6sqft | NYC local news, events, and apartments

Famed artist Abby Leigh has listed her five-story townhome at 49 East 68th Street for $38 million. The 25-foot wide, 12,500 square-foot red brick limestone townhome sets itself apart right at the entrance, boasting a ground-floor round arched arcade that was more commonly seen among commercial buildings of its time. And inside you can catch glimpses of Leigh's own artwork, which can also be found exhibited at the Met, the Guggenheim, the Whitney, and internationally.
Let's have a look inside

Distinctive Homes

Rent Stabilization Demystified: Know the Rules, Your Rights, and if You’re Getting Cheated

Image by Jorbasa Fotografie / Flickr

March 24, 2015

Rent Stabilization Demystified: Know the Rules, Your Rights, and if You’re Getting Cheated

By Michelle Cohen

In New York City there are currently about one million rent stabilized apartments–about 47 percent of the city’s rental units. So why is it so hard to snag one? What are the benefits of having one (other than affordable rent, of course)? According to the New York City Rent Guidelines Board nearly 250,000 rental units have lost the protections of rent regulation since 1994. Why are we "losing" so many of them?
Find out the facts and how they could affect you

Are You Considered ‘Middle Class’ in NYC?

Image via 6sqft flickr

March 24, 2015

Are You Considered ‘Middle Class’ in NYC?

Following up on our recent post taking a look at how much you need to earn to be considered "rich" where you live, here's a brand new study by Quoctrung Bui of NPR's Planet Money which investigates what's considered "middle class" in the United States. Although most Americans would humbly identify themselves as median earners, whether they're raking in $30K or $300K, there are actually benchmarks for this segment of the population. But as you may have guessed, they vary greatly depending on where you live.
Find out where you stack up here

City Living

March 24, 2015

Enjoy 50 Shades of Grey Brick in This Lovely Upper West Side Pad Asking $715K

Something about this charming Upper West Side pad just won us over from the start, and we’re thinking it has something to do with the gray exposed brick. This two-bedroom apartment at 316 West 82nd Street has some prewar charm and a split floor plan, all for $715,000.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

March 24, 2015

Live in a Sprawling Queens Mansion; Things to Consider Before Subletting

Some very important things to take into account before subletting your apartment. [BU] A sprawling Jamaica Estates mansion in Queens has hit the market for $3.49M. [Brownstoner Queens] A 100-acre manufacturing area in northern Inwood is being eyed for rezoning for housing and tech. [Curbed] New $200 million, 14-mile bus route unveiled for Queens. [NYDN] Robert Durst linked to yet […]

Real Estate Trends

March 24, 2015

Smart Street Furniture Responds to the Needs of the Blind, Elderly and More

Bullet trains, self-driving cars, autonomous people-moving pods, windowless jets with panoramic views of what's outside—transportation is without question rapidly evolving, but at the more basic level, infrastructure remains relatively unchanged in most major cities. The design of street lamps, crosswalks and other street furniture is generally a one-size-fits-all game that follows the needs of the average user, but the reality is that it takes far longer for an elderly woman to make her way across a busy intersection than it does a teen. Enter UK designers Ross Atkin and Jonathan Scott of RAA who have developed a system of “responsive street furniture” that adapts to the needs of the people using them. This means if you need more light, the street lamps will adjust. More time to cross? Done. Need to rest? A seat will unlock. And when a blind person walks past a streetlight, the post will read out the name of the store in front to help them orient themselves. So how does it work?
More about the high tech street furniture here

VIDEO: The Fascinating History of the Manhattan Municipal Building

The Manhattan Municipal Building toward the end of construction in 1913, via Shorpy

