Upper East Side

When Michael Miarecki moved from a huge house in Miami Beach to a 360-square-foot studio on the Upper East Side he knew he needed to get creative. As a busy real estate agent with Sotheby’s International, he says his space "is a good example of taking a small space and creating a big story in it." By combining a beachy vibe of neutral tones, light fabrics, and comfortable furniture with clever small-space fixes like his custom-built bed platform, hidden shelving, and a carefully curated selection of mementos, he's created a calming oasis that feels twice its size. He's even worked out how to host eight guests over for a movie, six for a dinner party, and four to sleep. 6sqft recently paid Michael a visit to see how he does it and what a typical day uptown is like for him.
Take the tour

April 21, 2017

This cozy duplex within a Yorkville brownstone is asking a reasonable $695K

Yorkville has long been considered one of Manhattan’s more affordable uptown neighborhoods--although that's been changing in recent years--but here's a neighborhood pad that's not priced too high. For $695,000 you'll get a one-bedroom duplex within the historic brownstone at 421 East 84th Street. The upper floor boasts two large windows and a wood burning fireplace, while the lower level has enough space to fit a king-sized bed and other furniture. Plus, it's located just a few blocks away from the new Second Avenue subway station at 86th Street.
More photos this way

Distinctive Homes

April 17, 2017

Apply for 20 affordable units near the Queensboro Bridge, starting at $1,254/month

The price is right, but the location may not be the most desirable for this new affordable housing building, as it's situated directly alongside the off-ramp to the Queensboro Bridge. Traffic views aside (we're hoping they installed sound-proof windows), these 20 apartments at 321 East 60th Street include $1,254/month one-bedrooms and $1,511/month two-bedrooms for those earning 80 percent of the area median income.
More on the project here

Affordable Housing

April 17, 2017

Glamorous $5.5M UES co-op sits directly across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is a prime Upper East Side location if we've ever seen one: the three-bedroom co-op at 1016 Fifth Avenue is located directly across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art with unobstructed views. After a full renovation the apartment has hit the market for $5.495 million. (It last sold in 2011 for $3.35 million.) It's undeniably luxurious, and not just because of the location. The apartment is only one of two when you exit the elevator, and the interior is flanked with columns, built-in bookcases, a fireplace and much more.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

April 14, 2017

Robert A.M. Stern’s 520 Park Avenue, Upper East Side’s tallest building, hits pinnacle height

520 Park Avenue, well on its way to being the tallest skyscraper on the Upper East Side, is putting its final crowning members in place, CityRealty reports. The developer of the 54-story tower just off Park Avenue at East 60th Street is the multi-generational Zeckendorf real estate dynasty who brought us 50 U.N. Plaza, 15 Central Park West and the neighborhood-transforming Worldwide Plaza and Union Square's Zeckendorf Towers.
Find out more

April 10, 2017

The New Design Project’s Park Avenue apartment has an uptown address with downtown style

By Rebecca Paul

This beautiful Park Avenue apartment from the The New Design Project reflects the elegance and refinement synonymous with its Upper East Side address but also boasts a unique downtown vibe made possible by the studio's signature aesthetic. The light-filled home is adorned with modern furniture and lighting, as well as carefully curated floor treatments and accessories.
See the whole home

Sale of $79.5M Upper East Side mansion sets new record for Manhattan’s most expensive townhouse

Image via Google Street View

April 6, 2017

Sale of $79.5M Upper East Side mansion sets new record for Manhattan’s most expensive townhouse

Image via Google Street View 6sqft reported in November that the 25,000-square-foot, 41-foot-wide townhouse at 19 East 64th Street belonging to art heir David Wildenstein had gone into contract for $81 million. The sale has closed for $79.5 million–$3,180 a foot–according to public records, setting a new record for Manhattan's priciest townhouse sale; the previous record was held by the Harkness mansion at 4 East 75th Street, which sold for $53 million in 2006. According to The Real Deal, the buyer, listed as 19-21 East 64th Holding LLC, is affiliated with HNA Holdings Group CEO Roy Liao. HNA Holdings Group is also behind the $2.2 billion deal to purchase 245 Park Avenue. The 1930s townhouse is the former home of the Wildenstein gallery.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

