6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

James Ramsey is the man behind Raad Studio, the design firm well known for its proposal to build out the Lowline on the Lower East Side. The firm is also known for its kooky, unique interiors, and it's given this two-bedroom apartment at Tribeca's 151 Hudson Street plenty of personality. Prewar details are paired with contemporary features like a glass-walled wet bar, built-in shelving, and even a custom bookcase that hides a secret door into one of the bedrooms.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

April 19, 2016

26 Bushwick Homes to Be Vacated During M Train Work; Can You Legally Take Selfies While Voting?

This website turns your Instagram photos into customized adult coloring books. [Mashable] Dozens of Bushwick homes will have to be vacated for six to 10 months for work on the M train line. The MTA says it “provide suitable accommodations, relocation assistance and compensation.” [DNAinfo] The history of the Forward Building–from labor citadel to luxury condos. [Forward] […]

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April 19, 2016

Transport Beer on Your Bike With This Hip Leather Growler Satchel

For many New Yorkers bicycles are their main mode of transportation, and with the summer months ahead we welcome any addition to the bike-arsenal that'll help us stay cool, and in this case also look cool. This hip leather satchel from Pedal Happy Designs makes it super easy to transport your favorite growler anywhere in the city -- bikes and beers here we come!
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April 19, 2016

Jessica Chastain’s Lovely Greenwich Village Duplex Now on the Market for $1.8M

By Annie Doge

Jessica Chastain put her former digs at 250 Mercer Street on the rental market for $11,500 a month back in September. But it looks like now she's trying to unload the Greenwich Village duplex for good, as the Observer reports that the apartment has been re-listed for sale at $1.8 million. Chastain bought the 1,284-square-foot home in 2012 for $1.2 million, so she's not turning that much of a profit, but considering she bought a $5.1 million residence at the historic Osborne last year (that once belonged to Leonard Bernstein), we'd say this isn't much of an issue.
Take a tour

April 19, 2016

Annual Subway Ridership Hits 1.7 Billion, Highest Since 1948

The MTA has released its 2015 figures, which show the highest weekday subway ridership since 1948, reports the Daily News. Not only does this account for daily riders, which hit 5.7 million, but annual ridership as well, reaching 1.763 billion. Another interesting tidbit, especially considering the looming shutdown, is that L train usage decreased for the first time in about 20 years. This occurred from Third Avenue to Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn, resulting in a 4.2 percent increase along the J/Z and M lines.
More findings ahead

April 18, 2016

Skyline Wars: In Lower Manhattan, A New Downtown Is Emerging

By Carter B. Horsley

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s latest development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter brings us his fourth installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter looks at the evolution of the Lower Manhattan skyline. Lower Manhattan at the start of the Great Depression was the world’s most famous and influential skyline when 70 Pine, 20 Exchange Place, 1 and 40 Wall Street, and the Woolworth and Singer buildings inspired the world with their romantic silhouettes in a relatively balanced reach for the sky centered around the tip of Lower Manhattan. Midtown was not asleep at the switch and countered with the great Empire State, the spectacular Chrysler and 30 Rockefeller Plaza but they were scattered and could not topple the aggregate visual power and lure of Lower Manhattan and its proverbial “view from the 40th floor” as the hallowed precinct of corporate America until the end of World War II. The convenience and elegance of Midtown, however, became increasingly irresistible to many.
More on the the history of Lower Manhattan and what's in store

April 18, 2016

Donald Trump’s Failed and Fraught Attempt to Own the Empire State Building

In 2000, shortly after ending his first presidential run, Donald Trump was asked for what he would like to be remembered. He responded, "I'd like to own the Empire State Building," adding that it would make him "New York's Native Son." As Crain's recalls, he came awfully close to renaming the iconic tower the "Trump Empire State Building Tower Apartments." For nearly a decade, Trump had a 50 percent, no-cost stake in the building, but he lost it when he attempted a hostile takeover of the structure in the late 90s.
Read about the entire saga

