Governor David A. Paterson, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and ABC Studios President Mark Pedowitz announced yesterday that the production of the popular ABC drama “Ugly Betty” will be moving to New York City to take advantage of the 35 percent tax credits provided by the State and City. This move marks the first time an established television show has made a move to New York City and will create over 200 full and part-time jobs.
The expansion of the State’s tax credit program tripled the percentage of qualified film production costs eligible for the credit from 10 percent to 30 percent and extends the program to 2013. Coupled with the City’s 5 percent ‘Made in NY’ tax credit, film companies can now take advantage of 35 percent of tax credits allowing New York to once again reclaim its spot as the premiere location for film production. Film and TV production contribute $5 billion per year to New York City’s economy. Production in NYC is scheduled to begin June 30th.
'Ugly Betty' stars Emmy-winner America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, Eric Mabius as Daniel Meade, Tony Plana as Ignacio, Ana Ortiz as Hilda, Ashley Jensen as Christina, Becki Newton as Amanda, Mark Indelicato as Justin, Michael Urie as Marc, Judith Light as Claire Meade, Christopher Gorham as Henry, Rebecca Romijn as Alexis and Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater. Freddy Rodriguez is a recurring guest star as Gio.
Welcome "Ugly Betty" relocating cast and executives. There are many fabulous places to live in NYC. Whether you decide to rent or buy there currently are many "trophy" apartments available throughout Manhattan. Click here to receive Manhattan Apartment Listings.
May 13, 2008
Welcome Home to NYC "Ugly Betty"
May 5, 2008
Dog Friendly NYC: Just Scoop the Poop!
Animal Fair magazine chose New York City as the nation's pet-friendliest destination.
Whether you live here or you're visiting New York City is a vibrant destination for visitors year-round - whether they're four-legged or two-legged.
Not only are most condos and many co-ops dog friendly in Manhattan but there are dog friendly hotels, restaurants and department stores.
Pet-friendly hotels include the London NYC, the W hotels in New York City, the Loews Regency, the SoHo and TriBeCa Grand Hotels, the Waldorf Towers, the Carlyle and the Hilton Times Square.
Pet-friendly department stores include Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue; the pet-friendly Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle (where the Bouchon Bakery sells "foie gras-enriched dog biscuits").
There are also several pet-friendly salons like Le Chien in Trump Plaza on Third Avenue; a pet-friendly pub, the Brooklyn Ale House in Williamsburg; and New York's Pet Taxi, a company that transports pets.
While NYC is the nations pet friendliest location, NY1.com reported new figures released today show the number of summonses handed out to dog walkers who do not pick up after their pets has more than doubled this year. This, after sanitation officials stepped up enforcement of scooping laws. Since last July, the city has taken in nearly $29,000 in fines for uncollected pet waste.
The Parks Department also hands out tickets to those who do not curb their pets in city parks. Dog owners who like to let their pets run free should think twice. Between July of last year and this April, more than $100,000 in fines were handed out for unleashed dogs. New Yorker's love their dogs but we love our city clean too.
To receive listings of pet and dog friendly Manhattan apartments click here and check dogs allowed under pet policy.
Apr 5, 2008
Green Condo Buildings in Manhattan
The Future is Now! 
Green technology and space age designs are currently under construction throughout Manhattan.
High Line 23 or HL23 (shown above) is a new green building from Neil M. Denari Architects that is currently under construction in the West Chelsea art gallery district at West 23rd Street and 10th Avenue.
The structure is a 14 floor mixed use of gallery space and condominiums with amazing views of the new High Line elevated park preservation and green space reuse project.
The condo will include nine floor-through apartments ranging in size from about 1,850 square feet to 2,600 square feet. Prices range from $2,750,000 to $10,500,000 for the 3700 square foot penthouse duplex unit with a terrace.
LEED certified homes combine systems that together create a holistically green building that is much more than energy savings. Energy, indoor air quality, water consumption, sustainable sites, landscaped roofs all create an envornmentally friendly building.
