6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

Not only do NYC's temperatures start to heat up in spring, but so does the rental market, particularly with students and recent graduates searching for short-term housing options to come to live and work in the city. Seasonal housing providers, who provide leases of 30 days or more, are finding more demand than normal (h/t amNY). Large apartment buildings feeling the glut of inventory on the market are choosing to rent their units for shorter terms versus yearly leases working under the assumption that any occupancy is better than vacancy.
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Real Estate Trends

Brookfield hopes to rescue retail on Bleecker Street with purchase of seven storefronts

Photo via Nick Sherman’s Flickr

April 23, 2018

Brookfield hopes to rescue retail on Bleecker Street with purchase of seven storefronts

Brookfield Property Partners announced on Monday it has acquired seven retail storefronts across four properties in the West Village, an attempt to rescue retail in a neighborhood which has had a high rate of vacancies for years. The company hopes to attract e-commerce companies that are interested in testing out brick-and-mortar locations. The properties, found along Bleecker Street between West 10th and West 11th Streets, measure 24,000 square feet. Brookfield paid New York REIT $31.5 million to acquire the properties.
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Real Estate Trends

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

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): ALTA LIC, JACKSON PARK, OSKAR and 1N4TH

April 21, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): ALTA LIC, JACKSON PARK, OSKAR and 1N4TH “Shine in the Center of it All” – Midtown’s Solari debuts website and new renderings [link] ALTA LIC, NYC’s largest co-living residence, launches leasing [link] Jackson Park, shimmering new towers in Long Island City leasing with 1 month free [link] Meet Oskar: New Midtown […]

Real Estate Trends

Lottery launches for five middle-income units in Parkchester, from $1,700/month

The Aileen B. Ryan Oval fountain sits in the center of Parkchester; photo via Wikipedia

April 20, 2018

Lottery launches for five middle-income units in Parkchester, from $1,700/month

A housing development located in the Bronx's Parkchester neighborhood has five middle-income apartments up for grabs. The two buildings at 1360-1364 Purdy Street are located just outside the planned neighborhood and sits around the corner from the 6 train at Castle Hill Avenue. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for units ranging from a $1,700/month one-bedroom to a $1,875/month two-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Bjarke Ingels reveals new renderings of twisting High Line condo ahead of May sales launch

Renderings via Dbox for HFZ Capital Group

April 20, 2018

Bjarke Ingels reveals new renderings of twisting High Line condo ahead of May sales launch

Ahead of the just-announced May 7th sales launch, Bjarke Ingels and developer HFZ Capital have released to the Times several new renderings of the Eleventh, or the XI as it's been branded. The West Chelsea hotel/condo project is notable not only for being Ingels' first NYC condo project but for its asymmetrical, twisting silhouette. And in the new renderings, we're able to get a better look at the pair of towers and their skybridge, along with, for the first time, the central courtyard and an apartment interior.
All the renderings and details right this way

Homeless shelter opening on Billionaires’ Row; See ‘Peanuts’ street art in the West Village

Billionaires Row via 6sqft (L): Mural by Tomokazu Matsuyama, courtesy of the Peanuts Global Artist Collective (R)

April 20, 2018

Homeless shelter opening on Billionaires’ Row; See ‘Peanuts’ street art in the West Village

By 6sqft

The city approved a plan to bring a 140-bed homeless shelter to Billionaires’ Row, right next to One57. [NYP] Some of the 250,000 limited-edition David Bowie MetroCards released this week are selling for $200 on eBay. [amNY] Jackie Robinson’s old Bed-Stuy block was renamed in his honor. [Bklkyner] Neighbors of Green-Wood Cemetery are fighting against […]

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Museum of Natural History’s lawns will open as public parks this summer

Photo of the Theodore Roosevelt Park via Wikimedia

April 20, 2018

Museum of Natural History’s lawns will open as public parks this summer

Surrounding the American Museum of Natural History, the Theodore Roosevelt Park stretches from 77th to 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. For years, the city has fenced off its green space, not allowing park visitors to touch the lawns. But this summer, as part of a pilot program, the city's parks department will open two lawns in the Upper West Side park, according to the West Side Rag. From Memorial Day Weekend until September 30, the Northwest and Southwest Lawns will open to the public, officials announced at a community board meeting.
Details this way

