6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

Applications are currently being accepted for nine newly constructed affordable units at 866 East 178th Street in the West Farms section of the Bronx. West Farms, which underwent the largest private rezoning in the Bronx ever a few years ago, is located in the southwest of the borough. Residents here can enjoy plenty of green space with access to the Bronx Park, Zoo and the Bronx River. New Yorkers earning 80 percent of the area median income can apply to rent four one-bedrooms for $1,348 per month and five two-bedrooms for $1,521 per month.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

May 16, 2017

This $2.2M Noho loft takes storage to a whole new level

This light-filled loft at 718 Broadway on a bustling stretch of Noho has 1,300 square feet of space to live in—and a New Yorker's dream of storage space to stash your stuff. Just listed for $2.2 million, the massive downtown apartment is the perfect refuge from the city. And, can you really go wrong with eight-foot windows and twelve-foot ceilings?
Have a look around

Distinctive Homes

May 15, 2017

French-inspired townhouse asks $8.5M on Sutton Place

This $8.5 million townhouse at 19 Sutton Place boasts an interesting backstory dating to the 1920s. The home--like most others in the area--was built as an unassuming brownstone in the late 1800s. In 1920, the wealthy literary agent Elisabeth Marbury, with her partner Elsie de Wolfe, a well-known decorator, moved to the block and hired an architect to transform a nearby townhouse into a neo-Georgian townhouse. Millionaires followed suit, moving in and redesigning the homes of Sutton Place. At 19 Sutton, banker B. Stafford Mantz transformed the brownstone into a "provincial Louis XVI townhouse of grey and brown brick" according to Daytonian in Manhattan. And today, the interior boasts elegant spaces with high ceilings, five wood-burning fireplaces, and its own elevator.
Take a look around

Jitterbug dancers via Wikipedia

May 15, 2017

New petition seeks an end to NYC’s controversial dancing ban

In reference to a movement that has been gaining momentum in recent months, Grubstreet reports on a petition to repeal the city’s archaic–and racially motivated in its origins–1926 Cabaret Law that requires an establishment to have a city license if more than three patrons want to move their feet. According to New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, “A Cabaret License is required for any business that sells food and/or beverages to the public and allows patron dancing in a room, place, or space.” The law, which prohibits any and all dancing in a business establishment without a Cabaret License, was originally aimed at jazz clubs born during the Harlem Renaissance.
Racist origins and selective enforcement

Apply for 14 affordable apartments in Bed-Stuy’s luxury Atrium rental, from $833/month

785 Dekalb Avenue via Durukan Design

May 15, 2017

Apply for 14 affordable apartments in Bed-Stuy’s luxury Atrium rental, from $833/month

Located in the hub of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, 14 newly constructed affordable units are available to rent at The Atrium at 785 Dekalb Avenue. The six-story lavish rental contains 70 units and features a six-story brick atrium in the lobby, fitness center, lounge, wet room, game room and a spacious open roof deck. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, which range from $833/month studios to $1,043/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

May 15, 2017

NYCxDesign 2017: The 6sqft guide to finding the best design events this month

NYCxDesign 2017, New York City’s official turn to celebrate all things design, hits town from May 3 – May 24. NYC is among the world’s design capitals and home to more designers than any other U.S. metro area. NYCxDesign spotlights the city’s diverse design community and its contributions to our economy and everyday life, and increases awareness of and appreciation for design with a collaborative mix of cultural, professional, educational and commercial offerings. This year’s celebration is the longest-running one to date. You can head in any direction and you'll stumble into a design-related event, but we've compiled a guide to a few of the top collaborative efforts and highlighted some of our picks.
Check out our NYCxD picks, this way

