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Oh, how the times change. In the late 19th century, developer John C. Henderson began constructing an enclave of townhouses, designed by architectural firm Lamb & Rich, and intended for “persons of moderate means”. Today, one of those Yorkville homes is available for rent, asking $25,900 per month… or if you’d like to purchase it outright, $7.495 million. If you’re looking for remnants of 146 East End Avenue’s low-income housing past, you’re in for a disappointment. The result of a “painstaking” two-year gut renovation, this desirable dwelling only speaks the language of luxury. However, if there’s any city that knows how to preserve its history while providing modern amenities, it’s New York. The final result is a beautifully updated home that pays homage to its honorable past.
Take a look inside this historic home, here

Distinctive Homes

October 1, 2014

Strivers’ Row Home Tour & Exhibit at Macy’s Showcase Harlem’s Elegant Enclave

This weekend, all you old-house lovers will have two opportunities to step back in time and explore the elite Harlem enclave known as Strivers' Row. Located on West 138th to West 139th Streets, between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Boulevards, the area was once home to prominent, wealthy African-American performers, artists, and professionals who lived in the harmonious row of stately brick dwellings. Running until Sunday, October 5th is an exhibit at Macy's called “Strivers’ Row Style: Uptown Comes Downtown,” which will feature vignettes by various designers of what the interiors of these historic homes would have looked like during the heyday. Also on the 5th is the Strivers' Rome Home Tour, which lets participants inside eight of the distinctive residences and four historic churches.
More on Striver's Row and the upcoming events

September 30, 2014

Isabella Rossellini’s Daughter Buys Eerie $2M Fort Greene Townhouse

By Annie Doge

Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, daughter of famed Italian actress and model Isabella Rossellini, has just picked up a $2.2 million Fort Greene townhouse, according to city records. And the beautifully historic, yet slightly disheveled home at 23 South Elliott Place would make the perfect backdrop for a fashionably eerie photo shoot (or some really good Instagrams). Built in 1870, and part of the Fort Greene Historic District, the five-bedroom home is currently configured as a two-family residence, but we're guessing Ms. Rossellini isn't going to be looking for roommates and will likely convert it back to a single-family dwelling.
Tour the historic, sepia-toned home here

September 30, 2014

One-of-a-Kind Red Brick Dream Home in TriBeCa Features Five-Story Atrium

Who wants to deal with an arduous New York City commute when you can have your workspace and live in it too? Well, there’s a beautiful red brick townhouse in the heart of Tribeca offering just that, for $20,000 per month. The 25-foot wide townhouse at 155 Duane Street was initially built in 1830 and restored in the 1990s. It features a fully equipped storefront office space with seven workstations, and a four-floor residence above. Now the entire one-of-a-kind building is available for 12-18 months, for the first time ever.
Let's take a look inside, here

Distinctive Homes

<b>Goldilocks Blocks: Vanderbilt Avenue in Wallabout, Brooklyn</b>

Between hyper-developed hotspots, main drags in up-and-comers, and those genuinely avoidable areas, there can often be found a city’s “just-right” zones. They aren’t commonly known, but these micro-neighborhoods often hide within them real estate gems coupled with perfectly offbeat vibes. Continuing our Goldilocks Blocks series, this week we turn to Brooklyn.

September 29, 2014

Goldilocks Blocks: Vanderbilt Avenue in Wallabout, Brooklyn

The culturally rich, architecturally stunning Brooklyn neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill need little introduction. The Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north is busily growing as a start-up business incubator and creative and commercial hub. An “in-between” zone—the sort of area that engenders a question mark and a furrowed brow when perusing neighborhood maps—lies just north of Myrtle Avenue and south of the Navy Yard. Known as Wallabout, the area was named for Wallabout Bay to the north, much of which was filled in to create the Navy Yard in the 19th century. Unique among its neighbors, a block-long stretch of this border district feels more like a small-town side street than a growing urban crossroads.
Find out what makes this historic block so special, and why it’s likely to stay that way.