Uncategorized

Distinctive Homes

$11M historic West Village home offers the privacy, parking, and outdoor space you'd find in a suburban subdivision

A Victoria's Secret model's angelic East Village flat with a solarium and terrace asks $2.9M

This $5.6M Tribeca condo in a former spice-grinding factory brings warmth to loft proportions

A grown-up townhouse with a Bushwick address–and a koi pond–asks $2M

The corner terrace at this $4.4M Stella Tower condo puts the city skyline at your feet

For $1.45M, this barrel-fronted Bay Ridge home offers three floors for living and lots of outdoor space

$2.35M Gramercy co-op wraps classic pre-war style with vintage opulence–plus a key to the park

For $32.5K/month, rent a five-story designer townhouse in Gramercy

This $7.75M West Village home updates 1828 Federal style with a perfect country kitchen

For $1.65M, this Prospect Heights pre-war co-op can expand to hold a classic six

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April 20, 2018

Limestone mansion with a sunroom and garage in Prospect Lefferts Gardens asks $4M

Situated just two blocks from Prospect Park at 125 Maple Street in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, this 25-foot-wide limestone beauty was built by noted Brooklyn architect Axel Hedman in the Renaissance Revival style. Built on a corner lot, the house gets enough sun to feature a stained-glass-wrapped solarium, and moody, dramatic interior details appear luminous rather than dark.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

Photo via Jeffrey Zeldman/Flickr

April 20, 2018

Central Park is going car-free

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

Last night Mayor de Blasio teased us by tweeting, “We're making a BIG announcement tomorrow on the future of Central Park. Stay tuned.” This morning he announced, “Central Park goes car-free in June. 24/7, 365 days a year — because parks are for people, not cars.” That is BIG news. After banning cars north of 72nd Street three years ago, the city will now prohibit them south of 72nd.
All the details right this way

Transit

April 20, 2018

Edward Hopper’s Greenwich Village: The real-life inspirations behind his paintings

There’s no lack of artists deeply associated with New York. But among the many painters who’ve been inspired by our city, perhaps none has had a more enduring and deeper relationship than Edward Hopper, particularly with Greenwich Village. Hopper lived and worked in Greenwich Village during nearly his entire adult life, and drew much inspiration from his surroundings. He rarely painted scenes exactly as they were, but focused on elements that conveyed a mood or a feeling. Hopper also liked to capture scenes which were anachronistic, even in the early 20th century. Fortunately due to the Village’s enduring passion for historic preservation, many, if not all, of the places which inspired Hopper nearly a century ago can still be seen today – or at least evidence of them.
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History

City to move ‘Fearless Girl’ to new home across from New York Stock Exchange

Fearless Girl and Charging Bull statues on Wall Street; via Anthony Quintano’s Flickr

April 20, 2018

City to move ‘Fearless Girl’ to new home across from New York Stock Exchange

Mayor Bill De Blasio announced today that the “Fearless Girl” statue currently staring down the iconic Wall Street "Charging Bull" will be getting a permanent home in front of the New York Stock Exchange in the Financial District. Since the diminutive statue's temporary installation more than a year ago a day before International Women’s Day, sending a message to Wall Street for the need of gender equality in the financial world, the statue has become a major attraction, drawing millions of tourists and locals.
What about the bull?

Events & Things To Do

April 20, 2018

This $29M restored 1880s mansion is one of only three townhouses left on Central Park West

Built in 1887 by local builder William Noble, this remarkable Queen Anne mansion at 248 Central Park West has been painstakingly restored by its owners in a $10 million gut renovation, with its stunning details preserved and every modern luxury–including an elevator, a 50-foot lap pool in the cellar, a top floor penthouse, a home theater and a gym. As the New York Times tells us, it's one of only three houses built in the surrounding Upper West Side historic district at the time. On the market for the first time since 2004, it's asking $29 million.
Take the grand tour

N train platform closures, D masquerading as F, and other weekend service changes

Photo via bestpicko.com/Flickr

April 20, 2018

N train platform closures, D masquerading as F, and other weekend service changes

