6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

The Astoria waterfront is poised to become the city's next high-density residential enclave, with more than 4,000 apartments planned within the Astoria Cove and Hallets Point developments alone. Just to the south, and more modest in scale, a six-story, 65-unit condominium building is preparing to rise from a block-through site at 30-05 Vernon Boulevard. City records indicate 3005 Vernon BLVD Joint Venture LLC purchased the lot for $3 million in 2014, and filed demolition permits in November to raze the existing one-story warehouse. Renderings provided by the building's architect, Young Kim of Tan Architect, show a white brick building with a glass curtain wall on its east- and river-facing elevations. As required by zoning, on-site parking is provided at ground level, and the garage roof will hold an expansive rooftop terrace. According to Young Kim, the development is moving forward and the team is in the process of filing building permits.
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January 12, 2016

David Bowie’s NYC; Coachella Music Fest Moved to Randall’s Island

Subway riders share their feelings about four-legged passengers. [NYT] Sales launch today at Herzog & de Meuron’s 160 Leroy with 50 percent already sold. [6sqft inbox] Here are five iconic David Bowie NYC moments and places. [Untapped] And here you can read the late artist’s personal reflections on being a New Yorker. [Vulture] After original plans to hold […]

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January 12, 2016

Brooklyn’s Future Tallest Tower to Hit 1,066 Feet

Less than a month ago, developers Michael Stern and Joe Chetrit closed on Downtown Brooklyn's Dime Savings Bank building for $90 million, which provided them with the 300,000 square feet of air rights needed to construct Brooklyn's first 1,000+ foot tower at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension. Since news of the future tallest building outside Manhattan first came to light in August, the exact height hadn't been reported. But now NY Yimby has uncovered the number, and it's a whopping 1,066 feet, amounting to 556,164 square feet of total space.
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New Developments

January 12, 2016

Asking $3.75M, Young Designer’s Tribeca Triplex Is a Perfect Girls’ Night In

This girly-modern Tribeca triplex belonging to young interior designer Sasha Bikoff was featured–along with its owner–in a buzzed-about 2014 NY Times story about how NYC's young contemporary millionaires live, illustrating a penchant for downtown glamour over uptown gilt. The then-26-year-old–who's designed her share of uptown interiors–is pictured in the stylish pad, which she purchased in 2011 for $2.3 million and bestowed with a total makeover. The article highlights architect Ben Hansen's dazzling glass-fronted boutique condo residence at 471 Washington Street as one of a handful favored by the iconoclastic (and well-heeled) under-40 set. Bikoff listed the apartment a year ago for an ambitious $4.5 million; it has since changed brokers and toned down its earlier ask to $3.75 million. The apartment's decor–and a bedroom-sized dream closet–make it clear that stylish singles' pads aren't just for the boys.
See more of the glamorous pad

Distinctive Homes

January 12, 2016

See How 6 Columbus Circle Could Change the Central Park Skyline

Last Friday, a marketing brochure was released promoting the sale of 6 Columbus Circle, an 88-room boutique hotel that exudes a modernist '60s flair throughout its spaces. While the brick and limestone gem owned by the Pomeranc Group received an ungainly five-story addition in 2007, its ornate 58th Street facade survived intact–though now, its days may be numbered. The New York Observer reported last month that the owners have placed the building up for sale, tapping Cushman & Wakefield as exclusive marketers. With angled views of Central Park starting at less than 100 feet above street level, a source estimates the property could fetch a staggering $1,400 per buildable square foot, a pot of gold to developers' eyes. And the marketing brochure makes the possibilities very clear, conceptualizing a 700-foot-tall, mixed-use spire from the nimble, 42-foot-wide lot.
See how this could change the skyline

January 11, 2016

Did Beyonce and Jay-Z Just Buy a Condo at Brooklyn Heights’ Pierhouse?

