Upper West Side

Move-in ready is more than just a phrase in the case of this two-bedroom co-op at 126 West 80th Street in the Upper West Side. On a postcard-worthy brownstone street a block from the park, this equally charming floor-through may be up four flights, but you won't have to haul any furniture when you move in. For $6,500 a month, the space comes fully furnished, including a private outdoor terrace and monthly cleaning service to keep it all tidy.
Get a closer look

Distinctive Homes

Take a walk down West 69th Street, the most over-the-top Halloween block in NYC

All photos © 6sqft

October 31, 2018

Take a walk down West 69th Street, the most over-the-top Halloween block in NYC

There are plenty of neighborhoods throughout the city that get in on the Halloween spirit and make for the best trick-or-treating, but arguably the biggest spectacle exists on the Upper West Side--probably not your first guess for spooky, kooky, and downright insane holiday decor. But thanks to the West 69th Street Block Association, the stretch of the street between Broadway and Central Park West turns into a wonderland of skulls, zombies, bloody scenes, and even a table setting complete with brains and rats. 6sqft took a walk down 69th Street and captured all its Halloween mayhem in the photos ahead.
See all the over-the-top decorations

Events & Things To Do

Reopened 86th Street B,C station boasts new murals inspired by Central Park and Beaux-Arts architecture

Photo © 6sqft

October 30, 2018

Reopened 86th Street B,C station boasts new murals inspired by Central Park and Beaux-Arts architecture

The 86th Street B, C station reopened last week after five months of renovations and upgrades. The improved Central Park West station now features six colorful mosaic and ceramic murals translated from artist Joyce Kozloff's "Parkside Portals" artwork, which depicts different perspectives of the neighborhood. The art shifts from aerial views of Central Park to close-ups of Beaux-Arts and Art Deco elements found on the iconic facades of surrounding buildings.
See the murals

Rendering via Studio Gang

October 30, 2018

Museum of Natural History expansion plans stalled by restraining order and lawsuit

As 6sqft previously reported, last October the architects at Studio Gang tweaked their proposal for the American Museum of Natural History expansion to preserve more public parkland–and the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the plans. Now, Curbed reports, those expansion plans have been put on hold after a temporary restraining order (TRO) was issued against the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation by New York State Supreme Court justice Lynn Kotler. The TRO follows a lawsuit filed by a community group that has been opposed to the expansion, saying it will destroy the park, cause trees to be removed and endanger the safety and environment surrounding the construction area.
How big a setback is this?

Columbus Circle is getting a ‘small-format’ Target next year

Rendering via Target

October 29, 2018

Columbus Circle is getting a ‘small-format’ Target next year

New York City is getting its 28th Target store, the retail giant announced on Monday. The company will open a "small-format" store near Columbus Circle on the Upper West Side in 2019. This new Target is part of the company's plan to open 130 small-format stores by the end of next year in urban and highly-populated suburban areas, as well as near college campuses.
Find out more

New Developments

October 24, 2018

At $4.8M, this historic Upper West Side townhouse costs less than a Midtown condo

With its crimson brick facade, stepped gables, and graceful archways, this four-story 1886 townhouse at 383 West End Avenue is one in a row of eight. It's a legal two-family dwelling (so there's rental income potential) currently being used as a single-family home. The building's stained glass transoms, original fireplaces, and winding staircase reflect the artistry and Victorian stylings of designer Frederick B. White. Currently asking $4.795 million, it's a house in one of the city's most beloved neighborhoods with plenty of room for living, and it rings in at far less than the average luxury condominium, where you probably wouldn't even get a sunken garden and a magical third-floor terrace.
Gorgeous townhouse tour, this way

October 23, 2018

Billionaire Bill Ackman in contract to buy a $22.5M Upper West Side penthouse

Hedge fund manager/billionaire Bill Ackman is set to buy a 13-room penthouse on the Upper West Side for close to $22.5 million, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Available for the first time in 40 years, the four-bedroom home at 6 West 77th Street was formerly owned by the late author, Nancy Friday. Ackman, who in 2015 bought the penthouse at One57 for $91.5 million as a "fun investment," is the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management and has a net worth of over $1 billion.
Tour the penthouse

How the 1919 World Series was rigged at the Upper West Side’s Ansonia

The Ansonia in 1904, via Wiki Commons

October 23, 2018

How the 1919 World Series was rigged at the Upper West Side’s Ansonia

By Emily Nonko

With the World Series in full swing, it's amazing to think that one of the most iconic landmarks of the Upper West Side played a crucial role in shaping the outcome of the World Series in 1919. Back then, the Ansonia was a brand new, luxury residential hotel in Manhattan--it opened in 1904 with a grand total of 1,400 rooms and 320 suites. The lavish locale quickly became popular amongst athletes; even Babe Ruth would stay there and come to treat the entire hotel like an extension of his apartment. But in 1919, baseball players and the mafia found a match in the hotel. A small group of players, and one very powerful, moneyed mafioso, came up with a deal that would throw the results of the game pitting the Chicago White Sox against the Cincinnati Reds.
Keep reading about the illicit deal

