6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

"Oculi" is the latest winner of FIGMENT’s City of Dreams competition, an annual design contest challenging architecture and design firms to build a pavilion out of recycled materials to be assembled and displayed on Governor's Island. Last summer, visitors to the island were graced with a pavilion made out of more than 300,000 aluminum cans (the number of cans used in NYC in an hour), melted down and cast into cracked clay. This year, the competition is highlighting metal grain bins. A design by the firm Austin+Mergold, in collaboration with Maria Park (of Cornell University) and consulting engineers Chris Earls and Scott Hughes, will reuse old metal grain bins for a pavilion that establishes a visual connection between urban and rural ways of life.
Read more on the winning proposal

State risks $14M in road and highway funding for keeping flashy ‘I Love NY’ signs

Big blue signs, similar to this one, decorate the sides of New York’s highways; photo via Wikimedia

February 2, 2018

State risks $14M in road and highway funding for keeping flashy ‘I Love NY’ signs

Despite demands from the federal government for over two years to remove the "I Love NY" highway signs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo refused to comply. Now, the state of New York could lose up to $14 million in federal funding for not taking down the more than 500 big blue signs found along the state's highways, considered to be distracting to drivers. According to the New York Times, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) first raised concerns in 2011 when the signs were still an abstract idea. The state installed them anyway.
Find out more

February 2, 2018

The Urban Lens: ‘Once in Harlem’ is a portrait of ’90s New York City

By Hannah Frishberg

6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Katsu Naito shares his 1990s portraits from Harlem. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. In 1983, when Katsu Naito immigrated to America at the age of 18, he spoke barely any English. Growing up in Maebashi, a small city about 90 miles north of Tokyo, he had never heard of Harlem before moving to New York but was drawn to the energy of the neighborhood, quickly realizing he wanted to document it with his camera. Now, more three decades since he first fell in love with Harlem, Naito’s photos of the 'nabe's residents in the early to mid-‘90ss are being published in a book and unintentional time capsule titled “Once in Harlem,” out now from TBW Books. 6sqft chatted with Naito about his journey and what makes Harlem so special to him, and he shared a collection of his amazing images.
See them all here

Empire State Building looking for tenants to fill 50,000 square feet of retail space

Photo via Wikimedia

February 2, 2018

Empire State Building looking for tenants to fill 50,000 square feet of retail space

The landlords of New York City's most iconic skyscraper are looking to fill 50,000 square feet of retail space by 2020, even as brick-and-mortar businesses in Manhattan have struggled to stay open. According to Bloomberg, owners of the Empire State Building are marketing the tower's ground-floor, concourse and second-floor real estate, as the building undergoes a retail renovation for the first time since opening in 1931. Plus, the tower's observatory entrance will be moved from Fifth Avenue to 34th Street.
More this way

Real Estate Trends

Apply for a mixed-income apartment in a glassy new Hudson Yards tower, from $613/month

Photo: CityRealty

February 2, 2018

Apply for a mixed-income apartment in a glassy new Hudson Yards tower, from $613/month

CityRealty recently reported on the progress of the under-construction rental building at 515 West 36th Street, bringing us snapshots of the 39-story Midtown West tower, which topped out over the summer; next to arrive was its sleek glass facade. The mixed-use building will contain 250 rental units upon completion. A lottery launched today for 63 of those units set aside as low- and middle-income studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 60 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from $613/month studios to $2,733/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

6, A, C, and E trains skipping much of lower Manhattan this weekend, and other subway service changes

Photo by Billie Grace Ward / Flickr

February 2, 2018

6, A, C, and E trains skipping much of lower Manhattan this weekend, and other subway service changes

By Hannah Frishberg

The 2 and 3 trains not running between Brooklyn and Manhattan on weekends has become as socially accepted and internalized as the B and Z trains not running on weekends at all. Hopefully, New Yorkers will be able to somehow adjust as easily when the L train shuts down, although it’s not likely. This weekend's service changes hit especially hard in lower Manhattan, where the A, C, E, and 6 trains will all be skipping a number of express stops. Perhaps make weekend plans off a stop which will be serviced, so as to avoid certain misery and commuting woes.
A, C, and E to spring past Spring St

Transit

Live off of bustling Broadway in Bushwick, from $2,726/month

Photo courtesy of CityRealty

February 1, 2018

Live off of bustling Broadway in Bushwick, from $2,726/month

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

A housing lottery launched on Thursday for three middle-income units in the Brooklyn artist enclave of Bushwick. The five-story building at 22 Melrose Street sits just off of Broadway, a busy thoroughfare that offers lots of restaurants, bars and galleries. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for two-bedroom apartments for $2,726/month and just one three-bedroom apartment for $3,143/month.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

