6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

Applications are now being accepted for 60 newly constructed rental apartments at 1191 Boston Road in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. The 90,000-square-foot development is situated between East 167th and 168th Streets and will exclusively house studio apartments priced at a monthly rent of $550/month. The building is geared for low-income individuals and formerly homeless single adults. To qualify for an apartment, applicants must fall within annual income ranges of $18,000 to $35,280 per year.
Find out more

May 27, 2016

Rent a Former Carriage House in the Historic Washington Mews for $30K/Month

Washington Mews might be one of the best blocks not just in Greenwich Village, but in all of New York City. It's a gated, cobblestone street that's lined with quaint carriage houses and one of them has just hit the market, asking $30,000 a month. Located at 64 Washington Mews, it's been totally renovated into a lofty and modern two-bedroom home with three levels connected by an open staircase and lit by skylights.
Take a look

May 27, 2016

Housing Lottery Launches for 135 New Rentals in Mott Haven, From $538/Month

Up-and-comer "It" neighborhood Mott Haven in the South Bronx kicks off a brand new housing lottery today with 135 new rentals up for grabs at 500 Union Avenue. The 14-story residence, dubbed the Crossroads II Plaza, has been dedicated to below-market rate housing and is part of the larger three-building Crossroad Plaza project, which includes a include a 21,278-square-foot community facility and 37,687 square feet of commercial space. Affordable apartments have been priced between $538-$861 for one-bedrooms, $655-$1,042 for two-bedrooms, and $749-$1,196 for three-bedrooms.
FInd out if you qualify here

Affordable Housing

May 27, 2016

Spotlight: Adam Blumenthal Keeps Magic Alive at 91-Year-Old Tannen’s

By Susan Cohen

At a time when the inner workings of so many things have been demystified, magic still has the ability to stump us. But for magicians to make tricks look seamless, a tremendous amount of time is invested in perfecting the craft and engaging with colleagues who can help them grow and develop their skills. And in New York, magic is cultivated on a daily basis above the hustle and bustle of 34th Street at Tannen’s Magic. The business has been serving the magic community since Louis Tannen opened a street stand in 1925. He later took the business indoors, where it became a gathering place for magicians of all ages and skill levels to purchase and practice their tricks. The current keeper of Tannen’s tradition is Adam Blumenthal, who fell in love with magic at a young age, in part thanks to the store, and is now responsible for ensuring its legacy and introducing it to a new generation of magicians. 6sqft recently spoke with Adam to learn more about magic, Tannen’s, and New York’s magicians.
Read the interview here

May 27, 2016

All Engines SHVO at Three New Manhattan Condo Developments

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal profiled broker-turned-developer Michael Shvo and revealed his development company SHVO now has more than $4 billion dollars worth of projects in the works for the city. While many are still in planning stages and have yet to be released to the public, construction is moving ahead on a trio of condominium developments along Manhattan's western spine -- the Getty, 125 Greenwich Street, and 565 Broome SoHo (as a development partner). While varied in neighborhood and scale, they all enlist high-caliber architects and will bring Shvo's characteristic high level of attention to detail and "pursuit of perfection."
Get the rundown on all three developments

May 27, 2016

Uroboro Is a Simple Yet Stylish Home Composter That Feeds Your Plants Using Worms

New Yorkers tend to be pretty environmentally conscious, but when it comes to composting, we just don't have the means to make it work without backyards or bulky, high-tech appliances. With these limitations in mind, Portuguese designer Marco Balsinha has come up with a solution. His home vermicomposter called Uroboro is a simple design of stacked pots that hold dirt and food waste, which is broken down by earthworms. Explained by Core 77, it's corked on the bottom and topped by a planter that indicates the level of decomposition.
Learn more

May 27, 2016

This $1.35M Barrel-Fronted Bay Ridge Townhouse Is Definitely a Goldilocks Situation

