Bed-Stuy

The Upper West Side to Bed-Stuy may seem like a big jump, but Mark Macias and Lauren DeGregory haven't looked back. Last August, the lovely couple bought a renovated brownstone in the 'hood, upgrading from a one-bedroom apartment to a three-story 1890 house complete with a rental apartment, owner's duplex, and, best of all, rear deck and backyard. Having a warm, comfortable home was especially vital to the couple because of their schedules. Though he runs his own PR firm, Mark spent their first year as homeowners finishing up his play about Elvis Presley, "The King, The Final Hours." And Lauren's life sciences consulting job keeps her traveling and living out of a suitcase for most of the work week. 6sqft recently paid Mark and Lauren (and their dog Einstein!) a visit, got a tour of their pretty home, and learned a bit more about their new lives as homeowners.
Take the tour

Live one block from the G train in Bed-Stuy for just $1,074/month

Photo via Julien Magne/Flickr

July 11, 2018

Live one block from the G train in Bed-Stuy for just $1,074/month

With the impending L train shutdown, the G train is looking better and better, and here's a chance to live less than a block from the Myrtle-Willoughby Avenues stop. The affordable housing lottery is for seven $1,074//month one-bedrooms, open to New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income, at 901 Myrtle Avenue, a new 30-unit rental building.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

June 22, 2018

Two affordable one-bedrooms in Bed-Stuy up for grabs for $985/month

Photo via CityRealty Act quickly: Just two one-bedroom apartments are available at a new rental building in Brookyln's Bed-Stuy neighborhood. The rental at 88 Hart Street sits between Marcy and Tompkins Avenues and only a few blocks from the Kosciuszko Pool and the Herbert Von King Park, a historic green space designed by Frederick Law Olmsted that also has a cultural arts center. Plus, the building includes a laundry room. New Yorkers who earn 60 percent of the area median income, or between $33,772 and $50,100 annually, can apply for the affordable $985/month one-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

June 5, 2018

Lottery opens for 13 middle-income units in Bed-Stuy, from $1,744/month

As any New Yorker knows, convenience is key, but it'll often cost you. The city's latest affordable housing lottery, however, offers a location on the same block as the Franklin Avenue stop in Bed-Stuy, and just a short walk to both the subway and LIRR at Nostrand Avenue. The brand new building at 1068 Fulton Street has 13 middle-income units up for grabs for New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income, including $1,744/month one-bedrooms and $2,099/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

June 4, 2018

City sells million-dollar homes in Bed-Stuy to 10 families for roughly half price

Photo via CityRealty New York City has sold 10 homes valued between $1 and $1.2 million to Brooklyn families for about half the price, as part of an initiative to promote affordable homeownership throughout the five boroughs. The two-family homes are located throughout the Bed-Stuy neighborhood and sold for between an estimated $407,000 and $625,000 (h/t NY Post). To qualify for the affordable homes, the families had to apply through a housing lottery and earn 90 or 130 percent of the are median income, which ranges roughly between $50,856 for a family of three and $153,790 for a family of seven.
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Middle-income housing lottery in Bed-Stuy saves renters close to nothing

Google Street View of 867 DeKalb Avenue

April 19, 2018

Middle-income housing lottery in Bed-Stuy saves renters close to nothing

For the second time in two days, the city's affordable housing portal has opened the application process for a middle-income lottery that's basically no cheaper than the building's regular market-rate units. For example, this opportunity at 867 DeKalb Avenue, a recently constructed rental in Bed-Stuy, is offering 11 units to those earning 115, 125, and 130 percent of the area median income. The "affordable" apartments range from $2,163/month one-bedrooms to $2,716/month two-bedrooms. By comparison, the market-rate units start at $2,100 for one-bedrooms and $2,744 for two-bedrooms.
What's up with that?

