Upper Manhattan

1920s Hudson Heights cliffside ‘Pumpkin House’ chops price to $4.25M
June 15, 2017

1920s Hudson Heights cliffside ‘Pumpkin House’ chops price to $4.25M

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You may be familiar with the “Pumpkin House,” the extraordinary 1920s townhouse cantilevered across the cliffs at 16 Chittenden Avenue near Manhattan’s highest point in Hudson Heights. The name comes from the home's Jack-o'-lantern countenance, which bestows motorists along the George Washington Bridge with its anthropomorphic leer. Jack first hit the market last August for $5.25 million, the first time listed since 2011. But still without a buyer, the 17-foot-wide, six-bedroom brick home has a fancy new Sotheby's listing and a lower ask of $4.25 million.
Have a look inside
Restored Romanesque Revival townhouse asks $2.9M in Hamilton Heights
June 5, 2017

Restored Romanesque Revival townhouse asks $2.9M in Hamilton Heights

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This Romanesque Revival townhouse was constructed at 103 Hamilton Place, in the historic Harlem neighborhood of Hamilton Heights, back in 1910. In more recent years it's been carefully restored and upgraded, with the goal to bring the home back to its original grandeur. Rooms still hold marble fireplaces as well as pine, mahogany and oak shutters, windows and doors. That's paired with a modern kitchen and bathrooms, although one still holds its original clawfoot tub.
This way for a look inside
Large and lovely income-restricted co-op asks just $375K in Hamilton Heights
June 1, 2017

Large and lovely income-restricted co-op asks just $375K in Hamilton Heights

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If you're curious--and qualified--to take the leap and start shopping for an affordable HDFC co-op, don't miss this Hamilton Heights listing at 409 Edgecombe Avenue. As an HDFC apartment, there are income restrictions that limit who can buy this $375,000 one bedroom. But for that reasonable price you get 945 square feet of lovely prewar space, including a spacious foyer and formal living and dining rooms. Best yet, the top-floor, corner apartment comes with views out over the Harlem River and out toward Yankee Stadium.
Take a look
Tour Manhattan’s only lighthouse at Fort Washington Park this Saturday

The Little Red Lighthouse found at Fort Washington, via Wiki Commons

June 1, 2017

Tour Manhattan’s only lighthouse at Fort Washington Park this Saturday

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If looking to learn more about historic New York City this weekend, head over to Fort Washington Park and check out the Little Red Lighthouse, Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse. The city’s Urban Park Rangers are hosting a tour this Saturday, June 3, from 1 to 4 p.m. and will be on hand to provide information about this unique landmark (h/t Time Out).
Learn the interesting history of the lighthouse
Score an affordable apartment in Harlem’s Sugar Hill from $747/ month

Photo of Sugar Hill row houses via Wikipedia

May 12, 2017

Score an affordable apartment in Harlem’s Sugar Hill from $747/ month

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Located in the historic Sugar Hill district in Hamilton Heights, 16 newly renovated affordable units are available to rent at 369 Edgecombe Avenue and 801 St. Nicholas Avenue. The neighborhood is chock full of Queen Anne- and Romanesque Revival-style homes, and it has easy access to Jackie Robinson park, which includes a recreation center, baseball fields, and a swimming pool. The buildings featured in the city's housing lottery are open to New Yorkers earning 50 and 60 percent of the area median income, with units ranging from $747/month one-bedrooms to $1,196/month three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify
City will spend $100M on a new esplanade to close the gap along Manhattan’s East River greenway
April 26, 2017

City will spend $100M on a new esplanade to close the gap along Manhattan’s East River greenway

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Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that the city would develop the gap in the Manhattan waterfront greenway that runs between 41st and 61st Streets along the East River. The city has pledged to spend $100 million on closing the largest unfinished space in the 32-mile loop, including a new esplanade, with an additional $5 million to be spent on filling smaller gaps in East Harlem and Inwood. “The Hudson River Greenway has vastly improved quality of life on the West Side, and we want families in every corner in the borough to have that same access to bike, walk and play along the water,” said the mayor in a statement. “This is the first of many big investments we’ll make as we bring the full Greenway to reality.”
Find out more
The 10 best neighborhoods for New York City artists
April 4, 2017

