Tour Mill Basin, Land of Gaudy Brooklyn McMansions
Mill Basin is the New York City neighborhood equivalent of a gift that keeps on giving, at least in the form of ludicrous pastiche architecture. Its tacky and mysterious mcmansions, which unilaterally look like buildings ripped out of a dated Miami real estate magazine, pop up in listings every now and again asking exorbitant sums. When did these structures proliferate? How? For the love of all things holy, why?Gothamist says they came-to after World War II, which, looking at them, makes sense (unlike everything else.) Other than a few misdeeds of their past owners, which count among them disgraced state senator Carl Kruger, this concentrated breed remains a mystery, which photographer Nate Dorr set out to photograph.
Fun, But Not Super Helpful, Street Signs Arrive in Manhattan
[Photos via Steve Powers]
The purpose of most streets is to give pedestrians and/or drivers some important information, such as "STOP" or "NO PARKING." The purpose of a very small number of street signs, however, is to inform people that there is a vomiting cartoon man with a basketball for a head who is "STILL ILL." The creator of those signs (of which there are a number of equally nonsensical varieties) is artist Steve Powers, and he's bringing them to the actual streets of New York City for the city's Summer Street program. Not only are these signs weird and delightful, but people will no longer have to remember on their own that "[palm tree illustration] WANTED A PLACE TO CRASH."
Seaport Rental Comes With Gigantic Piece of Old Machinery
The charms of living in converted factory space are often limited to the architectural: barrel-vaulted ceilings or concrete floors. Rarely do apartments come along that actually still contain machinery from the building's factory days. But this South Street Seaport rental is still home to a rather interesting piece of metal that betrays the building's former use as a flour warehouse. According to the listing, the "striking sculpture" is part of the building's elevator that was once used to lift flour barrels. Now, it serves as a room divider. It seems like a safe bet to say that anyone working in the factory at 40 Dover Street way back when would never have imagined the elevator as a sculpture, let alone a slice of the industrial space as a $7,500/month apartment, but that was then and this is now and New York City's a whole different animal.
Restoration Hardware Is Opening a Boutique Hotel in MePa
[Image via Property Shark.]
In late June last year, Restoration Hardware filed plans with the cityindicating that they were overtaking the entire building at 55 Gansevoort Street, which included ousting the neighborhood's beloved restaurant Pastis. Now, what exactly those plans will entail have come to light: Crain's reports that Restoration Hardware will open its first boutique hotel in the former factory building. The undertaking is meant to showcase the pricey brand's pricey interior furnishings in what will likely be pricey and exclusive accommodations. The hotel will only have 14 rooms, and will also have a ground-floor restaurant.
Bizarre Landlord-Tenant Battle In LIC Obviously Involves Airbnb
Want to hear a weird story? The Post has got one for you, with their ongoing coverage of a landlord-tenant battle that is currently playing out in Long Island City. It begins in 2002, when a woman named Maria moved in with Nicholas DeTommaso, the elderly renter of a $100/month rent-controlled apartment. In 2009, three weeks before his death, DeTommaso "adopted" Maria, effectively (and quasi-legally) passing the apartment on to her. (The Post paints this as a con job, although it seems equally likely that DeTommaso intentionally meant to just give his companion the apartment.) The landlord has been trying, unsuccessfully, to evict Maria since, and giving quotes like, "She has made my life a living hell" and "I have bills to pay." (Just imagine what a living hell that landlord's life would have been if DeTommaso had simply lived another ten years!)
Now, the landlord and The Post are both even more incensed, as it turns out that Maria has been renting the apartment out on Airbnb, to overwhelmingly positive reviews, although The Post goes out of its way to quote the two negative ones.
15 of the Coolest New Shop Interiors From Around the World
The new Carousel of Light book emporium in Bucharest, Romania—Photo by Cosmin Dragomir
As it turns out, not all stores have to be vanilla spaces chained inside sprawling malls. Take a gander at these provocative new shops from across the globe and it becomes clear that strong interior concepts can tell compelling stories of their own. From an ultra-minimalist chocolate store to a futuristic sex shop, a perfume grotto to an utterly ethereal book emporium, these spaces will no doubt awaken and inspire visitors' senses—call it retail therapy, with no purchase necessary.
NYCHA Tenants Are Staying Put For Longer Than Ever
[Photo by Andriy Prokopenko/Curbed Flickr pool]
As the cost of housing throughout New York City soars, more and more people are staying put in the city's affordable housing developments regardless of their shifting income. People are turning down the traditional dream of moving out of public housing and getting a place of their own in favor of staying put as the affordable housing crisis mounts throughout the city, which puts even more of a strain on the city's limited affordable housing stock. The Times reports that the average period a NYCHA tenant stays put these days is 22 years, up from 19 years in 2005 and 17 years in 1995. The longer stays are presenting a problem for NYCHA, which has 178,000 apartments, most in sore need of updates, with a 270,000-family-long waiting list.
In a Soho Loft, New York City's 1970s Art Scene Lives On
Welcome to House Calls, a recurring feature in which Curbed tours New Yorkers' lovely, offbeat, or otherwise awesome homes. Think your space should be featured next? Drop us a line.
[Bill Beckley, seated in his dining room under a wall painting by Sol LeWitt alongside Beckley's own work, 'Shoulder Blade', 1978. All photos by Cameron Blaylock.]