To receive LEED certificate a building has to earn 26 of 69 points on a scale created by the (LEED) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the country's most popular green benchmark. Certification of silver, gold or platunum can happen up to a year after the building is completed. Green buildings are required to be 14 per cent more efficient than regular building codes dictate.
GreenHomeNYC.org can provide more information about what to look for in a green home.
Riverhouse: One Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City *(LEED Gold)
The Brompton: 205 East 85th Street, Upper East Side *(LEED Silver)
The Harrison: West 76th Street, Upper West Side *(LEED Silver)
HL23: 515-717 West 23rd Street, Chelsea (LEED Gold)
The Kalahari: 40 West 116th Street, Harlem *(LEED Silver)
1400 on 5th: 1400 Fifth Avenue, Harlem *(LEED level pending)
Millenium Tower Residences: 30 West St. BPC (LEED Gold rating )
The Lucida: 151 East 85th Street, Upper East Side *(LEED Silver)
(search 'green' on search this blog for updated information)
Jan 24, 2008
Upper West Side Update: No Walgreens on Broadway
Back in September I wrote a post Say No to DRUGS store chains, after 4 of my long-time neighborhood mom and pop stores and restaurants were forced out of business to make way for a mega-Walgreens store.
I expressed my opinion that another mega drugstore chain was not needed or wanted on the Upper West Side of Manhattan since we already have Duanne Reed on every other block.
Since July this is how my once vibrant block looks like now: Boarded up gutted interior with billboards. This is a familiar look throughout Manhattan. Landlords are not renewing leases from small retailers because they prefer to stay empty until a mega national big box chain comes along willing to pay much more for the space.
All this time, I thought Walgreens was working on the interiors and they would be opening soon. Until I saw this sign the other day: Apparantly the Walgreens deal fell through. Maybe they read my blog. :)
While it's too late for The Malaysia Grill and the Korean grocer and flower shop since the four stores have already been turned into 6,500 square feet of retail space.
I'm really happy we won't be getting a Walgreens ( I hear I'm getting one next to my office a few blocks away on Columbus)
I'm hoping for something good for the neighborhood. We already have plenty of banks and drugstores. It's prime real estate that has been empty for more than six months.
Dec 2, 2007
Nov 20, 2007
Tis The Season!
Manhattan is particularly beautiful this time of year.During the next few weeks I will be posting photographs taken from around the city.
Tomorrow look for the balloons from The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Blowing up the balloons the night before Thanksgiving is an Upper West Side tradition. Always crowded and a fun evening for all.
Oct 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
At 2:15 today we will get either a trick or treat from the Federal Reserve. Another rate reduction to offset the national turbulence in the housing and credit markets will certainly be a treat.
Halloween in Manhattan: 
THE NEW MEL BROOKS BROADWAY MUSICAL YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN:
Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein is the hot ticket on Broadway this fall. The production stars Roger Bart (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein), Megan Mullally (Elizabeth), Sutton Foster (Inga), Shuler Hensley (The Monster), Fred Applegate (Kemp) and Christopher Fitzgerald (Igor).
If you can get a ticket, it's great way to celebrate Halloween! The new musical Young Frankenstein is at The Hilton Theatre on 42nd Street.
If you're lucky enough to get tickets here you will enjoy it. I saw it last week in previews - It is Fabulous!
Based on the hit 1974 film the show's score includes "The Transylvania Mania," "He Vas My Boyfriend" and the unforgettable treatment of Irving Berlin's "Putting On the Ritz."
GREENWICH VILLAGE HALOWEEN PARADE:
The 34th Annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade starts at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday October 31st.
New York's Village Halloween Parade is now in it's 34th year. This year, the 34th Annual Village Halloween Parade celebrates Wings of Desire. If you've never been to the Village Halloween parade it's a MUST SEE!
- The nation's largest public Halloween celebration
- Named as The Greatest Event on Earth by Festivals International for October31
- Attended by over 2 million people, seen by over 4 million on TV
- The nation's only major night Parade
- Seen LIVE on NY 1 Television and nationally on In Demand Hi Def TV
- Listed as one of the 100 Things to do Before You Die.
