Just out of curiosity, I started googling up real estate news for the Murray Hill neighborhood (of which I live on the edge of)....some of these stories are actually pretty funny, and anyway give you an idea of what is going on here in terms of prices and projects etc.
Green Goblin's Penthouse from 'Spider-Man' Listed for $1.6M
The Windsor Tower penthouse that served as a backdrop for much of Willem Dafoe's evil cackling (as the Green Goblin) during the Tobey Maguire 'Spider-Man' franchise hit the market yesterday. The price tag for the 1BR, 1.5BA duplex is a mere $1.595 million, maybe a bit pricey for a 1BR Midtown East co-op, but surprisingly cheap once you consider the 18-foot-ceiling, floor-to-ceiling windows, working fireplace, beautiful floors, and private terrace, not to mention the bragging rights that inevitably come with the apartment. In fact, we're not ashamed to admit it—if we were the evil, mutated president of a multi-national weapons manufacturing corporation, we'd totally buy the place.
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31-Story Apartment Tower Rising at 325 Lexington Avenue
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Popular
Claustrophobic, Beautiful Murray Hill Townhouse Now Only $4M
There's a lot to like about 115 East 35th Street,
from the ornate fireplaces to the bay windows to the "four seasons room"
leading to a private garden. But if one were to try and identify the
thing that's kept it on the market for almost two years—some might call
it "the skinny"—it would probably have to be the fact that house is
really, really skinny. Not the skinniest,
certainly, but especially considering its depth and height, it's a very
narrow house. Still, it's hard not to admire what oil painter Patricia
Nix, who bought the place for $950,000 in 1998 and embarked on a gut
renovation, according to this old Observer post,
did with it. She re-listed the house last March for $4,995,000 and has
since lowered the ask thrice, switching brokerages each time. The
current listing is for $3,995,000. Hopefully the new brokers aren't already on thin ice. Get it? Thin ice? Sorry.
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The Murray Hill Market,
a farmers' market that occupies the space in front of the Kips Bay
Plaza complex at Second Avenue and 33rd Street, is the victim of a fight
between the community board and the developer over a pedestrian plaza.
The developer wanted the market shut down, and used the board's wish
for a pedestrian plaza on that part of Second Avenue as leverage to make
it happen. The market has until July 1 to relocate. [DNAinfo]
Luxury Brand Wants to 'Transform' 30th and Lexington
Luxury brand Comme des Garcons announced its intention earlier this year to set up shop in New York somewhere "where there are no other fashion stores so that we can give a totally new identity and hence transform the area." The area that Comme des Garcons has chosen to
· Comme des Garcons Signed a Lease on 30th and Lexington [Racked]
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Confusing Murray Hill Carriage House Slices Price to $8.25M
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Murray Hill Co-op Hit With $1 Million Discrimination Suit
It looks like co-op board of 210 E. 36th Street in Murray Hill has taken a page from the Dakota's discriminatory playbook.
The board has been slapped with a $1 million lawsuit from a wealthy
African man who wanted to buy a studio apartment in the building.
Goldwyn Thandrayen, a 25-year-old business student at Berkeley College
in New Jersey, was turned down without so much as an interview, even
after complying with the board's every bizarre request, which included
translating documents from British to English. The Daily news reports
that Thandrayen put the entire cost of the unit into a bank account for
the board, and he handed over more than a year's worth of maintenance
fees.Thandrayen says the board's behavior was "weird" from the start, and one member even made fun of his financial portfolio because it is entirely in "some tiny little unknown country," aka the Republic of Mauritius, the island nation where Thandrayen is from. He is suing for $1 million in damages because, according to his lawyer, he's now "blacklisted" from ever buying a co-op in the city since he was rejected. Additionally, Thandrayen is out thousands of dollars from fees and interest, and he'll probably have a tough time getting back the $445,000 he put away for the unit, as it would likely be flagged for money laundering.
Will co-op boards ever start to play nice?
· Wealthy African Man files $1 Million Lawsuit After Co-op Board Turns Him Down [NYDN]
· Dakota Co-op Board Accused of Being a Bunch of Racists [Curbed]
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The Top Five Residential Listings That You Can't Live In
[99 Bank Street #2A, via Streeteasy]
When you spend a lot of time perusing real estate listings, there are few things more depressing than coming across one that loudly boasts, "INVESTORS ONLY" or "VERY LOW PRICE, RENT CONTROLLED TENANT IN PLACE" (it is a well-established scientific fact that, in these cases, brokers almost always revert to all-caps, although the reason for this is unclear.) What these listings are telling you, in so many words, is: "Great apartment! Very cheap! One catch, though. Once you buy it, you have to wait for a human being to die before seeing a return on your investment." Somewhat hearteningly, these listings never seem to sell. The apartment pictured above (which we've featured before, because it's great), for example, has been on the market for 1,137 days and the brokerbabble just reads "rent controlled tenant not moving." Keep on keepin' on, theatre shower curtain lady. Listing agent, think it might be time for a pricechop?
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