March 24, 2015

VIDEO: The Fascinating History of the Manhattan Municipal Building

When we think of the city's early skyscrapers, landmarks like the Woolworth Building and Flatiron Building usually come to mind. But there's an equally fascinating and beautiful icon that often gets overlooked–the 1914 Manhattan Municipal Building. One of New York's first skyscrapers, the 580-foot Beaux Arts masterpiece influenced civic construction throughout the country and served as the prototype for Chicago's Wrigley Building and Cleveland's Terminal Tower, among others. A new video from Blueprint NYC (produced by the Office of NYCMedia) takes us into this historic structure, discussing everything from the reason for construction (after the 1898 consolidation of the five boroughs, there was a need for increased governmental office space) to interesting factoids (the building was designed from a rejected sketch of Grand Central Terminal Station) to the turn-of-the-century innovations that made this unique structure possible.
Watch the video

History

March 24, 2015

Scale the City’s Tallest Building for a Good Cause; Imaginative Forgotten Plans for NYC

Visiting a hidden shoe repair shop in Grand Central. [Jeremiah’s Vanishing NY] Climb all 180 flights of stairs of One World Trade Center to support the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Captain Billy Burke Foundation, charities that help the families of 9/11 first responders and military veterans. [amNY] Astoria residents mourn the city’s decision […]

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Distinctive Homes

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

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

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

$4.5M Central Park West duplex in Hotel des Artistes gets color just right

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

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

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

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

Bill Murray's former Snedens Landing home asks $3.7M

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

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March 24, 2015

Beautifully Renovated $1.5M Colonial in Forest Hills Is Not Far to Go for Room to Grow

While many welcome the opportunity to raise a family in the heart of New York City, others eventually seek the slower pace and solitude of the suburbs right around the time their first little bundle comes along. But part of the magic of the city we love is that you don’t ever have to venture outside of the five boroughs to find room to grow yet still be a hop, skip, and a jump from "civilization." One of those places is Forest Hills in Queens, and this lovingly maintained and beautifully renovated Colonial at 108-18 69th Road has all the space you need even if you don’t plan on sharing it with anyone else any time soon. At 2,000 square feet, it’s not too overwhelming for one or two, but has the requisite “room-to-grow” if a few new family members–or roommates–make an appearance.
See more of this beautiful home

Distinctive Homes

Manhattan BP Gale Brewer Unveils Plan to Save Small Businesses in NYC

Papaya King, a dying small business breed, via Papaya King via photopin (license)

March 24, 2015

Manhattan BP Gale Brewer Unveils Plan to Save Small Businesses in NYC

Yesterday, standing inside the Upper West Side's Halal Guys restaurant, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer unveiled her "Small Business Big Impact: Opportunity for Manhattan Storefronts" report (PDF), which outlines ideas to help small businesses survive and thrive in a city where even Starbucks can't afford the rents. A major part of the plan is a mandatory negotiation period between landlords and commercial tenants, where the landlord would have to notify the store owner 180 days in advance of the end of the lease whether a renewal will be offered. The borough president and Councilman Robert Cornegy, chair of the small business committee, are drafting a proposed bill that would enforce the plan. "Small storefront businesses and vendors create jobs and add value, vibrancy, and diversity to our neighborhoods—New York would not be New York without them," asserted Brewer.
More details on Brewer's plan

March 23, 2015

INTERVIEW: Melinda Hunt Memorializes the Unclaimed New Yorkers Buried on Hart Island

Since 1980, inmates at Rikers Island have buried 62,000 unclaimed and unidentified New Yorkers in mass graves on Hart Island, a small, mile-long piece of land to the east of the Bronx that is the largest tax-funded cemetery in the world, holding over one million bodies. Before its current use, the island served many uses, including a prison, psychiatric institution, tuberculosis sanatorium, and a boys' reformatory. The Department of Corrections gained control of the land in 1968, and it has been closed to the public ever since. That's all changing, though, thanks to artist Melinda Hunt, who created the Hart Island Project, an interactive online memorial that provides access to information about the burials on Hart Island and tools for storytelling so that no one is omitted from history. The site's Traveling Cloud Museum lets users look up information on their loved ones and share their personal memories. Last year, Melinda led the introduction of legislation that would give control of the cemetery to the Department of Parks and Recreation so that New Yorkers can freely visit the island and its graves. And coming up this Labor Day weekend, Emmylou Harris will sing at the gated entrance to the dock, calling attention to the Hart Island Project's efforts. We chatted with Melinda about her passion for Hart Island, how the Project has evolved, and what we can expect in the near future.
Read our interview with Melinda Hunt here

