6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

We already know that there are plenty of areas within the five boroughs that are underserved by public transportation, but a new visualization provides an interesting perspective on how this lack of service is related to income. The simple infographic by FiveThirtyEight shows how New Yorkers commute based on income and access to public transportation, revealing five broad categories that range from those with no good options at all to those who have their choice of Uber or public transportation.
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September 1, 2015

President Obama Misses H&H Bagels; Are You Good Enough to Be a Tennis Line Judge?

The Pope will ride through Central Park during his NYC visit later this month. [Gothamist] Obama’s favorite bagel was a poppy seed with schmear from H&H. He used to walk to the famed, now-closed Upper West Side shop while a student at Columbia. [NYDN] And speaking of bagels, watch this video of artist Hanna Liden installing […]

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September 1, 2015

Building Permits Decline by 90 Percent Following Changes to the 421-a Program

Early last month, we reported that building permits were soaring to levels not seen since the 1960s. Now Crain's tells us that the trend has taken a sharp decline with permits plunging a whopping 90 percent from June. The numbers, which were pulled from the latest stats released by the U.S. Census Bureau, point to changes in the very generous tax breaks provided by the 421-a tax abatement program as the culprit.
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September 1, 2015

For $725K This One-Bedroom Chelsea Jewel-Box Is a Just-Right Downtown Dream

By Michelle Cohen

On a postcard-perfect tree-lined West Chelsea street, tucked among elegant, historic apartment buildings, this one-bedroom garden co-op at 433 West 24th Street has just what it takes to recharge and take refuge from the surrounding kaleidoscope of New York City life. The listing for this funky and fabulous flat offers no floor plan or square footage, but rooms appear well-designed to take advantage of the available living space–and look good doing it.
Tour the apartment here

Distinctive Homes

August 31, 2015

The UWS Apartment Babe Ruth Once Called Home Is Selling for $1.595M

Read about summer on Fire Island in the '60s

This apartment may not look like much, but baseball greatness once slept within its walls. The Upper West Side abode Babe Ruth called home at the end of his epic career is now on the market for $1.595 million. According to the Post, an open house held this weekend at the 345 West 88th Street address drew in over 50 people—a mix of folks looking buy, and surely those simply hoping for a glimpse into The Bambino's former digs.
More inside the Sultan of Swat's former home

New York in the ’60s: Beach Parties and Summer Houses on Fire Island

Our series “New York in the ’60s” is a memoir by a longtime New Yorker who moved to the city after college in 1960. Each installment will take us through her journey during a pivotal decade. From $90/month apartments to working in the real “Mad Men” world, we’ll explore the city through the eyes of a spunky, driven female. In our first two installments we visited her first apartment on the Upper East Side and saw how different and similar house hunting was 50 years ago. Then, we learned about her career at an advertising magazine… looking in on the Donald Drapers of the time. Now, in our fourth installment, we accompany her to Fire Island during the warm summer months.

August 31, 2015

New York in the ’60s: Beach Parties and Summer Houses on Fire Island

By Penelope Bareau

History

August 31, 2015

Whimsical Map Colorfully Details 400+ New York Icons

A couple weeks ago we dug up a map from the 1950s that offered up a mind-boggling menagerie of all things New York. With over 300 points of interest hand-illustrated in painstaking detail, we found ourselves overtaken with with awe. Now, comes yet another marvelous map courtesy of Rafael Esquer, founder of Soho’s Alfalfa Studio. His stunning depiction—aptly named Iconic New York™— is made up of over 400 hand-drawn city icons. A labor of love, the piece took Esquer an incredible two-and-a-half years to complete.
more on iconic New York™ here

Distinctive Homes

This $8.75M Village townhouse is a downtown dream home with an elevator, three terraces, and a rooftop office suite

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

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

A world traveler's Catskills haven is now a $2M mountaintop home

For $5.1M, this pretty Gramercy condo comes with a key to the private park

Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi lists Chelsea condo for $5.9M

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

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

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

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Dattner Architects’ Prismatic, Concrete Salt Shed Reveals Itself