Pan Am Boeing 707-100 via Wikipedia

May 15, 2017

Before JFK, there was Idlewild Airport

By Penelope Bareau

Changes are afoot at JFK International Airport; construction has already begun on the transformation of Eero Saarinen's masterful TWA terminal, out of commission since TWA folded in 2001, into a 505-room first class hotel, and just a few months ago, Governor Cuomo announced a massive $10 billion overhaul of the whole airport, which will involve interconnecting the terminals, redesigning roads, and improving parking, amenities and security. When finished, the airport will bear little resemblance to what it once was, which has a much more interesting history than one might think. Ahead, 6sqft delves into how JFK changed from a playground for the rich to a major international airport, with some interesting debacles in between.
The whole history ahead

History

To ease Penn Station woes, a new plan calls for a transit hub in Sunnyside, Queens

Via ReThink Studio

May 15, 2017

To ease Penn Station woes, a new plan calls for a transit hub in Sunnyside, Queens

With its constant delays and malfunctions, Penn Station is becoming a worse and worse nightmare for countless commuters and visitors. Last year, Governor Cuomo revealed a plan to redevelop the train hub, one of the busiest in the country, by building a new train hall with restaurants and shops, but while the artful renovation will make Penn Station more attractive, it will do little to address the passenger congestion problem, according to think tank, ReThink Studio (h/t Crain’s). In response, the group came up with an idea called ReThinkNYC that would create a new transit hub in Sunnyside, Queens, to connect commuter lines with the subway system. Instead of making Penn Station the final stop for NJ Transit and LIRR commuters, trains would pass through instead of stopping and turning around.
All the details ahead

Distinctive Homes

This $5M Sutton Place penthouse is wrapped in a garden terrace overlooking the city

Live within a former artists' colony in this $3.5M Upper West Side co-op

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

Live in a fashion designer's historic atelier and studio in the Catskills for $645K

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

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

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

This $4M Harlem brownstone is picture-perfect and move-in ready

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

This $6.5M Hell's Kitchen townhouse has a heavenly rooftop oasis

VIEW ALL

Rosario Dawson’s family wants to buy low-income housing units in the East Village

544 West 13th Street under construction in January, via Paul A. Castrucci Architect (L)

May 15, 2017

Rosario Dawson’s family wants to buy low-income housing units in the East Village

Actress Rosario Dawson’s family hopes to buy low-income apartments in a newly renovated building as part of a city program that converts abandoned homes into affordable units. Rosario grew up in an East Village squatter’s den and her family continues to live in the East 13th Street co-op, even after the actress became famous and amassed a net worth of more than $16 million. According to the New York Post, long-time tenants of the building say the Dawson family bullied their way into controlling a third of the 14-unit residence over the last 20 years.
Get the full scoop

May 15, 2017

Rent Jennifer Lawrence’s Tribeca pad for $27.5K a month

After a fairly lengthy house hunt, Jennifer Lawrence dropped $9 million on a sprawling Tribeca loft in January. The apartment is at 443 Greenwich Street, which has become a celeb hot spot due to its "paparazzi-proof" amenities such as a below-grade parking and a private interior courtyard. But now that she's in London filming "Red Sparrow," Lawrence has put the home on the rental market, first listing it in February for $30,000 a month and now dropping the price to $27,500 (h/t TRD). Whoever inks the lease will be able to call Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, and Harry Styles their neighbors.
More ahead

MTA releases ‘Baby on Board’ buttons for pregnant subway riders

Photo via MTA

May 15, 2017

MTA releases ‘Baby on Board’ buttons for pregnant subway riders

In the "ideas from abroad" column, the Metropolitan Transit Authority will begin offering pregnant riders a better shot at getting a seat on packed subway cars by way of a big yellow and blue button that reads "Baby on Board" and bears the MTA logo in an attempt to encourage passengers to offer up their seats, the NYTimes reports. Reportedly the idea began in London, where the underground has had a similar program in place for pregnant riders since 2005. Kate Middleton, now Duchess of Cambridge, got some public attention when she wore one on the Tube in 2013. Officials said about 130,000 buttons are distributed on the London transit system every year.
Worse than manspreading

