6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

Though $3.8 million is no bargain for a two-bedroom apartment–even a 1,900 square-foot loft in pricey Tribeca–the layout of this sixth-floor penthouse at 38-40 North Moore Street gives it some unusual advantages. On the one hand there really isn’t a whole lot of "extra" space to play with; on the other, as it’s currently configured, the bedroom, bath and laundry portion of the home seems pleasantly sheltered and removed from the vast rectangular living/dining/entertaining area, conferring the feeling that it's a private wing for private life.
Take the tour

Distinctive Homes

January 29, 2016

Interactive Graph Compares L Train Commute Times and Rents With Other NYC Neighborhoods

We're hearing lots of anguish and anxiety over the possibility of an L subway shutdown for repairs for as long as a year or more, and we've taken a look at some possible solutions. Now, we've asked the real estate data geeks at NeighborhoodX to go a little deeper beneath the grumbling to find out just how much convenience can be had along that thin grey line, and how it stacks up against other neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. So which other neighborhoods offer commute times similar to the L train stops—and—just as important when choosing a neighborhood–how do their rents compare? And if you're living along the L, in light of the shutdown, what neighborhood alternatives do you have in the city that provide a similar commute?
Find out here

January 29, 2016

Design Firms Launch Kickstarter for Hyper-Accurate,12-Foot-Long Model of Manhattan

Could this become the coolest New York souvenir ever? Two Manhattan-based design firms, TO+WN Design and AJSNY, have teamed up to sell a model of Manhattan that will blow all the others out of the water. Using detailed aerial scans of the city, the firms created a 12-foot-long model of Manhattan that represents every last landmark, skyscraper, brownstone, park and event hall. Impressively, they've managed to replicate current-day Manhattan down to a 1:5000-scale–and they're calling their mini Manhattan a "Microscape." If you want a piece of this, you're not the only one. The project's Kickstarter, which recently launched with an $8,000 goal, is already more than $17,000 funded with 26 days left.
Learn more about the microscape

January 29, 2016

Donald Trump’s United Nations Tower Is the City’s Most Valuable Condo

He may have taken a hit last night with his anti-debate veterans rally, but Donald Trump has come out on top here in the city. The Real Deal analyzed the Department of Finance’s preliminary tax rolls and found that his Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza is the most valuable condo building in New York City based on tax collection purposes. "The 362 condo units in the Midtown East building, which Trump completed in 2001, have a total market value of $238.27 million in fiscal year 2016," they say. To boot, Trump Place at 220 Riverside Boulevard comes in eighth on the list.
See the other frontrunners

Real Estate Trends

Spotlight: Rita McMahon Brings Avian New Yorkers Back to Health at the Wild Bird Fund

Photo via Charles Chessler Photography

January 29, 2016

Spotlight: Rita McMahon Brings Avian New Yorkers Back to Health at the Wild Bird Fund

By Susan Cohen

When we think of bird life in New York, our minds usually wander to pesky pigeons, but there are actually 355 different species of wild birds who call the city home. A good number (pigeons, mourning doves, and mallard ducks, to name a few) are full-time residents, but there are also many who have the ultimate pied-a-terres, flying north to nest and raise babies in the spring or migrating south from the Arctic for the slightly warmer New York winters. For years, if these birds were injured or sick, there was little help available, but everything changed when Rita McMahon became involved in the rehabilitation of wild birds in 2002. What began for her as caring for pigeons and sparrows as a rehabber, progressively grew into a calling and eventually a career. Through the support and encouragement of the veterinarians at Animal General on the Upper West Side, she co-founded and became the director of the Wild Bird Fund in 2005, which was then located in her apartment. In 2012, the organization opened its own facility on the Upper West Side and last year treated approximately 3,500 birds. 6sqft recently spoke with Rita to learn more about New York’s wild birds, how the Wild Bird Fund helps them, and ways New Yorkers can be more attuned to their avian neighbors.
Read the interview here

January 29, 2016

Famous Magician Tries to Escape His Greenwich Village Apartment for $2.3M

By Annie Doge

Remember David Blaine –the magician who's pulled stunts like encasing himself in a block of ice for over 63 hours and sealing himself inside a plexiglass case for 44 days with no food? Well, apparently after all these wild endeavors he needed a nice, tranquil place to come home to. The Observer reports that Brooklyn-born Blaine has put his modern/cool Greenwich Village apartment on the market for $2.27 million. He bought the top-floor, corner two-bedroom unit at 41 Fifth Avenue back in 1998, just as he was gaining worldwide fame. And though he moved to Tribeca several years later, he's held onto the unit until now.
See the magician's hideaway

