6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

In an attempt to crack down on illegal short-term rentals, Mayor de Blasio’s budget for the fiscal year 2018 allocates $1.6 million to expand the city’s Office of Special Enforcement, the department that inspects and fines landlords who rent entire apartments for fewer than 30 days. Adding to these efforts, an anti-Airbnb coalition made up of public officials and housing organizations/unions created a hotline for New York City tenants to report any illegal rentals, as reported by the Daily News. Beginning today, ShareBetter will start receiving actionable complaints.
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Policy

June 13, 2017

This $8.5K townhouse rental is quintessential Upper West Side with parlor-floor panache

A block from Central Park in Lincoln Square, this 1,850 square-foot parlor floor-through at 52 West 69th Street is the kind of Upper West Side residence that has inspired many a dream of New York City living. Listed as having two bedrooms convertible to three, the $8,500 per month rent seems a bit less daunting when imagined as a comfortably sprawling choice for family or group living.
Get a feel for the space

Distinctive Homes

June 12, 2017

Own a 12-acre Adirondacks summer camp from the 1880s for $4.25M

The Hedges of Blue Mountain Lake is a family camp compound in the Adirondacks dating to the 1880s. The 12+ acre site, with its 1,600 feet of waterfront land, private beach, two docks, tennis court, and 21 buildings, recently hit the market for $4.25 million, as first spotted by the Wall Street Journal. Though the summer season is already well underway, the income-generating property is offered furnished, so the new owners could get some vacation rentals going in no time.
Tour the whole property here

June 12, 2017

Controversy builds over proposed elevated path in Central Park

Central Park’s Belvedere Castle will undergo major renovations beginning this summer and early fall, to fix the 146-year-old structure’s cracked pavement, leaking roof and plumbing issues. While the plan to give the castle a face-lift was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission last month, the plan to make its path handicap-accessible has not yet been approved. According to the New York Times, preservationists are concerned about the Central Park Conservancy’s proposal to build a ramp-like elevated walkway to the castle’s entrance, saying it would alter the experience of Central Park.
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June 12, 2017

Carroll Gardens duplex with a private entrance and bonus basement asks $1.5M

This Carroll Gardens duplex offers ton of space to spread out. A private entrance from the 1930s brick building, at 483 Court Street, leads into a two bedroom, spanning 1,250 square feet over two floors. There's also an entire basement below the unit, as well as a private deck and garden off the lower level. This is the only apartment on the market at the quaint five-unit cooperative, and it's asking $1.495 million.
This way for a look

Distinctive Homes

June 12, 2017

INTERVIEW: Amit Khurana and Michael Gabellini on designing in NYC with architect Tadao Ando

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Before 152 Elizabeth Street, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando had never designed a building in New York City. The ultra-high-end, seven-unit, seven-story Nolita condominium is currently on the rise at the corner of Elizabeth and Kenmare Streets. Every detail of this Ando building reflects the famed architect’s philosophy that, “a living space should be a sanctuary. It has to be a place where you can reflect on your life.” Ando’s signature use of concrete and glass creates a strong yet minimalist beauty that finds balance at a location on the convergence of numerous neighborhoods. As architecture critic Carter Horsley puts it, “152 Elizabeth is not a dramatic masterpiece by one of the world’s greatest architects but a very refined and subtle ‘enclosure’ with wonderful detailing, a delightful surprise in this brand new, gee-whiz world of starchitects.”
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Site of East Village gas explosion sells for $9.15M

Image of the site via Google Street View

June 12, 2017

Site of East Village gas explosion sells for $9.15M

In March 2015, an explosion caused by an illegal tap into the gas main destroyed three buildings and killed two people in the East Village. Last month, Maria Hrynenko, the owner of the wrecked properties at 119 and 121 Second Avenue, sold two of the lots to Yaniv Shaky Cohen’s Nexus Building Development Group Inc. for $9.15 million, according to the New York Post. The third site destroyed by the explosion at 123 Second Avenue sold last year to Ezra Wibowo for $6 million, about $4 million less than the asking price.
Find out more

