6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

Between the adjacent mega-developments Hudson Yards and Manhattan West, the far west side is banking on becoming a city within a city. And if this amenity-rich lifestyle appeals to you, here's a chance to get in on the action for less. Starting tomorrow, the second phase of the affordable housing lottery at Manhattan West's massive rental the Eugene will be open for 103 low- and middle-income apartments, ranging from $613/month studios to $2,519/month two-bedrooms. Designed by Skidmore Owings & Merill (SOM), the 62-story glass tower at 435 West 31st Street offers amenities like a rock climbing wall, "sky lounge," pet spa, and fitness center. These are in addition to Manhattan West's two-acre public park and 240,000 square feet of curated food, retail and other pop-up events
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

May 3, 2018

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski’s historic Park Slope townhouse sells for $6.5M

By Annie Doge

After eight months on the market, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski's historic Park Slope townhouse has found a buyer, albeit for $1.5 million less than they'd hoped. The couple first listed the seven-bedroom, 20-room home at 586 4th Street in September for $8 million, but the Post saw through city records that it's closed for $6.56 million. The couple previously said they put the home on the market because work kept them away too much and "The house is so special—someone who can spend every night there should have it."
See exactly why it's so special

NYCxDesign 2018: A guide to this month’s best design events

Photo courtesy of Industry City

May 3, 2018

NYCxDesign 2018: A guide to this month’s best design events

Photo courtesy of Industry City New Yorkers love good design. They also love good festivals. And who doesn’t love a custom cocktail? Put those three together and you’ve got NYCxDESIGN. With over 400 different exhibitions, installations, trade shows, panels, product launches, open studios, and more, NYCxDESIGN runs from May 11–23 across the city’s five boroughs and is the biggest design event of the year. And to top it off, restaurants throughout the city are designing custom NYCxDESIGN cocktails, the perfect end to a perfect day. To help you navigate the scene, 6sqft has put together a guide to all the events you don't want to miss.
Check it out!

May 3, 2018

Judge rules Upper West Side condo can remove Trump’s name from its building

Photo via Nick Normal’s Flickr Following year-long resistance from the Trump Organization, a judge ruled on Thursday that an Upper West Side condo could remove the president's name from the exterior of the 46-story building, according to the New York Times. Condo owners at 200 Riverside Boulevard will now be able to vote on whether to keep or remove the bronze letters spelling "TRUMP" on the building, where they have hung for nearly two decades. The ruling comes after board members at Trump Place asked a judge in January to issue a declaratory judgment that the condo has the right to either keep or remove the letters without violating its licensing agreement. On Thursday, Justice Eileen Bransten said removing letters does not violate the agreement.
More details here

Policy

Via NYC Ferry

May 3, 2018

De Blasio will spend an additional $300M on NYC Ferry as ridership doubles

“We’re gonna need a bigger boat” commented Mayor Bill de Blasio at a press conference in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, this morning touting the surge in popularity of ferries. NYC’s ferry service is expected to carry as many as 9 million passengers by 2023, twice the original projections. And to accommodate this, Mayor de Blasio said he was increasing spending on ferries, including a $300 million investment for three new, larger 350-passenger capacity boats, news docks and piers and an additional port for maintenance. The current NYC Ferry fleet contains 20 150-passenger capacity vessels.
There's more coming

Transit

Master planning for huge Sunnyside Yard project to begin this summer

Photo via NYCEDC

May 3, 2018

Master planning for huge Sunnyside Yard project to begin this summer

The master planning process for the Sunnyside Yard project, a mammoth plan to build a new, fully planned neighborhood to Queens, will begin this summer, the city announced Thursday. Along with Amtrak, the city's economic development corporation said it will form a steering committee made up of local leaders and planning experts who will organize meetings and workshops to gain feedback from local residents. The Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) has officially been tapped to lead the planning process. A 2017 feasibility study found 70 acres of the 180-acre development would be viable for development. According to the city, the project could bring between roughly 11,000 and 15,000 new housing units and 15 to 20 acres of open space, new schools and retail amenities. About 3,300 to 4,500 new permanently affordable units could also be created. As of last year, the plan has an estimated price tag of $10 billion.
Find out more

