6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

The somewhat anomalous Newswalk building at 535 Dean Street in Prospect Heights was developed by the somewhat notorious Shaya Boymelgreen (who, for the record, is not known for aesthetically pleasing designs) just before the neighborhood became popular. The condo conversion named for its former life as the 1927-built New York Daily News printing plant doesn’t fit into any of the latest crop of easily dismissible residential building categories. There’s a certain credibility to be had, both from an invasive and a pioneering spirit in this complex neighborhood. And that makes its residences unique if a little confusing. This latest offering is no exception. The two-bedroom penthouse loft's interior design looks more Manhattan than Brooklyn, which may help explain the asking price of $5.9 million. Private outdoor space goes on for days, as does the list of building amenities–and there are a few surprises.
So what's with that home theater?

Distinctive Homes

February 7, 2016

Four New Townhouses Coming to Williamsburg Lot Overlooking the BQE

By Julian Friedman

Construction is underway for a set of two-family townhouses at the northwest corner of Grand Street and Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg. The eyesore of a vacant lot at 50 Marcy Avenue and 349-353 Grand Street will give way to four identical rowhouses designed by KMP Design and Engineering with Patoma Partners as the developers. According to the building permits, each townhouse will have approximately 9,500 square feet of residential space and 5,500 square feet of commercial space. The ground floors will feature offices and retail and the collective eight apartments are planned to have four bedrooms each.
More here

February 6, 2016

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks From the 6sqft Staff

Anne Hathaway Buys $2.55M Upper West Side Co-op De Blasio to Announce $2.5B Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Line Maya Angelou’s Historic Harlem Brownstone Lists for $5M Bjarke Ingels Is Designing a $50M NYPD Station House in the South Bronx They Paved Washington Square Park and Put Up a Parking Lot For $23 Million You Can Be Donald […]

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February 6, 2016

Slate Property Group Files Permits to Demolish Tenement Building in Murray Hill

Slate Property Group filed permits fully demolish a five-story walk-up building at 203 East 33rd Street in Murray Hill. No details of their plans have been made public, but the team has the ability to transfer development rights from the string of adjacent properties they own to construct a mid-size building. Built in the early 1900's, the structure is one of seven adjacent tenement buildings between Second and Third Avenues that the development group purchased in 2013 that are altogether called The Collective. In all, the buildings comprise 146 rental apartments and eight retail spaces. A $10 million renovation and rebranding reconfigured the units into smaller apartments with high-end appliances aimed at young college students and post-graduates. All seven buildings are linked with an underground tunnel, which features a screening room and a game room. Other amenities include a part-time doorman, dishwashers, and a huge shared rooftop terrace with outdoor seating.
More details here

February 5, 2016

Spotlight: Erika Chou Brings the Flavors of China’s Yunnan Province to the Lower East Side

By Susan Cohen

If you're looking to celebrate the Lunar New Year with Chinese food, you'll likely end up with Cantonese or Szechuan cuisine, those most popular in the city. But if Erika Chou has anything to do with it, New Yorkers will soon be adding to their repertoire the flavors of China’s Yunnan province. Erika, who studied art and formerly worked in fashion photography, was introduced to the Yunnan culture and flavors several years ago on a trip to China. By 2012, she made the decision to start a restaurant celebrating this province and opened Yunnan Kitchen on the Lower East Side with esteemed chef Doron Wong in the kitchen. This past fall, Erika reopened the restaurant as Yunnan BBQ and revamped the menu with Doron to offer small plates like a Chrysanthemum Salad made with asian pear and large, barbecue-focused plates such as Pecan-Smoked Chicken Wings and Yunnan Curry Beef Brisket. Earlier this week, Erika and Doron’s efforts were celebrated when the New York Times included Yunnan BBQ in an article discussing Chinese-American chefs and restaurants. On the eve of Chinese New Year, 6sqft spoke with Erika to find out what drew her to the Yunnan province, how her background in art helps as a restaurateur, and to find out about a misconception surrounding Chinese food.
The delicious interview right this way

February 5, 2016

Cute Clinton Hill Duplex With an Interior Designer’s Touch Asks $1.3 Million

You wouldn't guess that this apartment comes from a Brooklyn brownstone, given its modern and airy vibe. But this condo at 396 Franklin Avenue in Clinton Hill, which takes up two floors of said brownstone, has been carefully renovated by an interior designer, who also took care to make sure everything in the two-bedroom unit is family friendly. The result? A beautiful apartment with some artistic touches that seems as pleasing to adults as they would be to kids. Oh yeah, and there's a private roof deck to enjoy, too.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

February 5, 2016

Does the City’s Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Plan Actually Make Sense?

