Search Results for: how to get from brooklyn to manhattan

February 24, 2016

What You Can Do If You’re Injured On Rental Property

Our ongoing series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. This week Tom J. Moverman, partner at the Lipsig Law Firm, a practice specializing in personal injury, joins 6sqft to offer up tips on how to avoid injuries on a rental property, and what to do if they do occur. In New York City, Manhattan remains the dominating force when it comes to new apartment construction. However, in recent years, boroughs such as Brooklyn have closed that gap considerably. According to BuildingCongress.com, Manhattan accounted for 37 percent of all of the apartment construction in New York City, and in Brooklyn, construction accounted for 36 percent of the rental property construction activity in the city. By the middle of 2015, there had been $10.5 billion in residential construction throughout the entire city of New York (to give an idea as to how much the volume has increased, there was just $11.9 billion in residential construction in all of 2014). With an increase in construction comes an increase in tenant injuries. When volume increases, the demand to get new buildings up and generating revenue quickly also increases, and this means that corners will often be cut to make sure that rents from tenants can be collected in time to start showing a profit. Unfortunately, people can get injured when corners are cut, and tenants need to know how to protect themselves and fight back.
find out more here
February 22, 2016

City Auctioning Off a 62-Year-Old Fireboat for Just $510

If the houseboat lifestyle piques your fancy, this may be your big chance to live life on the open seas right here in NYC, as the city is auctioning off a 62-year-old fireboat. Though the initial asking price was $510, there have surprisingly been 17 bids since Wednesday, putting the current highest price at $3,050. Keep in mind, as Gothamist points out, that although this seems like a steal, it will likely cost thousands more a month to dock the 129-foot boat, on top of maintenance and transportation costs (it's being sold "AS IS" and "WHERE IS"). Some of the "amenities" you'll get include water cannons (it's not known if they actually work, but they certainly still look cool), a lookout tower (binoculars not included), and co-living style bunkbeds.
The whole deal
February 20, 2016

Williamsburg’s William Vale Hotel Launches Website, New Renderings & Video

Williamsburg likely has the highest concentration of awful new buildings in the city. The neighborhood has lots of things going for it, but architecture has not been one of them. However, just north of Kiss + Cathcart's noteworthy Bushwick Inlet Park is a cluster of development that finally flaunts the design creativity for which the borough has become renowned. Centered around the Walentas' Wythe Hotel, four exciting new hotels and office buildings are in the works. Tallest of them all, and farthest along, is the 21-story, 250-foot William Vale Hotel between North 12th and North 13th Streets. The striking pile of structural acrobatics topped off last fall and recently launched their website with a handful of new renderings.
More info and all the renderings
February 19, 2016

Dream Subway Map Includes a 10th Avenue Subway and a PATH to Staten Island

For most New Yorkers, subway dreams are simple things like trains arriving on time and getting a seat, but cartographer Andrew Lynch has big visions for what could become of NYC's transit system (h/t Gothamist). In his most recent iteration of the Future NYC Subway map, he "sought to plan out a system expansion which would be as cost effective as possible by addressing current service bottlenecks, train car issues, current ridership and population growth." This includes: a PATH train to Staten Island: a K line to connect the Brighton Beach Line (B/Q) to the Crosstown (G) at Bedford-Nostrand Avenues; a 10th Avenue L train extension; a majorly enhanced Second Avenue subway; and a Bushwick-Queens line.
The details on all these ideas
February 19, 2016

Skyline Wars: What’s Rising in Hudson Yards, the Nation’s Largest Construction Site

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s breaking development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter brings us the third installment of “Skyline Wars,” a series that examines the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. In this post Carter zooms in on Hudson Yards. The Hudson Yards neighborhood in Far Midtown West is one of the country’s most active construction areas. Construction cranes dot its emerging skyline and dozens more are promised now with the district's improved connection to the rest of the city. Last fall, the 7-line subway station at Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street opened with one-stop access to Times Square. The newly-minted station features a lengthy diagonal escalator bringing commuters to the front-door of the huge mixed-use project being created over the rail yards west of Tenth Avenue between 30th and 33rd streets. Originally, a second station was contemplated on 41st Street and Tenth Avenue but transit officials claimed it could not afford the $500 million expenditure, despite the enormous amount of new residential construction occurring along the far West 42nd Street corridor. Nevertheless, the finished Hudson Yards station deposits straphangers into a new diagonal boulevard and park between 10th and 11th Avenues that will ultimately stretch from the Related Companies / Oxford Property Group's Hudson Yards master plan northward to 42nd Street.
read more from carter here
February 19, 2016

