Upper East Side

A relatively staid neighborhood, things are heating up at the Upper East Side’s Sutton Place, again. Last December, 6sqft reported that Gamma Real Estate had to stop work on Sutton 58, their proposed 800-foot residential tower. After three years of community protest over what many consider an out-of-context supertall building, the New York City Council spoke loudly (with a 45-0 vote) and approved a height rezoning of 10 blocks between 51st and 59th Streets east of First Avenue. The rezoning required 45 to 50 percent of a building should rise below 150 feet. This was a huge blow to Gamma and would require massive changes to their plans. Most immediately, it required a halt of construction on the project. But that just changed.
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June 27, 2018

Landmarks approves Frick expansion plan despite protests from preservationists

All renderings courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects On Tuesday the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the most recent plan submitted by the museum for the expansion and renovation of the 1914 Gilded Age mansion it calls home in a 6 to 1 vote with one abstention, the New York Times reports. Three prior attempts by the museum in a quest to gain more space for exhibitions and programs were turned back amid vocal protests by neighborhood advocates and preservationists. The revised plan submitted by the project's architects Beyer Blinder Belle and Annabelle Selldorf includes the decision to restore the museum's original gated garden, which had been a point of controversy with those opposed to the project.
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June 21, 2018

‘Real Housewives’ Ramona Singer lists Upper East Side pad for $5M

“The Real Housewives of New York City” star Ramona Singer has put her renovated and refined five-bedroom apartment in The Richmond condo at 201 East 80th Street on the market for $4.99 million. According to the New York Post, the quintessential Upper East Side girl is pondering a move to parts south (but not too far south) for a change of pace. The corner apartment has panoramic city views and plenty of little luxuries.
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Katie Couric sells her Park Avenue pad for $7.8M

Update 6/21/18: The Post now reports that Couric’s apartment closed for $7,780,000, according to property records. The buyers are Dana Wallach Jones, general counsel for the Guggenheim Museum, and Michael Jones, the CFO of Lambert Television. The couple is active on the board of the American Museum of Natural History, which is just across the park from their new digs.

June 21, 2018

Katie Couric sells her Park Avenue pad for $7.8M

By Annie Doge

Twenty years ago, celebrated news anchor Katie Couric bought a classic, five-bedroom co-op at 1155 Park Avenue. But after remarrying in 2014 to financier John Molner in 2014, the couple upgraded to a $12 million, full-floor apartment at the Peter Pennover-designed 151 East 78th Street. Couric first listed her longtime Upper East Side home this past October for $8.25 million; she then dropped the price to $7,995,000 at the end of January, and now the Post reports that the home has gone into contract.
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May 30, 2018

Controversial expansion of the Frick Collection hits another road block

All renderings courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects The planned expansion of the Frick Collection is delayed again after the Landmarks Preservation Commission decided Tuesday to not vote on the project, following hours of public testimony. Dozens of neighborhood advocates, preservationists and museum goers attended the hearing to discuss the Beyer Blinder Belle and Selldorf Architects-designed expansion, which would include 60,000 square feet of repurposed space and 27,000 square feet of new construction. The plan would expand the existing Upper East Side building's second level, add two set-back stories above the music room and an addition behind the Frick Art Reference Library. According to Curbed NY, critics of the expansion said the additions would be too large and block the design of the existing library. Despite a presentation from head architect Annabelle Selldorf, no decision was made about whether to grant the $160 million project its certificate of appropriateness.
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May 10, 2018

Inside the Ukrainian Institute of America, one of NYC’s best hidden architectural gems

Located on East 79th Street at the corner of Fifth Avenue and across from Central Park, sits one of New York City’s last turn-of-the-century, French-Gothic styled-structures. Designed by Gilded-Age architect Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert, the building was home to Isaac D. Fletcher and Harry F. Sinclair, giving it the fitting name of the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion. Now, the mansion is occupied by the Ukrainian Institute of America, a nonprofit organization that has promoted Ukrainian art, music and literature since 1948. Ahead, join 6sqft on a tour of the landmarked building and check out some of the unique features within this hidden-in-plain sight New York City architectural gem.
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Michael Cohen puts up $9M Trump Park Avenue apartment as collateral against bank debt

