Upper West Side

March 11, 2015

$45K/Month UWS Townhouse Fuses Victorian Details with Modern Surprises

One of the Upper West Side’s widest landmarked brownstones is available to rent for $45,000 per month. The four-story, seven-bedroom townhouse at 37 West 87th Street has been renovated by architect Alexandr Neratoff, who focused on highlighting the home’s Victorian details–like carved wood moldings and original fireplaces–while giving it modern updates -- like a massive solarium and rooftop patio.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

Inside Lauren Bacall’s Incredible Dakota Apartment

Photo courtesy of Curbed

March 10, 2015

Inside Lauren Bacall’s Incredible Dakota Apartment

By Aisha Carter

Last fall we showed you staged photos of Lauren Bacall’s $26 million apartment at the Dakota, but what you didn’t get to see was the real thing. Now, thanks to Curbed, we have pictures of the apartment as it was while the iconic actress was living there, during the final 53 years of her life. Bacall purchased the home in 1961 for an amount rumored to be from $28,000 to $48,000. After her death, her possessions went to Bonham’s and will be auctioned off at the end of this month. These pictures will show you more than just 13-foot ceilings and 100 feet of Central Park views. You’ll also see a more human element of a woman who collected antiques and artwork (quite possibly to the point of being a packrat), and clearly adored her late husband Humphrey Bogart.
More inside

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New Yorker Spotlight: Carter Emmart Brings Us Aboard His ‘Starship’ at the Museum of Natural History

The Rose Center for Earth and Space via “From the Past” via photopin (license); Carter Emmart ©AMNH/R. Mickens

March 6, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Carter Emmart Brings Us Aboard His ‘Starship’ at the Museum of Natural History

By Susan Cohen

Here in New York, we think of space is terms of square feet and how little of it we have. But for Carter Emmart, space has an entirely different meaning. In his case, it refers to a space that is harder to quantify and infinitely large. Carter is the Director of Astrovisualization at the American Museum of Natural History, where he focuses on creating a means to visualize the universe based on what we currently know about it. He is responsible for giving us access to stars, planets, and galaxies through the museum's space shows in the beautiful Hayden Planetarium–like the currently running Dark Universe, overseeing the development of an interactive 3D atlas known as the Digital Universe, and running educational programs including the Digital Flight School. We recently spoke with Carter to learn more about his role digitizing the universe and why the American Museum of Natural History can be thought of as a virtual space ship.
Get beamed up with Carter here

March 4, 2015

The History of Symphony Space: From the Astor Market to the Leonard Nimoy Thalia

By Dana Schulz

We were saddened here at 6sqft to hear about the passing last week of Leonard Nimoy, an extraordinary actor, director, poet, singer, and photographer, known worldwide for his role as Mr. Spock in "Star Trek." Closer to home, though, Nimoy was also known as a dedicated philanthropist who adored the Upper West Side's Symphony Space. In fact, in 2002 the multi-disciplinary performing arts organization renamed its historic Thalia Theater the Leonard Nimoy Thalia to reflect their patron's generosity. Just like the storied career of Nimoy, Symphony Space has its own eclectic past, from its beginnings as a food market funded by Vincent Astor to the Crystal Palace skating rink and, finally, to a neighborhood institution frequented by the likes of Stephen Colbert and Cynthia Nixon.
Learn about this history of Symphony Space here

History

New Yorker Spotlight: Paleontologist Mark Norell Spends His Days with Dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History

Photo © AMNH

February 27, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Paleontologist Mark Norell Spends His Days with Dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History

By Susan Cohen

While the closest to dinosaurs most of us come is plastic toys and the occasional viewing of Jurassic Park, Mark Norell gets up close and personal with these prehistoric creatures on a daily basis, and it's fair to say he has one of the most interesting jobs in New York. As the division chair and curator-in-charge of the American Museum of Natural History’s Division of Paleontology and professor at Richard Gilder Graduate School, Mark's work is very exciting. He studies not just dinosaurs, but a wide range of fossils from various time periods, and conducts research that benefits our understanding of both the prehistoric and modern world. And an extra perk of the job is surely his office–he occupies the entire top floor of the museum's historic turret on the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West (we don't recall Ross Geller getting an office like that!). We recently spoke with Mark to learn more about paleontology and what it's like to work at the museum.
Read the full interview here

February 26, 2015

Saudi Prince’s UWS Apartment with Three Bullet-Proof Panic Rooms Lists for $48.5M