October 19, 2018

$16M Upper West Side mansion with NYC’s third-largest ballroom will also accept bitcoin

This 10,720-square-foot, 32-foot-wide mansion with Riverside Park as a backyard and river views was built in 1879 as part of the Upper West Side's "gold coast." When hedge fund manager Roy Niederhoffer purchased the home for $12.9 million in 2013, it had been split up into multiple units. Niederhoffer restored the six-story home to its original mansion-style glory and is now selling the home for just under $16 million. The grand home at 40 Riverside Drive is possessed of the city's third largest ballroom in a private house, and as Bloomberg reports, the seller is accepting bitcoin, as he's a fan of the cryptocurrency.
Tour this impressive West Side manse

Distinctive Homes

October 18, 2018

Style icon Beatrix Ost’s $4M Hotel Des Artistes duplex is just as fabulous as you’d imagine

Designed as an artist's cooperative apartment building and the largest "studio" building in the city, the Hotel Des Artistes at 1 West 67th Street on the Upper West Side is one of NYC's most famous and illustrious buildings. As one of a constellation of style stars in Ari Seth Cohen's "Advanced Style" universe, former model, artist and muse to fashionistas of all ages Beatrix Ost is beloved for her perfect balance of creativity, confidence and cool. In a rare confluence of New York City fabulousness, the apartment Ost has shared with her husband, Ludwig Kuttner, since 2006 is on the market for $4 million–and the offbeat but ridiculously stylish space is every bit what we'd expect.
Take the tour

Trump name finally gets dumped from Upper West Side apartment building at residents’ request

Photo via Nick Normal’s Flickr

October 18, 2018

Trump name finally gets dumped from Upper West Side apartment building at residents’ request

In May, after a year of resistance from the Trump Organization, a judge ruled that an Upper West Side condo could have the president’s name expunged from the exterior of their 46-story building. Condo owners at 200 Riverside Boulevard voted to remove the bronze letters spelling “TRUMP” on the building, where they have hung for nearly two decades. Today they get their wish as their building joins three neighboring ones in dumping the Trump sign, the New York Times reports. Workers will remove the offending letters from the front and rear facades of 200 Riverside Boulevard; the building will become known merely by its address, like so many others in the city.
Find out how they did it

Policy

October 17, 2018

‘Law & Order’ leading lady Mariska Hargitay lists stylish UWS brownstone for $10.75M

It's hard to believe actress Mariska Hargitay has been starring as NYPD Lieutenant Olivia Benson on "Law & Order: SVU" for nearly two decades, but when it comes to her living situation, she likes to change things up a bit more. She and her husband, actor Peter Hermann, bought a stunning Upper West Side brownstone for $10.7 million in 2012, and they've now put it on the market for $10.75 million. Hermann told the Wall Street Journal that they've decided to sell because their "family needs have changed," but they'd remain in the neighborhood. The six-story, 6,000+ square-foot home is located at 45 West 84th Street, between Central Park West and Columbus, and is "loaded with color and vibrancy,” according to Hermann, thanks to a collaboration with designer Jeffrey Bilhuber.
Take the grand tour

October 15, 2018

Artist Abby Leigh unloads Upper West Side co-op for $4.8M

Abby Leigh may be famous around the world for her contemporary art, but here in NYC, she's becoming just as well known for her big-ticket real estate wheeling-and-dealing. In June of 2014, just three months after her husband, Tony-winning “Man of La Mancha” composer Mitch Leigh, passed away, she bought a $4.8 million Upper West Side artist co-op at 27 West 67th Street. The following year, she both listed her Upper East Side townhouse for $28 million (it sold for $20.4 million in 2016) and bought an $8 million home in one of the turrets of the former New York Cancer Hospital on the Upper West Side. And perhaps now Leigh has decided she only needs one UWS residence, as she's just unloaded the 67th Street residence for $4.8 million according to property records, breaking even on the sale.
Get a look around

October 5, 2018

72nd Street B, C station outside the Dakota reopens with mosaics by Yoko Ono

The MTA has reopened the 72nd Street B, C station on the Upper West Side after five months of extensive upgrades. In addition to the new digital signs and energy-efficient lighting, the station now features a ceramic mosaic designed by Yoko Ono. Titled "SKY," the design includes six separate mosaics on platforms and mezzanines that show a blue sky with clouds, with hidden messages of hope written throughout. Yoko has lived in the Dakota, the famed co-op building above the subway station, since 1973. Strawberry Fields, the memorial dedicated to her late husband John Lennon in 1985, is located across the street.
See the mosaics