How an East Village building went from gangster hangout to Andy Warhol’s Electric Circus

Google Street View of 19-25 St. Mark’s Place today

February 1, 2018

How an East Village building went from gangster hangout to Andy Warhol’s Electric Circus

Fifty years ago this week, the Velvet Underground released their second album, "White Light/White Heat." Their darkest record, it was also arguably the Velvet’s most influential, inspiring a generation of alternative musicians with the noisy, distorted sound with which the band came to be so closely identified. Perhaps the place with which the Velvets have come to be most closely identified is the Electric Circus, the Andy Warhol-run East Village discotheque where they performed as the house band as part of a multi-media experience known as the "Exploding Plastic Inevitable." Many New Yorkers would be surprised to discover that the space the club once occupied at 19-25 St. Mark's Place has since been home to a Chipotle and a Supercuts. But the history of the building that launched the career of the godfathers of punk is full of more twists, turns, and ups and downs than one the Velvet’s extended distorted jams that once reverberated within its walls.
The whole history right here

History

Distinctive Homes

Gilded Age grandeur never left this $14M Park Avenue co-op

For $2.4M, this artfully renovated Williamsburg duplex takes loft living to a new level

This $2.3M Murray Hill co-op offers historic townhouse living without the price, upkeep, and daily stair-climbing

This $2.85M co-op with a magical garden is an elegant Upper East Side escape

This $9.7M Nolita loft is a luxury confection in a former chocolate factory

This 1834 sea captain's home in Connecticut was redesigned as a $6M modern retreat that remembers its roots

This $1.8M Park Slope co-op feels like a townhouse, private deck included

$5.2M 'back to the studs' Williamsburg home has a glass-walled garage, roof deck, courtyard, and heated sidewalks

This extra-wide $8M Park Slope brownstone is a rare find with historic details intact

Asking $26M and $33M, a pair of Tribeca penthouses top a Ralph Walker Art Deco palace

VIEW ALL

February 1, 2018

$749K co-op in Prospect Heights has prewar charm with customized touches

This apartment comes from one of the grand prewar co-op buildings off Eastern Parkway, located in the Prospect Heights Apartment House District and designed to be Brooklyn's alternative to Park Avenue. Located at 135 Eastern Parkway and known as the Turner Towers, the 1926 building holds nearly 200 lovely prewar pads. This one, now on the market for $749,000, is an oversized one- bedroom with beamed ceilings, plaster details, herringbone parquet, the original hardware, and vintage doors. Those classic elements are joined by some more modern, customized touches in storage. The Prospect Heights apartment's grown significantly in value since 2008, when it last sold for $450,000.
See the full space

Distinctive Homes

NYC has the world’s second highest concentration of tall towers

Image: Michael Vadon via Flickr

February 1, 2018

NYC has the world’s second highest concentration of tall towers

In 1962, nine of the world’s tallest buildings were south of 59th Street in Manhattan–and things hadn't changed much by 1981 when five of the tallest towers were concentrated on the same tiny island, which, with Chicago's three, gave the U.S. nine of the world's top 10 tallest skyscrapers. If you added Toronto's entry that made 10. Today, the only U.S. entry the top ten is lower Manhattan's One World Trade Center. This same tiny island though, is still number two in the world when it comes to concentration of tall towers.
Check out the infographic

Uncategorized

Where I Work: Weaving and dying indoor hammocks with Bushwick design collective Pouch

The pouch team, L to R: Textile Designer Taylor McMahon; Fabricator Emma Cook; Design Director Melissa Riling; Founder/CEO/Design Director Robert James Ramirez

February 1, 2018

Where I Work: Weaving and dying indoor hammocks with Bushwick design collective Pouch

By Dana Schulz

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 high-end interior hammock company Pouch's Bushwick studio.Want to see your business featured here? Get in touch! Picture yourself lounging in a hammock. Perhaps you're a kid on summer break in the backyard or on a trip to the islands relaxing on a beach. Wherever this vision takes you, it's that weightless, carefree feeling that probably comes to mind, which is the sensation that Bushwick-based design collective Pouch is trying to recreate inside the home with their handmade hammocks. According to founder and design director Robert Ramirez, the company believes the feeling of being on vacation should be incorporated into everyday life and that their product provides "a moment of retreat and relaxation amid the craze of city life." Working with a group of artisans in El Salvador who employ a traditional Salvadoran weaving technique and a fellow Bushwick company that naturally dyes all the cotton (using materials like tree bark and avocado pits), Robert has taken his family's roots and brought them to what is arguably the maker capital of the country. 6sqft recently visited Pouch's Brooklyn studio to learn more about the company and see how the hammocks are made, step-by-step.
Learn more about Pouch and tour their studio