By Hannah Frishberg

It's sad to say that the service changes planned for this weekend, despite being extensively disruptive, seem somewhat better than normal. The D train's affinity for running on the F line continues, the N has a number of platform closures, and it's apparently the R train's turn to go on a bit of a vacation from running, but otherwise there are not a ton of notable new developments. Gauge the damage for yourself below.
The whole list of changes

Transit

April 19, 2018

After regulation overhaul, Landmarks Preservation Commission head announces resignation

Photo via CityRealty Earlier this year, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) unveiled a series of new proposed rules, which the group said would streamline the application process and improve transparency. But the regulation overhaul, as 6sqft recently reported, has caused concern among preservationist groups, who fear that more oversight by LPC staff but less time for public review won't allow enough input for public opinion and limit the opportunity for testimony and comment on applications. Following a backlash from the rule change, it was announced today that LPC commissioner Meenakshi Srinivasan will step down from her post.
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Policy

Middle-income housing lottery in Bed-Stuy saves renters close to nothing

Google Street View of 867 DeKalb Avenue

April 19, 2018

Middle-income housing lottery in Bed-Stuy saves renters close to nothing

For the second time in two days, the city's affordable housing portal has opened the application process for a middle-income lottery that's basically no cheaper than the building's regular market-rate units. For example, this opportunity at 867 DeKalb Avenue, a recently constructed rental in Bed-Stuy, is offering 11 units to those earning 115, 125, and 130 percent of the area median income. The "affordable" apartments range from $2,163/month one-bedrooms to $2,716/month two-bedrooms. By comparison, the market-rate units start at $2,100 for one-bedrooms and $2,744 for two-bedrooms.
What's up with that?

Affordable Housing

April 19, 2018

Would you pay $1,000/month for this ‘dorm-style, single room’ on the Upper West Side?

For such a stereotypically well-off and elegant neighborhood, the Upper West Side certainly has its share of much-less-than-glamorous listings. A couple months ago, we featured a 68-square-foot (yes, you read that right) SRO with a communal bathroom that was asking a whopping $950 a month. Now, a similarly dismal pad has hit the market asking $1,000 a month (h/t Brick Underground)! Though the listing doesn't reveal its square footage, it does make sure to specify, "this is not a studio it is a single room" and that it has a shared bathroom. But it also is quick to gloat that the "dorm-style" home comes with a mini fridge and hot plate.
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Why Weehawken? Short commutes and NYC skyline views along the waterfront

Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of the musical phenom Hamilton, tweeted in January that he changed three lyrics for the show’s London opening: John Adams, the Potomac River and Weehawken. According to Miranda, those words were too specific to America. According to Broadway Buzz, “Burr's proposal of a duel in ‘Your Obedient Servant’ now specifically points to New Jersey rather than the town of Weehawken. The Broadway lyric "Weehawken, dawn, guns drawn" has become ‘New Jersey, dawn, guns drawn.’” In July 1804, Alexander Hamilton was mortally wounded during a duel with Aaron Burr in Weehawken and died the following day in New York City. Tragically, Hamilton’s son was killed on the same spot three years earlier. One of the plaques in Alexander Hamilton Park describes many of the other unknown “duelists” who “all came to Weehawken to defend their honor according to the custom of the day. Located on the Hudson River, Weehawken does have a very “American” history but it should be highlighted, not diminished. Ahead, learn the ins and outs of Weehawken, from its historic waterfront parks and duel grounds to its burgeoning real estate scene.
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Real Estate Trends

April 19, 2018

Pre-war beauty in Riverside’s ‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ building asks $1.8M

Morningside Heights' the Strathmore, the Bing & Bing co-op at 404 Riverside Drive designed by architects Schwartz and Gross, is so iconic that it was used as Midge and Joel's home in the 1950s period series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." The unit used as a backdrop for the show is the childhood home of architect Allegra Kochman, who also owns–and designed the interiors of–this one-bedroom beauty, now on the market for $1.825 million (h/t NYP).
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Distinctive Homes

April 19, 2018

This $7M Nomad loft has a rock-climbing wall, spiral slide, and zip line

Tap into your inner child and imagine what features would make an ideal living space. Slide, rock wall, and zip line would most likely be the top three. Well, now your inner child and your actual child can have it all in this insanely fun and functional five-bedroom unit at 260 5th Avenue in Nomad, asking $6,995,00. Profiled previously by 6sqft, the home was envisioned by the architects at Studio DB, who created an elegant, functional and fun home that would make any family giddy from morning until night.
Get a look at all the fun