750 mostly affordable apartments coming to the South Bronx near Yankee Stadium

Photo via Wiki Commons

May 3, 2018

750 mostly affordable apartments coming to the South Bronx near Yankee Stadium

The South Bronx's building boom is continuing with the announcement of a pair of developments near Yankee Stadium that will bring 750 mixed-use residential units to the area. As reported by The Real Deal, Maddd Equities is developing two sites across from each other at 1159 and 1184 River Avenue. The former will have 250 affordable and supportive housing units, and the latter will be a set of 17-story buildings with 500 apartments, most of which will be reserved for low-income households.
READ MORE

May 3, 2018

$4M Flatiron duplex was 19th century starchitect Richard Morris Hunt’s studio

This $3.925 million combined sale in an historic Flatiron building is a unique opportunity for more than one reason. The 1870s Italianate townhouse at 28 East 21st Street, now a co-op, served as the studio of architect Richard Morris Hunt, whose designs include the Met as well as the Biltmore estate, The Breakers and other notable Gilded Age properties. It's also a chance to acquire an 1,850-square-foot duplex with three bedrooms plus a dreamy townhouse backyard complete with flowering dogwood and magnolia trees and a 250-square-foot artists' studio in the heart of the Flatiron district.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Color, drama, and detail define this $12.5M Upper East Side co-op

Doors of steel and glass make this $3M Soho loft feel like a box of light

This $3.5M Noho co-op remembers the origins of loft living

Greenwich Village townhouse where Oscar Wilde once stayed asks $7.45M

For $1.2M, this Park Slope brownstone co-op gets the top-floor perk of a private roof deck

This $3.75M co-op is an architect-designed masterpiece in a classic Village loft

'Secret' live-work compound on Tribeca's skybridge street lists for $30M

$22M Cobble Hill brownstone is five floors of architectural perfection, from the wine cellar to the rooftop deck

For $2M, a Boerum Hill co-op with a colorful Scandi kitchen

For $4M, East Village living, penthouse-style

VIEW ALL

How New Yorkers responded to the 1918 Flu Pandemic

A typist wearsing a guaze mask in 1918.Via the National Archives and Records Administration

May 2, 2018

How New Yorkers responded to the 1918 Flu Pandemic

By Cait Etherington

May 2018 marks the centennial of one of the world’s greatest health crisis in history—the 1918 flu pandemic. In the end, anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million people worldwide would die as a result of the pandemic. New York was by no means spared. During the flu pandemic, which stretched from late 1918 to early 1920, over 20,000 New Yorkers’ lives were lost. However, in many respects, the crisis also brought into relief what was already working with New York’s health system by 1918. Indeed, compared to many other U.S. cities, including Boston, New York suffered fewer losses and historians suggest that the health department’s quick response is largely to thank for the city’s relatively low number of deaths.
READ MORE

History

Plan to upgrade signals on 7-line delayed again, more service outages possible

Photo via Tim Adams on Flickr

May 2, 2018

Plan to upgrade signals on 7-line delayed again, more service outages possible

Another day, another missed deadline for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The plan to modernize the 7-line's ancient signals has been delayed yet again, according to the Wall Street Journal. The MTA said the new system would be implemented by June 30, but the contractor installing the signals, Thales Transport and Security, told officials they won't be able to finish until November. Andy Byford, the new chief of NYC Transit, said he refuses to accept the rescheduled deadline and has hinted at more outages on the 7, as a way to accelerate installation of the system. "I think customers would prefer to rip the band aid off and get on with it rather than have this slow creeping limp to the finish line," Byford said on Wednesday.
Find out more

Transit

How did a flock of Argentinian parrots land in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery?

Photo via Wiki Commons

May 2, 2018

How did a flock of Argentinian parrots land in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery?

It's usually the tours and events at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery that get people talking, but the national landmark has its own chatty group that's attracting a lot of attention. The group happens to be a flock of lime green parrots from Argentina, appropriately named “Monk Parrots” since they are hanging out in the cemetery despite Green-Wood's nonsectarian nature. But how did these loud and exotic birds get all the way from South America to Greenwood Heights?
It's not as crazy as you might think

History

My 480sqft: Real estate publicist Kelly Kreth lives in a red, black, and white wonderland in Yorkville

6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to real estate publicist Kelly Kreth’s Yorkville apartment. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

May 2, 2018

My 480sqft: Real estate publicist Kelly Kreth lives in a red, black, and white wonderland in Yorkville