History

April 18, 2016

Construction Begins on Gene Kaufman-Designed Apartments Rising Over Bryant Park

By Ondel Hylton

At a narrow Midtown lot at 1050 Sixth Avenue, construction is moving forward on a slender 24-story residential tower penned by New York's most beloved architect, Gene Kaufman. Rising behind the landmarked Bryant Park Studios Building (aka The Beaux-Arts Building), Kaufman's oft substance-less style will likely stand in sharp contrast to the charming 1901 structure. Skyline Developers, the New York division of Jersey-based Garden Homes Development, are the developers. The Orin Wilf-led firm owns the adjacent art-deco office tower at 1040 Sixth Avenue, and their new venture here will replace two turn-of-the-century walk-up buildings.
More details ahead

Distinctive Homes

Kurt Weill's former New York country estate with a creative pedigree asks $2.3M

An architect's vision transformed this $2.15M Park Slope loft with leveled-up modernist design

Seagram heir's Soho penthouse rents for $120K a month, a neighborhood record

After a thorough renovation, this peerless Park Slope mansion asks $13.5M

For $595K, this Turtle Bay pre-war co-op elegantly maximizes every square inch of space

This classic Park Slope townhouse sold for $5.3M in January. Now, it's asking $10.25M

Midtown East penthouse seen in 'Wolf of Wall Street' lists for $4.95M

For $5.9M, this architect-designed former Crown Heights carriage house has a guest studio and garage

Cobble Hill's most expensive home finds a buyer

Sting's former Central Park West pad is back on the market for $45M

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April 18, 2016

$1.4M Parlor-Level Co-op Looks Pretty and Roomy in Clinton Hill

This apartment at 385 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill calls itself a parlor-floor co-op, but it's not actually in a brownstone. The apartment comes from a 16-unit co-op, with the listing boasting that it's "much larger and brighter than a brownstone floor-through." Indeed, it has three large bedrooms, an office and windows throughout this pretty, historic space.
Check out the rest

Distinctive Homes

April 18, 2016

Mega-Mansion Watch: National Academy Lists Three UES Properties for $120M

Three lots in Carnegie Hill on the Upper East Side comprising the National Academy Museum & School just hit the market for $120 million. The prize properties, situated directly on Central Park, could be "one of the most remarkable conversion opportunities currently available in all of New York City." The property, listed by Cushman & Wakefield, includes two interconnected townhouses at 1083 Fifth Avenue and 3 East 89th Street, and a 65-foot-wide school building on East 89th Street, adding up to over 42,000 square feet of of above-grade space plus 12,000 square feet below-grade for "a wide variety of potential visions" including an epic single-family home, boutique condominiums, or continued use as an educational/community facility.
Find out more

April 18, 2016

NYPD Eases Rules for Subway Swipe Beggars; Hillary’s Favorite Places to Eat in NY

Since 2013, the NYPD has made more than 10,000 arrests of people asking for MetroCard swipes. Now, as part of the city’s more lenient approach to low-level rule breakers, these swipe hawkers will just get a ticket or court summons. [NYT] Hillary Clinton’s favorite food and drink in New York state. [Thrillist] For the first time, […]

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April 18, 2016

Robert A.M. Stern’s 220 Central Park South Gets Stoned; New Renderings and Construction Shots

By Ondel Hylton

At the forefront of Midtown's high-rise sierra, a new peak is emerging. Simply addressed 220 Central Park South, the two-winged development is being designed by celebrated historian and poet of the city's skyline Robert A.M. Stern and developed by commercial and retail heavyweights Vornado Realty Trust. The tower portion of the complex has already ascended some 300 feet above street level and is noticeable from many parts of Central Park. Ultimately, it will stand 66 stories, 950 feet high, making it among the tallest residential buildings in the city. The exclusive, Central Park South-fronting wing, dubbed "The Villas" is up to the third of 17 stories and will be topped by a palatial quadplex penthouse. Earlier this month, the tower's warm limestone cladding was being applied to the lower mechanical floors, which will have 18- to 24-foot-high ceilings, boosting the building's height by more than 100 feet and allowing nearly all its residences to possess Central Park views. To coincide with the construction work, Vornado recently published a collection of new renderings in a property portfolio, showing us for the first time several new looks at the project, including three full-scale views from Central Park and close-up looks at the base, porte-cochere, and an upper-level interior.
Check out the renderings and construction shots right here