March 23, 2015

Two Best Friends Sell Their Massive Midtown Artists’ Loft for $4.83M

Remember this amazing loft we featured on 6sqft back in September? Well it looks like it's found a new owner to fill its cavernous spaces. According to city records, the two-loft combo at 361 West 36th Street sold today for $4.83 million. While when we last wrote about this cool apartment we were going gaga over its beautiful 4,800 square feet of sun-soaked spaces, it turns out the story of the two women–both artists–who once dwelled within its walls is far better anything else found inside.
Find out more here

Real Estate Trends

March 23, 2015

NYC Is the Worst State for Rich People; MTA Is Still Short $15B

With the state’s new fiscal year looming, there’s still no specific plan in place to close the MTA’s $15B funding gap. [NYDN] Sorry, but there won’t be an Andy Warhol Museum coming to Essex Crossing after all. [BB] The former historic church at 344 West 36th Street slated to come down for a new hotel. […]

Real Estate Trends

The Subway That Could Have Been: Mapping Never-Built Train Lines and Abandoned Stations

City Hall subway station via John-Paul Palescandolo

March 23, 2015

The Subway That Could Have Been: Mapping Never-Built Train Lines and Abandoned Stations

We all know now that NYC has the worst commutes in the nation and that our subway system just keeps getting more unbearable. So it makes perfect sense that proposals for new train lines and alternate modes of transit like gondolas, ferry systems, and streetcars keep popping up. But this isn't a new phenomena; there have been many proposed subway lines that were never built, as well as stations that were taken out of service. A fun interactive map from WNYC called Lost Subways shows both of these, illustrating the subway that could have been.
Explore the map here

Transit

March 23, 2015

Rob Stuart Interiors Infuses Romantic, Turn-of-the-Century Charm into a Modern West Village Townhouse

Take one look at this Greenwich Street townhouse and you'll likely assume it's a historic West Village brownstone, but, in fact, the stately residence is only a decade old. Rob Stuart Interiors was commissioned by a "fearless family" that wanted a colorful yet calming design "with the detail and nuance of a rarified turn-of-the-century townhouse." The firm achieved this goal by romantically layering vintage mantles, traditional moldings, patterned wallpapers, and colorful fabrics.
Tour the entire West Village beauty here

March 23, 2015

Vintage NYPD Crime Scene Photos To Be Released to the Public; The Lamb Making Its Way Around NYC

30,000 vintage NYC crime scene photos from the NYPD, taken between 1914 and 1975, will be released to the public. [Untapped] The Andy Warhol Museum dropped its plans to open a Lower East Side branch. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] Our friend Sandy Hall from LES restaurant Black Tree is now gaining fame for fostering an adorable orphaned lamb in […]

Uncategorized

March 23, 2015

Take In the City from This $2.5M Renovated Chelsea Loft

If you’re looking for an awesome, high-floor loft in a prime location with brag-worthy views, this two-bedroom apartment in the Capitol Building might be just what the doctor ordered. The 1,686-square-foot renovated loft features beamed 10.6-foot ceilings, 7.5-inch wide plank oak flooring, and enviable views of the Empire State Building, all for $2.495 million.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

$4M Loft in Renowned Hellmuth Building Has Graced the Pages of Architectural Digest

It seems fitting that a turn-of-the-century factory building built by and named after a manufacturer of printer’s ink would one day house an apartment featured in one of the premier design publications in the world. Why, it’s entirely possible that one of Charles Hellmuth’s inks may have even been used to print the very first issues of Architectural Digest, which first debuted in 1920. In any event, we know for sure the two subsequently became intertwined when this striking 2,400-square-foot-home located in the renowned Hellmuth Building graced the pages of the popular magazine.
See more of this Architectural Digest star