By Annie Doge

That's what a Brooklyn Bridge Park security guard is saying. The luxury condo building Pierhouse, which is located in the Brooklyn Heights park, has become notorious for the controversy surrounding its height, but now the conversation has turned to its potentially famous new residents, as the guard let the news slip to a long-time local who then spilled the beans to everyone at a community meeting.
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Celebrities

January 11, 2016

This $1.95M Mediterranean Revival Home in Historic Fieldston Holds Some Modern Surprises

The leafy, well-tended Fieldston Historic District–one of New York City's only privately owned neighborhoods–lies within the Bronx neighborhood of Riverdale. Here inside this 4,200-square-foot whitewashed stucco Mediterranean Revival home you'll find original 1901 details, modern, energy-efficient updates and at least five bedrooms–just twenty minutes from Lincoln Center. Altogether it's a mix of suburban quietude, townhouse grandeur and a New York City address, for $1.95 million. in addition to plenty of room on two stories for living and entertaining–plus outdoor space for gardening–there are a few 21st century surprises.
Take the tour

January 11, 2016

Visualizing All the Money in the World in One Infographic

From the value of all the Bitcoins in the world ($5 billion) to the amount of total global debt ($199 trillion) to the barely-fathomable amount of the derivatives market (as much as $1.2 quadrillion. Yup. Quadrillion), a chart created by The Money Project, produced by Visual Capitalist, attempts to put all the world’s currency in one place in the form of tiny, little squares (h/t Fast Co. Exist). Starting with the question, "How much money exists in the world?" this data visualization starts with the world’s total money supply.
More really big numbers, this way

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Distinctive Homes

A 70-foot brick smokestack anchors a private garden at this $2.1M Williamsburg loft

This $6.75M Gowanus compound combines a townhouse, gallery, garage, and lofts in one unusual property

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

Three bedrooms and plenty of living space make this $1.7M Park Slope condo a special find

For $1.6M, this magical Rockaway Beach 'surf shack' has a sauna, plunge pool, and music studio

This $22.5M maisonette offers townhouse privacy with classic Upper East Side co-op luxury

7,000-square-foot 'wellness loft' in the West Village asks $25.8M, working phone booth included

For $10.5M, a sunny yellow Mediterranean villa on the Upper East Side

Park Avenue penthouse with enormous terrace owned by Maurice Tempelsman lists for $5.5M

For $5.65M, a ballet legend's former UWS studio is now a three-bedroom home

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January 11, 2016

BONCHO: A Bike Poncho to Keep Your Legs and Feet Dry

The weather in New York can vary from sunny skies to downpours without notice, and most of us spend at least part, if not all, of our daily commute outside at the mercy of the elements. While the standard umbrella protects us from the rain when we're on foot, the bike riding community has continued to rely on plastic bags and oversized raincoats to stay dry, leaving their legs and feet exposed to the conditions. Thanks to VANMOOF and their new bike poncho design, cleverly named BONCHO, city cyclists are about to get a lot drier.
More on this clever product

January 11, 2016

Two-Bedroom Loft in Former Little Italy Warehouse Asks $7,250 a Month

This former warehouse building, constructed in 1915 at 138 Baxter Street, is right in the heart of Little Italy, just a block away from the Italian restaurants lining Mulberry Street. At some point, the seven-story building was converted into a six-unit apartment building, and this one is now on the rental market for $7,250 a month. It's a two-bedroom apartment with super high 14-foot ceilings, big windows and a nice open living, dining and kitchen area–it spans 1,200 square feet total. It's got all the loft bases covered, with some fun and funky interior decoration added on top. There have also been some sleek renovations in the kitchen and bathrooms.
Take a tour

January 11, 2016

Inside Penn Plaza’s New Food Hall; You Can Own the Playboy Mansion for $200M

Looks like subway ad dermatologist Dr. Zizmor might’ve sold his Bronx mansion to cover the $56,000 in unpaid office rent he supposedly owes. [TRD] Get a first look inside the Pennsy, the new food hall at 2 Pennsylvania Plaza. [Eater] Astor Place’s Alamo Cube is currently being restored in Jersey while construction work goes on around […]

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January 11, 2016

Gramercy Park’s Luminaria Condo Conversion Lights Up in Preparation for Sales Launch

In anticipation of its official sales launch later this winter, Ben Shaoul's Magnum Real Estate Group has illuminated Luminaire, a 103-unit condominium-conversion at 385 First Avenue in downtown's Gramercy Park neighborhood. According to the marketing team, the cool-blue lighting scheme, specified by Magnum, is inspired by the building's floor-to-ceiling windows and sun-bathed units.
more here