April 18, 2016

Live Across the Street From Michelle Williams in Ditmas Park for $679K

If you think it's pretty cool that Michelle Williams bought an historic townhouse in Prospect Park South and is restoring it to its former glory, here's a chance to live across the street at 1409 Albemarle Road–and maybe pick up a few renovation tips. You won't need them, though, as the two-bedroom co-op has been thoroughly renovated by previous owners, so you can move right in. The picturesque yet convenient neighborhood is no secret, but nearby destinations like The Farm on Adderley, Lark cafe and a host of others continue to draw attention and new neighbors.
Check out this co-op in a landmarked building

Distinctive Homes

April 17, 2016

Manhattan Loft Uses Cartesian Geometry to Explore Light and Space

This Manhattan loft, also referred to by the project's architect as the High Loft, was redesigned to meet the needs of a young family of four. The changes were executed with design principles that also examine the play of urban light and views within the home's internal structure. In addition to the home's interior square footage, the family was attracted to the space's 13-foot high ceilings, and several other aspects of the building including its rich history and distinct cast iron structure.
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April 16, 2016

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff

Apply for 86 Affordable Apartments in Brownsville’s Prospect Plaza, Starting at $689/Month Uma Thurman’s Newly-Listed $6.25M Gramercy Duplex Comes With a Key to the Park New Photos of Judy Garland’s Former Dakota Apartment Designed by Sasha Bikoff Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo Put Sexy Soho Loft on the Market for $5.5M Funky Rockaway Houseboat Dubbed […]

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April 15, 2016

Spotlight: The Gefilteria’s Liz Alpern Is Making Gefilte Fish a Modern Passover Staple

By Susan Cohen

As the co-founder and co-owner of The Gefilteria, a Brooklyn-based gefilte fish manufacturing business, Liz Alpern is hard at work making sure there's plenty of her product for her customers to serve at their Passover seders in just a week. Gefilte fish is a dish surrounded by lots of opinions; at seders, it's just as common for someone to ask for seconds as it is for others to kindly offer the dish to their neighbor. Liz understands this range of feelings, as she's found herself on both sides of it. When she was younger, she didn't partake in the course, but in adulthood, she was introduced to homemade gefilte fish-- instead of the pre-made variety found on store shelves--and a love affair began that developed into The Gefilteria, which she co-founded with Jeffrey Yoskowitz in 2012. 6sqft recently spoke with Liz to discuss the founding and evolution of The Gefilteria, how they're casting the Passover staple in a new light, and what it means to be part of her customers’ seders.
Read the full interview here

April 15, 2016

Bed-Stuy Townhouse Beauty With Modern Upgrades Asks $2.75 Million

Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn is known for its stock of townhouses, many of which still retain incredible amounts of historic details. This one, at 17 Madison Street, has been renovated in a way that tastefully retains features like woodwork, parquet floors, marble mantlepieces and wainscoting. And beautiful interior design, on top of that, is the icing on the cake.
Take an interior tour

Distinctive Homes

20-Unit Brooklyn Heights Apartment Building Hits the Market As a $22M Mega-Mansion

If 2015 was the year of the nine-figure condo sale, 2016 may be the year of the makeshift mega-mansion. From Roman Abramovich's troubled attempt to combine three Upper East Side townhouses to a $50 million Tribeca spread with 18 toilets, wealthy New Yorkers are going to great lengths to create their dream homes. The latest over-the-top offering is in Brooklyn Heights, where a five-story, 20-unit rental building just hit the market as a $22 million single-family residence. As noted by the Wall Street Journal, the building at 50 Orange Street just sold in January for $13.5 million to Benchmark Real Estate Group, who quickly hired Lee Stahl of design/build firm The Renovated Home to draw up plans for how it could be converted to a single-family dwelling. These plans include four bedrooms (only four?), a gym, an 800-bottle wine cellar, and a roof terrace and would cost an additional $10.6 million to complete over a 16-month period.
But what about the tenants?

