All articles by Diane Pham

Diane is the founder and Editorial Director of 6sqft. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Real Estate Finance & Development and a minor in Architecture, she enjoyed stints at SCI-Arc, the A+D Museum Los Angeles, Perkins Eastman Architects and Resolution 4: Architecture. She also previously served as Senior Editor of Inhabitat.com and spent several years as an analyst at CB Richard Ellis Investments in Milan, Italy.

POLL: An Irish Castle or a New York Castle – Which Would You Pick?

March 17, 2016

POLL: An Irish Castle or a New York Castle – Which Would You Pick?

Get out your green, because in honor of St. Patrick's Day we're putting a twist on the classic real estate comparison conundrum pinning some of the coolest Irish castles currently up for sale against a few New York castles (a.k.a. really expensive condos). Hit the jump to see what's available in the $2 to $12 million range, and then cast a vote for whether you'd rather having a sprawling 700-year-old stone castle with 380 acres of land in Ireland, or a comfy four-bedroom penthouse at The Brompton in Yorkville. And if you're not into castles or condos, we've also figured out how many pints of Guinness you can get for the median price of an apartment...
Which would you pick?

Go Inside the Trippy Apartments of 1970s Urban Dwellers

March 16, 2016

Go Inside the Trippy Apartments of 1970s Urban Dwellers

Mid-century modern is often touted as the ideal when it comes to design, but while that era gifted us beautiful and timeless works from the likes of Mies and Charles and Ray Eames, not everyone at the time was keen on keeping with this design aesthetic. As the 70s gave way to a slew of political and social change, many homes also saw revolution of their own from the streamlined to the downright psychedelic. Case in point: All of the interiors featured in old issues of Apartment Life, a city living lifestyle magazine from the 70s. But what might be better than ogling all the decades-old acid trip decor in these old issues is reading the captions of the glossies. Like the folks featured in our My sqft series, Apartment Life talks the challenges of urban living (like no-view windows and limited storage), in addition to offering up some tips on how to deal (solution: build yourself a "butcher block storage/coffee table" they say!). They've even got a great idea for beating the below-zero blues: A "Winter Picnic" in bed.
Go inside these apartments here

Interested in a Flex Apartment? Here’s What You Need to Know

March 14, 2016

Interested in a Flex Apartment? Here’s What You Need to Know

With rising real estate prices and shrinking spaces, flex apartments are growing in popularity with roommates, couples and families who are looking to add another room but can’t afford to move into a larger space. Flex apartments, for those who are unfamiliar, are typically a studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit large enough to be converted up one level with […]

Downtown Wonder: How One Chase Manhattan Plaza Changed the New York Skyline

March 13, 2016

Downtown Wonder: How One Chase Manhattan Plaza Changed the New York Skyline

This large, boxy skyscraper at 28 Liberty Street may not be ornate or even as attractive as some of the simple glass towers we see sprouting up on the city’s side streets, but One Chase Manhattan Plaza’s architectural significance is profound. Erected in 1960, the building is accredited with bringing forth a downtown renaissance that paved the […]

Reel Estate: Three Movies Put New York Housing Dramas on the Big Screen

March 11, 2016

Reel Estate: Three Movies Put New York Housing Dramas on the Big Screen

When we see New York real estate on film, living situations usually err on the side of grossly unrealistic—think freelance writer Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment with walk-in closet on “Sex and the City,” or Monica Gellar’s massive two-bedroom in Greenwich Village on “Friends.” But while there are plenty of eye rolls to go around for said and […]

What to Know As a Foreign National Buying or Renting in New York

March 10, 2016

What to Know As a Foreign National Buying or Renting in New York

Buying and renting in the city can pose a challenge even for long-time New Yorkers, but for foreign nationals without citizenship or the right credit history, opportunity can quickly turn into an impossibility. But not all hope is lost for internationals looking to invest in a home stateside—one just needs to be educated on the buying process. […]

