6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

In 1979, accessories designer Reva Ostrow asked artist and designer Ward Bennett to redesign her Upper East Side apartment. Located in the Rosario Candela-designed 955 Fifth Avenue, Bennett responded by gutting the classic pre-war apartment and transforming it into a stylish, industrial loft with exposed beams, terrazzo floors, stainless-steel accents, and iconic furniture. Over the past 40 years, Ostrow has kept the apartment in pristine “museum-like” condition, with every object still precisely where Bennett placed it. “Hiring him was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she once said. Now, in order to spend more time with her family, Ostrow has placed the one-of-a-kind residence on the market for $4,900,000.
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Distinctive Homes

Advocates credit new ‘Right to Counsel’ law with large drop in evictions

Via Flickr

March 27, 2019

Advocates credit new ‘Right to Counsel’ law with large drop in evictions

As 6sqft previously reported, in August of 2017, the city passed a Right to Counsel law which provides free legal help to low-income tenants facing eviction. In its first year the law, which will eventually guarantee representation in housing court to all low-income tenants, provided free legal services to more than 87,000 New Yorkers, and 21,955 New Yorkers threatened by eviction were able to stay in their homes. A new analysis released this week, conducted by the Community Service Society, shows that the decline in evictions happened more than five times faster in zip codes where the Right to Counsel law is currently in effect than in similar zip codes where the law is not in effect.
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Ride to the Yankees home opener on a 102-year-old subway train

Photo courtesy of the New York Transit Museum

March 27, 2019

Ride to the Yankees home opener on a 102-year-old subway train

Baseball fans headed to the New York Yankees home opener this week can arrive in the Bronx via a transportation method almost as old as the team itself. On Thursday, the New York Transit Museum is rolling out its 1917 IRT Lo-V train to run from Grand Central to 161st-Street Yankee Stadium, allowing Bronx-bound passengers to travel back in time before officially kicking off the 2019 baseball season.
Get the details

Transit

Jersey City’s Harborside gets a new food hall featuring 13 local vendors

All images by Ben Gancsos, courtesy of District Kitchen

March 27, 2019

Jersey City’s Harborside gets a new food hall featuring 13 local vendors

Harborside, the Jersey City waterfront district, opened its ground-level food hall, District Kitchen, this week. Located just seven minutes from Manhattan via the PATH, the Mack-Cali led development brings 13 new culinary vendors to the Harborside Atrium at 210 Hudson Street. Designed by TPG Architecture, the 12,750-square-foot space features nods to Jersey City’s industrial past and classic striped black-and-white floor tiles. The eclectic offerings come from local purveyors and include everything from pizza and burgers to Turkish and Indian food to a banana pudding bar.
Check out the full list of vendors

Food & Dining

New Whole Foods ‘convenience store’ gives Chelsea a fast fix

Photo courtesy of Whole Foods

March 27, 2019

New Whole Foods ‘convenience store’ gives Chelsea a fast fix

Photo courtesy of Whole Foods If you're in Chelsea and you get the urge for an acai bowl or kombucha on tap, but battling shopping carts at the nearby Whole Foods wasn't part of your plan, you're in luck. The good-for-you grocery chain just sprung Whole Foods Market Daily Shop on the neighborhood. The new grab-and-go concept shop from Whole Foods Market brings Gotham Greens, Balthazar bread, New York Bagels, Doughnuts from Dunwell and Dough, Lillys cookies, and more to a corner spot at 7th Avenue and 25th Street next to the larger Whole Foods Market. You'll also find ways to lift your afternoon slump like Allegro Coffee, seasonal kombucha on tap, and self-serve acai bowls.
Have a look around

Central Park Tower rises above 432 Park, officially becomes tallest residential building in the world

Current view of construction via 6sqft (L); Rendering of the completed tower via Extell (R)

March 27, 2019

Central Park Tower rises above 432 Park, officially becomes tallest residential building in the world

Extell Development's supertall on Billionaires' Row is officially the tallest residential tower in the world. As YIMBY reported this week, Central Park Tower, at 225 West 57th Street, has reached its 92nd floor, surpassing the 1,396-foot-tall tower at 432 Park Avenue. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Central Park Tower will top out at 95 stories, or 1,550 feet tall, making it stand out significantly among neighboring skyscrapers when construction wraps up next year.
Details here

David Adjaye to help design Bed Stuy’s Restoration Plaza revamp

Image courtesy of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation.