By Annie Doge

But if panic rooms aren't your thing, there's also a sushi island bar, fitness center, billiards room, hair salon, ventilated cigar room, 60-foot living room overlooking the Hudson River, and a lounge with a six-person Jacuzzi. It certainly sounds like Prince Nawaf bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has been having fun in his 10,500-square-foot Heritage at Trump Place triplex, which was previously listed in 2013 for $75 million. The four-bedroom Upper West Side pad is now back on the market for $48.5 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Ryan Serhant of Million Dollar Listing fame is one of the listing agents, and though he declined to confirm the owner, he said he is selling because he rarely uses the residence anymore.
You can't miss seeing the rest of this incredible home

Distinctive Homes

February 18, 2015

Extell’s UWS ‘Poor Door’ Building Now Taking Affordable Housing Applications

By Diane Pham

Easily 2014's most controversial building, Extell's 40 Riverside Boulevard—a.k.a. the "Poor Door" building, and recently rechristened 50 Riverside Boulevard in light of the scandal—is back in the news, this time for reasons far less unsavory. Starting today, qualified New Yorkers can apply for one of the building's 55 subsidized rentals.
Find out how much units are going for

February 3, 2015

Bruce Willis Is Back at It, Buys $17M Duplex at 271 Central Park West

By Annie Doge

Maybe we haven't seen Bruce Willis in a new movie in a couple of years because he's been too busy unloading and buying real estate in New York. First there was the $12 million, 22-acre buy in Bedford, then the $13 million sale of his El Dorado co-op, and now he's purchased a $17 million six-bedroom duplex at 271 Central Park West, just a few blocks away from the El Dorado digs and not too far from the unit he owned before that at Trump Place on Riverside Drive. Clearly Willis likes the Upper West Side, and it looks to us like he's having some fun climbing up the luxury-listing ladder.
Check out Willis's new pad here

January 21, 2015

Make Central Park Your Neighbor with This Adorable $2.6M Townhouse Apartment

By Aisha Carter

There’s a cute new listing available in this townhouse off Central Park West. This $2.55 million three-bedroom pad has tall ceilings and natural light from the north and south, along with prewar detail and a full view of the garden.
Take a look inside

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January 20, 2015

$4.8M ‘Duplex of Baronial Splendor’ Comes with a Dali Sketch on the Living Room Wall

By Stephanie Hoina

One look at this richly decorated Central Park West maisonette in The Atelier and you'll be swept away into a scene harkening back to 18th century Vienna where couples minuet across the floor to strains of Mozart playing softly in the background. Turns out your imagination wouldn’t bring you too far from the truth, as in recent years this home has become a beloved gathering place for artists and art lovers alike, attracting opera singers, conductors, musical soloists, cabaret entertainers, diplomats, artists, aristocrats, and movie celebrities. The annual Christmas parties given here are legendary, as are frequent dinners and musical soirées for up to 150 guests.
Feast your eyes on more of this exquisite home

January 16, 2015

Sportscaster Marv Albert’s Lincoln Square Penthouse Sells for $13M, $2M Less Than Initial Reports

By Annie Doge

Though it was originally reported that famed sportscaster Marv Albert sold his sprawling penthouse at 150 Columbus Avenue for $15 million, city records released today show that the 3,553-square-foot pad actually sold for $13 million after being listed in May. Marv and his wife, former ESPN producer Heather Albert, originally purchased the home in 1996 for $2.39 million, turning a pretty impressive profit in time for their move downtown to Tribeca.
Take a look inside here

New Yorker Spotlight: Carol Paumgarten of Steps on Broadway on Training World-Famous Stage Stars

Studio image via Sofia Negron Photography

January 15, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Carol Paumgarten of Steps on Broadway on Training World-Famous Stage Stars

By Susan Cohen

Atop the hustle and bustle of 74th Street and Broadway, three flights of stairs above the busy Fairway Market, is the famous dance studio Steps on Broadway, renowned for its teachers, dancers, classes, and, of course, the large flag that hangs outside the building. Presiding over the studio is owner and artistic director Carol Paumgarten. Carol opened the studio with a partner in 1979, and over the years developed Steps into a much sought-after studio for professional dancers, budding stars as young as two years old, and anyone who just feels like dancing. The studio is part of a larger world of dance that sits center stage on the Upper West Side. With Lincoln Center and the musicals of Broadway right down the street, there's a lot of movement and creativity happening in this neighborhood. We recently spoke with Carol to find out how Steps on Broadway made the leap from a small studio with a few classes to a dance institution known worldwide.
Read the full interview here

January 8, 2015

Leave the City Behind in This Charming $15K a Month Brownstone

By Aisha Carter

Yes, this is actually a Manhattan residence, not a Brooklyn pad in disguise. The renovated single-family brownstone is located just a block from Central Park and is brimming with charm. The cozy and familiar home has an owner of practically 50 years who has updated the interior with modern comforts like radiant heated floors, but it's details like decorative fireplaces and stained glass accents that make this place truly special.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