Distinctive Homes

April 15, 2016

Quirky Transforming Table Features Fur and Wood for the Indecisive Mind

The conundrum of indecisiveness is a frustration everyone can relate to, and this quirky table from designer Karolina Fardova translates this experience into some truly playful furniture. The table is titled "Fifty Fifty," in reference to its dualistic surface which is equal parts wood and fur. In addition to a bevy of surface textures, this clever table also unfolds and can be placed flat on the floor offering functionality beyond your standard table design.
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April 15, 2016

Which Presidential Candidate Is the New Yorkiest; Why Your Ikea Table Cost $10

Clinton vs. Sanders vs. Trump: Who is the true New Yorker? [NYT] You know those $10 Ikea end tables that are surprisingly sturdy? They’re made of paper. [House Beautiful] A Hawaiian canoe that’s sailing around the world will stop in Long Island City as part of a four-year voyage to promote sustainability. [DNAinfo] Walter Rosen, the longtime […]

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April 15, 2016

Find Your Neighborhood on This Interactive Map Made From Local Brooklyn Litter

There's no shortage of trash in NYC–even better than seeing it picked up is when someone is doing something interesting with it. Atlas Obscura introduces us to artist-cartographer Jennifer Maravillas, who has transformed the litter found in neighborhoods throughout the 71 square miles (the map is called "71 Square Miles") of Brooklyn into a map of the borough. Each neighborhood on the map is made up of paper litter–like flyers, advertisements and notes–found in that same neighborhood. The result is a bright, multicolored collage on which each bit of litter corresponds the place Maravillas found it. You can enter your address and find it on the interactive map, along with the trash you might see every day.
Check out the trash on your block

Events & Things To Do

April 15, 2016

Post-Modern Bronx Mansion With 35-Foot Atrium and 10 Skylights Wants $2M

The Bronx's Fieldston neighborhood is considered one of the city's best preserved early 20th century suburbs, unique for its collection of revival-style homes (Tudor, Mediterranean, and Colonial, mainly). But this mansion at 4545 Delafield Avenue is in a category all its own. The post-modern structure was built in 1994 by noted local firm Isaac & Stern, who designed a stucco-covered, geometric creation that looks straight out of "Miami Vice." Now on the market for $1,950,000 (down from the original $2.4 million ask last year), the residence is just as mod inside as it is outside, with a 35-foot entry atrium complete with huge skylights, arched columns, and black granite floors.
Check it all out

April 15, 2016

For $920K, a Park Slope Floor-Through With Old-World Brooklyn Charm

For just under $1 million, this two-bedroom condominium at 307 7th Street in Park Slope is a modern and comfortable home on the third floor of a classic prewar Brooklyn building. Built-ins, brick and a wood-burning fireplace join split-system zoned A/C, a thoroughly updated custom kitchen and two baths in a prime Center Slope spot steps from Fifth Avenue.
More this way

Distinctive Homes

April 14, 2016

Funky Rockaway Houseboat Dubbed ‘Ziggy Stardust’ Now Renting for $850/Night

By Ondel Hylton and Julian Friedman

For $850 a night you could nab a room at the iconic Plaza Hotel or something much, much less traditional: a houseboat in the waters of Far Rockaway owned by a Vermont hipster. That's right, this kooky houseboat, dubbed the Ziggy Stardust, is up for rent at the aforementioned nightly price through Airbnb. It is pretty decked out inside with surfboards, guitars, and pieces of reclaimed driftwood. We'll go out on a limb and say it's one of the most unique places to spend a night in New York City.
Take a tour of the boat

April 14, 2016

Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo Put Sexy Soho Loft on the Market for $5.5M

By Annie Doge

Just a month after announcing that they're expecting their first child, uber-sexy couple Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo have listed their equally sexy Soho loft. The Observer reports that the pair is looking to unload the sprawling, 2,800-square-foot spread at 112 Green Street to the tune of $5.5 million, $1 million more than they purchased it for in August, 2014. The brokers, Adam Mahfouda and Jules Borbely of Oxford Property Group, are the same team Ms. Prinsloo used to sell her Alphabet City apartment. If the loft-like details--six original cast-iron columns, old-time radiators, restored exposed brick walls, and 13-foot tin ceilings--weren't enough to make you drool, let us throw in the fact that this sale can include all the furniture. We've got our eyes on the huge velvet couches and giant light fixture, but we're not sure if those Louis Vuitton trunks in the master bedroom are part of the deal.
Take the full tour

April 14, 2016

As Rem Koolhaas Finally Designs First NYC Building, A Look Back at His Unbuilt Proposals