Like most grand, government-backed plans, yesterday's announcement by Mayor de Blasio that he'd be supporting a proposed Brooklyn-Queens streetcar was met with flashy renderings and promises of how underserved areas and populations would finally get the access they deserve, as would booming commercial hubs like the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Sunset Park. But Streetsblog dug a little deeper and came up with several reasons why the $2.5 billion project doesn't quite add up.
Find out why

February 5, 2016

Map Shows Where Foreign-Born New Yorkers Live

New York's immigration history is a long and complex one, and still today 37 percent of city residents are foreign-born. Using data from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey, the NYU Furman Center created this easy-to-read map that shows the top ten countries of origin, how many such New Yorkers there are (each dot represents 500 residents born in the respective country), and where they live (h/t Untapped).
The full map and more info

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Distinctive Homes

For $3.25M, this compact Boerum Hill townhouse goes beyond the condo alternative with three levels and a yard

$65M Sutton Place penthouse is highest on East Side waterfront

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

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

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

For $8.5M, this Gramercy townhouse is a slender slice of reclaimed history

An art historian's Village loft with pieces by Ai Weiwei and more asks $4.2M

For $3M, this two-family Crown Heights townhouse fills every available inch of space with great style

SHOP THE LISTING: Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy's $9.75M West Village townhouse is an all-season urban refuge

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

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February 5, 2016

A Congresswoman’s Quest to Bring Pandas to NYC; Governor’s Island Will Be Year-Round Attraction

Mapping Manhattan’s parking tickets by type of car. [CityLab] Representative Carolyn B. Maloney is on a mission to bring a pair of Chinese pandas to NYC, an obsession that would cost the city tens of millions of dollars. [NYT] Mayor de Blasio revealed plans to transform Governor’s Island into a year-round “center of culture, commerce and […]

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February 5, 2016

UES Townhouse With Hermès Leather Walls and Smoking Room Could Set Record at $84.5M

Somerset Partners’ Keith Rubenstein just put his 15,000-square-foot townhouse at 8 East 62nd Street on the market for $84.5 million, outdoing Carlos Slim's $80 million listing. The luxury-filled Upper East Side home is one of the city's priciest townhouse listings ever (h/t WSJ), and if it fetches the listing price it would set a Manhattan townhouse record, besting the Harkness Mansion’s 2006 $53 million sale. In addition to marquetry flooring inspired by those at Pavlovsk Palace in St. Petersburg, there are his and hers suites, a basement spa and gym, and a pretty unique modern art collection (see the massive KAWS bunny sculpture in the living room). Some off-the-wall features include red Hermès leather walls, a smoking room equipped with ventilation system, and a dressing room with a lighted handbag display and temperature-controlled fur vault.
Check out the rest of the zany house

February 5, 2016

432 Park Avenue’s First Recorded Sale Just Became Its First Listed Rental for $60K a Month

Less than a month after 432 Park Avenue recorded its first sale at $18,116,000, the first unit to close at the Billionaires' Row blockbuster has appeared on the rental market for $60,000 a month (h/t Curbed). As 6sqft previously reported, "The unit is #35B, a massive 4,003-square-foot, three-bedroom pad with four-and-a-half baths, a private elevator landing, and 10-foot by 10-foot windows providing southern and western exposures with park views." It was purchased via an LLC, 432 PARKVIEW, but now that it's been re-listed as a rental, it's also the first apartment whose interiors we get a peek at outside the generic, digitally-enhanced promotional images that accompany listings.
Take a look at the generic, non-digitally-enhanced interiors