Drew Barrymore checks out two ritzy co-ops on the Upper East Side

Photo of Drew Barrymore via Wikimedia

February 1, 2018

Drew Barrymore checks out two ritzy co-ops on the Upper East Side

Following a split from her husband in 2016, actress Drew Barrymore is looking for a new abode on the Upper East Side and has been touring apartments on some of the neighborhood's priciest blocks. According to the New York Post, the star scoped out two co-ops priced over $5 million, one at 965 Fifth Avenue and another at 1125 Park Avenue. At the Fifth Avenue digs, she saw a $5.3 million two-bedroom spread with expansive Central Park views. And over on Park, she got a look at a $5.495 million newly renovated pad. Interestingly, both places are a bit, shall we say, mature for what we'd expect from Barrymore.
See them both here

A $2.5B plan will bring an additional 5 million square feet to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Overview of Brooklyn Navy Yard via Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

February 1, 2018

A $2.5B plan will bring an additional 5 million square feet to the Brooklyn Navy Yard

The transformation of the Brooklyn Navy Yard from a warship building site into an industrial tech-hub got an extra boost this week after a non-profit announced a $2.5 billion building plan that would quadruple its current workforce. As Bloomberg first reported, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, which serves as the site's property manager on behalf of the city, plans to add 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing space to the site, with a little over half of it going towards one large complex.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

Aziz Ansari dropped $5.7M on this Tribeca loft right below Taylor Swift

Photo of Aziz Ansari via David Shankbone/Flickr

February 1, 2018

Aziz Ansari dropped $5.7M on this Tribeca loft right below Taylor Swift

Back in May, Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh sold his Tribeca loft at 155 Franklin Street, located directly below Taylor Swift's duplex penthouse in the celeb-studded building, for $5.7 million. Though the buyer's identity was shielded by an LLC, the Post now reports that it was none other than comedian and "Master of None" star Aziz Ansari. They don't disclose their sources, but assuming they're correct, Ansari's new three-bedroom spread boasts nearly 2,500 square feet, brick and timber-beamed ceilings, tons of exposed brick, and massive south- and east-facing windows.
Take the tour

February 1, 2018

Jemima Kirke is selling her luxuriously bohemian Carroll Gardens townhouse for $4.5M

"Girls" star and rock royalty Jemima Kirke has just listed her boho-chic Brooklyn brownstone, according to WWD. The 19th-century townhouse at 408 Clinton Street in photogenic Carroll Gardens has been restored and decor-ed to luxurious hippie-glam perfection by popular architect Richard H. Lewis and now seeks a buyer for $4.5 million.
Take the tour

Jon Bon Jovi sells West Village duplex for $16M

Photo of Bon Jovi via Wikimedia

January 31, 2018

Jon Bon Jovi sells West Village duplex for $16M

For $15.995 million, Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi has finally sold his duplex apartment at 150 Charles Street, a celebrity haven in the West Village. But the "Livin' on a Prayer" singer isn't moving too far away; he recently bought a nearly $19 million apartment in the Greenwich Lane, a condominium project that stretches almost a full city block between 12th and 11th Streets off Seventh Avenue. While Bon Jovi attempted to sell the duplex as a $29.5 million combo unit with a neighboring duplex this summer, the apartment went into contract alone, for $15.995 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Check it out

January 31, 2018

Fresh renderings revealed of 99 Hudson Street, the soon-to-be tallest building in New Jersey

When construction of 99 Hudson Street wraps up in Jersey City next year, the 889-foot condominium tower will become the tallest building in all of New Jersey. While that title alone is impressive, new renderings of the Perkins Eastman-designed tower show an equally profound modern interior with a swath of amenities (h/t Curbed NY). Developed by China Overseas America, 99 Hudson will rise 79 stories and contain 781 units, while boasting 15,000 square feet of retail space and 14,000 square feet of public space.
See inside

Real Estate Trends

Know of something cool happening in New York? Let us know:

Staten Island is getting a massive rooftop farm; Waterline Square’s tallest tower gets glassed

Brooklyn Grange via Wiki Commons (L); Construction at Waterline Square via CityRealty