September 29, 2014

The Top 15 Family-Friendly Buildings in NYC

By Elijah Quinton

Last week, we talked to five families currently raising children in New York City’s many diverse and multifaceted neighborhoods about why they pick city living over the suburbs, and most of our readers agreed that they prefer an urban upbringing to the more "traditional" suburban childhood. But once you've decided to raise your children in the Big Apple, it can be tough deciding which neighborhood is best for your family. Many factors come into play: What are the best schools in the area? What amenities does the building offer? Are there playgrounds nearby? How secure is the building? And the list goes on. But to make the process a little easier, we've rounded up 15 of the best family-friendly buildings in New York City.
Check out our list here

September 29, 2014

Triangular Townhouse in Greenwich Village with Italian Renaissance Interior Sells for $5M

Fashion director and stylist Alessandra Gambaccini (who goes by Sciascia) purchased her Greenwich Village townhouse at 45 West 12th Street in 1996 for $865,00, and has now sold it for a whopping $4,975,000. But it's not just the incredible profit Ms. Gambaccini made that makes this historic home stand out--it's also its unusual triangular shape, the result of having been built in 1846 diagonal to Minetta Brook, since covered over by the city. There are hidden remnants of the old creek all throughout the Village, and this Greek Revival townhouse is definitely one of the most storied. Sciascia spoke to the Wall Street Journal about her fascinating home and how she was rather intrigued by its unusual shape. The four-bedroom house is also noted for its opulent interior, outfitted with custom-made Italian décor thanks to Milan-based architect and decorator Roberto Gerosa. And if those weren't enough talking points, the deed to the cobblestone courtyard is said to have once been owned by English royalty, and Frank Lloyd Wright's sister is a past inhabitant.
Now, let's check out those interiors

September 29, 2014

Even Wackier Design Emerges for an Earthship Home at 61 Pitt Street

Some of you may remember a proposal from 3+ years ago to bring a sustainable Earthship home to 61 Pitt Street—a vacant Lower East Side lot zoned for a twelve-story building. The proposed design was the brainchild New Mexico-based architect Michael Reynolds and backed by local resident Ken Ruck who championed for its construction with the LES' Community Board 3. Surprisingly, the board wasn't against it, nor was the site's owner, but Ruck and Reynolds didn't make much headway beyond that meeting and quietly disappeared without any word on what would come next. Now fast forward to 2014, and Mr. Reynolds is back with a new and improved (but equally out-of-this-world) iteration that employs the popular floor-maximizing cantilever taking our city by storm.
More on the updated here

September 24, 2014

Our Top 10 Event Picks for Archtober 2014

By Jason Carpenter

New York City's architecture and design month is almost here. "Archtober" is 31 days of architecture and design events, including talks, tours, receptions, and festivals. There are dozens of events for you to check out, but we've hand-picked ten that will give you a well-rounded and memorable Archtober.
Find out here what events to check out

September 24, 2014

Daily Link Fix: Lincoln Center Exhibit will Simulate a Power Plant; Tour New Williamsburg Design Store Beam

DNAinfo speaks to some of the city’s gardening experts for tips on how residents can turn vacant lots into their very own community gardens. A new contemporary art project will open at Lincoln Center plaza on October 3rd. According to Architizer, “Solar Reserve (Tonopah, Nevada),” by Irish artist John Gerrard, will use computer simulation to recreate an […]

Uncategorized

September 23, 2014

City Kids: Why Parents Pick City Living Over the Suburbs

The 'American Dream' may have dominated the last few decades, causing a mass exodus to the suburbs, but today's families are reversing the trend and turning their attention back to the city. The reasons are many: An appreciation for cultural offerings, the camaraderie and creative cross-pollination of networks of colleagues, friends and family, the convenience of being able to walk or bike to school, work or child care without a long commute—just to name a few. New York City has always been a haven for the forward-thinking, albeit a challenging one. And its newly-”discovered” outer boroughs as well as an unprecedentedly low crime rate have made the city a prime choice for family living. But what is it about those city kids—the ones with parents who planned from the start to raise their kids in a non-stop urban environment? We interrupted the busy schedules of five families currently raising school-age (or soon-to-be) children in New York City's many diverse and multifaceted neighborhoods to get some insight about why they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Hear what five parents of city kids have to say

September 23, 2014

Artists Who Converted Ink & Brush Factory into Their Own Masterpiece List it for $4.4M