Real Estate Trends

June 12, 2017

Despite recent concerns, Transport Workers Union endorses BQX streetcar

When a leaked memo about the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) surfaced a couple months ago, it painted a less-than-optimistic picture of the proposed $2.5 billion streetcar due to major construction challenges and doubts that Mayor de Blasio's plan to self-fund the project through taxes from higher real estate values would pan out. Despite these concerns, however, the Transport Workers Union Local 100 endorsed the 16-mile streetcar project today, according to a press release from Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector.
All the info right this way

Distinctive Homes

This $3.15M co-op embodies East Village cool, all grown up

For $2.7M, this Crown Heights townhouse is a brilliant bohemian paradise designed for living

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

This $3.75M Lefferts Manor townhouse has well-preserved historic details and every modern luxury

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

This $3.6M Spuyten Duyvil home is a tranquil refuge indoors and out, within New York City limits

For $5.5M, this Flatiron condo with four-bedroom potential is a prize for loft-lovers

Color, texture, and pre-war details define this decorator's dream of a $4.85M Village co-op

For $1.5M, get (way) off the grid in Gilded Age style on your own private island in Alexandria Bay

An artist's Upper East Side condo is a palace-sized riot of joyful color for $8.75M

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June 12, 2017

Score a middle-income apartment in the Brooklyn Cultural District’s Caesura, from $866/month

Applications are currently being accepted for 49 middle-income units at The Caesura in Fort Greene, a rental expected to open late this summer. Located in the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District at 280 Ashland Place, the 12-story mixed-use rental building sits just one block from the famed Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Designed by Dattner Architects and Bernheimer Architecture, Caesura features a landscaped rooftop garden and conservatory, fitness center, bike room, community room and a shared goods or “lending library” space. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply to rent units ranging from $886/month micro-units to $2,715/month two-bedrooms.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

June 12, 2017

$1.56M Cobble Hill condo has a garden, rooftop terrace, and laid-back loft style

This bright, loft-like Cobble Hill condo pulls off a pretty neat trick: It’s on the ground floor (giving it a private garden) and it also has the penthouse perk of an enormous skylight and a private roof terrace just above. How is this possible, you ask? The apartment occupies the rear extension of a 25-foot-wide brownstone at 56 Bergen Street, combining penthouse perks and garden level access. The two-bedroom 1,413 square-foot home is at the crossroads of Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, within walking distance to everything from Trader Joe’s to the Promenade and antique shops on Atlantic Avenue.
Check out the rest

Distinctive Homes

June 11, 2017

Michael Haverland’s 20-acre East Hampton ‘campus’ is arranged around a series of courtyards

By Rebecca Paul

This gorgeous East Hampton property is located on a 20-acre site that was surveyed and designed by architect Michael Haverland in the format of a "campus" rather than one large suburban home. It's arranged around a series of courtyards and gardens to take full advantage of the subtle undulations of the site's organic topography, providing room for an L-shaped main house, pool house and 25-meter pool, gym, spa, and tennis court.
Tour the whole property

Architecture And Design

June 10, 2017

Lots of greenery at this sun-filled studio, asking $389K in the Upper West Side

The right design can make a studio apartment feel larger, as this one on the market for $389,000 proves. It is located in the Upper West Side's Broadmoor co-op, 235 West 102nd Street. It's been on and off the market for a few years now, asking as low as $309,000. The cozy space is aided by big windows and plenty of greenery. Prewar details like beamed ceilings and bordered hardwood floors don't hurt, either.
Go take a look

