6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

It's rare to own a home in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, but here's two just outside of NYC in Westchester County. Brownstoner showcased the homes, both designed with Wright’s "Usonian" ideals in mind--affordable homes integrated skillfully with the landscape. The first, in Pleasantville, is known originally as the Silson house and was designed in 1951 by architect Kaneji Domoto, a Wright student. It's located within the actual Wright-planned community now known as the Usonia Historic District and asking $1.2 million. The second is a home designed by architect David Henken, another Wright disciple. Located in Dobb’s Ferry, with the same seamless connection to nature, it is listed for $1.049 million.
See photos of both properties

June 9, 2017

Proposed state Senate bill would ban brokers from using ‘SoHa’ in listings

As real estate developers and brokers continue rebranding neighborhoods with new nicknames, some community members fear this gentrifies and strips the history away from their nabes. Like NoLo (SoHo + Nolita + Lower East Side) and DoBro (Downtown Brooklyn) before it, SoHa, the new branding moniker for South Harlem, has been met with resistance from residents. According to Crain’s, newly elected state Senator Brian Benjamin, a native of Harlem, talked with so many residents that opposed the term SoHa, he has introduced a bill banning people, specifically brokers, from using the nickname as a marketing tool.
Find out more

20 years ago, Mother Teresa lobbied New York’s mayor for a parking permit

Photo via Ed Reed/City of New York

June 9, 2017

20 years ago, Mother Teresa lobbied New York’s mayor for a parking permit

Photo via Ed Reed/City of New York In June of 1997, an unlikely meeting of Mother Teresa and then Mayor Rudy Giuliani took place--and it was over the ever frustrating matter of New York parking. She had come to the city for a surprise visit to spend time with the South Bronx branch of her organization, Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa, then 86, would die just a few months later, but during this visit, her charity work wasn't what she wanted to discuss with the mayor. Instead, she came to him with a very New York request: picking up a few extra parking permits for her nuns.
The mayor couldn't turn her down

History

June 9, 2017

The Urban Lens: Kalliope Amorphous captures the faces of the Upper West Side

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, creative and conceptual photographer Kalliope Amorphous shares her series "Upper West Side Story." Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. "I'm always chasing after something nostalgic and timeless," says Kalliope Amorphous, which is why her long-time home on the Upper West Side was the perfect setting for a portrait study. "There's a strong sense of community here and it feels more like a neighborhood in the classic and old-fashioned sense," the self-taught photographer explains. In this black-and-white series, Kalliope captures the many faces of one of the city's most historic areas, exploring its long-standing energy and evolving residents, as well as her favorite themes of identity, mortality, time, and consciousness.
See the series here

June 9, 2017

Kelsey Grammer’s Chelsea condo in contract for nearly $8M

Nearly a year after first hitting the market for $9.75 million, Kelsey Grammer's condo at Jean Nouvel's glassy 100 Eleventh Avenue in west Chelsea has gone into contract, reports the Wall Street Journal. But despite the fact that that the listing showcased his piano from the set of "Frasier" and the impressive 100 feet of massive windows providing Hudson River and skyline views, the selling price came in at just under $8 million (the price was reduced to $8.95 million in March).
Check it out

June 9, 2017

Dramatic Sutton deco duplex that belonged to Sen. Jacob Javits asks $5.2M

New York City's classic pre-war co-ops are in an elegant class by themselves, with beamed high ceilings, big casement windows, entry halls and galleries, maid's rooms and gracious spaces in general. The more interesting among them tend to be those in which the customized luxury of their longtime residents has been preserved. Such is case with this spacious duplex at 322 East 57th Street in Sutton Place (where you'll find a lot of preserved customized luxury). The listing describes the three-bedroom deco-era co-op, listed for $5.195 million, as "exquisite, dramatic and unique." Designed in 1933 by renowned architect Joseph Urban, the 3,300 square-foot apartment was for 40 years the home of the late Senator Jacob Javits and his wife, Marian, who died earlier this year. And while it's likely that there are many updates to be made, there are also many surprising details that have returned with today's trends.
Check out the glass cube

