6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

Recent news has focused on plans announced by Mayor De Blasio for a streetcar line, dubbed the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX), to connect “underserved, but booming” areas of the boroughs. The city’s plan would run for 16 miles along the East River, from Astoria to Sunset Park, at a projected cost of $2.5 billion, serving bustling commercial hubs like the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Long Island City, as well as providing access for about 45,000 public housing residents. With concerns from local businesses and residents growing, the Times looks to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, an already-existing streetcar line in New Jersey that travels from Bayonne through Jersey City and Hoboken to Weehawken. It's been moving passengers for over a decade and today serves 46,800 passengers on a typical weekday. By most accounts it's been a success, helping employees get to work (with a skyline view, no less) and encouraging development in areas along the waterfront that had suffered from blight and neglect. Two rivers over, it's the areas through which the proposed "BQX" would travel that are the subject of some concern.
Find out more

Transit

February 16, 2016

Former Workman’s Cottage in the Warren Place Mews Now Asks $4,900 a Month

We've come a long way from the 1870s. That's when the Warren Place Mews was constructed on a short, private block of Cobble Hill by the wealthy merchant and philanthropist Alfred Tredway White. He advocated for housing for the working class in Brooklyn and built this mews–which consists of 34 modest, Gothic cottages that share an English courtyard–specifically for workingmen and their families. Today, these cottages have been priced into the millions, with 21 Warren Place hitting the market last summer for $1.5 million. Renting isn't for the everyday workingman, either. 8 Warren Place is now asking $4,900 a month for two bedrooms and bragging rights to living in one of the quaintest homes in Brooklyn.
Check out the cozy interior

Apply Now for 13 New Affordable Apartments Across Williamsburg, Starting at $756/Month

7 Stagg Street via Joseph Vance Architects

February 16, 2016

Apply Now for 13 New Affordable Apartments Across Williamsburg, Starting at $756/Month

Last week, 6sqft announced that the affordable housing lottery had launched for 33 apartments at 149 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg. If you're in this income bracket and are looking to live in this trendy Brooklyn area, you can now up your chances, as 13 more brand-new affordable units are up for grabs at five sites around the neighborhood–568 Graham Avenue, 7 Stagg Street, 40 Scholes Street, 198 Montrose Avenue, and 44 Morgan Avenue–according to the NYC HDC. These addresses, which will offer/preserve 24 affordable units in total, are part of a project from the affordable housing developer St. Nicks Alliance. Currently available are one-, two-, and three-bedroom units for those earning between $30,446 and $60,120 annually, roughly 60 percent of the area median income.
More information this way

Affordable Housing

February 16, 2016

Magic Wine Rack Makes Bottles Disappear

For over 20 years Tony Potter has been working and living as an illusionist and magician, but this renaissance-man-entertainer also has a passion for woodworking. Combining all his unique skills, he designed a wine rack called Pinetti that makes bottles appear to vanish. And while many of us don't need any help making wine disappear, it's still fun to see this seemingly standard wine rack do its magic.
Learn more about this tricky illusion

Vaults Under the Brooklyn Bridge Once Held Private Wine Cellars

Image via Stanley Greenberg

February 16, 2016

Vaults Under the Brooklyn Bridge Once Held Private Wine Cellars

We know the cavernous passageways and underground chambers of the Brooklyn Bridge hold many secrets–6sqft previously mentioned the Cold War-era bomb shelter, chock-full of supplies and provisions, hidden inside one of the massive stone arches below the bridge’s Manhattan side entrance. But the landmark also harbors a more pleasant secret: In the 1900s, the city rented out vaults beneath the ramps leading up to the bridge entrances for use as wine cellars (h/t NYT). A wine vault on the Manhattan side cost $5,000 a year, while Brooklyn-side storage was a mere $500 annually.
The full story