Thirty-eight years after the publication of his acclaimed book "Delirious New York," Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his global architecture firm the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) seem to have finally landed their first ground-up New York City commission. Excavation is already underway at the 22,000-square-foot project site located at 122 East 23rd Street and will soon host a pair of block-through residential towers articulated by faceted elevations and chiseled corners. While there has been no official announcement that Koolhaas is on board, several consultant websites and Linkedin profiles indicate that the Pritzker Prize-winner has been tapped, while New York-based SLCE will serve as the architects of record. To mark the occasion, and as we eagerly await the design unveiling, 6sqft has rounded up Koolhaas' prior unlucky attempts to build in the city. The proposals befell to the usual suspects that typically stymie bold architecture in the city—community opposition, economic downturns, and the conservative nature of the city's developers and public sector. *Update 4/21: OMA has confirmed their involvement in the project and share that Shohei Shigematsu, partner and director of the firm's New York office, is leading the design effort.
See it all right here

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

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

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10 best plants for apartment dwellers

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April 14, 2016

Zoe Saldana Sells Kew Gardens Co-op for $280K

By Annie Doge

"Star Trek" and "Avatar" star Zoe Saldana is letting go of her Queens roots, as the Post reports that the actress has sold her Kew Gardens co-op for $280,000. Saldana spent her early life not far away in Jackson Heights and has owned the apartment at 118-18 Union Turnpike since at least 2002, before she really hit it big. The two-bedroom spread is nothing fancy, but is located in a doorman building and features stainless steel appliances, spacious bedrooms, and lots of closet space.
See the entire apartment

April 14, 2016

Mayor’s Affordable Housing Push Brings Tough Questions on Racial Integration

Affordability vs. racial inclusion may sound like an odd battle to be having, yet it's one that often simmers below the surface in discussions of neighborhood change. The words "Nearly 50 years after the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act..." are, of course, no small part of the reason. And in a city known for its diversity–one that often feels more racially integrated than it is–the question of how housing policy might affect racial makeup tends to be carefully sidestepped, but the New York Times opens that worm-can in a subsection called "Race/Related."
Is there a tradeoff between integration and affordability?

April 14, 2016

There’s Room for the Whole Crew in This Pretty Brooklyn Heights Co-op, Asking $2.7M

The neighborhood's gorgeous, the block is gorgeous, and all the gorgeous things Brooklyn Heights is known for (the Promenade, shops and cafes on Montague Street, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pierrepont Playground) are steps away -- and the inside of this $2.7 million apartment in the historic co-op at 61 Pierrepont Street has no trouble living up to its surroundings. With a gracious and logical layout, the three-plus bedroom apartment is tastefully renovated and custom-configured beyond the standard bedrooms-and-common-space, all kind of squished together. There's a living room and a dining room. Not only are the bedrooms on opposite sides, but one has a cozy den next door. Find an office. Find a guest suite. Got kids? No problem. In-laws? Did we mention the thing about the bedrooms being well separated? And, there's an elevator.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

April 14, 2016

Deesawat’s Indoor and Outdoor Sofa Includes a Pod for Your Pup

While traditionally our pet's furniture and our living room couch are not one in the same, our limited space in the city makes the separation easier said than done. In an effort to resolve this potential conflict, Deesawat, a furniture company in Thailand, has recently released PET. This innovative multi-use piece of furniture, not only includes a separate space especially for your pooch, but it is also moveable and weather resistant, making it easy to enjoy both inside and out.
on this design here

April 14, 2016

NYC Buildings in the Desert; ‘Shark Tank’ Searching for Entrepreneurs in the Bronx

Brooklyn photographer and designer Anton Repponen’s “Misplaced Monuments” series puts famous NYC buildings in the desert, the mountains, or the depths of the ocean. [designboom] Mapping the states that love bacon the most. [Mental Floss] Think you’ve got a million-dollar business idea? “Shark Tank” is holding a casting call in the Bronx. [DNAinfo] “Murder of a […]

Uncategorized

April 14, 2016

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 4/14-4/20

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! This week, check out the giant swimming pool that is smack in the middle of Rockefeller Center, or frolic with the two-story bunnies in Battery Park City. Photographer Joe Russo shares pieces from his years of shooting celebs and artists, and the annual AIPAD photographer show takes over the gorgeous Park Avenue Armory. Music novelist Ben Vendetta talks about 90s Brit Pop at Otto's Shrunken Head, and old school graffiti artist BIO shares new work in the Bronx. And finally, save your pennies to party in style with Swizz Beatz at the Brooklyn Museum.
more on all the best events this way