January 31, 2018

Staten Island is getting a massive rooftop farm; Waterline Square’s tallest tower gets glassed

By 6sqft

Brooklyn Grange is opening a 40,000-square-foot organic rooftop farm in Staten Island. [Untapped Cities] Ikea is experimenting with renting out and buying back their own furniture. [Curbed] The fascinating and tragic history of the Wythe Hotel. [Greenpointers] KPF’s Two Waterline Square, which will be the complex’s largest tower, is starting to get its reflective blue skin. [CityRealty] […]

Uncategorized

The scrapped plan to build a 77th Street bridge over the East River to Queens

Courtesy of the NYPL

January 31, 2018

The scrapped plan to build a 77th Street bridge over the East River to Queens

At one point in New York history, it looked very likely that the city would get a brand new bridge across the East River between Manhattan and Queens by way of Blackwell’s (now Roosevelt) Island. This was back in the 1870s, as the Brooklyn Bridge began rising to the south. According to Ephemeral New York, this would have been the second bridge to link Manhattan to Long Island, and plans were just getting off the ground. Though an 1877 newspaper article got the location of the bridge wrong--as it wasn't going to Brooklyn--it explained that the proposal process was moving right along: "The projectors of this proposed bridge over the East River, between New York and Brooklyn at 77th Street, by way of Blackwell’s Island, have, in response to the invitation sent out, received ten separate designs and estimates from as many engineers," it said. "Ground will be broken as soon as a plan shall be decided on."
Here's why it never happened

Ali Wentworth and George Stephanopoulos are selling their Southampton estate for $6M

Photo of Ali Wentworth via Wikimedia; photo of George Stephanopoulos via Disney/ABC’s Flickr

January 31, 2018

Ali Wentworth and George Stephanopoulos are selling their Southampton estate for $6M

Actress Ali Wentworth and her husband George Stephanopoulos, a political reporter and co-anchor of Good Morning America, have listed their impressive, gated estate in Southampton for $5.995 million. The home at 5 Cameron Way sits on over an acre of land just off Hill Street. According to Curbed Hamptons, the power couple first purchased the sprawling estate for $4.5 million in 2013. A year later, they also picked up a Lennox Hill co-op for $2.2 million.
Take a peek

INTERVIEW: Flank Development’s Mick Walsdorf on bringing timber construction back to NYC

360 Wythe Avenue, courtesy 320 and 360 Wythe/Flank

January 31, 2018

INTERVIEW: Flank Development’s Mick Walsdorf on bringing timber construction back to NYC

Last November, news broke that Manhattan-based firm Flank Architecture + Development would construct two mid-rise office and retail buildings made of timber in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the first to be built in New York in over a century. Located at 320 and 360 Wythe Avenues, they are currently rising three and five stories, constructed from raw Canadian wood, which will be engineered into nail-laminated timber panels. The timber structure will rise above the concrete foundation, then it'll be covered by a brick facade. Flank co-founder Mick Walsdorf has said the ambitious project "will expand the limits of traditional construction and usher in a new era of sustainability-minded building practices." The firm has grown significantly since Walsdorf and Jon Kully were studying together at Columbia's Graduate School for Architecture, envisioning the possibilities of a joint architecture and development firm. Since then Flank has tackled the development and design of residential and commercial projects across the city, from The Boerum condominium in Brooklyn to the condo conversion at 40 Walker Street in Tribeca. With 6sqft, Mick discusses the history of the firm and the benefits of tackling both the architecture and development side of a project in New York City. He also gets into detail about why Flank decided to take on timber construction, and how construction is expected to unroll this year.
Keep reading for the full interview

Whole Foods Market’s first 365 store on the East Coast opens in Fort Greene

Rendering of entrance via Two Trees Management

January 31, 2018

Whole Foods Market’s first 365 store on the East Coast opens in Fort Greene

Whole Foods Market 365 opened its first East Coast location in Fort Greene on Wednesday, further cementing Downtown Brooklyn as a burgeoning commercial hub. The 30,000-square-foot store is located in Two Trees' 300 Ashland Place, a mixed-use development with 379 amenity-rich rentals above it. As the seventh 365 location in the country, the lower-priced grocery store will offer high-quality products free of artificial flavors, sweeteners and preservatives.
Get the details

New Developments

January 31, 2018

Live in ‘Imperial’ style next door to the Carlyle on the Upper East Side for $1.65M

