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April 7, 2017

The Urban Lens: Sid Kaplan shares historic photos of the Third Avenue El coming down

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. This week’s installment comes courtesy of a new exhibit at the Transit Museum, "Deconstruction of the Third Avenue El: Photographs by Sid Kaplan." Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. After the city consolidated its underground subway lines in 1942 (they were previously owned by private companies), fewer New Yorkers were riding the elevated lines. This decreased ridership, along with the fact that the Els ate up valuable street-level real estate and created dangerous dark spaces, led to the city taking down the Second Avenue Elevated line in 1942. In 1955, the Third Avenue Elevated came down as well, catching the eye of a then 17-year-old Sid Kaplan, whose photos of the dismantling are currently on display at the Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery Annex. The museum tells us, "From his perch on the roof of an apartment building, or leaning out the window of an office, his images capture a unique perspective of the removal of a hulking steel structure, the hard-working people who dismantled it, and the ever-changing landscape of New York City."
More on the El history, Sid's work, and all the amazing photos
April 7, 2017

Townhouse once owned by President Martin Van Buren hits the market for the first time in 53 years

You could now own a piece of New York presidential history for $4.9 million. The Federalist-style townhouse at 150 East 38th Street, in Murray Hill, was once called home by President Martin Van Buren. This is, without a doubt, one of the most unique properties in New York--besides the presidential ownership, ironwork frames the entryway, a squat structure connected to the four-story townhouse. It was built in 1857, altered in 1935, and then restored in the early 2000s. The interior will bring you back in time, with fireplaces, wood paneling and coffered ceilings.
Don't miss the interior tour
April 1, 2017

A $1.5M modern condo lives inside this historic 1850s Brooklyn church

401 Hicks Street in Cobble Hill was originally St. Peters Church and Academy, built in 1858. In 2005, like a lot of churches around Brooklyn, the historic structure went residential. Now, this two-bedroom condo is up for sale here and you wouldn't necessarily guess it's located inside a former church. The unit lacks details like stained glass--which you often see in church conversions--and it's got a fun, modern aesthetic that feels more "Brooklyn" than "house of worship." It's asking $1.525 million.
Take a look
March 31, 2017

Zaha Hadid’s unknown, unbuilt and celebrated projects in New York City

A year ago today, Zaha Hadid's sudden passing at age 65 rocked the architecture world. Best known for her signature swooping and curving forms and for being the first female to win the Pritzker Prize, she surprisingly has only one project in NYC, the under-construction 520 West 28th Street. Likely due to an unwillingness to tame her energetic visions to suit a developer's bottom line, the majority of her work envisioned for the city remains unbuilt. To mark the one-year anniversary of her passing and to pay tribute to her "larger than life" creations and personality, 6sqft has rounded up Zaha Hadid's projects and proposals for NYC.
All the projects, this way
March 30, 2017

From the Westside Cowboys to the Oreo cookie: 10 secrets of Chelsea Market

Today it seems like there's a new food hall popping up every day, but one of the first incarnations of this trend was at Chelsea Market, when Irwin Cohen and Vandenberg Architects transformed the former Nabisco factory in the 1990s into an office building, television production facility, and food-related retail hub. New York City history buffs likely know that this is where a certain famous cookie was invented, but there are plenty of other fun facts about the location that are much less well known. Therefore, 6sqft has rounded up the top 10 most intriguing secrets of Chelsea Market.
Find out everything here
March 30, 2017

$29K/month West Village townhouse got a modern, romantic renovation by Annabelle Selldorf

The thoroughly modern gut-renovation of this 1869 single family home at 281 West 4th Street is the creation of noted starchitect Anabelle Selldorf, and we're assuming that its romantic-contemporary decor was inspired by the owners' creative talents. Luxuries, comforts, and conveniences fill this somewhat narrow, 2,720-square-foot historic private home, from a finished and functional cellar to a planted and enchanted roof garden. For the why-own-when-you-can-rent-for-more monthly price of $29,000, you can step into this dream of a West Village townhouse, cue up a rooftop party and fire up the parlor-floor movie screen.
Take the tour
March 24, 2017