What's black and white and red all over? Kelly Kreth's Yorkville apartment. The real estate publicist pegs her OCD diagnosis for the strict color palette--"it makes me feel safe," she explains--but also the fact that her love for retro pieces, graphic art, and fashion-forward decor lends itself quite well to this tri-hued approach. We recently spent the afternoon getting to know Kelly and her dachshund puppy Biggie Smalls and learned more about what it's like to live in just three colors, why she chose this Upper East Side 'hood, and where she's been able to find some of her fun and funky finds.
Meet Kelly and tour her home

Vornado likely to keep Bjarke Ingels’ wave-like canopy design for 2 Penn Plaza overhaul

Rendering via BIG

May 2, 2018

Vornado likely to keep Bjarke Ingels’ wave-like canopy design for 2 Penn Plaza overhaul

Instead of razing and redeveloping its 2 Penn Plaza office tower, Vornado Realty Trust said on Tuesday it will simply renovate the building. As Commercial Observer reported, the company's CEO, Steven Roth, said earlier plans of demolishing the 31-story tower and grabbing 5 million square feet of development rights from Madison Square Garden to build a bigger tower, would not be feasible. Moving forward with option B, Vornado will likely stick with designs from Bjarke Ingels Group. More than two years ago, BIG revealed renderings that showed a wave-like canopy of glass panels that would envelope 2 Penn Plaza above the retail entrances on the ground floor.
More this way

Architecture And Design

Historic West Harlem firehouse theater is for sale for $13M as part of development lot

Image via Google Maps.

May 2, 2018

Historic West Harlem firehouse theater is for sale for $13M as part of development lot

The Beaux Arts firehouse that has been the home of the Faison Firehouse Theater since 1999 (with a celebrated "official" inaugural opening in 2007 that included a presentation by Maya Angelou) is for sale as part of a development property package, asking $13 million. The building at 6 Hancock Place in West Harlem is being offered with a neighboring vacant lot and a four-story townhouse, which together add up to a total of 30,000 square feet. The Faison Firehouse Theater was founded by Tony award winning choreographer George Faison and his partner, Tad Schnugg, and has been operated by the American Performing Arts Collaborative (APAC).
Find out more

May 2, 2018

7 chances to live across from Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, from $1,600/month

A newly constructed rental in the Bronx has launched a lottery for seven middle-income apartments, located across from the city's largest public park, Pelham Bay Park. The park measures over three times the size of Central Park and includes two golf courses, miles of hiking trails, many fields and courts and Orchard Beach, a man-made beach designed by Robert Moses. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for three one-bedrooms for $1,600/month and four two-bedrooms for $1,800/month.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

May 1, 2018

John Varvatos’ design director lists fashionable Financial District condo for $725K

This elegantly designed studio in the Greenwich Club at 88 Greenwich Street belongs to Martin Dimen, who is the design director for the iconic contemporary men’s brand John Varvatos–and the home's interiors reflect the brand's aesthetic of masculine opulence. The Financial District condo is asking $725,000.
See more, this way

Distinctive Homes

Hamptons windmill once rented by Marilyn Monroe is asking $55K for the entire summer

Photo of Marilyn Monroe via Wikimedia

May 1, 2018

Hamptons windmill once rented by Marilyn Monroe is asking $55K for the entire summer

Haven't planned a summer vacation yet and have $55,000 floating around? Then consider renting this East Hampton windmill home, a unique abode once leased in 1957 by Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller. The charming two-bedroom, one-bathroom house measures 1,100 square feet across three floors. The windmill home, located in the historic Amagansett neighborhood, is currently only available for the entire summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and year-round for $68,000 (h/t Curbed Hamptons).
Take a tour

NYC neighborhoods made for workers: The history of Queens’ Steinway Village and the Bronx Co-ops

By Cait Etherington

While immigration, urban planning, and the forces of gentrification are certainly key factors in how NYC's neighborhoods have been shaped, New Yorkers’ patterns of work, their unions, and in some instances, even their employers have also played a role in the development of several of the city’s established neighborhoods. To mark May Day, 6sqft decided to investigate two of the city neighborhoods that were quite literally made for workers—the Van Cortlandt Village area of the Bronx and the Steinway neighborhood in Astoria, Queens.
Learn all about it

History

See the rooftop sculpture garden that will grow next to Zaha Hadid’s High Line condo

Rendering via Future Green

May 1, 2018

See the rooftop sculpture garden that will grow next to Zaha Hadid’s High Line condo