January 11, 2016

First Look at the 331-Foot Sheepshead Bay Tower Set to Dwarf Its Neighbors

In Manhattan, much of Brooklyn, and parts of Queens like Long Island City, a 300-foot tower isn't even news. But out in the once-sleepy waterfront community of Sheepshead Bay, it's sure to get people talking. Last September, it was revealed that a joint venture between Muss Development and AvalonBay would be building a 30-story residential tower at 1501 Voorhies Avenue that would be four times taller than almost anything else in the area. Now, here's our first look at the large and rather glassy behemoth designed by Perkins Eastman Architects. According to revised building plans, the tower is two stories shorter than initially filed and has a height of 331 feet, 6 inches to the top of its rooftop mechanical bulkhead.
More details and renderings

January 11, 2016

Governor Cuomo to Transform the Subway With Free Wi-Fi, USB Chargers, and Mobile Payment

Is there anything in NYC that Governor Cuomo does like? He started his crusade to overhaul our infrastructure back in July when he revealed renderings for a $4 billion update to LaGuardia Airport. But this past week he pulled out all the stops, starting with a $3 billion redevelopment of Penn Station, a $1 billion expansion of the Javits Center, and now, a massive undertaking to "modernize and fundamentally transform" the MTA and the subway. Curbed reports that the Governor's latest plan includes expediting the addition of more countdown clocks, adding contactless payment by 2018, equipping all stations with Wi-Fi by the end of this year and cell phone service by the end of 2017, and outfitting both subways and buses with USB chargers.
More details right this way

January 10, 2016

Robert Kuster’s Hand Blown Glass Balloons Keep the House Party Going All Year

With the holidays behind us and the cold weather finally setting in, our next party seems farther away than we'd like to admit. With most of us our days spent either in our office or our apartment, why not invite the party into your living space with these vibrant hot glass balloons from artist Robert Kuster? Mr. Kuster started blowing glass as a second career, but has since achieved more success than most artisans do in their lifetime. His beautiful chandeliers currently hang in prestigious galleries, magnificent homes, hotels, upscale restaurants and public installations across the country, and now your New York apartment can be added to that list.
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January 10, 2016

A New York Minute With Architect Andre Kikoski

By Alyssa Alimurung

Last month, 6sqft kicked off a fun new series called A New York Minute, where we ask influential New Yorkers spitfire (and sometimes very random) questions about their life in the big city. Want to nominate yourself or someone you know? Get in touch! When 6sqft last heard from Andre Kikoski, he was itching to fly off to Niseko, Japan with his son for a ski trip; but it looks like the vacation may be on hold. Andre heads his own architecture firm, Andre Kikoski Architect, where they are currently working on a Nolita condo at 75 Kenmare, due to open in 2017. He's been living in Manhattan since 1995, making his way uptown from the Lower East Side to the Upper East Side. 6sqft shot him a few questions to find out more about his own New York experience.
Andre's NY minute this way

Where I Work

January 9, 2016

First Look at Lions Group’s New Residential Tower in Long Island City

Another day, another Long Island City project unveiled. This new build comes in at 27-51 Jackson Avenue by way of Lions Group, who are already juggling three projects nearby: Jackson East, Jackson West, and ONE Queens Plaza. Last week, the LIC Post reported demolition permits were filed to raze the two small structures on the site. Construction permits have yet to be filed, but details from the project's EB-5 offering page show a 13-story, 38,500 square foot tower designed by Flushing-based Raymond Chan Architect. The project will rise directly alongside an under construction Gene Kaufman-designed Aloft Hotel at 27-45 Jackson Avenue.
More here

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff

$1.7B Light Rail Connecting the Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront Proposed Dr. Zizmor of Subway Ad Fame Retires and Sells Bronx Mansion All in One Day Britney Spears’ Former Penthouse Hits the Market for $7.6 Million Revealed: New Renderings of Renzo Piano’s SoHo Tower at 555 Broome Street The City’s First Wi-Fi Kiosks Unveiled Today! Renderings Revealed for […]

