8 NYC Apartments That Cost as Much as Luxury Storage Units
The supertall towers and super luxury buildings popping up all over Manhattan command sky-high prices for their condos, but the prices they ask for their uninhabitable spaces can be even more mindboggling. Bloomberg Business ran the numbers on half a dozen pricey new developments and found, to no one's surprise, that many offer separate storage units for the same price as a starter home in most of the country. Basement cages where billionaires pile their belongings that they can't fit into their mansions in the sky can run up to $4,000 per square foot, often making them way more expensive than the apartments themselves. And it's not just limited to storage—at 220 Central Park South, 38-square-foot wine cellars start at $133,000. To put the numbers in perspective for New Yorkers, we found apartments at the same price point for the storage units of seven different developments, with prices ranging from $300,000 to $65,000. Yep, there are plenty of Five-Digit Club apartments in this fine city.
Botched Reveal: $575,000 For a Flowery 1BR in The Excelsior
As was pointed out a bit over enthusiastically by newbie Curbed commenter REnthusiast, this week's flowery and spacious one-bedroom Midtown East co-op is indeed apartment 16F in The Excelsior at 303 East 57th Street. For those who forget, The Excelsior is the same building in which crooner Billy Joel's been trying to unload his very '80s 44th floor apartment for $1.45 million. This apartment on a much lower floor is asking a much more modest $575,000.
Where to Watch the 4th of July Fireworks in NYC, 2015 Edition
[Photo of the 2014 fireworks by Oscar/Curbed Flickr pool]
Once again, the annual 4th of July fireworks show will take place on the East River, but this year, the 25-minute Macy's spectacular will shoot off from two locations, not just one. A double barge will be placed just south of the Brooklyn Bridge, around the same area as last year's show, and four additional barges will sit between East 23rd and East 42nd Streets, offering prime views to north Brooklyn, Long Island City, and Midtown East. The official viewing locations in lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn and Queens waterfronts are sure to get a little crowded, so if you're looking for something a little more exclusive, the list below include more than two dozen alternatives, some of which offer food, drink, and other assorted merriment, but prices can run high. To help you plan your fireworks fun, our map offers 37 viewing options, including all of the public access points, plus dozens more, ranging from rooftop bars to small parks to private cruises. If you see something you like, make plans quickly—tickets tend to run out fast.
—Wesley Yiin
—Wesley Yiin
City Announces 2,200 New Units of Affordable Housing
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced this week that funding for 2,200 new units of affordable housing in New York City will be provided by Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. as part of their settlements for causing the 2008 financial crisis. The banks will pay $75 million, which will also go toward 1,500 units of affordable housing elsewhere in the state. Not everyone is pleased about the news, however—protesters who fear that the development of new housing in Brooklyn will lead to gentrification reportedly attempted to drown Schneiderman out, chanting "Affordable for who?" and "Stop gentrification!", as he announced the news outside the Sunset Park Library on Wednesday.
Here's More Proof That New York City Is Wildly Expensive
The cost of housing and property in New York City is flat out bonkers, with the average sales price for a Manhattan apartment coming in at an all time high of $1.87 million in Q2. And the spectacle of just how expensive the city is doesn't stop there. Data guy Max Galka has created an interactive map of property values by neighborhood and borough throughout New York City, and along with it came some interesting findings. While all 305 square miles of New York City make up only .008 percent of the United States, a whole five percent of the nation's housing value is contained within it. Unsurprisingly, the Upper East Side leads the city's pack of neighborhoods with an average property value per square mile of $131 billion. When the city and its property values are mapped in cartogram form, Manhattan looks like a blood-filled tick.
Long-Vacant Hell's Kitchen Corner to Birth 12 Apartments
Once upon a time, the corner of Ninth Avenue and 33rd Street was home to a little place called the Cheyenne Diner, a beloved greasy spoon that occupied the site since the 1940s. But then it was carted off to Alabama (seriously) in 2009, and the lot has sat vacant ever since. No longer. It will now become apartments, of course. New York YIMBYreports that permits have been issued for a 7-story, 12-unit building designed by HTO Architect. A rep from the firm says that the building, to be called Skylight House (add it to the list), will be rentals.
What $3,900/Month Can Rent You in New York City
Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a column that explores what one can rent for a set dollar amount in various NYC neighborhoods. Is one man's studio another man's townhouse? Let's find out! Today's price: $3,900/month.
↑ In Crown Heights (but only a block east of Prospect Heights), a 1,274-square-foot two-bedroom duplex is going for $3,950/month. It has multiple skylights, three bathrooms (three!), and a Juliet balcony. It is, however, a fourth-floor walkup.
Checking In on Mini-Megaproject Manhattan West's Progress
In the shadow of rising 30 Hudson Yards, work is moving right along in the new neighborhood's mini-megaproject Manhattan West. The Brookfield Properties-developed project bounded by 32nd and 33rd streets and Ninth and Tenth avenues will include three new buildingsthat will rise on top of a track-eclipsing platform as well as the newly revamped 1969 office building at 450 West 33rd Street. Field Condition visited the site to find that the project's residential tower at 401 West 31st Street is rising. As of now, the SOM-designed building stands two stories above ground but when complete, it'll reach 702 feet and have 790 apartments. As part of the aging office building's revamp, architecture firm REX is swapping out the precast concrete panel facade with an airier glass facade.
