Search Results for: green

January 10, 2018

Robert A.M. Stern will design fourth Hudson River-front residential tower for Related

The classic limestone looks of Robert A.M. Stern lend themselves well to the waterfront, and mega-developer Related is certainly looking to capitalize on the starchitect's expertise. They've previously tapped Stern for their Tribeca Park rental in Battery Park City, Superior Ink condo in the West Village, and the under-construction Tribeca condo 70 Vestry. Now, Related has once again brought RAMSA on board to design a condo tower at 555 West 22nd Street, which is being developed as the Hudson Residences along with the just-revealed High Line-straddling towers by Thomas Heatherwick. Proposed renderings uncovered by CityRealty on an EB-5 funding page detail a 22-story, subdued brick building that features Stern's signature boxy aesthetic.
More details right this way
January 10, 2018

LPC sends glassy addition to Willem de Kooning’s former Union Square loft back to the drawing board

Back in November, the developer/owner of a pair of newly-landmarked buildings at 827-831 Broadway--noted for their cast-iron architecture and a rich cultural history that includes serving as home to artist Willem de Kooning--submitted a proposal for a four-story prismatic glass addition and landscaped roof terrace that architects DXA Studio say was influenced by de Kooning's work. Yesterday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission received the proposal with mixed reviews, feeling skeptical about whether or not cultural events should influence a building's architecture. After hearing testimony from a slew of local residents and preservationists who feel the glass topper is too large, the LPC decided to take no action on the plan, instead sending the team back to the drawing board to better detail the restoration aspects and reconsider the addition as perhaps shorter and further setback.
More details and renderings ahead
January 9, 2018

To save Nolita’s Elizabeth Street Garden, a nonprofit wants to take ownership from the city

A nonprofit with a mission to protect and preserve the Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita released on Tuesday a plan to designate the park as a Community Land Trust (CLT), meaning it would no longer require funding from the city. The group, aptly named Elizabeth Street Garden (ESG), unveiled renderings of what the park could look like as a CLT, including a new composting station, solar panels, a volunteer work shed and more. The proposal from ESG comes after the city announced last month plans to demolish the garden to make way for an affordable senior housing development.
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January 9, 2018

The 12 best specialty bookshops in NYC

Independent bookstores are still going strong in NYC, with standouts like BookCulture, WORD Bookstore, McNally Jackson, and, of course, The Strand Bookstore, continuing to provide literary New Yorkers with the written word despite the specter of Amazon. But while the aforementioned shops are great places to find new and used literature, if you’re looking for a more curated collection, look no further than some of the city’s finest specialty bookstores, where mystery fiends, activists, artists, Francophiles, and others can find works tailored to their interests, as well as rub shoulders with like-minded readers. Here are some of our favorites.
NYC's 12 best specialty bookshops
January 9, 2018

Harry Houdini’s one-time Harlem townhouse conjures a buyer at $3.6M

The 6,008-square-foot four-story townhouse at 278 West 113th Street that once belonged to master escape artist Harry Houdini has sold for $3.6 million–a full $1 million below its original ask–according to Mansion Global. 6sqft reported last June that the former home of the illusionist, magician and one of the most talked-about celebrities of the early 20th century and his wife, Bess, had hit the market for $4.6 million. Houdini–born Erich Weiss, the son of a rabbi from Budapest, lived at the Harlem home for 22 years until his death in 1926.
This house is no illusion
January 8, 2018

New York to be first major city with flood maps based on climate change factors

For the first time since 1983, the Federal Emergency Mangement Agency is redrawing New York's flood maps, taking into account the consequences of climate change like rising sea levels and stronger storms. With hundreds of miles of coastline and a growing number of developments sprouting along its waterfront, New York has more residents living in high-risk flood zones than any other city in the United States, according to the New York Times. FEMA's new map, while still years away from completion, could have a profound effect on the city's future developments and zoning regulations. It could place more residents and buildings in high-risk flood zones, requiring pricey flood insurance as well as tougher building codes and restrictions on new developments.
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January 5, 2018

