Brooklyn

December 18, 2015

Spotlight: A Cold Dip With the Coney Island Polar Bear Club’s Dennis Thomas

The city may be having an unseasonably warm December, but it's fair to say most New Yorkers still find it a bit too chilly for the beach. Members of the famed Coney Island Polar Bear Club, on the other hand, relish the drop in temperature as they head out for an ocean swim. The Polar Bear Club is a New York institution dating back to 1903. While the organization is renowned for its annual New Year’s Day swim where New Yorkers gather to welcome the year with a chilly dip, it’s far from the only time the club embraces the cold water. In fact, they meet 12 times throughout the winter months and draw a sizable membership that's a mix of ages, backgrounds, and cultures from the metropolitan area and beyond. At the club's helm is president Dennis Thomas, who fell in love with Coney Island years ago and later discovered the serenity of swimming on brisk days. More than thirty years after he first became a member, Dennis spoke with 6sqft about the Polar Bear Club's history, what a typical swim is like, and what happens when hundreds of New Yorkers turn out for a New Year's Day swim that supports Camp Sunshine.
Read the interview here

December 17, 2015

Edible Real Estate: These Amazing Gingerbread Houses Are Totally Turnkey

By Michelle Cohen

What could be better than real estate you can eat? Though these (mostly) edible homes are way too pretty to take a bite of, there’s just something about the idea of frosting on the roof… Ahead, check out some of the sweet, scaled-down edifices we've scouted across the web and NYC, including a gingerbread version of the Hogwarts School, Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater, and the Guggenheim, which, as they say, takes the cake!
More amazing cookie creations this way

December 17, 2015

$1.6 Million Dumbo Apartment Comes With Awesome Views of the Brooklyn Bridge

By Emily Nonko

Views! Views! Views! Seriously, that's what you're getting with this two-bedroom apartment at 70 Washington Street, a former Dumbo warehouse that has been converted into 225 condo apartments. It was converted by Two Trees Management, prominent developers in the neighborhood, who built out luxury loft apartments and included a 24-hour concierge, doorman, fitness room, and roof deck with the building. This apartment has windows in both the living room and bedroom that offer an incredible look out onto the entire stretch of the Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan skyline. There's a total of 1,310 square feet and a lofty, open floor plan. A view like that in a neighborhood as popular as Dumbo doesn't come cheap -- although you can still find the occasional apartment in the area for under $1 million without the impressive views, of course. This one is on the market for $1.6 million, after last selling in 2007 for $1,055,926.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

December 17, 2015

Williamsberry’s Modern Mini-Me at 79 South Fifth Street Gets Glassed

By Ondel Hylton

Over in South Williamsburg, construction is moving apace on Mona Gora's noodle factory-to-nests condo conversion known as Williamsberry. While the building’s name has picked up a fair bit of ridicule, we think its ambiguity represents the neighborhood well; like that over-processed frozen yogurt flavor that's tangy to some, bitter to others, but too intriguing to stop tasting. The project is composed of an eight-story, former noodle factory building that is being transformed into 54 high-ceilinged residences topped by a rooftop solar farm. Alongside the conversion, the team is constructing a modern yet complementary six-story building at 79 South Fifth Street, which is also being designed by Workshop DA with interiors by Paris Forino.
Lots more details and renderings

December 16, 2015

Beautiful Brownstone Rental in Fort Greene Sports Historic Details and a Spacious Kitchen

By Michelle Cohen

If you're going to inhabit a couple of floors of a brownstone, the top choice is definitely a parlor-garden combo; you get the grandeur of high ceilings, huge rooms and lots of light on the parlor floor, and then–ideally–you get a lower level that opens out to a pretty backyard. If you're extra lucky, the parlor floor has access down to the yard as well. This beautifully-restored duplex at 75 Willoughby Avenue in Fort Greene is just that perfect combination–hence the $7K a month rent. But what you get–three bedrooms, two baths, a gorgeous private backyard accessible from both floors in a mint-condition historic townhouse with all the trimmings–is about as good as it gets.
Have a look