Fairway Grocery Stores Struggling to Stay Afloat in Competitive Market

Though they once had ambitious plans to expand beyond New York City, Fairway Group Holdings Corp. is struggling with debt instead, reports Bloomberg Business. The company has incurred massive debt in order to finance its expansion plans and is in danger of default, according to analyst reports, and its "capital structure remains unsustainable." In addition to putting the brakes on expansion plans, the company has been advised to close some stores outside New York. Known for quality produce and well-curated private brands, Fairway Market stores are seen as perhaps the most representative of New York City when conversations turn to regional grocery loyalties. The gourmet grocery's original store at 74th and Broadway on the Upper West Side, with its cramped-and-bustling atmosphere, is a cult favorite for Manhattanites. The 52,000-square-foot Red Hook location in an historic coffee warehouse, opened in 2006, is credited in part with anchoring that neighborhood's renaissance.
Competition and bad timing
February 18, 2016

MAPS: Where to Find the Best Studio Rental Bargains Right Now

Last week we took a look at the lowest priced studio condominiums in Manhattan and northern Brooklyn. Now, here's a glance at the lowest priced rental studio units currently on the market. More than 60 percent of city-dwellers are renters—that's more than double the national average. And with the rental vacancy rate hovering around three percent, it's no surprise NYC is among the most expensive places to rent in the country. The most affordable neighborhood in Manhattan or northern Brooklyn to find a studio rental apartment is Bedford-Stuyvesant, where the median rent is $1,422 per month. Bed-Stuy is then closely followed by Crown Heights and Harlem, with median rents of $1,550 per month. The most expensive neighborhoods to rent in are NoLiTa ($3,848), the Lower East Side ($3,489), and TriBeCa ($3,465). Below you'll find a list of ten of the best individual studio deals on the market right now, and a map showing the studios priced farthest below their neighborhood medians. But move fast because these deals tend to disappear very quickly!
See it all here
February 18, 2016

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 2/18-2/24

In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd‘s philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top picks for 6sqft readers! This week's less-frigid temperatures mean a great opportunity to head to Doris C. Freedman Plaza at the bottom of Central Park to experience the Public Art Fund's latest installation before it closes next week. Across the park, the final performance of the New York City Ballet's collaboration with artist Marcel Dzama is guaranteed not to disappoint (those costumes!). Ground Floor Gallery in Brooklyn is opening a group show inspired by the rare stone lapis, and Charlie Chaplin lights up the theater at the Rubin Museum. Semi-autobiographical film "Candy Apple" will accompany a chance to chat with director Dean Dempsey, and iconic art critic Hal Foster speaks at the Pratt Institue. Finally, as the ultimate example of the Williamsburg rent hike, seminal Williamsburg gallery PIEROGI opens its doors in... Manhattan.
All the best events to check out here
February 17, 2016

INTERVIEW: Micro-Housing Architect Michael Chen Shares His Thoughts on the Tiny Trend

It's hard to flip through the home and garden television channels these days without seeing a program about tiny homes. But the trend has been gaining momentum for years, long before it made its way onto our TV screens. One of the creative forces behind this revolution is Michael Chen, firm principal of Michael K. Chen Architecture. With design offices in New York and San Francisco and 14 years of experience, Michael is considered a pioneer of innovative micro-housing. Not only does he share his "love of tinkering, of drawing, of discourse, and of making" with his clients, but he teaches at Pratt Institute School of Architecture in Brooklyn. Having recently finished the 5:1 Apartment–a compact, 390-square-foot space that fits all the functional and spatial elements for living, working, sleeping, dressing, entertaining, cooking, dining, and bathing–MKCA is taking the design world by storm with their thoughtful approach and clever product design. 6sqft decided to pick Michael's brain on just how he packs so much into such small footprints, where he thinks the micro-housing movement is headed, and the secrets behind some of his most spectacular spaces.
The interview, this way
February 17, 2016