May 15, 2017

For $935K this Boerum Hill co-op is both Downtown loft and Zen retreat

In a classic pre-war loft building at 96 Schermerhorn Street known as Boerum Court, where Boerum Hill meets Downtown Brooklyn, this solidly-built co-op offers a flexible loft layout and the high ceilings and proportions to match. Custom additions have transformed the space into a unique home with Japanese-inspired details and modern conveniences. The apartment currently offers one bedroom and a home office but could easily gain a second bedroom.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

May 14, 2017

$3M SHoP Architects-designed Red Hook townhouse is clad in zinc, concrete, and a hardwood screen

While we're used to seeing headline-stealing buildings from innovative design firm SHoP Architects–Barclays Center, the American Copper Buildings, and what will be Brooklyn's tallest tower, to name a modest few–we don't see SHoP-designed townhouses every day. This particular two-family home at 87 Dikeman Street in the heart of creative and laid-back Red Hook has at least four bedrooms and consists of an owners' triplex and a rental unit plus a garden and off-street parking. But it's the home's design that will likely attract the most attention, with an exterior comprised of zinc panels juxtaposed with polar white concrete planks and accented by a hardwood slat screen and full-height peerless windows. This 3,080-square-foot home, its innovative design–and design pedigree–can be yours for $3.15 million.
Tour this unique Brooklyn home

May 13, 2017

Brick archways and timber beams decorate this $2M Tribeca co-op

This apartment comes from the gorgeous Tribeca co-op building 165 Duane Street, also known as the Duane Park Lofts. The Romanesque Revival-style, 11-story warehouse was designed by Stephen Decatur Hatch in 1880 and converted in 1980 to 36 co-ops. This one bedroom is all exposed brick, with some timber beams, and it's now asking $2.15 million. Large eastern windows look out over Tribeca's rooftops and other great buildings, like the landmarked Western Union Building and FiDi skyscrapers to the south.
See the inside

Distinctive Homes

May 12, 2017

If you’re trying on every NYC neighborhood, start with this $13K/month pre-war Village co-op in ‘large’

It's often said that if you're not sure which neighborhood you'd like, renting is the best way to get to know a few before you make the commitment of buying. And while Greenwich Village is often a top choice, it's an expensive commitment. This $13,000 a month rental in a classic pre-war co-op at 61 West 10th Street is pricey, but you're starting at the top, with a view, on downtown Manhattan's "Gold Coast" in the aptly named Windsor Arms. And there's plenty of room at the top in the form of two big bedrooms with room for more.
Take the tour

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

Photo of Sugar Hill row houses via Wikipedia

May 12, 2017

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

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

Affordable Housing

May 12, 2017

Official NYC dog name map reveals most popular pooch names by neighborhood

There’s almost no end to the amount of information you can find out about folks in your neighborhood, from two-legged to four, right down to which streets harbor the biggest poop non-scoopers. Now you can find out what name your neighbor's pet is likely to answer to (h/t Brick Underground): A newly-released official NYC dog name map shows the city's most popular dog names as well as the most common names unique to each neighborhood, based on 2016 registered dog license data.
More doggie demographics this way

City Living

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

May 12, 2017

Apply for 34 affordable units in Long Island City’s new Watermark tower, from $908/month

While all of Long Island City seems to be undergoing development, one block in particular, Purves Street, remains the neighborhood’s most concentrated construction hub. Applications open Monday for 34 affordable units in one of these new builds, Watermark LIC (formerly Watermark Court Square) located at 27-19 44th Drive and 44-16 Purves Street. The 27-story building designed by Handel Architects offers 168 apartments and has 2,500 square feet of retail space. New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the below-market rate apartments that range from $908/month studios to $1,176/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

May 12, 2017

Stanford White-designed chapel, once part of the Edwin D. Morgan estate, is now a home asking $3.25M

