Jay Maisel

May 14, 2018

INTERVIEW: New York legend Jay Maisel dishes on 190 Bowery and his new photo archive

Jay Maisel is best known for the incredibly expressive stories he tells through his beautiful photography. But in recent years, he's become perhaps just as well known for his New York City real estate story where he made the deal of the century when he sold his home, the Germania Bank Building at 190 Bowery. What he's not at all known for, though, are the stories he tells through the hundreds of thousands of memories that fill his home and studio. Maisel, who may appear gruff on the exterior (at 87 years-old, he still likes to shock), is actually incredibly kind and sentimental. He misses his home and all his toys that once filled the 35,000-square-foot building. Although he was initially intimidated by the size and upkeep costs of 190 Bowery, Maisel grew to love the home and raise his family there for 50 years. In 2015, he sold the building for $55 million and purchased a stately townhouse on Pacific Street in Cobble Hill for $15.5 million. (At the time, it was the most expensive townhouse sale in Brooklyn.) 6sqft sat down with Maisel and discussed his real estate coup, his move to Brooklyn (which is not “the city” in his view) and his most recent New York City photography series, entitled “Jaywalking.”
Hear from Jay and get an inside look at his life and work
July 25, 2017

Aby Rosen signs fashion company Totokaelo as first retail tenant at 190 Bowery

It's been two-and-a-half years since developer Aby Rosen of RFR Realty scooped up the former Germania Bank Building for $55 million. He bought it from photographer Jay Maisel, who in 1966 turned the then-abandoned landmark into his own private 72-room mansion. After removing the Nolita building's iconic graffiti last summer, Rosen is now all systems go for his conversion to an office building with ground-floor retail. As the Post reports, Seattle-based fashion retailer Totokaelo (who counts among its designer offerings Acne Studios, Comme des Garçons, Jil Sander and Proenza Schouler) signed a lease for 8,918 square feet at street level. However, the deal only covers early fall through March 2018 for a large-scale pop-up store.
All the details ahead
March 23, 2016

Despite Landmarks Approval, 190 Bowery May Shed Its Iconic Graffiti After All

Though the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a proposal to restore the former Germania Bank Building at 190 Bowery with its controversial coat of graffiti intact, the on-again-off-again spray paint layer looks to be on its way out according to onlookers (h/t Bowery Boogie). Power-washing and a "paint-removal system" are reportedly underway, disappearing decades of scrawl.
Refresh your memory on what's in the future for 190 Bowery
July 15, 2015

190 Bowery Is Already Back on the Market, Aby Rosen Attempts a Flip

It seems like the saga of 190 Bowery is never going to be over. As you'll recall, photographer Jay Maisel turned the former Germania Bank Building into his own private mansion and lived there from 1966 until February of this year, at which time he sold it to developer Aby Rosen of RFR Realty for $55 million. Like we previously said, "Since that time, it’s been all eyes on Rosen. Is he removing or preserving that iconic graffiti? What the heck happened with that 'public' art show inside the building?" And though the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved plans in May for a restoration and conversion to an office building with ground-floor retail, it now seems that Rosen may be getting cold feet. Curbed reports that he's taking offers for 190 Bowery in what looks like a very high-profile flip attempt.
See what the listing has to say
June 24, 2015

Whole Foods Is Ripping Us Off; The Strange Collections Jay Maisel Left Behind at 190 Bowery

Keith Haring’s six-story Statue of Liberty mural is going up for auction. [NYP] Turns out there is some validity to the “Whole Paycheck” nickname for Whole Foods. The grocery store has been overcharging for pre-packaged foods. [Gothamist] Past and present: Manhattan Beach’s “Apartcot” bungalow colony. [Brownstoner] According to an interview with real estate investor Aby […]

June 19, 2015

After Selling 190 Bowery, Photographer Jay Maisel Buys Record-Breaking Cobble Hill Townhouse