History

February 16, 2016

Original World Trade Center Keys Are for Sale on eBay for $489

Today's office buildings are generally accessed via sophisticated swipe cards and code systems, but when the original World Trade Center towers were built, good old fashioned keys were still in use. And, believe it or not, two separate sellers on eBay are offering up said brass keys, Untapped uncovered. The first (pictured above) has raised letters stating, “WORLD TRADE CENTER DO NOT DUPLICATE,” meaning it "was cast in brass and not printed in the locksmith department of the Twin Towers." For $489, it's being sold with a visitor's pass from when the seller's father went to the offices of financial firm Raymond James. The second key is only $250, but has engraved letters instead.
Find out more about these historic items

History

February 16, 2016

Mapping the Neighborhoods of Victorian Flatbush; Hamilton/Burr Dueling Pistols Are Hiding in NYC

Did you know that Victorian Flatbush is actually a cluster of about a dozen smaller neighborhoods in Flatbush developed around the turn of the century? While many use “Victorian Flatbush” and “Ditmas Park” interchangeably, they aren’t the same thing. See how the area really breaks down in this informative, interactive map. [NeighborhoodX] Check out these 1800s-era artifacts […]

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Distinctive Homes

For $995K, this dreamy upstate farmhouse gets every detail just right

Love is a large, lovely $2.9M Lispenard Street loft

A fashion designer's cozy converted 1920s barn in upstate NY asks $2.9M

This $2.6M apartment offers classic Upper East Side elegance with condo simplicity

$450K Hell's Kitchen studio is a cozy refuge in the middle of Manhattan

This $9.75M East Village duplex has Cape Cod-style charm topped by a rooftop cottage

For $55K, spend a post-modernist summer in a designer's Long Island home and studio

For $8.85M, a condo with Central Park and Manhattan skyline views from every room

$3.4M Park Slope triplex condo has a roof terrace with heavenly views

Look out on the city from high above the Lower East Side in this $3.8M penthouse

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February 16, 2016

$775K Ridgewood Duplex Is an Urban Loft on the Brooklyn-Queens Border

Those who stake their claim beyond the fringes of New York City's upscale or trendy enclaves aren’t looking for the same things their more mainstream counterparts are. Every neighborhood can’t be the West Village–or even the Brooklyn version of it. Looking for lower prices and cheaper rent calls to the adventurous–Andy Warhol and his crew carved out their Factory scene in Midtown, for example. Similarly, in the ‘90s, a flock of young space-seekers moved into former industrial spaces in Bushwick. Ridgewood was a bit further on the L and so its notable population of new residents came a little later, but they brought the same spirit. Even for the early Bushwick crowd, Ridgewood, the quintessential border town, is different, with its mix of streetscapes from historic row houses (Ridgewood has one of the largest federal historic districts in the nation) to industrial blocks much like the one on which you’ll find this one-bedroom condominium at 852 Cypress Avenue on the Ridgewood-Bushwick border.
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Distinctive Homes

A New York Minute With the Lower East Side History Project’s Eric Ferrara

6sqft’s new mini-series A New York Minute features influential New Yorkers answering spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want to nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch!

February 15, 2016

A New York Minute With the Lower East Side History Project’s Eric Ferrara

Eric Ferrara is one of those people who just screams New York, and it makes sense considering he's a fourth-generation city dweller. He was born on 71st Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and is now a professional history author, educator, movie and television consultant and personality, and founder of the award-winning non-profit Lower East Side History Project. Among the books he's authored are the Manhattan Mafia Guide, Lower East Side Oral Histories, and The Bowery: A History of Grit, Graft and Grandeur. In addition to being ridiculously knowledgable about the city, Eric has that classic New York sense of humor, so we couldn't wait to hear about some of his most memorable moments, his favorite spots, and his general thoughts on life in New York.
Eric's NY Minute this way

Where I Work

February 14, 2016

10 New York Couples Offer Up Their Design Tips for Peaceful Cohabitation

By Diane Pham

Our ongoing series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. In celebration of Valentine's Day, this week 6sqft asked 10 couples for tips on how to cohabit peacefully together. Living with anyone takes a lot of work—days are more often than not highlighted with squabbles over the toilet seat being left up than googly eyes over too many flowers and chocolates. Now throw in the fact that you're probably squeezing into a tiny studio or a one-bedroom (if you're lucky!), and one would think what you've really got is a one-way ticket to singledom. But creating a peaceful and stress-free home is possible by just implementing a few changes and making a few compromises. While love may be anything but one-size-fits-all, these 10 New York City couples are sharing their tips on how they created a balanced home full of joy.
All the best tips and 10 of NYC's cutest couples this way