Distinctive Homes

December 15, 2015

REVEALED: Domino Sugar Factory’s Tiny New Neighbor at 349 Kent Avenue

By Ondel Hylton

In the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge and across from the massive Domino Sugar Factory redevelopment underway by Two Trees, a tiny corner site at 349 Kent Avenue and South 5th Street will give rise to a six-story, 10-unit residential building designed by Brooklyn-based Workshop DA. The 4,000 square-foot lot was purchased for $1.3 million by Eugene Bushinger's 351 Kent Realty LLC in early 2011 and in May, it was reported that building permits were filed for a 15,300 square-foot residential building. The pre-existing, two-story structure that once provided a welcome splash of color along the Brooklyn Greenway has since been demolished. Its worn, brick faced boasted a geometric and robot-infused mural painted by R. Nicholas Kuszyk (a.k.a. RRobotsollaboration) with How and Nosm in 2011.
find out more about the development here

December 11, 2015

This Boerum Hill Duplex Comes With a Private Patio and 600-Foot Jogging Track

By Emily Nonko

When a residential building is called the Skytrack Condominium, you know the roof deck is going to be awesome. This building, at 120 Boerum Place in Boerum Hill, was originally a manufacturing building back when the neighborhood was filled with boarding houses for ironworkers working on Manhattan’s bridges and skyscrapers. The building went condo in 1983 and maintained many of the old industrial interior details, including a “skytrack” that wraps around the roof of the building. The track, which runs around the perimeter of the building's roof deck, is now used as a walking or jogging path by residents. While residents share the roof deck distinguished by the "skytrack" feature, this condo up for sale comes with even more outdoor space. A private deck off the master bedroom—with its very own skytrack (!)—is a nice perk of the lofty duplex going for $1.575M.
See it here

December 10, 2015

This Pint-Sized Penthouse Has Two Terraces and a Big View of the Hearst Tower

By Michelle Cohen

A mere block from where Midtown’s newest Billionaires’ Row continues to rise along 57th Street south of Central Park, you'll find a thriving example of the classic New York City streetscape that has long-defined Midtown West, in places a jumble of skyscrapers, low-lying brick and rows of standard-issue mid-(20th)-century apartment buildings, in one of which you'll find this cozy co-op studio at 310 West 56th Street, described aptly by its listing as “the perfect pied-a-terre penthouse.” The 1964 co-op building is in a spot that’s getting more prime by the decade, already steps from the park, Columbus Circle and the Time Warner Center and blocks from Lincoln Center; then there’s that glittering condo canyon to the east and Bjarke Ingels’ game-changing Via rising to the west. The iconoclastic Norman Foster-designed Hearst Tower was among the vanguard–and it’s right across the street. Whoever lives here should probably be a fan of its gleaming white-and-glass geometric grid frame. Because they’re going to be seeing a lot of it.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

December 8, 2015

Lofty Duplex in Greenpoint Comes With Double Height Ceilings and a Parking Space

By Emily Nonko

149 Huron Street, a 30-unit Greenpoint condo building, was constructed in 2007 and is dominated by big windows and balconies on its facade. There is one unit up for sale in the building, a duplex, and it's asking $1.2 million. Over 985 square feet and two floors you'll find a big, towering window, lots of open space, a flexible floorplan and modern finishes. This is one of the priciest apartments in the entire building, and the history of its price tag says a lot about how much Greenpoint has changed since 2007. The unit sold in 2009 for $560,037 and then was listed in 2012 for $629,000. It looks like it never sold back then, but now it's trying its luck past the $1 million mark.
See the interior

December 7, 2015

Could This Otherworldly 102-Story Tower Covered in Ornaments Be Coming to 57th Street?