Behind the counter and into the caves at Murray’s Cheese

Murray's Cheese was founded in 1940 on Cornelia Street. When Rob Kaufelt bought the business in 1991, he grew the store into an internationally known food destination that now includes educational programs, a full-service restaurant, catering, and state-of-the-art cheese aging caves in Long Island City. Personally, our love affair with Murray’s Cheese began in 1994, when we were newlyweds on a budget, often buying cheese from the small Bleecker Street store to eat with some freshly baked bread purchased from the nearby Zito & Sons Bakery. Plus, with Murray’s being our namesake, we felt an immediate connection to the store. Just last month, the Kroger Company purchased the equity of Murray’s Cheese and its flagship Greenwich Village location to form a merger of the two companies. As this new era approaches, we decided to capture all the cheesy goodness of the store, restaurant, and caves, as well as chat with Rob, cavemaster PJ, and Murray's Cheese Bar's general manager Jake Goznikar to learn about Murray's history, unique contributions to local and world-wide food culture, and future.
Take the grand tour
March 20, 2017

Young Projects’ Tribeca loft explores solids and voids with nested prisms and an interior courtyard

This massive home, dubbed the Gerken Residence, occupies 6,000 square feet of interior space, plus a 1,500-square-foot rooftop garden, all located on the top floors of a historic Tribeca building. Designed by Young Projects, the unique loft's inner structure is comprised of three nested prisms that explore the relationship between solid and void. The floor plan also has various cuts strategically placed to hide and reveal the sky and city.
See the whole home
March 16, 2017

Bid on a VIP tour of Yale with Robert A.M. Stern and other starchitect experiences

The Van Alen Institute announces their fourth annual Auction of Art + Design Experiences, offering a rare international sampling of curated events with leading names in the creative world. Like an omakase of "distinctive experiences" with some of today's most notable innovators in the architecture, design and culture spheres, the benefit auction, available via Paddle8, offers a Robert A.M. Stern-led VIP preview of the architect’s addition to the Yale University campus, an afternoon in the archives of Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro outside São Paulo, a workout at Medellín Sports Coliseum with its architect, Giancarlo Mazzanti, a visit to a collection of stilted Miami beach houses with architect Terry Riley, meditation studio time with Winka Dubbeldam and a tour of John Lautner-designed horror story homes in the Hollywood hills, to name just a few.
More cool experiences to bid on, ahead
March 15, 2017

After 10 years on the market, Donald Trump’s trust looks to make $35M on lavish penthouse

The penthouse at Trump Park Avenue has been on and off the market for an entire decade, first listing for $45 million in 2007, and now returning for $35 million. As LL NYC reports, the President transferred ownership of the 6,278-square-foot apartment in January to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, of which he's the exclusive beneficiary. The massive duplex is as ornate as you'd expect from Trump, complete with 22 arched windows, custom tray ceilings with intricate moldings and dripping crystal chandeliers, bathrooms bathed in marble, and two large terraces with panoramic views.
Take the tour and get the full scoop
March 8, 2017

Modern carriage house on an exclusive street of Brooklyn Heights tries its hand at $10M

If you thought Brooklyn Heights only offered blocks of historic townhouses, think again: this carriage house at 6 Grace Court Alley, a private, one-block row that's made up exclusively of 19th-century residential carriage homes. And while the exterior certainly looks historic, the interior has been opened up, modernized, and filled with light thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights. After last selling in 2011 for $2.7 million, it's now trying for a cool $10 million.
Step inside
March 7, 2017

Great Game Changers: How the Pan Am Building redefined Midtown architecture

Perhaps the most detested Midtown skyscraper by the public, this huge tower has nevertheless always been a popular building with tenants for its prime location over Grand Central Terminal and its many views up and down Park Avenue. It is also one of the world’s finest examples of the Brutalist architecture, commendable for its robust form and excellent public spaces, as well as its excellent integration into the elevated arterial roads around it. However, there is no argument that it is also immensely bulky with a monstrous height. As shown in the photograph ahead, to its north, the building completely overshadows the Helmsley Building, an iconic product of Warren & Wetmore's Terminal City complex. The pyramid-topped Helmsley Building once straddled the avenue with remarkable grace, and as one of the city’s very rare, “drive-through” buildings, it was the great centerpiece of Park Avenue. But by shrouding such a masterpiece in its shadows, the Pan Am Building (today the MetLife building) desecrated a major icon that will unfortunately never recover from such a contemptible slight on a prominent site.
Read more about the significance of this building here
February 23, 2017