Related Companies announced last year plans to add 15 new gallery spaces around their Zaha Hadid-designed condo at 520 West 28th Street. One of the galleries tapped for the project, the Paul Kasmin Gallery, will serve as the anchor tenant and expand into a 5,000-square-foot space. In addition to boasting 22-foot ceilings and 28 skylights, the single-floor gallery will have a sculpture garden designed by Future Green on its roof. Because it sits alongside the High Line, "the garden serves as a verdant extension to the elevated park and showcases outdoor artworks in a rich seasonal tapestry," according to the landscape architects.
More details here

The city wants you to bike to work to celebrate National Bike Month

Photo via NYC DOT/Flickr

May 1, 2018

The city wants you to bike to work to celebrate National Bike Month

May is National Bike Month and Transportation Alternatives (TransAlt) is hosting its Bike Commuter Challenge. TransAlt and the city are challenging New Yorkers to swap their normal commuting routine and cycle to work. With Citi Bikes on almost every block, over 250 miles of new bicycle lanes, and the hellacious winter behind us, there is no excuse not to “man up.” Especially since, according to NYC DOT, more than 800,000 New Yorkers ride a bike regularly, which is 140,000 more than rode five years ago and means that NYC commuters already bike to work more than any other U.S. city.
There's more bike-related fun to be had in May

Agencies announce May town hall meetings to discuss impending L train shutdown

Photo of the L-train via Wiki Commons

May 1, 2018

Agencies announce May town hall meetings to discuss impending L train shutdown

If you've got some choice words to say about the impending L train shutdown, you'll soon get a chance to make them public. The MTA and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) have announced two town hall meetings that will be held this month to discuss the Canarsie Tunnel Reconstruction project–aka the L train shutdown–with members of the community who will be affected by the April 2019 service interruption that will knock the line out of commission for 15 months. The meetings, which will be held in Manhattan and Brooklyn, are the latest in a series of public meetings and workshops intended to quell public trepidation about the impending shutdown.
When, where, what to expect

May 1, 2018

Lottery launches for 250+ mixed-income apartments in East Tremont, from $822/month

Rendering via Mastermind Development The Tremont Renaissance housing complex this week launched a lottery for 255 apartments, part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's affordable housing plan aimed at bringing more mixed-income units to New York City. Located in the East Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx, the development at 4215 Park Avenue rises 12 stories and features roughly 40,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60, 100 and 120 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments ranging from $822/month studios to $1,965 three-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Apply for 100+ affordable apartments at this flashy new tower near Grand Central, from $613/month

Rendering via Handel Architects

April 30, 2018

Apply for 100+ affordable apartments at this flashy new tower near Grand Central, from $613/month

Reduced rent AND the opportunity to walk to work? That's the dream scenario up for grabs for Midtown East workers at Handel Architects' 222 East 44th Street, where a mixed-use affordable housing lottery for 109 units just came online. The handsome, 42-story torqued glass tower sits between Second and Third Avenues, fronting both 43rd and 44th Streets, meaning it's just a hop, skip, and jump away from Grand Central, the Chrysler Building, and the UN. The apartments are available to those earning 40, 60, and 130 percent of the area median income and range from $613/month studios to $2,733/month two-bedrooms. The lucky residents will also be treated to a bevy of amenities.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Historic photos take you back to the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows

Aerial view of the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair; via NYPL

April 30, 2018

Historic photos take you back to the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows

On April 30, 1939, the New York World's Fair opened in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. The fair, which spread across 1,200 acres, commemorated the 150th anniversary of George Washington's inauguration in Lower Manhattan, and had a central theme of "Building the World of Tomorrow." Construction of the fair began in 1936, which involved turning the Corona city dump and tidal swamp into the fairgrounds. After the land was cleared, hundreds of architects, designers, engineers and construction workers came together to transform the dump into the site for the World's Fair. The "Trylon", a 700-foot obelisk, and the "Perisphere," a 200-foot globe, stood in the center of the fairgrounds, soon becoming permanent symbols of the Fair. Many American corporations, including the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, the Borden Company and General Motors, participated, as a way to introduce fairgoers to new products. With close to 60 nations and 33 U.S. states participating, and its own subway line, the 1939 World's Fair remains one of the largest, and most iconic, international fairs in history. Ahead, check out some of the photos of the historic World's Fair, found in the New York Public Library's extensive collection.
Go back in time

History

The new Hell’s Kitchen is sizzling with hot restaurants and fresh residential buildings

Hell’s Kitchen via Tdorante10 / Wiki Commons

April 30, 2018

The new Hell’s Kitchen is sizzling with hot restaurants and fresh residential buildings