February 13, 2016

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff

Live in Trendy Williamsburg for $563/Month, Lottery Launching for 149 Kent Apartments Brooklyn’s Most Expensive Rental Ups Its Price to $29K/Month Bjarke Ingels Reveals Design for Supertall Cascading Hudson Yards Tower, the Spiral Penny Marshall Lists $5.5M UWS Penthouse With Terrace, Views and a Fireplace in the Bathroom Housing Lottery Kicks Off for $801/Month Middle-Income […]

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February 12, 2016

Rafael Viñoly Files Plans to Construct a 60-Foot Addition for Pershing Square Capital

In December, the Post reported that Bill Ackman had tapped starchitect Rafael Vinoly (the designer of 432 Park Avenue) to re-imagine 787 Eleventh Avenue along Manhattan's "Automobile Row" in Hell's Kitchen. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management intends to relocate to the top floors of the building, and permits filed yesterday indicate that plans are moving forward. The 100-foot-tall structure will receive a two-story, 60-foot-tall addition, which will add nearly 20,000 square feet of construction floor area to the 460,000-square-foot building.
Find out more

Architecture And Design

February 12, 2016

Spotlight: Jacques Torres Takes Us Into His Whimsical World of Chocolate

By Susan Cohen

On Valentine's Day, couples often express their love for each other with chocolate. And here in New York, acclaimed chocolatier Jacques Torres is naturally part of the conversation. Since 2000, Jacques has been sharing his chocolate creations through his company Jacques Torres Chocolate, which over the years has grown to nine shops around the city. But it all began back in his native France, where in 1986 he was the youngest pastry chef to be awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France) medal in pastry. Soon after, he moved to the United States, and a few years later began working as a pastry chef at famed restaurant Le Cirque. After making his mark in the restaurant industry, he devoted himself to chocolate full time, a decision that has certainly benefited those of us with a sweet tooth. With Valentine's Day this Sunday, 6sqft spoke with Jacques to learn more about his world of chocolate, how real estate has been an important part of it, and just how busy he gets around the holiday.
Read the interview this way

February 12, 2016

Office Romance by the Numbers: Which Professions Are Pairing Up

If you’ve got the urge to merge, it might be time for a career change. With the romance-obsessed holiday around the corner, the folks at Bloomberg Business delved into the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey to find out which professions are pairing off. To that end, they've created a fascinating interactive chart that reveals the most common occupation/relationship marriage matchups for any selected occupation. Some findings aren’t surprising: "High-earning women tend to pair up with their economic equals, while middle- and lower-tier women often marry up. In other words, female CEOs tend to marry other CEOs; male CEOs are okay marrying their secretaries."
So Who's Marrying Whom?

City Living

February 12, 2016

Rent the Landmarked Clinton Hill Townhouse From ‘White Collar’ for $7,995/Month

This wood-frame townhouse at 106 Cambridge Place in historic Clinton Hill is in much better shape than some of its nearby Civil War-era brethren, many of which have been shored up and shined up with modern conveniences, leaving little remaining of their 19th century details. This 1860s house, however, is both gracefully preserved and filled with modern comforts both practical and stylish. Another distinction: The house appeared on the TV series "White Collar," as the home of FBI Agent Peter Burke. This five-bedroom, 20-foot-wide townhouse, after being listed for sale for $2.89 million last year, is now on the rental market for $7,995 a month. Since the listing refers to the upper triplex, we're assuming the garden apartment is either separately rented or otherwise used by the owners.
Take a look around

February 12, 2016

Circle Swinging Chair Brings Your Childhood Playground Inside the Office

Chairs come in all shapes and sizes, but more often than not they're simply four legs, a seat, and a back. But this standard form did not appeal to Polish designer Iwona Kosicka, as she recently introduced the world to SWING, her legless floating circle chair. This out-of-the-box design gracefully hangs from the ceiling and features refined woodwork, adding fun and sophistication to any room.
More on SWING