The 10 best neighborhoods for New York City artists

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Like most things in New York, creative communities come and ago as new development and rising rents force artists to move on to the next best, or cheaper neighborhood. While 6sqft found 'hoods like the Upper East Side, Harlem and Long Island City to be the best places for artists a few years back, we've updated our top-10 list to reflect the changing times. Ahead you'll find some areas you may expect--Sunset Park and Bushwick, for example, along with more up-and-coming artsy enclaves like Newark, Washington Heights, and the South Bronx.
The full list right this way
$5.5M ask for renovated Hamilton Heights mansion is a new Harlem record
March 21, 2017

$5.5M ask for renovated Hamilton Heights mansion is a new Harlem record

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If this home is, as the listing calls it, "the jewel of this historic neighborhood," the three-block historic Harlem enclave of Hamilton Terrace is a treasure trove, anchored by the Hamilton Grange home of Alexander Hamilton. Listed at $5,495,000, the limestone and terra cotta mansion at 72 Hamilton Terrace is recognizable by its mansard slate roof punctuated by dormer windows and the original wrought iron fencing that surrounds it. This nearly-5,000-square-foot home offers five stories of newly-renovated modern living, including a finished cellar with restaurant-style bar and a wine cellar. The home's $5.495 price tag makes it the priciest single-family listing in the neighborhood; if it sells for that much it may be Harlem's most expensive sale ever.
Step inside and take a look
$1.6M Washington Heights row house is on a hidden historic street across from Manhattan’s oldest home
February 27, 2017

$1.6M Washington Heights row house is on a hidden historic street across from Manhattan’s oldest home

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In the heart of the Jumel Terrace Historic District in Washington Heights, already known for the Morris Jumel Mansion, the oldest house in Manhattan, the quaint row houses of Sylvan Terrace are tucked away on one of the city’s “secret” streets. The mansion is not only famous for being General George Washington's temporary headquarters during the Revolutionary War but for hosting dignitaries from John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton; in more modern times, "Hamilton” fans may know it as being the spot where the musical’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda penned songs from the Broadway hit. The historic row of houses, built in the 1880s, was restored by the Landmarks Preservation Commission; 16 Sylvan Terrace was further renovated by its current owners and is now on the market for $1.625 million.
Take a peek inside this historic row house
Author Junot Diaz makes a big profit on sale of Hamilton Heights townhouse
September 8, 2016

Author Junot Diaz makes a big profit on sale of Hamilton Heights townhouse

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The Post reports that Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Diaz's Hamilton Heights townhouse at 529 West 141st Street has entered contract for $2.3 million, after he paid a mere $380,000 for it in 2002. He won't be pocketing all of it, though, as the sale comes amid an "an ugly, five-year court battle" with ex-girlfriend and state Senate candidate Marisol Alcantara over ownership of the three-family home. But $2 million split two ways is not too shabby.
READ MORE
Hudson Heights’ Famed Cliffside ‘Pumpkin House’ Returns for $5.3M
August 15, 2016

Hudson Heights’ Famed Cliffside ‘Pumpkin House’ Returns for $5.3M

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So titled for its window pattern that resembles a jack-o'-lantern (especially when lit up at night), this funky home in Hudson Heights has long been a hot topic in the real estate scene thanks to its unusual location extending over a cliff near the highest point in Manhattan, just north of the George Washington Bridge. Built around 1925, the 17-foot-wide brick house was purchased in 2000 for $1.1 million by interior decorator William Spink. After doing a good deal of structural renovation, he listed it for $3.45 million in 2005, but after failing to sell, tried again in 2010 for $3.9 million. It sold the following year and is now back on the market asking $5.25 million.
Take a look around and learn more about the Pumpkin House's history
My sqft: A British Expat and Aspiring Food Vlogger Makes a Home in Hamilton Heights

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Vanessa Lee’s lovely Hamilton Heights apartment. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

July 26, 2016

My sqft: A British Expat and Aspiring Food Vlogger Makes a Home in Hamilton Heights