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January 8, 2016

432 Park Avenue Records Its First Blockbuster Closing at $18.1M!

And so it begins! Closings at Macklowe Properties/CIM Group's Billionaires' Row blockbuster 432 Park Avenue have officially commenced with its first sale showing an impressive $18.116 million figure, as city records released this afternoon reveal. The unit is #35B, a massive 4,003-square-foot, three-bedroom pad with four-and-a-half baths, a private elevator landing, and 10-foot by 10-foot windows providing southern and western exposures with park views. Documents show that the palatial home was purchased via a LLC, 432 PARKVIEW.
more on the sale and the floor plan here

January 8, 2016

Spotlight: Charlie Todd Gets New Yorkers to Ride the Subway Without Pants

By Susan Cohen

Come winter, many germ-conscious New Yorkers are glad for the opportunity to wear gloves while holding subway poles. However, for a distinct group in the city, cold weather is a chance to engage with the subway in a very unexpected way: by forgoing pants and participating in the annual No Pants Subway Ride. The visionary behind this event is Charlie Todd, the founder of the performance group Improv Everywhere. His first pantless ride was an improv performance in 2002 with himself and six friends. Today, Charlie is at the helm of a yearly gathering where up to 4,000 New Yorkers –from young parents with their newborn baby to a grandmother with her granddaughter–bring joy, humor, and uncertainty to their fellow subway riders by enjoying a commute in their undergarments. On the eve of the 15th annual No Pants Subway Ride this Sunday, 6sqft spoke with Charlie about the lure of riding the subway without pants and what keeps him motivated each year.
Read 6sqft's interview with Charlie

January 8, 2016

Developer Matthew Blesso Looks for a Profit on This Gorgeous Park Slope Townhouse

The historic Park Slope townhouse at 857 Carroll Street hasn't spent a long time off the market. In February of last year, the developer Matthew Blesso settled in after buying it for $4.05 million. (We called his move a "total architectural 180," considering his previous pad was this green Noho penthouse he sold for $7.35 million.) Now he's put the Brooklyn property back on the market for a higher price than he bought it for, $4.695 million, with some upgrades to boot.
Take a tour inside

January 8, 2016

Could These Twin Glassy Towers Be Coming to the Greenpoint Waterfront?

Momentum is building along the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront. Since the Bloomberg administration's sweeping 2003 rezoning of the two-mile stretch of East River shoreline, nearly every buildable river-facing plot has been accounted for by developers. More than a dozen master plans are in the works, dominated by residential uses that scale upward to 50 stories and 600-foot heights. One remaining mystery lot is a block-long parcel in Greenpoint currently holding a two-story warehouse at 161-167 West Street (aka 53 Huron Street). The 65,000-square-foot site lies near the India Street ferry stop and is sandwiched between three development sites: Park Tower Group's ten-tower Greenpoint Landing master plan and Mack Real Estate Group/Palin Enterprises' 10 Huron Street (155 West Street), and The Gibraltar at 160 West Street.
More details ahead

January 8, 2016

Man Overcharged by Landlord for 16 Years Awarded $900K and a $784/Month Apartment

Score one for the little guy! After having his rent-stabilized apartment illegally deregulated and his rent jacked up to more than five times what it should have been, an appellate court has awarded Upper West Side man Lane Altschuler $900,000 in damages, and they've re-stabilized his 1,500-square-foot pad to just $784 a month. According to the Daily News, Altschuler moved into the three-bedroom, two-bath unit at 478 Central Park West back in 2000, but his landlord, Mann Realty, illegally began raising the rent shortly after he got settled. The figure eventually ballooned to $3,750 a month in 2009, right after the building was converted into luxury condos.
more on what happened here

Affordable Housing

January 8, 2016

NYPL Digitizes 180,000 Historic Items; Will the Penn Station Overhaul Inherit an Old Problem?