New renderings unveiled of John Catsimatidis’ 32-story Downtown Brooklyn rental ‘The Eagle’

Leasing has officially commenced at 86 Fleet Place, the final residential tower of John Catsimatidis' four-building development along Myrtle Avene, a site the billionaire first purchased from Long Island University in 1982. Dubbed by Catsimatidis' Red Apple Group as "The Eagle," the 32-story 440-unit building sits in between Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene and offers studios for $2,044/month, one-bedrooms for $2,743/month and two-bedrooms starting at $4,050/month. As CityRealty learned, residences will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, custom oak cabinets and Brazilian stone countertops.
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January 5, 2018

A 407-acre state park will replace a landfill in Central Brooklyn next year

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced a plan to create a 407-acre state park on Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn, which would be the largest state park in New York City. As a part of the $1.4 billion "Vital Brooklyn" initiative, the park would add much-needed green space in the Central Brooklyn neighborhood, an area the governor has described as a "park desert." Formerly the site of two landfills, the open space will be converted into parkland with opportunities for biking, hiking, fishing, kayaking, as well as educational facilities and an amphitheater.
See renderings of the park here
January 4, 2018

Fire Patrol House #2: From Benjamin Franklin’s fire prevention ideas to Anderson Cooper’s stylish home

The former firehouse located at 84 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village is often noted for being the renovated and restored home of TV personality and journalist Anderson Cooper. But it’s just as noteworthy for an unusual history connected to Benjamin Franklin and insurance underwriters, and for not being the kind of firehouse you think it is at all.
The whole history and current use
January 4, 2018

$6.95M historic West Village townhouse has a rooftop solarium with Freedom Tower views

In the middle of a lovely cobblestoned block in the coveted West Village, the five-story Federal-style townhouse at 334 West 12th Street was built in 1853, but its charms hold up against its neighbors in the Greenwich Village Historic District and beyond. Asking $6.95 million, the 20-foot-wide single-family townhouse has two entrances, five bedrooms, a rear garden that looks like something out of an Italian villa, a large south-facing terrace with views of the Freedom Tower, and its crowning jewel, a skylit solarium brimming with greenery.
See more photos
January 3, 2018

$1.2M Upper West Side co-op comes with potential to design a roof deck

This two-bedroom apartment occupies the top floor of the townhouse at 39 West 87th Street on the Upper West Side. It comes with private, undeveloped roof space accessible through an internal staircase within the apartment--meaning that the owner has a blank slate to design their dream roof deck. The co-op, decked out with historic carved wood and some quirky modern additions, has just been listed for $1.195 million.
Walk through the space
January 3, 2018

Views from this charming top-floor Windsor Terrace co-op might just be worth the walk up–and $700K

With an elegant old-New York name to match the pre-war apartments within, the Algonquin at 175 Prospect Park SW occupies a fortunate spot across from the park in Windsor Terrace. This bright two-bedroom co-op offers the kind of sunset views and sunny mornings you get from being on the top floor, though unfortunately there's no elevator to get there.
Get a closer look
January 2, 2018

The evolution of Hudson Square: From the Printing District to ‘affordable’ luxury

Hudson Square is undergoing another transformation. The neighborhood was once known as the Printing District because of the printing companies attracted to the large concrete and steel factory buildings located close to their Wall Street clients. In the 1970s and ‘80s, technology and design companies replaced the printing industry, attracted by the architecture, location, transportation options, and affordable rents. But the area is once again evolving. This time it's experiencing a boom of what developers and realtors call “affordable luxury" condominiums (in the $1 - $2 million range) due to the largest privately-initiated rezoning efforts in the history of New York City. Not only is the neighborhood growing in height and residences but a large fund has been set aside to increase the neighborhood's commercial mix, greenery, and traffic flow.
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January 2, 2018