February 5, 2016

Combine This Matched Pair of UES Townhouses for a $22M Mega-Mansion

Last year, three massive UES townhouses were marketed for megamansion potential and listed for $120 million, and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought this sprawling townhouse combo for his own makeshift manse. Now, here's an opportunity to combine a pair of more modest–though by no means small–late-1800s townhouses for an Upper East Side mansion of your own, albeit on–let's call it a more human scale (forgetting for a moment that some lucky human gets to live in 6,700 square feet with 38 feet of frontage.). When you first see this matched pair of houses side-by-side at 159-161 East 82nd Street, you're struck by their charm and how much they epitomize the neighborhood's tree-shaded, brownstone-lined blocks. The fact that both four-story homes are for sale as a package deal for $22 million presents a mind-boggling list of options. There are even alternate plans that show you where to put a cellar pool (plus a sauna and a gym)!
Take a look inside

February 5, 2016

Hamilton Heights’ PS 186 Kicks Off Affordable Housing Lottery Today, Starting at $508/Month

By Emrys Fitzgerald

Earlier this week, Curbed reported that one of the first affordable housing developments financed under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing plan will kick off its lottery today. The former school building at 525 West 145th Street in Hamilton Heights has been rehabbed into apartments and a community space and now goes by the name The Residences at PS 186. The project will bring 78 sure-to-be-sought-after affordable apartments to low- and middle-income households earning between $18,729 and $142,400 per year. In all, there will be 19 studio units, 47 one-bedrooms, and 12 two-bedrooms available for various income ranges and household sizes. The cheapest units will be two studio apartments priced at $508 per month, available for single-person households earning between $18,789 -$24,200. Half of the units will be set aside for local residents and five percent for city employees.
Lots more details and find out if you qualify

February 4, 2016

De Blasio to Announce $2.5B Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Line

Earlier in the month, 6sqft shared news of a detailed proposal from non-profit advocacy group Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector that called for a Brooklyn-Queens streetcar line to connect "underserved, but booming" areas of the boroughs. The city must've been listening, because Mayor de Blasio is expected to announce today in his State of the City speech that he'll be backing such a proposal. Like the original scheme, the city's plan will run 16 miles along the East River, from Astoria to Sunset Park, but at a projected cost of $2.5 billion, it will be significantly more expensive than the previous estimate of $1.7 billion, but significantly less than a new underground subway. Not only would the streetcars serve bustling commercial hubs like the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Long Island City, but they'd provide access for about 45,000 public-housing residents.
More details

Transit

They Paved Washington Square Park and Put Up a Parking Lot

Image via NYU Local

February 4, 2016

They Paved Washington Square Park and Put Up a Parking Lot

It's true: Washington Square Park was, in part, Washington Square parking lot. In the 1960s, at the peak of the nation's car culture fixation, the Greenwich Village park was put into use as a parking lot, until cars were finally banished altogether in the 1970s, when the large circular plaza around the fountain was added. Some say the parking lot was an effort to keep hippies from gathering in the beloved public space.
Find out more

February 4, 2016

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 2/4-2/10

By Lori Zimmer

In a city where hundreds of interesting happenings occur each week, it can be hard to pick and choose your way to a fulfilling life. Art Nerd‘s philosophy is a combination of observation, participation, education and of course a party to create the ultimate well-rounded week. Jump ahead for Art Nerd founder Lori Zimmer’s top picks for 6sqft readers! Get your rest, because there's a full week of art activities awaiting. First, hop over to the High Line to experience the new LED kinetic sculpture, then experience a giant cat judging you (as it should be) every night in Times Square for #MidnightMoment. Artist and lab anatomy instructor Frank Porcu shares his unique vision at the Lodge, and Jong Oh talks minimalism at Marc Straus–and then serves Korean food! Curator Jessica Holborn explores the healing power of the embrace, and Annika Connor talks about her new book and tips for artists navigating the rough and tough art world. Wait in line for standby tickets to see Grace Jones' 1982 "A One Man Show" at the Kitchen, then cozy up at the adorable Roger Smith Hotel for their winter art opening.
All the best events to check out here

Events & Things To Do

February 4, 2016

Extell’s 831-Foot-Tall One Manhattan Square Begins Its Climb Above Chinatown

Still in disbelief that a 68-story building (though it's being marketed as 80 stories) could rise at the edge of Chinatown? Well behold One Manhattan Square's construction site, buzzing with activity and flagged by a stalwart kangaroo crane foreshadowing the 850-foot-tall tower to come. Unlike the Chinese investment market, Extell's skyscraper is heading in one direction -- up. And after more than a year of site preparation and foundation work, the first pieces of re-bar have emerged from their mucky surrounds and are peaking above the lot's blue construction fences.
Get a look