Apply Today for an $827/Month Apartment at the Controversial Towers Next to St. John the Divine

The Enclave at the Cathedral is a set of two brand-new rental buildings in Morningside Heights from the Brodsky Organization. Offering a total of 428 residential units, the 13- and 15-story undulating towers were involved in quite a bit of controversy for their position obstructing the 123-year-old Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which just happens to be the world's largest cathedral. But if this little issue doesn't bother you, and you earn between $29,726 and and $51,780 annually, you can apply starting today for one of 87 affordable units, according to the NYC HDC. They include 27 studios priced at $827/month; 40 one-bedrooms at $931/month; and 20 two-bedrooms at $1,123/month.
Find out if you qualify

February 12, 2016

Buyout Legends: Developers Paid 15 CPW Hermit Holdout $17M to Move Into a Free Apartment

What do you do when you're a developer who has a 52,000-square-foot property with one tenant...who won't leave? While we've all heard legends about holdouts in rent-controlled apartments getting big buyouts from deep-pocketed developers, none to date could beat the good fortune of Herbert J. Sukenik. The reclusive septuagenarian lived in his 350-square-foot apartment (which happened to have four exposures and Central Park and two river views) at the Mayflower Hotel for three decades. But he ended up walking away with $17 million, the most money ever paid to a tenant to leave a New York apartment, and walked into an almost-free, 2,200-square-foot, 16th-floor home in the venerable Essex House on Central Park South.
So what happened?

History

February 12, 2016

How Co-op Prices Have Changed Over the Last 15 Years; NYC’s Professional Proposal Planner

This interactive chart shows how co-op prices have changed from 200o to 2015. The Financial District increased the most at 272%. [NeighborhoodX] Richard Meier on the buildings he wishes he’d designed. [WSJ] Meet the city’s professional proposal planner, who not only photographs the occasion, but coaches the groom-to-be and orchestrates the occasion. [Racked] Taking your Valentine’s date […]

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February 12, 2016

Cute Two-Bedroom Condo in Prime Williamsburg Is Priced Under $1 Million

It seems like you can't find anything in Williamsburg for less than $1 million these days, but here's a condo that's priced just below seven digits. This two-bedroom unit at 211 Berry Street, an older condo complex in the neighborhood that's been slapped with a cool name (Northside Condo), has got a price tag of $995,000. This is not one of those North Brooklyn loft condos with a pool, roofdeck or resident lounges, which accounts for the lower price in the central Williamsburg location -- it's located right near the main drags of Bedford and Metropolitan avenues.
Take a look

February 12, 2016

Revealed: Central Park Tower Shows Off Its Retail Base

Now dubbed the Central Park Tower, Extell's 1,550-foot-tall supertall on Billionaires' Row was originally known as the Nordstrom Tower, so named because of its ground-floor tenant who will be opening their first Manhattan flagship store. But despite the fact that we architecture nerds were saying "Nordstrom" for years, we had no idea how the store would actually factor into the 95-story building's overall design (which was recently knocked down from a whopping 1,775 feet with the loss of its spire). But now, the Seattle Times (the department store is based out of the Washington city) has revealed renderings of the retail base, reports NY Yimby.
All the details and renderings

February 11, 2016

Penny Marshall Lists $5.5M UWS Penthouse With Terrace, Views and a Fireplace in the Bathroom

Director, actress, producer and “Laverne & Shirley” star Penny Marshall is parting ways with the Upper West Side penthouse at 470 West End Avenue that she purchased back in the early 1980s. Marshall just listed the 1,800-square-foot penthouse with a wrap-around terrace and Hudson River views for $5.5 million. The Bronx-born actress, who has been based on the left coast for some time, used the two-bedroom pad as a pied-a-terre, and it certainly makes an impressive one. Though the interiors don't appear to have been updated recently, dramatic pre-war details (11-foot-plus beamed ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces, paneled doors and original hardware) and 1,050 square feet of private outdoor space don’t ever go out of style; with some updating, this will definitely be a "Big" beautiful space.
Check out the rest of the penthouse