By Ondel Hylton

Jaded by glass boxes and architectural imitations of styles gone by? Well this fascinating design by Mark Foster Gage Architects is sure to turn your architectural world upside down. Here's our first look at their 102-story residential supertower seemingly flown in from some advanced airborne civilization in a galaxy far, far away. While details are scarce, this eagle lands in the heart of Midtown's Billionaires' Row along West 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The whimsical design is a habitable sculpture of sorts, adorned from top to bottom in ornaments ranging from gears and propellers to an abstracted pair of birds diving in for a landing on two wing-supported balconies. The tower is topped by a temple-like observational platform which is then crowned by a golden wreath-like structure fit for any victorious Roman general.
more eye-popping visuals this way

December 3, 2015

15 Hip Holiday Markets and Indie Pop-Up Shops in NYC

By Michelle Cohen

December's first days bring dozens of holiday gift markets whose aim is to find new homes for a wealth of shiny goodies and crafty gifts. We're all familiar with the big NYC markets, but some of the best scores–and the most fun–can be found at smaller, cooler pop-ups and local markets throughout the city. Some are only around for a weekend, others for the whole month or longer. In addition to locally-made jewelry and crafts, vintage finds, artfully curated fashions, home items and other things we didn't know we needed, these hip retail outposts offer up DJs, drinks, food, tarot readings, nail art, music, and family fun to keep shoppers' spirits bright.
Find out where to get the goods, this way

December 1, 2015

You Could Live in This Quirky Pixelated Brooklyn Loft for $5,200/Month

By Emily Nonko

This loft comes from the the former Doehler Die Casting Factory, located at 505 Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The building was constructed in 1913 and the loft was first renovated in the '80s, but since then it's been transformed into something really special. That's because it has undergone a top-to-bottom renovation by SABO Project, who stripped the entire space to reveal the building's historic details and then added a sleek, modern touch. The result is a stunning, airy and bright space that we've drooled over before. Now, it's on the rental market and you could live in the loft yourself for $5,200 a month.
Take a look here

November 30, 2015

Infographic: The 12 Most Expensive Condo Buildings Rising in NYC

By Diane Pham

While it seems like every block in the city is host to a construction site throwing up some luxury condo building or pricey rentals, not all of these developments are created equal. Following up on their last infographic which rounded up the city's top five most expensive new developments, the data gurus over at CityRealty have culled an even more extensive list which pinpoints the 12 priciest structures going up right now. While the number of zeros that follow their combined $20,000,000,000 sellout will make your head hurt, what's even more mind-boggling is that these 12 buildings alone will count for nearly HALF of the money that'll be generated by the 200+ condo projects underway in Manhattan.
All the details here

November 30, 2015

Brooklyn’s Sketchbook Project Has a Library of 34,000 Doodles You Can Browse

By Dana Schulz

It claims to be the world's largest collection of doodles, and it's located right in Williamsburg (h/t Atlas Obscura). The Sketchbook Project is a "crowd-sourced library that features 33,903 artists' books contributed by creative people from 135+ countries." Located at a storefront space in the Brooklyn Art Library, the project encourages artists (or anyone with an artistic inkling) to order one of their blank sketchbooks, fill it up with their drawings, and send it back to be added to the physical and/or digital library for creatives from all over the world to view.
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

November 25, 2015

New Renderings of Prospect Heights’ Hello Townhouses, Construction Reaches Street Level

By Ondel Hylton and Heather Cooper Vivares

Here's another look at Brooklyn's Hello Townhouses rising at 22-36 Underhill Avenue between Dean and Pacific Streets in Prospect Heights. Developed by Eli Karp's Hello Living, the townhouses will be in line with much of the company's brand of modern, clean and minimalist buildings, with muted exteriors of brown and gray, pattered by an alternating arrangement of large windows. The full-service real estate development firm was founded by Karp in 2005 and purchased the 8,000-square-foot parcel that previously held a one-story warehouse for $2.1 million in 2013. Now with foundation work wrapping up, parts of the development are emerging above street level. Ultimately, the buildings will climb 32 feet and the entire project will encompass 15,516 square feet of zoning floor area. Zambrano Architectural Design is serving as the architect of the record, while Brooklyn-based Loadingdock5 are the designers.
See all the renderings here

The Most Important Towers Shaping Central Park’s South Corridor, AKA Billionaires’ Row

Carter Uncut brings New York City’s development news under the critical eye of resident architecture critic Carter B. Horsley. This week Carter kicks off a nine-part series, “Skyline Wars,” which will examine the explosive and unprecedented supertall phenomenon that is transforming the city’s silhouette. To start, Carter zooms in on the biggest developments shaping the southern corridor of Central Park.