Beautiful Coat Racks Made From the Burned Trunks of the Mangosteen Tree

By Rebecca Paul

As city dwellers, it's important to incorporate elements of nature into our daily lives so we don't become as stone-cold as the environment around us. That's just one of the many reasons we love this Yosemite Coat Rack made from the mangosteen tree, which bears the exotic purple fruit found in Indonesia. And who wouldn't want an enchanted forest greeting them at their front door?
The full story of the mangosteen tree

February 4, 2016

The History of Kossar’s Bialys; S.S. United States May Once Again Become a Cruise Ship

The New York Transit Museum is accepting proposals for PLATFORM, its cross-disciplinary program series. [NYTM] Explore the history of Kossar’s, NYC’s most famous bialy bakery. [Gothamist] A pneumatic waste-removal system is coming to the High Line. [CityLab] Confessions of a real estate agent in gentrifying Brooklyn. [Billfold] Crystal Cruises is optioning returning the historic S.S. United States back to […]

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February 4, 2016

Sarah Jessica Parker Peeps Shephard Condo Conversion in West Village

She's no Little Bo Peep, but according to the Post, SJP and hubby Matthew Broderick may be flocking to the Shephard, a new condo conversion at 275 West 10th Street. The 19th century warehouse and former rental building is in the process of being converted to luxury condominiums by Naftali Group. On a pretty tree-lined West Village street, the 38-unit Shephard boasts interior design by Gachot and oversized arched windows; a definite possibility for Parker would be one of three penthouses currently listed at the building, starting at $18.5 million. The pair sold their Greenwich Village townhouse for $18.25 million last year (they'd bought it for $19 million in 2011–and apparently never moved in.)
See what's cool about the Shephard

Celebrities

February 4, 2016

Rangers Goalie Henrik Lundqvist Sells Midtown West Penthouse for $5M

By Annie Doge

King Henrik (as Rangers fans call him) is leaving his Midtown West palace, as the Post reports that the world-famous Swedish hockey goalie has sold the penthouse at 310 West 52nd Street for $4,995,000. Lundqvist originally listed the 2,035-square-foot duplex for $6.5 million back in 2014, reportedly because he and his wife Therese are looking for a larger place downtown for themselves and their two daughters. The uber-contemporary and strangely purple decor is a bit surprising, considering Lundqvist often makes it onto "best dressed" and "most beautiful people" lists.
More right here

February 4, 2016

From a Former Babka Bakery Comes This Duplex Condo With the Original Timber Beams Intact

Like many loft buildings in Williamsburg, this one's got a very interesting history behind it. 234 North 9th Street, which dates back to 1915, was once owned by Sophia Zablowski, a baker. She used the site as an industrial warehouse bakery to make her popular Polish babka cake. The building was converted to 11 apartments in 2007–it's now known as the Sophia Lofts–and this one is on the market for $1.43 million. (To give you an idea of how pricy the neighborhood has become, this last sold in 2008 for $681,209.) The apartment still has many of the old warehouse details intact.
Take a look

Distinctive Homes

February 4, 2016

New Williamsburg Rentals Will Boast Galvanized Metal Exterior

Here's our first look at a 15,000-square-foot, four-story rental building anticipated for a small 5,000-square-foot lot in North Williamsburg. The development will expand upon an existing one-story garage at 202-204 North 10th Street, and ultimately carve out four duplex rentals. All units will have terraces, and the ground floor will house two retail spaces, one of which will be a restaurant. A rendering posted on Studio Esnal's website depicts the project clad in a simple galvanized metal skin with three rows of deeply inset square windows. Details of the flowering rainforest spilling from the roof are not provided.
More info ahead

February 3, 2016

Interactive Website Lets You Listen to New York City in the Roaring ’20s

We love looking at footage from 1920s New York City and watching the bustling street life from a bygone era, but we aren't nearly as familiar with its sounds. The Roaring Twenties, "an interactive exploration of the historical soundscape of New York City," created by historian Emily Thompson, compiles a wealth of historic data to re-create and share the city's sonic history, giving context to the sounds of the city in the 1920s and '30s. In an introduction, there’s a quote from a 1920 New York Times article that speaks of how the city was “defined by its din."
Learn what the site has to offer