Events & Things To Do

April 14, 2016

Lottery Opens for 10 Affordable Units in the Bronx’s Crotona Park East Neighborhood

In 1977, when President Jimmy Carter visited the South Bronx and declared it the worst neighborhood in the country, he was standing in Crotona Park East, a small neighborhood nestled in the triangle bordered by the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Harlem River, and Crotona Park. Though the Bronx dropped this reputation a long time ago, Crotona Park East was one of a few areas that seemed slow to catch up with the rest of the borough, but five years ago, the city rezoned this stretch from light industrial use to residential, creating a boom in affordable housing opportunities. The latest such development is located at 1702 Bryant Avenue, where 10 newly constructed affordable units are up for grabs through the city's housing lottery. The unit are $931/month one-bedrooms for one person earning between $31,920 and $38,100 annually and two people earning between $31,920 and $43,500.
READ MORE

Affordable Housing

April 14, 2016

LAST DAY to Win a ‘Burgopoly’ Board Game, A Williamsburg-Themed Monopoly!

By Diane Pham

The Bronx has its own hot sauce, Bushwick has its own candle, and now Williamsburg has its own board game, thanks to Compass broker and Williamsburg resident Ralph Modica! "Burgopoly" is a BK-themed version of the classic real estate game Monopoly, taking players through the trials and tribulations of living in NYC—think bedbug infestations, your tub overflowing and the end of tax abatements on your condo (eek)—while setting them in Brooklyn's trendiest neighborhood. Although the game isn't for sale (Ralph created it for clients who meet him at the closing table), 6sqft has paired up with the Modica team to give away THREE Burgopoly board games to THREE lucky readers. The last day to enter is Thursday, April 14, 2016.
Enter to win a burgopoly + read 6sqft's interview with ralph

Architecture And Design

April 13, 2016

New Photos of Judy Garland’s Former Dakota Apartment Designed by Sasha Bikoff

6sqft has already covered the listing for this impeccable and impressive $16.7M apartment previously owned by the one and only Judy Garland, but now we've come across additional images offering a more detailed look into this space at the iconic Dakota. The home was designed by Sasha Bikoff, and from room to room the interior seamlessly combines a variety of patterns and pieces, spanning across design styles and movements without a hiccup. The color palette is simultaneously both bold and soft, and each room is packed full of unique design vignettes.
Have a closer look at the stunning home here

April 13, 2016

East Village Speakeasy Turned Condo Building Has a Duplex Up for Rent

Many, many years ago, the East Village building at 12 Avenue A was a speakeasy and dancehall. Today, it's a luxury condo with a very pricey unit up for rent—a four-bedroom duplex asking a hefty $24,500/month. The owner is looking for a short- or long-term renter to enjoy this lofty, open space. Its days as a dance hall are long gone, as the sleek interior is now decked out with modern artwork, a private roof deck and fancy finishes like Carrara marble and dark oak floors.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

April 13, 2016

Tips for Keeping Pets Happy and Healthy in an Apartment

By Alyssa Alimurung

6sqft’s series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. This week we offer up helpful tips on how to live with a furry family member (or members) from choosing the right furniture to actually getting your pet OK'd to move into a new place with you. Owning a dog or cat in the city is a decision that should not be taken lightly. Not only can small apartments and loud noises be stressful for humans, but animal anxiety can also be exacerbated by these external elements (and de-stressing for them isn't as easy for them as getting a massage or happy hour). On top of this, pet messes and their manic outbursts can seem exponentially larger when compacted into an home that's barely 500 square feet. Ahead, with the help of Erin McShane, owner of Manhattan's new cat cafe and teahouse Little Lions, we've rounded up a few tips and things to consider when it comes to making apartment living with dogs and cats comfortable for all—especially humans.
A happy home, happy pet and happy you this way

April 13, 2016

AC/DC Bassist Cliff Williams’ Former West Village Condo Is Back on the Market for $3M