When modern renovations happen to grand pre-war homes on the Upper East Side, the result is often predictable at best, or over-the-top and garish. This lofty two-bedroom co-op at 55 East 76th Street in an 1883 Neo-Grec brownstone known as the Imperial is definitely an exception. Acclaimed contemporary architect Louise Braverman was able to combine the sleekness of a modern loft and the elegance of pre-war architecture seamlessly in this unique home in a classic uptown setting. The co-op is asking $1.65 million with the opportunity to combine it with unit #12 at $3.63M for the pair.
See more of this elegant apartment

Distinctive Homes

January 30, 2018

Affordable senior housing development is the first building to open at Essex Crossing

By Dana Schulz

Nine months after the housing lottery launched at Dattner Architects' 175 Delancey Street, a 100 percent affordable building for seniors at the Lower East Side's Essex Crossing, Mayor de Blasio has announced that the development is officially open. Not only does this mark the first opening for the nine buildings rising at the 1.9 million-square-foot mega-development, but the ceremony held earlier today included the "emotional homecoming of six New Yorkers displaced from their homes 50 years ago" when the area's working-class tenement district was razed under a Moses-era urban renewal initiative. Since that time, debates over what to do with the vacant area raged on, with local residents and affordable housing advocates such as Frances Goldin advocating that it be used for low-income housing. To mark these efforts, and their ultimate success, 175 Delancey Street was named the Frances Goldin Senior Apartments.
Find out more here

Proposed congestion pricing in Manhattan would have little impact on commuters, study says

Photo via joiseyshowaa on Flickr

January 30, 2018

Proposed congestion pricing in Manhattan would have little impact on commuters, study says

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo's task force, Fix NYC, released its congestion pricing plan last week, critics were quick to say the fees would most burden commuters who live outside the city and drive into Manhattan for work. However, a new report from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign found that less than 4 percent of residents in most districts commute by car into proposed congestion zones. In their report, the transportation research group analyzed the community patterns by looking at state Senate and Assembly districts; they found that a majority of commuters rely on mass transit, rather than cars, to commute.
More here

RPA report calls for more affordable housing in wealthy, job-rich NYC neighborhoods

Map courtesy of RPA

January 30, 2018

RPA report calls for more affordable housing in wealthy, job-rich NYC neighborhoods

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

To solve New York City's housing and homelessness crisis, more affordable housing should be built in high-rise neighborhoods which have the infrastructure and amenities to support it, the Regional Plan Association (RPA) said in a report released Monday. In order to build more developments in areas of all incomes, RPA says a 67-year-old state law that prohibits residential buildings larger than 12 times their lot size needs to be repealed. Passed by the state in 1961, the law caps residential floor area ratio (FAR) at 12.0. The report calls for lifting the cap to give communities more of a voice in the creation of mixed-income housing, as well as allow for expensive neighborhoods to diversify and expand affordability.
Find out more

THE 6SQFT SHOP

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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

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15 quintessential NYC gifts for the New Yorker in your life

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

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

10 best plants for apartment dwellers

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January 30, 2018

Cozy $625K Park Slope co-op has an air of royalty about it

This top-floor one-bedroom at 781 Union Street in prime north Park Slope may be a walk-up but its aspirations transcend the pedestrian. Perched atop a townhouse co-op, the light-filled apartment has seen a recent renovation within its pre-war pedigree and offers options and plenty of living space.
Have a look

Distinctive Homes

A guide to operating a legal home business in New York City

Image via Pexels

January 30, 2018

A guide to operating a legal home business in New York City

By Cait Etherington

Whether you’re baking pies for sale, taking care of children and pets, or setting up an apiary on the roof of your loft with hopes of selling your own honey at a local farmer’s market, running a home business in New York City is a complex affair. There are many circumstances under which home businesses are legal, but don’t take anything for granted. There are myriad city and state regulations to navigate. If you’re caught running an illegal home business or simply a business that is not fully in compliance, you may find yourself without a source of income, facing eviction, and owing high fines.
Everything you need to know about operating a home business in NYC

Report: Airbnb listings removed up to 13,500 long-term rentals in NYC over past three years

Photo courtesy of Airbnb

January 30, 2018

Report: Airbnb listings removed up to 13,500 long-term rentals in NYC over past three years

Airbnb is responsible for the loss of between 7,000 and 13,500 long-term rental units in New York City while increasing the median long-term rent in the city by $380 a year, says a new report from McGill University. The study, commissioned by the union Hotel Trades Council, also found 87 percent of entire-home reservations are considered illegal under state law (h/t Politico NY). Mayor Bill de Blasio last year announced his plan to expand the city's Office of Special Enforcement to crack down on illegal short-term rentals; it is illegal for NYC landlords to rent entire apartments for fewer than 30 days.
More this way