February 3, 2016

First Look at the Bowery’s ‘Faux-Hostel’ Ace Hotel

Construction and engineering mega-firm HAKS brings the first full look at the Lower East Side's Ace Hotel, slated to open next year at 225 Bowery. The ten-story building was formerly the 101-year home of the Salvation Army Chinatown Shelter, which provided rooms, meals, and services to the city's homeless population until it shuttered in 2014. The 62,000-square-foot building was purchased for $30 million through a joint venture between the Omnia Group and North Wind Development Group. Building alteration permits were filed by Nataliya Donskoy of ND Architecture and approved that same year, and the historic structure is undergoing a complete gut-renovation and will be topped by a four-story rooftop addition.
More info ahead

February 3, 2016

Duplex in Historic Brooklyn Heights Co-op, Built for Manhattan Views, Asks $2.25M

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

2 Grace Court is one of the few cooperatives in Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood mostly filled with townhouses. Built in 1922-23 by the architect Mortimer Freehof, it was specifically constructed on an elevated site near the waterfront so the building would get commanding views of the New York Harbor and Manhattan skyline. And this is the best kind of apartment you could find in such a building: The three-bedroom corner duplex has 12 large windows, southern and western exposures, and views of the East River, Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan from every room.
See more of the interior

Distinctive Homes

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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

VIEW ALL

February 3, 2016

What New Yorkers Regret Most; City Launching Parking Meter Payment App

Meet the people who call New York’s affordable housing developments home. [Slate] New Yorkers share their regrets on a blackboard in Petrosino Square, and they all have one thing in common. [Good] The NFL’s history across the five boroughs. [Curbed] By the end of the year, drivers will be able to pay for all 85,000 metered parking […]

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February 3, 2016

POLL: Will an L Train Shutdown Affect Real Estate Prices?

For the past couple weeks, not a day has gone by without some mumbling about the possible L train shutdown. On Friday, 6sqft shared an interactive graph from NeighborhoodX that shows which other neighborhoods offer commute times similar to the L train stops and how their rents compare. This led many to wonder how, if at all, […]

Bronx Rail Yards Could Become a $500M Mega-Development

Concourse Yard, via Zach Summer/YouTube

February 3, 2016

Bronx Rail Yards Could Become a $500M Mega-Development

Back in September, Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. put forth a plan to transform an abandoned stretch of rail tracks in Mott Haven into a Lowline-style park. There hasn't been much in the way of updates since then, but now Diaz is turning his sights to another set of tracks, this one much larger and in the northwest Bronx. The Real Deal cites findings from the borough prez that claim the MTA's Concourse Yards, a 19-acre open-air subway depot, could be decked over to yield two million square feet of development rights, resulting in a mega-project like Hudson Yards. At an estimated cost of $350-$500 million (Hudson Yards cost $800 million by comparison), the project would require no rezoning and would be "a real opportunity to not only provide much-needed homeownership, mixed-income housing and retail space, but to allow Lehman College to expand by better connecting it to the Bedford Park neighborhood and making it a true community campus," according to Diaz's report.
More details

RKTB Architects Design Two New Affordable Housing Buildings in the Bronx

824 Saint Anne’s Avenue (L) and 345 Saint Anne’s Avenue (R); courtesy of RKTB Architects

February 3, 2016

RKTB Architects Design Two New Affordable Housing Buildings in the Bronx

Yesterday, the architecture world was abuzz with newly released renderings of Bjarke Ingels' NYPD station house in the Bronx. Nearby, a couple of other buildings are set to rise, and though they may not have the same starchitect cachet, they'll certainly attract some attention for the fact that together they'll offer 269 units of affordable housing. Designed by RKTB, the architects behind our favorite castle conversion at 455 Central Park West, the buildings are planned for Saint Anne's Avenue in the South Bronx, and their designs illustrate how far the city has come in raising the aesthetic quality of government-funded housing.
Find out all about the projects here