Real Estate Trends

My 275sqft: Inside a Creative Director’s Chic Lower East Side Micro-Apartment

March 8, 2016

My 275sqft: Inside a Creative Director’s Chic Lower East Side Micro-Apartment

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 co-founder and creative director of DNA Dustin O'Neal's Lower East Side apartment. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch! "Living in a small space is all about editing," says Dustin O'Neal. "You have to remove to grow." Sage advice from the co-founder and creative director of DNA, a start-up consulting and PR firm representing some of New York's top and up-and-coming architects and designers. While we know that cutting down your belongings is key to making a small space work, it's not often that we see tiny apartments stray from an all-white color palette to include purple, patterns, lots of art and even pops of electric orange and neon yellow. Having worked with dozens of creatives over the last few years, Dustin has picked up a thing or two about interior design, and his tiny 275-square-foot Lower East Side abode of three years reflects this knowledge. We recently visited the enterprising 26-year-old at home to see first-hand how you can transform even the smallest of apartments into a unique, style-filled space with less stuff.
Take a tour of Dustin's apartment here

360º Views: This Is the Largest Panoramic Photo of New York’s Skyline Ever Taken

March 7, 2016

360º Views: This Is the Largest Panoramic Photo of New York’s Skyline Ever Taken

Just when we thought we'd seen every angle of the New York City skyline possible, here comes a mind-bogglingly detailed panorama courtesy of photographer Jeffrey Martin. According to the Daily Mail, the sweeping (and interactive!) image was the product of two days spent atop the Empire State Building, with Martin wielding a Canon 5Dsr and a 135mm lens shooting more than 2,000 frames that were later painstakingly stitched together. The image is in fact so large and exhaustive that its 20 Gigapixels would give way to a photo that's 57 feet wide and 27 feet tall if printed!
Click here to access the interactive panorama

Architecture And Design

Stuff You Should Know: How Air Rights Work

Image of One57 © Wade Zimmerman courtesy of Agence Christian de Portzamparc (ACDP)

March 3, 2016

Stuff You Should Know: How Air Rights Work

“For whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to Heaven and down to Hell.” Most folks outside the architecture and real estate industries are likely to believe that putting up a new skyscraper is simply about finding an empty lot to build up. However, those in the know understand that it takes much more than a stretch of space and a good […]

Will Donald Trump’s Divisive Rhetoric Hurt His Real Estate Business?

March 2, 2016

Will Donald Trump’s Divisive Rhetoric Hurt His Real Estate Business?

Trump may have swept the southern states on Super Tuesday, but in true blue New York City and other regions with liberal leanings, the presidential candidate remains as polarizing as ever. As such, since announcing his run last year, Trump has been dumped by everyone from NBC (he was axed as the host of “Celebrity Apprentice” […]

Real Estate Trends

Popular Articles

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

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

10 New York Couples Offer Up Their Design Tips for Peaceful Cohabitation

February 14, 2016

10 New York Couples Offer Up Their Design Tips for Peaceful Cohabitation

Our ongoing series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. In celebration of Valentine's Day, this week 6sqft asked 10 couples for tips on how to cohabit peacefully together. Living with anyone takes a lot of work—days are more often than not highlighted with squabbles over the toilet seat being left up than googly eyes over too many flowers and chocolates. Now throw in the fact that you're probably squeezing into a tiny studio or a one-bedroom (if you're lucky!), and one would think what you've really got is a one-way ticket to singledom. But creating a peaceful and stress-free home is possible by just implementing a few changes and making a few compromises. While love may be anything but one-size-fits-all, these 10 New York City couples are sharing their tips on how they created a balanced home full of joy.
All the best tips and 10 of NYC's cutest couples this way

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

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 artist Stephen Hall’s home and studio in Greenwich Village. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