Rendering of the Spring Street Salt Shed courtesy of Dattner Architects

August 31, 2015

Dattner Architects’ Prismatic, Concrete Salt Shed Reveals Itself

Summer is coming to a close, and in a few months we'll be navigating the city's treacherous streets perfecting our penguin waddles and fine-tuning our black ice magna-vision. This winter season, downtown Manhattan residents may find a sliver of comfort knowing that the rock salt used to mitigate slippery streets will be stored in one of the most grandiose salt sheds on Earth. Recently unshrouded, the Department of Sanitation's 67-foot-tall Spring Street Salt Shed flaunts a prismatic concrete facade evoking the intriguing faceted forms of salt crystals. The award-winning design, crafted by the public works masters at Dattner Architects and WXY Architecture + Urban Design, comes with a sizable price tag of $10 million. The structure was crowned the "Taj Mahal of Salt" back in 2010, noting that it cost more than nine recently constructed city salt sheds combined. Nevertheless, even in its unpolished state, we have to admit this riverfront iceberg is pretty captivating. And despite its utilitarian use, its form is well-worthy of its prime Hudson Square locale.
More renderings and info right this way

August 31, 2015

Own Julianne Moore’s Pond-Front Montauk Compound for $3.5M

According to Curbed Hamptons, Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore has listed her charming, pond-front Montauk home for $3,495,000. The lovely and surprisingly understated compound comes complete with a 1,000-square-foot cottage, gunite pool and pool cabana, and .69 acres of landscaped property overlooking Fort Pond.
Check out the A-list home here

August 31, 2015

Real Estate Dating Deal Breakers; Our Dangerous Love Affair with Fire Escapes

New Yorkers reveal their real estate dating deal breakers on camera. [BrickUnderground] “A fire escape should be an escape from fire; it shouldn’t be an escape from reality.” [NYT] Apartment hunting grief in five stages. [CityLab] The glass at the peak of the Empire State Building is being replaced. [WSJ] Images: Subway map (L); Fire […]

Real Estate Trends

August 31, 2015

BSC Architecture Simplifies a Park Slope Brownstone Redesign Through Subtraction

By Rebecca Paul

This 1899 Park Slope brownstone underwent an extensive renovation inspired by its new owners' desire to recreate their previous living space. Their former home was an airy, light-filled space with small private bedrooms adjacent to large communal areas, fostering a sense of family cohesion and intimacy. Unfortunately, their vision was contradictory to the existing Brooklyn structure. But these types of challenges can be a designer's greatest motivator, and the team from BSC Architecture took the test head on. Drawing inspiration from the words of Gordon Matta Clark, "a response to cosmetic design; completion through removal; completion through collapse; completion through emptiness,” the redesign was realized through a process of strategic removal.
More on this clever project here

August 31, 2015

Stay Warm with this Cool Brooklyn Map Wool Blanket

By Rebecca Paul

When you live in a place that's as exciting and culturally diverse as Brooklyn, neighborhood pride comes with the territory. This cool throw from UncommonGoods features a graphic vintage map of the beloved borough, and is the perfect accessory for giving your hood props, while also adding some cool new threads to your home decor.
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August 31, 2015

The Most Tourist-Hating Cities; How New York is Your Bagel Order

New art piece atop Clinton Hill’s Broken Angel Condo pays tribute to the building’s history. [Brownstoner] City Comptroller Scott Stringer wants to make Stonewall Inn a national monument for its role in the modern LGBTQ movement. [NYP] A tweet-based comparison shows that residents of Arlington, Texas hate tourists more than New Yorkers. [CityLab] The gentrifier’s guide […]

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August 31, 2015

Garden Floor Charm at this Boerum Hill Townhouse Rental, Asking $5,500 a Month

If you're in the market for a duplex rental apartment, you can't get any better than the parlor and the ground floor of a Brooklyn townhouse. For starters, you're getting lots of that historic interior charm, not to mention the big front windows and the high ceilings of the parlor floor. And with access to the garden floor comes with it access to the garden! This duplex rental, at 379 State Street in Boerum Hill, covers those very floors and yes, it has access to a private garden. It's now up for rent asking $5,500 a month.
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Distinctive Homes