Distinctive Homes

Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s co-op in Gramercy Park hits the market for $1.5M

Photo of Jesse Tyler Ferguson via Wikimedia

April 19, 2018

Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s co-op in Gramercy Park hits the market for $1.5M

By Annie Doge

"Modern Family" star Jesse Tyler Ferguson is unloading his one-bedroom co-op in Gramercy Park for $1.5 million, just over three years after buying it. The actor and his husband, Justin Mikita, picked up the pad, which has been gut-renovated, in 2015 for just over $1.23 million. The home at 200 East 16th Street is a combination of two studio units, and there's an option to buy the apartment fully furnished.
Take the tour

Photo via Silverstein Properties

April 19, 2018

New looks for 3 World Trade Center ahead of June opening

Less than two weeks ago, developer Silverstein Properties released a pair of renderings of 3 World Trade Center's huge outdoor terrace, not only the first outdoor terrace in the WTC complex but the first and tallest private outdoor terrace in all of Lower Manhattan. Today, a fresh batch of views, these of the 1,079-foot-tall, 80-story building's exterior and interior, also come with a new list of superlatives. Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, 3 WTC will be the fifth tallest building in NYC, the only building in the world with a three-sided cable net wall, and the first building in the world with an annealed glass exterior.
See all the renderings

In partnership with Spotify, MTA releases limited number of David Bowie MetroCards

Via Spotify

April 18, 2018

In partnership with Spotify, MTA releases limited number of David Bowie MetroCards

Starting Wednesday, about 250,000 lucky commuters will be able to fly away with "Tickets to Mars," a keepsake MetroCard released by Spotify as part of its David Bowie subway takeover. The limited-edition cards feature five iconic images of the music legend from the new exhibit honoring Bowie's life at the Brooklyn Museum. The MTA stocked booths and vending machines only at Broadway-Lafayette and Bleecker Street with the special cards, and they will be randomly dispersed. Additionally, Spotify is giving New Yorkers an immersive, underground subway experience with lots of wall-sized Bowie-inspired art and special codes to listen to Bowie through the streaming service.
Get the details

Transit

Watch outdoor movies in Green-Wood Cemetery; NYC mice are crawling with never-before-seen bacteria

Green-Wood Cemetery via Wiki Commons (L); Mouse via Chris Isherwood/Flickr (R)

April 18, 2018

Watch outdoor movies in Green-Wood Cemetery; NYC mice are crawling with never-before-seen bacteria

By 6sqft

Rooftop Films announced that its Summer Series will open with a night at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. [Bedford + Bowery] Mayor de Blasio announced a targeted rat extermination at 10 NYCHA developments that will utilize dry ice instead of poison. [WSJ] And in other rodent news, a study from Columbia finds that NYC mice carry disease-causing bacteria, antibiotic-resistant bugs […]

Uncategorized

150 years ago, Delmonico’s became the first restaurant to serve women unaccompanied by men

Photo of Delmonico’s in 1903; photo via Wikimedia

April 18, 2018

150 years ago, Delmonico’s became the first restaurant to serve women unaccompanied by men

Photo of Delmonico's in 1903; photo via Wikimedia Nearly five decades before women were granted the right to vote in New York State, a group of fed-up ladies decided to protest a symbolic law that prohibited them from dining in restaurants without men present. After journalist Jane Cunningham Croly was barred from entering a dinner held at the New York Press Club, she and a group of women founded Sorosis, the first professional women's club in the United States. On April 20, 1868, Croly and her crew held a luncheon at the historic Delmonico's Restaurant in the Financial District, which became the first to serve women independently of men. Following the groundbreaking meal, clubs for only women formed all over the country.
The full history ahead

New RPA report calls for combining LIRR, NJ Transit and Metro-North into one rail network

A map showing T-REX’s new crosstown connections, via RPA

April 18, 2018

New RPA report calls for combining LIRR, NJ Transit and Metro-North into one rail network

Everything you need to know about affordable housing: applying, getting in, and staying put