March 26, 2019

David Adjaye to help design Bed Stuy’s Restoration Plaza revamp

Restoration Plaza, the commercial complex on Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy that has served as a neighborhood hub since it opened in 1972, is getting a major revamp, with British starchitect David Adjaye at the helm for its design. Curbed reports that the nonprofit Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, which owns and operates the plaza, has announced the creation of a five-year plan for re-imagining the site, including improved services for the surrounding neighborhood and the addition of 400,000 square feet of office space to the complex that currently houses the Billie Holiday Theatre, office space, restaurants, grocery stores and the Brooklyn Business Center.
Find out more

Architecture And Design

Ahead of summer opening, Waterline Square reveals first look at Italian food hall

The Cipriani food market, courtesy of Waterline Square

March 26, 2019

Ahead of summer opening, Waterline Square reveals first look at Italian food hall

By Dana Schulz

Earlier this year, we got the first taste of what's to come at Waterline Square's Cipriani-branded Italian food hall, including a pizza bar, pastry shop, and full-service restaurant. And now, we've got the first look. The vision of hospitality designer Martin Brudnizki, the 28,000-square-foot “experiential food market” appears to have a retro-glam vibe, complete with old-school banquettes, wood paneling, architectural light fixtures, and, as any true Italian food market would have, a display of hanging cured meats.
More details and another look

Distinctive Homes

Amy Schumer sells Brooklyn Heights townhouse at $1.25M loss

This $599K Ditmas Park co-op has a 'secret' private park

This $4M Park Slope duplex is house-sized, with condo simplicity and outdoor space

Lily Allen's Brooklyn townhouse is for sale for $8M

This $585K Village studio makes a fine pied-à-terre in a fabulous neighborhood

For $14.5M, Gilded Age opulence in a designer's Upper East Side mansion the size of a country estate

Famous skinny house in the Village is back on the market for $4.2M

Tribeca's iconic skybridge property is back on the market for $30M

The kitchen in this $1.53M Murray Hill co-op is like a ray of sunshine

Park Slope 'pink house,' now in a more muted hue, asks $5M

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Bay Ridge historic district to be considered for landmark status

Image courtesy of Landmarks Preservation Commission.

March 26, 2019

Bay Ridge historic district to be considered for landmark status

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted today to calendar the Bay Ridge Parkway Doctors' Row Historic District in the first formal step toward designation. The proposed district is comprised of 54 architecturally consistent row houses along Bay Ridge Parkway between 4th and 5th Avenues in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood. The row of limestone-fronted houses–referred to as Doctors' Row based on both its historic and current residential demographics–is a distinguished example of the neighborhood's growth from a suburban resort community to an urban neighborhood ahead of the 4th Avenue Subway line in the early 20th century.
More about the neighborhood, this way

Policy

You can rename Hudson Yards’ climbable ‘Vessel’

Photo © James and Karla Murray for 6sqft

March 26, 2019

You can rename Hudson Yards’ climbable ‘Vessel’

Officially open to the public for nearly two weeks, the centerpiece of New York City's newest neighborhood needs a name. Known best as "Vessel," the bronzed steel and concrete sculpture designed by Thomas Heatherwick was never given an official title. Earlier this year, developer Related Companies told 6sqft that "Vessel" was just a placeholder until the public experienced the installation. And with hundreds of selfies taken at the site since its opening on March 15, Related is now asking the public to rename the 150-foot honeycomb-like structure.
Have any ideas?