For $9.5M, this sprawling Gramercy co-op has a sunken living room and keys to the park

At a house-sized 3,809 square feet, this jumbo co-op at 50 Gramercy Park North, on the market for $9.5 million, is likely two apartments that were combined. As a result, there's more room for bedrooms, living and entertaining space and more floor-to-ceiling glass to take in the view. The building is also home to the Gramercy Park Hotel, so you get hotel-level amenities as part of the deal, along with a coveted key to the park.
Big rooms and big views this way
February 22, 2017

Developer will turn Connecticut lighthouse into a giant playroom for his grandkids

In 2004, New York-based developer and builder Frank Sciame paid $6 million for the 3.4-acre waterfront Connecticut estate of the late Katharine Hepburn. In late 2015, he also dropped $290,000 at auction for the Old Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, which is within walking distance to the estate. The 131-year-old lighthouse was built in 1886 to mark a sand bar on the west side of the Connecticut River, but it will soon see a new life as a giant children's playroom. The Post reports that Sciame asked yacht-design architects Persak & Wurmfeld to redesign the structure as a clubhouse for his grandkids, complete with the original cast-iron windows and portholes, watch room and lantern room, and upper wrap-around deck.
Get the full scoop
February 21, 2017

Historic Clinton Hill carriage house gets light from a ‘sky volume’ and a courtyard carved into its core

A thoroughly transformative re-design by New York studio O'Neill McVoy Architects turns a historic red brick townhouse on a slender 24- by 76-foot lot in need of light and air into an ultra-bright and inspiring modern residence for a young family. The Clinton Hill Courtyard House, in a landmarked section of the neighborhood, was built in 1877 as a carriage house for the mansion next door. The historic integrity of the home's exterior was left intact, but inside, three strategic openings–including skylights, a central courtyard, and a perforated interior stair wall--were created to let in light and air everywhere for daily living.
So much sunlight, in so many creative ways
February 5, 2017

A new construction carriage house in Red Hook boasts plentiful indoor and outdoor space

A unique property in a unique neighborhood has hit the market for a cool $1.9 million. 97 King Street, in the waterfront neighborhood of Red Hook, is a newer construction building inspired by the carriage house design. The three-story property holds a 270-square-foot garage on the ground floor--currently home to the textile company Artemisia--and living space above. It's topped with an impressive roof deck that looks over Lower Manhattan and the surrounding waterfront.
Go inside
January 31, 2017

Flatiron loft gets a spectacular renovation featuring high-end millwork and finishes

This beautiful loft located in the Flatiron District was designed and renovated by the firm S. R. Gambrel. Known for their innovative use of texture and color, their execution of the interior is a complex but cohesive exercise in fusing a varied palette of the two. The loft was transformed to create individual rooms, and top highlights found in each are the cabinetry details and the millwork that stretches from the floor to ceiling.
READ MORE
January 10, 2017

Gorgeously sophisticated loft in Soho artists’ building seeks $1.9M

We're seeing a lot of downtown live/work lofts on the market lately, and we can't help but wonder whether longtime artist-inhabitants are moving on to better things, but we're guessing they're cashing in on the cachet of loft living. And if you've ever drooled over these huge and versatile spaces, this 1,200 square-foot co-op at 138 Grand Street will definitely put stars in your eyes.
See more details
January 9, 2017

There’s enough room for all of your startup dreams in this $5M live-work Soho loft

While lofts are often vast and cavernous by their very nature–most are former warehouses and factories after all–at 5,200 square feet this sprawling space at 514 Broadway in Soho–currently on the market for $4.995 million–is large even by those big-shouldered standards. We're guessing two units were combined at some point, and since you're officially allowed to do business here, we can imagine a buzzing hive of innovation, with more than enough room left over for leaving work behind. According to records, former Tiananmen Square activist and student leader during the 1989 protests and current tech mogul Shen Tong purchased the loft for $2.9 million in 2004, which is also when he founded software company VFinity. The avid art collector's office is listed at this address, and we're guessing he's lived here with his wife and three children during that time.
Check out the possibilities
January 5, 2017