February 3, 2016

For $23 Million You Can Be Donald Trump’s Downstairs Neighbor

A sprawl-o-rama of a penthouse a few floors below the Donald’s Trump Tower apartment is on the market for $23 million, but you’re paying for dizzying views and a palatial floor plan, not proximity to the building’s progenitor–though he did once own the apartment back when it was home to his mom and pop. It’s also rumored (according to Page Six) that Trump rented the pad out to his pal Michael Jackson and his new bride Lisa Marie Presley for $110,000/month back in the day, so you’ve got all sorts of party tidbits to go with your ridiculously enormous apartment. And if your dream is to re-live the '80s like a boss (and by that we mean nonagenarian dowager), the 3,725-square-foot, four-bedroom pad is ready for your key in the door. Otherwise you might want to do a little renovation.
See the whole spread

Distinctive Homes

February 2, 2016

The Urban Lens: Documenting Gentrification’s Toll on the Mom-and-Pops of Greenwich Village

By James and Karla Murray

6sqft's new series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. To kick things off, award-winning authors and photographers James and Karla Murray bring us 15 years of images documenting the changing storefronts of Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Are you a photographer who'd like to see your work featured on 6sqft? Get in touch with us at [email protected] Bleecker Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenue South was once a huge Italian enclave with many traditional "mom and pop" stores catering to the large Italian families who resided in the neighborhood. By the late 1930s, it also had a significant bohemian population with many artists, writers, poets and musicians living in the area who set up galleries, coffee houses and music shops. Due to widespread gentrification and escalating real-estate values, the neighborhood has changed drastically and its unique appearance and character is suffering. We are here to take you on visual tour to experience how many of the truly authentic shops remain on this venerable Greenwich Village street, and to show you what has replaced the ones that have vanished. Many of the shops you'll encounter ahead have been featured with full-color photographs and insightful interviews with the store owners in three of our widely acclaimed books on the subject, but we've also rounded up several more ahead.
Walk the Greenwich Village of yesteryear and present

February 2, 2016

Bjarke Ingels Is Designing a $50M NYPD Station House in the South Bronx

Taking a break from his glitzy builds like the Via tetrahedron and 2 World Trade Center, starchitect Bjarke Ingels is taking on a project that is much more modest, yet just as laudable–a station house for the NYPD's 40th Precinct in the South Bronx (h/t Curbed). The $50 million commission, facilitated under the Department of Design and Construction, is located in the Melrose section of the borough and will resemble a "stack of bricks," according BIG's website, "referencing the rusticated bases of early NYC police stations." Spanning three stories, rising 59 feet, and encompassing 43,000 square feet, the precinct will be the first ever to include a green roof, not surprising considering Ingels' commitment to incorporating nature into his buildings.
More details ahead

February 2, 2016

S.S. United States Likely Coming to Manhattan, Where Will It Dock?

The S.S. United States, a rusting symbol of the country's maritime might, has evaded the scrapyard and is likely coming to a Manhattan location. The S.S. United States Conservancy will hold a press event on Thursday at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, revealing the 63-year-old ocean liner's future home. The conservancy sent out an S.O.S. to New Yorkers interested in rescuing the vessel and revamping its 600,000 square feet of space into a self-sustaining business. Prior visions have ranged from tech offices, hotel rooms, housing, entertainment spaces, museums, and a maritime school. The location of the press event, near the United States Lines’ former terminal at Pier 86, is a clear give-away that the ship will be relocated to the city. Previously the developers of the SuperPier project had expressed interest in docking the ship alongside Pier 57, and several years back an idea was floated to dock the ship further south alongside Pier 40. More recently, rumors have honed in on three locations: a Brooklyn pier within the Gowanus Bay Terminal in Red Hook; Pier 36 just north of the Manhattan Bridge; and an undisclosed Manhattan location that is likely on the west side.
The full story ahead

February 2, 2016

This Floating Persian Rug Is Actually a Sturdy Chair

By Rebecca Paul

If you're bored with all the standard seating options out there, this Carpet Chair will certainly perk you up. From Cyprus-based designer Stelios Mousarris, the wave-like furniture doubles as an optical illusion, taking on the form of a floating magic carpet, but functioning as a sturdy chair.
How does it do that?