Events & Things To Do

Time Out reveals more vendors and views of Dumbo food hall

Via Time Out Market

March 26, 2019

Time Out reveals more vendors and views of Dumbo food hall

Just ahead of its spring opening, Time Out Market has announced even more vendors for their upcoming 21,000-square-foot market in Dumbo’s Empire Stores. Brought to you by the same company as the freebie magazine Time Out New York, the food hall will feature 21 options, including a range of classic and new local spots, all vetted by Time Out food critics. "The culinary landscape in New York City is so diverse, and we are extremely proud to be showcasing many different cuisines, cooking styles and such outstanding personalities...we call it the democratization of fine dining," said Time Out Market CEO Didier Souillat. "Our mission is to serve New York on a plate."
Check out the full list of vendors

Food & Dining

Landlord’s plan to use facial recognition in rent stabilized complex alarms tenants

Google Street View of Atlantic Plaza Apartments

March 26, 2019

Landlord’s plan to use facial recognition in rent stabilized complex alarms tenants

Residents at a 700-unit rent-stabilized complex in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn have expressed concern over their landlord's plan to install facial recognition technology at the building's entrance. Tenants at Atlantic Plaza Towers filed an objection with the state’s Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) agency, which oversees rent-regulated properties, in January, after learning that Nelson Management, their landlord, was seeking state approval to install StoneLock, a facial recognition system, Gothamist reports. Tenants and housing rights attorneys have expressed concerns over the far-reaching possibilities involved in this new method of digital surveillance.
Find out more

Policy

Via Wikimedia

March 26, 2019

De Blasio’s plan for a borough-based jail system as Rikers replacement moves forward

Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to open four new jails as replacements for the Rikers Island complex has officially entered the public review process. The City Planning Commission on Tuesday certified the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application from the city's corrections department to open new facilities in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens as part of the city's 10-year plan to close Rikers. The rubber stamp from the CPC comes after the project's draft environmental impact statement, which was released last week, found no significant adverse impacts.
Learn more here

March 26, 2019

$3.2M Boerum Hill townhouse has location and space covered, with charm to spare

On a pretty Boerum Hill, Brooklyn block, near what seems like just about everything, this classic four-story brick townhouse, asking $3.195 million, offers plenty of space and a charming back yard, no renovation required. All the brownstone living boxes are checked: front and back garden, stoop, original details, fireplaces, lots of closets.
See more of this Brooklyn classic

Distinctive Homes

East Harlem, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Sunset Park co-ops may get state historic designation

Image via New York State Board for Historic Preservation

March 25, 2019

East Harlem, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Sunset Park co-ops may get state historic designation

The New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding 17 properties to the State and National Registers of Historic Places today, sites that represent New York's rich history from Long Island through the Finger Lakes. In New York City, four nominees made the cut: the Alku and Alku Toinen buildings in Brooklyn, East Harlem Historic District, George Washington Hotel in Gramercy, and St. Luke's Hospital in Morningside Heights. Once the recommendations are approved by the state historic preservation officer, the properties are listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and then nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, where they are reviewed and, once approved, entered on the National Register.
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Find out how much a pied-à-terre tax would affect the value of NYC’s most expensive homes

220 Central Park South. Image via Vornado Realty Trust and Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

March 25, 2019

Find out how much a pied-à-terre tax would affect the value of NYC’s most expensive homes

Calls for a so-called pied-à-terre tax have increased since hedge fund manager Ken Griffin closed on a penthouse at 220 Central Park South for over $239 million in January, for a residence that the billionaire will be using as “a place to stay when he’s in town.” And State Budget Director Robert Mujica stated recently that a pied-à-terre tax could be combined with other revenue solutions to help fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $40 billion in capital needs. Owners of some of the city's highest-priced real estate, however, could face a dramatic dip in their property values if the tax plan is enacted, the Wall Street Journal reports, after an analysis that showed how the heftiest tax would be levied on a small number of houses, co-ops, and condos with market values of $25 million or more. The new tax could potentially slash the value of this handful of pricy properties by almost half.
How much is half of too much?

A 19th-century warehouse on Governors Island will become a permanent arts center

Photo by Zachary Tyler Newton

March 25, 2019

A 19th-century warehouse on Governors Island will become a permanent arts center

Governors Island is gettings its first permanent home for artists this year as the effort to turn the 172-acre former military base into a year-round cultural hub continues. The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) announced on Monday plans to transform a 1870s warehouse into a 40,000-square-foot center for arts and educational programming. In 2009, LMCC became one of the first tenants on Governors Island, which opened to the public in 2005 after serving as a base for the Army and then the Coast Guard for more than two centuries.
More here