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

Hell’s Kitchen used to be a no-go zone. It was a gritty section of New York City with dangerous gang warfare and violent streets. Although West Side Story does not have any specific references (aside from its title), the plot, which was based on fractured race relations, was the story of Hell’s Kitchen pre-1990s--minus all the singing and dancing. But Tyler Whitman, a Triplemint broker and a proud Hell’s Kitchen resident, says there is actually quite a bit of singing that still goes on today. The 'hood retains some grit, in a charming New York way, but it is a genuine residential neighborhood in the midst of big changes, as new buildings and businesses spring up every day. But unlike a lot of other up-and-coming neighborhoods, Hell's Kitchen has flown rather under the radar, with many New Yorkers still believing it's an extension of Midtown or a stopover spot for dinner. Ahead, we break down why those in the know are moving to Hell's Kitchen and all the amenities it has to offer for people to stay awhile.
To hell and back!

Events & Things To Do

THE 6SQFT SHOP

The 6 best furniture rental companies in NYC

8 best places in NYC to thrift for home goods

The best websites for buying and selling used furniture in NYC

Everything you need to know about using a guarantor in NYC

15 quintessential NYC gifts for the New Yorker in your life

Raising chickens in NYC: Laws, tips, and everything else you need to know

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

VIEW ALL

Lottery opens for 15 affordable apartments in Riverdale, just across from Van Cortlandt Park

Photo of Van Cortlandt House Museum via mtchlra via photopin cc

April 30, 2018

Lottery opens for 15 affordable apartments in Riverdale, just across from Van Cortlandt Park

If you're looking for a bit of the suburban lifestyle without leaving the boroughs, this affordable housing lottery in the Bronx may be for you. Fifteen apartments at Stagg Group’s Riverdale project The Station (so named for being adjacent to the 1 train station) at 5959 Broadway are up for grabs for New Yorkers earning 80 percent of the area median income. These include 12 $1,292/month one-bedrooms and three $1,458/month two-bedrooms. Just as good as the price is the location; the mixed-use building is directly across from the southeast entrance to Van Cortlandt Park, right near the swimming pool and Van Cortlandt House Museum. And for families, it's also just a couple blocks from the prestigious Horace Mann School and Manhattan College.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

April 30, 2018

For $11.5M, this meticulously renovated historic West Village townhouse has the perfect yard for a picnic

This 1836 Greek Revival townhouse at 150 West 11th Street in the West Village received an extensive renovation that updated the home for modern living but considered every historic detail, using traditional methods and quality materials to the sum of an $11.5 million asking price. In addition to these picture-perfect interiors, the three-bedroom home boasts a yard that incorporates the neighborhood's historic charm.
Explore this historically correct home

Distinctive Homes

Construction is underway at the World Trade Center performing arts center

Rendering by REX

April 30, 2018

Construction is underway at the World Trade Center performing arts center

Construction of the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center is officially moving forward, with the first pieces of the center's structural steel now visible above street level, according to CityRealty. The idea for an arts center at the World Trade Center was included in the original vision for rebuilding the area after Sept. 11, a plan proposed nearly 15 years ago. Designed by REX, the flexible "Mystery Box" will be wrapped in translucent marble, the same material used on the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and laminated with insulated glass. Named for Ronald O. Perelman who gifted $75 million to the project, the center will include 200,000 square feet of space, three halls and a rehearsal space, a restaurant and a gift shop.
More details here

April 30, 2018

See new renderings of ‘Ocean Dreams,’ Coney Island’s wavy Surf Avenue rental towers

New renderings have been revealed showing real estate mogul John Catsimatidis' Coney Island rental project at 3514 Surf Avenue known as Ocean Dreams, shown here courtesy of CityRealty. The American Institute of Architecture (AIA), which is currently taking votes for their People's Choice award in Brooklyn, has included the 425-unit rental complex among the contenders. The building is being developed by Catsimatidis' Red Apple Group. Catsimatidis, who has big dreams indeed for the development, proposed a trolley-like streetcar service to access the Stillwell Avenue subway station, and once said he wanted to make the development look like Miami Beach.
More renderings this way

Two weeks of free art and music kick off in Hudson Yards, giving a first taste of The Shed

Rendering of Prelude to The Shed by NLÉ Works

April 30, 2018

Two weeks of free art and music kick off in Hudson Yards, giving a first taste of The Shed