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

The New York Public Library has released a digital collection of more than 180,000 photographs, postcards, maps and other public-domain items. [NYT] Tour the home of the architect who did a gut job on her already-renovated apartment. [The Cut] Here’s what the internet looked like back in 1996, when it only had 10 million users. [Business […]

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January 8, 2016

Supermodel Gigi Hadid’s Nolita Apartment Closes for $2.3M

By Annie Doge

Just yesterday, 6sqft reported that supermodel Gigi Hadid was spotted checking out a $6.5 million apartment at Noho's 10 Bond Street along with new flame, former One Direction member Zayn Malik. Her timing couldn't have been better, because according to city records released today, her current home at 250 Bowery, nearby in Nolita, has closed for $2.3 million. The unit, which was owned by a trust in the name of her mother Yolanda Foster (of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" fame), first hit the market this past July, asking $2.45 million. Gigi bought the ultra-modern pad in 2014 for $1.92 million, but rumor has it she decided to sell after a stalker tried to break in.
See more of the space

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15 quintessential NYC gifts for the New Yorker in your life

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

50 places to shop locally in NYC for that perfect gift

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

10 best plants for apartment dwellers

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January 8, 2016

Scofflaw Taxi Baron’s Big, Bold Tribeca Penthouse Back on the Market for $25M

The meter’s running again on the Tribeca penthouse belonging to Simon Garber, the yellow cab king (his company, SLS Jet Management, is one of the city's largest taxi medallion owners) who made news a few years ago for squeezing drivers with fake fees. In 2014 reports had the 6,300-square-foot duplex–plus 2,450 square feet of outdoor space–in the lavish 101 Warren Street condo ready to hit the market for $27 million. After only a few days the listing mysteriously disappeared, only to reappear as a rental, asking a traffic-stopping $100,000 a month. Last June, Compass re-introduced the listing for sale at $30 million, which soon slunk to $25 million, then disappeared again. Now it’s back on the market, this time at the slightly-trimmed but still hirsute $25 million.
Get a shiny eyeful, this way

Distinctive Homes

January 8, 2016

New and Improved Design for Shalimar Management’s 543 Second Avenue

In a well-wishing New Year note, Charles Fridman, president of Shalimar Management, announced that their planned ten-story residential project at 543 Second Avenue will break ground this year, and he's now unveiled a revised set of renderings depicting a substantially different design. Evolving from banal to brutal, the previously thin-skinned, glass-and-metal design has been beefed up into an energetic, cast-in-place concrete structure of undulating floor slabs and tilting exterior columns. Fridman's page states: "We’re planning a 10 Story rental building with 1-2 bedroom apartments. Each apartment will have its own balcony, and part of the building will cantilever over our other property at 249 East 30th Street." Outdated building applications from early 2014 detail a 12-story building housing 18 units spread across 19,000 square feet of floor area. New permits have yet to be filed and according to Fridman, the team came close to building the previous design, but "thankfully" held off.
Find out more ahead

January 7, 2016

Renderings Revealed for Governor Cuomo’s $3B Penn Station Overhaul

6sqft asked readers yesterday if Governor Cuomo would finally be able to get the Penn Station overhaul off the ground, after various news outlets reported that he would be announcing a plan to do just this. The majority of you said it wasn't going to happen, but it looks like the long-envisioned project has just gotten one step closer to reality. During a press conference yesterday at Madison Square Garden, the Governor revealed that he'll be heading up a major revamp of Penn Station, which he called "un-New York," according to Gothamist. The more than $3 billion redevelopment has been dubbed the Empire Station Complex, and a request for proposals will go out this week, due back in 90 days (not good news for the decade-old deal with developers Related Cos. and Vornado Realty). As expected, it includes the long-stalled Moynihan Station project that will convert the adjacent Farley Post Office into a large waiting area, similar in size to the main room at Grand Central. This will increase the size of the nation's busiest transit hub by 50 percent and will connect to the current station by a network of underground tunnels. Though several options are on the table for a redesign, the renderings released by the Governor's office show a glassy and light structure that's quite unlike the current space that Cuomo described as "dark, constrained, ugly, a lost opportunity, a bleak warren of corridors… a miserable experience and a terrible first impression."
More details and renderings ahead

January 7, 2016

$1B Expansion Planned for the Javits Center

It seems like Governor Cuomo's had enough of ugly Manhattan buildings. Fresh off his announcement of a $3 billion overhaul of Penn Station comes another major redevelopment plan–a $1 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Center, already the nation's largest meeting place. First reported by Curbed, the project will increase the building by 1.2 million square feet, adding five times the current meeting space and bringing the total square footage to a massive 3.3 million. Renderings from FXFOWLE show a glassy structure that will house a 58,000-square-foot ballroom (Cuomo says it will be the largest in the northeast), 22,000 square feet of outdoor event space, and a four-level truck garage that will supposedly get 20,000 vehicles off the streets.
See all the renderings