January 30, 2018

In Prospect Park South, a freestanding Victorian lined with stained glass lists for $3.25M

Prospect Park South is a neighborhood dominated by historic, freestanding homes, transporting you to a suburbia of New York City. One of those stunning homes at 171 Marlborough Road has just hit the market for $3.25 million. Some locals may know this home as the local Poulet Palace--the backyard's big enough to run a chicken coop. But a peek inside reveals impressive architectural details that include millwork, trims, moldings, columns and decorative balusters. The restored leaded and stained glass is the showpiece of the home, with a unique arched passageway from the dining room to the magical rear porch.
See the rest

Distinctive Homes

Union Square tech hubbub heats up ahead of public review date with mayor’s latest rezoning bid

Rendering via NYCEDC

January 30, 2018

Union Square tech hubbub heats up ahead of public review date with mayor’s latest rezoning bid

In what may be shaping up to be one of New York City's biggest preservation battles of the coming year, Mayor Bill de Blasio's application Monday for a rezoning in order to move forward with a proposed tech hub at 124 East 14th Street in Union Square led neighborhood preservation and affordable housing groups to escalate cries of protest. Community organizations, including the Cooper Square Committee and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), restated the urgent need for assurance that rezoning would come with protections for the adjacent residential neighborhood. Preservationists fear the creation of a new "Silicon Alley" near Union Square will bring rent hikes and more condo and office towers. The proposed tech center, which the mayor hopes will nurture budding entrepreneurs in the technology field and bring over 600 jobs to New Yorkers, is planned at the site of a P.C. Richard & Son store, in an area already filled with new developments with more on the way.
Find out more

Three chances to live in a new building on the Williamsburg-Bushwick border for $2,253/month

Photo via CityRealty

January 30, 2018

Three chances to live in a new building on the Williamsburg-Bushwick border for $2,253/month

Applications are now being accepted for three newly constructed middle-income units at 126 Boerum Street, located in the trendy area of East Williamsburg, just off the Bushwick border. The brand new rental offers an on-site laundry room and central air. Just steps to the L-train at Montrose and the J/M at Lorimer, the apartment building sits near lots of coffee shops, restaurants, and bars. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for three one-bedroom apartments for $2,253/month.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s former Hamptons rental is listed for $16M

Photo of Jay-Z via Joella Marano’s Flickr; photo of Beyoncé via Wikimedia

January 29, 2018

Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s former Hamptons rental is listed for $16M

A star-studded mansion in the Hamptons described as the embodiment of a "Gatsby era estate," has hit the market for $15.99 million. While many celebrities have partied at this sprawling eight bedroom, 11.5 bathroom pad, Beyoncé and Jay-Z might rank as the home's most famous renters. The celebrity duo rented the mansion at 30 Wainscott Stone Highway, called "Goose Creek," in 2012, paying $400,000 to spend the month of August there and film a music video. According to Mansion Global, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna have also rented the home at one point.
See inside

Newport’s master plan ambitions: Diversity and development at LeFrak’s Jersey City community

Rendering of Newport’s new Park and Shore development

January 29, 2018

Newport’s master plan ambitions: Diversity and development at LeFrak’s Jersey City community

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

The mention of Newport conjures up images of yacht-filled harbors, gorgeous mansions, and beautiful beaches. But there is another Newport much closer to downtown Manhattan than Rhode Island and, amazingly, it also has yacht-filled harbors, beautiful residences, a beach, and unparalleled waterfront views. A 600-acre, master-planned community that began almost 35 years ago by the LeFrak family, Newport, Jersey City is now hitting its stride. With sleek architecture, 15,000 residents, 20,000 professionals, a growing mix of retail and commercial options, and a location minutes from midtown and downtown Manhattan, Newport offers some appealing alternatives to those priced out of New York City or others looking for a slightly quieter option. The area boasts its diversity, but with a single family in charge of development and a skyline that looks more like Manhattan than Jersey City, is Newport just Manhattan-lite or does it truly have diversity with offerings for everyone?
Get the whole scoop

Real Estate Trends

January 29, 2018

$8.5K/month Chelsea duplex has a sweet roof deck and plenty of character

Right from the beginning you'll feel fortunate–if you can swing the $8,495 a month rent–living in this charming townhouse condominium at 360 West 19th Street: You'll only have one neighbor, as the building only contains two units. Two sun-filled upper floors hold the standard townhouse bounty of three bedrooms above a spacious living area, plus a private roof deck, all on a pretty Chelsea block.
Tour the duplex