January 8, 2015

Fox News Host Kimberly Guilfoyle Buys $3.4M Central Park West Apartment Full of Taxidermied Animals

By Dana Schulz

Generally speaking, the ultra-conservative crowd isn't spending their free time volunteering with PETA. So it's quite fitting that Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle just picked up the infamous taxidermy-filled apartment in the Beresford. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your thoughts on decorative dead animals, the long-time owner, journalist Gregory Speck, is sending his massive collection of stuffed friends to the Virginia Museum of Natural History, according to the Post. And Guilfoyle has already hired architect Campion Platt to renovate the two-bedroom, "classic six" home. Lucky for us, though, it's not too late to see the bizarre (or some may say terrifying) Central Park West home.
Take a look inside

December 23, 2014

170 Amsterdam Avenue: NYC’s First Concrete Diagrid Nears Completion

By Ondel Hylton

Final touches are being added to the Upper West Side's exoskeletal rental building at 170 Amsterdam Avenue. The 20-story mid-rise between 67th and 68th Streets will be the first residential building in the city to feature a concrete "diagrid" structural system. Developed by Chicago-based Equity Residential, the tower will house 239 luxury rental units and is slated to begin leasing early next year. Rental pricing may be similar to the Aire next door, where available units range from $3,375 for a 25th floor studio to $15,000 for a three-bedroom penthouse. According to the New York Post, Equity signed a 99-year lease for the site from the American Properties Group for $76.5 million back in 2011.
More details here

December 18, 2014

Meredith Vieira Buys an $8.55M Penthouse at the El Dorado

By Annie Doge

All of Meredith Vieira's hard work has certainly paid off. According to the Post, the journalist-slash-talk-show-host-slash-game-show-host has just scooped up a penthouse at the El Dorado. The home is a three-bedroom stunner with two large terraces and Central Park reservoir views. The final closing price has yet to be revealed, but it was last asking $8.55 million in May when it went into contract. The previous owners paid $5.95 million for it back in 2011—surely a recent, beautiful, never-lived-in renovation helped give this CPW pad a price boost.
Have a peek inside

Celebrities

December 11, 2014

Weather Anchor Sam Champion Sells Upper West Side Condo for $4.7M

By Annie Doge

Everyone’s favorite well-coiffed weatherman Sam Champion has sold his Upper West Side condo for $4.7 million, according to city records released today. Champion bought the 2,019-square-foot unit on the top floor of 45 West 67th Street in 1995 for $750,000, netting him an impressive $4 million profit on the sale. The 33-story building was erected in 1985 and […]

December 9, 2014

Sleek $8.5M Central Park West Pad Returns Asking Twice the Price

By Aisha Carter

About two years ago, this impeccable pad on Central Park West sold for $4.3 million. Today, after an extensive gut renovation, the apartment is back on the market asking $8.495 million—nearly twice its initial price. But that 50% increase includes a Workshop/APD redesign, complete with “museum quality finishes” and only the finest craftsmanship. The finished product evokes a sense of calm sophistication in a supreme duplex with partial views of the city and Central Park.
More pics right this way

Distinctive Homes

December 8, 2014

Bruce Willis Lists Central Park West Apartment for $13M

By Annie Doge

Bruce Willis is really stepping up his New York real estate game. Just five weeks after buying a $12 million, 22-acre estate in Bedford, New York, he and his wife, actress Emma Heming Willis, have listed their three-bedroom Central Park West co-op at the El Dorado for $13 million. The Daily News reports that the couple is looking to trade up to a bigger unit now that they have a second child. Willis bought the apartment at 300 Central Park West less than two years ago for $8.85 million from U2 bassist Adam Clayton. And after a meticulous renovation, he's looking to make $4 million on the flip.
Take a tour of the Willis home

REVEALED: New Renderings for Christian de Portzamparc’s Riverside Center

L to R: Building 1, Building 2 (21 West End Avenue), Building 3, Building 4, Building 5 (1 West End Avenue)

December 5, 2014

REVEALED: New Renderings for Christian de Portzamparc’s Riverside Center

By Ondel Hylton

The final appearance of Christian de Portzamparc’s Riverside Center master plan is coming into full view. A bevy of images depicting three never-before-seen crystalline towers have been released by Goldstein Hill & West Architects, giving us a more complete look at what the two-block site will ultimately look like circa 2018. The city-approved plan will ultimately hold three acres of open space and five mixed-use buildings containing approximately 2,500 condo and rental units, a public school, a hotel, a movie theater and an auto showroom.
More details ahead