April 4, 2017

Explore the homes of NYC’s notable writers with an audio-narrated tour

By Devin Gannon

Some of the greatest literary giants of all time lived and wrote in New York City. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of HarperCollins, which was founded in NYC, the publishing company created an interactive walking tour map that narrates the history of each author as you walk (h/t DNAinfo). Just a few of the famed Big Apple authors include Harper Lee, Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright.
Find out more

March 27, 2017

Elegant co-op in an UES mansion still has its original leaded casement windows

This two-bedroom co-op occupies the parlor and garden floors of 4 East 82nd Street, a stately Carnegie Hill mansion. Despite a recent renovation, the apartment still boasts details from the past: original wood paneling, an impressive marble mantle and the original, leaded French casement windows. New additions include a chef's kitchen, which leads to a terrace and the apartment's private garden.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

March 22, 2017

National Academy’s trio of palatial UES buildings drops price to $79M, gets new pics

Nearly a year ago, the National Academy Museum & School listed their three stunning Carnegie Hill properties for $120 million--two interconnected townhouses at 1083 Fifth Avenue and 3 East 89th Street and a 65-foot-wide school building on East 89th Street. Though the original listing touted the possibility to create an epic, single-family mega-mansion, there have been no takers, and the buildings are now asking a reduced $78.5 million (h/t WSJ). Along with the price chop comes fresh interior images of the townhouses and their palatial layouts, intricate moldings, dripping chandeliers, and regal spiral staircase.
See more of these gorgeous properties

March 16, 2017

‘Barefoot Contessa’ Ina Garten asks $2M for Parisian-style Upper East Side pied-a-terre

By Annie Doge

This past August, Food Network star and famed cookbook author Ina Garten, along with husband Jeffrey, Yale University dean emeritus, dropped $4.65 million on an Upper East Side co-op at 563 Park Avenue, which they somewhat ironically bought from Nancy Novogrod, former editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure magazine and Condé Nast’s House & Garden. Since they've now presumably settled in and made the elegant space their own, the couple has listed their nearby (smaller) pied-a-terre at 71 East 77th Street. The Post reports that the charming Daniel Romualdez-designed pad will be hitting the market for $1.97 million.
See more of the lovely co-op

March 15, 2017

After 10 years on the market, Donald Trump’s trust looks to make $35M on lavish penthouse

The penthouse at Trump Park Avenue has been on and off the market for an entire decade, first listing for $45 million in 2007, and now returning for $35 million. As LL NYC reports, the President transferred ownership of the 6,278-square-foot apartment in January to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, of which he's the exclusive beneficiary. The massive duplex is as ornate as you'd expect from Trump, complete with 22 arched windows, custom tray ceilings with intricate moldings and dripping crystal chandeliers, bathrooms bathed in marble, and two large terraces with panoramic views.
Take the tour and get the full scoop

March 13, 2017

For $337K, this petite Upper East Side studio is perfect for girls’ night in

Though this 388-square-foot pre-war co-op at 330 East 70th Street is no airplane-hangar sized loft, it has all the makings of a sweet landing spot on a tree-lined Upper East Side block. Though pastel paint and flirty upholstery needn't stay, plenty of closets and a dressing room outside the bath would please any diva. The boutique full-service elevator building is also a block from the Second Avenue Subway, making the $337,000 ask seem like an even better idea.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

March 6, 2017

This striking $3.9M duplex six is as classic Upper East Side as it gets

In an architecturally striking 1929 apartment building designed by George F. Pelham, among the elegant residences of tree-lined 75th Street half a block from Central Park, this unique two-floor co-op at 14 East 75th Street is the picture of Upper East Side perfection. Set up as a "classic six," dramatic details like sixteen vertical feet of windows go beyond classic. According to the listing this duplex, asking $3.85 million, is the first available in the building in 20 years.
Check out both floors