NFL star Damon Harrison scores a $1.55M ritzy manor in northern Jersey

Defensive tackle Damon Harrison (aka Snacks) signed a $9.25 million/year contract with the New York Giants in March 2016, and it looks like he's decided to put some of that cash into the real estate game. The Post reports that the 28-year-old player just dropped $1.55 million on a ritzy, custom-built manor in northern New Jersey. Located in the Washington Township, about 20 miles from MetLife Stadium, the palatial, 7,080-square-foot home was custom built in 2013 and boasts glamorous (though at times a bit gaudy) details like an oversized heated driveway to melt snow, a two-story marble foyer complete with a bridal staircase and gigantic chandelier, and a double-height great room overlooked by three upstairs balconies.
See it all here
January 4, 2017

$3.2M Carnegie Hill condo at the Gatsby lives up to its elegant pre-war namesake

The classic seven: That increasingly rare breed of New York City apartment, almost non-existent among condos, was much more often seen in the pre-war era, before building owners felt the need to pack as many people as possible into every square inch. This particular specimen in The Gatsby at 65 East 96th Street can be found on the market for $3.195 million in its most likely habitat, the Upper East Side, and it's a beauty. Everything has been perfectly updated for 21st-century living and gorgeous pre-war details are at their best. There are even building amenities, plus the freedom of condo ownership, but mostly it's the kind of apartment that only needs to show its floor plan.
Tour this gracious seven-room home
December 15, 2016

Interview: Friends of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector discuss bringing a streetcar to NYC

After working for decades advocating for transit equity and environmental justice at various organizations, Ya-Ting Liu came on board as the Executive Director of Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector. It's been almost a year since the non-profit advocacy group first released a proposal for a streetcar to run along the borough's waterfront, and since that time the city has stepped in to back the estimated $2.5 billion project, even appointing a director and creating preliminary maps of the streetcar's possible routes. As one of several transportation undertakings on the table, the BQX certainly has a big year ahead. 6sqft recently sat down with Ya-Ting To get the scoop on what's to come, as well as some insider thoughts on the streetcar's common misconceptions.
Read the full interview this way
December 9, 2016

Rent model Erin Heatherton’s rustic-chic West Village condo for $15K/month

Back in October Sports Illustrated and Victoria’s Secret model—and onetime Leonardo DiCaprio arm candy—Erin Heatherton put her renovated 1,345 square-foot, two-bedroom Village condo at 1 Morton Square on the market for $2.85 million; we don't know if her thorny relationship with the building's condo board has had anything to do with it, but the two-bedroom apartment's rustic-chic interiors like exposed beams, stacked wood in the kitchen and stunning La Cornue range, plus a massive custom walk-in closet, have not yet found the model buyer: The apartment is now on the rental market for $15,000.
Take the tour
December 5, 2016

West Chelsea mansion reboot with gym, pool, elevator, theatre and wine room ready for its $36.8M close-up

Back in September 6sqft brought you news of the “unbridled luxury” in the works for a townhouse at 357 West 17th Street that designer Karim Rashid sold to Wonder Works Construction Corp., developer of Williamsburg‘s pricey Oosten condominium complex, for $9.35 million in 2014. Rashid had lived in–and occasionally rented out–a candy-colored, neon-furnished loft in the building. Wonder Works subsequently hired Architect Andres Escobar to transform the 25-foot-wide building into an 11,000-square-foot modern single-family mansion with five bedrooms, 11 baths, a private internal garage, a 400 bottle glass-enclosed wine room, a fully-stocked gym and spa with a pool, a screening room, decks, terraces and patios with city views. Though the renderings looked sufficiently swank, the finished home, now on the market for $38.6 million, more than delivers on the promise of luxe. From the smallest details (Swarovski crystal drawer pulls, faux croc finishes on kitchen cabinets, marble everything and a bathroom faucet that's suspended from the ceiling) to the previously-mentioned lifestyle transformers, no expense was spared in the creation of this contemporary urban manse.
Lots more shiny things and marble, this way
December 2, 2016

State seeks proposals for massive development above South Bronx rail yard tracks

As the city's land costs rise, interest has been focused on the South Bronx, including the potential for a huge waterfront development above the MTA's Concourse Yards, as 6sqft previously reported. Now, Crains reports that Empire State Development (ESD) has invited developers to present offers for leasing or purchasing a 13-acre South Bronx rail yard along the Harlem River just north of the Willis Avenue Bridge and decking it over to build a residential or mixed-use project.
Find out more