Battle heats up over East Harlem park where a 760-foot tower is planned

Located on Second Avenue between East 96th Street and East 97th Street, the Marx Brothers Playground boasts a jungle gym and ball fields spread out over 1.5 acres. The East Harlem green space, which first opened in 1947 on land formerly occupied by the car barn of the Second Avenue Railway, has found itself at the center of a debate between preservationists and developers. As the New York Times reported, park advocates and city officials disagree on whether the parcel is considered a park or a playground. If it's a park, any plans to modify it require the approval from the State Legislature and the governor; playgrounds do not. While it seems irrelevant, the categorization of the land will determine whether a 68-story mixed-use tower will rise on its site, a project backed by city officials and affordable housing advocates.
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December 27, 2017

Greta Garbo fans buy the actress’ longtime Sutton Place co-op for $2.5M over ask

This sprawling three-bedroom at the exclusive Sutton Place co-op The Campanile may have a private location, incredible East River views, and old-world details such as wall-to-wall pine wood paneling, working fireplaces, and tons of built-ins, but it was its longtime resident who encited a bidding war. Mansion Global reports that Greta Garbo's longtime home (she lived there from 1954 until her death in 1990) has sold for $8.5 million, 43 percent higher than the $5.95 million it listed for back in March. The late actress' great-nephew Craig Reisfield said the buyers have “a reverence for my great aunt” and added that he anticipates them being "great stewards" of the home that's very much intact from Garbo's days.
See the high-end apartment here
December 27, 2017

ODA Architects reveal renderings for Crown Heights hotel with arched patio and floating gardens

Perhaps piggybacking on the positive reaction to their Rheingold Brewery project, ODA Architects have revealed renderings for another Brooklyn project with a central courtyard, sloping green roof, and stepped terraces. First spotted by CityRealty, the proposed views depict the Bedford Hotel at 1550 Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights, a five-story, 100-key development at 1550 Bedford Avenue. And according to plans submitted to the DOB, there will be a rooftop bar and a banquet hall and retail/restaurant spaces on the ground floor.
More details and renderings ahead
December 22, 2017

The Urban Lens: How Temple Court went from an abandoned shell to a romantically restored landmark

In 1883, one of NYC's first skyscrapers opened at the corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets. Known as Temple Court, the nine-story red brick and terra cotta structure was designed in the Queen Anne style by architect James M. Farnworth to attract accountants and lawyers who needed to be close to the city's courthouses. Its most impressive feature was its central atrium that rises the full height and is topped by a large pyramid-shaped skylight and two rooftop turrets. In the 1940s, this romantic atrium was walled in from top to bottom, and by 2001, the last commercial tenant moved out, ultimately sending the building into disrepair, a crumbling shell open to the elements. Plans to restore Temple Court into The Beekman hotel and add an adjacent 51-story condominium tower first surfaced in 2008, but before work got underway in 2012, we were granted the rare opportunity to explore the architectural gem in its eerily beautiful derelict state. And now that guests are filling up the 287 hotel rooms, the main floor is buzzing with restaurants from restaurateurs Tom Colicchio and Keith McNally, and the atrium's skylight and Victorian cast iron railings and ornamentation have been restored, we went back in to document how this one-of-a-kind landmark has been restored.
See the before-and-after photos and learn about our experience
December 21, 2017

What lies below: NYC’s forgotten and hidden graveyards

Most New Yorkers spend some time underground every day as part of their daily commute, but some spend eternity beneath our streets, and in a few cases occupy some pretty surprising real estate. Manhattan cemeteries are tougher to get into than Minetta Tavern without a reservation on a Saturday night because as far back as 1823, New York forbade new burials south of Canal Street. In 1851 that prohibition was extended to new burials south of 86th Street, and the creation of new cemeteries anywhere on the island was banned. But thousands of people were buried in Manhattan before those restrictions went into effect. And while some gravesites remain carefully maintained and hallowed ground, such as the those at St. Mark’s in the Bowery Church on Stuyvesant Street, Trinity Church on Wall Street, and St Paul’s Church at Fulton and Broadway, others have been forgotten and overlaid with some pretty surprising new uses, including playgrounds, swimming pools, luxury condos, and even a hotel named for the current occupant of the White House.
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December 21, 2017