November 25, 2015

The Most Important Towers Shaping Central Park’s South Corridor, AKA Billionaires’ Row

By Carter B. Horsley

They did not come from outer space when they landed on our front yard while the NIMBY folk and the city’s planners and preservationists weren’t looking. Some are scrawny. Some are dressed like respectable oldsters. They’re the supertalls and they’re coming to a site near you.
read more here

November 24, 2015

This One-Bedroom Rental in Carroll Gardens Boasts the Loft Aesthetic

By Emily Nonko

When it comes to square footage, this apartment falls short of a traditional loft, but it's certainly got the aesthetic down, with high ceilings, exposed brick and exposed wood. The one-bedroom unit–which the listing says could be converted to two bedrooms–is located in a brick townhouse at 282 Sackett Street in Carroll Gardens, a neighborhood known for its brownstones, not warehouse buildings. This is a railroad apartment, with the living room, kitchen and bedroom stacked on top of each other. And it is currently on the rental market for a grand total of $3,000 a month.
See more

Distinctive Homes

November 24, 2015

$4.25M Greenpoint Waterfront Penthouse Adds Up to 3,168 Square Feet of Historic Loft Perfection

By Michelle Cohen

If you want real loft living without many of the sacrifices (except the $4.25 million ask, of course) that often come with it, this stunning full-floor Greenpoint "historic penthouse" atop 190 West Street is your unicorn. Modern, stylish and well-crafted finishes, comforts like central air and radiant floor heat, windows and views that never quit, and a prime location add up to a dream loft. Wait, did we mention the 3,600 square feet of private outdoor space?
Check out pre-war historic loft perfection, this way

Distinctive Homes

November 19, 2015

Have a Picturesque Holiday Inside This Historic, Fully Furnished Park Slope Brownstone

By Emily Nonko

What better way to enjoy the holidays than from a historic, beautifully-furnished brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn? This entire three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is now up for short-term rent, with a minimum stay of five nights. (To stay the month, it'll cost you $12,500.) There's plenty of room to host, with enough space to fit a six-person dining room table. It's also a good location from which to enjoy all of Brooklyn, as it's located two blocks away from Prospect Park and right between the main drags of 5th and 7th Avenues. Twelve-foot tin ceilings, a fancy chef's kitchen, plenty of bedrooms and a leafy Park Slope street–if that sounds like a vacation to you, keep reading.
See the rest of the house

Distinctive Homes

November 19, 2015

Live Like a Snowbird With Sunrise Views in This Williamsburg Rental for $3,450/Month

By Michelle Cohen

They call people who head to Florida for the winter “snowbirds,” flying off to southern climes to avoid the chilly season. This one-bedroom condo at 275 South First Street, on the rental market for $3,450 a month, resembles that seasonal roost in a subtropical spot, albeit with the substantial bonus of amazing Manhattan views and a prime Williamsburg location. Three sunny exposures and two terraces provide your imagination with a big boost in conjuring the beachfront experience and giving winter the brush-off.
See the whole place

Distinctive Homes

November 18, 2015

Bought for Just $7,600 in the ’70s, Prospect Heights Co-op Returns 43 Years Later for $2.15M

By Michelle Cohen

In the statuesque Art Deco-style Turner Towers co-op along what’s arguably the most picturesque stretch of the grand Olmsted and Vaux-designed boulevard in Prospect Heights, this sprawling four-bedroom residence at 135 Eastern Parkway has been a family home for 43 years. The current owner moved to–and fell in love with–the neighborhood in the early ‘70s, when it was on the cusp of far darker times. How she came to acquire the spacious 14th-floor apartment, with unobstructed views over the treetops, the park and to the Verrazano Bridge and beyond, for $7,600 (nope, that’s not a typo) is a classic New York story.
Read More on the brains, luck and community spirit of Brooklyn in the 70s

Distinctive Homes

November 17, 2015

Interactive Map Shows the NYC Skyline in 2020

By Dana Schulz

"Before 2004, Manhattan was home to 28 skyscrapers 700 feet and taller. Since then, an additional 13 have been built, 15 are under construction, and 19 are proposed—47 more in all." Because of this supertall building boom, National Geographic has created an interactive map that lets users explore the NYC skyline in 2020 (h/t Untapped). The light blue buildings are those completed between 2004 and 2015; the orange are under construction; and the yellow proposed.
Get a look at the map here