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

Images (L to R): The Ellipse, 1007 Atlantic Avenue, 33 Bond Street and 70 Pine Street

June 9, 2017

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

By Emrys Fitzgerald

Live in One of the World’s Most Iconic Skyscrapers: New Leases at 70 Pine Street Include 1 Month Free [link] Downtown Brooklyn’s Topped-Out Tower with New Subway Entrance Nears Completion; See the Photos [link] Clinton Hill’s 1007 Atlantic Avenue Launches Leasing; 1-Beds from $2,215/Month [link] Model Units Unveiled at Ellipse, Jersey City’s New Waterfront High […]

Real Estate Trends

June 8, 2017

Sculptor Richard Serra drops $7M on Tribeca loft, now owns entire building

When this sprawling, full-floor Tribeca loft at 173 Duane Street first hit the market for $7.95 million at the beginning of the year, 6sqft wasn't the least bit surprised at its strikingly creative interiors, considering it was owned by artist Merrill Steiger. As we noted, it's the same building where prolific sculptor Richard Serra has lived and worked since the 1990s. At various points, he and his wife Clara have purchased the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the early 20th-century cast-iron building, most recently paying just under $4 million for the third floor in 2011. This left only the second floor out of their hands, but LL NYC reports that Serra has just coughed up $7 million for Steiger's unit, giving him ownership of the entire building.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

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

This $2.6M Brooklyn townhouse puts a designer's touch into a compact historic frame

$15M townhouse-sized Fifth Avenue maisonette was a billionaire's pied-à-terre

Village penthouse with rooftop 'country cottage' is for sale, asking $10.5M

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

For $775K, residents of this renovated Bed-Stuy loft get a rooftop gym and terrace with city views

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

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

This $8M Rye estate has a private dock on the Long Island Sound

VIEW ALL

June 8, 2017

Former Hamptons cottage of late New York Times editor Arthur Gelb asks $2.8M

The former Water Mill home of New York Times managing editor, the late Arthur Gelb, is for sale at an asking price of $2.77 million, according to the Post. Swiss writer Rose-Marie Bordihn bought the Hamptons cottage in 2007 for $2 million. The recently restored 2,550-square-foot home boasts an acre of land, five bedrooms, and views of a pond--the perfect summer beach house.
See inside the cottage

Distinctive Homes

June 8, 2017

$1.3M for a sleek two bedroom with a custom designed backyard in Park Slope

This two-bedroom apartment comes with a few nice perks: a private landscaped garden as well as a finished, 350-square-foot basement. It's located on the first floor and lower level of 456 15th Street, a brick cooperative in Park Slope. The last recorded sale was in 2008 for $845,000, now it has hit the market post renovation with a $1.295 million price tag. The interior is now sleek and modernized, offset with exposed wooden beams and original brick details in the lower level bonus space. The custom-designed backyard was totally decked out to match the modern interior of the apartment.
So take a look

Distinctive Homes

De Blasio denies funding half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers

Image by Ged Carroll via flickr CC

June 8, 2017

De Blasio denies funding half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers

Despite months of lobbying efforts by transit advocates and public officials, Mayor de Blasio declined to fund a $50 million program for half-price MetroCards for low-income riders. The mayor has previously said the city could not afford the pilot program, and also shifted the responsibility for funding the program to the state, since Governor Cuomo oversees the MTA. As the Gothamist reported, a study released by the Community Service Society of New York and the Riders Alliance, the NYPD arrested 5,137 New Yorkers for fare evasion between January and mid-March of this year, 90 percent of whom were black or Latino.
Find out more

New details revealed for Upper West Side’s starchitect-studded Waterline Square

L to R: One Waterline Square by Richard Meier, Two Waterline Square by KPF, and Three Waterline Square by Rafael Vinoly