Starting Tuesday, there will be two free weeks of art and music, as a teaser for the much-anticipated cultural center coming next year to Hudson Yards, The Shed. The festival, "A Prelude to The Shed," will take place on a lot at 10th Avenue and 30th Street, one block from the arts center's future home. Performed on a pavilion outside, the events will feature dancers, musicians and a variety of visual art. Measuring 200,000 square feet, the Shed will open to the public next spring and contain two floors of column-free galleries and an intimate theater.
Find out more

April 30, 2018

Matt Lauer’s no-longer-needed Upper East Side commuter pad sells for $7M

Just weeks after ex-"Today" anchor Matt Lauer’s Upper East Side co-op at 133 East 64th Street hit the market asking $7.35 million, the four-bedroom, 11-room apartment has sold for just upwards of $7 million, the New York Post reports. The disgraced newsman used the apartment as a city home during the week while working at NBC. Lauer’s Sag Harbor home (one of his three Hamptons properties) is also for sale.
Have a look

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): THE LEWIS, THE EAGLE, 83 BUSHWICK PLACE and THE PIERREPONT

April 28, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): THE LEWIS, THE EAGLE, 83 BUSHWICK PLACE and THE PIERREPONT Sleek, Stylish + Modern Rentals at The Lewis Leasing with 2 Months Free [link] The Eagle, Downtown Brooklyn’s 32-Story Rental Tower Offers 2 Months Free [link] East Williamsburg’s 83 Bushwick Place Leasing with 1 Month Free [link] Brooklyn Heights Luxury Rental […]

Real Estate Trends

April 27, 2018

Artist Es Devlin unveils a trippy gallery show inspired by Bjarke Ingels’ twisting High Line towers

Es Devlin with Egg; photo by Nikolas Koenig In a remarkable collaboration, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and artist Es Devlin unveiled on Tuesday a series of multi-sensory installations in response to The Eleventh, a pair of twisting towers rising on a full-block along the High Line. The three immersive encounters are featured at the XI Gallery, a 12,000-square-foot space in the Meatpacking District. Through the lens of Devlin, known for her work with Beyoncé, Adele and Kanye West, the Eleventh, or XI, is seen on a projection-mapped sculpture, a 360-degree film strip and a rotating pair of sculptures. The gallery is the artist's first site-specific art installation in New York. Ziel Feldman, the chair of HFZ Capital, the group developing the project, called the Eleventh a defining moment and "a signature development for Manhattan and a triumph of design, living, culture, and wellness."
See the impressive installations

Architecture And Design

Prospect Park is getting two new entrances; de Blasio’s 2019 budget takes aim at Cuomo

Rendering of Prospect Park’s new Flatbush Avenue entrance, via Prospect Park Alliance (L); Mayor de Blasio via Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

April 27, 2018

Prospect Park is getting two new entrances; de Blasio’s 2019 budget takes aim at Cuomo

By 6sqft

The northeastern perimeter of Prospect Park, at Flatbush Avenue, is getting a $5.6M restoration that includes two new entrances–the first since 1940. [Untapped Cities] Mayor de Blasio revealed his proposed 2019 budget yesterday, and it has an entire category dedicated to “hits from Albany,” including $254 million to “address mismanagement of State-run subways.” [NYC Office of […]

Uncategorized

April 27, 2018

$40.5M penthouse at Renzo Piano’s 565 Broome has a 20-foot-long rooftop pool

Big numbers are the order of the day at the palatial penthouse atop Pritzker Prize-winning Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s first residential building in New York City, 565 Broome Soho. On the market now for $40.5 million, the newly-minted four-bedroom duplex spans 6,655 square feet with a 2,500 square-foot roof terrace. The four-bedroom condo above one of two 30-story glass towers has the kind of jaw-dropping 360-degree views you'd expect. Less expected is the fact that you can experience them from a private heated outdoor rooftop pool.
Take the grand tour

April 27, 2018

The Urban Lens: How Stanley Kubrick’s early photography led to his iconic film career

