A Comprehensive Guide to New York City's Many Castles
No one thinks of New York City when they think of a land filled with castles, and that's for good reason. Castles are definitely a European thing, and by the time little old New Amsterdam was getting started, no one was really building new castles anymore—at least not in the true sense of a castle. From mansions in the Bronx to armories in Staten Island, there are dozens of grand, castle-y buildings spread throughout the city that harken back to a time of knights and nobility (and no, we're not talking about gaudy Versailles knock-offs). In fact, every borough claims at least one "castle," and we set out to map them all. This 19-point map ranks the buildings by their general castle-iness using a completely unscientific measurement based on absolutely nothing turrets, size, and air of royalty. Know of one we missed? Leave it in the comments or send a note to the tipline.
Restored Brooklyn Heights Carriage House Asks $10M
The carriage house at 165 Columbia Heights underwent a full Landmarks Preservation Commission-approved renovation, and it's now seeking a new owner for $9.95 million. The adorable house once belonged to the Jehovah's Witnesses, and in 2012, after four years on the market, they sold it for $4.5 million. With LPC's approval, the new owners embarked on a renovation to restore the white stucco facade to its original red brick, and they overhauled the interiors, too, replacing all of the mechanical systems. There's a great room with a fireplace and skylight, four bedrooms, and a rooftop terrace off of the master bedroom. All of the bathrooms have heated floors, and the lighting is by designers Holly Hunt and Lindsey Adelman.
Scoping Out the Bronx, Where Large, Lovely Co-ops Cost Less
Property in New York City is expensive. In the days when sad apartments with showers in their kitchens are fetching $1,795 a monthon the Lower East Side, finding a decent place to settle down without handing over a kidney might seem dang near impossible. But wait, what's this? There are large, lovely apartments in the Bronx, many with river views, that cost a fraction of what similar Manhattan apartments are asking? Yup, and we're here to walk you through a few of them. Preview: they're all asking far less than $1 million, and are situated in a neighborhood that touches on, or is very near, the Harlem River.
Live in the Turrets of a Castle on Central Park for $8M
The former New York Cancer Hospital at 455 Central Park West is possibly the closest thing New York City has to a castle (well, and these, too), and like so many other grand and glorious structures, it now holds condos. Some of these look fit for Medieval times, but others, like this $7.995 million duplex, are only castle-y in their floorplans. This 5,317-square-foot home occupies two of the buildings massive turrets, giving it a unique Mickey Mouse-style footprint with a 37-foot wide circular living room with soaring 37-foot ceilings. (Back in the day, these were two of the patient wards "because it was believed that germs thrived in corners.") It has a library, four bedrooms, and Central Park views, and the building has a lap pool, fitness center, and parking garage.
Penn Station's New Public Plaza Is Actually Kind of Nice
The design team that turned Times Square into an archipelago of pedestrian islands brought their expertise to Penn Station, where a new public plaza has been unveiled. The Snohetta-designed plaza, located on 33rd Street between 7th Avenue and Madison Square Garden's loading dock, is part of landlord Vornado's plan to make the area surrounding Penn Station less of a hell hole (because lord knows that the actual station won't be improved any time soon), and so far, it seems to be working. Granted, the plaza has only been open for a day, but a mid-morning jaunt to the area did not incite feelings of dread or leave us in a murderous rage.
Most of the new plaza is simply painted road that gives pedestrians much more space, but there are also several wooden benches that double as planters and sculptures by Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein. There are also two sets of wooden steps, similar to the TKTS booth stairs in Times Square, and audio equipment indicated that they might be setting up for one of the promise performances.
Rupert Murdoch Relists West Village House After Just 5 Months
News Corp. overlord Rupert Murdoch only purchased the lovely 1853 Greek Revival townhouse at 278 West 11th Street in mid-March, but an eagle-eyed tipster points out that the monied CEO has already relisted the property for $28.9 million. It seems like Murdoch is on a flipping trip: he dropped $25 million on the four-bedroom, four-bathroom townhouse about a month before listing the One Madison penthousehe owned for all of two years for a whopping $72 million. The townhouse on West 11th Street between West 4th Street and Bleecker Street served as a B&B before Murdoch snatched it up. The Daily Newspoints out that if Murdoch gets his ask, that means he will earn about $1 million for every month he owned the property.
Brick Townhouse in Park Slope Wants $2.575 Million
Welcome to the Brooklyn Townhouse Roundup, where we—you guessed it—take a look at the most notable Brooklyn townhouses on the market. Got tips? Send 'em here.
↑ First up is this brick townhouse in Park Slope. The place is set up for three families and has an additional 1,000 buildable square feet. It also has some nice, dark hardwood floors, lots of exposed brick, and a lovely garden. It's asking $2.575 million.