Affordable Housing

April 18, 2018

For only $950K, this tiny townhouse in Stuyvesant Heights has a backyard shed and modern updates

We’re sensing a tiny-townhouse-as-condo-alternative trend here; and why not? Low taxes, backyard space, and basement storage are hard to pass up. This particular version is a stylishly renovated three-bedroom home at 264 Bainbridge Street in pretty Stuyvesant Heights, with an even tinier–but no less adorable–backyard shed in the covetable backyard. It's asking a diminutive-seeming $950,000.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

L/AND/A transforms a dark Bed-Stuy row house into a spacious, sun-drenched dream

Photo by Kevin Kunstadt

April 13, 2018

L/AND/A transforms a dark Bed-Stuy row house into a spacious, sun-drenched dream

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

LIGHT AND AIR, better known as L/AND/A, is a New York-based architecture and design studio led by architect and artist Shane Neufeld. Established in 2017, L/AND/A takes a “primal approach” to architecture by reducing design to its essential components to find clarity in a hectic world. Neufeld believes, "architecture is most powerful when elemental, and that spatial clarity and specificity have the potential to shape distinct experiences that ultimately enrich our lives- reconnecting people to their environments in meaningful and surprising ways.” This is just what Neufeld has done in his most recent project.
See the transformation

Architecture And Design

Rendering of the Sumner Houses Senior Building, courtesy of the Architect, Studio Libeskind

April 10, 2018

New renderings revealed for Daniel Libeskind’s affordable senior housing building in Bed-Stuy

Just a few weeks ago, 6sqft reported that starchitect Daniel Libeskind's first New York City building to rise from the ground up would be a 197-unit affordable senior housing project planned for Site 2 of the Sumner Houses in Bed-Stuy. Now Studio Libeskind has released three new renderings of the 10-story building-to-be, showing more of its an angular white-colored facade done in the firm’s signature un-orthogonal style (h/t Dezeen).
See more, this way

Starbucks targets low- and middle-income communities, starting with new Bed Stuy location

Photo of the new Bed-Stuy location, courtesy of Starbucks

April 5, 2018

Starbucks targets low- and middle-income communities, starting with new Bed Stuy location

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Starbucks has been all over the map, not only geographically but symbolically. Reactions to a new Starbucks often range from being a welcome addition by caffeine-deprived people to being the face of a large corporation that is a lightning rod for gentrification, threatening mom and pop shops. With 14,163 Starbucks in the US, what street corner doesn’t have a Starbucks? Well, the Bedford-Stuyvesant community didn’t, until now. A Starbucks just took over the location of shuttered local department store, Fat Albert. Is this another example of the big, faceless corporation blazing its way into a community that doesn’t want it?
Get more info here

Uncategorized

Daniel Libeskind’s first New York City building may be affordable senior housing in Bed-Stuy

Rendering of the Sumner Houses Senior Building, courtesy of the Architect, Studio Libeskind (via NYC Housing Authority)

March 29, 2018

Daniel Libeskind’s first New York City building may be affordable senior housing in Bed-Stuy

Though he has called New York home for decades, noted Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind has yet to see a NYC building to completion. But it appears that may soon change, as CityRealty reports that his first ground-up building will be a 197-unit affordable housing project on Site 2 of the Sumner Houses in Bed-Stuy. A January press release announcing the selection of the project’s developers credits Studio Daniel Libeskind as the designer of the 10-story building-to-be, and a rendering shows an angular white-colored building done in the firm’s signature un-orthogonal style.
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March 21, 2018

One of only two condos with private terraces at One57 lists for $28.5M

Sure, Michael Dell has bragging rights to buying One57's $100 million penthouse, the most expensive home ever sold in New York City, but Bill Ackman's $91.5 million buy a few floors down came with a coveted terrace. Only two units in the Billionaires' Row building claim "private outdoor space on the park," and the second has just come on the market for the first time, asking $28.5 million. Dubbed the Spring Garden Residence (as opposed to Ackman's "Winter Garden Penthouse," as Curbed notes), the 41st- and 42nd-floor duplex boasts a 43-foot-long great room wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows that lead to a 671-foot solarium and a terrace with views of the park and skyline.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

Crown Building penthouse may be in contract for $180M, beating NYC record by $80M

Penthouse rendering courtesy of Aman Resorts

March 16, 2018

Crown Building penthouse may be in contract for $180M, beating NYC record by $80M

Another Billionaire's Row sky mansion–this one with a piano lounge, two kitchens, a wraparound terrace, and two swimming pools spread out over five stories at 730 Fifth Avenue–is on its way to record-smashing glory, according to The Real Deal. Sources say an unknown buyer has spoken for the 12,536-square-foot residence in the actual crown of the Crown Building, to the tune of $180 million. If the sale closes, it will be the New York City's most expensive sale ever at $14,358 per foot (also a record), surpassing Michael Dell's $100.5 million penthouse atop Extell Development’s One57.
Check this place out