Talk about a living arrangement that's holier than thou. This chapel is part of the former Edwin Denison Morgan III estate in Old Westbury, Long Island. The impressive estate, complete with gardens and fountains, was designed by the great Stanford White in the late-19th century, and now its chapel is on the market for $3.25 million. (It's a price decrease from last year, when it hit the market for $4.3 million.) Amazingly, the chapel was once connected to the estate’s other buildings by tunnels, though it was converted a while back to a four-bedroom home. Cathedral ceilings, stained-glass windows designed by John La Farge--the stunning space has got everything, not to mention a heated gunite pool and putting green outside.
Take a look inside

May 12, 2017

Cyndi Lauper lists French Country Connecticut home where she wrote ‘Kinky Boots’ for $1.25M

“True Colors” singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper is selling her Stamford, Connecticut home for $1.25 million. With three beds and three baths, the home at 250 Saddle Hill Road sits 45 miles outside of Manhattan and measures about 3,900 square feet on 1.58 acres of property. Lauper, who first purchased the home during the 1980s, has written several albums and much of the Broadway musical “Kinky Boots” in its guest house. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the home was renovated with French Country-style touches, seen in the hand-stenciled floral designs and French antique salon doors and bathroom fixtures.
See inside

May 12, 2017

The Urban Lens: Travel back to the gritty Meatpacking District of the ’80s and ’90s

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, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation shares archival images of the gritty Meatpacking District from the 1980s to early 2000s. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. "Few parts of New York City have transformed as dramatically in the last decade or so as the Meatpacking District. Changes in the area are physical as well as spiritual. What was once a deserted ghost town by day, nightlife, sex club, and prostitution hub by night, and bustling workaday center of the Meatpacking industry from early morning to noon is now a glitzy, glamorized center of shopping, dining, tourism, strolling, and arts consumption," says Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The organization recently released a collection of archival photos of the neighborhood's post-industrial grit, "before the Whitney, before the High Line, before Apple and Diane von Furstenberg, even before Sex and the City discovered the neighborhood." Ahead, 6sqft shares these images, from the 1980s to the mid-2000s, which document the major transformation that's taken place in just the past decade.
See all the photos here

May 12, 2017

Extravagant limestone mansion asks a whooping $13.25M in Park Slope

This 1890s limestone and brick mansion at 45 Montgomery Place, in Park Slope was built--and renovated--to impress. It's also asking an impressive $13.25 million after last selling a few years back for $10.775 million. (The last asking price, in 2013, was set at $14 million.) An impeccable renovation covers all 7,500 square feet of the 30-foot-wide home; everything from a refurbished, classic Otis elevator to restored stained glass to a wine cellar awaits in this townhouse, which was featured in the April issue of the French publication Marie Claire Maison.
Now see it for yourself

Distinctive Homes

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

Images (L to R): House39, The Dean, 101 West End Avenue and Haven

May 12, 2017

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

By Ondel Hylton

Heated Indoor Pool + More Fun Amenities at Greenpoint Rental Leasing with 1 Month Free [link] Striking Crown Heights Rental ‘The Dean’ Debuts; Loft-Inspired Homes from $2,605/Month [link] HOUSE39; Midtown’s “Best in Class” Tower Now Offering 2 Months Free [link] Haven at 875 Dekalb Avenue, Bed-Stuy Rentals with 1 Month Free & 1-Bedrooms from $2,249/Month […]

Real Estate Trends

May 12, 2017

INTERVIEW: Urban archaeologist Joan Geismar on the artifacts she’s dug up across New York

Joan Geismar boasts a job that'll make any urban explorer jealous. For the past 32 years, she's operated her own business as an archaeological consultant, digging underneath the streets of New York City to find what historical remnants remain. Her career kicked off in 1982, with the major discovery of an 18th-century merchant ship at a construction site near the South Street Seaport. (The land is now home to the 30-story tower 175 Water Street.) Other discoveries include digging up intact remnants of wooden water pipes, components of the city’s first water system, at Coenties Slip Park; studying the long-defunct burial ground at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; and working alongside the renovation in Washington Square Park, in which she made a major revelation about the former Potter's Field there. With 6sqft, she discusses what it felt like unearthing a ship in Lower Manhattan, the curious headstone she found underneath Washington Square Park, and what people's trash can tell us about New York history.
The full interview ahead