February 11, 2016

HOK Architects Files Permits for 21-Story UES Condo Tower, Will Yield New Subway Entrance

Yesterday, Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) filed permit applications with the city's Department of Buildings to construct their first residential tower in the city–an 18-story, mixed-use condominium tower at 147 East 86th Street on the Upper East Side. The 210,000-square-foot project will anchor the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and 86th Street and will sit directly atop the Lexington line's 86th Street subway station, for which the developers will build a new entrance. The $340 million project is being shepherded by a joint venture among Stillman Development, Ceruzzi Properties, and Kuafu Properties, who will build retail on the first few floors of the building and high-end condo units up top. Much of the site is owned by the the estate of real estate mogul Sol Goldman. Filed plans show that the development will contain 63 units and rise 210 feet, the maximum height allowed in the zoning district.
More details and renderings this way

February 11, 2016

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 2/11-2/17

By Lori Zimmer

In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd‘s philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top picks for 6sqft readers! Even if you’re not into Valentine’s Day, it's no excuse not to celebrate a love-filled weekend of art and design. For the next month, you can take your lover or best friend to play in the glittering "Heart of Hearts" installation in Times Square or experience true beauty at the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. Check out private arts club the Norwood without becoming a member for the Sweetheart Ball or try the Out to See arts and film celebrations happening down at the South Street Seaport. On the actual day, check out a tech-savvy sculpture show at Lyles & King, and then have the main event at House of Yes for LUST, an immersive and sexy arty dinner soiree. Then, wash off all the saccharin sweetness of Valentine’s Day with a good old nerdy film fest about infrastructures at the Van Alen Institute.
All the best events to check out here

Events & Things To Do

February 11, 2016

Beautiful Bathtub Is Made From Woven White Ash and Maple Veneer

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

Beautiful design comes in all shapes and sizes, but a bathtub carefully crafted from strips of wood veneer is not something you see everyday. From Israeli designer Tal Engel, this gorgeous bathtub known as Otaku is constructed from this very process by weaving together strips of white ash and maple veneer.
READ MORE

THE 6SQFT SHOP

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10 Ways to Decorate an Exposed Brick Wall Without Drilling

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

10 Great Places to Buy Affordable Art in New York City

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February 11, 2016

Groundwork Begins at Downtown Supertall 45 Broad Street

Wasting no time getting started, Madison Equities and Italy-based Pizzarotti Group have begun soil testing at the site of their upcoming supertall tower 45 Broad Street. After 6sqft revealed a trio of preliminary renderings last month, Pizzarotti Group's CEO Rance MacFarland told Curbed that the tower will stretch 1,100 feet high and have 86 floors. He also shared that it will contain 245 condo residences catering to "entry- and mid-level buyers."
Get a look at the current site

February 11, 2016

$685K Chelsea Micro Apartment Was Renovated to Maximize Space and Design

If you're going to live in a really small apartment, you may as well get it custom designed to maximize as much space as possible. Such is the case with this very cozy one bedroom at 221 West 21st Street, a nondescript five-story co-op building in Chelsea. This unit has been gutted, renovated and redesigned by MySuites & Co., a boutique real estate and design firm based in Soho, and furniture and textile designer Nightwood New York. The result–the Chelseagold. MySuites says it feels more like a 700-square-foot apartment than a 500-square-foot pad, and we think the charming interior design almost makes up for the lack of space.
See the rest of the micro apartment

Distinctive Homes

February 11, 2016

Subway Maps for Tourists; The Last Four Phone Booths in the City

Five people have been charged with second-degree manslaughter related to the Second Avenue explosion last year. [EV Grieve] A Clinton Hill shop offers $300 “bespoke perfume consultations.” [DNAinfo] The new windows have been revealed at Aby Rosen’s 190 Bowery. [Bowery Boogie] These maps explain the subway for tourists and transplants. [Gothamist] In the 1880s partiers had […]