August 31, 2015

Revealed: Floor Plans and Pricing for Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower

After progress crept along for nearly ten years, Jean Nouvel's highly anticipated MoMA Tower, officially known as 53W53, is now inching closer to the finish line. A year ago we got a peak at unofficial penthouse floorplans, and the first interior renderings were revealed in February, followed by a pre-sales-launch video of the interiors in May. Now, the Post has uncovered floorplans and pricing for three of the units in the 1,050-foot, 82-story asymmetrical tower. They include a 3,846-square-foot, 55th-floor three-bedroom asking $21.7 million; a smaller 55th-floor three-bedroom for $14.42 million; and a 4,362-square-foot, 72nd-floor three-bedroom duplex going for $39.2 million.
More floorplans and pricing

August 31, 2015

A Price Cut for a Gated Mansion in Jamaica Estates, Queens

Yes, you can live in a 6,500-square-foot, five bedroom mansion right in New York City. It's here, at 184-15 Hovendon Road in Jamaica Estates, Queens. The neighborhood is known for its large plots and spacious freestanding homes, but this property takes it to the next level. Not only is it gated in, but the interior is awash in marble, coffered ceilings and Venetian plaster walls. It's got a new asking price since it first hit the market last year, with a price chop down from $3.488 million to $3.388 million.
Check out this interior

Sensual HALO Lamp Waits for a Gentle Human Touch to Turn On

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

HALO is an object that appeals to our most basic instincts. It has no visible controls such as a dimmer or a switch. Designed by Icelandic designer Kjartan Oskarsson, this sculptural, minimal lamp requires a gentle human touch to brighten up. Simply tug on one of the strings to light up a room.
Learn more about the brilliant HALO Lamp

August 28, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: Courtside at the Century-Old West Side Tennis Club With Roland Meier and Bob Ingersole

By Susan Cohen

With the U.S. Open starting on Monday, tennis fever is once again sweeping across the city. Over the next two weeks, thousands of New Yorkers will hop on the 7 train or the Long Island Rail Road to watch the likes of Roger Federer and Serena Williams play in Flushing Meadows at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. However, prior to 1978, tennis players and fans found themselves playing and cheering at a different venue: The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. The West Side Tennis Club was the former home of the U.S. Open. Founded in 1892 in Manhattan, the club moved to Forest Hills in 1913, where it played host to many great moments in tennis history. Following the U.S. Open's relocation, The West Side Tennis Club faced a number of challenges and retreated from the spotlight. But after years under the radar, the club's president Roland Meier and tennis director Bob Ingersole are helping The West Side Tennis Club re-emerge as a major player on the tennis scene. We recently spoke with Roland and Bob to learn how history and modernity mix in Forest Hills.
Read our interview with the pair here

August 28, 2015

Want to Dine Al Fresco Tonight? This Interactive Map Shows All 1,357 Sidewalk Cafés in NYC

This time of year, who wants to eat inside? New Yorkers are constantly on the hunt for a great al fresco restaurant where they can snag a table and enjoy the warm weather and people watch. And with this handy new map from the city, picking a spot just got a whole lot easier. The interactive platform plots all 1,357 sidewalk cafés in the city, as well as how many outdoor tables and chairs are allowed, pending applications, license status, and health grades. But interestingly enough, the Department of Consumer Affairs didn't create the map to make life easier for foodies; they want to "boost transparency and reduce confusion surrounding the licensing process," according to Crain's.
Find out more

August 28, 2015

Enchanting 1930s Tudor Home Is Just $429K, but Also Way Out in Queens

Have you ever heard of Laurelton? If not, start Googling. It's a neighborhood in Queens where you can buy a single-family home for $429,000—a very impressive price in today's real estate market. It's a Tudor built in around 1930 with a charming exterior, unique details on the interior, a small front and back yard and a garage. Of course, at that price, you'll make some kind of sacrifice—it's not located anywhere near a subway station. But if you're in the market for an affordable single-family, don't write this one off.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