Distinctive Homes

June 9, 2017

David Rockefeller’s historic Upper East Side mansion lists for $32.5M

David Rockefeller, billionaire philanthropist, former head of Chase Manhattan, and grandson of John D. Rockefeller, passed away just three months ago at the age of 101. For the 69 years prior, he lived with his wife Peggy at this historic Upper East Side mansion at 146 East 65th Street. Now, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the rare 40-foot wide townhouse has hit the market for $32.5 million, and the listing photos showcase Rockefeller's impressive collection 18th-century furniture and Chinese and European porcelains (paintings by Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse, and Picasso have unfortunately been blurred out).
Learn more about the storied home

Celebrities

A retro dresser inspired Beam Group’s new Bushwick condo

Rendering of 127-129 Troutman via Beam Group/ Photo via Shanna Shryne Design

June 9, 2017

A retro dresser inspired Beam Group’s new Bushwick condo

The neighborhood of Bushwick, known for its artistic hipsters, is about to get even cooler. The Brooklyn-based firm Beam Group/ J. Goldman Design revealed plans for their project at 127-129 Troutman Street in the western part of the neighborhood. The project, designed by the firm’s Adele Schachner, is inspired by the mid-century “luck of the drawer” dresser that features an incredible tri-geometric pattern in bright colors framed by a wooden border, as CityRealty learned. Renderings show the building's exterior will be composed of both opaque and screened panels.
See the renderings here

June 9, 2017

You can own two Westchester homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright students

It's rare to own a home in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, but here's two just outside of NYC in Westchester County. Brownstoner showcased the homes, both designed with Wright’s "Usonian" ideals in mind--affordable homes integrated skillfully with the landscape. The first, in Pleasantville, is known originally as the Silson house and was designed in 1951 by architect Kaneji Domoto, a Wright student. It's located within the actual Wright-planned community now known as the Usonia Historic District and asking $1.2 million. The second is a home designed by architect David Henken, another Wright disciple. Located in Dobb’s Ferry, with the same seamless connection to nature, it is listed for $1.049 million.
See photos of both properties

June 9, 2017

Proposed state Senate bill would ban brokers from using ‘SoHa’ in listings

As real estate developers and brokers continue rebranding neighborhoods with new nicknames, some community members fear this gentrifies and strips the history away from their nabes. Like NoLo (SoHo + Nolita + Lower East Side) and DoBro (Downtown Brooklyn) before it, SoHa, the new branding moniker for South Harlem, has been met with resistance from residents. According to Crain’s, newly elected state Senator Brian Benjamin, a native of Harlem, talked with so many residents that opposed the term SoHa, he has introduced a bill banning people, specifically brokers, from using the nickname as a marketing tool.
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20 years ago, Mother Teresa lobbied New York’s mayor for a parking permit

Photo via Ed Reed/City of New York

June 9, 2017

20 years ago, Mother Teresa lobbied New York’s mayor for a parking permit

Photo via Ed Reed/City of New York In June of 1997, an unlikely meeting of Mother Teresa and then Mayor Rudy Giuliani took place--and it was over the ever frustrating matter of New York parking. She had come to the city for a surprise visit to spend time with the South Bronx branch of her organization, Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa, then 86, would die just a few months later, but during this visit, her charity work wasn't what she wanted to discuss with the mayor. Instead, she came to him with a very New York request: picking up a few extra parking permits for her nuns.
The mayor couldn't turn her down

History

The Urban Lens: Kalliope Amorphous captures the faces of the Upper West Side

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, creative and conceptual photographer Kalliope Amorphous shares her series "Upper West Side Story." Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. "I'm always chasing after something nostalgic and timeless," says Kalliope Amorphous, which is why her long-time home on the Upper West Side was the perfect setting for a portrait study. "There's a strong sense of community here and it feels more like a neighborhood in the classic and old-fashioned sense," the self-taught photographer explains. In this black-and-white series, Kalliope captures the many faces of one of the city's most historic areas, exploring its long-standing energy and evolving residents, as well as her favorite themes of identity, mortality, time, and consciousness.
See the series here