March 14, 2018

This little condo on the Bed-Stuy/Bushwick border is packed with old-world charm for $575K

Located in one of Brooklyn's most diverse, bustling and rapidly growing areas, this restored condo at 863 Greene Avenue lies on a tree-lined block between buzzed-about Bed-Stuy and booming Bushwick. It's a narrow slice of a floor-through, but it's filled with pre-war character, plus one bedroom and a bath and a half--all for $575,000.
Take a peek

Distinctive Homes

March 2, 2018

85th floor unit at One57 gets an $11M price chop, now listed at $59M

6sqft reported back in October that an 85th-floor unit in the building known for the city’s most expensive residential sale ever was back on the market after a total overhaul for a noteworthy $70 million. The 6,240-square-foot condominium was purchased by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll for $55.6 million in 2014. After four months, the sprawling sky mansion has been discounted by $11 million according to Mansion Global; the building's third-highest listing is now asking $59 million.
The view is just as good at $59 million

Distinctive Homes

More than half of NYC’s 20 most expensive sales were at One57 and 432 Park

432 Park Avenue via CIM Group/Macklowe Properties

February 26, 2018

More than half of NYC’s 20 most expensive sales were at One57 and 432 Park

The buyer of One57's $100 million penthouse was unveiled as Michael Dell last week, finally solving the mystery of which billionaire set New York City's record for the most expensive home ever sold. The reveal sparked CityRealty's interest in finding out where other costly buildings fall in comparison. Unsurprisingly, Midtown's One57 and 432 Park make up 12 out of the city's 20 priciest homes ever sold with single units going for $100.47 million and $91.5 million, respectively. While those two buildings on Billionaires' Row easily take the top three spots, 15 Central Park West ranks fourth, with its $88 million penthouse sold in 2012.
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Real Estate Trends

Billionaire Michael Dell revealed as the secret buyer of One57’s $100M penthouse

Image courtesy of Extell/One57

February 22, 2018

Billionaire Michael Dell revealed as the secret buyer of One57’s $100M penthouse

Founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, Michael Dell, was revealed as the buyer of the sprawling penthouse at One57 for $100.47 million, the most expensive home ever sold in New York City. According to the Wall Street Journal, Dell first entered a contract to buy the unit in 2012 when the Billionaires' Row building, located at 157 West 57th Street, was still under construction. He closed the transaction through a limited liability company in 2014.
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Real Estate Trends

The city will produce 500 affordable apartments across 87 hard-to-fill vacant lots

Image: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

February 14, 2018

The city will produce 500 affordable apartments across 87 hard-to-fill vacant lots

An announcement Tuesday by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) gave lower-income New Yorkers lots to look forward to–literally. HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer announced that nine development teams would be creating 490 affordable apartments and homeownership opportunities on 87 vacant lots through the department's New Infill Homeownership Opportunities Program (NIHOP) and Neighborhood Construction Program (NCP). The programs were designed specifically to unlock the potential of vacant lots long considered too small or irregular for traditional housing with innovative smaller homes, and develop more affordable housing on lots long used for parking at existing housing complexes. This latest round of development is the third and final in a series: The program has already seen the construction of over 600 affordable homes on 81 lots.
'No site has gone overlooked'

Report: Airbnb listings removed up to 13,500 long-term rentals in NYC over past three years

Photo courtesy of Airbnb

January 30, 2018

Report: Airbnb listings removed up to 13,500 long-term rentals in NYC over past three years

Airbnb is responsible for the loss of between 7,000 and 13,500 long-term rental units in New York City while increasing the median long-term rent in the city by $380 a year, says a new report from McGill University. The study, commissioned by the union Hotel Trades Council, also found 87 percent of entire-home reservations are considered illegal under state law (h/t Politico NY). Mayor Bill de Blasio last year announced his plan to expand the city's Office of Special Enforcement to crack down on illegal short-term rentals; it is illegal for NYC landlords to rent entire apartments for fewer than 30 days.
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City to open homeless shelter adjacent to One57 on Billionaires’ Row