If you're dreaming of a townhouse in Brooklyn and you haven't considered Bay Ridge, this 2,424 square-foot two story home at 654 76th Street might change your mind. With four bedrooms, tons of parlor living space, beautifully restored original details and a large, lovely and landscaped yard, there's not much that isn't just right about it. Even the $1.35 million ask seems reasonable in this market, when expanding families are scrambling to find space they can afford. That said, the house last changed hands in 2012 for $625,000 (and we're thinking the seller was probably happy with that number even then, especially since the home likely hadn't been renovated).
Tour this not-to-big-not-too-small-home

Distinctive Homes

Distinctive Homes

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

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Two bedrooms plus a home office for $1.7M in this FiDi duplex loft

Jay Manuel's $4.7M Connecticut estate is like a modern spa retreat

$6.75M Tribeca loft condo leaves nothing to chance, parking included

$6M Park Slope townhouse is a standout in more ways than one

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

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

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

Former Morgan Stanley CEO lists UES townhouse for $80M

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May 27, 2016

Infrared Photos Show Central Park in Candy Colors; Pier 55 vs. London’s Garden Bridge

Governors Island opens for the season tomorrow. Here’s how to get there, what’s new, and what to do. [Brokelyn] Check out these infrared photos of Central Park, where wavelengths not visible to the human eye turn white into turquoise and green bright to cotton candy pink. [designboom] After listing her flowery East Hampton home last summer, eccentric […]

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May 27, 2016

Angular Skyscraper One Sixty Madison Offering Two Months Free Rent

Soaring nearly 500 feet into the Manhattan skyline, One Sixty Madison is a shimmering 45-floor rental tower at the boundary of the Murray Hill and Nomad neighborhoods. Developed by J.D. Carlisle Development and designed by SLCE Architects, with interiors by Philip Koether Architects, the uniquely massed building is rotated 45 degrees from its Madison Avenue and 33rd Street frontages, guaranteeing homes an abundance of light and air and stunning skyline views. For a limited time, the leasing team is offering incoming renters two months free on two-year leases and one month free on one-year leases, both with paid OP (broker fees). Current availabilities include an 11th floor studio with a net effective price of $3,263/month, one bedrooms starting from $4,412/month, and two-bedrooms beginning at $6,692/month.
Find out more about the building

May 27, 2016

MTA Flaunts Future Subway Map With Second Avenue Line

Perhaps in an attempt to distract disgruntled riders from looming shutdowns and never-ending delays, the MTA has released a new subway map that features stations along phase one of the Second Avenue line and the reinstated W line to Astoria. The former isn't planned to open until December (which, as Gothamist notes, we'll believe when we see) and the latter November, but if you were stuck on a sweaty platform this morning, this eye candy is surely a welcome treat.
See the full map here

Transit

May 26, 2016

Lottery Launches for 30 Affordable Units in Large New Crown Heights Building, From $913/Month

The building itself, designed by Issac & Stern Architects, may be pretty unremarkable, the same for the block on which it's located, but 505 Saint Mark's Avenue is in a prime Crown Heights location and offers some great amenities. It has 147 brand new units and is just steps off foodie haven Franklin Avenue and right around the corner from trendy food/beer hall Berg'n. While the market-rate apartments are pretty par for the course (a one-bedroom goes for about $2,500/month and a two-bedroom for around $3,600), a housing lottery has launched today for 30 affordable units, including $913 one-bedrooms and $1,065 two-bedrooms for individuals and households earning between $31,303 and $51,780 annually.
Find out if you qualify here

Affordable Housing

May 26, 2016

Harriet the Spy’s Upper East Side Townhouse Hits the Market for $4.95M

Retrace Harriet's "spy route" and settle in with a tomato sandwich at this Queen Anne-style townhouse said to be the residence that inspired the fictional home featured in "Harriet the Spy," the beloved book starring a precocious 11-year-old who spends her days documenting the moves of her friends and neighbors. According to The Post, the stunning 1880s property at 558 East 87th Street has just listed for $4.95 million, and it's the first time in nearly 70 years that it's been put up for sale. The rare Upper East Side gem is a corner construction, which gives it fantastic views of Gracie Mansion, Carl Schurz Park, and the East River—on top of excellent light from three exposures. And being situated on one of the leafiest and quietest blocks in the city, it's the perfect setting to get into covert shenanigans, à la Harriet.
Have a look inside here