Distinctive Homes

March 23, 2015

Carmelo and LaLa Anthony’s UES Rental Hits the Market for $12M

Though their lease doesn't end until August, Carmelo and LaLa Anthony's Upper East Side/East Harlem rental has hit the market for $12 million, according to the Post. Fear not, though, the New York Knicks star and his wife will not be homeless. They inked a deal last month for an $11 million, High Line-adjacent, full-floor unit at Cary Tamarkin’s new complex at 508 West 24th Street. The couple's rental at 1212 Fifth Avenue is a 4,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, pre-war condo with exceptional Central Park views.
Take a look around the former Anthony pad

March 22, 2015

Navy Road Guest House by Robert Young Puts a Rustic Twist on Simple Hamptons Living

Forget the fact that there's snow on the ground, the calendar says it's spring, so we think it's fair game to start planning some warm weather weekend retreats. And since the Hamptons Jitney runs all year, why not start by ogling this charming Montauk home by Robert Young Architects. The Navy Road Guest House mixes the best of traditional, clean Hamptons living with upstate-like rustic charm. Outside, perfectly landscaped, winding grounds complement the stone and wooden-shingled façade. Inside, whitewashed rooms are perfectly balanced with earthy wooden walls.
Take a look around the property

Architecture And Design

March 21, 2015

Weekly Highlights: Top Picks from the 6sqft Staff

Construction Update: COOKFOX’s 855 Sixth Avenue Tops Off, Ties for City’s ‘Shortest Skyscraper’ Supermodel Freja Beha Erichsen Snags a Stunning $3M Carroll Gardens Townhouse Move Over Brooklyn, Hoboken Is the Hipster Capital of America Sales Launch at the Long-Awaited 52 Lispenard Street in Tribeca Railfan Atlas Maps Train Porn Photos from All Over the World […]

Uncategorized

March 20, 2015

New Yorker Spotlight: The Couch Doctor Is In–How Sal Giangrande Deals with Furniture That Won’t Fit

By Susan Cohen

Every New Yorker has been there: After searching for and securing the perfect apartment, moving day comes and you just can't get your favorite piece of furniture into the elevator or up the stairs. With movers on the clock, and stress setting in, you begin to consider ditching your couch altogether. But instead, you take a deep breath, grab your phone, and let Sal Giangrande come to the rescue. Like knights in shining armor on moving day, Sal and his team over at New York Couch Doctor are experts at disassembling and reassembling everything from couches to pool tables to box springs. They liken their precision to that of surgeons, cutting into and stitching back together dressers and entertainment centers seam unseen (for the most part). And, like surgeons, they're on call 24 hours a day. We recently chatted with Sal to learn more about his days being New York's go-to furniture doctor.
We chat with sal

March 20, 2015

$3.3M Mansion-Style Home in Forest Hills Combines New Construction with Classic Details

If you love the craftsmanship and classic details of older homes but prefer not to deal with the maintenance issues and necessary updates that sometimes accompany them, this mansion-style residence at 72-20 Harrow Street in Forest Hills offers the best of both. Displaying all of the beauty, charm and warmth of a traditional Tudor, this gorgeous home designed by renowned architect Jerry Buck and built in 2006 offers all the benefits of new construction.
Take a closer look

Distinctive Homes

REVEALED: ODA’s New Bushwick Rental Project Looks a Lot Like BIG’s 8 Tallet in Copenhagen

ODA’s 10 Montieth Street (L); BIG’s 8 Tallet (R)

March 20, 2015

REVEALED: ODA’s New Bushwick Rental Project Looks a Lot Like BIG’s 8 Tallet in Copenhagen

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Bjarke Ingels should give himself a big pat on the back. A newly revealed residential design by architectural firm ODA for the Rheingold Brewery site in Bushwick looks a lot like Bjark Ingels Group's (BIG) 8 Tallet in Copenhagen. The Denmark building takes the shape of a figure 8 with a sloping ramp that runs from the base of the building to its roof, creating a large interior courtyard. Similarly, the 400-unit rental building planned for Bushwick at 10 Montieth Street has a subtle bow-tie shape with a sloping, zig-zagging green roof and amenity-laden courtyard. And just as 8 Tallet is the largest private development ever undertaken in Denmark, ODA's 400,000-square-foot building would be the largest residential building ever built in the area if completed.
More details on the proposed project

March 20, 2015

Tales of Teens Who Coax Parents into Buying Luxury Condos; Is Newark the Next Brooklyn?