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Hamilton Heights isn’t quite the neighborhood you’d expect to find a London girl who’s new to the city, but expat Vanessa Lee revels in the distance of her out of the way ‘hood. “I'm one of the outliers that don't mind traveling over an hour across town to discover a cute little bar or coffee shop," she says, "I try somewhere new every opportunity I can.” Like most New York newbies, Vanessa was looking for an affordable place to live when she arrived. This meant that living alone was out of the question, and living in a neighborhood like Soho or Tribeca would mean squeezing into an expensive sardine can with several others. So rather than settling into any downtown address she could find, she turned her budgetary constraints into an opportunity for observation and discovery. Ahead she talks to 6sqft about her transition from London to NYC; why she chose out of the way Hamilton Heights; and how she's now using food and video as a way to explore and share her adventures around the city with others.
More from Vanessa this way
Lottery Opens for 13 Affordable Units in Washington Heights, Starting at $868/Month
July 26, 2016

Lottery Opens for 13 Affordable Units in Washington Heights, Starting at $868/Month

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In April 2015, developer Sutton Management applied to utilize the city's 421-a program for a new project at 607 West 161st Street in Washington Heights, just off the New York Presbyterian campus. They received approvals that 13 of the Jeffrey Cole Architects-designed building's 62 units would be reserved for those earning 60 percent or less than the area median income, and today these units have come online through the city's affordable housing lottery. They range from $868/month studios to $1,085 two-bedrooms, and for an additional fee, lottery residents will have access to a fitness center and bicycle room.
Find out if you qualify
First Look at New 10-Unit Rental Planned for Washington Heights
June 12, 2016

First Look at New 10-Unit Rental Planned for Washington Heights

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Last fall, permits were filed to construct a six-story, 10-unit residential building at 563 West 170th Street in Washington Heights. The single-story garage building that occupied the mid-block site between Audubon and St. Nicholas Avenues has been removed and will soon be replaced by a sleek glass and metal building developed by Michael Reznik of Central Park Capital Group and designed by Charles Diehl.
READ MORE
Renzo Piano’s Ship-Like Academic Center Coming to Columbia’s Manhattanville Campus
March 3, 2016

Renzo Piano’s Ship-Like Academic Center Coming to Columbia’s Manhattanville Campus

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On a triangular lot, where north-skewing West 125th Street meets West 129th Street, the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) and Dattner Architects have crafted a 56,000-square-foot, ship-like structure for Columbia University's Manhattanville Campus. Known as the University Forum and Academic Conference Center, the three-story building will host academic conferences, meetings, and symposia. It will contain a 430-seat auditorium, meeting rooms, and gathering spaces. According to Piano's page, "The building looks like a ship levitating above the light and transparent Urban Layer." Its prow points westward and may be just small enough to sail under the Riverside Drive Viaduct and into the Hudson River.
More details ahead
Hamilton Heights’ PS 186 Kicks Off Affordable Housing Lottery Today, Starting at $508/Month
February 5, 2016

Hamilton Heights’ PS 186 Kicks Off Affordable Housing Lottery Today, Starting at $508/Month

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Earlier this week, Curbed reported that one of the first affordable housing developments financed under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing plan will kick off its lottery today. The former school building at 525 West 145th Street in Hamilton Heights has been rehabbed into apartments and a community space and now goes by the name The Residences at PS 186. The project will bring 78 sure-to-be-sought-after affordable apartments to low- and middle-income households earning between $18,729 and $142,400 per year. In all, there will be 19 studio units, 47 one-bedrooms, and 12 two-bedrooms available for various income ranges and household sizes. The cheapest units will be two studio apartments priced at $508 per month, available for single-person households earning between $18,789 -$24,200. Half of the units will be set aside for local residents and five percent for city employees.
Lots more details and find out if you qualify
Colorful and Quirky Four-Bedroom With Pre-War Charm Asks $775K in Hamilton Heights
December 17, 2015

Colorful and Quirky Four-Bedroom With Pre-War Charm Asks $775K in Hamilton Heights