This Map Explains the Historic Tile Color System Used in NYC Subway Stations

We know the crowds that pack into our city’s subway cars each day are more than colorful enough, but the system also has a super-geeky color-coded navigation system that exists even outside of the main map’s primary colored lines. The city-owned Independent Subway was opened between 1932 and 1940. Up until 1967, it was the last of three former competing subway systems, and contributed six major lines to what is now the unified New York Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, Q (partial). Squire J. Vickers, the system’s architect, designed a special color coding system for each station. Color coded stations were then grouped between express stations to make riders aware of the zone they were passing through. At each express station, the color of the tiles would change. Some station tile color patterns have been altered with subsequent renovations. The system map is based on the original color coding sheet from 1930. After WWII, almost all new subway stations featured their own unique architectural designs and colors
Find out what color your stop is
February 16, 2016

My 1,640sqft: Inside Chef Devin Gaffney’s Rent-Stabilized Classic Six on Billionaires’ Row

Our ongoing series “My sqft” checks out the homes of 6sqft’s friends, family and fellow New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to chef Devin Gaffney's Central Park South home. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! Whenever 57th Street and the few blocks that cluster Central Park South make the news, headlines usually swirl around how there's a brand new multi-billion dollar tower on the rise or how a condo in One57 just broke some city record. But lest we forget, many mere mortals like ourselves still fill out the more elfin edifices surrounding these supertalls. One such resident is Devin Gaffney, a chef (he's whipped up dishes at Brooklyn's beloved Speedy Romeo and No. 7) who not only grew up in the area, but moved away, spent 10 years in Brooklyn, and then moved back to the island into the same apartment he called home during his formative years. Ahead, Devin takes us through his eclectic, art-filled (many works centuries-old) classic six in a 1913 construction built for musicians just a block from Carnegie Hall, a block from Central Park, and right smack in the middle of one of New York City's most coveted and most expensive areas.
Go inside Devin's home here
February 15, 2016

A New York Minute With the Lower East Side History Project’s Eric Ferrara

Eric Ferrara is one of those people who just screams New York, and it makes sense considering he's a fourth-generation city dweller. He was born on 71st Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and is now a professional history author, educator, movie and television consultant and personality, and founder of the award-winning non-profit Lower East Side History Project. Among the books he's authored are the Manhattan Mafia Guide, Lower East Side Oral Histories, and The Bowery: A History of Grit, Graft and Grandeur. In addition to being ridiculously knowledgable about the city, Eric has that classic New York sense of humor, so we couldn't wait to hear about some of his most memorable moments, his favorite spots, and his general thoughts on life in New York.
Eric's NY Minute this way
February 12, 2016

Spotlight: Jacques Torres Takes Us Into His Whimsical World of Chocolate

On Valentine's Day, couples often express their love for each other with chocolate. And here in New York, acclaimed chocolatier Jacques Torres is naturally part of the conversation. Since 2000, Jacques has been sharing his chocolate creations through his company Jacques Torres Chocolate, which over the years has grown to nine shops around the city. But it all began back in his native France, where in 1986 he was the youngest pastry chef to be awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman of France) medal in pastry. Soon after, he moved to the United States, and a few years later began working as a pastry chef at famed restaurant Le Cirque. After making his mark in the restaurant industry, he devoted himself to chocolate full time, a decision that has certainly benefited those of us with a sweet tooth. With Valentine's Day this Sunday, 6sqft spoke with Jacques to learn more about his world of chocolate, how real estate has been an important part of it, and just how busy he gets around the holiday.
Read the interview this way
February 9, 2016

Actress and Comedian Ellie Kemper Buys $2.8M Classic Upper West Side Co-op

In her critically acclaimed Netflix show "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," her character, a former abductee who ends up in NYC, lives in an eclectic Brooklyn apartment. In real life, actress and comedian Ellie Kemper goes for a more traditional look, as is evidenced by her recent purchase -- a classic six co-op at 325 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side. According to city records released today, Kemper and her husband Michael Koman, a writer and producer, paid $2.8 million for the three-bedroom spread.
See the whole apartment
February 8, 2016

MAPS: Where to Find the Best Studio Bargains in NYC Right Now

Let's face it, if you're the average New Yorker and aren't shacked up or down with having a roommate, a studio is probably where you're heading. According to data from CityRealty, the median price for available studio condominiums in Manhattan and northern Brooklyn stands at $782,000. While there are a paltry number of these apartments available, roughly 200, these pint-sized units allow many first-time condo buyers and those with smaller budgets to enter the condo market. For neighborhoods with more than two studio condo units on the market, Washington Heights has the cheapest median average, coming in at just $633 per square foot, less than half the city's median of $1,389 per square foot. Soho, on the other hand, with its 18 availabilities, has the city's most expensive studios with a median price per square foot of $2,025. Keep in mind, however, that many downtown studios are "studios" in name only. For instance, the most expensive such unit in the city right now is a $6.75 million penthouse loft at 37 Greene Street, encompassing 3,200 square feet of raw space and a 2,400-square-foot rooftop terrace--likely not what that minimalist, low carbon footprint-seeking buyer has in mind. So, below is a list of the five best individual studio deals on the market right now, and a map showing the studios priced farthest below their neighborhood median averages.
See it all here
February 8, 2016