January 29, 2016

New Renderings of FXFOWLE’s Curving Harlem Condo, Circa Central Park

Since 6sqft checked in last November, Harlem's most anticipated condominium building, Circa Central Park, has wrapped up its structural frame and is preparing to be covered in its glass, metal, and brick skin. Now, as we await sales to officially launch, the building's designers, FXFOWLE Architects, give us our first full look at the building inside and out.
Lots more info and renderings

Distinctive Homes

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

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

This six-story $13.9M Upper West Side townhouse has all of life's luxuries under one roof, with an elevator to get there

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

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

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

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

For $700K, this parkside Brooklyn co-op adds dramatic design details to classic pre-war bones

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

For $20.5M, West Village townhouse meets suburban mansion behind a historic facade

VIEW ALL

January 29, 2016

This Classic Co-op Next to Carl Schurz Park Asks $2.795 Million

This stretch of East 86th Street, in the Yorkville area of the Upper East Side, is an attractive, quiet block that ends at Carl Schurz Park—home to Gracie Mansion and Mayor de Blasio. Along the way is this six-story, red brick co-op building with an elegant entrance at 519 East 86th Street. And the four-bedroom unit currently for sale there, asking $2.795 million, is just as lovely as the block outside. It's a classic prewar co-op with one of those drool-worthy, complex floor plans: a large foyer, four bedrooms, dedicated living and dining rooms, a mud room, an office, the works.
See it for yourself

Distinctive Homes

January 29, 2016

Inside a Queens Trapeze Class; Uber Trips Are Now 15 Percent Cheaper

Flying after 45: Meet the adults mastering trapeze classes at Circus Warehouse in Long Island City. [NYT] Comparing the real estate booms of Dumbo and the Upper East Side. [BK Mag] Don’t forget to vote in ArchDaily’s 2016 Building of the Year Awards! [ArchDaily] Jeremiah Moss thinks Bernie Sanders should be mayor of New York. [NYO] […]

Uncategorized

Image via Jason Farrar

January 29, 2016

Developers Rushed to Get Nearly 8,000 Permits Ahead of 421-a Tax Break Expiration

With the fate of the city's 421-a tax abatement remaining uncertain, developers scurried to obtain permits before the year's end, resulting in a number of permits granted in December that was more than four times the number issued the previous month, reports the Wall Street Journal. According to new U.S. Census figures, permits for 299 projects containing 7,781 residential housing units were granted during the month of December, indicating that as New York City’s most lucrative property-tax abatement approached its last hours, architects and developers rushed to get building permits and begin construction.
Find out more

Savanna Fund Files Permits to Demolish Billionaires’ Row Building

500-foot tall massing model depicted at the site. Image courtesy of CityRealty

January 29, 2016

Savanna Fund Files Permits to Demolish Billionaires’ Row Building

New York City-based real estate private equity firm Savanna Fund has filed permits with the Department of Buildings to demolish a 12-story, 36,000-square-foot office building at 106 West 56th Street. No plans for the 5,000-square-foot lot have been announced, but its location along Billionaires' Row and three blocks south of Central Park makes it well suited for another slender residential or hotel tower. The 50-foot by 100-foot lot is zoned at one of the city's highest as-of-right densities and could therefore yield a building of roughly 80,000 square feet of zoning area without any development rights transfers. Above 350 feet in height, north facing spaces would have partial views of Central Park.
More details ahead

New Developments

January 28, 2016

Comedian Louis C.K. Buys Third Unit in West Village Brownstone for $565K

By Annie Doge

Louis C.K. is a self-professed lover of the Village, and he's certainly putting his money where his mouth is, as he's just picked up a third unit at 345 West 4th Street, a ten-unit co-op. The comedian and his ex-wife, painter Alix Bailey, paid $564,900 for the country-charming studio, according to The Real Deal. The former couple (C.K. has spoken publicly about retaining a good relationship with his ex for the sake of his two daughters) bought their first unit in the building in 2006 for $250,000, and then another in 2013 for $475,000.
See the rest of the pad

January 28, 2016

NYC Creatives Pimp Out Their Pad on Airbnb With ‘Netflix and Chill’ Theme

With Valentine's Day approaching, the "Netflix and chill" pick-up line is going to be getting a lot of use, but this Airbnb listing takes the meme to a whole new level. New Yorkers Tom Galle, who works in advertising, artist Moises Sanabria, and Alyssa Davis, an engineer who works for Art404, have decked out Sanabria and Davis’s one-bedroom West Village apartment as a “Netflix and Chill” zone and put it on Airbnb for $400/night.
Any takers yet?