Photo of Michael Cohen via Wikimedia; image of Trump Park Avenue via Google Earth

May 9, 2018

Michael Cohen puts up $9M Trump Park Avenue apartment as collateral against bank debt

Michael Cohen, the longtime attorney for President Donald Trump, has put up his family's Park Avenue apartment as collateral against a bank loan worth millions of dollars. The bank valued Cohen's condo, fittingly at Trump Park Avenue in Lenox Hill, for $9 million. The financially troubled lawyer is putting his apartment against $12.8 million in loans he took out for his taxi business in 2014. Cohen secured these loans by New York City taxi medallions, which have dropped in value by 80 percent due to the growth of ride-sharing services, according to Bloomberg.
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Policy

My 480sqft: Real estate publicist Kelly Kreth lives in a red, black, and white wonderland in Yorkville

6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to real estate publicist Kelly Kreth’s Yorkville apartment. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

May 2, 2018

My 480sqft: Real estate publicist Kelly Kreth lives in a red, black, and white wonderland in Yorkville

By Dana Schulz

What's black and white and red all over? Kelly Kreth's Yorkville apartment. The real estate publicist pegs her OCD diagnosis for the strict color palette--"it makes me feel safe," she explains--but also the fact that her love for retro pieces, graphic art, and fashion-forward decor lends itself quite well to this tri-hued approach. We recently spent the afternoon getting to know Kelly and her dachshund puppy Biggie Smalls and learned more about what it's like to live in just three colors, why she chose this Upper East Side 'hood, and where she's been able to find some of her fun and funky finds.
Meet Kelly and tour her home

April 30, 2018

Matt Lauer’s no-longer-needed Upper East Side commuter pad sells for $7M

Just weeks after ex-"Today" anchor Matt Lauer’s Upper East Side co-op at 133 East 64th Street hit the market asking $7.35 million, the four-bedroom, 11-room apartment has sold for just upwards of $7 million, the New York Post reports. The disgraced newsman used the apartment as a city home during the week while working at NBC. Lauer’s Sag Harbor home (one of his three Hamptons properties) is also for sale.
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Central Park Boathouse returns this week with a new look, a new menu and a $2.9M makeover

Image: Andrew Batram via Flickr

April 27, 2018

Central Park Boathouse returns this week with a new look, a new menu and a $2.9M makeover

The Central Park Boathouse restaurant has been spruced up with $2.9 million in renovations and upgrades and is perfect-date-ready just in time for outdoor weather. The New York Post reports that the familiar structure near the park's Fifth Avenue entrance at East 72nd Street has gotten much needed capital improvements like more seats (185 instead of 160) a new flood-proof tile floor and insulated glass that keeps the lakefront chill out along with a contemporary new look, new colors and lighting and better sightlines of the Central Park West skyline and rowboats gliding by. Even better, there's more room for customers at the new ADA-compliant bar.
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April 23, 2018

Upper East Side townhouse with an artistic pedigree, an artists’ studio and a curb cut asks $19M

If you're a painter, a sculptor or a writer–or you just like to be in close proximity to their kind–you'd be in good company with this 7,200-square-foot townhouse at 167 East 69th Street in the Upper East Side. The 25-foot-wide Neo-Georgian former carriage house is currently owned by Ann Brashares, the author of young adult series "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" and her husband, painter Jacob Collins. The property itself was used by the Sculpture Center for "close to half a century," according to the listing, and neighbors have included Mark Rothko and art dealer Larry Gagosian. It's asking $18.95 million–curb cut and garage included.
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Distinctive Homes