May 26, 2016

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 5/26-6/1

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! If you're not heading out of town for the big holiday weekend, there's still plenty to keep you busy and cultured. Jeffrey Deitch's Coney Island Walls continue for a second season, with new murals starting this weekend. Arthelix will stay open for 72 hours for a tireless performative festival, while Williamsburg's former Cinders Gallery resurrects for a month at Brilliant Champions in Bushwick. Governors Island opens up for the season, with a free Kids festival, joined by a Classical Music festival for adults. If you're headed to the Hamptons for the weekend, be sure to check out Agathe Snow's curatorial project with Eric Firestone, or a rousing art talk with Annika Connor at the library. And while you scoot from one place to the next, be sure to check out Leah Oates' new exhibition for MTA Arts & Design, giving a burst of nature underneath Bryant Park.
More on all the best events this way

Events & Things To Do

May 26, 2016

Anne Hathaway’s Infamous Former Midtown Love Nest for Rent for $48K a Month

We've followed ingenue Anne Hathaway through various life events as expressed in real estate transactions, including the Upper West Side penthouse she currently shares with husband Adam Shulman. Before that, there was the DUMBO Clocktower loft the actress reportedly used as an expensive closet. Now here's a peek at the glossy midtown duplex in the Olympic Tower condominium at 641 Fifth Avenue that Ms. Hathaway shared with ex-con ex Raffaello Follieri for $37K/month in the mid-2000s (h/t WSJ); the apartment is currently on the rental market for $48,000 a month. The listing points out that the glass-clad, dubiously decorated pad has the distinction of having been the rented home of the ill-starred couple during their "storybook romance," which makes a lot of sense if the storybook you're reading is a white collar crime novel about a 30-year-old con man arrested, convicted, incarcerated and deported for embezzlement and fraud, possibly with the aid of his actress girlfriend. But a different choice of words and more context should put this dressed-to impress duplex in a better light.
It would be a crime not to check out the views from here

May 26, 2016

C3D Architecture’s 232 Seventh Avenue Begins Its 17-Floor Climb in Chelsea

Near Chelsea's raggle-taggle intersection of Seventh Avenue and 23rd Street, a new residential building has begun its 17-floor rise skyward. The 53,135-square-foot tower designed by C3D Architecture will boast 50 rental apartments with first and cellar levels dedicated to commercial and retail uses. Floors two through 11 will be configured with four apartments per floor and floors 12-16 just two apartments apiece. According to C3D, the exterior will be clad in a subdued mix of limestone and metal panels with full-height glass windows wedged in between. The second floor will be provided a large rear terrace and all levels above will have west-facing balconies. The twelfth floor is setback and the uppermost four levels will be outfitted with street-facing balconies.
Find out more

May 26, 2016

Design Firm Reimagines Neglected Space Under the BQE as a Food Court and Sports Center

NYC-based design firm Buro Koray Duman has come up with a series of plans to use the under-utilized space beneath the BQE in a site near Sunset Park's Industry City, the massive waterfront industrial complex which itself has recently experienced a renaissance as a hub for designers and local manufacturers. The elevated highway separates Industry City from the rest of the neighborhood, and the proposed uses would connect the space beneath with the creative and commercial energy of the complex. According to Dezeen, the firm saw an opportunity to put the empty sub-highway space to good use and add "more color and convenience to the city's daily life."
Find out more about the two ideas for the under-highway space

Architecture And Design

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May 26, 2016

Beth Israel Confirms Closure; Bella and Max Are NYC’s Most Popular Dog Names

A stop-work order was issued for the Upper East Side tower where developers used a four-foot-wide lot as a loophole to build taller. [NYT] Mount Sinai Beth Israel, the 825-bed hospital that’s served downtown Manhattan for more than 125 years, confirms that it will sell off its building and move to a new, 70-bed facility. [NYT] Whole […]

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May 26, 2016

Colonial Meets Rock Star at Allman Brothers Guitarist’s Former Nyack Home, Asking $2M