January 28, 2016

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week – 1/28-2/3

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! Last week's blizzard Jonas may have made a fun day for jumping in snow piles, but it put a total damper on a bevy of artists waiting to present themselves to the hungry art world. This week, make up for lost time at Last Rites' rescheduled Allison Sommers opening or the most popular winter pool party at the Grace Hotel, hosted by artist Annika Connor. Two LA artists with opposing views come together at Joseph Gross Gallery, while Katya Grokhovsky invites visitors to put their hands all over her exhibition. Peter Caine brings a pooping robotic Ronald Reagan to a gallery on the Lower East Side (enough said). Times Square Arts invites guests to meet their first artists in residence, and the Schomberg Center invites Basquiat fans to a talk relating his work to its effects on African Diasporic communities.
All the best events to check out here

Events & Things To Do

January 28, 2016

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Lincoln Center Tower, Units Start at $566/Month

Glenwood Management has just launched their affordable housing lottery for 52 below-market rate apartments within their soon-to-debut rental tower at 175 West 60th Street. Situated within the Lincoln Center area of the Upper West Side, 20 percent of the building's 257 units will be set aside for low-income residents and will range from $566/month studios to $931/month two-bedroom units.
Find out if you qualify

January 28, 2016

Keep Track of Your World Travels With This Colorful Scratch-off Map

By Rebecca Paul

Whether you spend your days hopping from one city to the next or save up your vacation time for an epic yearly adventure, traveling is a great way to regroup and relax. Every new destination means new memories, and who doesn't want to keep track of the journey along the way? These two maps from will help you do just that while also adding some worldly decor into your living space. Both the Scratch Map and Scratch Map Deluxe feature a fun scratch-off surface that reveal vivid bursts of color with just a few coin swipes.
Find out more here

City Mistakenly Gave Away $10M in Tax Rebates to Condos and Co-ops

In a city where time is money, it's hard to believe that for four years the city’s Finance Department was mistakenly giving away tax rebates reserved for residential condo and co-op owners to those that are corporate-owned, totaling more than $10 million between 2013 and 2016. The Post reports that the program gave out money to "indoor parking garages, gardens, cabanas and even storage spaces," as well as "three office buildings and two retail shops," according to a recent audit. More than 1,000 building owners were improperly awarded the tax abatements, accounting for up to 28.1 percent of their total annual tax bills.
How did it happen?

Policy

January 28, 2016

History of the High Line in 45 Seconds; 15 Ways to Cross a Slush Puddle

Take a 45-second journey through the history of the High Line. [Friends of the High Line] The long jump, the yogi, the leap of faith… the only 15 ways to cross a slush puddle. [TONY] Central Park’s Alice in Wonderland sculpture will be carved out of ice. [DNAinfo] Historic photos show unemployed men shoveling snow […]

Uncategorized

January 28, 2016

A Former Engraver’s Studio in Sniffen Court, Now a Townhouse, Asks $6.45 Million

Who wouldn't want to live in a townhouse with lots of interesting history, located in one of just a few private mews in New York City? Enter this listing at 156 East 36th Street, a Murray Hill townhouse that originally served as stables during the Civil War era, then was converted to an engraver's studio in 1915. The Romanesque building is also a part of the Sniffen Court Mews, which is blocked from the public by a private gate off East 36th Street. Sniffen Court was constructed between 1863 and 1864 as a collection of carriage houses–the off-street placement helped solve noise and odor issues related to the horses. The stables were in use until the early 1920s, when automobiles replaced horses, and eventually they were converted to residential.
Read more about this house

January 28, 2016

Rows of Bookshelves Under 11-Foot Ceilings Line This $2M Nomad Loft

There's no better apartment for a book lover than a loft. The open space and high ceilings are the perfect setting for rows of bookshelves, which also can serve as impromptu dividers throughout an apartment that lacks lots of walls. This lofty three bedroom at 50 West 29th Street in Nomad has a massive, open living and dining room that the owners are using almost like a library. There are tons of bookshelves under the 10-foot-9-inch ceilings, as well as a few used to break up the living and the dining areas.
Check out the rest of the space