June 9, 2017

Kelsey Grammer’s Chelsea condo in contract for nearly $8M

Nearly a year after first hitting the market for $9.75 million, Kelsey Grammer's condo at Jean Nouvel's glassy 100 Eleventh Avenue in west Chelsea has gone into contract, reports the Wall Street Journal. But despite the fact that that the listing showcased his piano from the set of "Frasier" and the impressive 100 feet of massive windows providing Hudson River and skyline views, the selling price came in at just under $8 million (the price was reduced to $8.95 million in March).
Check it out

June 9, 2017

Dramatic Sutton deco duplex that belonged to Sen. Jacob Javits asks $5.2M

New York City's classic pre-war co-ops are in an elegant class by themselves, with beamed high ceilings, big casement windows, entry halls and galleries, maid's rooms and gracious spaces in general. The more interesting among them tend to be those in which the customized luxury of their longtime residents has been preserved. Such is case with this spacious duplex at 322 East 57th Street in Sutton Place (where you'll find a lot of preserved customized luxury). The listing describes the three-bedroom deco-era co-op, listed for $5.195 million, as "exquisite, dramatic and unique." Designed in 1933 by renowned architect Joseph Urban, the 3,300 square-foot apartment was for 40 years the home of the late Senator Jacob Javits and his wife, Marian, who died earlier this year. And while it's likely that there are many updates to be made, there are also many surprising details that have returned with today's trends.
Check out the glass cube

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

Images (L to R): The Ellipse, 1007 Atlantic Avenue, 33 Bond Street and 70 Pine Street

June 9, 2017

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

By Emrys Fitzgerald

Live in One of the World’s Most Iconic Skyscrapers: New Leases at 70 Pine Street Include 1 Month Free [link] Downtown Brooklyn’s Topped-Out Tower with New Subway Entrance Nears Completion; See the Photos [link] Clinton Hill’s 1007 Atlantic Avenue Launches Leasing; 1-Beds from $2,215/Month [link] Model Units Unveiled at Ellipse, Jersey City’s New Waterfront High […]

Real Estate Trends

June 8, 2017

Sculptor Richard Serra drops $7M on Tribeca loft, now owns entire building

When this sprawling, full-floor Tribeca loft at 173 Duane Street first hit the market for $7.95 million at the beginning of the year, 6sqft wasn't the least bit surprised at its strikingly creative interiors, considering it was owned by artist Merrill Steiger. As we noted, it's the same building where prolific sculptor Richard Serra has lived and worked since the 1990s. At various points, he and his wife Clara have purchased the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the early 20th-century cast-iron building, most recently paying just under $4 million for the third floor in 2011. This left only the second floor out of their hands, but LL NYC reports that Serra has just coughed up $7 million for Steiger's unit, giving him ownership of the entire building.
Take a look around

June 8, 2017

Former Hamptons cottage of late New York Times editor Arthur Gelb asks $2.8M

The former Water Mill home of New York Times managing editor, the late Arthur Gelb, is for sale at an asking price of $2.77 million, according to the Post. Swiss writer Rose-Marie Bordihn bought the Hamptons cottage in 2007 for $2 million. The recently restored 2,550-square-foot home boasts an acre of land, five bedrooms, and views of a pond--the perfect summer beach house.
See inside the cottage

Distinctive Homes

June 8, 2017

$1.3M for a sleek two bedroom with a custom designed backyard in Park Slope

This two-bedroom apartment comes with a few nice perks: a private landscaped garden as well as a finished, 350-square-foot basement. It's located on the first floor and lower level of 456 15th Street, a brick cooperative in Park Slope. The last recorded sale was in 2008 for $845,000, now it has hit the market post renovation with a $1.295 million price tag. The interior is now sleek and modernized, offset with exposed wooden beams and original brick details in the lower level bonus space. The custom-designed backyard was totally decked out to match the modern interior of the apartment.
So take a look

Distinctive Homes

De Blasio denies funding half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers

Image by Ged Carroll via flickr CC

June 8, 2017

De Blasio denies funding half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers

Despite months of lobbying efforts by transit advocates and public officials, Mayor de Blasio declined to fund a $50 million program for half-price MetroCards for low-income riders. The mayor has previously said the city could not afford the pilot program, and also shifted the responsibility for funding the program to the state, since Governor Cuomo oversees the MTA. As the Gothamist reported, a study released by the Community Service Society of New York and the Riders Alliance, the NYPD arrested 5,137 New Yorkers for fare evasion between January and mid-March of this year, 90 percent of whom were black or Latino.
Find out more

New details revealed for Upper West Side’s starchitect-studded Waterline Square

L to R: One Waterline Square by Richard Meier, Two Waterline Square by KPF, and Three Waterline Square by Rafael Vinoly

June 8, 2017

New details revealed for Upper West Side’s starchitect-studded Waterline Square

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

As 6sqft previously reported, the three buildings that comprise the Upper West Side's Waterline Square are rapidly rising from a five-acre site overlooking the Hudson River. For the neighborhood's most exciting and ambitious project in decades, a group of the architecture and design world's most celebrated names was chosen by GID Development Group to create the master plan, with Richard Meier and Partners, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and Rafael Viñoly Architects each designing a residential tower. We've been graced with leaked renderings of what's to come on several occasions; now, the project's dream team has lifted the curtain on a comprehensive website that reveals so-far unseen renderings of the towers and their interiors, the 100,000 square feet of amenity space that will be shared between them and the three-acre park designed by Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects.
See the latest renderings

THE 6SQFT SHOP

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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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June 8, 2017

Art Nerd NY’s top art, architecture, and design event picks – 6/8-6/14

By Lori Zimmer

Art Nerd New York founder Lori Zimmer shares her top art, design and architecture event picks for 6sqft readers! This week we wish a very happy birthday to architectural genius Frank Lloyd Wright. Celebrate the event with admission to the Wright-designed Guggenheim for just $1.50! The Transit Museum is also celebrating with 100 years, and the Welling Court Mural Festival celebrates eight! Experience the Philip Johnson Glass House in a whole new way during its summer soiree party, or grab a blanket for The Met Opera’s first free outdoor concert. The River to River Festival kicks off free programming with a performance by The Dance Cartel, and Quiet Lunch Magazine drops another issue with a party. Finally, immerse yourself in an arty evening with Chashama’s gala at the old Vogue offices.
Details on these events and more this way

June 8, 2017

Diane Kruger snags eco-friendly loft in Tribeca for $4.2M

Actress Diane Kruger, who recently took home the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival last month, just scored a chic two-bedroom unit in Tribeca for $4.2 million. The building, built in 1869, includes six units and features amenities like an on-site fitness center and a residential lounge with greenery. As reported by the New York Post, Kruger’s pad spans 1,943 square feet and has 11-foot high ceilings. Last month, the actress sold her apartment in the East Village for $1.1 million, higher than its $985,000 listing price, following a 12-offer bidding war.
See inside the chic loft

June 8, 2017

Clever use of space is key in this fully customized $450K Gramercy studio

If you're looking for a (Manhattan) budget-friendly studio in a neighborhood like Gramercy Park, chances are you'll be seeing lots of tiny spaces. But we've seen some genius ways to turn a tiny apartment into a great place to live, and this studio co-op at 22 Irving Place (where everyone's favorite downtown Manhattan neighborhoods merge) showcases some fine examples. Outfitted with custom cabinetry that often does double duty and also looks great, this diminutive dwelling packs storage and modern amenities into a bright and cheerful home with treetop views overlooking a private garden.
See more of this clever studio

Distinctive Homes

June 8, 2017

10 things you never knew about Frank Lloyd Wright

Considering today would have been Frank Lloyd Wright's 150th birthday, you'd think we all know everything there is to know about the prolific architect. But the wildly creative, often stubborn, and always meticulous Wright was also quite mysterious, leaving behind a legacy full of oddities and little-known stories. In honor of the big day, 6sqft has rounded up the top 10 things you likely never knew about him, including the mere three hours it took him to design one of his most famous buildings, the world-famous toy that his son designed, his secondary career, and a couple present-day ways his work lives on.
Everything you never knew about FLW