By Annie Doge

Warren Haynes, guitarist for The Allman Brothers Band, may not live in this Upper Nyack home anymore, but it sure does look like it's inhabited by a musician. From the outside, the five-bedroom Colonial appears to be a standard suburban spread, but inside, the animal-print rugs (and actual animal sculptures), neon and furry accents, and massive shoe collection scream rock star. And it can all be yours for $2 million (h/t NYP).
Check it all out

Jamestown Will Spend up to $50M to Double Retail Space at Chelsea Market

Views of addition courtesy of Neoscape

May 26, 2016

Jamestown Will Spend up to $50M to Double Retail Space at Chelsea Market

Back in March, 6sqft got a first look at renderings for Jamestown Properties' 240,000-square-foot addition to Chelsea Market. Known as BLDG 18, the nine-story topper designed by Studios Architecture will sit atop the westernmost building of the complex. In addition, the developer plans to spend $35 to $50 million doubling the size of the retail space. Though there's no new images to accompany the news, Crain's explains that the additional 80,000 square feet of retail will go in the building's now mostly unused lower level. Here, among other renovations, Jamestown will convert a boiler room into a restaurant and add a central corridor similar to the existing one on the ground level.
More details ahead

New Developments

May 26, 2016

Apply for 55 Middle-Income Apartments in Prime Murray Hill

A common complaint about the city's affordable housing lotteries is that they don't often pertain to middle-income New Yorkers who are struggling to pay market-rate rents just the same. But here's the chance for this often-overlooked group to get in on the action -- a lottery launches tomorrow for 55 middle-income apartments at 325 East 25th Street. Not only do the rents range from $1,715/month studios to $2,216/month two-bedrooms, but the building is located in a prime Murray Hill location just north of Gramercy and right in the mix of restaurants and bars (okay, maybe just bars) for which the 'hood is known.
Get the full breakdown here

Affordable Housing

May 25, 2016

Tribeca’s Iconic Pearl Paint Buildings Are Going Residential

Back in 2014, New Yorkers lamented the shuttering of Pearl Paint, the legendary 80-year-old art retailer that had been located on the border of Tribeca and Chinatown since 1933. Any self-respecting artist, architect, or designer will surely remember trudging up the six flights of creaking floor boards and hunting down bargain-priced supplies, but this will soon become an even more distant memory as just yesterday, Trans World Equities filed permits to convert one of Pearl Paint's former buildings into eight residential units and build a two-story addition above the 150-year-old structure at 308 Canal Street.
All the details this way

New Developments

$40 Million Overhaul Will Make 8 Parks More Neighborhood-Friendly

Image: Fort Greene Park Conservancy

May 25, 2016

$40 Million Overhaul Will Make 8 Parks More Neighborhood-Friendly

The city has announced plans to make eight of the city's parks more welcoming and integrated into their surrounding neighborhoods, the New York Times reports. According to officials, the green-space face-lifts are part of a plan to improve city parks and part of the larger goal of having 85 percent of New Yorkers living within walking distance of a park. The parks, chosen by a nomination process that used feedback from residents, include Seward Park on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Faber Pool and Park on the North Shore of Staten Island, Jackie Robinson Park in northern Manhattan, Van Cortlandt Park and Hugh Grant Circle and Virginia Park in the Bronx, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, and Fort Greene and Prospect Parks in Brooklyn. According to parks commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, the many improvement suggestions the city received were "proof positive of how excited New Yorkers are to increase accessibility and openness in their favorite parks.”
Find out more about the park plans

May 25, 2016

Spend Summer on the Sun Porch in This $2.25M Craftsman-Style Windsor Terrace Home

Not only does this super-cute brick townhouse promise plenty of space for the whole family without leaving the civilization of New York City, but it conjures up a totally different, laid-back and innocent time and place. This home at 207 Windsor Place mixes Arts and Crafts-style details with an old fashioned American house layout, with a big eat-in kitchen that opens into a formal dining room, a catnap-ready front sun porch, a basement ready for whatever you'd like to make it—and four bedrooms at the end of the day. All of this sits at the Park Slope/Windsor Terrace border two blocks from Prospect Park and a block from subways, shopping, dining, cafes and everything Brooklyn neighborhoods are loved for today.
Take a floor-by-floor tour