For $345K, a Tudor City studio with views of the park

Listing images by Ben Fitchett Tudor City, the Turtle Bay apartment complex built in the 1920s, is known for its tiny apartments that are priced to match. While this studio at 25 Tudor City Place doesn't offer a lot of extra space, the unit comes with a generously-sized kitchenette, a new renovation, and views of the private and lush Tudor City park. It's now on the market for $345,000 after selling in 2014 for $272,500.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

Get a peek inside the cosmic wonder of Macy’s 45th annual Flower Show

Photo: Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Macy’s

March 25, 2019

Get a peek inside the cosmic wonder of Macy’s 45th annual Flower Show

On Sunday, March 24th, Macy’s Herald Square launched its 45th annual Flower Show. This year's theme for the two-week long floral festival is "Journey To Paradisios," celebrating the arrival of spring by transporting visitors into a multi-dimensional world of space and adventure on the mythical planet Paradisios, traveling through eccentrically landscaped gardens and spectacular floral designs made up of more than 5,000 types of plants, trees, and flowers. The theme tells the cosmic tale of Space Flight Director Lucy Ryder and her discovery of the planet Paradisios–a pristine exoplanet, untouched by human technology and filled with resplendent plant life, as Ryder and R.H. Macy IV–pilot-turned-cosmonaut and the great-great-great grandson of Macy’s founder–set out on the adventure of a lifetime.
More resplendent plant life, this way

Events & Things To Do

March 25, 2019

See how NYC’s urban density stacks up against other major cities

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

As part of their larger report "Developing Urban Futures," the Cities Urban Age Program at the London School of Economics created a new series of digital density diagrams, 3D models that visually demonstrate the density of people in cities around the world. The maps combine a range of socio-economic data, including where people live, work, and commute to capture the key spatial dimensions of urban economic life. The taller spikes represent larger concentrations of people, while the flatter zones represent lower density concentrations, for example, residential or suburban neighborhoods.
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City Living

Did you know NYC’s only surviving cycling track is in Flushing?

1964 US Olympic Trials at Kissena Velodrome. From page 47 of “30 years of progress, 1934-1964 : Department of Parks : 300th anniversary of the City of New York : New York World’s Fair.” (1964). Via Internet Archive Book Images on Flickr

March 22, 2019

Did you know NYC’s only surviving cycling track is in Flushing?

By Lucie Levine

From the late 1890s through the 1920s, tens of thousands of New Yorkers turned out to witness the high drama of competitive bicycle speed racing. In New York, there were Velodromes (cycling tracks) at Coney Island, in the Bronx, and even at the original Madison Square Garden, where grueling six-day races called “Madisons” pushed riders to their limits. The sport fell prey to the Depression, and today there are just 26 Velodromes in the United States, including one in New York City, the Kissena Velodrome in Flushing’s Kissena Park, known to Velodrome enthusiasts as “the Track of Dreams.”
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History

Lower East Side residents sue city to stop development of Two Bridges ‘megatowers’

Rendering via Handel Architects

March 22, 2019

Lower East Side residents sue city to stop development of Two Bridges ‘megatowers’

A group of Lower East Side residents on Friday filed a lawsuit against New York City to stop three luxury developments planned for Two Bridges. The residents, who are being represented by the Lower East Side Organized Neighbors (LESON) and the Asian-American Legal Defense Fund, argue the new skyscrapers violate zoning rules meant to protect against out-of-scale development (h/t Bowery Boogie).
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Uncategorized

Discover Prospect Park through these interactive, guided tours

Image via Flickr

March 22, 2019

Discover Prospect Park through these interactive, guided tours

With the weather finally warming up, there’s no better time to plan your spring and summer weekend excursions. In partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance, Turnstile Tours is offering a range of walking tours this season, exploring the history, architecture, and nature of the iconic park (h/t Brownstoner). New and seasoned visitors of the park alike will be able to discover hidden treasures, little-known tales, and learn about the Alliance’s new facilities and ongoing conservation efforts.
More info

Events & Things To Do

March 22, 2019

This $3.2M Tribeca loft in a former coconut factory has polish and poise

Designed by noted architect Stephen Decatur Hatch, the classic loft building at 165 Duane Street, now a boutique co-op residence, was built in 1882 as coconut processing and packaging factory. This Tribeca loft retains the foundation of its industrial past with exposed wooden beams and columns and 14 windows, yet this three-bedroom home set high above Duane Park has the polished appearance of a classic Manhattan co-op. Asking $3.195 million, the loft has been fully renovated, adding modern convenience and considered design choices in fixtures and finishes.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