City may bring back ‘Barnes Dance’ crossing systems to high-crash intersections

A Barnes Dance crossing in Chicago, via Kevin Zolkiewicz/Flickr

May 11, 2017

City may bring back ‘Barnes Dance’ crossing systems to high-crash intersections

At many intersections throughout the city, pedestrians who have the walk signal still have to contend with vehicles turning left or right. But at some of Manhattan's busiest crossings, the city may bring back the "Barnes Dance" system, which stops traffic in all directions, allowing pedestrians to cross to any corner, including diagonally. As Gothamist reports, yesterday the City Council unanimously passed legislation that requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study about implementing these systems at 25 of the most high-crash intersections.
Read more

Transit

May 11, 2017

It would take the city 43 years to investigate all potentially illegal Airbnb listings

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

While the state’s updated anti-Airbnb bill has now been in effect for three months, the city has issued fines on just 139 illegal listings, out of the nearly 24,000 that reportedly need to be investigated. The recently enacted legislation builds on the state’s 2010 law that makes it illegal to rent out an apartment for less than 30 days without the owner present. The new law goes further by making it illegal to advertise these short-term rentals through websites like Airbnb. As Crain’s explains, based on the number of listings on the company’s website, it would take the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement nearly 43 years to investigate all of them.
Find out more

Policy

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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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May 11, 2017

Arckit’s new modeling sets make it easy to build professional models without cutting or gluing

By Rebecca Paul

Arckit, an architectural model kit manufacturer, has recently added to its family of offerings a series of playful yet professional three-dimensional modeling sets designed to satisfy the needs of building professionals, as well as aspiring designers. Traditional methods of model building include "cut and glue" techniques or 3D drawings, but these kits, called Arckit Cityscape and Arckit Masterplan, provide the same tactile experience with no special skills required.
Learn more

May 11, 2017

Robert Redford’s former Upper East Side pied-a-terre hits the market for $1.35M

Award-winning actor Robert Redford's former Lenox Hill pied-a-terre has hit the market for $1.35 million, reports the Post. The one-bedroom duplex co-op is located in a limestone mansion at 47 East 67th Street, between Madison and Park Avenues. Redford owned the newly renovated pad in the 1980s, and it now boasts plenty of space with a chef's kitchen, double-height ceilings with massive windows, and a woodburning fireplace.
Take a tour

May 11, 2017

Comedian Chris Rock lists Clinton Hill carriage house for $3.85M

Chris Rock has just listed his cool carriage house in the Clinton Hill Historic District, according to the New York Post. The comedian, who has owned the three-story home at239 Waverly Avenue since 1994, has been renting it since moving out in '96. The historic 1901 property was last listed for rent in 2013 with an ask as high as $15,000/month at one point. The new sales ask is $3.85 million for the renovated residence with room for two or three bedrooms, a 23-foot-wide master suite with skylights, and the elusive urban perk of being above a parking garage for not one but two cars.
Find out more about the carriage house and its twin

May 11, 2017

Ryan Seacrest is renting a posh Lenox Hill townhouse for $75K/month

Welcome to New York, Ryan Seacrest. The former American Idol emcee and now Kelly Ripa’s co-host on ABC’s morning show “Live,” moved to the city and recently landed luxurious new digs on the Upper East Side. Seacrest’s rental is at 34 East 68th Street in Lenox Hill and runs him $75,000 per month. The architects of the townhouse, Michael Chen Architects, rebuilt an entirely new structure inside of a 19th-century mansion, preserving its historic character while adding cool modern touches such as a 30-foot-tall vertical living garden, elevator, and sculptural staircase. As reported by the Daily Mail, the 11,000-square-foot home features 15 rooms with six bedrooms and five+-plus bathrooms.
See inside his new digs