May 25, 2016

Colorful Flat-Pack Furniture Can Be Hung on the Wall Like Art

The selection of furniture for those living in cramped apartments continues to evolve beyond the plastic folding chair. And this flat-pack seating collection by Jongha Choi is the latest ingenious design to emerge from the small space realm. De-dimension _ From 2D to 3D rethinks seating by adding an artistic bent to a functional product. As seen in the animation above, each seat easily unfolds when needed, and can just as easily be collapsed back into a "2D" form and hung on the wall like art.
see more here

May 25, 2016

Historic Casement Windows Line This $1.3M Corner Loft in Greenwich Village

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

The International Tailoring Company Building, located at 111 Fourth Avenue in Greenwich Village, is historic and stately from the outside, light and lofty from the inside. It's been converted into co-op apartments, and this one-bedroom duplex is now on the market for $1.3 million. Its attributes include 13-foot ceilings, six original industrial casement windows--two of which are 10 feet tall, the other four are eight feet tall--and views of sky and the city skyline. A recent renovation brought in some modern-day luxuries as well.
See the interior

Distinctive Homes

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May 25, 2016

Fleet Week Sails into NYC; Art Gallery Pops Up in An Abandoned Brooklyn Subway Station

3 World Trade Center is getting its concrete core before its steel columns and beams, a construction technique rarely used in New York. [NYT] A new analysis of ticket sales shows that New York is now a Mets town. [Gothamist] Here’s your full Fleet Week schedule! [DNAinfo] A secret art gallery popped up in the abandoned platform of Brooklyn’s Nevins Street […]

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May 25, 2016

POLL: Can New York’s Middle Class Stage a Comeback?

The lack of affordability in New York is typically, and justly, blamed on skyrocketing rents, but when it comes to the middle class it might be more closely tied to a lack of jobs. The Wall Street Journal shares a new report from the Center for an Urban Future, which finds that "while the city added a record number of jobs since 2011, middle-wage industries paying between $40,000 and $80,000 a year added the fewest positions, and a lot of those were temp jobs." Additionally, middle-wage jobs lost the most employees. Low-wage industries (paying under $40,000) such as restaurants and home health care services disproportionately added the most jobs. However, the report also points to a few factors that may indicate a comeback for the middle class. For one, middle-wage industries accounted for three of the eight sectors with a net gain of at least 10,000 jobs since 2011. These are employment services, building equipment contractors, and colleges/universities, respectively. In total, 23 middle-wage sectors added at least 1,000 jobs during this time, not far off from the low-wage sector's 24 and high-wage's 28. But are these figures enough to give the middle class staying power?
Cast your vote here!

City Living

May 25, 2016

Governor Cuomo Finally Approves MTA’s $27B Capital Plan

Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio, notorious for their icy relationship, have been squabbling for well over a year about the MTA's $27 billion, five-year capital plan. Last October, they reached an agreement where the state would contribute $8.3 billion and the city $2.5 billion, neither of which would come from increasing taxes. Seven months later, the Daily News reports that Albany has finally approved the plan, which covers track and station repairs, new train cars, new high-tech buses, a MetroCard replacement, the Long Island Rail Road's East Side Access project, and, of course, the beginning of the Second Avenue Subway's phase two into East Harlem.
More details ahead

Great Game Changers: One Worldwide Plaza, A Classy Attraction for Sleazy 1980s Midtown

Image of WWP via Macklowe Properties

May 24, 2016

Great Game Changers: One Worldwide Plaza, A Classy Attraction for Sleazy 1980s Midtown