June 8, 2017

New details revealed for Upper West Side’s starchitect-studded Waterline Square

As 6sqft previously reported, the three buildings that comprise the Upper West Side's Waterline Square are rapidly rising from a five-acre site overlooking the Hudson River. For the neighborhood's most exciting and ambitious project in decades, a group of the architecture and design world's most celebrated names was chosen by GID Development Group to create the master plan, with Richard Meier and Partners, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and Rafael Viñoly Architects each designing a residential tower. We've been graced with leaked renderings of what's to come on several occasions; now, the project's dream team has lifted the curtain on a comprehensive website that reveals so-far unseen renderings of the towers and their interiors, the 100,000 square feet of amenity space that will be shared between them and the three-acre park designed by Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects.
See the latest renderings

June 8, 2017

Art Nerd NY’s top art, architecture, and design event picks – 6/8-6/14

By Lori Zimmer

Art Nerd New York founder Lori Zimmer shares her top art, design and architecture event picks for 6sqft readers! This week we wish a very happy birthday to architectural genius Frank Lloyd Wright. Celebrate the event with admission to the Wright-designed Guggenheim for just $1.50! The Transit Museum is also celebrating with 100 years, and the Welling Court Mural Festival celebrates eight! Experience the Philip Johnson Glass House in a whole new way during its summer soiree party, or grab a blanket for The Met Opera’s first free outdoor concert. The River to River Festival kicks off free programming with a performance by The Dance Cartel, and Quiet Lunch Magazine drops another issue with a party. Finally, immerse yourself in an arty evening with Chashama’s gala at the old Vogue offices.
Details on these events and more this way

June 8, 2017

Diane Kruger snags eco-friendly loft in Tribeca for $4.2M

Actress Diane Kruger, who recently took home the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival last month, just scored a chic two-bedroom unit in Tribeca for $4.2 million. The building, built in 1869, includes six units and features amenities like an on-site fitness center and a residential lounge with greenery. As reported by the New York Post, Kruger’s pad spans 1,943 square feet and has 11-foot high ceilings. Last month, the actress sold her apartment in the East Village for $1.1 million, higher than its $985,000 listing price, following a 12-offer bidding war.
See inside the chic loft

June 8, 2017

Clever use of space is key in this fully customized $450K Gramercy studio

If you're looking for a (Manhattan) budget-friendly studio in a neighborhood like Gramercy Park, chances are you'll be seeing lots of tiny spaces. But we've seen some genius ways to turn a tiny apartment into a great place to live, and this studio co-op at 22 Irving Place (where everyone's favorite downtown Manhattan neighborhoods merge) showcases some fine examples. Outfitted with custom cabinetry that often does double duty and also looks great, this diminutive dwelling packs storage and modern amenities into a bright and cheerful home with treetop views overlooking a private garden.
See more of this clever studio

Distinctive Homes

June 8, 2017

10 things you never knew about Frank Lloyd Wright

Considering today would have been Frank Lloyd Wright's 150th birthday, you'd think we all know everything there is to know about the prolific architect. But the wildly creative, often stubborn, and always meticulous Wright was also quite mysterious, leaving behind a legacy full of oddities and little-known stories. In honor of the big day, 6sqft has rounded up the top 10 things you likely never knew about him, including the mere three hours it took him to design one of his most famous buildings, the world-famous toy that his son designed, his secondary career, and a couple present-day ways his work lives on.
Everything you never knew about FLW

June 7, 2017

The lost plan to connect Brooklyn to Staten Island with a ‘boulevard under the sea’

Back when New York City planners were dreaming of building new tunnels and bridges, they set their sights toward Staten Island. It was the turn of the 18th century and the city was in the midst of a Brooklyn boom following the debut of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. In 1909, the Manhattan Bridge opened to accommodate the growth of Brooklyn residents who needed ways to get in and out of the newly-developed borough. So the city started thinking about Staten Island. Today, of course, the two boroughs are connected by the Verrazano Bridge. But according to Brownstone Detectives, "Before talk of a bridge began... there was talk of a grand tunnel."
Learn more about the tunnel and why it never came to be

