All articles by Emily Nonko

Emily is a Brooklyn-based writer who has covered New York City real estate, architecture and design for Brownstoner, The Wall Street Journal, Dwell and other publications. You can follow her on Twitter @EmilyNonko.

January 17, 2018

‘Parisian style’ short-term rental in Greenwich Village asks $5,000/month

By Emily Nonko

For a short-term rental option, this one-bedroom apartment with some Parisian style in Greenwich Village is up for rent. What's so French-feeling about the space? 12-foot ceilings, beautiful crown moldings, large arched framed windows and some classy decor and art. The $5,000/month pad is available for between one and six months, according to the listing. It's on the second floor of the walk-up building at 2 East 12th Street, just east of Fifth Avenue.
Check it out inside

Distinctive Homes

January 16, 2018

Colorful Gramercy loft with 17 windows and a private elevator entry asks $5.5M

By Emily Nonko

The interior of this full-floor Gramercy loft is popping with color, made all the more brilliant by the light streaming through the apartment's 17 windows. It takes up an entire floor of the cooperative at 105 East 16th Street, spanning 4,100 square feet. The private elevator entrance opens up to an expansive living and dining area, while the flexible floor plan holds three bedrooms but could accomidate four.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

January 16, 2018

Arts and Crafts meets Japanese style at this $3.1M Gramercy co-op

By Emily Nonko

For a modern apartment with plenty of customized elements, look no further than this cooperative at 112 East 19th Street in Gramercy. The interior is the incredible handiwork of an Emmy Award-winning set designer, who also happens to be one of the building's original co-op shareholders. As the listing says, "this sprawling and serene space has been planned, built and maintained with a meticulous eye for detail and utter devotion to aesthetics." The owner was influenced by the Arts and Crafts aesthetic, alongside traditional Japanese interior design. The apartment, lined with 12 extra-tall windows, achieves an indoor-outdoor vibe reminiscent of a Pacific getaway. It has been on and off the market since 2016, asking a high of $3.2 million. Now the ask is down to $3.1 million.
There's custom panels, screens and lighting

Distinctive Homes

January 10, 2018

This cute studio co-op with some bonus storage asks $499K in the East Village

By Emily Nonko

Studio living in this East Village apartment comes with some perks. It's been fully renovated and boasts bonus storage, like a walk-in closet and reserved space in the building's basement. This cooperative at 634 East 14th Street also offers a bike garage and private garden for residents. The cute pad, finished with exposed brick, crown moldings and maple hardwood floors, is now listed for $499,000 after being taken off the market last year with an ask of $525,000.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

January 9, 2018

Documentary journalist Pamela Hogan lists lovely Central Park West penthouse for $4.4M

By Emily Nonko

This four-bedroom co-op, inside the Central Park West brownstone at 44 West 76th Street, is owned by the documentary filmmaker and journalist Pamela Hogan and her cinematographer husband Jeffrey L. Kimball. Hogan's behind the independent film Looks like Laury Sounds like Laury and was the co-creator of the PBS series Women, War & Peace. She and her husband snatched up the penthouse property in 1996 for $1.2 million, and they've just listed it for $4.375 million. The impressive space--which occupies the upper floors of an 1880s brownstone--boasts walls of windows and incredible light. It's a seamless blend between the historic townhouse and a bright, lofty aesthetic.
It's a triplex with a private terrace

Distinctive Homes

Before it was a national monument, Castle Clinton opened as America’s first beer garden

Image courtesy of NYPL

January 9, 2018

Before it was a national monument, Castle Clinton opened as America’s first beer garden

By Emily Nonko

New Yorkers today know Castle Clinton, in Battery Park, as a national monument and departure point to visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. But the circular sandstone fort dates all the way back to 1811--and has served as everything from an immigration station, exhibition hall, theater, and public aquarium since. One forgotten fact of the historic structure is that it's considered the site of America's first beer garden, which opened as Castle Garden on July 3rd, 1824. The illustration above shows the beer garden--which also had a grand theater--featured in Harper's New Monthly Magazine in the 1800s. The open-air space, which eventually got a roof, was considered one of the premier attractions in Manhattan.
Read a little more history