When NYC's three commuter railroads--the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit, and Metro-North--were built more than a century ago when the metropolitan area was less than half its current size. Today, the systems are crumbling, both in their physical infrastructure and politics. The latest suggestion for how to fix the issues comes from a new Regional Plan Association report that wants to take advantage of the fact that these railroads "share an amalgamation of rail lines" and thereby create one integrated regional rail network. Dubbed T-REX, short for Trans-Regional Express, the 30-year, $71.4 billion proposal would add 60 new train stations and more than 200 miles of new tracks.
We break it down

THE 6SQFT SHOP

The best websites for buying and selling used furniture in NYC

The 6 best furniture rental companies in NYC

8 best places in NYC to thrift for home goods

Everything you need to know about using a guarantor in NYC

15 quintessential NYC gifts for the New Yorker in your life

New York City's best holiday markets of 2023

Raising chickens in NYC: Laws, tips, and everything else you need to know

10 Ways to Decorate an Exposed Brick Wall Without Drilling

Snag the Greenest Seat in Town: Gufram's 1972 Pratone Chair is Shaped Like a Patch of Grass

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April 18, 2018

For only $950K, this tiny townhouse in Stuyvesant Heights has a backyard shed and modern updates

We’re sensing a tiny-townhouse-as-condo-alternative trend here; and why not? Low taxes, backyard space, and basement storage are hard to pass up. This particular version is a stylishly renovated three-bedroom home at 264 Bainbridge Street in pretty Stuyvesant Heights, with an even tinier–but no less adorable–backyard shed in the covetable backyard. It's asking a diminutive-seeming $950,000.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to the Boerum Hill home of Ample Hills founders Jackie and Brian. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

April 18, 2018

Our 2,200sqft: The founders of Ample Hills ice cream give the scoop on their sweet Boerum Hill home

If you've ever indulged in an Ample Hills ice cream cone, you know that their fanciful flavors (Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, the Munchies, and Snap Mallow Pop, just to name a few!) are perfectly matched by the Brooklyn company's whimsical shops. But founders Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith definitely didn't grow in seven years from their first storefront in Prospect Heights to nine locations, including one in Disney World, and a forthcoming Red Hook factory where they'll produce 1 million gallons a year, without a lot of hard work and business smarts. And it's this combination of playfulness and attention to detail that they've carried over to their adorable Boerum Hill home, which they moved into two years ago with their eight-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. A triplex in a quintessential Brooklyn brownstone, their home has cheery pops of color, mid-century-modern furnishings, and an eclectic mix of decor and family mementos. 6sqft recently visited the couple to tour their space, hear why they love Brooklyn, and learn about Ample Hills' plans.
Tour this sweet home and hear from Brian and Jackie

April 18, 2018

The world’s first public outdoor squash court opens on the Lower East Side

Squash is often considered the sport of prep schools and Ivy League colleges, but four squash enthusiasts are changing that, one court at a time. The NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver officially opened the first-of-its-kind in the world outdoor squash court at Hamilton Fish Park on the Lower East Side. This amazingly cool court looks more like an Apple Store glass cube than a fitness facility. Even cooler, it's funded by the nonprofit Public Squash and is free to the public and will offer free clinics throughout the summer.
Get all the details!

April 18, 2018

Live in the heart of hip Williamsburg, from $865/month

Via Dattner Architects Although rental prices are dropping in Williamsburg due to the impending L-train shutdown, a recently launched lottery is offering up a can't-miss deal. A brand new building located at 105 South Fifth Street has 38 affordable units up for grabs. In addition to the housing units, the Datter Architects-designed mixed-use project features roughly 4,000 square feet of retail and a 1,000-square-foot medical facility. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for apartments ranging from an $865/month studio to a $1,121/month two-bedroom.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

April 18, 2018

Living Lots map helps New Yorkers transform vacant land into community spaces

It's time to think about gardening–a seasonal rite that's something of a challenge for most city-dwellers. Living Lots NYC is a clearinghouse of information that New Yorkers can use to turn vacant land into community spaces. Begun as a pilot project that ran from 2011 to 2015, which led to the to the official transformation of 32 vacant lots, Living Lots NYC was created by community organization 596 Acres as a database that New Yorkers can use to find, unlock, and protect the shared resource of the city's vacant lots. According to the map, at this particular moment, there are 877 sites throughout 626 acres of vacant public land, 18 sites on 8 acres of private land opportunities, and 559 sites on 211 acres to which people have access.
Check out the city's green opportunities