By Stephanie Hoina

By their very nature artists are visionaries blessed with an innate ability to create something out of nothing. Time and time again some of New York City’s most industrialized areas have seen rebirth as residential enclaves courtesy of these imaginative souls. Examples of such artist-led gentrification abound - think SoHo, Chelsea, and Williamsburg, to name a few. So it should come as no surprise that it was two artists who came to the rescue of this former ink and brush factory located at 459 Carroll Street in Carroll Gardens and gave it new life as a practical-yet-cutting-edge home. Stripped to its core in 2006, the four-story manufacturing building built in 1888 was completely renovated into two distinct condominium residences, one of which is now on the market for $4.4 million.
From manufacturing-to-masterpiece right this way

Distinctive Homes

September 22, 2014

Goldilocks Blocks: (Far) East 7th Street in Alphabet City

Between hyper-developed hotspots, main drags in up-and-comers, big-ticket townhouse enclaves, and those genuinely avoidable areas, there can often be found a city's "just-right" zones. Free from corner menace, sticker shock and boom-time developer schlock, these special spots often span only a few blocks in each direction and are close enough to the center of their 'cool destination' nabes to legitimately bear their names. They aren't commonly known, and are best found by pounding the pavement, but these micro-neighborhoods often hide within them real estate gems coupled with perfectly offbeat vibes—you just have to be willing to do a little legwork. But when you do find them, don’t sleep on them... Winners like the Columbia Street Waterfront District were once Goldilocks blocks. Today we'll look at a unique 7th Street stretch hidden in Alphabet City.
Find out what makes this Alphabet City block so special.

September 22, 2014

Oscar-Winning Director Errol Morris Buys a Poetic Brooklyn Heights Home for $1.9M

Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, and his poet wife Julia Sheehan have just closed on a charming three-bedroom at 22 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights for $1.9 million. According to city records, the couple will be following in the footsteps of another celebrated creative, having purchased the home from the estate of late Russian poet, 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Joseph Brodsky.
Inside the book-filled home here

Real Housewife of New York Sonja Morgan Drops Price of Lenox Hill Townhouse

Real Housewives of New York

September 22, 2014

Real Housewife of New York Sonja Morgan Drops Price of Lenox Hill Townhouse

star Sonja Morgan has dropped the price of her Lenox Hill townhouse yet again, this time asking $7.2 million. It’s been a rocky few years for the former wife of J.P Morgan heir John Morgan. She’s been trying desperately to hang onto the pad since her devastating 2008 divorce followed by a pricey lawsuit, which forced her to file for bankruptcy in 2010. The five-story home at 162 East 63rd Street, which the couple purchased in 1998 for $9.1 million, has seen its price fluctuate a few times, falling from $12 million to $7.25 million, then returning for nearly $10 million in 2013 before beginning its steady decent to its current asking price. And last we heard, the loopy reality star was renting the home out for $25,000 per month to cover taxes while she tried to sell. The show doesn’t exactly portray the five-bedroom home in the best light, so let’s take a look inside to see what it really has to offer.
See what's inside, here

Distinctive Homes

September 21, 2014

Section 3 of the High Line Park Opens Today – See New Photos!

The third and final section of the High Line will officially open to the public today at 11 A.M., marking the final chapter of a 15-year journey to transform a once abandoned rail road track into an elevated park for the city. The new section has been christened 'High Line at the Railyards' and follows the original train tracks from 30th to 34th Streets to the north and south, and from 10th to 12th Avenues east and west, exposing High Line-goers to expansive and unobstructed views of the Hudson River and New Jersey. Unlike the two sections that preceded it, the path that makes up The Railyards is far less manicured. With its organized but "wild" greenery, the design of this final leg instead asks visitors to contemplate the railway's past and the surrounding landscape as it stands and as it will change with the introduction of Hudson Yards.
More of the new section and the ribbon cutting here

Architecture And Design

September 19, 2014

William Noble’s Private Central Park West Residence Is on the Market…Again

William Noble would roll over in his grave if he knew the fate of his beloved private residence. The prominent developer built a cluster of spec homes toward the end of the 19th century and chose 247 Central Park West for himself. This 10,745-square-foot home’s impressive history continues as it was once the home of Walt Disney’s grandniece and it remains one of the few single-family homes on Central Park. However, history turns a bit sour beginning in 2006 when Keith Monda, president of Coach, purchased the home and spent a year renovating it as a gallery for his art. He sold the remodeled home to Ukrainian businessman Igor Iankovsky in 2012. Iankovsky apparently never moved in, preferring his French residence instead, and he has been trying to sell the home ever since. We’re not sure if it’s the renovation’s mixed reviews or the sky-high prices, but for some reason this home toggles back and forth on the sales and rental markets. Well, now it’s back with another price drop, asking $27.75 million or $65,000 a month.
Let's take a look inside