Permits Filed for 964-Foot Tower in Long Island City, Will Be Queens’ Tallest

Back in August, 6sqft revealed renderings of the upcoming Long Island City skyscraper dubbed Queens Plaza Park, which is slated to rise 915 feet. At the time, this made it the tallest building planned outside of Manhattan, but a lot can change in six months. First off, Brooklyn will take the outer borough title, as a 1,066-foot tower is planned for 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn. And now, Queens Plaza Park will also lose its Queens-based superlative, as The Real Deal reports that there's a new tallest building in town. Flushing-based developer Chris Jiashu Xu of United Construction & Development Group filed plans for a 79-story residential tower in Long Island City that will rise a whopping 964 feet. It's located just north of One Court Square (the borough’s current title-holder at 658 feet) at 23-15 44th Drive and is titled Court Square City View Tower. The building is designed by Goldstein, Hill & West Architects (the same firm responsible for former tallest frontrunner 42-12 28th Street) and appears to be a fairly standard glassy volume. Its 759,000 square feet of residential space will yield 774 apartments, and there will also be 200,000 square feet of retail on the ground floor.
More details and views ahead
February 7, 2016

$6M Newswalk Duplex Loft Has a Private Screening Room

The somewhat anomalous Newswalk building at 535 Dean Street in Prospect Heights was developed by the somewhat notorious Shaya Boymelgreen (who, for the record, is not known for aesthetically pleasing designs) just before the neighborhood became popular. The condo conversion named for its former life as the 1927-built New York Daily News printing plant doesn’t fit into any of the latest crop of easily dismissible residential building categories. There’s a certain credibility to be had, both from an invasive and a pioneering spirit in this complex neighborhood. And that makes its residences unique if a little confusing. This latest offering is no exception. The two-bedroom penthouse loft's interior design looks more Manhattan than Brooklyn, which may help explain the asking price of $5.9 million. Private outdoor space goes on for days, as does the list of building amenities–and there are a few surprises.
So what's with that home theater?
February 4, 2016

The History of Kossar’s Bialys; S.S. United States May Once Again Become a Cruise Ship

The New York Transit Museum is accepting proposals for PLATFORM, its cross-disciplinary program series. [NYTM] Explore the history of Kossar’s, NYC’s most famous bialy bakery. [Gothamist] A pneumatic waste-removal system is coming to the High Line. [CityLab] Confessions of a real estate agent in gentrifying Brooklyn. [Billfold] Crystal Cruises is optioning returning the historic S.S. United States back to […]

February 2, 2016

The Urban Lens: Documenting Gentrification’s Toll on the Mom-and-Pops of Greenwich Village

6sqft's new series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. To kick things off, award-winning authors and photographers James and Karla Murray bring us 15 years of images documenting the changing storefronts of Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Are you a photographer who'd like to see your work featured on 6sqft? Get in touch with us at [email protected] Bleecker Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenue South was once a huge Italian enclave with many traditional "mom and pop" stores catering to the large Italian families who resided in the neighborhood. By the late 1930s, it also had a significant bohemian population with many artists, writers, poets and musicians living in the area who set up galleries, coffee houses and music shops. Due to widespread gentrification and escalating real-estate values, the neighborhood has changed drastically and its unique appearance and character is suffering. We are here to take you on visual tour to experience how many of the truly authentic shops remain on this venerable Greenwich Village street, and to show you what has replaced the ones that have vanished. Many of the shops you'll encounter ahead have been featured with full-color photographs and insightful interviews with the store owners in three of our widely acclaimed books on the subject, but we've also rounded up several more ahead.
Walk the Greenwich Village of yesteryear and present
February 1, 2016