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

Fox and News Corp. Ditch Plans to Move Into 2 World Trade Center

January 15, 2016

Fox and News Corp. Ditch Plans to Move Into 2 World Trade Center

Big news on the 2 World Trade Center front. After several months of negotiation and hashing out design plans, News Corp. and 21st Century Fox Inc. have decided not to move into the new tower. The Post first broke the news, reporting that the media companies will remain at their Midtown headquarters at 1211 and 1185 Sixth Avenue where they currently have a lease in effect until 2020. "After much careful consideration we have decided to maintain our New York headquarters and other business operations. We have extension options that could continue our occupancy on Sixth Avenue through 2025,” the companies wrote in a joint statement. Sources added that the move would have been "a huge distraction for the companies' global operations."
FInd out more here

432 Park Avenue Records Its First Blockbuster Closing at $18.1M!

January 8, 2016

432 Park Avenue Records Its First Blockbuster Closing at $18.1M!

And so it begins! Closings at Macklowe Properties/CIM Group's Billionaires' Row blockbuster 432 Park Avenue have officially commenced with its first sale showing an impressive $18.116 million figure, as city records released this afternoon reveal. The unit is #35B, a massive 4,003-square-foot, three-bedroom pad with four-and-a-half baths, a private elevator landing, and 10-foot by 10-foot windows providing southern and western exposures with park views. Documents show that the palatial home was purchased via a LLC, 432 PARKVIEW.
more on the sale and the floor plan here

Man Overcharged by Landlord for 16 Years Awarded $900K and a $784/Month Apartment

January 8, 2016

Man Overcharged by Landlord for 16 Years Awarded $900K and a $784/Month Apartment

Score one for the little guy! After having his rent-stabilized apartment illegally deregulated and his rent jacked up to more than five times what it should have been, an appellate court has awarded Upper West Side man Lane Altschuler $900,000 in damages, and they've re-stabilized his 1,500-square-foot pad to just $784 a month. According to the Daily News, Altschuler moved into the three-bedroom, two-bath unit at 478 Central Park West back in 2000, but his landlord, Mann Realty, illegally began raising the rent shortly after he got settled. The figure eventually ballooned to $3,750 a month in 2009, right after the building was converted into luxury condos.
more on what happened here

Affordable Housing

Half of the Earth’s Population Squeezes Onto Just One Percent of Its Land

January 7, 2016

Half of the Earth’s Population Squeezes Onto Just One Percent of Its Land

Click here for a full size version >> It's widely known that most of the world's population is concentrated in and around cities, but this cool map created by Max Galka (h/t CityLab) shows us exactly what that spatial disparity looks like. Using NASA's gridded population data, which zooms in on the number of people inhabiting every nine-square-mile patch of the Earth, Galka colored all the areas boasting more than 8,000 inhabitants with yellow cells, while those with less than that number were marked black. What's visualized with 28 million cells mapped is that half of the world's inhabitants (about 7.4 billion people to date) occupy just one percent of the Earth's land. The rest of the population is sparsely dispersed over the other 99 percent.
See more here

City Living

$1.7B Light Rail Connecting the Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront Proposed

January 6, 2016

$1.7B Light Rail Connecting the Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront Proposed

The dream of a Brooklyn-Queens light rail is moving further into the realm of reality. Back in July last year, 6sqft reported that an advisory committee comprised of developers, transportation experts and civic organizers was in the midst of forming to address the need for a more robust transportation system that could connect underserved, but booming, areas of Brooklyn and Queens. Now as the Daily News tells us, a non-profit advocacy group called Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector has officially materialized to tackle the issue, and they've just released a detailed proposal revealing the route and the potential design the modern streetcars could take on.
Find out more about the proposal here

Transit

The City’s First Wi-Fi Kiosks Unveiled Today!

January 5, 2016

The City’s First Wi-Fi Kiosks Unveiled Today!