History

Report claims Mayor de Blasio inflated benefits of Stuyvesant Town sale to preserve affordable housing

Photo courtesy of Stuy Town

January 5, 2018

Report claims Mayor de Blasio inflated benefits of Stuyvesant Town sale to preserve affordable housing

By Emily Nonko

The sprawling Stuyvesant Town complex on Manhattan's east side is no stranger to controversy and drama, and here's some more to add to the list. The city’s budget watchdog agency is saying that Mayor de Blasio’s office inflated the benefits of a deal to keep affordable housing at the complex in exchange for $220 million in taxpayer subsidies, according to the Daily News. This is based off the highly-publicized 2015 sale of Stuy Town, the biggest single deal done under de Blasio’s affordable housing plan. But a new report by the Independent Budget Office believes the city is getting less from the complex sales agreement than it claimed.
Get the scoop

January 4, 2018

Live inside a castle-like turret in Crown Heights for $4,400/month

By Emily Nonko

A home with an incredible, well-documented history has a unit up for rent inside its turret. The townhouse in question is 1372 Dean Street in Crown Heights. The castle-like, three-story Romanesque Revival brick residence was built in 1888 for $8,000 with a slate-shingled turret. A few years back, its seller was featured in the New York Times--she had bought the property in 1983 for $66,000 and then sold it to an investor for $1.32 million in 2013. It has since been converted to rental apartments.
The master is inside the turret

January 3, 2018

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

By Emily Nonko

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

Distinctive Homes

A massive 1,000-unit mixed-use project is planned right off the Coney Island boardwalk

Rendering of Coney Island North Venture via The Prusik Group

January 3, 2018

A massive 1,000-unit mixed-use project is planned right off the Coney Island boardwalk

By Emily Nonko

It's slated to be a big year for Coney Island--and not just when it comes to new rides and attractions. A massive development will join the growing redevelopment of the beachfront locale, which will be home to at least four major projects totaling 2,151 units in the coming years. According to CityRealty, Taconic Investment Partners and The Prusik Group are planning to build a ground-up, mixed-use complex tentatively referred to as "Coney Island North Venture." It'll be comprised of 1,000 apartments, 80,000 square feet of office space, and 150,000 square feet of retail along Surf Avenue. The complex will join a new 42-story tower, plus a 440-unit development that will boast its very own trolley.
All the development details

New Developments

What to expect in the 2018 NYC real estate market

By Emily Nonko

2017 kicked off in the face of great uncertainty regarding how a former New York real estate developer in the White House would affect New York real estate. Despite a tumultuous year of politics, the city chugged along with new development, construction ranging from affordable to luxury projects, and record-setting prices for the residential market. […]

Real Estate Trends

December 29, 2017

Philanthropist’s condo at 15 Central Park West sells for $8.5M under ask

By Emily Nonko

Robert A.M. Stern's 15 Central Park West may be New York City's most expensive condo, but that didn't help financier and philanthropist (and onetime president of the building's board) Jeffrey C. Walker and his wife Suzanne in selling their four-bedroom pad there. They listed the unit for $38 million in March of this year, but it just closed for the considerably lower amount of $29.5 million (The buyer, as public records show, is hidden behind the title "Ciel CPW LLC"). Lucky for the Walkers, though, they paid a little over $21 million for the pad back in 2007, so they've still made a nice little profit.
It boasts Central Park views and a wine cellar