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February 11, 2016

Notorious Novogratz Townhouse Where Heidi Klum Summered Sells for $14.5M

By Annie Doge

It only took nine years and a $10 million price chop, but the notoriously-hard-to-sell townhouse at 400 West Street has finally found a buyer for $14.5 million, reports the Post. Husband-and-wife design team Bob and Cortney Novogratz bought the West Village townhouse for $4.3 million back in 2007, and then undertook a complete renovation, adding an indoor basketball court, eight-person elevator, and insane rooftop terrace complete with a pizza oven and hot tub. All these amenities, coupled with the colorful and funky decor, caught the eye of Heidi Klum, who rented the home several times over the years, most recently for $70,000/month this past summer.
See the full spread

February 11, 2016

Construction Begins on 40-Story Marriott Hotel Replacing Antiques Garage in Chelsea

After an 11-year run, the popular Antiques Garage flea market, where bargain hunters haggled over an eclectic assortment of used goods, shuttered its weekend fairs in the summer of 2014. Like many soft sites around the Flower District, the parking garage used by the market at 112 West 25th Street was purchased by development interests, namely Extell, who later sold to Lam Generation for $68 million. Since the purchase, the three-story garage has been razed and groundwork has finally begun for a 330-room, four-star Marriott Renaissance Hotel. With the help of some unused neighboring development rights, Lam's tower will grow to 140,000 square feet of floor area and stand roughly 450 feet high over its mid-rise Chelsea locale. The neighborhood's current tallest building, Chelsea Stratus, is just one lot away and rises 25 feet higher than Lam's upcoming tower.
More details ahead

February 10, 2016

For $1,900/Month, You Can Get an East Village Studio With a Claw-Foot Tub in the Kitchen

We've seen apartments with showers proudly displayed in the kitchen before (like this $1,795/month unit on the Lower East Side), but now city dwellers who can't afford a separate bathroom can get an upgrade–in the form of a fancy clawfoot tub in the kitchen. EV Grieve noticed two listings in the East Village at 328 East 6th Street for studios that seem to tout their "tenement roots" by overemphasizing the "beautiful claw foot tub in the living space" (and by living space they mean directly next to the sink where you'll wash your vegetables). They're available for $1,800 and $1,900/month, which, according to the listings, is "the best deal for the dollar in this hood."
Check 'em out

February 10, 2016

New Furniture Collection Solves Our Spatially-Challenged Living Arrangements

Most New Yorkers are more than familiar with the trials and tribulations posed by our spatially-challenged living arrangements. However, with every one of life's obstacles, there's a potential opportunity waiting just under the surface. That's exactly what Parisian designer Gilles Belley intended to uncover when he was awarded a grant from VIA, a French organization promoting local design. With funding in hand, Gilles set out to research and develop furniture that would address the needs of modern city living. His solution includes a collection of three pieces formally titled "Rooms," which includes AREA, WALL and BLOCK, each designed to provide more flexibility for how we function in and define our living spaces.
Learn all about it

February 10, 2016

Floor-Through Noho Loft With Four Exposures Hits the Market for $3.25 Million

At 55 Great Jones Street, a historic 1910 building in Noho, each of the seven stories has been converted into lofty co-op apartments. This one occupies the entire fifth floor for a total of 2,200 square feet. And because the building is surrounded by two squat, single-story structures, the unit comes with a rare four exposures. Never a bad thing to complement an apartment that's lofty to begin with.
Take an interior tour

Distinctive Homes

February 10, 2016

POLL: Are You a Fan of Bjarke Ingels’ Design for the Spiral?

On Monday, 6sqft brought you the latest reveal from starchitect Bjarke Ingels, a cascading supertall tower set for Hudson Yards and known as the Spiral. It caught people’s attention not only for the architect attached to it, but for its series of landscaped terraces and hanging gardens that twist around its glassy facade. The interior views are […]

February 10, 2016

Is Fashion Week Dead?; You Don’t Have to Walk More Than Six Blocks to the Next Starbucks

New York Fashion Week kicks off today, but many big-name designers aren’t showing. Is the heyday over? [Daily Beast] “To Kill a Mockingbird” is coming to Broadway… [NYT] And so is “Frozen.” [Time] On average, there’s a Starbucks about every six blocks in Manhattan. [Gothamist] Chateau le Woof in Astoria is a cafe for humans and […]