June 7, 2017

The lost plan to connect Brooklyn to Staten Island with a ‘boulevard under the sea’

Back when New York City planners were dreaming of building new tunnels and bridges, they set their sights toward Staten Island. It was the turn of the 18th century and the city was in the midst of a Brooklyn boom following the debut of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. In 1909, the Manhattan Bridge opened to accommodate the growth of Brooklyn residents who needed ways to get in and out of the newly-developed borough. So the city started thinking about Staten Island. Today, of course, the two boroughs are connected by the Verrazano Bridge. But according to Brownstone Detectives, "Before talk of a bridge began... there was talk of a grand tunnel."
Learn more about the tunnel and why it never came to be

History

City Planning Commission officially approves Midtown East Rezoning

Conceptual image depicting all of the proposed sites of the East Midtown rezoning fully built out, via CityRealty

June 7, 2017

City Planning Commission officially approves Midtown East Rezoning

The City Planning Commission unanimously approved the long-awaited rezoning plan for Midtown East on Wednesday, which will rezone 78 blocks in hopes of modernizing the neighborhood. The plan, which was released last August, follows Mayor Bloomberg’s failed attempt to rezone the area in 2013. According to the Real Deal, the proposal would create 6.5 million square feet of new office space over the next twenty years. This would potentially encourage taller and more modern office towers, attracting more commercial and corporate tenants.
Find out more

Policy

June 7, 2017

Jon Bon Jovi puts sprawling West Village duplex on the market for $17.25M

"Never Say Goodbye" certainly doesn't hold true when it comes to Bon Jovi's real estate game. Exactly two years ago, the Jersey rocker unloaded his Soho penthouse for a hefty $34 million, shortly thereafter picking up a sprawling duplex condo at new celeb-favorite 150 Charles Street for $13 million. But now, as Curbed tells us, he's on the move again, listing the West Village pad for $17.25 million. That upgraded price tag will get you over 4,000 square feet of contemporary interiors, plus a massive 52' x 29' landscaped terrace and two smaller balconies.
Check out the whole place

The MTA considers a ‘car-free busway’ as L-train alternative

L train via Wiki Commons

June 7, 2017

The MTA considers a ‘car-free busway’ as L-train alternative

L train via Wiki Commons To mitigate the nightmare commuters will face during the 15-month L-train shutdown, the MTA and the Department of Transportation presented four possible alternatives that would make a portion of 14th Street a car-free busway. Streetsblog NYC reported that during a Manhattan Community Board 6 meeting on Monday, the agencies laid out the following options: a standard Select Bus Service (SBS) along 14th Street, enhanced SBS that includes turn and curb restrictions, a car-free busway in the middle lanes along 14th and a river-to-river car-free busway. Agency officials predict between 75 and 85 percent of the daily 275,000 daily L riders will use other subway lines, with bus service possibly absorbing between 5-15 percent of displaced trips.
Find out more

June 7, 2017

Macy’s may add public park to rooftop of Herald Square flagship

As part of a strategy to shore up its flagging retail business, Macy's is considering providing New York City with more public park space right on the rooftop of its Herald Square flagship store, the New York Post reports. Doug Sesler, EVP of Real Estate for the chain, said in an investor presentation Tuesday that the store was "Exploring ways to activate upper levels (e.g.rooftop) and overall property while retaining Macy’s store and presence." To attract shoppers and add more excitement to the shopping experience, Macy’s execs are looking at plans to develop the rooftop of the 2.2 million square-foot 34th Street store, including restaurants, green space, trees and benches.
Why a park?