10 NYC Homes With Lovely Outdoor Space for Less Than $1M
Not every apartment can be home to a completely incredible, totally drool-worthy rooftop terrace, but dozens do come with private outdoor space. Warm weather seems to bring more of these listings to the market, and since we never tire of lusting after terraces and gardens, we rounded up 10 newly listed homes with delightful outdoor oases—all asking less than $1 million. The most expensive place on this list is a two-bedroom on West 85th Street with a rooftop deck (↑) that looks like it enjoys stellar sunset views. It's listed for $999,000.
What $2,100/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: $2,100/month.
↑ In the East Village, a 550-square-foot studio with exposed brick is going for $2,150/month. It also has large windows. The listing specifies that "ONLY JOE CAN SHOW" so if somebody who is not Joe tries to show you the apartment, don't trust him.
This Blissful Garden Oasis Sits Atop a Historic Tribeca Building
Photo by Nikolas Koenig/HMWhite
So, what exactly does one do with a barren industrial landscape atop one of Tribeca's landmarked buildings? HMWhite Architects were faced with this predicament when they were enlisted to transform a penthouse terrace into a verdant oasis. Responding to a laundry list of constraints, the architects punctuated the mass of undifferentiated space by creating a series of rooms across 7,000 square feet. White wire Bertoia chairs sit atop a grass and concrete checkerboard and a "series of undulating knolls depict a rolling prairie," while an angular wood-paneled deck unfurls into a stainless steel hot tub and a lily pad-filled pool is tucked beside a living wall. And they didn't stop at the roof—a sunken dining room, glass-enclosed bathroom, and central atriumbring natural elements into the home, blurring the line between inside and out.
Massive Ball Pit For Adults Makes Its Way to New York City
Move over DC and Facebook HQ, it's finally New York's turn to have a huge ball pit for adults. JumpIn, an "interactive art installation promoting the transformative power of play," will land in New York on August 21 and will feature 81,000 white balls in a room, which sounds like the makings of a confusingly good time (h/t AMNY). The installation will be open for merrymaking through September 21 in the offices of creative agency Pearlfisher at 455 Broadway.
2 World Trade Center Will Likely Cost $4 Billion
[2 World Trade Center rendering by BIG.]
With a construction price tag of $3.8 billion, 1 World Trade Center is the most expensive office building in the world, but it could be surpassed by its neighbor. In a short piece about the tower's financing, the Post notes that 2 World Trade Center will cost $4 billion to construct (that's the same price as Santiago Calatrava's gleaming white oculus). Before this, reports only said that because the tower would be the most complicated of the site, it would be very expensive, but no exact numbers were given. Developer Silverstein Properties is reportedly seeking "an equity partner or mezzanine debt investor" to contribute $500 million to the tab, and the Post says this will likely come from "a pension fund or sovereign wealth fund."
Ex-Net Deron Williams Lists Tribeca Penthouse For $33.5M
Now that Deron Williams plays for the Dallas Mavericks, the ex-Nets guard probably doesn't need to hold onto his palatial Tribeca penthouse. At that, Williams has relisted the 35 North Moore Streetdigs he picked up for $15.8 million in 2013. He's hoping to score $33.5 million, a whopping $17.7 million more than he laid out for the place just two years ago. The price hike doesn't appear to be totally arbitrary. It looks like the floor-to-ceiling stainless steel kitchen, more befitting of a banquet hall than a multi-million dollar apartment, has been updated with new chevron-patterned floors, marble islands, and wood cabinetry. The apartment consists of 7,200 square feet of interior space with six bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and no less than three living areas, and two terraces totaling 3,000 square feet.
This Map Shows All of New York City's 'Subway Deserts'
Map-making-guy Chris Whong set out to make a map of all the places in New York City that are "subway deserts," i.e. places that are more than 500 meters (about 0.3 miles) from the nearest subway station. To make the map, he put a blue dot with a 500-meter diameter radius over every station. The parts that were left exposed are the deserts. Sure, it's a little difficult to read, but Whong makes his point, which is (presumably) that nobody wants to take the bus.
1,000-Foot Tower Is Probably Coming to Downtown Brooklyn
[JDS Development just acquired the Dime Savings Bank for $90 million.]
Downtown Brooklyn might be getting its own 1,000-plus-foot tower. Developers Michael Stern of JDS Development and Joe Chetrit of Chetrit Group have been trying for a while now to cobble together development rights for a major project on the small triangular block bounded by Flatbush Avenue Extension, Dekalb Avenue, and Fleet Street. With news that Stern's forked over $90 million for the landmarked Dimes Savings Bank and its 300,000 square feet of development rights on that very block, it looks like the duo have something up their sleeves. According to Crain's, the developers have now amassed about 600,000 square feet of development rights, or enough square footage to erect a building on par in height with the Empire State Building.
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