September 19, 2014

Jackson Pollock’s Former Greenwich Village Apartment Hits the Market for $1.25M

You won't find any paint-splattered masterpieces here, but you will get the exclusive bragging rights of saying you live in the former home of Jackson Pollock at 46 Carmine Street. And if that wasn't enough of a conversation starter, the Greenwich Village building was once owned by Aaron Burr. Million Dollar Listing New York star Luis D. Ortiz announced the $1.25 million listing via Instagram, which is not surprising considering how photogenic this one-bedroom, top-floor unit is. The 800-square-foot home boats 14-foot, Tudor-style beamed ceilings with skylights; exposed whitewashed brick walls; and a cozy fireplace.
Tour the former Pollock pad

September 18, 2014

Glass vs. Stone: An Epic Architecture Battle

Decisions, decisions...sometimes there's just far too many in New York City. Thai or Chinese takeout? Subway or bus? Central Park or the High Line? The list goes on. And one of the most grueling decisions we make as New Yorkers is where to live. From choosing a borough and neighborhood to deciding on a price point, it's quite the undertaking. But what about the most elementary component of the building in which we decide to live--it's material. To be more exact, glass or stone. Glass tower dwellers are often drawn to the floor-to-ceiling windows, panoramic views, and clean lines, whereas buyers of apartments in stone buildings prefer a more traditional feel, with pre-war-style layouts that provide great separation of spaces. And some of the city's most prominent architects have become synonymous with one style or the other. Think Richard Meier for glass and Robert A.M. Stern for stone. CityRealty decided to take a closer look at this epic battle and see how pairs of glass and stone developments fared across the city.
See how these buildings battle it out

September 18, 2014

Real Estate Wire: Sales Launch at 11 Beach; Another HAP Building On the Way

Three of the 27 apartments at 11 Beach in Tribeca have hit the market. The three-bedroom is going for $5.3M, the four-bedroom $6.65M, and the five-bedroom is priced at $7.75M. [CityRealty] Another HAP building is coming to 247 East 117th Street, but this time Karim Rashid isn’t on the docket to design. Instead, Daniel Goldner Architects will take […]

Real Estate Trends

September 17, 2014

Sunset Park: How Creativity and Commerce are Transforming This Waterfront Neighborhood

With plans in place that call for a public waterfront bustling with creative industry and commerce rather than luxury residential developments, Sunset Park is not on its way to becoming the next hip NYC residential neighborhood–and that’s a good thing. Located on Brooklyn's western waterfront flank, there are really two sides to Sunset Park. The neighborhood, generally defined as the area between 65th Street, the Prospect Expressway, Eighth Avenue and the East River, has long been a thriving residential community. Sunset Park is also home to about 15 million square feet of warehouse and light industrial space. The key to the neighborhood’s future may be the point at which the two meet.
Find Out How Fashion May Give Sunset Park a Chance to Shine As the New Garment District

City Living

Truly Exquisite West Village Rental with Historic Details Will Leave You Lusting for More

“Tis better to have loved and lost, t

September 17, 2014

Truly Exquisite West Village Rental with Historic Details Will Leave You Lusting for More

By Stephanie Hoina

han never to have loved at all.” We’re pretty sure poet Lord Tennyson wasn’t talking about West Village apartments when he wrote those immortal words, but we can’t help but feel they are more than appropriate in the case of this three-bedroom charmer at 23 Bank Street. While the home is only available as a rental, one look will tell you that loving it and then losing it upon lease end is definitely better than never having experienced its classic beauty at all.
Read on to see if you'd be able to love it and leave it

Distinctive Homes

September 17, 2014

Beautiful Brownstone Mansion on Prospect Park Asks $7 Million

What if you had the opportunity to live in a 7,000-square-foot brownstone mansion on a picturesque block just a stone’s throw away from Prospect Park? That’s just a taste of what 312 Garfield Place has to offer, for $6.995 million. It is believed that the brilliant home was built by developer William Flannigan for New York businessman J. J Galligan sometime during the turn of the 20th century. The resulting five-story building has a distinct Victorian charm with a light Renaissance touch.
Take a look inside, here

September 15, 2014

Sawyer Berson’s Residence in Southampton is Composed of Calming Glass and Stone Pavillions