April 12, 2018

Upper East Side townhouse asks $30M in U.S. dollars or $45M in Bitcoin

Last month, New York City had its first cryptocurrency real estate closing. The next week, an owner of the Plaza floated the idea of selling a "Plaza Token" to a group of foreign investors. Now, hedge fund founder and tech investor Claudio Guazzoni de Zanett, the owner of the landmarked townhouse at 10 East 76th Street, is asking one price in US dollars and a higher value in digital currencies due to their volatility. He is willing to accept bitcoin, Ethereum or Ripple. "I’m a true believer in these networks, but it’s very volatile," Zanett told the Wall Street Journal. "They could be down 60% in two weeks."
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Distinctive Homes

‘Private school bump’ sends parents hunting for second homes on the Upper East Side

Photo via Ed Yourdon/Flickr

April 9, 2018

‘Private school bump’ sends parents hunting for second homes on the Upper East Side

‘Tis the time of year for private school acceptance letters to arrive. Nervous teens and parents race to their inboxes and find out if they are given the honor of spending upwards of 50k a year on their children’s education, often at one of the Upper East Side's highly prestigious institutions. At the same time, the starting gun sounds on the race to find an Upper East Side home to move to near school. amNY reported that with the “private school bump,” not only do buildings see a jump in families moving their primary residences to the area but many see NYC residents buying “little studios for them and their kids for Monday through Friday just to be closer to the school so they don’t have to commute from Tribeca, the Lower East Side, or Chelsea.”
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Real Estate Trends

April 6, 2018

John Steinbeck’s former Upper East Side home, complete with his original writing desk, asks $5M

By Annie Doge

On the 34th floor at the Tower East on 72nd and 3rd Avenue is the former home of Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck. "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men" author lived here with his third wife, Elaine Anderson Steinbeck, until his death in 1968. She stayed in the apartment until her death in 2003, after which time it was completely renovated with new windows, floors, plumbing, electric and an expanded entrance with the addition of an adjacent three-bedroom apartment. But the new owners left a few nods to the literary great, including keeping his study intact, complete with his original wooden desk, notes on the wall, and posters, according to the Post.
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April 5, 2018

Renderings revealed for Annabelle Selldorf’s $160M Frick Collection expansion

By Hannah Frishberg

The Frick Collection has unveiled its $160 million Selldorf Architects-designed upgrade and expansion, which will open up the private living quarters of Henry Clay Frick's original 1914 home to the public for the first time. As the New York Times explained, the renderings illustrate a plan to expand the existing building's second level, add two set-back stories above the music room, and an addition behind the library that will match its seven-story height. These will house a 220-seat underground auditorium, an education center with classrooms, in addition to a renovated lobby and larger museum shop.
More details and renderings ahead

A ‘small format’ Target will open on the Upper East Side next year

Rendering via Target

April 3, 2018

A ‘small format’ Target will open on the Upper East Side next year

Retail giant Target announced on Tuesday that it will bring three new Target stores to New York City, further expanding its footprint in the Big Apple. The new stores, planned for the Upper East Side, Astoria and Staten Island, will be "small format," tailored to the needs of shoppers in urban areas (h/t NBC). In a statement, Mark Schindele, a senior vice president of Target's properties, said: "All three of these new stores will offer the best of Target in that borough, yet curate the assortment to meet the needs and preferences of the nearby community."
More details here

New Developments

April 3, 2018

Matt Lauer attempts to shed Upper East Side co-op for $7M

After all, there's no need to worry about having a place near work. In addition to the disgraced anchorman's Sag Harbor home (one of his three Hamptons properties) Lauer's Upper East Side co-op at 133 East 64th Street is now for sale, asking $7.35 million. The four-bedroom, 11-room pad is also, as the Post points out, where the former "Today" anchor was holed up last November when he was informed of his dismissal by NBC News head Andy Lack.
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March 29, 2018

