,000 for the full-floor, three-bedroom pad, according to city records released today. Located at 303 East 77th Street, the home also boasts 2,559 square feet of interior space and with 809 square feet of outdoor space comprised of three terraces and a balcony.
See the rest of Manfred's new digs here
May 22, 2015

Paul McCartney Purchases a Fifth Avenue Penthouse for $15.5M

Paul McCartney has just nabbed a $15.5 million penthouse at 1045 Fifth Avenue, the Post reports. Laid out as a duplex, the unit was previously owned by developer Manny Duell who made a living turning rentals into co-ops. This particular unit was one of Duell's creations, assembled as a gift for his wife who lived in the home until her death last year at the age of 92. Duell himself passed in 1977. With its roots in the Beatles era, McCartney should quickly feel at home here. The unit was previously described by the Times as a “glamorous 1960s time capsule with a dash of Hollywood.”
Have a look inside
May 11, 2015

Geraldo Rivera Buys $5.6M Condo, His Second Purchase in UES Building

Despite a string of recent on-air comments that were controversial to say the least, Geraldo Rivera is still movin' on up. The news personality, along with his wife Erica, just nabbed a $5.6 million condo on the 40th floor of 45 East 89th Street according to city records released today. This is the couple's second purchase in the massive Upper East Side building; they bought a 36th floor unit for $3.4 million in 2011. Geraldo's latest acquisition is a four-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot pad with remarkable Central Park views.
Take a look around here
May 7, 2015

Former Beekman Home of CBS Founder Lowers Price to $37.5M

This palatial Beekman Place mansion, designed by Eldridge Snyder, has served as a domicile to the head of CBS and to the shah of Iran's twin sister. The majestic home stands eight levels tall, with eight to ten bedrooms covering 10,500 square feet. Unfortunately, the home has had a visit from the price chopper, falling from an initial asking of $49.9 million in February 2014 to a current asking of a much lower $37.5 million.
More pics inside
May 6, 2015

Billionaire Carlos Slim Looks to Break Record for Priciest Townhouse Ever Sold with $80M Ask

Carlos Slim, Mexican business magnate and former world's richest person, is looking to break the record for most expensive townhouse ever sold in NYC. As the Daily News first reported, he's listed his Upper East Side Beaux Arts mansion at 1009 Fifth Avenue for $80 million, after buying it for only $44 million five years ago from Russian oil mogul Tamir Sapir. Built in 1901, the limestone-and-red-brick home is known as the Duke-Semans Mansion and is one of the last remaining private homes on Fifth Avenue. It's located directly across from the Met, rises eight stories, and encompasses a whopping 20,000 square feet. According to the listing, the French Renaissance interiors "feature soaring ceilings, hand-carved wood paneling, lovely trompe l'oeil accents, gold-leaf trimmed fixtures and intricate plaster friezes."
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May 1, 2015

Live in Eleanor Roosevelt’s Historic Townhouse for $18M

Yes, one of history's favorite First Ladies once called this Upper East Side place home. In fact, she wrote about her apartment in a column she had, called "My Day," referring to it as her "new little apartment." Today the building, part of the landmarked Treadwell Farm Historic District, is a single-family townhouse owned by investor Charles Ueng. He purchased it for about $9 million in 2011, spent $2 million renovating it, and now has it on the market for $18 million.
Take a look around Eleanor Roosevelt's former home
April 28, 2015

Yorkville Is NYC’s Most ‘Local’ Area; Meet the Woman Who Photographed Every Bodega in Manhattan

Chatting with a second generation steel casement window restoration craftsman. [Find Everything Historic] Using data from Yelp, this map shows the most local and touristy spots in 16 major cities. In NYC, Yorkville is the most local, and the Theater District is the most touristy. [Washington Post] On Friday night, for the first time, the Empire […]

April 27, 2015

Secrets of Carnegie Hall; Bronx Residents Call 911 to Report UFO

Friday night’s VIP grand opening of the new Whitney was so packed with 3,000 people that the museum was worried about the art. [NYP] Inside the World Trade Center showroom. [Tribeca Citizen] Rats take at least 2,800 steps a day, but rarely go more than 600 feet from their birthplace. Find out how NYC’s rats get where they’re […]

April 10, 2015

Meticulously Renovated Jones Wood Garden Townhouse Looks to Nearly Double Its Price

How would you like to have a secret garden right outside your door? Wouldn’t it be nice to just step out of your dining room, onto your private brick terrace, and walk straight into a field of lush greenness so exclusive it makes Gramercy Park look like a public playground? We’re talking about this stunning five-story townhouse at 160 East 66th Street, right on Jones Wood Garden. Not only does this $11.9 million Upper East Side beauty have a stunning exterior, but the owners, who purchased it in 2008 for just $6.85 million, clearly left no stone unturned during the meticulous renovation.
More pics inside
April 9, 2015

Real Estate Legend and ‘Shark Tank’ Star Barbara Corcoran Buys $10M UES Penthouse

Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran Group and investor on the popular television show "Shark Tank," has snatched up a fittingly glamorous Upper East Side penthouse for $10 million with her husband, former FBI agent William Higgins, according to a report yesterday by the Post and city records released today. When we ogled the listing at back in October, the 11-room duplex at 1158 Fifth Avenue had just dropped its price to $9.95 million, having originally gone on the market in 2013 for $14.5 million. The sellers are interior and landscape designer Pamela Scurry and her husband Richard. Though the home is currently filled with antique furnishings and old-world details, the real selling point was likely the massive terrace, conservatory, and solarium overlooking Central Park.
Take a look around the stunning home here