Celebrities

May 11, 2017

Art Nerd New York’s top event picks for the week – 5/11-5/17

By Lori Zimmer

In a city where hundreds of interesting events occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Ahead Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer shares her top picks for 6sqft readers! Get outside of the white cube this week and experience an art opening inside of a corporate lobby, or experience an architecture talk inside of an art museum. Celebrate Haiti’s rich culture with the kick off of their film fest, then check out future art stars at FIT’s graduate exhibition. Grace Exhibition Space hosts a five-hour performance art event, and the historic Salmagundi Club on Fifth Avenue opens its doors for the ARC Salon Exhibition. Head to the Bronx for JMR’s latest solo show, or spend the week at the architectural events lead by Van Alen’s Spring Festival.
More on all the best events this way

May 11, 2017

East Village micro-maisonette has all the quirks and loads of charm for $500K

Lovers of half-legal, barely livable but totally adorable East Village boltholes, step right this way. This two-story hideaway at 121 East 10th Street, tucked into the Saint Mark's Historic District, is a short walk from all of your favorite things to do, and also in a pretty building–one that's apparently filled with adorable East Village boho duplex caves–on an absolutely gorgeous street. It's basically a duplex studio with its lower half seriously below-grade–but it sure looks cozy down there.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

Finance firms in talks to move to Vornado’s proposed Hotel Pennsylvania-replacing supertall

A rendering of the Pelli Clarke Pelli design for 15 Penn Plaza, courtesy of Vornado

May 10, 2017

Finance firms in talks to move to Vornado’s proposed Hotel Pennsylvania-replacing supertall

Plans to replace the century-old Hotel Pennsylvania with a 1,216-foot office building have surfaced again. Financial firms Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are reportedly contemplating a move to Vornado Realty Trust’s planned supertall skyscraper, 15 Penn Plaza, according to the Post. Vornado first won the city’s approval in 2007 to build a supertall at the location of Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue and nearly signed a deal with Merrill Lynch to be a tenant until the financial crisis dissolved the agreement. This design, by Pelli Clarke Pelli, is being presented to the firms along with new options says a source.
Find out more

Architecture And Design

May 10, 2017

This 1760 farmhouse in upstate New York can be yours for $1.1M

If looking to trade in the chaotic city life for a much quieter, country one, check out this new listing for a farmhouse in Rotterdam, New York. The Georgian Brick Colonial at 322 Wemple Road, known as the Delamont-Wemple Farm, was built around 1760 and is featured on the National Register of Historic Places. As Curbed learned, the home, sitting on over 60 open acres, includes a custom pool house, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and many fireplaces. And it's on the market for $1.1 million--less than most tiny NYC apartments.
See inside this 18th Century farmhouse

The history of New York’s Newspaper Row, the epicenter of 19th century news

Image via Library of Congress

May 10, 2017

The history of New York’s Newspaper Row, the epicenter of 19th century news

By Michelle Young

While the news industry today continues to shift from bustling offices to laptops in coffee shops, it may be hard to imagine that the publishing industry was at the epicenter of some of the world's most important architectural feats. But this was the case in late 19th century New York City, when the daily newspaper industry was centered at Park Row, near City Hall. Such institutions included The New York Times, The New York Tribune and The New York World.
Take a trip back in time with us and explore Newspaper Row

Demo permits filed for South Street Seaport site of proposed 1,436-foot supertall

Diagram of 80 South Street proposal, via Oceanwide Holdings

May 10, 2017

Demo permits filed for South Street Seaport site of proposed 1,436-foot supertall