Only in New York: A teen convinces his parents to buy a multi-millionaire dollar apartment at the Adlyn after hanging out with friends at the condo and announcing “We’re moving and this is the place we’re moving to.” Plus more terrifying tales. [NYT] Jonah Hill slashes the price of his Soho pad by $300K. The actor put […]

Real Estate Trends

March 20, 2015

In Case of Fire, Take the Elevator to Safety

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

If you work in a tall tower, throw everything you ever learned about fire safety out the window because the Fire, Buildings and City Planning Departments are re-writing the rules. In response to the supertalls popping up across Manhattan, the agencies are looking to create more occupant-evacuation elevators that can be used to move people down a tower in the event of an emergency. Because, really, can you imagine trying to flee down 90 flights of stairs?
READ MORE

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

March 20, 2015

i Ready O Turns Old iPhones into Retro Radios

By Ana Lisa Alperovich

As Apple releases new versions of the iPhone there are plenty of phones–those that have been discarded for not running the latest apps or holding a charge all day–filling our landfills. But Korean design studio PlusD is tackling the issue with their innovative i Ready O, which can turn any old iPhone into a new, cool radio. With minimalistic aesthetics inspired by the classic Dieter Rams designs for Braun, this object hacks Apple's planned obsolescence with sustainable design.
Learn more about i Ready O

EVENT: Get an Inside Look at North Brother Island, the City’s ‘Last Unknown Place’

Remains of Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island, via Wiki Commons

March 20, 2015

EVENT: Get an Inside Look at North Brother Island, the City’s ‘Last Unknown Place’

Thanks to the underground world of urban explorers, there aren't many parts of New York City that the public hasn't seen. One such explorer, photographer Christopher Payne, took special interest in North Brother Island, the 20-acre piece of land in the East River between the Bronx and Rikers Island that was once home to a quarantine hospital and the residence of Typhoid Mary. The island of building ruins and birds is not open to the public, but between 2008 and 2013 Payne was granted exclusive visitation access. He'll share his photos and findings in an upcoming event at the Museum of the City of New York called "The Last Unknown Place in New York City: A Conversation About North Brother Island."
More on the event

March 20, 2015

MTA Releases MetroCard Calculator for Fare Hike; 190 Bowery Gets Retail Leasing Banners

To coincide with Sunday’s fare hike, the MTA has released an online MetroCard calculator. How nice of them! [NYDN] Brooklyn’s debt is double the national average. [amNY] The inevitable has finally happened — 190 Bowery, the former Germania Bank Building famous for its graffiti, now has retail leasing banners. [Bowery Boogie] A new city program aims […]

Uncategorized

March 20, 2015

New App YoTrain! Will Let You Know if You’re About to Miss the Subway

There's that moment of panic when you're running late to an important meeting or event and you can't decide whether to chance it and try to get on the train or just hop in the next cab you see. A new app called YoTrain! will alleviate this anxiety, alerting users within 200 feet of a subway station when the next train is coming. What's better is that the information comes in the form of a text and voice alert even if your phone is locked, so you don't have to be a cell phone zombie walking down the street. Think this is a genius idea? You're not alone. YoTrain!, created by Brooklyn-based tech developer Duong Nguyen, won a $10,000 grand prize in the MTA and AT&T's App Quest Challenge, an annual call for transportation-related apps for New Yorkers using MTA data.
Watch a video on the app here

March 20, 2015

Charming West Village Rental Is Wrapped in Beautiful Brick Walls and Downtown Views