Distinctive Homes

Harsenville to Carmansville: The Lost Villages of the Upper West Side

Via NYPL

January 27, 2016

Harsenville to Carmansville: The Lost Villages of the Upper West Side

In the 18th century, Bloomingdale Road (today's Broadway) connected the Upper West Side with the rest of the city. Unlike lower Manhattan, this area was still natural, with fertile soil and rolling landscapes, and before long, countryside villages began sprouting along the Hudson River. They were a combination of farms and grand estates and each functioned independently with their own schools and roads. 6sqft has uncovered the history of the five most prominent of these villages–Harsenville, Strycker's Bay, Bloomingdale Village, Manhattanville, and Carmansville. Though markers of their names remain here and there, the original functions and settings of these quaint settlements have been long lost.
Find out the history of these lost villages

History

January 27, 2016

This ‘Map of Every City’ in the World Is Hilariously Spot On

Click here for the full-size version >> This “Map of Every City,” penned by Chaz Hutton (via Big Think) supplies us with a bite-sized answer to the question we’ve probably all asked at one time or another -- why do all major cities seem to be carbon copies of one another? And chances are there's at least one burg in your borough that fits the description of "Cool Area That Your Parents Would Have Avoided in the '80s."
Look familiar? Check out the full-size map here

City Living

January 27, 2016

Facebook Co-Founder Revealed As Buyer of $23.5M West Village Townhouse With an Underground Tunnel

By Annie Doge

When it was revealed last week that Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes sold his massive Soho loft for $8.5 million, it was also speculated that he and husband Sean Eldridge were the buyers of a $23.5 million West Village townhouse. When that sale hit records in September, the name on the deed was revealed as Tom van Loben Sels, the same person behind the recent Soho transaction. The Post now confirms through their sources that the power couple are in fact the lucky new owners of the historic home at 157 West 12th Street. According to the paper, the landmarked home has an underground tunnel. The ten-foot-wide and "well-lit" passageway apparently has "no tunnel feel at all" and starts in the home's finished basement, ending at a staircase that leads to the carriage house that can be used as a guest house. Other perks of the three-bedroom, 4,164-square-foot spread include a wine cellar, home theater, wood-burning fireplace, exposed brick, 19th-century columns, and a "book-lined library" (likely a selling point considering the men had a similar room in their last place).
More here

Real Estate Trends

January 27, 2016

The USB Typewriter Brings the Old-School Word Processor Into the Digital Age

By Rebecca Paul

While functionally the typewriter is no longer necessary to get words onto paper, the aesthetic appeal of the old-school word processor is timeless. In addition to their retro good looks, typewriters are also fun to use, providing us with an ongoing sense of accomplishment as the carriage slides back into place with each new line of copy. Since the same cannot be said for our fancy computers, smartphones, and tablets, Philadelphia-based designer and engineer Jack Zylkin created the USB Typewriter to bring back the days when creating words and sentences also meant creating sound and movement.
Find out more ahead

Policy
Shop

January 27, 2016

Intergalactic Mill Basin Mansion Returns for $17M With a Two-for-One Deal

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

The StarMansion from “Star Trek: Mill Basin” has landed on the market once again after few interplanetary laps–one of which included a precipitous price-drop from $30 million to $17 million in 2014–this time even bigger and better with some stellar cargo added. The slightly notorious former mob manse currently belonging to the family of “the Russian-American Paris Hilton” (h/t Curbed) is also the one-time second-most expensive home in Brooklyn (after this massive pad at One Brooklyn Bridge Park). With some seriously tricked-out custom interiors and features like a "circular meditation room,” 257 feet of waterfront, indoor parking for six cars, a Lalique fireplace mantel, 1,000-square-foot pool, spa, outdoor pavilion with kitchen, three-boat marina and water views from every room, the waterfront mansion is still asking $17 million, but with a sweet two-for-one deal attached: The next-door “guest house” property–formerly listed at $8 million–is included in the price.
Take the journey