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February 10, 2016

Presenting Driggs Haus: 19 Condos Coming to Williamsburg-Greenpoint Border

By Julian Friedman

The Driggs Haus at 247 Driggs Avenue is a 23,500-square-foot condominium building developed by Greenpoint Luxury Development LLC (who purchased the three-story structure that previously stood on the site for $950,000 in 2013) with Gertler & Wente Architects handling the design. The project, situated at the corner of Graham and Driggs Avenues near McCarren Park, has been slow to wrap up construction, with its topped-off concrete frame shrouded in netting for some time now. Ultimately, there will be 19 homes spread throughout the project's five floors, and a soon-to-be-launched website marketing the units brings us a handful of new images and details.
Find out more

February 10, 2016

Live in a Former Bed-Stuy Underwear Factory With City Views and Rustic Flair for $895K

This converted two-bedroom condominium is located within a former industrial building in an equally industrial, but rapidly changing, stretch of Bed-Stuy near the Clinton Hill border, with the Navy Yard just to the north. In what was once the Kaiser Underwear Factory at 970 Kent Avenue, you'll find open city views, 12-foot ceilings, a wall of city-facing windows and wide-plank wood floors setting the stage for a cool loft feeling. Recently renovated by the current owner, the home's interior has been transformed into quite a unique living space, and it's now on the market for $895,000.
See the whole space

Distinctive Homes

Soho Cast-Iron Building Regains Its Lost Floors…and Then Some

A rendering of the new addition (L); A historic view of the building from a 1930s tax photo (R)

February 10, 2016

Soho Cast-Iron Building Regains Its Lost Floors…and Then Some

By Emrys Fitzgerald

A truncated two-story building in Soho's Cast-Iron Historic District is regaining its lost floors, and then some. In 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a four-story addition to 29 Greene Street that sought to recapture the structure's original design, and now steel framing is heading up. Built in 1878 as a four-floor building with a classic cast-iron front, a fire destroyed the top two floors sometime before the area's landmark designation in 1974. Enough historic detail remained for the Commission to include the building in the district, and now its remaining cast-iron elements will be used to replicate the facade on upper floors.
More details ahead

February 10, 2016

Checking In on Clinton Hill’s Lexington Greene Apartments + New Interior Renderings

The formerly semi-industrial pocket between Clinton Hill and Bedford-Stuyvesant is among the most radically transformed areas of northern Brooklyn. In line with the voracious residential activity circling Pratt Institute, an 81-unit, five-story residential building has topped off at 10 Lexington Avenue. It will be known as Lexington Greene and is being developed by Williamsburg-based investor Joseph Brunner, who filed permits under the LLC 10 Lex Holdings in mid 2014. The development replaces a one-story cleaning and dyeing factory–home to the Colonial Laundry Company–that Brunner picked up in 2012 for $6,175,000.
See all the renderings and construction shots

February 9, 2016

Actress and Comedian Ellie Kemper Buys $2.8M Classic Upper West Side Co-op

By Annie Doge

In her critically acclaimed Netflix show "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," her character, a former abductee who ends up in NYC, lives in an eclectic Brooklyn apartment. In real life, actress and comedian Ellie Kemper goes for a more traditional look, as is evidenced by her recent purchase -- a classic six co-op at 325 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side. According to city records released today, Kemper and her husband Michael Koman, a writer and producer, paid $2.8 million for the three-bedroom spread.
See the whole apartment

February 9, 2016

New LLC Disclosure Law Probably Won’t Have Much Impact on the Condo Market

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Will new federal regulations aimed at clamping down on shell companies buying luxury real estate send a chill through Manhattan’s high-end real estate market? The reaction to a page one article in the New York Times last month suggests fear is in the air. But that fear may be misplaced for two reasons: firstly, the Treasury Department’s database of buyers’ names will not be public, as many have inferred; and secondly, in New York, title insurance is not mandatory when you're making an all-cash deal.
FInd out more here