August 28, 2015

OKCupid Co-Founder Picks Up a Greenpoint Townhouse for $2.12M

A co-founder of everybody's favorite dating site OKCupid has just scooped up a sweet townhouse at 925 Lorimer Street in Greenpoint, according to property records just released. Christian Rudder—now a budding musician and father—was listed alongside his Bishop Allen bandmate Michael Tapper (also of We Are Scientists fame) on the sale. The home, which is described as "3,400 square feet of endless opportunities" is sure to offer the pair and their friends a "typical Friday night" that's anything but typical.
Have a closer look inside here

August 28, 2015

Decorate Your Home With Paintings of Hipster Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

Show your support for the Democratic party, or the presidents of Republican past, by outfitting your walls with these inked canvas prints from artist Amit Shimoni. In what he calls "Hipstory," Shimoni takes iconic political figures and gives them a complete makeover that dresses them in the clothing and hairstyles of today's trendiest millennial. In addition to a purple ombre-haired Hillary and tatted up Barack, others like JFK, George Washington and the Dalai Lama sport everything from nose rings to hoodies and gold chains–the typical hallmarks of the Bedford Avenue crowd.
See more of your favorite politicians hipsterized here

August 28, 2015

New Renderings of Fisher Brothers’ Curvy Murray Hill Rental at 225 East 39th Street

It's always a pleasure when a hulking above-ground parking garage bites the dust; this is not Miami after all, take the subway! And thanks to the legendary real estate firm Fisher Brothers, a soul-crushing 705-car parking garage at 225 East 39th Street was razed last year in preparation for an elegant 36-story rental tower. New renderings posted on the development firm's website illustrate how the tower may bring a bit of pizzazz to a rather un-glamorous section of Murray Hill. With completion scheduled for spring 2017, groundwork is well underway with sections of the foundation slab poured and steel rebar projecting skyward.
More on the project ahead

August 28, 2015

Upstate NY Wants to Secede; Meet the High-Rise Window Washers of Manhattan

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

An upstate group is holding a rally this Sunday to push for secession from the city, Long Island, and Rockland and Westchester counties. The actual reason may have to do with fracking. [DNAinfo] Mapping all 24 pedestrian plazas in NYC. [Curbed] Watch this mini-documentary about the life of Manhattan’s high-rise window washers. [New Yorker] This […]

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August 28, 2015

This Tiny Upper West Side Studio Knows How to Maximize Its Space

If you've got very little living space to work with, you have to be smart. That's the situation at this tiny studio apartment, located inside the Upper West Side co-op building at 327 West 85th Street. There's no square footage listed–probably because there isn't much to list–but it's basically an open living area and kitchen, with one closet and a bathroom. The current owner, however, has created a space that seems liveable and downright cute. It's currently asking $398,000.
See more

Distinctive Homes

Hudson Yards 7 Train Station Will Officially Open on September 13th

An aerial rendering of the new station

August 28, 2015

Hudson Yards 7 Train Station Will Officially Open on September 13th

We once had a friend who lived in midtown all the way over on 12th Avenue...and let's just say we rarely visited. But what was once a subway wasteland is finally getting its very own subway station. After years of delays, the new 7 train stop at 34th Street-Hudson Yards will officially open on September 13th, at 1:00pm to be exact. The extension from its current endpoint at Times Square has cost the city $2.4 billion since construction commenced in 2007.
More details

Transit

August 27, 2015

Before LaGuardia, There Was Glenn H. Curtiss Airport

Last month, Governor Cuomo revealed his $4 billion plan to overhaul LaGuardia Airport, the third-worst airport in the country that Vice President Biden recently likened to a third-world country. While today it's hard to imagine New York City without its sub-par airports (JFK is THE worst airport in the nation), they weren't always a fixture in the city. In fact, LaGuardia was preceded by a much more modest facility with links to world aviation history -- Glenn H. Curtiss Airport. It opened in 1929 as a private airfield off Flushing Bay; became a commercial airport called North Beach in 1935; and a decade later was changed to what we know today when then Mayor La Guardia wanted the city to have its own airport and not have to rely on Newark.
Get the full history right here