Distinctive Homes

March 3, 2017

‘Show-stopping’ Hamilton collection includes love letters and a lock of hair

Historic collections expert Seth Kaller throws his hat into the Hamilton ring for this year’s Antiquarian Book Fair, happening March 9-12 at the Park Avenue Armory. The Alexander Hamilton Collection (part of a larger collection titled “The Genius, Passions, Foibles and Flaws of our Founding Fathers” ) promises to be a unique collection of original letters, documents and imprints relating to the life and times of the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and founder of the New York Post, shown for the first time and offered for sale at the book fair.
See what's in the collection

March 2, 2017

Gracie Mansion’s new exhibit tells the story of NYC during World War II

In honor of the residence's 75th anniversary, the Gracie Mansion Conservancy has announced a new art installation titled "New York 1942," a collection of World War II-era objects that tell the story of New York City during this time, as well as of the period when Gracie Mansion became the official mayoral residence under Fiorello La Guardia. The exhibit will display more than 50 artifacts, documents, and pieces of art, including a signed World Series Yankees baseball, the Jacob Lawrence painting "The Migrants Arrived in Great Numbers," a photo from Weegee, ration tokens, and a first-edition print of "The Little Prince."
READ MORE

Events & Things To Do

February 28, 2017

City’s most expensive rental is back for $500K/month, chauffeur-driven Jaguar included

As 6sqft asked when the 39th floor at The Pierre Hotel at 795 Fifth Avenue hit the rental market two years ago, if you’ve got the cash, why buy when you can rent for $6 million a year? Now that opportunity to refresh your enormous outlay every month is again seeking a renter at $500,000/month, keeping its title as the city’s most expensive rental. The massive 4,786-square-foot space has merely a butler’s kitchen, but the assumption is, of course, that you wouldn't want to be slaving over a hot stove in a full-service hotel anyway. And that service includes twice-daily maid service, an on-call physician, room service, two restaurants and a chauffeur-driven Jaguar.
See what this hefty price tag gets you

February 24, 2017

Ivanka Trump’s Park Avenue starter pad, still without a buyer, gets a rental price chop to $13K a month

As 6sqft previously reported, Ms. Trump and husband Jared Kushner, now senior adviser to President Donald Trump, first listed their apartment at 502 Park Avenue for $4.1 million in December; Ivanka purchased the home for $1.52 million in 2004. The classic and somewhat girly Park Avenue pad with Tiffany-box blue walls has also been on the rental market, first at $15K and, as Mansion Global reports, just reduced to $13,000 a month. Ivanka also owns one of the building’s penthouses–it's the Trump/Kushner family's main home when they're in town– that she bought for $16 million nearly six years ago.
Tour the classic uptown condo

February 24, 2017

$10M Upper East Side townhouse is introducing its neighbors to the future

Sleek casement windows and a minimalist grey facade are the first sign that this otherwise unassuming mid-block home at 419 East 84th Street isn't your average $9.99 million Upper East Side townhouse. Inside, the Euro-chic flush surfaces, exposed brick, and wide open spaces of a downtown loft condo span five stories, from the garden floor au pair suite to the floating glass staircase to a wood-beamed skylit top floor. At 6,000 square feet, though, it's the size of three lofts, with the added perk of being situated in classic Yorkville, just a block from Carl Schurz Park and two blocks from the new Second Avenue Subway.
Hop in the elevator and take the tour

Distinctive Homes

February 11, 2017

The Urban Lens: Sam Golanski gives Park Avenue doormen their moment in the spotlight

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Sam Golanski gives Park Avenue doormen their moment in the spotlight. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Sam Golanski grew up in a small town in Poland, but has been residing in Manchester, U.K. since 2005. Though he thinks New York is "a tough place to live," he fell in love with its energy as a child watching films set in Manhattan from the '60s and '70s. Now all grown up, he comes to New York frequently to visit friends and work on his urban and social photography projects ("I have to admit I shredded a few pairs of shoes by just walking up and down for days everywhere with my camera bags," he says). In his series "Park Avenue Doormen," Sam gives the men who safeguard the Upper East Side's ritziest buildings an opportunity to step from behind the velvet ropes and in front of the camera.
See all the photos

February 1, 2017

In just a month, Second Avenue Subway eases congestion on the Lexington Avenue line by 11 percent