February 9, 2016

Housing Lottery Kicks Off for $801/Month Middle-Income Apartments in the Brooklyn Cultural District

It's been quite a week to up your chances of snagging an affordable apartment in the city, with housing lottery applications being accepted for 175 West 60th Street, PS 186, EŌS, and 149 Kent Avenue. Now in booming Downtown Brooklyn, near BAM in the Brooklyn Cultural District, the Ashland at 250 Ashland Place has kicked off its lottery process, offering 282 below market-rate apartments, according to the NYC HDC. Unlike many of the recent launches, aimed towards low-income households, the Ashland is geared towards middle-income applicants earning between $28,835 for single individuals up to $200,400 for a family of six. Those who fall within the income guidelines have the opportunity to pay rents ranging from $801 for studios to $3,649 for three-bedroom units.
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February 9, 2016

For $1.2M This Cobble Hill Garden Co-op Is a Perfect Place to Curl Up for a Nap

In the charming neighborhood of Cobble Hill near the border of equally charming Brooklyn Heights, on a tree-lined picture-postcard street, this sweet, old-fashioned (yet updated) garden apartment appears as cozy as they come. The 1,100-square-foot two-bedroom co-op at 119 Pacific Street, asking $1.195 million, looks–except for the price (which isn't even that bad)–almost the way apartments in this part of south Brooklyn used to look, from its wood-burning fireplace to its enchanting backyard.
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Distinctive Homes

1289 Lexington Avenue

Carnegie Hill

Refined living on the Upper East Side

2 beds starting at $2,495,000
3 beds starting at $4,995,000
4 beds starting at $5,250,000
5 beds starting at $8,995,000

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February 9, 2016

Student Project Gets Subway Riders to Scratch and Sniff

"If You Smell Something, Smell Something Else." Those words introduce a handful of signs that have been popping up at a few subway stations around the city, including Canal Street, Herald Square and Union Square. And most people, quite frankly, would rather do just that, if they had a choice...and now they do. School of Visual Arts graphic design student Angela Kim was acutely aware of this fact, and she decided to add a few more to the collection.
What's that smell?

February 9, 2016

AW Architects’ Blue Rock House in the Catskills Resembles a Minimalist Dairy Barn

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

AW Architects' Blue Rock House is an ensemble of buildings suggesting a minimalist dairy barn. Sitting atop a rural hill in the small town of Austerlitz, a three hours drive north from New York City, the project groups a main house, guesthouse and garage, interconnected by a string of beautiful bluestone walls that give the project its name. Its privileged location affords wide-open views out into the Berkshire and Catskill Mountains, and the choice of minimal materials evokes rusticity, elegance and attention to detail.
Learn more about this farm-like home

February 9, 2016

$19M Extravagant Riverside Drive Mansion Once Belonged to the ‘Father of the West Side’

There's something a little intimidating about an 8,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom single-family mansion that once belonged to "the father of the West Side" himself. The property in question is 327 West 76th Street, in the Riverside Drive area of the Upper West Side. The home was built in 1892 and quickly sold to Cyrus Clark, a businessman who retired from the silk business and went into real estate, making it his mission to campaign on behalf of developing Manhattan's West Side. The house wasn't distinct just for its owner, but because the exterior architecture stands out so distinctly in a row of more refined townhouses. For years the home was broken up into apartments, but developer Leonard Zelin converted it back to a single-family a few years back. Now he's hoping the investment will pay off: Zelin bought the townhouse for $8.8 million in 2010 and it's now asking an impressive $18.995 million.
Take a look around

February 9, 2016

Buy Your Sweetie a $50 NYC Apartment; Not All Girl Scout Cookies Are Made the Same

State Senator Tony Avella will introduce legislation to create special architectural districts throughout the state. [Times Ledger] Buy your sweetie a $50 NYC apartment for Valentine’s Day. The Queens Museum of Art is selling sites on its famous panorama. [Gothamist] Preservationists are worried about the fate of the 1970s Ambassador Grill and Lounge, inside the One UN New […]

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February 9, 2016

Mapping 22 Million Citi Bike Rides Across NYC