Real Estate Trends

Nuclear fallout shelter signs being removed around the city

Photo via Wiki Commons

December 28, 2017

Nuclear fallout shelter signs being removed around the city

By Emily Nonko

New York City has started taking down the yellow nuclear fallout shelter signs slapped on thousands of buildings across the city in the 1960s. According to AM New York, city officials believe these metal black-and-yellow signs "are misleading Cold War relics that no longer denote functional shelters." But back in the '60s, they were considered emblematic of the era. President John F. Kennedy created a shelter program in 1961 across U.S. cities as anxieties grew high over the nuclear arms race between the United States and the former Soviet Union. By 1963, an estimated 18,000 shelters had been designated across the five boroughs, and the Department of Defense had plans to add another 34,000 shelters citywide. Most were no more than basements marked by an official government sign--and now the remnants of such signs are coming down.
Read more history of New York's fallout shelters

December 26, 2017

Office of Architecture replaced walls with walnut cabinetry and sliding doors in this Tribeca reno

By Emily Nonko

Who needs walls in a large, lofty apartment when you can utilize great design instead? That was the thinking behind this Tribeca apartment renovation, spearheaded by the Brooklyn-based firm Office of Architecture. Walls were taken down to make space for walnut cabinetry, sliding doors, and industrial steel columns. The idea was to open up the living areas and bring in as much natural light as possible--and the resulting 3,000-square-foot apartment is quite stunning and livable.
Take the grand tour

December 22, 2017

Celebrity chef Adeena Sussman lists her Central Park West co-op for $800K

By Emily Nonko

Chef-to-the stars Adeena Sussman just listed her Upper West Side co-op at 410 Central Park West for $800,000. She's worked with a number of celebrity clients, including co-authoring cookbooks with model Chrissy Teigen, Candace Nelson of Sprinkles Cupcakes, Lee Schrager of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, and actor David Burtka. Unsurprisingly, the open kitchen of this one-bedroom pad is well designed and fully equipped. And the rest of the apartment is finished with prewar details like hardwood floors, nine-foot beamed ceilings, and crown moldings.
Tour the kitchen

Distinctive Homes

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

Map via Max Roberts

December 21, 2017

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

By Emily Nonko

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

Transit

December 20, 2017

$2.8M Chelsea penthouse boasts sprawling three-level layout with two outdoor spaces

By Emily Nonko

This custom-designed penthouse triplex at the Chelsea co-op 240 West 23rd Street has it all. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms over 2,150 square feet of living space--1650 square feet inside, 500 square feet outside. A renovation brought in custom details, built-ins, and tons of storage space, and the open-concept layout keeps things bright and airy as each room boasts views across the city. It's just been listed on the market for $2.8 million.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

December 20, 2017

Interactive map shows how NYC’s waterways have evolved over the years

By Emily Nonko

This map will delight any NYC geography buffs out there: The Changing Shoreline of New York City uses historical maps from the New York Public Library’s digital collection to explore how Manhattan has managed its waterways to expand its small city footprint. Created by Laura Blaszczak during her internship with NYPL, it's an interactive map that highlights waterfront locales around the city. Zoom in, and you can peruse historical maps and photographs that show how our rivers, creeks, brooks, and bays have been managed or built over. There's even an opacity control, so you can directly compare the historical map with the modern map and see how much Manhattan's landscape has changed.
Check it out

December 19, 2017

Nolita pad that belonged to John Mayer has hit the market for $4.35M

By Emily Nonko

A Nolita condo has hit the market and it once belonged to pop singer John Mayer. He picked up the two-bedroom apartment at 225 Lafayette Street in 2005 for $2.17 million. He then sold it for $3.91 million in 2013 to a buyer who using the limited liability company "But It’s Provocative LLC." The Observer has spotted that the 2,063-square-foot home been re-listed by said provocative owner, and they're asking $4.35 million. For that amount you're getting a corner unit on the 12th floor of the building, with quite a modern aesthetic.
Take a look inside his old digs

December 18, 2017

Next president of New York City Transit says subway lines may be shuttered for repairs