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

VIEW ALL

In 1933, a Ham Sandwich Cost 25 Cents at the Empire State Building Observatory

Click here to enlarge menu >>

January 27, 2016

In 1933, a Ham Sandwich Cost 25 Cents at the Empire State Building Observatory

Today, the only thing you'll be spending money on when you travel to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building is the $50+ Observation Deck ticket. But back in the '30s, it was a much more glamorous experience, complete with the Empire State Observatory Fountain and Tea Room. The New York Public Library recently digitized 18,000 of its 40,000 restaurant menus, which range from 1851 to 2008, including this one from the Empire State Building in 1933. As you'll see, sandwiches (ham, peanut butter, and tomato and lettuce, to name a few) were a mere 25 cents, the same price as their six types of ice cream sundaes and ten flavored sodas. In terms of actual food, your only choice other than a sandwich would've been a pretty blah-sounding salad, some pastries, or a selection of "candy and cigarettes."
More right this way

January 27, 2016

Photo of an Organic Potato Sells for $1M; New Animated HBO Show Focuses on NYC Animals

Celebrity photographer Kevin Abosch decided to photograph an organic potato against a black backdrop…. and got $1 million for it. [NYDN] Rose the albino rat, who gained fame when she made an appearance in the play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” has died. [NYT] A new animated show on HBO features “unexpected tales of […]

Uncategorized

January 27, 2016

POLL: Will Open Gangway Subway Trains Be a Success in NYC?

New Yorkers are notoriously hard to impress, so it’s not surprising that some are finding fault with the MTA’s proposed open gangway subway trains, which are pretty much the norm everywhere else in the world. Despite the fact that they’ll reduce congestion and platform pileups, as well as reportedly increase safety, jaded city dwellers fear […]

January 27, 2016

$33K/Month Penthouse With a Custom Koi Pond Is a Bit of Bay Ridge in Trendy Tribeca

If you've always dreamed of interior features like a "dramatic floating staircase rising a full three stories from a custom koi pond," a dangerously high number of marble-covered surfaces, and lots of shiny lacquered wood, but didn’t want to give up the sophisticated surroundings of Manhattan’s downtown Gold Coast, this triplex penthouse atop the striking 19th century brick building at 11 Vestry Street could be your jacuzzi-positive dream apartment. For $33,000 a month, this super-luxe Tribeca rental has undeniable perks–like four different outdoor spaces with amazing views–and a few opulent additions that are usually reserved for more far-out 'hoods like Bay Ridge.
See more of this marble-clad pad

Distinctive Homes

There’s a James Turrell Light Installation Hidden in This Midtown Office

Turrell’s installation at the Guggenheim via flickr CC

January 26, 2016

There’s a James Turrell Light Installation Hidden in This Midtown Office

You may have thought your company's new espresso machine was fancy, but it's got nothing on this trippy new sculpture hidden in a Midtown office. Designed by famed light installation artist James Turrell (you may remember his wildly popular "Aten Reign" that filled the Guggenheim's rotunda with shifting artificial and natural light a couple years ago), "Three Saros" is a 24-foot, two-story volume that "transports spectators into an ethereal, prismatic sea of light"—likely also reducing smoking breaks and water cooler kvetching.
More on the work here

January 26, 2016

Mapping World Cities That Already Have Open Gangway Subway Trains

Click here to enlarge map >> Just yesterday, the MTA revealed renderings of what their open gangway subway prototypes will look like. As 6sqft previsouly reported, when it was announced that the new trains got a $52.4 million piece of the MTA's capital plan, "This type of train, basically one long subway car with no doors in between, is popular all over the world, in most cities in China and Japan, in Berlin, Paris, and London, to name a few." So just how far behind the times is New York City? An informative new map from The Transport Politic, which plots the cities in which riders can walk between cars, says pretty far.
Find out more

January 26, 2016

Beautiful Brick and Wood Make This West Village Rental Beyond Cozy

If any "Sex and the City" fans out there have lingering dreams of renting a lovely apartment in a West Village brownstone, this two-bedroom unit is looking promising. (Only steps from Magnolia Bakery, the listing says!) It's a fourth-floor walkup on the top-floor of the brownstone at 283 West 11th Street. Once inside, it isn't hard to warm up to this apartment, with its fireplace, exposed brick, and overall charm. Plus, there's a roof deck, which is shared by the building, right above you. It is now on the rental market for $5,600 a month—so sadly no, not a rent most freelance writers like Carrie could afford.
Take a look around

January 26, 2016

Sebastian Errazuriz’s Meticulously Crafted Chest Is an Interactive ‘Mahogani Explosion’