MTA chooses consultant to oversee L train tunnel project

Via Flickr

March 22, 2019

MTA chooses consultant to oversee L train tunnel project

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has chosen a consultant to oversee the reconstruction of the 100-year-old L train tunnel, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The agency tapped JMT of NY Inc. to review construction timelines and safety and environmental concerns for the never-been-done-before project. After Gov. Andrew Cuomo intervened earlier this year, the MTA revised its original Carnasie Tunnel repair plan to not require the L train to shut down for 15 months, but instead have construction work take place on nights and weekends. But the $1.2 million contract--which must be approved by the MTA board next week--does not include a review of the feasibility of the updated L train plan before construction is set to begin on April 27.
More here

For $1.4M, this Upper West Side two-bedroom blends old-world charm with sleek, modern lines

Listing photos by Travis Mark

March 22, 2019

For $1.4M, this Upper West Side two-bedroom blends old-world charm with sleek, modern lines

Snag the Greenest Seat in Town: Gufram's 1972 Pratone Chair is Shaped Like a Patch of Grass

This floor-through two-bedroom on the Upper West Side melds the old and the new in one of the city's most coveted neighborhoods. Located in a boutique townhouse at 121 West 80th Street, the $1,395,000 co-op was recently renovated and decked out with marble accents and top-of-the-line amenities to bring modern comforts into the home. But its old-world charm still comes through in the restored moldings and millwork.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

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Everything you need to know about affordable housing: applying, getting in, and staying put

10 best plants for apartment dwellers

New York City's best holiday markets of 2023

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Riders of the 3, 4, 6, and L trains luck out this weekend—most other lines will get significant service changes

Image via Flickr cc

March 22, 2019

Riders of the 3, 4, 6, and L trains luck out this weekend—most other lines will get significant service changes

While there are no planned changes for the 3, 4, 6, and L trains this weekend, most other lines are not so lucky. The M isn't running between Queens and Manhattan, the J continues to take a break between Brooklyn and Queens, and there will be a significant amount of skipped stops across the board. Check out the full damage below.
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Transit

New proposal turns the BQE’s triple cantilever into a three-level linear park

Rendering by Kameny Design and Taylor Davenport, courtesy of Mark Baker

March 21, 2019

New proposal turns the BQE’s triple cantilever into a three-level linear park

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

A longtime Brooklyn resident is offering his own innovative solution to fix the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Mark Baker's proposal involves transforming the BQE's triple cantilever into the "Tri-Line," a three-tiered park that extends from Brooklyn Bridge Park. Modeled after Manhattan's High Line, the Tri-Line parks would measure 1,880 feet long and include gardens, seating, walking paths, and bike lanes. As the Brooklyn Eagle reported, cars and trucks would be rerouted along a new highway on Furman Street, preserving the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and adding eight acres of park space in the process.
See the proposal

Architecture And Design

13 places in Greenwich Village where the course of history was changed

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. One of the city’s oldest and largest landmark districts, it’s a treasure trove of rich history, pioneering culture, and charming architecture. Village Preservation will be spending 2019 marking this anniversary with events, lectures, and new interactive online resources, including a celebration and district-wide weekend-long “Open House” starting on Saturday, April 13 in Washington Square. Check here for updates and more details. This is part of a series of posts about the Greenwich Village Historic District marking its golden anniversary.

March 21, 2019

13 places in Greenwich Village where the course of history was changed

It’s not that often you can pinpoint a time and place and say the course of history was forever changed as a result of it. It’s even less common for such a thing to happen over and over again in one small neighborhood. But from its earliest days, Greenwich Village is where history has been made, much of it within the Greenwich Village Historic District, which lies at its heart. Here are a baker’s dozen of such events located within those one hundred blocks, from the first free black settlement in North America and the birth of the modern LGBT rights movement to the first museum dedicated to contemporary American art and the publication of "The Autobiography of Malcolm X."
All the history right this way

History

Lottery opens for 149 units at amenity-packed new construction in the Bronx, from $462 a month