February 2, 2016

Construction Update: BKSK Architects’ ‘Hi-Side’ Tower Goes Vertical on the Far West Side

BKSK Architects have designed a robust steel- and brick-faced building at 509 West 38th Street, slated to open in 2017. After a failed condo proposal, a foreclosure, and a developer switch, the project is finally ascending and is already seven stories out of the ground since we last checked a week ago. Dubbed "The Hi-Side," the 158,000-square-foot, mixed-use tower is being developed by investment firm Imperial Companies, who picked up the site from Iliad Development in an undisclosed deal. Fast forward nearly eight years, and a 30-floor, 345-foot building is rising at the site. Situated at the eastern block front of the future Hudson Park Boulevard, bands of ribbon windows along its western face will provide residents with sweeping views of the Hudson River. The base of the tower, which will feature a restaurant, is clad in a muscular rhythm of exposed steel, brick spandrels, and large multi-pane windows.
Find out more

February 2, 2016

Lofty Park Slope Co-op Boasts Double-Height Ceilings and a Spiral Staircase

Forget the brownstones with historic detailing that dominate Park Slope. This apartment, located at the co-op building 302 5th Avenue, is modernly renovated and downright lofty, with double-height ceilings and a raised space above the kitchen. The sleek spiral staircase also adds a contemporary touch. And with two bedrooms, 1,700 square feet over three floors, and a garden, there is plenty of room to spread out. The triplex has just hit the market for $1.5 million.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

February 2, 2016

East and West Side Bedbugs Are Not the Same; Staten Island Chuck Says Spring Is Coming

Weill Cornell scientists have mapped genetic differences in NYC’s bedbug population. They’ll use their findings to create more effective insecticides. [Crain’s] Peter Ruta is turning 98 this month. But the oldest living painter in Westbeth is still not getting his due. [Tablet] Thought last night’s 6 train commute was hell? Check out these pictures of 100,000 […]

Uncategorized

February 2, 2016

Escobedo Solíz Studio’s Wild ‘Woven’ Design Will Fill MoMA PS1’s Summer Courtyard

MoMA has announced that the Mexico City-based architecture firm Escobedo Solíz Studio was selected as the winner of the 2016 Young Architects Program (YAP). Chosen from five finalists, the winning project,"Weaving the Courtyard," will create a "temporary urban landscape" for the 2016 Warm Up summer music series in MoMA PS1's outdoor courtyard in Long Island City, beginning in early June. The site-specific architectural intervention will use the courtyard’s concrete walls to generate both sky and landscape, with embankments in which platforms of soil and water suggest the appearance of a unique topography. The architects describe their project as "neither an object nor a sculpture standing in the courtyard, but a series of simple, powerful actions that generate new and different atmospheres."
Find out more

February 2, 2016

$985K Renovated UWS Co-op Checks a Lot of Boxes; Just Hope You Don’t Have to Carry Them

When you’ve got a recently- and well-renovated three-bedroom co-op on the Upper West Side, a block from Central Park with low monthly fees, and it’s under $1 million, it’s pretty safe to say "this won’t last!" This fresh-faced, turn-key, pre-war home at 113 West 96th Street was just listed at $985,000, and while there are pros and cons, it looks like a super-comfortable place to live in a classic Manhattan neighborhood that gets an A-plus for convenience.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

February 1, 2016

Maya Angelou’s Historic Harlem Brownstone Lists for $5M

During the last decade of her life, author, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou split her time between Winston-Salem, NC (she taught American studies at Wake Forest University) and New York. While in the Northeast, she resided in an historic Harlem brownstone, located at 58 West 120th Street in the Mount Morris Park Historic District, according to the Times, which is now on the market for $5.1 million. The four-story home was built in the early 1900s, but when Dr. Angelou purchased it sight unseen in 2002, "it was a dilapidated shell...the victim of vandals, with missing stairs and rotting floor beams." She hired architect Marc Anderson of East Harlem-based firm M. Anderson Design to oversee a gut renovation that preserved the brownstone's historic details while adding contemporary amenities.
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February 1, 2016

How Do Rents at NYC’s First Micro Apartment Complex Compare to Regular Studios?