History

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

City Planning Commission officially approves Midtown East Rezoning

Conceptual image depicting all of the proposed sites of the East Midtown rezoning fully built out, via CityRealty

June 7, 2017

City Planning Commission officially approves Midtown East Rezoning

The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the long-awaited rezoning plan for Midtown East on Wednesday, which will rezone 78 blocks in hopes of modernizing the neighborhood. The plan, which was released last August, follows Mayor Bloomberg’s failed attempt to rezone the area in 2013. According to the Real Deal, the proposal would create 6.5 million square feet of new office space over the next twenty years. This would potentially encourage taller and more modern office towers, attracting more commercial and corporate tenants.
Find out more

Policy

June 7, 2017

Jon Bon Jovi puts sprawling West Village duplex on the market for $17.25M

"Never Say Goodbye" certainly doesn't hold true when it comes to Bon Jovi's real estate game. Exactly two years ago, the Jersey rocker unloaded his Soho penthouse for a hefty $34 million, shortly thereafter picking up a sprawling duplex condo at new celeb-favorite 150 Charles Street for $13 million. But now, as Curbed tells us, he's on the move again, listing the West Village pad for $17.25 million. That upgraded price tag will get you over 4,000 square feet of contemporary interiors, plus a massive 52' x 29' landscaped terrace and two smaller balconies.
Check out the whole place

The MTA considers a ‘car-free busway’ as L-train alternative

L train via Wiki Commons

June 7, 2017

The MTA considers a ‘car-free busway’ as L-train alternative

L train via Wiki Commons To mitigate the nightmare commuters will face during the 15-month L-train shutdown, the MTA and the Department of Transportation presented four possible alternatives that would make a portion of 14th Street a car-free busway. Streetsblog NYC reported that during a Manhattan Community Board 6 meeting on Monday, the agencies laid out the following options: a standard Select Bus Service (SBS) along 14th Street, enhanced SBS that includes turn and curb restrictions, a car-free busway in the middle lanes along 14th and a river-to-river car-free busway. Agency officials predict between 75 and 85 percent of the daily 275,000 daily L riders will use other subway lines, with bus service possibly absorbing between 5-15 percent of displaced trips.
Find out more

June 7, 2017

Macy’s may add public park to rooftop of Herald Square flagship

As part of a strategy to shore up its flagging retail business, Macy's is considering providing New York City with more public park space right on the rooftop of its Herald Square flagship store, the New York Post reports. Doug Sesler, EVP of Real Estate for the chain, said in an investor presentation Tuesday that the store was "Exploring ways to activate upper levels (e.g.rooftop) and overall property while retaining Macy’s store and presence." To attract shoppers and add more excitement to the shopping experience, Macy’s execs are looking at plans to develop the rooftop of the 2.2 million square-foot 34th Street store, including restaurants, green space, trees and benches.
Why a park?

Uncategorized

June 7, 2017

A tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright’s built, unbuilt, and demolished New York works

For many, Frank Lloyd Wright is considered the archetype of his profession; he was brash and unapologetic about his ideas, he experimented and tested the limits of materiality and construction, and he was never afraid to put clients in their place when they were wrong. It was this unwavering confidence paired with a brilliant creative mind that made him one of the greatest American architects to ever live. And one of the most influential. This week Wright would have turned 150 years old, so to celebrate his birthday and his importance to the practice of modern architecture, we're paying tribute to the architect's built, destroyed, and never-constructed New York works. Amazingly, of the more than 500 structures credited with his name, he can only claim one in Manhattan.
Here's our tribute to the great American architect