New Developments

November 16, 2015

This Pretty Townhouse Duplex Overlooks a Bucolic Block of Park Slope

By Emily Nonko

As the listing says, this upper duplex apartment overlooks "the leafy treetops of Park Slope." Located at 127 Park Place, a lovely brownstone and treelined block of the neighborhood, you do get a good view of Brooklyn from the windows. The interior isn't too bad either, with high and detailed ceilings, fireplaces, the original wood floors, and plenty of other original details. There's no outdoor space, but there is potential to build out a roof deck up top. So how much does it cost to buy up half a historic townhouse? For three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, the price tag comes in at $2.19 million. It's high, but not too far off given that full townhouses in the neighborhood can go for $4 million.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

November 16, 2015

$2.5M Brooklyn Waterfront Condo Has a Gorgeous Garden and a Wall Made of Shipping Containers

By Michelle Cohen

The loft-like apartments at 360 Furman Street–known as One Brooklyn Bridge Park–have made headlines in the past; the building was among the first wave of luxury conversions of its kind in the borough; it’s surrounded by one of the city’s favorite waterfront parks; it contains what was for a time the most expensive apartment listing in Brooklyn, and the list goes on. The building’s most alluring features are the stunning Manhattan and East River views from some of the apartments (others have less-stunning views of the BQE), luxury finishes, and convenience to the best of Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan. Interiors tend to be sleek and contemporary; it's not the first place you’d expect to find a wall crafted from shipping containers. This spacious and versatile three-bedroom apartment, on the market for $2.5 million, feels more like a laid-back loft with high-end details than a sleek new condo, with creative custom additions and steel-framed walls of glass overlooking a verdant garden-filled 600-square-foot terrace.
Check out this lofty space

Distinctive Homes

November 13, 2015

This Park Slope Townhouse Is Just 12 Feet Wide!

By Rebecca Paul

This single-family home located on a street where Windsor Terrace meets Park Slope measures a very narrow twelve feet in width. However, a recent renovation of the skinny space by Redtop Architects makes up for the lack of stretching room with efficient planning and good design. Large windows and skylights are used to fill the home with natural light from all directions, in turn creating a sense of spaciousness that defies the structure's restricted width.
Tour the narrow house

November 13, 2015

This Sprawling Park Slope Classic Seven in ‘Brooklyn’s Flatiron Building’ Asks $2.59M

By Michelle Cohen

Believe it or not, there are still some cases where your money goes farther in Brooklyn. Take this four-bedroom classic seven at 47 Plaza Street West in north Park Slope, a sprawling elegant pre-war co-op in the 1928 Rosario Candela-designed building sometimes referred to as “Brooklyn’s Flatiron” due to it's pizza-slice form–which gives the home's interior a unique, er, angle. The 2,350-square-foot apartment has been recently renovated, making it comparable to the size of a modest suburban house. It’s one of those co-ops where just looking at the floor plan makes you long for a time when tiny apartments weren't a thing (Yes, there’s a separate servants’ entrance as is often the case in these co-ops). And while the ask of $2.59 million might seem like a lot, a comparable Manhattan residence might easily be twice that much, if not more.
Tour this glamorous parkside pad

Distinctive Homes

November 12, 2015

This 1890 Park Slope Townhouse Screams ‘Ultra Modern’ Inside and Out

By Emily Nonko

You don't seem 'em like this everyday in Park Slope! This townhouse at 473 11th Street may not look it, but it was built back in 1890. It's undergone a major transformation, both inside and out, by the architecture firm Redtop Architects. The project added extra square feet, brought in lots more light, dramatically opened up the floor plan, and modernized each room. Simply put: It looks nothing like its 1890s past. It's no surprise that historic Park Slope townhouses command some of the highest prices in Brooklyn, but what about the super modern ones? This property will cost you just as much as its older counterparts, with a price tag of $4 million.
See more

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