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Some are saying that the next Harlem Renaissance is poised to happen in Hamilton Heights. And everyone's got their eye on Columbia University's planned 6.8 million-square-foot expansion into neighboring Manhattanville—it's expected to bring an influx of new residents. If you're looking to get in a little early—or you're just looking for a decent amount of living space in Manhattan that doesn't cost millions, this quirky four-bedroom co-op at 616 West 137th Street could be your lucky break.
Check it out
$575K Inviting Co-op on Riverside Drive Comes With Cast Iron Juliet Balconies
November 18, 2015

$575K Inviting Co-op on Riverside Drive Comes With Cast Iron Juliet Balconies

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This one-bedroom apartment, now on the market for $575,000, comes from the historic co-op building the Riviera, located at 790 Riverside Drive in Washington Heights. CityRealty's architecture critic Carter Horsley offers a good review of the architecture: "This very distinguished, five-sided, building has a most unusual floor plan with five deep light wells. It was designed by Rouse and Goldstone and erected in 1910 by the Riveria Realty Company in an Italian Renaissance-palazzo style. The 13-story building has a three-story, rusticated limestone base, limestone quoins, and arched windows at its top floor beneath a quite distinctive cornice of multiple arches. There are several very handsome decorative balconies and the building has spacious lobbies." The luxury apartments, which originally came with as many as 10 rooms, were designed with libraries, butlers’ pantries and parquet flooring. Many of the units–like this one–have been chopped up and made smaller, but this apartment retains the historic cast-iron balconies.
See more
This $635K Washington Heights Co-op Is a Ground Floor Opportunity With Lofty Ambitions
October 7, 2015

This $635K Washington Heights Co-op Is a Ground Floor Opportunity With Lofty Ambitions

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At first glance, the price of this 1,245-square-foot well-configured and loft-like co-op in Washington Heights looks like a pretty good deal. The same spot in the parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn where one usually finds sprawling industrial-chic lofts would undoubtedly be several times more than the $635,000 ask. Upon further inspection, it becomes evident that this apartment at 447 Fort Washington Avenue occupies the building's basement. We're assuming it's been excavated enough to be legal, but even the listing prepares us for the fact that "...this lower first floor garden apartment is sublimely peaceful with no neighbors above, below or beside." It's certainly a nice-looking lower first floor garden apartment, though. In addition to the no-neighbors-because-it's-the-basement thing, keep in mind that the neighborhood is known as a no-longer-secret spot to find relatively reasonable real estate in NYC; the Times called it "affordable Manhattan," pointing out that the median price for apartments in Washington Heights was less than $500,000 in Q1 of 2015. On the other hand, a similarly-outfitted, though much larger, Cobble Hill duplex condo loft consisting of a ground floor and basement is listed for $2.85 million. So perhaps this lofty lower lair in upper Manhattan deserves further investigation after all.
Take a look around
Construction Update: Perch Harlem, Manhattan’s First Passive House Rental Building, Rises
August 26, 2015

Construction Update: Perch Harlem, Manhattan’s First Passive House Rental Building, Rises

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A tipster has alerted us that Manhattan's first market-rate rental building built to passive house standards has reached street level. Dubbed Perch Harlem, the soon-to-be-seven-story structure is located in the uppermost reaches of Harlem's Hamilton Heights section at 542 West 153rd Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues. "Perched"on a ridge 150 feet above sea level, the site overlooks the bucolic grounds of Trinity Cemetery, which is the only active burial ground on the island. The project's forward-thinking developers, the Synapse Development Group with its investment partner Taurus Investment Holdings, purchased the 10,000-square-foot former parking lot back in December of 2013 and have since been growing their Perch brand of passive house buildings that focus on low-impact living and community-oriented design. A second Perch building is slated for Williamsburg at 646 Lorimer Street.
Find out more about Perch Harlem
Are the City’s Bodegas Becoming a Thing of the Past?
August 4, 2015

Are the City’s Bodegas Becoming a Thing of the Past?