June 7, 2017

The MetLife Building’s letters are getting a makeover

While the Brutalist architecture of the MetLife Building, formerly the Pan Am Building, makes this 59-story skyscraper stand out among Midtown's many tall towers, its large sign touting its namesake makes it easy for all to identify. Beginning this week, the insurance company will replace the massive letters with a brand new typeface, as Crain’s reported. The installation of the new, more modern logo will be the first time the building’s sign has changed since 1993 when 15- and 18-foot-long letters spelling out MetLife replaced Pan Am’s sign. Additionally, the firm's new corporate logo--made more colorful in an attempt to shift their marketing strategy along with a new tagline "Navigating life together"--is being installed on the tower's east side.
Find out more

Architecture And Design

June 7, 2017

Sprawling five-bedroom loft in Soho offers style and plenty of space for $20K/month

It doesn't get more Soho than Prince Street, once home to big-name artists, now home to big-brand sneaker stores and...a few big name artists who bought their lofts way back when. This sprawling full floor loft at 131 Prince Street in the center of it all spans 3,600 square feet including five bedrooms; while it's all loft, it also feels like a big rambling estate that has been in the family for years. You can experience this level of space, convenience and comfort with renovations that have integrated substance and style, provided you've got $19,995 a month rent.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

June 7, 2017

Join the New York Times Cities for Tomorrow conference, July 10-11!

How do the greatest cities succeed? Find out on July 10–11 when The New York Times convenes the world’s foremost industry experts, policymakers, developers, creative visionaries, entrepreneurs and others at Cities for Tomorrow, the must-attend event for leaders who are shaping the urban environments of the future. 6sqft readers will receive a special 20% discount for the conference.
full details here

June 6, 2017

Central Park lampposts bear ‘secret codes’ to help you find your way

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

We can think of worse fates than getting lost in Central Park. With its winding pathways, lovely bridges, stunning gardens, and a magical lake, it’s the most visited urban park in the United States. But a few of those visitors are bound to take a wrong turn every now and again, and if you find yourself in that predicament, Central Park's 1,600 lampposts bear a secret code that will help you get your bearings and find your way.
Find out how to use the numbers to find out where you are

History

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

50 places to shop locally in NYC for that perfect gift

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

VIEW ALL

June 6, 2017

‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie lists Tribeca loft for $6M

"Today" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie and husband Michael Feldman, a political consultant, have put their Tribeca apartment on the market at an asking price of $5.995 million. As LLYNC learned, Feldman bought the three-bedroom apartment in 2012 for $3.8 million. The 2,691-square-foot condominium was designed by BKSK Architects and boasts five floor-to-ceiling windows as well as a 200-square-foot storage unit.
See inside

June 6, 2017

7,000 yellow cabs will offer pooled rides through mobile app Via

Starting today, 7,000 yellow cabs will begin offering pooled rides in Manhattan through a collaboration with the mobile ridesharing app Via. Despite the fact that the app is technically a competitor, the taxi industry hopes it will increase drivers' earnings, as they'll spend less time searching for fares and will keep the tips from all riders, as well as increase ridership since passengers will receive discounts of up to 40 percent.
All the details

Transit

June 6, 2017

The National Debt Clock will move back to One Bryant Park

While the debt continues to grow, the ticker that estimates the current national figure is temporarily coming down this month. The National Debt Clock at 1133 Sixth Avenue will be moved on June 8 to make way for a new entrance at the Durst Organization’s building just one block away to One Bryant Park (aka the Bank of America Tower), the spot where the original clock first stood, as the Post reported. Real estate developer Seymour Durst first put up the ticker on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street in 1989, when the debt was a mere $3 trillion. Today’s debt totals over $19 trillion, with each family’s average share more than $168,000, according to data from the US Treasury.
Find out more

Uncategorized

June 6, 2017

Is the C train the root of the NYC’s subway problems?

There's plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the chronic failures of the NYC subway system, from the lack of funds to the lack of leadership. But now the latest piece of the MTA to get finger wag is not a person or a line in the budget, but the system's C line. As the Times reports, C trains, the oldest and most break down-prone cars in the system, can many times be traced back to as the cause of system-wide failures. Breaking down roughly every 33,527 miles—as opposed to 400,000 miles for the average car, or 700,000 miles for new cars—when C line cars see delays, pangs can be felt throughout the entire network, making everyone's commute increasingly miserable.
so what's being done?