Go Inside the Studios of 40+ Architecture Firms in NYC
Open House New York invited the public into the studios of 14 architecture firms last spring, but bigger is better, right? This year, they are partnering with the Architectural League of New York to open the doors of more than 40 studios, ranging from bigwigs like SHoP and Studio Gang Architects to smaller innovative firms like SCAPE and nARCHITECTS. All of the firms have at one point been recognized through the League's Emerging Voices program, which has celebrated the best designers for the last three decades. The day-long OpenStudios event coincides with the publication of 30 Years of Emerging Voices, a book documenting the firms that have been part of the program. The fun takes place on Saturday, July 11, and to give design lovers time to hit as many studios as possible, the day is split into two parts. Studios in Midtown and Queens will open in the morning, while studios in Downtown and Brooklyn will host visitors in the afternoon. General admission tickets are $20, but Curbed is giving away three pairs of tickets and three copies of the book.
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10 Cold War-Era U.S. Embassies That Did Modernism Right
The U.S. Interests Section in Havana, originally designed by Harrison & Abramovitz, will regain its embassy status thanks to a recent move to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. Photo by Terry Feuerborn/Creative Commons
Hailed as a huge diplomatic step forward, President Obama's announcement that the United States will re-open its embassy in Havana stands as one more concrete sign that relations between the two countries will be restored. A symbol of U.S. might in a closed Communist country, the building's curious history mirrors the two nations' relationship. "Closed" by Eisenhower in 1961 and demoted to a U.S. Interests Section, the modernist tower designed by Harrison & Abramovitz, the architects behind the UN Headquarters, has been the site of political gamesmanship. Embassies have always provided a potent way to project U.S. power, especially during the Cold War. Whereas in previous decades, the State Department had purchased existing buildings in foreign capitals, by the '50s, diplomats felt it was in our interest to commission a series of Modernist buildings that presented America as forward-thinking and idealistic. On the occasion of the 4th of July, here are some of our favorite examples.
Every Single Price Revealed for Gramercy's Cabrini Conversion
[Left: 215 East 19th Street. Right: 225 East 19th Street. Renderings by Woods Bagot.]
The conversion of the former Cabrini Medical Center into "posh" condos by Chetrit is well underway. While the teaser site for the four-building development spouts off some fierce lingo about the 223 apartments, their pricing has been largely hush-hush until now. But word from a tipster confirms that these apartments will indeed be "posh," if "posh" is code for "many millions of dollars." Apartments throughout the four buildings, redubbed Gramercy Square, were previously rumored to start at $1.3 million, but a Schedule A for the development says apartments will start at a lowly $885,000 (although that price point is an outlier and is limited to just two apartments. The second least pricey apartments in the development are asking $1.2 million.)
Two-Bed East Village Co-op With Exposed Brick Wants $930K
Welcome back to The Six Digit Club, in which we take a look at a newish-to-market listing priced under $1 million, because nice things sometimes come in small packages. Send nominations to the tipline.
This two-bedroom apartment in the East Village has a lot of charm, with exposed brick walls throughout (even in the bathroom), high ceilings, exposed ceiling beams, and lots of natural light via four large windows in the living room. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's located between Avenues C and D on East 7th Street, which means it's more than half a mile to the nearest train. Worth it, for $930,000? You be the judge.
NYCHA to Start Leasing Land For New Affordable Developments
The New York City Housing Authority has started the process of leasing its underutilized land to private developers who will build affordable housing at the sites. The agency is seeking proposals for developments that will overtake an unused grass area and two parking lots at Ingersoll in Fort Greene, Van Dyke in Brownsville, and Mill Brook in Mott Haven, NYDN reports. The fully affordable developments will target seniors and families who make 60-percent of the area median income, or $46,000 for a family of three. All together, the proposals will lead to about 500 new apartments.
Million Dollar Listing New York S4E12: Times Are a Changin'
It's Season 4 of Million Dollar Listing New York, where three brokers, Fredrik Eklund, Luis Ortiz, and Ryan Serhant, show the world what it takes to sell high-priced New York City apartments. Check in each week for recaps by Angela Bunt. Episode air date: 7/1/2015.
[Inside 514 Broome Street.]
The season finale of Million Dollar Listing New York picks up right where the show left off last week, with Ryan fretting over the sale of 514 Broome Street, a rare, freestanding townhouse in Soho. Through his charm and powers of persuasion, Ryan has convinced Roger, the client who threatened to fire him, to give him one more crack at selling the quirky 1930s house. Not only that, but he's also convinced Roger to hand over his rolodex—all 22,000 contacts (I mean, who actually has that many friends?)—because Ryan believes the buyer exists within said list. He splits up contact numbers evenly amongst himself and his team, and they all jump on the horn. Ryan says, "No one is allowed to go home until you're done."
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