August 27, 2015

Duplex Loft in a Former Ping Pong Factory Asks $1.1 Million in Clinton Hill

110 Clifton Place, in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, is a prewar warehouse building that formerly housed a ping pong factory. Today, unsurprisingly, it's home to luxury loft apartments. This one is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom duplex with a whole lotta space—1,200 square feet to be exact—that also comes with its own private roof deck. The listing calls it "quintessential loft living" and we'd have to agree, with the high ceilings, spiral staircase and big windows. Its asking price? $1.1 million.
See more

Distinctive Homes

August 27, 2015

Here Is New York City Transformed Into a Colorful (Scale) Landscape of LEGO Blocks

Click here for a bigger version >> LEGO has for years been turning NYC landmarks into scale models that allow us to enjoy their architectural splendor at a more human scale. But here's an artist that's morphed the entire island of Manhattan, its surrounding boroughs, and all of its structures into a trippy visualization that lets us take in the city's topography from another vantage.
More on the image here

August 27, 2015

How to Deal with a Break-Up When You Share Real Estate; Penthouse Sale in Williamsburg Sets a Record

Things that you shouldn’t waste your money on. [BI] Dealing with a break-up in NYC when you share a home with your partner. [BU] The city will spend $100M to stormproof lower Manhattan. [NYDN] A $6.5M penthouse sale at the Oosten has set a record for Williamsburg. [Curbed] Bill Ackman—a.k.a. the owner of NYC’s second most expensive […]

Real Estate Trends

August 27, 2015

SUNplace: A Solar-Powered Mobile BBQ Concept for Cooking Al Fresco

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

Want to throw a Labor Day barbecue, but don't have any outdoor space? This mobile grill can be transported to the beach or park for the perfect al-fresco dinner party. SUNplace is a contemporary BBQ powered by the most basic, clean, and accessible source of free energy we have -- the sun. Conceptualized by the creative duo Francesca Lanzavecchia and Hunn Waithe, together making up the design firm Lanzavecchia-Wai, the table highlights both technical cooking and the social aspect that comes with it.
Learn more about this sun-powered grill

August 27, 2015

Construction Update: Loggia-Crowned Condominium Finally Rises Next to Bryant Park

Bryant Park is one of the city's most cherished spaces, providing a much-needed oasis from the stone and glass canyons of Midtown. But debuting in 2017, a mixed-use tower will grant home buyers their first opportunity to purchase condos directly alongside the ten-acre respite. Simply named the Bryant, the 200,000-square-foot building at 16 West 40th Street will house 57 condo units perched 200 feet above a five-star boutique hotel within the tower's lower levels. The 32-story, 361-foot-high building is being developed by the very-active HFZ Capital, led by Ziel Friedman, and is designed by renowned British architect David Chipperfield, with Stonehill & Taylor serving as the architects of record.
More details ahead

August 27, 2015

Taxi Industry Creates App to Compete with Uber; Mapping the City’s Shifting Art Gallery Scene

For the second year in a row, Lonely Planet names Queens the country’s #1 travel destination. [NYT] 50 things you didn’t know about Le Corbusier. [ArchDaily] To compete with Uber, the taxi industry has launched its own app. Called Arro, it will allow users to hail and pay for yellow and green cabs right on their […]

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August 27, 2015

Ultra Minimal Long Island Home Blurs the Lines Between Indoor and Outdoor

If you're going to live in the middle of nature in Amagansett, a hamlet on the south shore of Long Island, you want to be reminded of the beautiful outdoors as much as possible. That seems to be the inspiration behind this home built by the architecture firm Levenbetts, who designed this property for a couple and their teenage children. It's been dubbed the 36SML House and was designed as three connected wings—a wing for the couple, another wing for their kids, and yet another one for guests. A driveway cuts through the middle of the home, and there's a roof deck (with amphitheater seating!) on top. Each wing of the house also creates separate courtyard spaces to accommodate parking space, a vegetable garden, and a play area with a swimming pool. Thoroughly impressed by the exterior?
Now check out the interior