Bowling alley the Gutter coming to Essex Crossing; Trump Tower fire caused by electrical overload

Photo via The Gutter (L); Trump Tower via Krystal T’s Flickr (R)

April 17, 2018

Bowling alley the Gutter coming to Essex Crossing; Trump Tower fire caused by electrical overload

By 6sqft

Vintage-themed bowling alley the Gutter, which has locations in Williamsburg and LIC, will open at Essex Crossing. This outpost will have a mid-century-modern aesthetic. [The Lo-Down] The fatal fire earlier this month at Trump Tower was caused by too many electronic devices hooked into power strips. [NYDN] NYC has not opened an entirely new subway […]

Uncategorized

Office building in the Village’s ‘Silicon Alley’ gets a new design

Current side via Wikimedia; 799 Broadway Rendering via Perkins+Will

April 17, 2018

Office building in the Village’s ‘Silicon Alley’ gets a new design

Plans for the office development proposed on the site of the former St. Denis Hotel in the East Village progressed last week, after Normandy Real Estate Partners filed new permit applications. Located at 799 Broadway, the 165-year-old hotel will be demolished and later replaced with a 12-story office building. New permits reveal a change in architects, from CetraRuddy to Perkins+Will as well as a slight shrinkage of space, from 190,000 to 183,000 square feet (h/t The Real Deal).
Find out more

Middle-income lottery opens for seven apartments in pretty Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

Photo via CityRealty

April 17, 2018

Middle-income lottery opens for seven apartments in pretty Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

Here's your chance to live in pretty Prospect-Lefferts Gardens for, perhaps, less than the neighborhood's market-rate rents. An affordable housing lottery is opening for seven units in a new, eight-story building at 212 Linden Boulevard. As 6sqft recently uncovered, many middle-income apartments throughout the city serve more to subsidize the truly affordable units, and therefore, don't come in that much cheaper. Here, the homes are available to those earning 130 percent of the median income and range from $1,800/month studios to $2,714/month two-bedrooms. By comparison, the market-rate rentals range from $1,850/one bedrooms to $3,000/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

April 17, 2018

Skyscraper proposal adds affordable housing in a new vertical system between Manhattan buildings

eVolo Magazine just announced the winners of its 2018 Skyscraper Competition. One of this year’s honorable mentions is “Manhattan Ridge: Affordable Housing for Commuters” by Zhenjia Wang and Xiayi Li, a proposal based on the premise that “people who work in Manhattan deserve a home in Manhattan." Therefore, they've created a new, tripartite vertical system in which residents would consume and recreate “downstairs” and work right next to where they live. The existing buildings would remain and this new vertical space would rise up their facades.
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Architecture And Design

6sqft Guide: How to rent as a foreign national in New York City

Photo via CityRealty

April 17, 2018

6sqft Guide: How to rent as a foreign national in New York City

By Cait Etherington

Foreign nationals from around the world are recruited to work in New York City, but when they arrive, they often realize that not everyone is eager to welcome them with open arms nor open doors. Indeed, while many employers from banks and tech companies to museums and universities are eager to recruit top global talent, most of the city’s rental management companies would prefer to rent to a pack of college students than a fully employed foreign national with a six-figure income. So, what is an adult with a great credit history, full-time job, and in many cases, a family to do when they arrive in New York City? While foreign nationals likely can’t change the perception that renting to foreigners is a bad idea, there are a few ways to troubleshoot the housing market in New York City whether you were born in Toronto, Paris, or Tokyo.
Everything you need to know, here

First look at the glamorous, sixties-inspired guest rooms at the TWA Hotel

Image via David Mitchell

April 17, 2018

First look at the glamorous, sixties-inspired guest rooms at the TWA Hotel

Guests staying at the TWA Flight Center Hotel will be transported back to 1962 through rooms decorated with Eero Saarinen-designed Knoll furnishings, martini bars and terrazzo-tiled bathrooms with Hollywood-style vanities. MCR and MORSE Development unveiled on Tuesday a model of the guest rooms at the hotel, located at the John F. Kennedy Airport, part of the landmark flight center's restoration and repurposing. Scheduled to open in 2019, the 512-room hotel is found in two low-rise, wing-shaped buildings behind the flight center, an homage to Saarinen's iconic design. The center will serve as the hotel's lobby, measuring 200,000 square feet, the largest hotel lobby in the world. The buildings, which officially topped out last month, will have a seven-layer, soundproofed-glass facade to provide the ultimate quiet retreat.
Check it out