Image © 6sqft

January 18, 2018

City to open homeless shelter adjacent to One57 on Billionaires’ Row

Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to open a new homeless shelter for 150 single adult men on Manhattan's Billionaires' Row, part of the city's initiative to open 90 new shelters over the next five years. According to the New York Post, a former hotel at 158 West 58th Street, the Park Savoy, will be converted into the shelter and open in March. The Central Park South building sits behind One57, a supertall known for the city's most expensive residential sale ever: a penthouse that sold for $100 million in 2015.
More this way

Policy

Snag an affordable one-bedroom in Bed-Stuy for $985/month

Image courtesy of StudiosC

January 4, 2018

Snag an affordable one-bedroom in Bed-Stuy for $985/month

A Stuyvesant Heights building located in the heart of Brooklyn, nestled in the middle of Bushwick, Bed-Stuy and Williamsburg, is now accepting applications for nine affordable units. The five-story rental at 869 Park Avenue sits between two busy thoroughfares, Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Broadway. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the $985/month one-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

New renderings revealed for Extell’s Central Park Tower as it hits halfway mark

Rendering courtesy of Extell

December 7, 2017

New renderings revealed for Extell’s Central Park Tower as it hits halfway mark

The 1,550-foot Central Park Tower, the soon-to-be tallest residential tower in New York City, has gotten some new renderings that reveal how it'll appear lit up at night, as well as how its interiors may look (h/t YIMBY). Extell Development's current plans for the Billionaires' Row tower call for 179 condominiums, spanning on average 5,000 square feet, with open layouts and oversized windows overlooking Central Park. With the construction of the supertall at 217 West 57th Street now hitting its halfway mark and rising to roughly 700 feet, Central Park Tower is expected to be completed in 2019.
See inside the supertall

Crown Building’s $100M penthouse will have two indoor pools and a piano lounge

Penthouse rendering courtesy of Aman Resorts

November 16, 2017

Crown Building’s $100M penthouse will have two indoor pools and a piano lounge

Floor plans of the Crown Building's crown jewel, its five-story penthouse, have revealed what $100 million will buy you at one of the city's most desirable locations for the super-rich. As the Real Deal learned, the penthouse features two swimming pools, a piano lounge and a full-floor master suite. The 14,000-square-foot pad sits in the actual crown of the building, spanning floors 22-26. The rest of the Billionaires' Row building at 730 Fifth Avenue isn't too shabby either; the building includes an 83-key luxury Aman Resorts hotel with a three-story spa, a jazz and cigar club, a few restaurants and 20 luxury condos.
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November 16, 2017

Foreclosures and flopped flips pile up at One57, sending grim message to big ticket investors

A full-floor, 6,240-square-foot penthouse at Midtown billionaires' bunker One57 recently sold to an unidentified high bidder–one of five contenders–at a foreclosure auction for $36 million. That number is 29 percent lower than the original $50.9 million price shelled out by Nigerian businessman Kolawole Akanni Aluko for the newly-minted condo in 2014. The fire sale was the fourth resale in the 1,004-foot-tall Billionaire's Row flagship trophy tower to trade at a loss, according to data from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc., reports Bloomberg. The latest example is the largest discount to date on one of the pricey properties, all of which sends a message to buyers with plans to cash in on the ultra-luxury units in short order. And there are currently 16 apartments at the building listed for sale, most of them by the developer.
Read on

Real Estate Trends

November 13, 2017

For $2.3M, an Amzi Hill-designed Bed-stuy townhouse with historic details and an artist’s legacy

On one of the prettiest blocks in the landmarked Stuyvesant Heights section of Bed-Stuy, this 3,240-square-foot 1890s brownstone is brimming with historic architectural details. Designed by prolific Brooklyn architect Amzi Hill, 740 Macon Street has been lovingly restored by the home's longtime owners, one of whom happens to be a celebrated local artist whose sense of history and beauty is reflected at every turn. Highlights include arched windows, six tiled fireplaces, parquet floors, wooden shutters, pressed tin ceilings, pocket doors, a pier mirror, egg-and-dart molding and intricate fretwork, plus a landscaped garden and terrace. The two-family townhouse–there's a one-bedroom garden unit for rental income–is asking $2.3 million.
Tour this beautiful four-story house

Distinctive Homes

November 3, 2017

Rent a renovated Bed-Stuy triplex with a deck, yard and nanny suite for $6K/month