Just before the new year, listings went live for NYC's first micro apartment complex Carmel Place (aka My Micro NY aka 335 East 27th Street) in anticipation of its opening in March. The nine-story modular development in Kips Bay has 55 studios that are 260 to 360 square feet. Of these, 22 are affordable (more than 60,000 people applied for them), and they'll go from $950 to $1,500 a month depending on size and income. The remaining market-rate units will range from $2,500 to $2,900 per month, which has left many skeptics questioning why anyone would fork over nearly three grand for a space that is far smaller than conventional studios. To put this argument into an actual visualization, the data gurus over at NeighborhoodX created a simple, yet informative graph that compares the rental price per square foot at Carmel Place with that of regular studios across the city (h/t Curbed).
More here

Real Estate Trends

February 1, 2016

$3,400/Month Greenpoint Waterfront Mini-Loft Is Cozy and Cool With Killer Views

The once-sleepy waterfront neighborhood of Greenpoint is in the midst of a transformation into one of the most coveted and talked-about Brooklyn 'hoods. The Pencil Factory condominium at 122 West Street was one of the first conversions of the area's historic industrial buildings. Built in 1872 and expanded in 2012 from the original Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory complex, the name of the building was also used by artists, designers and other creatives who had studios in the building. The $3,400 per month rent may seem high for this sophisticated-yet-comfortable one-bedroom-plus pad, but with popularity comes higher rent.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

February 1, 2016

Windsor Terrace Home Plays With Patterned Accent Walls and Funky Decor

By Rebecca Paul

At first glance, it's the colorful design of this Windsor Terrace home that really catches the eye. But zoom in and you'll see that the aesthetic is more than just bold hues–it's patterned walls, textured art, text-based accents, and allover playful decor. The renovation was led by the design team at Rinaldi Interior Design, whose principal Kristina Rinaldi says she "tailors each project to the personality and interests of her clients." If that's the case, whoever is living in this cheerful Brooklyn home is definitely upbeat, fun, and doesn't take him or herself too seriously.
Lots more to see

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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Pace Gallery Files for New West Chelsea Building Designed by Bonetti/Kozerski Studio

Rendering of new building (L) and view of current site (R) via Weinberg Properties and Pace Gallery

February 1, 2016

Pace Gallery Files for New West Chelsea Building Designed by Bonetti/Kozerski Studio

Last week, Weinberg Properties filed building permits to construct an eight-story gallery and office building for Pace Gallery at 534-540 West 25th Street. Sited squarely in the Chelsea arts district between the High Line and Eleventh Avenue, the 50,000-square-foot structure will replace an existing one-story building that has served as Pace's flagship location. The renowned international contemporary art gallery has three other locations in the city, as well as outposts in Menlo Park, London, Beijing, and Hong Kong. According to a press release (PDF) from last spring, "Bonetti/Kozerski Studio, in coordination with Pace’s President Marc Glimcher, have conceived an exciting design concept that re-imagines the conventional functionality of a contemporary art gallery."
Get the scoop on the new design

February 1, 2016

Jeanne Gang’s FDNY Training Center; Derek Zoolander Wants a ‘Cure’ for Brooklyn

Starchitect Jeanne Gang is designing an FDNY training facility in Brownsville, Brooklyn. [ArchDaily] Staten Island Chuck vs. Punxsutawney Phil: Who’s the better forecaster? [DNAinfo] The city will cut helicopter traffic in half. [NYP] In a promo for the new movie, Derek Zoolander participates in Vogue’s 73 Questions. When asked his thoughts on Brooklyn, he says, […]

Uncategorized

February 1, 2016

$5M Penthouse Loft in Tribeca Flaunts Steel, Copper, and Lots of Brick

Now this is the type of apartment we would love to be trapped in during a snowstorm. There's a wood-burning fireplace underneath lofty 16-foot ceilings in this Tribeca penthouse, located at 58 Walker Street, not to mention a big pile of wood to keep the fire roaring. Plenty of leather furniture and exposed brick also help keep this sprawling space, 2,115 square feet over two different floors, feeling cozy. This apartment wouldn't be so bad in the summer, either, with 1,318 square feet of private roof space.
Take a look around

Distinctive Homes

February 1, 2016

Why Is There a Sixth-and-a-Half Avenue in Midtown?

If you've never heard of it, that may be because this quarter-mile, pedestrian-only street is nearly hidden among the office towers of Midtown. Sixth-and-a-Half Avenue was the first fractional street in the city’s grid system, created in 2012 by the Department of Transportation to encourage people to use the public plazas and covered areas that form a path between 51st Street to 57th Street.
So where is it?

Graphs Show How Skyscrapers Relate to Their Cities–and Whether We Need More of Them

Graph: The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

February 1, 2016

Graphs Show How Skyscrapers Relate to Their Cities–and Whether We Need More of Them