By Carter B. Horsley

What does it take to jump-start an unglamorous neighborhood? A huge development? A mixed-use project? New transit facilities? When this full-block, mixed-use development project was conceived in the mid-1980s the area in and around Times Square was one of the city’s worst. It was riddled with crime and pornography and was run-down, especially along Eighth Avenue. The proposition to add a building that was the scale of the full-block One Worldwide Plaza development, therefore, was not only surprising, but shocking and downright unthinkable. The legendary Madison Square Garden designed by Thomas W. Lamb had occupied its site from 1925 to 1966, but its second incarnation here was rather ramshackle especially in comparison to its previous glorious building on Madison Avenue at 26th Street. When it moved south next to the “new” Penn Station 16 blocks to the south, this site became the city’s largest parking lot and it took about a decade and a half for it to find a new life. The site was finally developed and completed in 1989 by a syndicate headed by William Zeckendorf Jr. that included Arthur Cohen and Worldwide Realty partners Frank Stanton and Victor Elmaleh.
more on the rise of worldwide plaza and how it revived midtown manhattan

May 24, 2016

Parker Posey Models in Listing Photos for Her $1.45M Greenwich Village Co-op

By Annie Doge

After the recent debacle when Ta-Nehisi Coates' purchase of a Prospect-Lefferts Garden townhouse went public, and he subsequently penned an essay on why he wouldn't be moving in after all, there's been a debate surrounding how much privacy celeb real estate buyers are entitled to. But quirky Indie actress Parker Posey is clearly not concerned, considering she's posing in the listing photos for her Greenwich Village co-op. The $1.45 million listing at 30 Fifth Avenue hasn't gone public yet, but Curbed has obtained the photos, which show the now-blonde Posey lounging in her bedroom, reading Mary Louise Parker's "Dear Mr. You" along with her Bichon Frise Gracie.
More glamour shots ahead

May 24, 2016

15 Central Park West Takes Back the Title of Most Expensive Manhattan Condo

Six months ago when CityRealty released its last CR100 report -- an index comprised of the top 100 condominium buildings in Manhattan -- One57 surpassed long-time frontrunner 15 Central Park West as the most expensive condo, coming in at $6,010 per square foot, compared to 15 CPW's $5,726. But this time around, 15 CPW has retaken the crown with an average sales price of $6,039 per square foot over the last 12 months. Coming in second is the Residences at the Mandarin Oriental at $5,956, and One57 falls to third at $5,175, a 13 percent drop over the last year. CityRealty notes, however, that the Robert A.M. Stern-designed condo may have difficulty maintaining its top spot, as big-time new developments 432 Park Avenue, The Greenwich Lane, and 10 Madison Square West have now made their debut on the CR100.
More trends and data

Real Estate Trends

May 24, 2016

Glass Walls and Skylights Let Light Flood Into This Vinegar Hill Rental Apartment

There's never been an apartment so ideal for summertime. This three-bedroom rental comes from 87 Hudson Avenue, a development in the quaint Brooklyn neighborhood of Vinegar Hill, situated just north of DUMBO. Over an upper and lower floor there are multiple skylights, two outdoors spaces, even interior glass walls to let the light flood through. You'll need sunglasses before renting this pad, which is now on the market asking $6,000 a month.
Go through the space

Distinctive Homes

May 24, 2016

Landmarks Rejects Skinny Fort Greene House Because It ‘Looks Like Sing Sing Prison’

When talking townhouses, width matters. Aside from location and condition, width is usually the salient factor determining a home's desirability and pricing. While a 20-foot wide house is the coveted standard, the adored building type comes in an assortment of sizes, ranging from this narrow 12-foot wide townhouse in Park Slope upwards to the enviable 30-foot wide homes dotting Brooklyn Heights. On the tighter end of the spectrum, along a tree- and brownstone-lined block in the Fort Greene Historic District, R.A.Max Studio is seeking to secure the Landmarks Preservation Commission's approval to build a 12-foot wide, environmentally-conscious, two-family house at 39 South Elliott Place. Hemmed in on a vacant lot measuring just 1,200 square feet in area, the developer, Fort Greene Properties LLC, envisions building a four-story, 3,200-square-foot structure similar in scale to a previous house that stood at the site some sixty years ago, but with a more modern exterior. But this scheme did not go over so well at today's LPC hearing.
The full story, right this way