San Remo co-op that was Diane Keaton’s first NYC apartment lists for $17.5M

By Annie Doge

In the late '70s, after hitting it big in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall," a 30-year-old Diane Keaton celebrated her Hollywood success by buying a full-floor apartment at the storied Upper West Side co-op the San Remo. Looking back in more recent years, she said "It was one of those remarkable apartments. There was a window on every side. Everything was wide open. That was the beginning of my true interest in architecture." And now a lucky buyer will have the chance to re-live that dream, as Keaton's former home--in one of the landmark's coveted towers--has just hit the market for $17.5 million, reports the Post.
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March 27, 2018

A baronial co-op belonging to designer Francine Coffey asks $2.25M on the Upper East Side

By Emily Nonko

Designer Francine Coffey brought an elegant aestheitc--inspired by American history and the Federal era--to her co-op spanning the full parlor floor of the Upper East Side mansion at 36 East 69th Street. The prewar, baronial-feeling home spans 1,425 square feet, all of it dripping with lavish details that include fireplaces, French doors, wood moldings and decorative ceilings. Coffey has listed the grand spread for a grand total of $2.25 million.
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Saudi prince wants Trump building’s ‘grossly disproportionate’ rent lawsuit thrown out

Image courtesy of CityRealty

March 27, 2018

Saudi prince wants Trump building’s ‘grossly disproportionate’ rent lawsuit thrown out

Trump Park Avenue LLC, a unit of President Trump's company, sued Faisal bin Abdul Majeed al-Saud in February claiming the Saudi prince signed a lease on the Manhattan condo at 502 Park Avenue in 2013 but hasn't paid rent since January 2017. Bloomberg reports that according to a complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court, the Trump Organization says the defendant agreed in June 2014 to extend his lease through June 2019. The defendant, on the other hand, says the landlord failed to comply with lease’s terms and is asking the judge to toss out a lawsuit seeking almost $2 million in unpaid rent, claiming that he gave back the keys to the penthouse last year.
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Uncategorized

March 23, 2018

21 chances to buy an affordable condo at Extell’s chic Upper East Side tower, from $357K

Rendering of The Kent via Beyer Blinder Belle; Photo via CityRealty Applications are now being accepted for 21 brand new, affordable condominiums at Extell Development's Upper East Side tower, The Kent. Designed by Beyer Blinder Belle, the 30-story building, located at 200 East 95th Street, has a facade covered in red brick with accents of dark metal. Qualifying New Yorkers earning between $79,333 and $119,250 annually can apply for the studio, one- and two-bedroom condo units, which range in price from $356,700 to $427,000.
Find out if you qualify

March 20, 2018

INTERVIEW: Developer Edward Baquero explains how he brought old-New York luxury to 20 East End

When I first interviewed Edward Baquero, President of Corigin Real Estate Group, his art curator, Elizabeth Fiore, was furiously texting him images from the Armory Show with potential art for two remaining walls in the stately 20 East End’s octagonal lobby. Baquero is a perfectionist to the nth degree with an obsessive eye for detail, highly skilled research capabilities, a luxurious aesthetic sensibility and a ridiculously funny sense of humor. These two alcove walls were just as important to Baquero as every other detail in his building, no matter how big or small. Nothing in 20 East End was chosen without thorough research and reason followed by multiple iterations of tests and retests. What Baquero created in 20 East End evokes a time when the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Rockefellers dominated Manhattan and defined luxury. Baquero is bringing back the best of the past and melding it with the present to create a model many will replicate in the future. Ahead, 6sqft talks with him about how he achieved this, his inspirations, and what it was like working with Robert A.M. Stern.
Hear what Edward has to say

March 13, 2018

For $3M, live in a historic Carnegie Hill townhouse with all the perks of a condo

By Hannah Frishberg

Located within the posh Upper East Side enclave of Carnegie Hill at 1281 Madison Avenue, this gracefully restored 1,712-square-foot townhouse-style duplex is stunning inside and out, and asking an even $3 million. The lofty 11-foot ceilings and generously-sized West-facing windows allow for plenty of air and light throughout the apartment, but perhaps the best part is that it's connected to an adjacent condominium and is afforded all the perks of that property.
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Distinctive Homes

March 9, 2018

Can giant zoo animals sell a luxury condo in NYC?