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The Times highlights the plight of the city's iconic local bodegas, tiny grocery-slash-beer-slash-whatever-the-local-patrons-need shops that have long been a colorful cornerstone of everyday life in the city's neighborhoods. Photographer Gail Victoria Braddock Quagliata even spent nine months pounding the pavements of Manhattan in a quest to photograph every single one of its bodegas. But many of these tiny shops have been scrambling to stay in business. The city's roughly 12,000 bodegas are losing customers. About 75 have closed this year according to the Times, many in uptown neighborhoods like Inwood, Washington Heights and Harlem. Though that proportion is small, many shop owners are concerned.
Read more on the plight of local bodegas
Gentrification Sale: Get a Single Hand-Cut Summer French Fry for Just $8.99!

Image via Bill de Bodega

July 7, 2015

Gentrification Sale: Get a Single Hand-Cut Summer French Fry for Just $8.99!

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Jarritos with an $11.99 corkage fee, a hipster breakfast for $8.99? Act fast because you won't want miss out on all the great deals going on at the Washington Heights "Gentrification in Progress Sale." A row of mom and pops located along a stretch between 162nd and 163rd streets got a Williamsburg-worthy facelift on Monday as Brooklyn locals Doug Cameron and Tommy Noonan plastered storefronts with scathingly sardonic signage pointing to the area's demise. The campaign, first reported on by Vanishing NY, was created in response to the ousting of several of the block's 30-plus-year-old businesses by a new landlord in order to make way for commercial tenants willing to pay higher rents.
See more here
Adorable Two-Bedroom in Hudson View Gardens Offers Partial River Views
May 19, 2015

Adorable Two-Bedroom in Hudson View Gardens Offers Partial River Views

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Here's a look at a nice convertible two-bedroom apartment in the coveted Hudson View Gardens co-op in Washington Heights. The flexible floor plan allows for a second bedroom in this four-room home, with enough room left over for a cozy den. Combine that with northern light and partial views of the Hudson, and you have yourself a nice hideaway from the bustling city for $575k.
More pics inside
$2.5M Hamilton Heights Musée Maison Mixes Historic Charm with a Myriad of Curious Artwork
April 3, 2015

$2.5M Hamilton Heights Musée Maison Mixes Historic Charm with a Myriad of Curious Artwork

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Portuguese-born architect/artist Luis Da Cruz bought the run-down brownstone at 532 West 148th Street in 2006 for $995,000. He then embarked on a complete renovation, turning the three-family home into his own personal playground. Cruz beautifully restored original features of the 1920 house like carved wood stairways and railings, gorgeous moldings, five fireplaces, beamed ceilings, and exposed brick walls. But on that historic canvas he overlaid his signature art pieces made with repurposed objects and decorated the space in an industrial/Victorian mash up. Luis also used the townhouse, dubbed Musée Maison (aptly, Museum House), as his studio and workshop and often hosted art shows there (including trapeze shows in which he participated) where all of the work was for sale. He's now put the 3,500-square-foot Hamilton Heights house on the market, asking $2.5 million.
See the rest of this one-of-a-kind home
The New Broadway Plan Could Bring 3,000 Housing Units to West Harlem, 50 Percent Will Be Affordable

Broadway and 146th Street, a typical stretch in West Harlem

February 11, 2015

The New Broadway Plan Could Bring 3,000 Housing Units to West Harlem, 50 Percent Will Be Affordable

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You may remember the Harlem Promenade project, which proposed transferring air rights over the Amtrak rail lines in West Harlem to create affordable housing and using the sale of the air rights to pay for $170 million in community improvements in Hamilton Heights, including a High Line-esque park. We've now learned that the project has taken on a new life as the New Broadway Plan, which may be smaller in scope than the original plan, but would be the largest creation of affordable housing in Manhattan since 1959 if fully realized. It would also make a huge dent in Mayor De Blasio's goal of creating or preserving 200,000 affordable units over ten years. The Plan proposes a rezoning of portions of Broadway from 125th to 155th Streets in order to build 3,000 new units of housing, 50 percent of which will be permanently affordable, and to equalize the amount of new affordable to market rate housing stock, which is currently at a disproportionate ratio of 20 percent to 80 percent, respectively.
Get the scoop here
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