If you've been following the saga of 190 Bowery, the former Germania Bank Building turned private mansion, you know that photographer Jay Maisel sold it to developer Aby Rosen of RFR Realty for $55 million back in February (he paid just $102,000 for it in 1966). Since that time, it's been all eyes on Rosen. Is he removing or preserving that iconic graffiti? What the heck happened with that "public" art show inside the building? But what about Maisel? Well, he certainly made out well, swapping one mansion for another. The Times reports that he is the buyer of the $15.5 million brick carriage house at 177 Pacific Street in Cobble Hill, the most expensive single residence ever sold in Brooklyn. He did downsize a bit, though. As Curbed notes, 190 Bowery was 37,000 square feet, while his new townhouse is 10,000.
More on Maisel's new home
May 6, 2015

Landmarks Greenlights 190 Bowery Restoration Plan with Iconic Graffiti Intact

After several weeks of back and forth on whether or not the new owner of 190 Bowery, Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty, would keep its iconic graffiti, it's now official that the historic Germania Bank Building will remain in all its tagged glory. As Yimby reports, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the proposed restoration and conversion to an office building with ground-floor retail. The plan, conceptualized by preservation architecture firm Higgins Quasebarth & Partners with the help of MdeAS Architects, "calls for restoration of metal gates, wooden doors, stained glass, and other elements, but not removing the graffiti or cleaning the façade."
More on the approved plans here
April 20, 2015

190 Bowery’s New Tenant Plans to Keep Iconic Graffiti on the Facade

Those who have been mourning the loss of 190 Bowery to the clutches of the rich can breathe a slight sigh of relief. Just a month after having some of its graffiti removed, the WSJ reports that the former Germania Bank—and former home of photographer Jay Maisel—has just inked its first lease. The tenant, "a company made up of agencies representing creative professionals in the industry of luxury and fashion image-making" has signed on for nearly 30,000 square feet and says that it will maintain all of the building's historic touches, from "its marble wash basins to the graffiti covering the lower part of the facade."
Find out more
February 6, 2015

Photographer Jay Maisel Officially Sells 190 Bowery for $55M

It's being considered one of the greatest returns on investment in New York City real estate history, reports the Daily News. Photographer Jay Maisel bought the now-famous graffiti-covered home at 190 Bowery back in 1966 when it was abandoned for only $102,000, and he's now officially sold the Gilded Age bank building to developer Aby Rosen of RFR Realty for $55 million. Developers have been urging Maisel to sell ever since the Bowery changed from a seedy row of drugs and flop houses to a trendy destination for foodie-favorite restaurants and high-end boutiques. Rosen finally convinced the artist, who lived in the six-story, 72-room mansion with his wife and daughter, to sell on the basis that it had no heat and was in disrepair.
More on the epic sale
December 6, 2014

New Rendering of 190 Bowery Gives Us a Look at the Mysterious Building Graffiti-Free

One of the city's most mysterious buildings has become a whole lot less intriguing with this newly released rendering from Massey Knakal. The image, which was pulled from the marketing materials of the broker by Bowery Boogie, shows a very pristine 190 Bowery totally free of graffiti and all lit up. Formerly the Germania Bank Building—and formerly the home of photographer Jay Maisel—the massive 72-room building was reportedly recently purchased by Aby Rosen of RFR Realty for an undisclosed amount (the sale has yet to hit city records) and, to much surprise, was put back on the market just a couple of weeks ago as a flip.
Find out more here
November 20, 2014

Photographer Jay Maisel’s Mysterious 72-Room Bowery Home Up for Sale Again

After all the hoopla around RFR Realty’s purchase of Jay Maisel’s graffiti-covered home along the Bowery, word has now surfaced that its new owners are already looking to turn a profit on the six-story building—even before they’ve officially closed on it. The Commercial Observer reports that the building at 190 Bowery, which went into contract in September, is being listed by Massey […]