Guarded by a languorous King Charles Spaniel and Maine Coon cat, Bill Beckley takes a moment to answer the door at his Soho loft. When he finally does, the bespectacled artist—a veteran of New York's 1970s conceptual scene—is garbed in one of his signature dandy prints. Seated at a table made for for him by an Amish carpenter during a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he divulges that his Wooster Street loftwas not his first New York apartment. "Before this, I lived in a sailboat docked on City Island." With an impish grin, he adds, "I would row from City Island and take the bus to Sheridan Square where The Village Voice would distribute the day's apartment listings at 6 a.m. sharp."
Beckley's daily ritual came to a close when artist Gordon Matta-Clark, a close friend of Beckley's, suggested he move into the space below his own. The year was 1972, and Soho was the Wild West plopped into Downtown Manhattan. Building codes were lenient, police lackadaisical, and space— there was just so much space.
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Brooklyn Is Getting Another Weird-Looking Apartment Building
Sometimes it seems like developers and architects are playing a joke on the city with the designs of new buildings. When renderings for mismatched glassy messes or transformer-like stacks of boxes turn up, it's hard to believe these images actually depict buildings that will rise. But oh, they do. And more often than not, these buildings are in Brooklyn, like this gem planned for 369 Berry Street near South 6th Street. Brownstoner spotted the rendering on the construction fence, and it shows a building that defines the word "hodgepodge." Grey brick, red brick, glass balconies, off-white tiles, some kind of speckled pattern, a little bit of greenery, some unnecessary angles—this building has it all going on. Architect Charles Mallea and developer M&B Monroe Inc. are to thank.
$17M Could Jumpstart Pier 42's Long-Planned Makeover
The Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects-designed makeover of Pier 42 may be getting the funding to move forward with its first phase of construction, according to a report in The Broadsheet. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced at a July 23 board meeting that it may set aside $7 million for Pier 42, and another $10 million for improvements to the East River Esplanade, between Pier 42 and Beekman Street. The LMDC previously contributed $16 million to Pier 42 in 2011, which was used on the Mathews Nielsen design. The first phase would include demolishing the abandoned warehouse that currently sits at the site, replacing the asphalt around it with grass, and repairing adjacent bicycle and pedestrian paths.
$425K East Brooklyn Fixer-Upper Is a Perfect Summer Retreat
Our semi-regular feature, Monday Mansion, examines the most interesting mega homes on the market in the far reaches of New York. Have a listing in mind that we're missing? Tell us about it. To the outer boroughs we go!
The way out east Brooklyn neighborhood of Gerritsen Beach may not be known for splendid architecture, but this small standalone house is undeniably cute. Although it could use some work, the two-bedroom house could be a perfect summer retreat from the crush of Manhattan. The house is located one block off of Marine Park and, as per the listing, two blocks from a "sandy inlet for swimming, sunning and beach time." The sunny red-painted house is surrounded by a white picket fence and wrap-around terrace, where a little bit of gardening could go a long way. Its ask is comparatively tiny, too, at just $425,000.
Rare Batch of New Brooklyn Heights Rentals Now Up For Grabs
The vast majority of Brooklyn Heights was protected by the city's first historic district designation in the 1960s, but a small swath along Cadman Plaza West was not. So leave it to today's developers to sniff that out and build a new 19-story rental building on Montague Street between Clinton Street and Cadman Plaza West. Billed as "the first ground up new development rental high rise to come to market in Brooklyn Heights since 1999," 172 Montague Street is bringing 62 brand-spankin'-new rentals designed by Daniel Goldner Architects to the development-shy 'hood. They're not cheap either: a batch of listings range from $3,995 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom to $8,250for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom. Early rumors surrounding the development claimed that some apartments would ask up to $9,000 a month.
Work Might Actually Start at Embattled Former P.S. 64
Developer Gregg Singer bought the former P.S. 64 on East 9th Street in 1998 for $3.15 million, and has spent the last 17 years alternately trying to develop it into a dormitory and sell it for $40 million, with neither option working out so far. The latest update, via EV Grieve, is that permits for the dorm, for Joffrey Ballet School, were approved last month, to the surprise of East Villagers who have been lobbying for the landmarked building to be converted into a community facility, as zoning sort of requires. However, a Stop Work Order was issued at the site last September because Singer's application listed Joffrey as a "not-for-profit with housing accommodations as opposed to a dormitory," when it is, in fact, not. So another one may be forthcoming.
Checking In On the Conversion of Dumbo's Empire Stores
[Photo by Tectonic.]
The 19th century Empire Stores warehouses on the waterfront near the Brooklyn Bridge have sat empty for more than six decades, but they'll soon start a new life as a retail and office complex. Developer Midtown Equities is coming into the home stretch for its complete overhaul and conversion of the historic buildings into a 500,000-square-foot destination with new shops, eateries, and a rooftop beer garden. Professional construction watcher Tectonic recently checked in on the site, and the June opening date reported in January was obviously overly optimistic. Windows have been installed, and the rooftop addition is rising, though it looks like quite a bit of work still remains. We reached out to the team for details on the opening date; we'd be surprised if it was still expected to open before the end of the year.
UPDATE: The Empire Stores team says "construction is on schedule to be completed by November this year, however the tenants will open at different times once they take possession of their spaces."
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