Transit

Roasteries and refineries: The history of sugar and coffee in NYC

Arbuckle’s, via Brooklyn Historical Society

June 6, 2017

Roasteries and refineries: The history of sugar and coffee in NYC

By Lucie Levine

Brooklyn is properly known as Kings County. During New York’s Gilded Age, Sugar King Henry Osborne Havemeyer and Coffee King John Arbuckle made sure the borough lived up to its name, building their grand industrial empires on the shores of the East River. By the turn of the 20th century, more sugar was being refined in Williamsburg and more coffee roasted in DUMBO than anywhere else in the country, shaping the Brooklyn waterfront and NYC as a preeminent financial and cultural center. The history of coffee and sugar in this town is as rich and exciting as these two commodities are sweet and stimulating, so hang on to your homebrew and get ready for a New York Story.
The whole juicy history of sugar and coffee in NYC

History

Brooklyn developer Zproekt plans a craggy condo for East Williamsburg

Renderings created by the Vyater Group

June 6, 2017

Brooklyn developer Zproekt plans a craggy condo for East Williamsburg

Renderings created by the Vyater Group Brooklyn real estate developers RYBAK and BK have laid out their collaborative plan for a new luxury condominium in East Williamsburg at 88 Withers Street. The building, when officially approved, will be called Element88 and will capture the neighborhood’s creative and eclectic residents. As CityRealty learned, renderings show a sculpted pile of floors, offset from one another. In addition to its 33 new residences, the building will also provide workspaces in its cellar that can be used for home offices, workshops, wine cellars or art studios.
See the electic renderings

June 6, 2017

Sophisticated $16M Soho loft is part French farmhouse, part tropical palazzo

The listing calls this three-floor home atop a classic Soho loft building at 12 Greene Street a "reimagining of urban living" that "defies easy categorization," and we'd have to agree. But what's instantly recognizable is the design knowledge and creative eye that was behind the construction of each room's eclectic but beautiful balance of form and function, including layers of verdant garden-draped patios, decks and terraces. Records show that the current owner purchased this 4,500 square-foot co-op for $1.7 million in 2005, which in itself sounds like quite a feat; the triplex is now asking a far more 21st century $16 million.
Tour the enchanted spaces of this amazing home

Distinctive Homes

June 5, 2017

Set up a vacation home anywhere with these pop-up smartdomes

As a way to escape the stress of urban life, a dome construction company has created a mobile geodesic dome for do-it-yourself nature lovers. The Slovenia-based firm smartdome construction created a dome that users set up and dismantle themselves. The elevated dome can be set up almost anywhere, is built on a set of adjustable steel legs, and is made of prefabricated modules engineered for energy efficiency.
See the DIY smartdomes

June 5, 2017

Restored Romanesque Revival townhouse asks $2.9M in Hamilton Heights

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

Distinctive Homes

June 5, 2017

An NYU project hopes to virtually track 10,000 New Yorkers for 20 years

Beginning this fall, a research project led by a neuroeconomic professor from New York University will follow 10,000 New Yorkers for two decades in hopes of understanding the future of big data and human decision making. The Human Project, developed by Paul Glimcher, will gather a ton of data from residents, including medical records, diet, credit card transactions, social interactions, sleep, educational achievement, blood work, stool and urine samples and even more. As the New York Times reported, the goal is to create an atlas of the entire human experience. With a $15 million budget, the project hopes to start making some findings by 2020.
Find out more

$2.75 congestion fee proposed for cars entering Manhattan south of 60th Street

Image via Pexels

June 5, 2017

$2.75 congestion fee proposed for cars entering Manhattan south of 60th Street

Image via Pexels Advocacy group Move NY has suggested that the city impose a congestion charge on motorists driving on Manhattan's most crowded streets. Similar proposals haven't fared well in the state legislature–but the group cites a 1957 state law that says cities with a population of over a million can toll their own roadways and bridges. The Wall Street Journal reports that Move NY will offer the City Council's transportation committee a new proposal today under which the city would impose a $2.75 charge on automobiles entering Manhattan's central business district below 60th Street. The fee for trucks would be higher; for-hire vehicles including taxis would pay a congestion surcharge based on trips within the zone.
Find out more