Construction restarts at Pier 55 offshore park with new walkways in place

Rendering by Pier55 Inc/Heatherwick Studio

April 17, 2018

Construction restarts at Pier 55 offshore park with new walkways in place

After years of drama, during which the project was declared dead, then given new life, construction on the public park anchored in the Hudson River (also known as Pier 55 and Diller Island), is now moving forward as evidenced by a site photo taken by CityRealty this week showing two walkways leading to the pier from Hudson River Park now in place. As 6sqft reported last October, the Pier 55 project spearheaded by media mogul Barry Diller was rebooted with Diller's renewed commitment, complete with the backing of his recent legal foes, former ointment-fly Douglas Durst and Governor Andrew Cuomo.
More pictures this way

Architecture And Design

$700M proposal calls for NYC’s first soccer stadium and 550 affordable apartments in the South Bronx

Rendering via Rafael Viñoly Architects

April 17, 2018

$700M proposal calls for NYC’s first soccer stadium and 550 affordable apartments in the South Bronx

New York City could be getting its first soccer stadium if a proposal for the project led by Related Companies gets chosen by officials. A partnership made up of developers Related and Somerset Partners, along with the Major League Soccer team, New York City Football Club, has submitted a plan to bring a 26,000-seat soccer stadium designed by Rafael Viñoly, over 550 units of affordable housing and a waterfront park to the South Bronx. According to YIMBY, the project, estimated to cost $700 million, would rise on the site of the Harlem River Yards, a 13-acre parcel in Mott Haven operated by the Empire State Development Corporation.
More this way

April 17, 2018

With $3.55M sale, Eli Manning’s condo sets Hoboken record

By Annie Doge

Eli Manning's patience trying to offload his Hoboken condo certainly paid off, as the Post reports that it's sold for $3.55 million--the biggest condo sale in the city's history. The Giants quarterback first listed the waterfront spread at the Hudson Tea Building three years ago for $5.2 million, but after failing to find any takers, he put it up as an $18,000/month rental the following spring. Manning currently lives with his wife, Abby McGrew, and their three daughters in the more suburban Summit, NJ. He also dropped $8.5 million on a beachfront Hamptons mansion last year.
Take a look around

City orders Central Park statue of ‘hero’ M.D. who performed experiments on slaves be removed

Statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims in Central Park. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

April 17, 2018

City orders Central Park statue of ‘hero’ M.D. who performed experiments on slaves be removed

New York City’s Public Design Commission voted unanimously Monday in favor of removing a statue of 19th century surgeon J. Marion Sims from its Central Park pedestal, the New York Times reports. It was recommended that the statue of the controversial doctor, who conducted experimental surgeries on female slaves without their consent (and without anesthesia), be removed from its spot at 103rd Street in East Harlem after Mayor Bill de Blasio asked for a review of “symbols of hate” on city property eight months ago. 6sqft previously reported on the request by Manhattan Community Board 11 to remove the East Harlem statue of Sims, who is regarded as the father of modern gynecology. The statue, which will be moved to Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery where the doctor is buried, represents the city's first decision to make changes to a prominent monument since the review.
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Uncategorized

Despite a 30 percent drop in sales prices, Tribeca remains NYC’s most expensive neighborhood

Photo via CityRealty

April 16, 2018

Despite a 30 percent drop in sales prices, Tribeca remains NYC’s most expensive neighborhood

Despite suffering from a 30 percent drop year-over-year in median sale prices, Tribeca still managed to rank first as New York City's most expensive neighborhood, followed closely by Soho. Property Shark released this week its list of the 50 priciest areas in the city in Q1 2018 and unsurprisingly, nine out of the top ten are located in Manhattan. Notably, the West Village witnessed an 88 percent year-over-year increase with a median sale price hovering $2.1 million. And the Flatiron District, which ranked as the most expensive neighborhood in the third quarter of 2017, fell to sixth place, with a median sale price of $1.85 million.
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Real Estate Trends