This two-bedroom condominium in a chic and adorably urban corner of the West Village at 63 Downing Street looks a lot like an apartment a model or actress buys after she gets her first big gig (though in that context the ask is pretty steep; what kind of world is it when starter model apartments are selling for $3M?). She'll move in with a boyfriend soon thereafter, and rent the pad out for a few years. Then if she's done well, she'll make celebrity real estate headlines when she sells it and buys a big loft in Williamsburg or Bushwick. There are a lot of models and actresses out there, so this sunny downtown pad with almost as much outdoor space as indoor should be snapped up in no time. Apparently, it's the kind of apartment that elder statesman rockers with plenty of cash buy, too, because AC⚡️DC bassist Cliff Williams owned this unit with his wife Georganne for nine years before selling it in 2013 for $2.3 million—well over the $1.89M ask (the couple have a daughter who's a model and actress, so it all fits somehow). Williams made a killing selling his Fort Myers, Florida mansion for $7 million about a year ago, so there's something to be said for his real estate karma.
Take a look at these summer-ready terraces

April 13, 2016

‘Breaking Bad’-Themed Coffee Shop Opening in Bushwick; Pencils Are Big Business

Walter’s Coffee Roastery, a “Breaking Bad”-inspired shop that started in Istanbul, is opening in Bushwick. Coffee is served in little beakers and some employees wear HazMat suits. [Eater] Here’s what today’s female architects have to say about sexism, equal pay, and more. [NYT] After being put in jeopardy of a massive “de-calendaring,” Long Island City’s Pepsi-Cola sign […]

Uncategorized

April 13, 2016

Bid on Dinner at Daniel Libeskind’s Tribeca Apartment or Cocktails With the Lowline Founder

Sick of just reading about today's architects and designers? Now's your chance to meet some of these prolific figures in the flesh, through the Van Alen Institute's third annual Auction of Art + Design Experiences. Launched today, the experiences you can bid on include dinner at Daniel Libeskind's Tribeca apartment cooked by his wife Nina, the chance to harvest cocktail ingredients in the Lowline Lab with founder James Ramsey, pedicures in Brooklyn with artist Diana Al-Hadid, and a recipe tasting in Bon Appétit's One World Trade Center offices.
Get the scoop on some of the most exciting experiences

Architecture And Design

April 13, 2016

POLL: Will You Miss the MetroCard Swipe?

The ye-olde MetroCard swipe has made national headlines in recent weeks, thanks to Hilary Clinton’s inability to get through the turnstile and Bernie Sanders’ belief that we’re still in the dark ages using subway tokens. The fact that these snafus are so attention-grabbing goes to show how intrinsic the simple act of swiping a MetroCard is […]

April 13, 2016

Amid Renovations, MoMA Will Close Architecture and Design Galleries

MoMA didn't make many friends in the architecture community when they razed the Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects-designed American Folk Art Museum to make way for their Diller Scofidio and Renfro-designed expansion, and now they might be even more alone on the playground thanks to an announcement that the renovation will close the institution's notable architecture and design galleries. The Architect's Newspaper reports that the Terrence Riley–designed third floor space that holds the design collection has already been disassembled to make way for a new exhibition, and the architecture gallery on the same floor will soon meet the same fate. This is rather shocking news considering MoMA was the first museum in the world to have a sustained department of architecture and design, one which, since the 1960s, has amassed a collection "of nearly 30,000 architectural models, works on paper, design objects, and interiors like the Frankfurt Kitchen."
More details ahead

April 13, 2016

Apply for 86 Affordable Apartments in Brownsville’s Prospect Plaza, Starting at $689/Month

Through tools like rezonings, the city has been trying in recent years to increase affordable housing opportunities in lower-income Brooklyn neighborhoods like East New York and Brownsville, and the latter now has 86 brand new apartments available through the city's affordable housing lottery. The units are part of the much larger Prospect Plaza development by Dattner Architects, which altogether will transform a 4.5-acre site into 364 units of affordable and public housing, as well as a 22,000-square-foot supermarket, 12,000-square-foot community facility, and a rooftop greenhouse. The first batch of units to come online, located at 1740-1760 Prospect Place and 396 Saratoga Avenue, range from $689/month one-bedrooms to $1,181/month three-bedrooms for families earning between $24,995 and $63,060 annually. They'll feature "exquisitely finished kitchen and bathrooms," energy efficient appliances and fixtures, on-site laundry rooms, a fitness room, and parking for an additional fee.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