Does it get any more New York than brick walls, hardwood floors and great views of Manhattan's iconic buildings? This wonderful $4,500/month rental located at 237 West 11th Street is a charmer looking for an equally lovely resident who wants to spend a year or more within its sun-soaked spaces. With ample southern light and large windows framing a quintessential NYC scene highlighted by West 11th Street, church-top views and the Freedom Tower, this is the kind of New York apartment that seems to only exist in movies.
Take a look inside

Distinctive Homes

The High and Low: Two Cozy Brooklyn Heights Duplexes Battle It Out

115 Willow Street, $2.35 million (L); 108 Pierrepont Street, $575,000 (R)

March 19, 2015

The High and Low: Two Cozy Brooklyn Heights Duplexes Battle It Out

By Michelle Cohen

This freshly-listed, charming bi-level bolt-hole in prime Brooklyn Heights at 108 Pierrepont Street may be petite, but it's tucked into the same elegant neighborhood as the house-like duplex at 115 Willow Street, also new to the market, that's going for $2.35 million. Also in a beautiful, well-kept historic prewar building, with the same access to the Promenade, park and neighborhood highlights, the former rings in at a far-lower $575,000.
Compare and contrast these Brooklyn Heights duplexes with very different prices

Distinctive Homes

New Report Shares What You Need to Earn to be Considered ‘Rich’ in Your City

Image: roboppy via photopin cc

March 19, 2015

New Report Shares What You Need to Earn to be Considered ‘Rich’ in Your City

There's often a lot of argument about what constitutes middle class, but it looks like wealthy folks might have a better measuring stick. Quartz recently took a look at a new report from Brookings which ran the numbers on the 50 largest cities in the U.S. to find out what the nation's top 5 percent earn and where they earn the most. As you may suspect, there's a huge gap in wealth between cities depending on where you look, but what may be of interest to you is the number that pops up when looking at NYC. What they found was that the top earners here are pulling in $243,529 on average.
Find out more

City Living

March 19, 2015

DHD Interiors’ Spectacular Tribeca Penthouse Design Is Fun, Fashionable, and Family-Friendly

One of the key challenges to successful design is understanding the day-to-day needs of your client and marrying those needs with a sensorially pleasing aesthetic. When tasked with reconfiguring this 5,500-square-foot triplexed penthouse found in one of New York’s original cast iron façade buildings, DHD Interiors' goal was “to create a cool and chic family home ideal for entertaining but also conducive to a fun family life.”
See more photos of DHD's design

March 19, 2015

The City’s Oldest $20M+ Listing Sells After Nine Years; Into the Wild of Hunter’s Point

Exploring the last remaining wild spaces on the East River in Hunter’s Point. [Curbed] NYC’s oldest $20M+ listing, a rooftop mansion at 60 Warren Street in Tribeca, has sold for $24.5M after sitting on the market for nine years. [NYO] Yet another rent-stabilized tenant has been sued for putting her apartment on Airbnb. [NYP] Construction […]

Real Estate Trends

March 19, 2015

NYC Rents Are So High Even Starbucks Can’t Afford Them

You know rent is too damn high when mega chains like Starbucks start looking for cheaper spaces. The Commercial Observer reports that the city's rising rents are actually driving the coffee giant to less popular side streets as many of the leases inked for stores opened up some 15–20 years ago are coming up for renewal. Starbucks is currently paying just a fraction of what the market is demanding on a chunk of their more than 200 Manhattan locales, and they could soon see an end to several of their most popular shops.
FInd out more

Real Estate Trends

March 19, 2015

Skyscraper Museum Reveals Interactive Timeline of the Tallest Buildings Throughout History

The latest addition to the Skyscraper Museum's permanent collection is "The History of Height," an interactive timeline of the tallest buildings throughout history. The web tool is made up of a scrollable stream of flashcards starting as far back as the Great Pyramid in 2650 BCE and continuing all the way to today's tallest, the Burj Khalifa. It also offers information about the innovations that allowed people to build higher, like fireproof floors, zoning laws, elevators, and high-strength bolting, and includes towers that have long since been demolished, but had an impact on the supertall environment.
More on the interactive infographic here