Transit

My 600sqft: Pastry chef Meredith Kurtzman in her colorful Soho apartment of 40 years

6sqft’s ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Soho apartment of pastry chef Meredith Kurtzman. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

June 5, 2017

My 600sqft: Pastry chef Meredith Kurtzman in her colorful Soho apartment of 40 years

You may not know Meredith Kurtzman by name, but you can thank this spunky New Yorker for bringing great gelato to the city. A textile designer turned pastry chef, Kurtzman is lauded (at least within her industry) as "a trailblazer" in elevating ice-cream making in the U.S. Moreover she's wholly credited with introducing chaste New York palettes to once implausible flavors like olive oil gelato and, more simply, fresh fruit sorbetto; "genius" and "a true artisan" are just a few of words that have been used to describe her. However, while counterparts with her level of talent have catapulted themselves into the spotlight (see: Keith McNally and Bobby Flay), Meredith herself has opted for a more understated existence. She today—as she has for the last 40 years—lives in a modestly-sized but boldly colorful tenement apartment in Soho. Meredith is, in fact, one of those rare New York creatives whose real estate choices can be traced back to when Soho was a "last resort" for artists and storefronts were used as shelter. Stating the obvious, she's seen some things. Ahead, Meredith offers us a tour of her unique apartment, a 600-square-foot space filled with DIY projects, vintage charm, plants, and lots of color. She also shares stories of Soho in the 1970s, and where she still finds inspiration in a city that's so different from the one she knew as a youth.
inside meredith's apartment here

Some Trump Palace apartment owners want to remove the building’s name

Google Street View

June 5, 2017

Some Trump Palace apartment owners want to remove the building’s name

Google Street View Despite winning the presidential election last fall, Donald Trump’s New York City properties have hit a losing streak. Trump-branded hotels and condos throughout the city have seen a sharp decline in event bookings and property values. And at the 55-story Trump Palace at 200 East 69th Street, one of the tallest towers in the neighborhood, the average unit sits on the market for 107 days, 35 percent longer than the average luxury unit. To combat declining property values, an apartment owner at Trump Palace has written a letter asking neighbors to come together and remove the name “Trump” from the building, as the Hollywood Reporter discovered.
Find out more

Celebrities

June 5, 2017

Live in a new Astoria building near Halletts Points from $889/month

Known as Astoria Cove, this newly constructed 28-unit rental at 26-27 2nd Street is just a block away from the under-construction Halletts Point mega-development. The seven-building project will bring 2,400 housing units to the Astoria neighborhood, as well as a stop for the East River Ferry, a supermarket, school, and waterfront park. Six households earning 60 percent of the median income have a chance to live near all the upcoming action through the city's affordable housing lottery that's offering $889/month one-bedrooms and $1,001/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

June 5, 2017

A fireplace and balcony make this $675K Upper West Side co-op a cozy all-season home

On a particularly picturesque and leafy Upper West Side block within steps of Riverside Park, this one-bedroom co-op at 312 West 107th Street is, to paraphrase the listing, a certifiable charm-and-chill zone with 15-foot ceilings, exposed brick, a wood-burning fireplace and a private terrace.
See more, this way

Distinctive Homes

June 4, 2017

$1.25M Hamptons home was built in 1639 with wood from a ship

This East Hamptons home comes with serious history. Not only was it built way back in 1639, but the facade comes from the wood of a ship and the structure is still held together by the original wood pegs. According to the broker, the East Hampton Historical Society has actually verified the house history as well as the ship's numbered wood, the oldest part of the home. (The wood is numbered because, in the event of a shipwreck, it could be put back together.) They can also trace the property's family history all the way back to its earliest owners. Now, on the market for $1.25 million, it's ready for its next chapter.
Take a look inside