December 5, 2014

Upper West Side Duplex Rental Is a Crown Molding Lover’s Dream

By Rebecca Paul

Finding a place to rent in New York City can be a headache at best. But you can save some money on aspirin if you're interested in this two-bedroom Upper West Side duplex that is now available to rent for $6,925/month. Located at 313 West 75th Street, this charming, well-preserved, pre-war home boasts many of its original details, the most striking of which is its wealth of historic moldings, including crown and picture moldings throughout. You'll also find dentil moldings in the living room, and ornate floral moldings around the mirror. The decorated marble fireplaces aren't too shabby either.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

December 5, 2014

Landmark West End Avenue Townhouse Wants $11M

By Aisha Carter

One of Lamb & Rich’s original townhouses in the West End-Collegiate Historic District is resolving to find a new owner in the New Year. The flexible 6,875-square-foot layout can either be a sprawling 6-8 bedroom single-family mansion, or a spacious quadruplex with a separate garden duplex rental. Add to that late 19th century original details and modern updates, and this could be the perfect home for anybody...with $10.9 million in their pocket.
Take a look inside here

December 4, 2014

Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Billionaire Businessman Father Sells Central Park West Pad for $7M

By Annie Doge

You likely know plenty about Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but did you know her father is a very prominent, very wealthy businessman? William Louis-Dreyfus is the chairman of Louis Dreyfus Energy Services and the great grandson of Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, founder of the Louis Dreyfus Group. He has an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion, and just made an impressive $7.1 million on the sale of his Upper West Side co-op, according to city records released today. Unit 9C at 262 Central Park West is a three-bedroom apartment with ten large picture windows and panoramic views of Central Park. And the sleek interior must have been pretty impressive in person, as the selling price is well over the $6.75 million asking price.
Take a look around the Louis-Dreyfus home

December 2, 2014

$7M Townhouse Is Available for Second Time in Half a Century

By Aisha Carter

An exclusive four-story townhome on one of Manhattan’s most attractive blocks has just popped up on the market, asking literally $5 less than $7 million. The Renaissance Revival home was built in 1890 by McDowell & Henry and still retains its unique Eastlake style details with four original fireplaces, historic wood shutters, and a stained glass skylight over the stairs. And that’s just the beginning.
Take a closer look here

On Sale Now: An Unofficial Black Friday Bargain Hunt!

135 West 70th Street Penthouse BC; Listing photo Douglas Elliman.

November 28, 2014

On Sale Now: An Unofficial Black Friday Bargain Hunt!

By Michelle Cohen

Late November can be an anxious time for both buyers and sellers; unpleasant weather, family events and just plain seasonal shutdown mode can reduce the traffic at open houses to a trickle and get properties pulled off the market until after New Year’s Day or even springtime. Sellers may panic and prices get cut in the hopes of getting the deal done before year’s end; it’s a good time for intrepid buyers to stay in the game, though, because the competition factor is at a minimum. After reading about Leo DiCaprio who, like Macy’s, Wal-Mart and Kohl’s, jumped the gun on the traditional discount day by price-chopping his haute-holistic Delos Living penthouse, we rounded up some stellar dwellings that received significant markdowns just in time for the popular post-Thanksgiving Day shop-a-thon. So if you’re on the hunt–or you’ve got a two-bed-two-bath-with-killer-views-sized stocking to fill–check out our list of sale merch of the real estate persuasion that–we hope–won't require you to queue up at the crack of dawn.
10 more discounted deals that are better than lords a-leaping

November 26, 2014

HS2 Architecture’s Grandiose Upper West Side Townhouse Renovation

By Rebecca Paul

We're back again with another "well worth the wait" renovation story; this chapter takes us to an Upper West Side townhouse that was recently revamped by HS2 Architecture. The facade of this five-floor home is magnificent on its own, boasting ornate concrete detailing, elaborate windows and a grand front doorway. The overall approach to this renovation was to create more free-flowing spaces that reflect the more contemporary lifestyle of the family.
READ MORE

November 20, 2014

Light and Airy Penthouse Fuses Modern Luxury with Classic Upper West Side Charm

By Rebecca Paul

Easy breezy is the perfect description for this duplex penthouse that recently popped up on the market for $3,850,000. Located at 329 West 108th street on the Upper West Side, this beautiful three-bedroom home includes a dramatic corner living room and ample outdoor space–both perfect for entertaining. The living room also features an elegant angular skylight, so whether you're inside or out, you and your guests will be able to enjoy beautiful views of the New York City skyline.
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520 Fifth Avenue

Midtown West

Live at the center of NYC

1 beds starting at $2,445,000
2 beds starting at $3,435,000
3 beds starting at $6,775,000

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Upper West Side

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