Renderings revealed for Dattner Architect’s nine-story building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard

Once a shipyard where World War II warships were produced, the 300-acre Brooklyn Navy Yard is undergoing a major development to become a multi-use industrial and commercial mecca. Steiner Equities Group is overseeing the area's reinvention and as YIMBY learned, the developer has filed permits for a mixed-use building at 399 Sands Street. Designed by Dattner Architects, renderings reveal a nine-story building with a concrete facade and lots of greenery on its roof, as well as new views of the site as a whole and the planned Wegmans grocery store.
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December 21, 2017

Artist uses the classic Vignelli design to reimagine the NYC subway map in concentric circles

Map via Max Roberts The classic NYC subway map is instantly recognizable--but what if you were to turn the design on its head? That was the thinking behind mapmaker and subway enthusiast Max Roberts, who wanted to visualize the city’s cohesiveness in a map that focused on aesthetics, rather than the angles and geographic accuracy New Yorkers are more familiar with. According to Untapped Cities, this isn't the first time Roberts has experimented with a concentric design. A few years back, he released a map that re-imagined the tradition map in concentric circles. This latest version uses Massimo Vignelli's design, a distinctive map released in the 1970s in which each subway route is represented.
Check it out
December 19, 2017

Mayor de Blasio announces competition to transition NYC to electric vehicles

Photo via Pixabay With about 30 percent of local greenhouse gas emissions coming from transportation in New York City, officials are looking for the tech industry’s help in switching to electric vehicles as part of their bold climate goals. On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration announced the latest NYCx moonshot challenge to develop a green transportation […]

December 19, 2017

Everything you need to know about breaking a lease in NYC

Whether you’ve just been offered a dream job in Austin or decided to ditch New York City for a farmhouse in New Paltz, if you have a lease, you have problem. Leases are generally a good thing: They give tenants the right to stay in an apartment on a year to year or even bi-annual basis. If you need to vacate early, however, a lease can quickly start to feel like vice grip on your future. Fortunately, tenants, at least those living in rental buildings, do have some legal ways to opt out early. This guide outlines the ins and outs of lease breaking, how to find a qualified tenant, and what to do if you are currently renting in a condominium or co-op where lease breaking is a far more complex process.
Everything you need to know, right here
December 15, 2017

Service changes coming to all but six subway lines this weekend

Per the MTA’s Weekend Subway Service Advisory, there are a ton of changes in store for straphangers this weekend, which, when compounded with the weather forecast, makes for all the more reason to stay home. There are a number of trains that have scheduled delays or will be making local stops – ahead are the direst of the weekend service changes.
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December 13, 2017

‘Affordable’ Whole Foods opens next month in Downtown Brooklyn; How the Poinsettia made its way to NYC

Joining the new Apple store, the East Coast’s first Whole Foods Market 365, an affordable, no-frills version of the grocer, will open on January 31st at 300 Ashland Place. [6sqft inbox] The MTA is hiring a contractor to build the subway’s first platform safetey barrier. [NYDN] This holiday, give the gift of rat extermination. [Brokelyn] […]

December 13, 2017

INTERVIEW: Zoning and land-use attorney Michael Hiller fights to uphold the Landmarks Law

Michael Hiller is a zoning and land-use attorney who has represented community groups in seemingly impossible quests for about 20 years. His high-profile cases have often been against the Landmarks Preservation Commission, notably Tribeca's iconic Clock Tower Building and new construction along historic Gansevoort Street, both of which are pending appeal by the defendants. As one legal observer commented, "He has become an expert in the nuances of the Landmarks Law from a legal perspective. In court, he is very talented on his feet before a very hot bench, before judges who ask a lot of tough questions." His successes have won him designation as a Super Lawyer every year since 2009 as well as the 2017 Grassroots Award from the Historic Districts Council. 6sqft recently visited Michael at his office to learn more about his work.
Ahead, hear from Michael and learn more about his current cases