May 24, 2016

Your Daily Commute Never Looked So Good As It Does in This Colorful Data Visualization

The daily commute to work and back might be the last thing you want to see more of, but sometimes it helps to see things in a new light: Here's your daily traffic torment, subway sardine-fest or bus-stop hustle, represented in candy-colored motion. Michigan-based data wrangler Mark Evans shows us the workday migrations of American commuters using census data so that they resemble a jubilant gathering of rainbow dots, expanding and contracting from each county with the day's open and close (h/t Citylab).
Check out your colorful commute

City Living

May 24, 2016

This Lamp Only Turns On If You Turn Your Phone Off

If you don't posses the willpower to put your smart phone down once and for all, this lamp will give you that extra nudge -- that is, if you don't want to walk around in the dark. Tranquillo, created by industrial designer Avid Kadam, is "an interactive piece of lighting where the user’s phone acts like a switch." Basically, if you want to see, you'll need to put your phone on the dock, where it'll go into do-not-disturb mode.
READ MORE

May 24, 2016

Triplex Penthouse at the Late Zaha Hadid’s High Line Condos Lists for $50M

The 6,853-square-foot triplex penthouse atop the 11-story 520 West 28th Street condominium on the High Line, designed by the late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, has arrived on the market for the first time for the as-promised ask of $50 million. The architecturally unique 39-unit building, Hadid’s first–and, sadly, only–ground-up structure in New York City, has interiors also overseen and designed by the architect. Related Companies, the building's developer, speaks of the honor of collaborating with "one of the world’s most visionary architects, Dame Zaha Hadid, on the design for 520 West 28th. The design is being realized as she envisioned–each residence is a work of art unto itself–and the penthouse in particular is a spectacular example of this, including various unique elements such as a sculptural three-story staircase, designed by Hadid, which unites all levels of the triplex residence.”
Find out about this one-of-a-kind penthouse

May 24, 2016

Cat Colonies Fall Victim to Gentrification; City May Get Park Benches That Charge Your Phone

New York is home to about 500 feral cat colonies, many of which are under threat from gentrification and development. [NYT] The former president and CEO of Nathan’s Famous talks about selling hot dogs on Coney Island for 100 years. [Crain’s] A new report shows that 77 percent of L train riders would prefer a full […]

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May 23, 2016

Empire State Gateway Plan Stretches Twin Suspension Bridges from NJ to Queens

Just two months ago, the state allocated $70 million for early engineering work on a new Hudson River tunnel, part of the larger $20 billion Gateway project to fix the crumbling, century-old tunnels that currently carry New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains under the Hudson River. Despite the move forward, a traffic consultant from Delaware thinks he has a better idea. NJ.com shared Scott R. Spencer's proposal for twin suspension bridges that would stretch 3.5 miles from New Jersey, across Manhattan at 38th and 39th Streets, and in to Queens. He believes the plan, aptly titled the Empire State Gateway, would be a much quicker solution to the current transportation woes, with one bridge taking about five years to complete versus 20+ years for the tunnels. Spencer's idea, however, would also cost $20 billion, and as Untapped points out, would cast quite the shadow over Midtown (not to mention the countless approvals and variances it would require).
Get all the details this way

May 23, 2016

Developers Used a Four-Foot-Wide Lot to Build a Taller Upper East Side Tower

The go-to move for building taller than zoning allows is snatching up some air rights, but at 180 East 88th Street in Yorkville, developer DDG Partners found an obscure loophole to increase their building's height. Back in 2014, as the Times explains, DDG received approvals to slice off a four-foot-wide lot from the 30-foot-deep site. This became an official taxable lot, but because it provided a buffer between the building and the street, it allowed the building to avoid typical zoning for structures touching the street, rising to its 521-foot height (60 feet taller than would have been permitted otherwise) and having its entrance on Third Avenue. Now that the motive has become clear, local residents and elected officials are not happy, and adding fuel to the fire is the fact that DDG contributed at least $19,900 to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The full story ahead