If you get it sliced, the state gets a cut: exposing the ‘bagel tax’

Image: Jazz Guy via flickr

April 16, 2018

If you get it sliced, the state gets a cut: exposing the ‘bagel tax’

Next time you hit your local bagel shop, know that if you get your breakfast sliced–or heaven forbid, with schmear–you'll get smacked with an 8.875 percent sales tax. If you eat it in the store, (even if it's still whole), boom, more tax. The folks at Turbotax explain that "the state adds an eight-cent tax to any altered bagels," which includes, "bagel sandwiches (served buttered or with spreads, or otherwise as a sandwich)" or even just sliced for you.
In honor of Tax Day, we ask: What's with this bagel tax?

April 16, 2018

$2M Greenpoint home is warm weather-ready with a greenhouse, covered patio, and lovely landscaping

By Hannah Frishberg

A greenhouse is an amenity so rare in Brooklyn, home shoppers ought not ever to include it on a wishlist, but this incredibly charming renovated Greenpoint two-family happens to boast a backyard greenhouse – in addition to a covered patio, a woodworking shed, and a bench swing. The five-bedroom house at 661 Humboldt Street is currently divided into an owners duplex and third-floor rental, with a few lovely exposed brick touches and a gas fireplace.
Walk through the indoor and outdoor portions

Distinctive Homes

222 LES Tower + Lofts

222 East Broadway

Lower East Side

Art Deco romance meets 21st-century convenience

Studios starting at $799,000
1 bed starting at $1,100,000
2 beds starting at $1,955,000
3 beds starting at $2,875,000

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George and Amal Clooney’s Soho rental is operating as an illegal transient hotel

Photo of George Clooney via Wikimedia

April 16, 2018

George and Amal Clooney’s Soho rental is operating as an illegal transient hotel

By Annie Doge

George and Amal Clooney's rental at 116 Sullivan Street has been operating as an illegal transient hotel, according to Page Six. Richard Fertig, the owner of the 19th-century, red brick building in Soho was hit last month by the city with four violations for illegally converting the basement apartment to "transient use." Authorities say the apartment does not have mandatory fire alarms, exits or a certificate of occupancy.
More details here

April 16, 2018

Why the NYC Ferry is the transit option New Yorkers agree on

When the Duch settled New York City as New Amsterdam in the 17th century, it was the area's waterways that drew them in. Four hundred years later, the city is once again reclaiming its waterfront locale, with countless new developments rising on the Hudson and East Rivers, increasing the need for more transit options. The booming NYC ferry, which, in 2017, served nearly three million riders across its four routes currently in operation, has exceeded the projected number by approximately 34 percent or 800,000 riders. As the subway system quickly and publicly goes down in flames, along with the congestion pricing plan for alleviating traffic, New York City's ferries are showing the transit world how it’s done, with politicians, commuters, and communities all on board. In honor of NYC Ferry's #ferryearthweek, an effort to promote the green and sustainable features of the ferry from April 16-22, 6sqft decided to take a deeper look at the success of NYC's ferry system, how it's changed the transit landscape of the city, and what's to come in the near future.
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Rendering via ODA Architects

April 16, 2018

100 chances to live at ODA’s Rheingold Brewery development in Bushwick, from $913/month

A lottery launched this week for 100 affordable units at 10 Montieth Street, part of the massive ODA-designed Rheingold Brewery development in Bushwick. The seven-story, 392-unit building topped out last September, with its distinct modular form, sloping rooftop garden and colorful frames. Amenities at the building include a climbing wall, laundry room, interior courtyard, game room, bike storage, children's playroom, art studios and much more. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, ranging from $913/studios to $1,183/two-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify

April 16, 2018

Asking $1.4M, this little Red Hook row house has a green roof and a magical garden

Located in the bustling heart of Red Hook–which recently enjoyed a turn as Brooklyn's most expensive neighborhood–this turn-of-the-century row house at 91 Pioneer Street may not be mansion-sized, but at $1.35 million, it looks like a sweet condo alternative. It's a legal two-family dwelling though it's currently being used as a single-family home.
More this way

Distinctive Homes

April 16, 2018

Jeanne Gang’s High Line ‘Solar Carve’ tower tops out, see new renderings and photos