Rendering courtesy of The Wilfrid

March 21, 2019

Lottery opens for 149 units at amenity-packed new construction in the Bronx, from $462 a month

Rendering courtesy of The Wilfrid 149 affordable units are becoming available at a newly constructed building in the East Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx. Located at 4181 3rd Avenue and 1888 Bathgate Avenue, the rental building, known as The Wilfrid, offers an impressive menu of amenities including an on-site resident super, a virtual doorman, an outdoor terrace, a fitness room, a residents' lounge in each tower, laundry, parking and bicycle storage. Qualifying applicants earning 40, 50, 60, 90 and 110 percent of the area median income can apply for units that range from a $462/month studio to a $2,136/month three-bedroom.
Find out how to apply

Affordable Housing

Live next to Sarah Jessica Parker in the West Village for $28.6M

Photo of Sarah Jessica Parker via Wikimedia; 271 West 11th Street via Leslie J. Garfield

March 21, 2019

Live next to Sarah Jessica Parker in the West Village for $28.6M

A mansion on an affluent block in the West Village hit the market this week for $28.6 million. Located at 271 West 11th Street, the property sits next to "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker and actor Matthew Broderick's two townhouses, which are currently being combined into a megamansion. Other A-list New Yorkers on the block, which stretches between West 4th and Bleecker, include Chipotle founder Steve Ells, Liv Tyler, and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure, Curbed NY noted.
Take a tour

$1.75M Gramercy co-op feels Parisian but comes with keys to NYC’s most exclusive park

Listing photos by Elizabeth Dooley, Dooley Images; Staging by Jason Saft from StagedToSell LLC

March 21, 2019

$1.75M Gramercy co-op feels Parisian but comes with keys to NYC’s most exclusive park

Originally built in 1883, Manhattan's first co-op at 34 Gramercy Park East was described as “a craggy, mysterious red brick and red terra-cotta pile whose Queen Anne forms are among the city's most spectacular," in the 1988 AIA Guide to New York. A rare listing in the nine-unit building has just hit the market for $1,750,000, and it comes with a coveted set of keys to Gramercy Park. The two-bedroom unit features beautiful original moldings, wood floors, a decorative fireplace, and exposed brick accents.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

Self-driving shuttle service is coming to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Brooklyn Navy Yard via Optimus

March 21, 2019

Self-driving shuttle service is coming to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Self-driving vehicles are officially coming to New York City this year. The Boston-based startup Optimus Ride announced on Wednesday plans to deploy a fleet of autonomous shuttle vans to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a 300-acre site in the midst of transforming from a World War II-era warship site to a modern tech-hub. When it launches in the second quarter of this year, the self-driving program will be the first of its kind in New York, according to the company.
Learn about it here

Transit

Trump sells a $2.9M Central Park South condo to an undisclosed buyer

Via Wikimedia

March 20, 2019

Trump sells a $2.9M Central Park South condo to an undisclosed buyer

President Donald Trump this month sold a $2.9 million condo at his Central Park South building to an unknown buyer, Forbes reported Tuesday. According to public documents, the deal between the Trump Organization and an entity called Koctagon LLC occurred on March 8 for an apartment at Trump Parc East, an 79-unit building next to the south end of Central Park. A limited liability company, or LLC, is typically used to protect the identity of the buyer.
Get the details

Real Estate Trends

Walt Whitman’s New York City: 10 sites where the poet left his mark

Walt Whitman (1881) courtesy of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution

March 20, 2019

Walt Whitman’s New York City: 10 sites where the poet left his mark

By Lucie Levine

In his famous 1856 Poem, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” Walt Whitman writes to future New Yorkers, “I am with you, you men and women of a generation, or ever so many generations hence, just as you feel when you look on the river and the sky, so I felt,…I too lived, Brooklyn of ample hills was mine, I too walk’d the streets of Manhattan Island.” Whitman, who so deeply captured the experience of living in this city, left his mark not only on Brooklyn and Manhattan, but also on the world as the father of free verse poetry, and one of America’s greatest artists. Since this year marks Whitman’s 200th birthday, we're joining the ongoing celebration of his life and work by returning to the streets he walked, following in his footstep to 10 sites across New York associated with the poet.
Walk With Whitman