As Crain's first reported, the first of the city's upcoming 7,500 LinkNYC Wi-Fi kiosks have officially rolled out today. Two new "links" (as they'll be called), have sprouted up along Third Avenue in the East Village, one at the corner of East 15th Street and the other at East 17th Street. Each kiosk measures 9.5 feet tall and will be equipped with a gigabit-speed Wi-Fi connection with a 150-foot range, charging stations, a touch-screen that provides maps and info about city services, and a speaker phone that will let users make domestic calls—and all for free! The kiosks are meant to replace NYC's 6,000 now-defunct pay phones.
more info on what's to come here

Affordable Housing Lottery Kicks Off at 1770 Madison Avenue–Units Start at $822/Month

January 4, 2016

Affordable Housing Lottery Kicks Off at 1770 Madison Avenue–Units Start at $822/Month

Starting tomorrow, qualifying New Yorkers will get the chance to apply for one of seven available units at a brand spanking new development located at 1770 Madison Avenue in East Harlem. According to the NYC HPD, studios will start at $822 a month, while one-bedrooms will go for $886 a month. The new rental building wrapped construction at the end of 2015 and market rate units were listed in December with studios priced at $2,295 a month and up to $2,995 for a one-bedroom. Lucky lottery winners and market rate renters at this address will enjoy a locale just four blocks from Central Park and the convenience of living next to the 2, 3 and 6 trains.
Find out if you qualify here

Affordable Housing

December 26, 2015

December 26, 1947: A Record-Breaking Snowstorm Blankets NYC

New York may be enjoying yet another unseasonably warm day, but 68 years ago today, short sleeves and sidewalk dining were completely out of the question. It was December 26, 1947 that the city experienced its biggest snowstorm ever—a blizzard that dumped 26.4 inches of snow on the ground. According to NYC.gov, "the City was paralyzed when the blizzard barreled its way through, stranding cars and buses in the streets, halting subway service, and claiming 77 lives." In the end it took $6 million, nearly 30,000 workers, and weeks of digging and plowing to bring the city back to passable again. You can watch a video of the chaos brought by 99 million tons of snow ahead.
READ MORE

Happy Holidays From 6sqft!

December 25, 2015

Happy Holidays From 6sqft!

The 6sqft team wishes you a joy-filled holiday!

Events & Things To Do

Brooklyn’s First 1,000+ Foot Tower Moves Forward, Developers Close on Last Site Needed

December 24, 2015

Brooklyn’s First 1,000+ Foot Tower Moves Forward, Developers Close on Last Site Needed

It's official, developers Michael Stern and Joe Chetrit have closed on the Dime Savings Bank building at 9 DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn for $90 million, providing them with the air rights needed to build the borough's tallest tower. According to Crain's, who first broke the news, Stern and Chetrit will be able to transfer the bank building's 300,000 square feet of unused development rights to the new structure's site at 340 Flatbush Avenue Extension. As 6sqft previously reported, the new tower will soar more than 1,000 feet and is being designed by SHoP Architects. It will also be the city's tallest building outside of Manhattan when complete.
on the deal here

New Developments

MAP: See the World’s Urban Population Grow Over 2,000 Years

December 22, 2015

MAP: See the World’s Urban Population Grow Over 2,000 Years

While we all like to think of New York City as the center of the universe, our little metropolis really only started to pulsate in the last couple hundred years. Way, way before this (think 1 A.D.) ancient civilizations like the Mayans experienced "urban booms" of their own. This mind-boggling interactive map made by Esri puts thousands of years of global population growth into perspective, ultimately showing us that NYC is kind of just a blip on the radar—or in this case, the 2,000-year timeline of life.
Access the map this way

MAP: How Much Do Murders Decrease Home Values?

December 18, 2015

MAP: How Much Do Murders Decrease Home Values?

We know that in New York City, living next to the deceased does little to earn you a discount on your rent or a price chop on a condo. But when it comes to murders, the story is quite different. Finder.com recently culled data from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and popular real estate websites to find out just how much a murder that occurred on a property can affect the value of a home.
more here

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