Upper West Sider's Say No to DRUGS store Billboard!

I am not a big fan of Duane Reed or any other big box drug store chain. Their strategy of opening a store on every block is not enough for them, now one of their newest mega 24 hour stores has digital 24 hour billboards with glaring lights into the intersection and apartments.

Just in case somebody might not have noticed their presence on every block they are now projecting advertisements directly onto the busy intersection and into some people's homes.

The new Duanne Reade at 72nd Street and Broadway has installed a large digital billboard at the intersection of West 72nd in the window of their huge 2nd story retail space.

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) will be serving the drug chain with Notice(s) of Violation for failing to comply with zoning regulation, which prohibit the use of illuminated signs on the second floor of buildings.

While most of New York City is going green including the lights on Broadway and the constellations in Grand Central terminal. The 21st century "drug pusher" is going neon.

Coalition for a Livable West Side suggests residents or any one just walking the street to call "311" and ask for the Department of Buildings - "I wish to protest the illegal large digital billboard on the Duane reade store on "The Corner 200 West building" and demand its immediate removal. No hearing. No fines. The address is 200 West 72nd Street. Tax Block No. 1163, Tax lot No. 33. Contact the owners of the building at 212-721-1200 email: info@200West72.com.

Public Hearing for West End Avenue Historic District

A public hearing has ben announced for West End Avenue Historic District Extension. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday March 22nd at approximately 12:30 PM at Landmarks Preservation Commission 1 Centre Street, 9th Floor.

West End Avenue Proposed Historic District

For more on this important issue, go to the Landmark West blog: Landmark West Blog 

For specific questions about this public hearing, or about owning a home or apartment in a historic district and the regulatory process, call LANDMARK WEST! at 212-496-8110.  

Manhattan Monthly Market Snapshot: February 2011

Manhattan Townhouse Market Report

The Corcoran Group published the Manhattan Townhouse Report. The report is a survey of closed sales market-wide in 2010 (as compared to 2009).  It surveys several distinct markets, as well as the luxury high-end, breaking out single-family homes from multi-family ones (for the purpose of the report, multi-family townhouses contained two, three or four units only; buildings with more were classified as apartment buildings and were not included).  Only arms-length transactions are studied.

In 2010, there were 196 market-wide townhouse transactions, a 61 percent increase over 2009. Both
the single-family and multi-family sectors increased in sales volume, by 68 percent and 54 percent,
respectively, versus 2009. While both markets improved sharply in sales from a year ago, price
performance differed considerably.

In the single-family market, median price grew 6 percent from a year ago to $5.825 million while
average price per square foot increased 8 percent to $1,619. Multi-family townhouse sales, however,
decreased 3 percent in median price to $1.65 million while average price per square foot decreased 12
percent to $709 per square foot.

Download the complete report here: Manhattan Townhouse Report.

Mixed-use Townhouses with Commercial Space Mixed-use Townhouses with Commercial Space

Townhouse listings