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

If you read 6sqft regularly, you probably know by now that we can't get enough of New York designer Sebastian Errazuriz's industrial designs. We've previously featured his quirky, spiky-skinned chest, a giant golden cow piñata on show in Sunset Park, and more recently, his yawning video installation looping in Times Square. If you haven't tired of him yet, get ready for another of his fantastical creations: Mahogani Explosion, a seemingly boring wooden chest that "explodes" to the sides as it’s opened.
Learn more about this explosive cabinet

January 26, 2016

Architecture-Inspired Rings Are City Skylines; Why Jerry Stiller Loves the UWS

Wrap your city’s skyline around your finger with these architecture-inspired rings. [Design Milk] Famed actor Jerry Stiller shares why he chooses to live on the Upper West Side. [West Side Rag] You can help name Hudson Yard’s park. [DNAinfo] Time-lapse video shows 13 hours of superstorm Jonas covering New York City in just 90 seconds. [Tech […]

Uncategorized

January 26, 2016

What to Do if Your Sidewalk Hasn’t Been Shoveled

If you're trying to get somewhere this week and there's a mountain of snow left by the weekend storm in your path, Mayor de Blasio wants to help. On Monday, in response to complaints about businesses with unplowed sidewalks, the mayor said that the city would "definitely be focusing today on businesses that aren't doing that–we will be applying fines to any business that does not shovel out” (h/t DNAinfo). City code states that "every owner, property manager, tenant or other individual in charge of a lot or building must clean snow and ice from the sidewalks in front, on the side of and in back of their properties within a certain time frame." The snow officially stopped falling at 3:30am on Sunday, meaning that anyone with shoveling to do had until 11 a.m. Monday to get the job done before the possibility of getting hit with fines.
So whose job is it, anyway?

January 26, 2016

$25K a Month Is the Price of Near-Perfection in This West Village Townhouse Triplex

Sometimes with listings, pictures just speak for themselves. This 2,250-square-foot West Village townhouse triplex at 407 Bleecker Street is a fine example. In addition to being in one of the city’s most covetable neighborhoods, this pretty, historic home checks all the boxes that might be on a tenant wish list. Modern but not aggressively so, grand without ostentation—the $25,000 a month rental price doesn’t surprise, though it might well put the three-plus-bedroom home out of reach for many. One might just bring up the fact that you’re not, in fact, getting the whole house; there’s a retail store at the street level, and the home is on the three floors above. There’s no yard (though there’s a sun deck, which really is just as good); the oodles of recessed lighting and ceiling speakers might not be to everyone’s taste–but then again you’re not buying the house. At 2,250 square feet it’s not exactly huge. But by Manhattan standards it's palatial.
See what else this townhouse has going for it

Distinctive Homes

January 26, 2016

Could This Modern Residential Tower Replace the Historic Barney’s Building at 115 Seventh Avenue?

Bargain hunters were distraught when Loehmann's shuttered their NYC locations two years ago. It perhaps hit hardest at their Chelsea location, at the northeast corner of 16th Street and Seventh Avenue. Later that year it was announced that upscale retailer Barney's would be opening a five-level store in the space, which also happens to be the site where they were founded in 1923, and remained until 2007. Next door, at the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and 16th Street, also once part of Barney's downtown flagship, 6sqft has uncovered a rendering showing a modern residential tower with a retail base that may replace the historic Romanesque-style building.
Get the full story right here

January 25, 2016

Maisonette Meets Loft in This Central Williamsburg Duplex Asking $5,500 a Month

This duplex apartment at the Sophia Lofts at 234 North Ninth Street, a former bakery converted to 11 loft residences in 2007, has a private entrance on Williamsburg's bustling crossroads of Roebling Street. You can come and go as you like from your own slice of prime 'burg, a 1,480 square-foot duplex that will put you right in the middle of where all the action is, for $5,500 a month. The interiors are loft all the way, though there are plenty of custom comforts and chic additions that give the classic converted space a distinct modern personality.
See what's inside

Distinctive Homes

January 25, 2016

QUIZ: Answer 9 Questions to Find Out Which NYC Neighborhoods Best Match Your Lifestyle

Some of us are all too familiar with matching services where you provide info about yourself and you get back a list of, er, interesting possibilities. But sorting data to find your ideal neighborhood match could be especially helpful when home-hunting in New York City, given the mind-boggling set of choices–it makes sense to get potential picks from things that actually exist (like parks and grocery stores), rather than being hopefully embellished. From the neighborhood data entrepreneurs at PlaceILive comes match.placeilive.com, a newly-launched lifestyle-based home finder that matches you with your ideal New York City neighborhoods based on your answers to nine quick questions.
Find out which neighborhood's right for you

City Living

January 25, 2016

Download Ikea’s Adult Coloring Book for Free!