$3,400/Month Greenpoint Waterfront Mini-Loft Is Cozy and Cool With Killer Views

The once-sleepy waterfront neighborhood of Greenpoint is in the midst of a transformation into one of the most coveted and talked-about Brooklyn 'hoods. The Pencil Factory condominium at 122 West Street was one of the first conversions of the area's historic industrial buildings. Built in 1872 and expanded in 2012 from the original Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory complex, the name of the building was also used by artists, designers and other creatives who had studios in the building. The $3,400 per month rent may seem high for this sophisticated-yet-comfortable one-bedroom-plus pad, but with popularity comes higher rent.
Take a look around
January 29, 2016

Interactive Graph Compares L Train Commute Times and Rents With Other NYC Neighborhoods

We're hearing lots of anguish and anxiety over the possibility of an L subway shutdown for repairs for as long as a year or more, and we've taken a look at some possible solutions. Now, we've asked the real estate data geeks at NeighborhoodX to go a little deeper beneath the grumbling to find out just how much convenience can be had along that thin grey line, and how it stacks up against other neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. So which other neighborhoods offer commute times similar to the L train stops—and—just as important when choosing a neighborhood–how do their rents compare? And if you're living along the L, in light of the shutdown, what neighborhood alternatives do you have in the city that provide a similar commute?
Find out here
January 29, 2016

Famous Magician Tries to Escape His Greenwich Village Apartment for $2.3M

Remember David Blaine –the magician who's pulled stunts like encasing himself in a block of ice for over 63 hours and sealing himself inside a plexiglass case for 44 days with no food? Well, apparently after all these wild endeavors he needed a nice, tranquil place to come home to. The Observer reports that Brooklyn-born Blaine has put his modern/cool Greenwich Village apartment on the market for $2.27 million. He bought the top-floor, corner two-bedroom unit at 41 Fifth Avenue back in 1998, just as he was gaining worldwide fame. And though he moved to Tribeca several years later, he's held onto the unit until now.
See the magician's hideaway
January 28, 2016

NYC Creatives Pimp Out Their Pad on Airbnb With ‘Netflix and Chill’ Theme

With Valentine's Day approaching, the "Netflix and chill" pick-up line is going to be getting a lot of use, but this Airbnb listing takes the meme to a whole new level. New Yorkers Tom Galle, who works in advertising, artist Moises Sanabria, and Alyssa Davis, an engineer who works for Art404, have decked out Sanabria and Davis’s one-bedroom West Village apartment as a “Netflix and Chill” zone and put it on Airbnb for $400/night.
Any takers yet?
January 22, 2016

Watch the Seasons Change in Three Directions From This Unusual Prospect Heights Co-op

When we're looking for a new home we're often hoping for something different and, well, special, especially after seeing space after generic space. This Prospect Heights pad at 296 Sterling Place is definitely unique. It's spacious at 1,400 square feet, with 13-foot beamed ceilings and windows everywhere with open views on all three sides–because the building has three sides. You get the elegant original details of a classic pre-war co-op (original parquet wood floors, for example), plus the exposed brick and beams you'd love in a loft. And with two bedrooms plus an office/third bedroom, there's room for everyone. Overall, charming modern updates and the above cool-old-building-of-the-day infrastructure–plus the fact that the perfect Prospect Heights location tops pretty much everyone's list–are the stuff bidding wars are made of. The ask–$1.799 million–could get you an entire townhouse worth of quirky charm a few years back, but not in Brooklyn of 2016.
Take a look around this unique space
January 22, 2016

My 1,400sqft: Painter Stephen Hall Brings Us Into His Greenwich Village Loft and Studio

Since being transformed into homes for artists in the 1970s, Westbeth Artists' Housing has hosted some of New York City's most brilliant creatives. And long-time resident and painter Stephen Hall most certainly falls into that set, helping to fill the residence's walls with thought-provoking ideas for the last 17 years. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Stephen came to New York back in 1978 and began exhibiting his work in the East Village in the early '80s. Today, his colorful pop-surrealist masterpieces can be found in collections all across the globe, with his paintings now commanding between $5,000-$20,000 a piece. He's also dreamt up art for major motion pictures, music videos and magazines. Curious to see the madness and magic behind his Stephen's off-kilter works—which he describes as "paintings [that] confront us with complex conundrums for which each of many possible solutions may very well tell us as much about ourselves as about the subject at hand"—6sqft recently paid a visit to his duplex loft, a family home that mixes mid-century modern design with pops of color and familiar but fantastical forms.
Keep reading to meet the artist, and to get a peek inside his live/work space