June 2, 2017

Buy this entire 62-acre ghost town in Connecticut for just $1.9M

Johnsonville, an abandoned, small town in East Haddam, Connecticut, is on the market for an asking price of $1.9 million (Yes, the entire 62-acre town is asking less than $2 million). Founded in the 1800s, it includes semi-neglected Victorian homes, a general store, post office, restaurant, mill, and a covered bridge (h/t WTOP). The current owner is hotel company Meyer Jabara Hotels, who paid $2.5 million for the town in 2001. The property was previously listed in an online auction in 2014 and sold for $1.9 million, but the bidder was unable to seal the deal. It’s been a ghost town for nearly two decades.
See the abandoned town here

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

Images (L to R): 325 Kent Avenue, Capitol at Chelsea, 82 South 6th Street and West 54th Apartments

June 2, 2017

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

By Emrys Fitzgerald

325 Kent to Open this July on the Former Domino Sugar Site; New Renderings & Pricing Revealed [link] Don’t Be Boxed-Up This Summer: Outdoor Amenities Reign at This Midtown Rental Just Two Blocks from the Greenway [link] South Williamsburg Has a New Boutique Rental – And It’s Sure to Fill-Up Fast [link] FRANK 57 WEST […]

Real Estate Trends

June 2, 2017

Historic Bronxville Queen Anne home asks $4.2M

Situated on a corner lot in the Lawrence Park neighborhood in Bronxville, the home at 7 Valley Road, currently on the market for $4.2 million, is immediately recognizable by its stone and shingle facade, slate roof, stone turret, and sprawling wraparound porch. Prolific local Gilded Age architect William Augustus Bates designed this remarkable 7,000-square-foot home in the town's historic district. Completed in 1902, the seven-bedroom house combines the Queen Anne and Shingle styles with masterful turn-of-the-century workmanship that remains timeless today.
Tour this stunning turn-of-the-century home

June 2, 2017

Waterfront Alliance’s ‘Harbor Scorecard’ says if your NYC neighborhood is at risk for severe flooding

This week marked the beginning of hurricane season and experts predict storms will be worse than usual, especially following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord on Thursday. To better inform New Yorkers about the risks of rising sea level and storm surges, the Waterfront Alliance, a nonprofit that works to protect waterfronts, released a Harbor Scorecard, as reported by the Brooklyn Eagle. The interactive scorecard lets users view each neighborhood by its waterfront safety and coastal resiliency. The group found that more than 400,000 New Yorkers face a 50 percent risk of a major flood by 2060.
Find out more

Policy

June 2, 2017

The Urban Lens: 1940-50s Coney Island through the eyes of teenager Harold Feinstein

Born and raised in Coney Island, there was never a photographer better primed to capture the neighborhood's vibrancy than Harold Feinstein. "I like to think I fell out of the womb on to the fun park’s giant Parachute Jump while eating a Nathan’s hot dog," he told The Guardian in 2014, just before his passing in 2015. Indeed, Feinstein would take his first photo (using a Rolleiflex borrowed from a neighbor) at age 15 in 1946, beginning what would become an unwavering love affair with documenting the whizz, whirl and insatiable life that permeated his beachside locale. Although Feinstein would eventually move on to other subjects in various parts of New York City and the globe, over his nearly 70-year career he would always return to Coney Island for inspiration. "Coney Island was my Treasure Island," he said. Feinstein's Coney Island photos cover more than five decades, but ultimately his 1940s and 1950s snapshots--those taken when he was just a teenager--would cement his status as one of the most important photographers recording life in post-war America. Ahead, the Harold Feinstein Photography Trust shares highlights from this collection.
see the photos here

New Jersey is the official owner of Ellis Island

Photo via Wiki Commons

June 2, 2017

New Jersey is the official owner of Ellis Island