October 3, 2018

Upper West Side school-to-condo conversion reveals $18M solarium penthouse in former gymnasium

As of today, listings are live for developer/architect Cary Tamarkin's 555 West End Avenue. The project converted the former Catholic St. Agnes Boys High School into a 13-unit luxury condo. Not only does it retain the facade's original 1908 English collegiate- and Gothic-style elements, but the interiors benefit from the historic structure's 12-foot ceilings and oversized windows. The most impressive of these residences is undoubtedly the solarium penthouse, carved out of the school's one-time gymnasium. Listed for $18 million, the incredible space has a soaring 20-foot-high vaulted glass ceiling and an enormous, floor-to-ceiling arched window wall.
Lots more to see

My 750sqft: Instagram’s ‘Apartment Botanist’ grows nearly 200 plants on the Upper West Side

6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Alessia’s plant-filled Upper West Side apartment. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

October 2, 2018

My 750sqft: Instagram’s ‘Apartment Botanist’ grows nearly 200 plants on the Upper West Side

Amassing 24,000 Instagram followers in just over a year is nothing to sneeze at, but when you have a collection of nearly 200 plants in a 750-square-foot Manhattan apartment, you're going to attract some attention. Artist Alessia Resta moved into her Upper West Side home seven years ago, and when she saw how much light came in through the west-facing, 16th-floor windows, she decided to finally start assembling the plant collection she always wanted, and there was born the Apartment Botanist. Today, Alessia, her boyfriend Micah, and their two dogs live very happily among the greenery, which includes many philodendrons (perhaps the most popular species among Insta-planties), Monsteras, and succulents. 6sqft recently visited their apartment to get a first-hand look at the plant paradise and learn what it takes to upkeep the operation.
Take the tour!

October 1, 2018

Live at Waterline Square for $1,041/month, lottery launches for 250+ affordable units

Applications are now being accepted for 269 affordable apartments across three buildings at a development on the Upper West Side known as Waterline Square. The trio of luxury high-rises is located between West 59th Street and West 61st Street on the Hudson River and contains a new 2.6-acre park. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, ranging from a $1,041/month studio to a $1,553/month three-bedroom. As 6sqft reported last week, construction at the five-acre waterfront site continues to wrap up.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Battery Park City and Upper West Side communities transition from middle-aged to millennial

Via Wikimedia

September 28, 2018

Battery Park City and Upper West Side communities transition from middle-aged to millennial

Despite recently ranking as the most expensive zip code for renters in the United States, Battery Park City experienced the greatest influx of millennial residents in New York City over a period of five years. The Lower Manhattan neighborhood, with the zip code 10282, saw a population increase of over 54 percent, according to report released this month by RentCafe. Out of the top 20 zip codes with the highest increase in millennials, Battery Park City, with 2,300 Generation Y residents, ranks third in the country, falling slightly behind two downtown Los Angeles neighborhoods (h/t amNY).
Where are millennials moving?

Real Estate Trends

Watch a time-lapse video of Waterline Square reaching the finish line

Via Field Condition

September 28, 2018

Watch a time-lapse video of Waterline Square reaching the finish line

By Emily Nonko

Construction is wrapping up on a trio of glassy residential towers known as Waterline Square, located on the five-acre waterfront site between West 59th and 61st Streets. Three Waterline Square, designed by Rafael Viñoly, got its multi-faceted crystal-planed exterior earlier this month. Richard Meier, on a leave of absence from his firm after accusations of sexual harassment, designed One Waterline Square, the 37-story building that also recently reached its pinnacle. Finally Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates' Two Waterline Square culminates at 38 stories. After the jump, check out a video showing the entire project rise in under 90 seconds.
Check it out

Where I Work: The trio behind Van Leeuwen ice cream show off their pastel-painted UWS shop

Ben (left), Laura and Pete in their UWS store

September 18, 2018

Where I Work: The trio behind Van Leeuwen ice cream show off their pastel-painted UWS shop

Ten years ago, with $60,000 on hand and no factory, Laura O’Neill and Pete and Ben Van Leeuwen decided to operate an ice cream truck in New York City. Instead of using gum stabilizers and fillers, they wanted to make their ice cream with all-natural, pure ingredients. The trio, none of whom have a culinary background, started testing ice cream recipes in the kitchen of their shared Brooklyn apartment. Today, Van Leeuwen has grown into a multimillion-dollar, multi-city dessert empire with numerous trucks and brick-and-mortar stores throughout NYC and Los Angeles. Van Leeuwen remains known for its rich and delicious vegan flavors, which hit their menu about five years ago. With a formula of raw cashews, extra virgin coconut oil, pure cocoa butter, coconut cream, and organic cane sugar, the ice cream is beloved by vegans and non-vegans. "It's not just good vegan ice cream--it's incredible ice cream that happens to be vegan," Laura told us. Pete, Ben, and Laura recently gave us a tour of one of their new NYC stores, a small pastel-painted shop on the Upper West Side. Ahead, hear from Laura about Van Leeuwen's humble start in Brooklyn, the decision-making-process behind new flavors, and plans to expand even further.
Read the sweet background here