After a long-planned but never executed plan to develop buildings at 80 South Street and 163 Front Street in the South Street Seaport, the site’s owner has officially filed demolition permits at both buildings, Curbed learned. As 6sqft previously covered, the Howard Hughes Corporation sold 80 South Street to China Oceanwide Holdings for $390 million last March. Although the developer hasn't released construction plans yet, the building is expected to be 113 stories tall, reaching an impressive 1,436 feet (to give you an idea of just how tall this is, 432 Park is 1,396 feet tall, and One World Trade Center is 1,368 feet tall by roof height).
More details ahead

New Developments

May 10, 2017

Starchitect César Pelli lists 5,000-square-foot San Remo apartment with gorgeous views for $26M

Internationally renowned architect César Pelli, founder of the firm Pelli Clarke Pelli, just listed his San Remo apartment at 145 Central Park West for $26 million (h/t LLNYC). Pelli and his wife, landscape architect and urban design scholar Diana Balmori, who died last year, purchased the five-bedroom co-op for $17.5 million in 2015 from John Leguizamo's mother-in-law, Rona Maurer. Pelli is known for skyscrapers like Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers and, closer to home, Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan, and he's now hoping to make quite the profit on this incredible spread.
View more of this Central Park West classic

Apply for eight affordable units in the Bronx’s bustling Melrose, from $1,348/month

Photo by Futurebird via Wikimedia Commons

May 10, 2017

Apply for eight affordable units in the Bronx’s bustling Melrose, from $1,348/month

Located in the evolving Melrose neighborhood of the South Bronx, eight newly constructed units are available to rent at 407 East 160th Street. As the Bronx continues to undergo major residential and commercial development, Melrose sits as the epicenter of these changes. It has a bustling district known as the Hub, or the Times Square of the Bronx, which features many retail stores, restaurants and entertainment options. New Yorkers earning 80 percent of the area median income can apply to rent four $1,348/month one-bedrooms and four $1,521/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Lottery opens for affordable senior housing building at East Harlem’s Metropolitan Hospital site

Draper Hall, rendering via Dattner Architects

May 10, 2017

Lottery opens for affordable senior housing building at East Harlem’s Metropolitan Hospital site

In March of 2015, East Harlem's Metropolitan Hospital Center filed plans to horizontally expand and add a new facade to their former nurses' dormitory known as Draper Hall. Located at 1918 First Avenue, the 14-story building had been vacant since Hurricane Sandy, and after Dattner Architects' renovation, it's been reborn as affordable senior housing, containing 203 subsidized units. Those age 62 and older who earn between $0 and $38,200 annually are now eligible to apply for 51 of these one-bedroom residences, for which they will pay 30 percent of their income.
Get all the info

Affordable Housing

May 10, 2017

This cute turn-key Greenwood home asks an ambitious $2.5M

It's houses like this renovated two-family brick townhouse at 213 29th Street in lovely Greenwood, Brooklyn, that make us stop and think about the current real estate market. The home is asking $2.5 million. Sure, it's a 2,379-square-foot townhouse–bigger than most apartments. And there are four bedrooms if you count the rental unit, though most of them are pretty small–and there's that rental income, of course. But though Greenwood is a solid choice for townhouse living, a 17-foot-wide, three-story house is a tough sell in any neighborhood–and a two-and-a-half million dollar property is a tough sell in this one. Also: The house has no cellar (less storage and other downsides). But it's awfully cute. And the crazy thing about home buyers is that it only takes one.
See more details

Distinctive Homes

May 9, 2017

New renderings of Hudson Yards’ retail and restaurant spaces

Yesterday, it was announced that celebrity chef José Andrés, credited with bringing the small-plate concept to the U.S., will be opening a massive Spanish food hall at Hudson Yards, closing a deal for the 35,000-square-foot space at 10 Hudson Yards that Shake Shack guru Danny Meyer had previously been in talks for. On the heels of the news, developers Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group released new renderings of the retail and restaurant spaces coming to the mega-development (h/t Curbed), most of which will be located in the "Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards," a seven-story building that will hold the majority of the 25 restaurants and anchor tenant Neiman Marcus.
More renderings and details ahead