By Rebecca Paul

Adult coloring books are all the rage these days and we couldn't be happier. While there are many different types available for purchase (check out this coloring book-notebook combo or this architectural-inspired rendition), Ikea has just released their own version, which is free to download (h/t Curbed). From decorative houseplants to POÄNG chairs and KALLAX shelving units, each of the five pages includes a collection of Ikea products arranged in fun geometric patterns.
READ MORE

January 25, 2016

Tour the Guggenheim and Its New Exhibit Through Google Street View

The wonders of Google Maps have gotten us into some pretty amazing places, such as the uber-private Gramercy Park and a tourist-less version of the holiday window displays. Now, the Street View team has granted exclusive access to the Guggenheim (h/t ArchDaily). Not only does the technology let users tour the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed spiraling rotunda, but it allows one to browse through the artworks currently on display.
Find out more

January 25, 2016

Greenpoint’s ‘Boutique Winter Igloo’; First Look at the MTA’s Open Gangway Subways

The time New York banned women from smoking. [Mental Floss] In an effort to increase capacity, the MTA has proposed open gangway subway cars. Here’s a first look at the conceptual rendering. [Second Avenue Sagas] Check out these floating bonsai trees. [HypeBeast] Did you see the $200/night Greenpoint igloo that went up on Airbnb this […]

Uncategorized

January 25, 2016

NYC’s 190 Miles of Scaffolding a Result of ’80s Law and Billion Dollar Industry

It definitely seems that every day, more of New York City is covered by the ubiquitous wood and steel building shed scaffolding, making daily life an urban obstacle course of weaving and tunnel trekking. It's not just your imagination: Currently there are almost 9,000 sheds camped out over city streets, reports Crains, based on numbers from the Department of Buildings, up from around 3,500 in 2003. That adds up to 190 miles–one million linear feet—worth of sheds, enough to encircle Manhattan six times. The city’s maze of construction sheds are the result of a 1980s law and a billion dollar industry that keeps growing. "New York is insatiable right now when it comes to sheds," says George Mihalko, a shed-equipment supplier. "I've never seen anything like it in 30 years." This demand is driven in part by the new wave of construction spurred by the city's building boom. But there is apparently another, more important reason.
Why don't the sheds ever go away?

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

Learn More

January 25, 2016

First Look at JDS Development’s Boutique Condos Coming to Williamsburg

By Heather Cooper Vivares

Near the Williamsburg waterfront and steps away from Bushwick Inlet Park (home to the famed Smorgasburg), Largo Investments and minority partner JDS Development have hatched plans to build a boutique condominium building at 71-73 North 7th Street. The four-story, 15,000-square-foot development will expand upon the structural bones of an existing single-story building, ultimately creating four capacious apartments.
More details on the project

January 25, 2016

Affordable Housing Lottery Starts Today for Nine New Units in Prime Harlem, From $802/Month

The affordable housing lottery for 2049 5th Avenue in central Harlem opens today, and the nine brand new units range from $802/month studios to $2,175/month two-bedrooms, according to the NYC HPD. The address, located just north of 126th Street, was mired in controversy a few years back when tenants sued owners West Harlem Group Assistance for injuries sustained in what they called a crumbling, unkempt building. At the time, the local nonprofit owned about 45 buildings, but 2049 5th Avenue was cited as the worst, with claims of leaky ceilings, no heat, collapsing walls, and broken pipes. In December, 2014, the building finally underwent a gut renovation, which includes these affordable apartments.
Find out if you qualify for the new units

Affordable Housing

January 25, 2016

Chelsea Loft Designed by Award-Winning SYSTEMarchitects Wants $2M

This two-bedroom live/work loft comes from 249 West 29th Street, a prewar Chelsea co-op built in 1929. The building may be older, but this particular loft, now on the market for $2.15 million, is quite modern. It was designed by SYSTEMarchitects, a prominent firm that's won awards everywhere from the American Institute of Architects to the Museum of Modern Art. They also designed this other Chelsea loft, distinguished by a wood boat hull that was built out in the mezzanine. There's nothing quite as striking in this loft, although it does have a very interesting design element in the master bedroom.
See what it is

Distinctive Homes

January 24, 2016

A New York Minute With Veselka Restaurant Owner Tom Birchard