Architecture And Design

March 19, 2015

Times Square Might Become a Giant Forest; New Yorkers Still Read Actual Books

A botanist and urban ecologist launched a Kickstarter campaign to plant a pop-up forest in Times Square. [Grist] How did the Michelin tire company become the world’s authority on restaurants? [MessyNessy Chic] Long Island City residents are not happy about the giant pink, Silly String-looking public art piece coming to their neighborhood. [Gothamist] Central Park just got 212 […]

Uncategorized

March 19, 2015

$2.7M Noho Loft Flaunts Its Exposed Brick and Beamed Ceilings

These days, the word "loft" is thrown around in real estate for any space with an open floor plan or high ceilings, but if you're searching for a true old-fashioned loft, then look no further than this $2.7 million Noho co-op at 33 Bleecker Street. A myriad of exposed brick walls, chunky wooden beamed ceilings and columns, wrap-around oversized windows, hardwood maple floors and an expansive layout make this two-bedroom apartment the ultimate in downtown loft living.
Take a look around here

Distinctive Homes

March 19, 2015

Battery Park City, Harlem, and the Lower East Side Top the List of Child-Friendly Manhattan ‘Hoods

It's no secret that families are ditching Manhattan for Brooklyn or the Suburbs, where they can get more space for their money and maybe even a backyard, but a new report shows the shifting dynamics of those families who decide to stay in the big city. According to amNY, the analysis conducted by AddressReport.com shows that only 6 percent of households in Hell's Kitchen and the Financial District have a child under 18 living in them, and in neighborhoods like Midtown, Soho, the West Village, and Gramercy, most of which are often thought of as more family-friendly, only 7 percent of households have at least one youngster. To be expected, Battery Park City is ranked as the most child-friendly neighborhood, where 36 percent of households have a child. Another shoo-in is Tribeca at 26 percent. Surprisingly, East Harlem at 32 percent, Harlem at 29 percent, and the Lower East Side at 20 percent round out the top five, none considered traditionally family-oriented.
See the full map here

March 19, 2015

Sarah Jessica Parker Finally Sells Greenwich Village Townhouse for $20M

After quite a few price cuts and almost three years on the market, Sarah Jessica Parker has found a buyer for her Greenwich Village townhouse at 20 East 10th Street. Originally listed for $25 million in 2012, and most recently re-listed in September for $22 million, the 6,800-square-foot, five-bedroom home finally entered into contract for $20 million, according to the Daily News. Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick bought the townhouse in 2011 for $19 million. They completed a full renovation, but reportedly the family never actually lived there, using the home as a massive closet and residing in another Village townhouse.
Take a look around the house here

It’s a Hip-Hop Revolution! Photos of a Pop Culture Movement Born in New York

Busta Rhymes (Leaders of the New School). 1990. Photographer: Janette Beckman

March 18, 2015

It’s a Hip-Hop Revolution! Photos of a Pop Culture Movement Born in New York

New York has long been a haven for creatives, with some of art and music's most iconic producing their most profound works within the borders of our city. But few movements have proved as significant and lasting an influence on global fashion, politics and culture than hip-hop. In a new photo exhibit coming to the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) next month, three of the most dynamic and renowned photographers of the hip-hop scene, Janette Beckman, Joe Conzo, and Martha Cooper, share their experiences at the height of the movement in the 1980s when it took not only the nation by storm, but the world. The trio of shutterbugs share photos that zoom into hip-hop's pioneering days in the South Bronx, as DJs, MCs, and b-boys and b-girls were inventing new forms of self-expression through sounds and movement. Prominent hip-hop figures such as Afrika Bambaataa, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Salt N Pepa and Flava Flav are just a few of the faces documented, and in the series you'll get a look at the kind of life and vibrancy that permeated the Bronx and Harlem during the 1980s. MCNY recently sent 6sqft a slew of the more than 100 photographs that will be on show starting April 1st. Jump ahead to get a taste of what's sure to be one of your most memorable and nostalgic museum visits.
See all the incredible photos here