August 27, 2015

Soccer Star Andrea Pirlo Checks Out $30K/Month Lenox Hill Penthouse

Just a week after international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo bought an $18.5 million loft at the Trump Tower, another big-name footballer is looking to score some NYC real estate. The Post reports that Italian player Andrea Pirlo has checked out a $29,995/month penthouse at 205 East 59th Street, which makes sense as the midfielder joined the New York City Football Club just last month. The 2,700-square-foot Lenox Hill pad takes up the entire top floor of the luxury building and offers five outdoor spaces, massive windows, and 13-foot ceilings.
Take a look around the penthouse

August 27, 2015

REVEALED: First Look at Thor Equities’ Retail Jewel Box in Williamsburg

Last August, Joseph Sitt's Thor Equities purchased a string of Williamsburg properties for nearly $22 million with the intent of replacing the gritty row with a 10,000-square-foot retail jewel box. Now, Thor's website gives us our first look at what the prime property at the southeast corner of Berry and North 6th Streets may hold. The two renderings presented of 124-136 North 6th Street reveal a sleek, two-story building clad in brick and glass that could potentially house a half-dozen boutique retailers. According to the Observer, who first reported the deal last October, Thor is seeking a retail showroom and/or restaurant tenants. Above the spaces, the building may be topped with a gardened roof deck enclosed in trellises.
More details

August 26, 2015

See NYC’s Subway Lines Superimposed Over an Aerial Photo of the City

When we head underground and board the subway, most of us don't give much thought to all the streets and landmarks we'll be zipping past as we move along to our destination. But here’s an incredible mash-up from map enthusiast Anorian that offers a much different perspective on exactly where the subway travels. An amalgamation of digital photos taken from a commercial plane and the expert mapping of each line, this beautiful image is far more captivating and insightful than any printed or online map out there.
See more views here

Transit

August 26, 2015

Saudi Prince Is New Owner of Joan Rivers’ Lavish Penthouse, Will Undertake a Gut Renovation

Initial reports told us that Joan Rivers' opulent Upper East Side penthouse had sold for its asking price of $28 million to a Middle Eastern buyer. And now the Post confirms that the new owner is 65-year-old Saudi prince Muhammad bin Fahd. More newsworthy, though, is the fact that the prince plans to completely gut the 5,100-square-foot triplex, meaning it will lose its legendary gilded details that Rivers once called "Louis XIV meets Fred and Ginger."
Find out more

August 26, 2015

This Dramatic Downtown Triplex Loft Tells the Story of a Neighborhood’s Creative Past

By Michelle Cohen

Even from a glance at its facade, you could guess that 508 LaGuardia Place is a unique and historic structure. Located within the South Village Historic District, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation called it "perhaps the finest example of industrial architecture of the late 19th Century in the South Village." The available 5,000 square-foot, four bedroom upper triplex would be well-utilized as a live/work space, suitable for "tech or fashion companies to use as a work space that impresses." And you may indeed need startup funding to swing the $30K per month rent. The Romanesque Revival-style building has a history of creative residents that parallels the neighborhood's evolution through the second half of the 20th century. Built in 1891 as the H. H. Upham Company sign factory, the story of 508 LaGuardia Place is the story of Soho and Tribeca through the years when artists and photographers worked and lived in cavernous former factories and warehouses and did the heavy lifting required to carve out amazing spaces for themselves.
Find out how this former industrial building tells the story of the surrounding neighborhoods

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 8/27-9/2

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!