6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. This week’s installment comes courtesy of a new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, “Through a Different Lens: Stanley Kubrick Photographs.” Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Before he directed films like "A Clockwork Orange," "2001: A Space Odyssey," and "Dr. Strangelove" Stanley Kubrick worked as a staff photographer at LOOK magazine, where he developed a knack at storytelling through street photography. Kubrick "found inspiration in New York's characters and settings, sometimes glamorous, sometimes gritty," all of which is the subject of a new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. “Through a Different Lens: Stanley Kubrick Photographs,” tells the story of how a 17-year-old amateur photographer from the Bronx went on to become one of the most revered directors of the 20th century. The exhibit, on view from May 3rd through October, will display more than 120 photos taken between 1945 and 1950, during Kubrick's time at LOOK, and examine the connections between his photography and film work. Ahead, the exhibit curators share with 6sqft a sneak preview of the photographs and discuss their experience working on the show.
READ MORE

Nation’s largest offshore wind farm proposes Sunset Park factory

Via Wiki Commons

April 27, 2018

Nation’s largest offshore wind farm proposes Sunset Park factory

Move over Chicago, you’re no longer the only windy city - Brooklyn is about to get its own wind. Deepwater Wind, the nation’s leading wind-power developer, intends to build an assembly hub in Sunset Park to support the nation's future largest offshore wind farm 30 miles east of Montauk (h/t Brooklyn Daily Eagle). This project is part of Governor Cuomo’s ambitious “Clean Energy Standard,” which intends to generate 50 percent of the state's electricity supply from renewable sources by 2030. The Brooklyn factory is expected to generate $80 million in economic activity and create hundreds of jobs for the area.
READ MORE

Central Park Boathouse returns this week with a new look, a new menu and a $2.9M makeover

Image: Andrew Batram via Flickr

April 27, 2018

Central Park Boathouse returns this week with a new look, a new menu and a $2.9M makeover

The Central Park Boathouse restaurant has been spruced up with $2.9 million in renovations and upgrades and is perfect-date-ready just in time for outdoor weather. The New York Post reports that the familiar structure near the park's Fifth Avenue entrance at East 72nd Street has gotten much needed capital improvements like more seats (185 instead of 160) a new flood-proof tile floor and insulated glass that keeps the lakefront chill out along with a contemporary new look, new colors and lighting and better sightlines of the Central Park West skyline and rowboats gliding by. Even better, there's more room for customers at the new ADA-compliant bar.
Find out more

58 affordable units up for grabs in historic Queens neighborhood of St. Albans, from $558/month

Image via Sisca

April 27, 2018

58 affordable units up for grabs in historic Queens neighborhood of St. Albans, from $558/month

A lottery launched this week for 58 mixed-income apartments in a newly constructed building in St. Albans, a suburban enclave in western Queens. Located at 118-35 Boulevard, the development sits near the historic district of Addisleigh Park. Although it started as a white-only community, the neighborhood was home to many notable African Americans, including famous jazz musicians, from the 1930s and on. Artists like Count Basie, James Brown, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and even baseball superstars like Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson all have lived in this area. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 50, 60 and 80 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from $558/month one-bedroom to a $1,511/month two-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

M train not running this weekend and other service changes

Photo via Travis Wise/Flickr

April 27, 2018

M train not running this weekend and other service changes

By Hannah Frishberg

While the usual slew of service changes will be impacting straphangers this weekend, there are some silver linings. The D, F, N and R have abandoned their masquerade as one another and once again assumed their usual identities and track routes. Unfortunately, this weekend the M is totally offline, with free shuttle buses and the J train picking up some of the slack. Read on for the rest:
M train riders hopefully don't have any important plans

Transit

New renderings unveiled for Tribeca’s educational, eco-focused park at Pier 26

Rendering via OLIN

April 26, 2018

New renderings unveiled for Tribeca’s educational, eco-focused park at Pier 26

The Hudson River Park Trust and landscape architects OLIN have released a fresh set of renderings of the Pier 26 transformation, a project aimed at turning the Tribeca pier into an ecological park. As Curbed NY learned, a portion of the pier will have a wooden deck, with the western end rising up to 15 feet high in order to look at the wetlands. The pier's eastern side will include a large lawn and an indigenous tree-filled forest. The revamp of Pier 26, projected to cost over $30 million, is scheduled to wrap up in the fall of 2020.
Find out more and see all the renderings

Landmarked William Lescaze House, the first modern residence in NYC, asks $5M

Photos via Leslie J. Garfield

April 26, 2018

Landmarked William Lescaze House, the first modern residence in NYC, asks $5M

New York City's first modern residence, designed by architect William Lescaze, has hit the market for $4.95 million. Swiss-born New Yorker, Lecaze is credited with pioneering the modernism movement in the United States, beginning with a townhome he designed for himself in 1934. Known as the William Lescaze House, the four-story home at 211 East 48th Street served as the architect's personal home and studio. The now-landmarked townhouse was totally restored by Sage Realty, who "painstakingly renovated" the street facade to match its original condition.
Take a tour