March 18, 2015

Move Over Brooklyn, Hoboken Is the Hipster Capital of America

Is Hoboken really America's most hipster city? According to a study conducted by "data-driven" blog FindtheBest, Hoboken out-hipsters us all with its souped up offer of 13 cafes and one yoga studio per 10,000 residents—the vast majority of whom are aged between 20 and 34 years old. FindTheBest looked at the top 19 municipalities with 50,000 or more inhabitants, evaluating both the locale and people against certain attributes they deemed characteristically hipster. Hilariously, the site defines a hipster as one who associates with a "subculture all about nonconformity and effortless nonchalance" and embodies an appearance that conjures up one “reading Proust over an overpriced cup of coffee.”
More on the study here

NYC Has the Longest Work Week and Worst Commutes in the Nation

Photo via 2010-03-12 via photopin (license)

March 18, 2015

NYC Has the Longest Work Week and Worst Commutes in the Nation

At least we're getting some validation for our title of "disgruntled New Yorker." According to a new report called "The Hardest Working Cities" issued by Comptroller Scott Stringer, New Yorkers have an average work week of 49.1 hours, including six hours and 18 minutes for commuting.* And with subway service getting even worse–delays increased 46 percent in 2014–the future of our sanity isn't looking good.
More findings from the study ahead

The 74

201 East 74th Street

Lenox Hill

Gracious Upper East Side condos with Central Park and skyline views

2 beds starting at $3,380,000
3 beds starting at $4,850,000
5 beds starting at $11,950,000

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March 18, 2015

Construction Update: COOKFOX’s 855 Sixth Avenue Tops Off, Ties for City’s ‘Shortest Skyscraper’

By Ondel Hylton

In the shadow of the Empire State Building, the concrete frame of 855 Sixth Avenue has quietly risen to its full 500-foot height. Spanning the full western blockfront of Sixth Avenue between West 30th and 31st Streets, the 41-story mixed-use tower, designed by COOKFOX Architects and co-developed by the Durst Organization and Fetner Properties, is poised to bring 190,000 square feet of commercial space and 375 rentals to the southern fringe of Herald Square later this year. While unremarkable in design and imperceptible in the city's skyline, the building's small claim to fame may be that its 152-meter (slightly under 500 feet) height is sometimes regarded as the benchmark figure for defining a skyscraper. Therefore, statistically, 855 Sixth could be considered the shortest skyscraper in New York. Huzzah!
More details ahead

March 18, 2015

Plans for ‘Brooklyn Strand’ Greenway Unveiled; Douglas Durst Opens Up About Brother Robert

Douglas Durst recounts life with his brother Robert while growing up. Here’s a tidbit: “I was always amazed that he had friends, because from what I saw, I didn’t see how anyone would see him as someone they wanted to be friendly with. Obviously, he is someone able to assume various identities as it pleases him.” [NYT] WXY […]

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March 18, 2015

You’ll Instantly Warm Up to This $6.2M Brooklyn Heights Brownstone

It doesn’t take much to convince someone to head out to Brooklyn Heights, but this townhouse at 28 Garden Place (h/t Curbed) decided to pull out all the stops anyway. This $6.2 million, 3,360-square-foot brownstone features high ceilings, east and west exposures, original details and enough wood-burning fireplaces to make you forget all about this brutal winter we’ve endured.
More pics inside

Distinctive Homes

March 18, 2015

The Surprising History of the Hotdog Cart; How Brooklyn Heights Became the City’s First Historic District

Take a delicious dive into the surprising history of the New York City hotdog cart. [NYDN] Outspoken Downtowner Chloë Sevigny shares her favorite city spots. [i-D] How Brooklyn Heights, “America’s original suburb,” became the city’s first historic district. [Curbed] Street artist Hanksy is organizing a Golden Ticket scavenger hunt around the city. [Gothamist] There are now more Uber […]

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March 18, 2015

POLL: Is the Stress Worth It to Live in the Greatest City on Earth?