History

Find your favorite spring blooms in Central Park with a map and interactive guide

Background image: Shinya Suzuki via Flickr

March 20, 2019

Find your favorite spring blooms in Central Park with a map and interactive guide

Spring is officially here, and there's no better place to confirm the good news than Central Park, where the season brings a burst of color to every corner of the park's 840 acres. Warmer weather brings beautiful blooms and a flurry of activities and events along with photogenic landscapes. The park's Spring Guide has all you need to know about the park's prettiest places to visit; a handy map points out where the blooms are, and you can search for your favorites and learn more about them. There are also events for families, Conservancy members and the general public that will help you make the best of the season's beauty.
Where the blooms are, this way

March 20, 2019

Walnut finishes throughout this $3.1M Nomad loft combine glamour and utility

This four-bedroom loft in Park Avenue South Tower, a 1920's Art Deco industrial building that was converted to co-op loft apartments in 1980, just hit the market for a cool $3,100,000. The beautifully renovated corner unit boasts eleven large windows, beamed ceilings, hardwood floors throughout, and custom walnut cabinetry and storage built-ins that bring a mid-century glam vibe to the residence.
Look around

Distinctive Homes

A hotel in Long Island City will be converted into a ‘short stay’ co-living spot

Via The Collective

March 20, 2019

A hotel in Long Island City will be converted into a ‘short stay’ co-living spot

London-based communal living company The Collective has purchased a hotel in Long Island City with plans to convert the building into a space for co-living. The Paper Factory Hotel, located at 37-06 36th Street near the Astoria border, will be transformed into a space for "short-stay" co-living, which the company says will give members more flexibility in the length of their stay. The first phase of the conversion adds cultural and educational space to the building's ground floor; the second phase adds 100 more bedrooms to the hotel's existing 125 rooms.
More this way

Real Estate Trends

The sordid, surreal, and spectacular history of Coney Island’s Elephant Hotel

“Elephant Bazar Coney Island,” NYPL Wallach Division Picture Collection via NYPL Digital Collections

March 19, 2019

The sordid, surreal, and spectacular history of Coney Island’s Elephant Hotel

By Lucie Levine

When Coney Island burst on the scene in the 1880s as “the People’s Playground,” becoming the last word in bawdy beachfront pleasure, every attraction was larger than life. But no attraction was as large as the “Elephantine Colossus,” a 12-story, 31-room, elephant-shaped hotel, stationed at Surf Avenue and West 12th Street. The elephant was a tin-clad wooden structure rising 150 feet high, and it was unlike any other elephant in the world: The animal’s forelegs featured a tobacco shop, its left lung was home to a museum, and visitors to the “cheek room” could look out of the elephant eyes to the ocean beyond.
READ MORE

History

March 19, 2019

$8M Soho loft includes two units, no tax or co-op fees and a share of commercial rent

$7.995 million might seem steep for this grand 3,600-square-foot cast iron loft at 148 Greene Street, but the Soho co-op property comes with some great perks in addition to keyed elevator access, 13-foot ceilings, and 12 massive windows. First, the space contains two units, giving you the flexibility to use it for live/work purposes or reconfigure it for one sprawling full-floor home. More benefits: There are no tax or maintenance fees. Also, owners in the building benefit from proceeds of the commercial lease space on the ground floor.
More loft loveliness, this way

Distinctive Homes

Jersey City wants to open a High Line-style park

Sketch by Richard La Rovere courtesy of the Journal Square Community Association

March 19, 2019

Jersey City wants to open a High Line-style park

A Jersey City community association wants to turn an abandoned rail cut into a 17-acre High Line-style park. The Journal Square Community Association is proposing turning what used to be the Erie Railroad's four-track cut through the Palisades into a public park. Better known as the Bergen Arches, the historic rail-cut borders Journal Square and opened in 1910, but has not been in use since the late 1950s. Since then, the Bergen Arches has become an overgrown wooded area in the expanding Journal Square neighborhood.
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Architecture And Design