Where I Work

September 12, 2018

102-year-old Orwasher’s Bakery is preserving NYC nostalgia while adapting to the times

There's a good chance that if you've walked into one of Orwasher's Bakery's Manhattan storefronts over the past decade you've assumed the 102-year-old business is still family owned. But the original Orwasher family sold it in 2007 to Keith Cohen. The likely confusion comes from Cohen's dedication to maintaining the mom-and-pop feel of his Upper East and West Side locations, along with the vintage recipes for New York staples such as rye bread, challah, and sourdough. But he's also used his business smarts to make some well-received updates, including a major expansion of the wholesale business, a new line of wine breads in collaboration with Long Island-based vineyard Channing Daughters, a formula for the perfect baguette (he even traveled to Paris to learn the art!), and, perhaps most impressively, the addition of the elusive New York bagel. 6sqft recently visited Cohen at the two-year-old Upper West Side location to learn a bit more about his journey as master baker and proprietor of one of NYC's most beloved old-school businesses and get a behind-the-scenes look at where the magic happens.
Start carbo-loading

Rafael Viñoly reveals new photos and video of Three Waterline Square

Image courtesy of CityRealty.

September 12, 2018

Rafael Viñoly reveals new photos and video of Three Waterline Square

Catching up with the rise of Waterline Square has been a pastime of skyline watchers since the project was announced. Now, CityRealty shares a recent Instagram post by designer Rafael Viñoly revealing the newly-installed final piece of the façade at Three Waterline Square, completing its multi-faceted crystal-planed exterior. On the inside, Three Waterline Square’s carefully expressed corners and gently sloping walls allow stunning panoramic river, park, and skyline views.
New images and video this way

September 5, 2018

‘I ♥ NY’ designer Milton Glaser’s former Upper West Side artist’s studio asks $5M

Built in 1903, the 12-story building at 27 West 67th Street is the oldest of eight that comprise the West 67th Street Artists’ Colony Historic District. The studio buildings–which now find themselves next to Central Park, Lincoln Center, and the Time Warner Center on the Upper West Side–were built by a group of artists to provide live/work space on what was then a block of ramshackle stables. Asking $4,950,000, this graceful pre-war duplex is as much an important part of New York City history as it is creative and cool. The stylishly renovated three-bedroom co-op was, until 2007, the residence of graphic designer Milton Glaser, creator of the "I ♥ NY" campaign among other iconic designs and co-founder of "New York" magazine. Another unusual thing about this pretty property: It comes with an additional room on the building's top floor, perfect for a gym, home office–or artist's studio.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

You can live in J.Lo and A-Rod’s 15 Central Park West rental for $11,500/month

15 CPW courtyard by Flickr cc; A-Rod and J.Lo via Wiki Commons

August 23, 2018

You can live in J.Lo and A-Rod’s 15 Central Park West rental for $11,500/month

Though they recently dropped $15 million on an apartment at 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential building in the Western Hempishere, power couple Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have reportedly been shacking up in a smaller rental at the equally impressive 15 Central Park West. The celebrity-filled building is NYC's most expensive condo, but what really makes this juicy is that A-Rod was allegedly banned from the residence for hosting several hookers while renting there in 2014. Perhaps the board feels he's matured over the years, as he and J-Lo have secretly been renting a one-bedroom there for the past year, and with the lease expiring on September 1st (and the pair likely getting ready to make the move into 432) it's now up for rent asking $11,500 a month.
Get the scoop

Anthony Bourdain’s Columbus Circle condo hits the rental market for $14K/month

Photo of Bourdain via Wikimedia; photo of Time Warner Center via Joe Schulz on Flickr

August 13, 2018

Anthony Bourdain’s Columbus Circle condo hits the rental market for $14K/month

Anthony Bourdain's Columbus Circle apartment has hit the rental market, nearly two months after the chef's death. Located on the 64th floor of the Time Warner Center, the two-bedroom condo is asking $14,200/month, as first reported by TMZ. In addition to high-end condos, the building is home to CNN's NYC headquarters, the same network that carries Bourdain's popular Parts Unknown series.
More here

July 26, 2018

For $16K a month, this unique Lincoln Square loft has a double-height plant wall in the living room