Uncategorized

June 7, 2017

A tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright’s built, unbuilt, and demolished New York works

By Diane Pham

For many, Frank Lloyd Wright is considered the archetype of his profession; he was brash and unapologetic about his ideas, he experimented and tested the limits of materiality and construction, and he was never afraid to put clients in their place when they were wrong. It was this unwavering confidence paired with a brilliant creative mind that made him one of the greatest American architects to ever live. And one of the most influential. This week Wright would have turned 150 years old, so to celebrate his birthday and his importance to the practice of modern architecture, we're paying tribute to the architect's built, destroyed, and never-constructed New York works. Amazingly, of the more than 500 structures credited with his name, he can only claim one in Manhattan.
Here's our tribute to the great American architect

June 7, 2017

The MetLife Building’s letters are getting a makeover

While the Brutalist architecture of the MetLife Building, formerly the Pan Am Building, makes this 59-story skyscraper stand out among Midtown's many tall towers, its large sign touting its namesake makes it easy for all to identify. Beginning this week, the insurance company will replace the massive letters with a brand new typeface, as Crain’s reported. The installation of the new, more modern logo will be the first time the building’s sign has changed since 1993 when 15- and 18-foot-long letters spelling out MetLife replaced Pan Am’s sign. Additionally, the firm's new corporate logo--made more colorful in an attempt to shift their marketing strategy along with a new tagline "Navigating life together"--is being installed on the tower's east side.
Find out more

Architecture And Design

June 7, 2017

Sprawling five-bedroom loft in Soho offers style and plenty of space for $20K/month

It doesn't get more Soho than Prince Street, once home to big-name artists, now home to big-brand sneaker stores and...a few big name artists who bought their lofts way back when. This sprawling full floor loft at 131 Prince Street in the center of it all spans 3,600 square feet including five bedrooms; while it's all loft, it also feels like a big rambling estate that has been in the family for years. You can experience this level of space, convenience and comfort with renovations that have integrated substance and style, provided you've got $19,995 a month rent.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

June 7, 2017

Join the New York Times Cities for Tomorrow conference, July 10-11!

By Diane Pham

How do the greatest cities succeed? Find out on July 10–11 when The New York Times convenes the world’s foremost industry experts, policymakers, developers, creative visionaries, entrepreneurs and others at Cities for Tomorrow, the must-attend event for leaders who are shaping the urban environments of the future. 6sqft readers will receive a special 20% discount for the conference.
full details here

June 6, 2017

Central Park lampposts bear ‘secret codes’ to help you find your way

We can think of worse fates than getting lost in Central Park. With its winding pathways, lovely bridges, stunning gardens, and a magical lake, it’s the most visited urban park in the United States. But a few of those visitors are bound to take a wrong turn every now and again, and if you find yourself in that predicament, Central Park's 1,600 lampposts bear a secret code that will help you get your bearings and find your way.
Find out how to use the numbers to find out where you are

History

June 6, 2017

‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie lists Tribeca loft for $6M

"Today" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie and husband Michael Feldman, a political consultant, have put their Tribeca apartment on the market at an asking price of $5.995 million. As LLYNC learned, Feldman bought the three-bedroom apartment in 2012 for $3.8 million. The 2,691-square-foot condominium was designed by BKSK Architects and boasts five floor-to-ceiling windows as well as a 200-square-foot storage unit.
See inside

June 6, 2017

7,000 yellow cabs will offer pooled rides through mobile app Via

Starting today, 7,000 yellow cabs will begin offering pooled rides in Manhattan through a collaboration with the mobile ridesharing app Via. Despite the fact that the app is technically a competitor, the taxi industry hopes it will increase drivers' earnings, as they'll spend less time searching for fares and will keep the tips from all riders, as well as increase ridership since passengers will receive discounts of up to 40 percent.
All the details

Transit

June 6, 2017

The National Debt Clock will move back to One Bryant Park

While the debt continues to grow, the ticker that estimates the current national figure is temporarily coming down this month. The National Debt Clock at 1133 Sixth Avenue will be moved on June 8 to make way for a new entrance at the Durst Organization’s building just one block away to One Bryant Park (aka the Bank of America Tower), the spot where the original clock first stood, as the Post reported. Real estate developer Seymour Durst first put up the ticker on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street in 1989, when the debt was a mere $3 trillion. Today’s debt totals over $19 trillion, with each family’s average share more than $168,000, according to data from the US Treasury.
Find out more

Uncategorized

June 6, 2017

Is the C train the root of the NYC’s subway problems?