When the Second Avenue Subway opened on the first of the year, it changed the lives of many commuters, namely those living in Yorkville on the Upper East Side who had long walks to the 4/5/6 trains and then faced their notoriously tight cars and frequent delays. But those New Yorkers who still rely on the Lexington Avenue line have also gotten some relief: According to a New York Times analysis of MTA data, on an average January weekday, ridership fell by about 11 percent, or 88,000 trips, between 110th Street and Grand Central, undoubtedly a direct effect of the Second Avenue line's average ridership of 140,000.
More facts and figures

Transit

January 27, 2017

Built for an aviation pioneer, this 1940 International Style mansion asks $40M

Known as the Sherman Fairchild Mansion, the extraordinary modern-fronted townhouse at 17 East 65th Street is one of those New York City sights that might stop you in your tracks in the middle of an otherwise sedate Upper East Side sidewalk. The current façade of this five-story home was designed by William Hamby and George Nelson in 1940 for brilliant and prolific aviation pioneer/inventor Sherman Fairchild (well-known architect Michael Graves was commissioned to design yet another facade for the home in 1979, but that version was never built). The 25-foot-wide, 9,440 square-foot modern townhouse has been on and off the market since 2014; it's currently asking $40,000. While the home's exterior is provocative and unique–especially given the Upper East Side location a block from Central Park–the interiors, which have undergone a thorough renovation by the current owner, noted Renaissance art dealer Martin Zimet of French & Company, are yet another surprise.
Take a look inside

January 25, 2017

Designer Zac Posen snags an elegant Upper East Side penthouse for $3.5M

By Diane Pham

Zac Posen may love taking fashion risks, but when it comes to real estate, it's all about the classics. The designer and "Project Runway" judge has just poured $3.5 million into an elegant Upper East Side penthouse, LL NYC shares. The duplex spread sits atop an Emory Roth-designed prewar at 210 East 73rd Street and comes steeped in ornate details like hand-painted ceilings, an iron staircase and a Chesney marble mantle. While the current decor is most certainly in need of a modern facelift, Posen will have plenty of space to flex his creative prowess. The penthouse is a classic six with two bedrooms, two and a half baths and a large 1,800-square-foot wrap terrace. And did we mention there are seven custom closets? Four of them are walk-in!
See more here

January 24, 2017

Ricky Martin’s Yorkville condo gets a $1.3M price chop

By Annie Doge

Ricky Martin might've gotten a bit too optimistic about Yorkville's Second Avenue Subway-influenced real estate boom, as Mansion Global reports that he's chopped the price of his condo at 170 East End Avenue from $8.4 million to $7.1 million after just five months. This isn't the first time the Latin pop star has had trouble unloading NYC real estate; in 2012 he put his condo in Noho's 40 Bond on the rental market for $28,000/month. In 2014, he listed it for $8.3 million, but it didn't find a buyer until a year and half later when it sold for the reduced price of $7.55 million.
Will he have better luck in Yorkville?

January 23, 2017

Socialite Georgette Mosbacher lists luxurious full-floor, Fifth Avenue co-op for $29.5M

This grand Fifth Avenue co-op belongs to the socialite and political fundraiser Georgette Mosbacher, who has hosted everyone from King Juan Carlos I of Spain to Tom Hanks to Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump at her apartment. It occupies the entire fifth floor of 1020 Fifth Avenue, a prestigious limestone cooperative, and it's now asking $29.5 million. Mosbacher, who has lived here since 1992, told the New York Times, "It’s come to a point where I want to make a change in my life, and it won’t happen unless I shake it up." So now the palatial pad could be yours.
Take the grand tour

Distinctive Homes

January 18, 2017

There’s a room for every color of the rainbow in this $5M Upper East Side co-op

In New York City's interior landscape of neutral hues and fifty shades of white, it's rare to see bright colors, especially in a classic pre-war co-op on the Upper East Side. But the current residents of this apartment at 129 East 69th Street, who undertook a two-year renovation, clearly favored the brighter side of the crayon box. The best thing about it is that with eight spacious rooms, colors, patterns and fun decorating ideas never have to clash.
READ MORE

Distinctive Homes

January 6, 2017

Go for baroque in this $18M Upper East Side townhouse with a three-tiered garden, two kitchens and gym