Real Estate Trends

January 7, 2016

Lower East Side Rental at Historic Federal Rowhouse Packs in Lots of Personality

The modest Federal townhouse at 511 Grand Street on the Lower East Side has managed to hang in there since 1829. And today it is boasting a really cool rental apartment on its second and third floors, while the ground floor is home to a cafe. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit belongs to artists Steve Mumford and Inka Essenhigh, who rent it out as a short-term, fully furnished rental. This time around it's available from April 1st though September 30th, asking $5,000 a month.
See more

January 7, 2016

Custom Painted Bagel Clocks Are the Perfect Wall Decor for Your NYC Breakfast Nook

New York is famous for many things but one of the most iconic as far as food culture is concerned is the bagel. Now New Yorkers and tourists alike can enjoy this delightful round bread not only on their breakfast plate but also on their wall with the Bagel-O-Clock! These fully customizable bagel wall clocks are available in several flavors including plain, pumpernickel, poppyseed, sesame and twister, and can be garnished with variety of bagel-friendly toppings. Each clock is an original piece painted by the young Canadian artist Charlotte Ficek.
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January 7, 2016

Housing Lottery for Two $918/Month Apartments Across From MoMA PS1 in LIC Starts Today

The affordable housing lottery for 21-03 46th Avenue in Long Island City officially opens today, and the brand new one-bedroom luxury units will be a mere $918, according to the NYC HPD. Apartments have private terraces, ten-foot ceilings, Brazilian cherry floors, chef's kitchens with stainless steel appliances, and in-unit washers/dryers. Plus, the address is right across from MoMA PS1 and just a block away from the E, M, 7 and G subways. The catch? The building only has eight units and only two of these are deemed affordable.
Feeling lucky? Find out if you qualify.

Affordable Housing

January 7, 2016

Half of the Earth’s Population Squeezes Onto Just One Percent of Its Land

Click here for a full size version >> It's widely known that most of the world's population is concentrated in and around cities, but this cool map created by Max Galka (h/t CityLab) shows us exactly what that spatial disparity looks like. Using NASA's gridded population data, which zooms in on the number of people inhabiting every nine-square-mile patch of the Earth, Galka colored all the areas boasting more than 8,000 inhabitants with yellow cells, while those with less than that number were marked black. What's visualized with 28 million cells mapped is that half of the world's inhabitants (about 7.4 billion people to date) occupy just one percent of the Earth's land. The rest of the population is sparsely dispersed over the other 99 percent.
See more here

City Living

January 7, 2016

Inside NYC’s First Medical Marijuana Dispensary; Rug Alarm Clock Forces You Out of Bed

Take a tour of Columbia Care, NYC’s first medical marijuana dispensary, located in Union Square. [Curbed] Ruggie is a rug alarm clock that forces you to get out of bed and stand on it. [Contemporist] Track all your favorite food trucks with this fun new app. [NYCTruckFood] The Upper East Side got the most parking tickets in 2015. [DNAinfo] […]

Uncategorized

January 7, 2016

Supermodel Gigi Hadid Checks Out $6.5M Selldorf-Designed Noho Pad

Supermodel du jour Gigi Hadid was spotted having a look at one of the last remaining units in the Annabelle Selldorf-designed Noho condop at 10 Bond Street. The Post reports that the Palestinian/Dutch beauty viewed the 2,775 square-foot, three-bedroom unit #3B with new flame, former One Direction-er Zayn Malik, in tow. Hadid–whose mom is "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Yolanda Foster–put her smaller Noho pad on the market last summer for $2.45 million after being harassed by a stalker who broke into the apartment and stalked her online. Her latest interest (the apartment, not the boy, who appears to have replaced ex-boo Joe Jonas) looks to be a step up, and not only in price, at $6.49 million. Selldorf designed the interiors as well as the building itself, which boasts 98 feet of continuous glazing in living areas and weathered steel and cast terra cotta panels inspired by the neighborhood's historic cast iron construction.
Find out more

Celebrities

January 7, 2016

Revealed: Brack Capital’s 90 Morton Street Condo Conversion to Have Terraced Penthouses