April 12, 2016

Miko Mercer Is Building a 160-Square-Foot Tiny House in Crown Heights

The Greenwich by Rafael Vinoly

Brooklyn resident Miko Mercer, 30, joined the Tiny House Movement, and she's done more than just take a passing interest. The New York Times recently visited Ms. Mercer and the 160-square-foot DIY dwelling she's constructing, not on a homesteader's plot, but inside a big Crown Heights warehouse. Mercer, who runs the skin care division at popular beauty subscription service Birchbox and draws a six-figure income, still found that, as a single person, she couldn't afford to buy a home in a city where the average price of an apartment is $1.7 million. She ordered a trailer bed, leased the warehouse space and got to work, designing the house herself using a 3-D modeling application called Sketchup, meticulously managing the budget using a spreadsheet. She puts the estimated cost of her tiny house at about $30,000.
Find out what's in the plans for this tiny home

Architecture And Design

125 Greenwich Street

Financial District

The new altitude of downtown living

studios starting at $1,110,000
1 beds starting at $1,495,000
2 beds starting at $2,785,000
3 beds starting at $3,600,000

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April 12, 2016

Keith Olbermann Lists Trump Palace Condo for $4M in Opposition to Presidential Candidate

CityRealty recently took a closer look at if and how Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric is affecting his real estate empire. They found that, despite how polarizing he is a presidential candidate, it's unlikely that anything will change thanks to an established trust in his brand and the city's current supply and demand status. But there's at least one New Yorker who disagrees, and he's taken a bold step to prove it. The Wall Street Journal reports that liberal commentator Keith Olbermann has listed his Upper East Side condo in the Trump Palace for $3.9 million in opposition to the presidential candidate. Though he's taking a loss on the listing price (he bought the 40th floor pad for $4.2 million in 2007, near the height of the market), he said "I feel 20 pounds lighter since I left... If they had changed the name of it to something more positive like Ebola Palace I would have happily stayed."
But what does Mr. Trump have to say?

April 12, 2016

The Bronx’s Depression-Era Boxcar Village, Where Lodging Was $3/Month

When the Great Depression hit, homelessness exploded, leaving most cities ill prepared to house this growing population. As 6sqft previously reported, "Homeless people in large cities began to build their own houses out of found materials, and some even built more permanent structures from brick. Small shanty towns—later named Hoovervilles after President Hoover—began to spring up in vacant lots, public land and empty alleys." The largest such settlement was on Central Park's great lawn, but smaller Hoovervilles popped up elsewhere, especially in Inwood and the Bronx, where many working-class New Yorkers had moved to follow north the construction of the subway. At Spuyten Duyvil Road and 225th Street there was a Boxcar Village, a collection of 40 boxcars where rent was $3 a month to live four men to a car.
The full history, this way

History

April 12, 2016

Vinyl, Kale or Condos: It’s Your Move in the ‘Settlers of Brooklyn’ Board Game

In the Settlers of Brooklyn (pronounced inexplicably in the lost tongue of the High Middle Ages), an "award-winning game of entitlement, self-discovery and brunch," there are five resources available: coffee, vinyl, bicycles, skinny jeans, and kale. All of which sound like reasonably life-enhancing additions, but when combined with a tableful of flannel-wearing gits, such as those portrayed in the video below, set on engineering the perfect endless brunch, the whole picture begins to grate like the line outside Egg on a Sunday morning. So the best thing to do may be just to roll with it, which is the idea behind this quick video sendup from snarkmeisters Above Average.
Watch the full video here

City Living

April 12, 2016

Wood and Copper Wardrobe Provides a Streamlined Alternative to Bulky Dressers

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Minimalists who've gotten a little carried away accumulating a few too many clothes, shoes and other goods will appreciate this streamlined wardrobe design by Rianne Koens. Called Otura Dirsek, this beautiful storage solution is inspired by, and named after, the copper gas pipes seen in Turkish homes. Rather than placing the pipes behind walls, Turkish people instead run them along the exterior, conveniently creating extra space to hang household items.
Learn more about this minimal wooden wardrobe

April 12, 2016

$3.8M Soho Pad Boasts a Townhouse Design in a Condo Building