Lottery opens for 28 affordable apartments in Alphabet City, from $596/month

Photo via Paul Sableman/Flickr

April 26, 2018

Lottery opens for 28 affordable apartments in Alphabet City, from $596/month

A 110-unit, mixed-use project in Alphabet City is nearing completion, and with that, has just launched its affordable housing lottery for 28 apartments. The mixed-income units are available to those earning 40, 60, and 130 percent of the area median income and range from $596/month studios to $2,519/month two-bedrooms. The 75/25 project at 79 Avenue D offers a terrace, landscaped roof deck, fitness center, lounge, bike room, and, of course, proximity to all the trendy spots in the East Village and Lower East Side.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Bergen Brooklyn

323 Bergen Street

Boerum Hill

World-class design rooted in Brooklyn charm

studios starting at $825,000
1 beds starting at $1,200,000
2 beds starting at $1,925,000
3 beds starting at $3,050,000
4 beds starting at $6,000,000

Learn More

Nearly 900 Section 8 residents in NYC spend more than 80 percent of income on rent

Photo via Pexels

April 26, 2018

Nearly 900 Section 8 residents in NYC spend more than 80 percent of income on rent

Can anyone, at any income level, justify and sustain paying 80+ percent of their income on rent? Obviously not. According to the Housing and Urban Development website, “If a household pays more more than 30 percent of its gross income on rent and utilities it is considered rent-burdened." Despite HUD’s claim, amNY highlighted two NYC renters in Section 8 housing who spend over 80 percent of their income on rent. The housing policies peg their rent to their income. Robert Rodriguez, who has lived in his Upper West Side apartment for 41 years and filed a lawsuit last June against the city, now pays a whopping 86 percent of his income in rent. Adding to the problems, on Wednesday HUD Secretary Ben Carson proposed massive changes, which would triple rent for the poorest households and make it easier for housing authorities to impose work requirements.
Learn more here

April 26, 2018

Where I Work: Inside Stephen Powers’ colorful world of studio art and sign making in Boerum Hill

By James and Karla Murray

6sqft’s series “Where I Work” takes us into the studios, offices, and off-beat workspaces of New Yorkers across the city. In this installment, we’re touring artist Stephen Powers' Boerum Hill studio and sign shop. Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! Walking along Fourth Avenue in Boerum Hill, the storefronts all look pretty similar--pizza shops, laundromats, cute cafes--until you come to the corner of Bergen Street and see the large, colorful collage of signs gracing the side of the little brick building. This is ESPO's Art World, artist Stephen Powers' sign shop. But as you can imagine, this space is much more than that. Powers, who painted graffiti under the name ESPO for much of the '80s and '90s in NYC and Philadelphia, also uses his shop as a retail store and informal gallery where passersby can walk in and peruse his graphic, pop-art-esque, text-heavy work. Stephen recently gave 6sqft a guided tour of his shop and chatted with us about his transition from graffiti to studio art, why he dislikes the term "street art," his love for Brooklyn, and where he sees the art scene heading.
Get a look around and hear from Stephen

April 26, 2018

Victoria’s Secret model Sara Sampaio scores a $3.5M pad in sexy new Steiner East Village condos

By Annie Doge

Victoria's Secret Angel and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Sara Sampaio just bought a $3.51 million condo at 438 East 12th street in the recently-completed Steiner East Village development (h/t New York Post). The 1,604 square-foot three-bedroom unit was last listed for $3.6 million. The neighborhood newcomer (the building, not the model) is known for its designer interiors and luxurious amenities like a teak-ribbed pool, 5,000 square-foot rooftop park and a parking garage.
Take a peek

April 26, 2018

Cost of East Side Access project jumps again, now over $11B

Workers at East Side Access project in 2016 via MTA's Flickr The Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved on Wednesday an amendment to its capital plan that allows for more than $400 million to be invested in the East Side Access, a project that began more than a decade ago. In addition to exceptional construction delays, the project's price tag has jumped dramatically, from early estimates of roughly $2.2 billion to now over $11 billion (h/t NY Times). As a way to reduce crowds at Penn Station, East Side Access will connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal.
Find out more

April 26, 2018

Asking $1.4M, this renovated Castle Village co-op is a candy-colored uptown oasis