Here's our first look at Brack Capital's condominium conversion 90 Morton Street, also known as 627 Greenwich Street. The former printing building was built in 1911 and sits where the commercial lofts of Hudson Square (West Soho) scale downward into the West Village. Brack, headed by Isaac Hera, purchased the 120,000-square-foot corner building for $105 million in late 2014, and in September, the team submitted a $326 million offering plan to the office of the New York Attorney General. Building permits filed for the long-stalled conversion project last summer detail a 35-unit (29 condos) building that will remain 12 stories. It will only gain 1,649 square feet of construction floor area, and it appears its upper floors will be reconfigured into a succession of terraced penthouses. Though the architect of record is listed as Isaac & Stern Architects, the projecting volumes of the upper stories remind us of the work of Eran Chen's ODA Architects. ODA served as the design architects for Brack's 15 Union Square West and the James Hotel in SoHo.
More details ahead

January 7, 2016

Tina Fey Buys the $9.5M Unit Above Her Current Upper West Side Co-op

By Annie Doge

Funnywoman Tiny Fey pissed off her Upper West Side neighbors recently when it came to light that she's on the board of the American Museum of Natural History, and therefore approved the institution's controversial expansion plan. Unfortunately, it looks like she might be digging herself further into a hole, as she's just bought the co-op above her current apartment at 300 West End Avenue, meaning she and hubby Jeff Richmond will likely be taking down some floors and walls to create one large duplex. According to the Observer, who broke the news, Fey paid $9.51 million for the new four-bedroom unit, much higher than the $7.5 million asking price.
Check out the new digs

January 6, 2016

Revealed: New Renderings of Renzo Piano’s SoHo Tower at 555 Broome Street

Here's a closer look at Renzo Piano's much-anticipated condominium tower planned for a full block-front in West SoHo, between Broome and Watts streets. Dubbed The SoHo Tower, the 25-story building is being developed by way of a partnership between SHVO, Halpern Real Estate Ventures, Itzhaki Acquisition and Bizzi & Partners Development. The team picked up much of the development site in 2014 for $130 million, and yesterday, the Commercial Observer reported they've secured the final portion of the project site at 555 Broome Street for $9 million.
Even more images of the new tower here

January 6, 2016

$1.7B Light Rail Connecting the Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront Proposed

The dream of a Brooklyn-Queens light rail is moving further into the realm of reality. Back in July last year, 6sqft reported that an advisory committee comprised of developers, transportation experts and civic organizers was in the midst of forming to address the need for a more robust transportation system that could connect underserved, but booming, areas of Brooklyn and Queens. Now as the Daily News tells us, a non-profit advocacy group called Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector has officially materialized to tackle the issue, and they've just released a detailed proposal revealing the route and the potential design the modern streetcars could take on.
Find out more about the proposal here

Transit

January 6, 2016

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 1/7-1/13

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! The now-appropriate temperatures don't mean you have to hunker down inside to kick off 2016. Each night this month, check out iconic artist Laurie Anderson's tribute to dogs in Times Square. Whitehot Magazine's Noah Becker turns on his curatorial eye for a group show at Berry Campbell, and famed photographer Ricky Powell partners with some nouveau street artists for an exhibition of collaboration. Experience the ghosts of Christmas trees past at Michael Neff's Suspended Forest exhibition in Queens, or explore the ideology behind pleasure with Katya Grokhovsky. Learn something new with Dr. Vanessa Sinclair at the Morbid Anatomy museum, or with the work of the late Charles Bukowski at Cornelia Street Cafe. Finish the weekend off by challenging yourself to be your most daring during the 15th Annual No Pants Subway Ride.
All the best events to check out here

Events & Things To Do

January 6, 2016

‘Inception’-Inspired Coffee Table Takes the Horizonless City to New Dimensions

Inspired by the 2010 movie "Inception", this wild wave-like coffee table was designed by Cyprus-based designer Stelios Mousarris. While this isn't the first time we've seen a designer draw from the impressive visuals of this stellar film (see: 'Inception'-Inspired Map Shows a Horizonless NYC), Mousarris is the first to take the mind-bending map concept beyond our screen and into three-dimensions.
see more images of this amazing design here