By Diane Pham

There's plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the chronic failures of the NYC subway system, from the lack of funds to the lack of leadership. But now the latest piece of the MTA to get finger wag is not a person or a line in the budget, but the system's C line. As the Times reports, C trains, the oldest and most break down-prone cars in the system, can many times be traced back to as the cause of system-wide failures. Breaking down roughly every 33,527 miles—as opposed to 400,000 miles for the average car, or 700,000 miles for new cars—when C line cars see delays, pangs can be felt throughout the entire network, making everyone's commute increasingly miserable.
so what's being done?

Transit

Spring + Thompson

83 Thompson Street

Soho

Loft-like residences in Soho designed by Selldorf Architects

2 beds starting at $4,975,000
4 beds starting at $14,850,000

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Roasteries and refineries: The history of sugar and coffee in NYC

Arbuckle’s, via Brooklyn Historical Society

June 6, 2017

Roasteries and refineries: The history of sugar and coffee in NYC

By Lucie Levine

Brooklyn is properly known as Kings County. During New York’s Gilded Age, Sugar King Henry Osborne Havemeyer and Coffee King John Arbuckle made sure the borough lived up to its name, building their grand industrial empires on the shores of the East River. By the turn of the 20th century, more sugar was being refined in Williamsburg and more coffee roasted in DUMBO than anywhere else in the country, shaping the Brooklyn waterfront and NYC as a preeminent financial and cultural center. The history of coffee and sugar in this town is as rich and exciting as these two commodities are sweet and stimulating, so hang on to your homebrew and get ready for a New York Story.
The whole juicy history of sugar and coffee in NYC

History

Brooklyn developer Zproekt plans a craggy condo for East Williamsburg

Renderings created by the Vyater Group

June 6, 2017

Brooklyn developer Zproekt plans a craggy condo for East Williamsburg

Renderings created by the Vyater Group Brooklyn real estate developers RYBAK and BK have laid out their collaborative plan for a new luxury condominium in East Williamsburg at 88 Withers Street. The building, when officially approved, will be called Element88 and will capture the neighborhood’s creative and eclectic residents. As CityRealty learned, renderings show a sculpted pile of floors, offset from one another. In addition to its 33 new residences, the building will also provide workspaces in its cellar that can be used for home offices, workshops, wine cellars or art studios.
See the electic renderings

June 6, 2017

Sophisticated $16M Soho loft is part French farmhouse, part tropical palazzo

The listing calls this three-floor home atop a classic Soho loft building at 12 Greene Street a "reimagining of urban living" that "defies easy categorization," and we'd have to agree. But what's instantly recognizable is the design knowledge and creative eye that was behind the construction of each room's eclectic but beautiful balance of form and function, including layers of verdant garden-draped patios, decks and terraces. Records show that the current owner purchased this 4,500 square-foot co-op for $1.7 million in 2005, which in itself sounds like quite a feat; the triplex is now asking a far more 21st century $16 million.
Tour the enchanted spaces of this amazing home

Distinctive Homes

June 5, 2017

Set up a vacation home anywhere with these pop-up smartdomes

As a way to escape the stress of urban life, a dome construction company has created a mobile geodesic dome for do-it-yourself nature lovers. The Slovenia-based firm smartdome construction created a dome that users set up and dismantle themselves. The elevated dome can be set up almost anywhere, is built on a set of adjustable steel legs, and is made of prefabricated modules engineered for energy efficiency.
See the DIY smartdomes

June 5, 2017

Restored Romanesque Revival townhouse asks $2.9M in Hamilton Heights