August 26, 2015

Art Nerd New York’s Top Event Picks for the Week, 8/27-9/2

By Lori Zimmer

Love art but can't afford to be a collector? This week, head over to Amy Li Projects on Mott Street with five bucks and something to screen print your very own Brian Leo piece on. I'm also sure you've seen a handful of European artists working hard on murals around the city, now check out this foreign collective's gallery show and party at Exit Room. In just a few days, you can get to know the New Museum's artist in residence Chelsea Knight as she shows off the fruits of her labor. And be sure to head to Governors Island on Friday to learn about the secret secrets of New York with urban explorer Moses Gates. For a blast from the past, end August in neon and spandex by celebrating the '80s with a week of films at Central Park and a special Michael Jackson-themed roller disco night in Brooklyn.
All the best events to check out here

Events & Things To Do

August 26, 2015

Is the U.A.E. Building a Massive Uptown Mansion?; The Priciest Cities for Singles and Families

The most expensive U.S. cities for single folks and families. [Wonkblog] Is the United Arab Emirates building a mega-mansion on the Upper East Side? The Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations has just closed on two neighboring buildings worth $47.25M. [NYDN] Here’s where Red Hook and Buttermilk Channel draw their names from. [Brownstoner] The world’s […]

Real Estate Trends

August 26, 2015

A Glassy, Modern Single-Family Home Asks $12,000 a Month in Williamsburg

If historic townhouses are not your thing, this single-family home has gone the modern route. Built in 2006, it's a 1,000-square-foot, four bedroom home located at 257 Berry Street in Williamsburg. The exterior is, of course, plenty glassy, and the interior is a more modern take on Williamsburg's older loft apartments. It is now on the rental market asking $12,000 a month.
Take a tour

Distinctive Homes

222 LES Tower + Lofts

222 East Broadway

Lower East Side

Art Deco romance meets 21st-century convenience

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

Learn More

August 26, 2015

City’s Next Floating Park May Be a Giant Food Forest

It seems the way to create new public spaces in New York these days is to float them in the rivers. First there was the +Pool, then Pier55, and now we introduce to you Swale, a floating food forest that may grace our waters next summer. The New York Observer reports that artist Mary Mattingly is looking to embark on the project, which will "be created with collaborators and built from repurposed shipping containers, will stretch 50 feet across and will feature a gangway entrance, walkways, and an edible forest garden." The floating garden will move around to different docks in the harbor to serve various communities. Local students and gardeners are working on a wetland plant base that will filter the river water to help grow edible plants.
More on the project ahead

August 26, 2015

Get Intimate With Your Morning Cup of Joe; The History of 4th Avenue’s Book Row

Single and lonely? The Kiss coffee cup lid can bring a little intimacy to your daily routine. [designboom] City Tech students created a prefabricated “apartment of the future,” which will compete in the 2015 Solar Decathalon. You can tour it now at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. [DNAinfo] The history of NYC’s lost Book Row on […]

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August 26, 2015

POLL: Should We Rip Out Times Square’s Pedestrian Plazas?

New Yorkers can’t stop talking about Mayor de Blasio’s idea to rip out Times Square’s pedestrian plazas, just six years after they were put in place under the Bloomberg administration. As a way to rid the tourist destination of “jiggly panhandlers,” both the Mayor and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton have suggested opening Times Square back up to […]

August 26, 2015

Handel Architects’ Luxurious ‘Amalfi’ Condo Tower Will Now Be Swanky Senior Living Pads

Here's a closer look at Handel Architects' design of a would-have-been condominium tower at 305 East 93rd Street, named The Amalfi. The five-parcel site located at the northeast corner of Second Avenue and East 93rd Street in Yorkville was slated to be developed by Merchants Hospitality until they recently bowed out to a senior living developer, Maplewood. Handel Architects' energetic design of staggering double-height windows, deeply set within a concrete frame was planned to rise a sheer 29-stories above Second Avenue. A lower four-story wing along 93rd Street would have been topped by an outdoor swimming pool. The tower's structural dynamism recalls the firm's recently finished rental tower, 170 Amsterdam on the Upper West Side, that flaunts a diagrid concrete exoskeleton. While the firm will remain the building's designers, it is unclear how much of the shown condominium design will be retained. Considering the project will now be re-tinkered for senior living, we're expecting a little less Amalfi and a bit more Fort Myers.
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August 26, 2015

Construction Update: Perch Harlem, Manhattan’s First Passive House Rental Building, Rises