January 6, 2016

Britney Spears’ Former Penthouse Hits the Market for $7.6 Million

The apartment that once belonged to the pop star behind "Hit Me Baby One More Time" is now on the market. Yes, Britney Spears' old Noho penthouse at 14 East 4th Street, a.k.a. the Silk Building, is looking for $7.6 million. This price tag is only the latest in a saga of trying to sell the place. It begins in 2002, when Britney purchased her penthouse for $3 million. She quickly listed it in 2004 for $6 million and the unit went through many price cuts before finally selling in 2006 for $4 million. The new buyers then listed the apartment in 2008 for $6.595 million and experimented with different price cuts until 2011; it never sold. Then it hit the market last year for $9 million, now it's back with another price cut. This apartment is about as unpredictable as its former owner.
See the interior

January 6, 2016

$1.4M for a DIY Duplex on a Heavenly Hell’s Kitchen Block

Tucked into the top two floors of 521 West 47th Street, a 1910 co-op loft building that was once a commercial bakery, "Penthouse C" is a package deal priced at $1.4 million consisting of units #3C and #4C and the roof space above them. The listing calls it an "Extremely rare and exciting 'once in a lifetime' chance to combine two authentic lofts plus the corresponding roof space to create your own 3-4 bedroom 3 bath penthouse," though that may take some doing; in their current form, the two spaces offer two different flavors of loft-y bohemian charm.
Check out this unique space

Distinctive Homes

720 West End Avenue

Upper West Side

Serene Upper West Side homes near Riverside Park

1 beds starting at $1,005,000
2 beds starting at $2,495,000
3 beds starting at $3,495,000
4 beds starting at $5,850,000

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January 6, 2016

Online Lottery for ‘Hamilton’ Breaks the Internet; Tour Donald Trump’s 1987 Connecticut Mansion

The online lottery for “Hamilton” crashed after more than 50,000 people tried to score cheap tickets. For now, it’s back to the streets. [Vulture] Take a tour of Donald Trump’s Greenwich, Connecticut home in 1987. [Mashable] These trucks have rear screens that show oncoming traffic so other drivers can safely pass them. [Digital Synopsis] Exploring Harlem’s […]

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January 6, 2016

POLL: Can Governor Cuomo Finally Get the Penn Station Overhaul off the Ground?

After chatter last month that the state may reboot the plan to expand Penn Station into the adjacent Farley Post Office, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Governor Cuomo will announce this week a full overhaul for the nation’s busiest transit hub. It’s expected that his plan will indeed include the projected $900 million post office redevelopment […]

Real Estate Trends

January 6, 2016

First Look at Madigan Development’s Upcoming Hudson Square Tower at 111 Varick Street

At the edge of the Holland Tunnel's Jersey-bound vortex, Madigan Development is planning to build a 15-story, 49-unit residential building at 111 Varick Street. Anchoring the southwest corner of Broome and Varick Streets in West Soho (aka Hudson Square), the tower is replacing a multi-story parking garage and will sit adjacent to another planned 19-story residential tower at 568 Broome Street. Renderings of 111 Varick show a blocky building clad in a drunken checkerboard pattern of glass and stone. While it has yet to be confirmed if the building will be a condo or rental, large layouts and its prime location between Soho and Tribeca allude to condos.
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Blackstone’s Purchase of Stuy Town Includes $625M in Air Rights

Photo via Wiki Commons

January 6, 2016

Blackstone’s Purchase of Stuy Town Includes $625M in Air Rights

Photo via Wiki Commons Less than three months ago, the Blackstone Group and Ivanhoe Cambridge's colossal purchase of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village went public. At the time, it was revealed that as part of the $5.46 billion deal Blackstone would reserve 4,500 of the complex's 11,200 apartments for middle-income families for the next 20 years, with an additional 200 units set aside for low-income tenants. But what's just come to light is the $625 million worth of air rights that came along with the buy. The majority of the roughly one million square feet will be transferred elsewhere, but about 250,000 square feet will remain within Stuy Town. As the Post first reported, "These include 200,000 square feet for a community facility, 25,000 square feet for residential and 25,000 square feet for commercial use."
More details this way

Real Estate Trends

January 5, 2016

Radio Rabble-Rouser Don Imus Lists CPW Pad With Terraces and Endless Views for $19.8M