May 23, 2016

Alexander Wang Lists Luxuriously Moody Tribeca Loft for $3.75M

After six years in residence, the in-demand downtown designer is selling the loft he purchased from fellow fashionista, former New York Times Style writer Holly Brubach (h/t Curbed). With the help of maverick decorator Ryan Korban, Wang renovated the classic warehouse-turned-co-op at 39 Worth Street with opulent-chic accents like black fur, zebra rugs and mirrored wall panels, and opened up walled spaces to return the loft its open-space roots. The result, as far as lofts go, is a pretty well laid-out example, with creature comforts a busy design professional needs–plus luxurious finishes. Yet it doesn’t lose any of the open and adventurous character that defines a historic Tribeca loft space. The Parsons-grad-made-good purchased the unit for $2 million in 2010 and hopes to sell it for a $3.75 million.
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May 23, 2016

Bjarke Ingels Designed the VIA57 Chair As an Homage to His West Side Tetrahedron

For those of us who love the unusual shape and dramatic angles of Bjarke Ingels' famed VIA 57 WEST tetrahedron, but aren't in the market to pay $3,800 a month for a one-bedroom (or didn't qualify for the building's affordable housing lottery), there's now a way to bring a piece of the starchitecture into our own homes. Dezeen reveals the VIA57 chair, designed by Ingels for furniture brand Fritz Hansen along with KiBiSi to mark the completion of the pyramid-shaped building. "The rotated corners allow a variety of social configurations while also evoking the tetrahedronical geometry of its parent architecture," he explains.
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May 23, 2016

‘All My Plants Are Dead’ Tote Bag Lets Black Thumbs Laugh Off Their Misfortunes

With spring in full swing, farmers markets and corner bodegas are teeming with plants, begging bright-eyed New Yorkers to take a pot or two home with them. While some of these verdant gems will enjoy a long-lasting life within their new indoor confines, a larger percentage will end up a droopy mess or a dried up skeleton of their former self. If you're one of those whose plants have been (or you know will be) doomed to such unsightly fate, don't let your black thumb ruin your day; instead take it all in stride and wear your private shame like a badge of honor for all to see.
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May 23, 2016

This $25K/Month Tribeca Rental Claims to Be Better than the Hamptons

Memorial Day weekend is approaching, signaling that time in New York when people start decamping for the Hamptons as much as possible. But this summer rental, at 17 Jay Street in Tribeca, is asking that you stay. "Forget the Hamptons," the listing says, "Spend June through Labor Day in this serene and utterly charming duplex penthouse loft featuring a spacious 3BR layout, with two fireplaces and three lovely decked terraces!" Three terraces may not be as good as the beach, but it's definitely not shabby for a New York City apartment.
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Distinctive Homes

May 23, 2016

Own a Piece of the ‘Mad Men’ Set; Pommes Frites Opens New Location

At least 1,500 props from the set of “Mad Men” are up for auction starting today. [NYT] Following a deal between the MTA and the publishers of amNY and Metro, free newspaper hawkers will no longer be in subway stations. [WNYC] 14 months after the East Village’s deadly gas explosion that destroyed Pommes Frites, the beloved Belgian-style fry cafe […]

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May 23, 2016

Browse the Catalog of Joan Rivers’ Prized Possessions Headed for Auction Next Month

As 6sqft previously detailed, when the beloved comedian Joan Rivers passed away in 2014, she left behind a lavish Upper East Side penthouse packed with a collection of glittering designer gowns, gilded furnishings, jewelry and collected items that reflected a lifetime love of pretty things. Rivers herself once described the decor of the 5,100-square-foot triplex as “Louis XIV meets Fred and Ginger.” Christie's has issued a catalog listing the opulent collections of Rivers' home that will be included in the live auction, scheduled for June 22 with viewing times beginning June 17. Items from Harry Winston, Tiffany's and Fabergé will join art and small personal items–like Bob Mackie gowns, a silver Tiffany & Co. water bowl engraved "Spike” and a silk pagoda dog bed (h/t Curbed).
Find out more about the auction

May 23, 2016

For a Limited Time, Related Offering One Month Free in New Upper East Side Rental The Easton