January 29, 2018

New renderings revealed for Union Square’s Tammany Hall redevelopment by BKSK

The makeover of the landmarked Tammany Hall at 44 Union Square East, formerly home to the Democratic party machine that dominated New York City politics for years, continues to progress, with recently released renderings showcasing a bright, unique office and retail space. As CityRealty learned, there will be multiple retail scenarios on the building's first three floors, with three levels of office space, most likely for finance or TAMI companies, above. Designed by BKSK Architects, the top floor will feature the glistening, shell-like glass dome, allowing an abundance of natural light in, as well as spectacular Union Square views.
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Two new Grand Street Guild towers will bring 400 all-affordable units to the Lower East Side

Proposed site; Image via Google Maps.

January 29, 2018

Two new Grand Street Guild towers will bring 400 all-affordable units to the Lower East Side

Housing organization Grand Street Guild has announced plans to build two 15-story towers as part of a 100 percent affordable housing project that will bring 400 new apartments–including over 150 reserved for seniors–to the Lower East Side. The not-for-profit group, which was formed by the Archdiocese of New York, is the owner of the 26-story Grand Street Guild towers, built in 1973 and home to over 1,500 residents, that surround St. Mary's Church on Grand Street. According to The Lo-Down, one of the proposed sites for the new towers is the corner of Broome and Clinton streets (now a parking garage) and another is 151 Broome Street, currently housing the Little Star Daycare Center.
Find out more

To fund MTA projects, Cuomo calls for a tax increase on properties near the subway

Second Avenue Subway station, courtesy of Governor Cuomo’s Flickr

January 29, 2018

To fund MTA projects, Cuomo calls for a tax increase on properties near the subway

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed FY 2019 budget, released earlier this month, calls on New York City to increase its funding to the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority, forcing the city to pay half of the authority's $836 million emergency action plan. Another provision in the governor's proposal allows the MTA to create special "transit improvement" districts and impose higher taxes on property owners in these areas in order to raise money for subway repairs and projects. According to the New York Times, the governor's plan, known as "value capture," would apply to future projects that would cost over $100 million. Like most issues involving both state and city cooperation, this proposal has continued the rift over MTA funding between the governor and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has already expressed disapproval of the plan.
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Bruce Willis sells $18M Central Park West co-op in just one week

Photo of Bruce Willis via Wikimedia

January 29, 2018

Bruce Willis sells $18M Central Park West co-op in just one week

Just a little over a week ago, Bruce Willis and wife Emma Heming Willis put their six-bedroom co-op at 271 Central Park West on the market for $17.75 million. They bought the duplex apartment back in 2015 for $17 million (from Milwaukee Bucks owner Wesley Edens), after Willis unloaded his nearby El Dorado co-op for $13 million. The couple recently decided to scale back since they don't spend enough time in the Upper West Side spread, and lucky for them the unit is already in contract, according to Curbed.
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Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe’s one-time Clinton Hill townhouse is $8,000/month

Photo fo Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe via Rena Silverman/Flickr

January 29, 2018

Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe’s one-time Clinton Hill townhouse is $8,000/month

The second floor of this Clinton Hill townhouse at 160 Hall Street once housed punk legend Patti Smith and her then-boyfriend, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The year was 1967, and the rent was $80 a month. As the New York Post points out, that translates roughly to about $600 a month today. Now, the completely renovated townhouse dating back to 1901 is on the market for a whopping $8,000 a month. And it's far from "aggressively seedy" as Smith once described it.
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MTA plans wonky routes for D and 4 trains, and more weekend service updates

Photo by Giuseppe Milo / Flickr

January 26, 2018

MTA plans wonky routes for D and 4 trains, and more weekend service updates

By Hannah Frishberg

Photo by Giuseppe Milo / Flickr This weekend, 1, G, Q, and L riders are in luck: trains will operate as usual (so, expect issues, but no scheduled ones). All other straphangers, especially those on the D and 4 trains: brace for service changes. Prepare both mind and schedules by debriefing with the below:
Subway foresight makes for a better weekend

Transit

MTA wants some Twitter love; Hosting the Grammys in NYC costs $8M more than LA

No love here, via Dan Phiffer/Flickr

January 26, 2018

MTA wants some Twitter love; Hosting the Grammys in NYC costs $8M more than LA

By 6sqft

MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota says the Freedom Ticket, which provides riders a seamless and slightly cheaper transfer between the Long Island Railroad and the city’s bus and subway system, will launch this year. [amNY] He also wants the MTA’s Twitter feeds to “be a little bit more positive than they are.” [NYDN] It’s costing $6 million to […]