By Emily Nonko

This November, the MTA announced it had hired Andy Byford as the next president of New York City Transit, the MTA agency responsible for subways, buses, para-transit services, and the Staten Island Railway. And already he's suggested that the city's struggling transit system requires aggressive steps to improve. According to the New York Times, he is weighing the option of shutting down lines for long periods of work with the goal of modernizing the system in years, rather than decades.
It may be a controversial choice

Transit

The history of the Rockettes: From St. Louis to Radio City

The Rockettes in 1925, courtesy of The Rockettes

December 18, 2017

The history of the Rockettes: From St. Louis to Radio City

By Emily Nonko

For nearly a century, the Rockettes have been an icon of Christmas in New York. From humble St. Louis origins (no, the troupe was not formed in the Big Apple) to performing when Radio City Music Hall was in disrepair and shuttering for weeks at a time, they've managed to continue dancing throughout the decades. Not only that, they've emerged as America’s best known dance troupe. Here's the incredible history of this small team of female dancers, who have pulled off astounding, razor-sharp choreography while also fighting for higher wages and the landmarks designation of Radio City. The Rockettes are a New York icon, but only after a hard-fought battle to keep performing in the city.
Keep reading to learn more

December 18, 2017

William Lescaze’s modernist Upper East Side townhouse asks $20 million after a gut reno

By Emily Nonko

One of New York City's earliest modern residences, designed by architect William Lescaze on the Upper East Side, is searching for a new owner after a gut renovation. Known as the Raymond C. and Mildred Kramer House, after its first owners, it was built at 32 East 74th Street in 1934. Lescaze was a Swiss-born, American architect credited with pioneering modernism in America. He designed New York's first modernist home for himself in Midtown East (pictured to the right) one year prior to this uptown commission (pictured to the left). At 32 East 74th, any remnants of his interior design have mostly disappeared after years on and off the market. The current owner paid $14.5 million for it in 2015, gutted it, and re-listed it as an investment property holding three duplex rental units. As Curbed points out, it's now asking a cool $20 million.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

December 18, 2017

Macy’s executive pays $10.5M for Hilary Swank’s former West Village townhouse

By Emily Nonko

What was once Hilary Swank's picture-perfect townhouse, at 33 Charles in the West Village has found a new owner. Mansion Global reports that Harry A. Lawton III, the president of Macy's department store, paid $10.5 million for the three-story home. The townhouse was built in 1899, designated a New York City landmark in 1969, and has more recently undergone a gorgeous renovation. Adding to the home’s cachet, Swank lived here with then-husband Chad Lowe from 2002, when she purchased it for $3.9 million, until 2006, when it was sold for $8.25 million. The townhouse was then listed this June by Corcoran for $11.995 million and went into contract early November. The sellers, according to property records, are Clyde and Summer Anderson, who run Books-a-Million, the second largest bookstore chain in the U.S.
Take a look at the digs

December 15, 2017

It’s feeling festive at this revamped Williamsburg townhouse asking $3.7M

By Emily Nonko

Historic townhouses are fairly rare in Williamsburg, better known for its warehouses, but this one is part of the the Fillmore Historic District, a historic stretch of homes and the only landmarked district in the neighborhood. The Neo-Grec style home, which dates back to 1881, was completely renovated and returned to single-family status this year. The result? A modern, minimalist design that's brighter and loftier than the average townhouse. And the Christmas decorations don't look bad in here, either! It's now on the market for $3.7 million.
You'll want to see inside

Distinctive Homes

December 14, 2017

1880s Yorkville townhouse, fresh off a renovation, is asking $6.5M

By Emily Nonko

This Yorkville townhouse at 433 East 85th Street manages to strike the right balance between historic and modern. The home was built in the 1880s, according to the listing, but it has hit the market for the first time since a major renovation. Prewar details like wood-burning fireplaces and moldings are complemented by impressive new finishes of imported Calacatta Gold, marble glass mosaics, and natural limestone. And the backyard was totally redone, now decked out with 700 square feet of comfortable outdoor space. It's all asking $6.5 million.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

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