May 9, 2017

Resolution: 4 Architecture designed this ‘white, bright, light, and tight’ duplex for a young family

This 3,000-square-foot, four-bedroom duplex loft was totally transformed by Resolution: 4 Architecture, who sums up their Manhattan project as "white, bright, light, and tight." To house a young family of four, the firm renovated the upper level into a communal space, lined with hidden storage and centered by a sculptural spiral staircase that leads to the bedrooms below. The striking, modern interiors may not necessarily look family friendly, but the firm says "the home was designed with family, play, and the production of art in mind."
Take a look at the stunning space

Did you know the idea for G.I. Joe was created in Brooklyn?

Photo via Wikipedia

May 9, 2017

Did you know the idea for G.I. Joe was created in Brooklyn?

Did you know G.I. Joe, considered the world’s first action figure, was first conceptualized in Brooklyn? The famous toy was invented by NYC native Stanley Weston, who passed away this month at 84 years old. Weston, born in Brooklyn in 1933, sold his idea for a military-themed toy to Hasbro for $100,000 when he was just 30 years old. Hasbro later turned it into a $100 million success, with more generations of the dolls, comic books, a television series and movies following it.
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History

New research shows that people are choosing Citi Bikes over the bus

Photo via Peter Burka on Flickr

May 9, 2017

New research shows that people are choosing Citi Bikes over the bus

A new before-and-after study shows that in New York City thousands of potential bus rides are likely happening by bike instead, reports CityLab. Recent research published in a new journal article on bike sharing stations along city bus routes, by Kayleigh Campbell and Candace Brakewood, an assistant professor of civil engineering at the City College of New York, revealed that for every thousand Citi Bike docks situated along Brooklyn and Manhattan bus routes, bus trips dropped by 2.42 percent. The study includes trips made between May 2012 and July 2014 and controls for a wide variety of factors in order to show the impact of bike sharing on bus ridership.
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May 9, 2017

Freestanding home in Fiske Terrace Historic District asks $1.6M

This charming property comes from the Fiske Terrace-Midwood Park Historic District, where historic, freestanding homes are the norm. Fiske Terrace is an enclave of Flatbush, a Brooklyn neighborhood located just east of Ditmas Park. (Ditmas is also known for its freestanding beauties.) Here at 819 East 19th Street, which is now on the market for $1.595 million, there are historic details throughout formal living and dining rooms, as well as an enclosed porch, backyard, private driveway and garage.
Take a peek inside

Distinctive Homes

May 9, 2017

Apply for a middle-income apartment in East Harlem’s amenity-rich Tapestry building, from $1,927/month

Applications are currently being accepted for middle-income units at the Tapestry in East Harlem. Located at 245 East 124th Street, the 12-story, 185-unit rental building sits near the base of the Triborough Bridge. It was built in 2010 to the designs of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and MHG Architects and features amenities like a concierge, garage, spacious green roofs and landscaped terraces, bike storage, fitness center, and a media and entertainment lounge. The middle-income homes available range from $1,927/month studios to $2,611/month two-bedrooms set aside for New Yorkers making between $67,406-$158,500 annually.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

May 9, 2017

First look at the amazing amenities at Waterline Square

As 6sqft previously reported, a trio of glassy residential towers known as Waterline Square is rising on a five-acre waterfront site between West 59th and 61st Streets. Aside from the megaproject's size, its roster of starchitects–Richard Meier and Partners, Rafael Viñoly Architects, and Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates–has been most impressive. But now a head-spinning host of perks joins the wow-factor, as Curbed reports that the Rockwell Group has revealed renderings of a three-story amenity space to be dubbed The Waterline Club, divided among all three buildings. Among the offerings are a three-lane pool; 4,600-square-foot kids' playroom; gardening, art, and music studios; and indoor tennis court, basketball court, soccer field, and skate park.
Moreamazing amenities this way

May 9, 2017

You can rent this magical Clinton Hill townhouse with a renovation from loft heaven for a celestial $16K a month