Two-thirds of voters say losing Amazon deal was bad for New York

Image via NYCEDC

March 19, 2019

Two-thirds of voters say losing Amazon deal was bad for New York

According to a new poll conducted by the Siena College Research Institute, nearly two-thirds of New York state registered voters think Amazon’s decision to cancel its plans for a second headquarters in Queens was bad for New York. Sixty-one percent of the people who were polled say they would approve of the deal—in which Amazon would receive up to $3 billion in state and city incentives and create up to 25,000 jobs—if the company were to reconsider. The results are clear: “While some may have celebrated Amazon’s announcement to pull the plug, the vast majority of New Yorkers of every stripe thought it was bad for the Empire State,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.
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Policy

IKEA’s Upper East Side location opens on April 15

Rendering via IKEA

March 19, 2019

IKEA’s Upper East Side location opens on April 15

IKEA is finally coming to Manhattan next month. The Swedish furniture store announced Tuesday it will open a new Upper East Side location on April 15. Located at 999 Third Avenue, the IKEA Planning Studio will be delivery-only, with solutions tailored for city living and small spaces. "We conducted extensive research about city living, and we believe New Yorkers will see their needs reflected this new concept," Leontyne Greene Sykes, the CEO of IKEA Retail, said. The Planning Studio is the first of its kind in the United States.
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255 East 77th Street

Lenox Hill

Upper East Side condos with Central Park views

3 beds starting at $5,300,000
4 beds starting at $7,400,000
5 beds starting at $8,750,000

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Affordable housing wait list opens for Mitchell-Lama apartments in Harlem, from $741/month

Google Street View of Bethune Towers

March 19, 2019

Affordable housing wait list opens for Mitchell-Lama apartments in Harlem, from $741/month

A lottery for waiting list spots for Mitchell-Lama rental apartments in Bethune Towers at 650 Lenox Avenue is about to open for New York state residents. Rents range from $741 for a studio to $1,215 for a one-bedroom unit. Preference will be given to documented veterans who are selected in the lottery. The deadline to apply for all is April 2, 2019. Some apartments in the building have balconies and views of the Harlem River and the 145th Street Bridge, and the 3 subway is only a few blocks away.
Find out more about Mitchell-Lama and how to apply

Affordable Housing

$2.8M from Met admission fees will be allocated to 175 NYC cultural organizations

Image via Pexels

March 19, 2019

$2.8M from Met admission fees will be allocated to 175 NYC cultural organizations

When the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced it would start charging non-New Yorkers $25 for admission and waive its pay-what-you-wish policy for the first time since 1970, most people reacted with disapproval. But there was an under-the-radar benefit to this new policy: The Met agreed to share a portion of the new revenue from admission fees with the city, to be used by the Department of Cultural Affairs in support of the CreateNYC plan. A year after the admission fees went into effect, the de Blasio administration has announced that $2.8 million in additional funding will be allocated to over 175 cultural organizations in underserved communities throughout the five boroughs.
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113 chances to live beachfront in Far Rockaway, from $331/month

Courtesy of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects

March 18, 2019

113 chances to live beachfront in Far Rockaway, from $331/month

A lottery launched this week for 113 mixed-income apartments in Edgemere, a beach-front neighborhood just outside of Far Rockaway in Queens. Designed by Curtis + Ginsburg, the eight-story building meets passive house certification by utilizing a geo-thermal cooling and heating system with a resilient, flood-proof design. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 30, 40, 50, 60 and 100 percent of the area median income can apply for the available units at 45-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, which range from a $331/month studio to a $1,910/month three-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

March 18, 2019

Dining guide: Where to eat and drink at Hudson Yards

The food offerings at Hudson Yards are among the biggest draws of the new neighborhood, bringing restaurants from acclaimed chefs like Thomas Keller, David Chang, Estiatorio Milos, and more, alongside Chef José Andrés’ Mercado Little Spain, a 35,000-square-foot Spanish food hall. The restaurants at the development were carefully co-curated by Chef Thomas Keller and Kenneth Himmel and will feature every type of dining experience you could want, from coffee to cocktails, to grab-and-go salads and lavish dinners. Below, check out a guide to everything that's already opened and more soon to come.
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Food & Dining

Lou Reed archive opens at New York Public Library, complete with special edition library card

Image courtesy of NYPL.

March 18, 2019

Lou Reed archive opens at New York Public Library, complete with special edition library card