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January 26, 2018

Real estate bigwig drops $4.35M on Seth Meyers’ West Village condo

Real estate bigwig Michael Fuchs (he co-founded RFR Realty with his childhood friend Aby Rosen) paid $4.35 million for Seth Meyers' West Village condo at 302 West 12th Street, according to the Post. The “Late Night” host and his wife Alexi Ashe bought the two-bedroom unit in 2013 for $3.5 million, but after dropping $7.5 million on a five-bedroom Washington Square West co-op in summer 2016, they listed their smaller pad this past September for $4.5 million. And Fuchs must've really seen something in the apartment, because he went into contract on it just a month later.
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January 26, 2018

The Eleventh, Bjarke Ingels’ pair of twisting towers, takes shape along the High Line

The Eleventh, a pair of slanted towers designed by Bjarke Ingels', officially went vertical in West Chelsea this week. Developed by HFZ Capital, the two-building complex at 76 Eleventh Avenue sits near the High Line between West 18th and 17th Streets. A space between the buildings at their base gives the illusion that the buildings are being pulled apart, and its ruled corners highlight the towers' movement. The project is expected to be completed sometime in 2019.
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January 26, 2018

$9M Upper East Side duplex is dressed up like a Park Avenue socialite

Besides being an architectural gem, designed by William Alciphron Boring and completed in 1911, 521 Park Avenue is the rare classic pre-war Upper East Side building that's also a condominium (it was converted in 1987). This sprawling duplex is the result of a high-floor two-unit combo. The resulting 3,000+ square-foot corner apartment has as much space and impressive pre-war detail as you'd expect from an address like this one.
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Distinctive Homes

How the Manhattan neighborhood of Turtle Bay got its name

Turtle Bay and Blackwell’s Island around 1840 at the foot of what now is 49th Street, courtesy the Turtle Bay Association

January 26, 2018

How the Manhattan neighborhood of Turtle Bay got its name

The Manhattan neighborhood of Turtle Bay, a stretch of Midtown East that holds everything from skyscrapers to brownstones, has a history dating back to 1639. Modern-day New Yorkers might envision the area got its name from "hundreds of turtles sunning themselves on the rocks along the East River between 45th and 48th Streets," as Ephemeral New York puts it. Back then, that's where an actual bay was once located in Colonial-era Manhattan, surrounded by meadows, hills and a stream that emptied at the foot of today’s 47th Street. Some historians do think actual turtles lent to the neighborhood name, as they were plentiful in Manhattan at the time and were commonly dined on. But another reading of history suggests otherwise.
The name may have been a mistake

History

Six things you didn’t know about the Prospect Heights Apartment House District

Photo courtesy of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council

January 26, 2018

Six things you didn’t know about the Prospect Heights Apartment House District

By Historic Districts Council

This post is part of a series by the Historic Districts Council, exploring the groups selected for their Six to Celebrate program, New York’s only targeted citywide list of preservation priorities. Constructed on a lost fragment of the original footprint of Prospect Park, the Prospect Heights Apartment House District is a concentration of 82 apartment buildings dating from 1909-1929. This development was promoted by the Prospect Park Commissioners to attract high-quality construction to complement the nearby Park, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Public Library. The buildings, representative of a period in Brooklyn history when building patterns shifted to accommodate a rising middle class, remain exemplary for their architectural integrity and as housing stock for a diverse population. As one of this year's Six to Celebrate recipients, the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and the Cultural Row Block Association on Eastern Parkway are working to garner local support and submit a proposal for historic district status from the LPC.
Find out six little-known facts about this handsome district

History

City selects de Blasio donors to build pair of towers on NYCHA property in Boerum Hill

Rendering of 120 3rd Avenue via Aufgang Architects

January 26, 2018

City selects de Blasio donors to build pair of towers on NYCHA property in Boerum Hill

The city announced on Thursday their selection of two developers, Arker Companies and Two Trees Management, to build two 16-story apartment towers on parking lots at Wyckoff Gardens, a New York City Housing Authority property in Brooklyn. However, according to the Daily News, the owners of both companies have raised a total of $124,600 for Mayor Bill de Blasio, bringing into question the influence of donations on the city's choice of the two developers.
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January 26, 2018

For $75M, you can have your own mega-mansion in the Meatpacking District