TWELTH ANNUAL HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR CELEBRATION at THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY:
More than 30 of the Museum's halls open for trick-or-treating, arts-and-crafts, fun with roaming cartoon characters, live performances, and a pumpkin carver. Come in your Halloween costume! Wednesday, October 31.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Oct 29, 2007
Hotel Des Artistes - 1 West 67th Street
Originally built to house painters and sculptors, this beautiful 1918 building - with studios that feature double-height windows and wonderful light - quickly began to draw artistic residents from other fields.
In 1922 Rudolph Valentino America's hottest movie star at the time rented a bachelor pad at Des Artistes, even though he was married to his second wife, Natasha Rambova at the time. Actually he was still married to his first wife, Jean Acker because his divorce in California would not be final until the following year.
Valentino was charged with bigamy in California. Fed up with Hollywood's provincialism, Valentino and Natasha escaped to New York. Not wanting any more trouble from the authorities Valentino moved into des Artistes alone. Natasha resided with an aunt who lived on the same west 67th street block.
Besides Valentino, des Artistes famous former and current residents included artist Norman Rockwell, playwright Noel Coward and former NYC mayor John Lindsay.
On the ground floor of the Hotel des Artistes is the elegant Cafe des Artistes - noted for it's naughty murals by resident Howard Chandler Christy.
As of this writing there is currently one active listing at the Hotel des Artistes.
A large 1 bedroom duplex, plus home office or Den, with 2 baths. Original wood paneling in living room and all original details throughout the apartment.
Price: $1,630,000 - monthly maintenance: $1277.
Hotel des Artistes converted to a coo-op in 1970. Building amenities include a Garden; Fitness Room; Pool; Laundry Room; Rooftop Deck;
For more information about Hotel des Artistes or any other Manhattan building please contact me.
Sep 29, 2007
"Say No to DRUGS" store chains
Where have all the little ethnic restaurants, produce markets, take -out and bagel shops gone?
They've been forced out of business to make room for the higher paying retail tenants the drugstore chains and banks.
Duane Reade, CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens have become the new face of Manhattan and it's not a pretty face.
A new Walgreens is coming to the Upper West Side on Broadway between 87th and 88th Street. There already is a Duane Reade at 89th and a CVS on Amsterdam between 86th and 87th Street. There are Duane Reade's on both sides of Broadway at practically every other block.
We no longer have drug dealers on the streets now we have drug store chains on every street.
I buy paper towels and windex and aspirin even need prescriptions sometimes just like the next person - Every neigborhood should have a drug store. But how many stores selling the same junk does a neighborhood need or can tolerate?
Does every block need one? Do we need new zoning laws restricting the number of mega drugstore chains?
IMHO the bigger these stores are the worse they are. I can never find anything, I run in for something, can't find it, end up wandering through an obstacle course of aisles and always end up having to go elsewhere. They are not very crowded until you get to the cashier and then you can grow old waiting on line.
Everything is always about real estate in NYC. Because of drugstore chain competition they have driven rents up 20% - 50% more than their value.
They all want the Manhattan market and are willing to pay more for the space than it's worth. They force out great restaurants, and bagel shops, produce and flower markets all the things that New Yorkers love that make a neighborhood great.
Many Manhattanites live in coops, they can choose their neighbors, should they be able to choose the retail flavor of their communities too? Drugstore-covered streets are not popular with many New Yorkers.
Drugstore chains might not hurt a neighborhood but they add nothing to it. They are big and ugly. They turn a vibrant street that once had people waiting to get into a good restaurant or shopping at the 24 hour local market into a block of neon and florecent lights with tacky window displays. They suck the life out of a once vibrant block.
They don't even stay open 24 hours. What ever happened to the city that never sleeps?
Eventually many of these stores will close, I've seen over expansion before. I lived here in the 80's and 90's too. Back then at least there were interesting trendy innovative places that would come and go.
Sep 9, 2007
Apartment Room Count
I read The New York Post's Saturday real estate section and their real estate blog online. I get it by email. Nobody does gossip better than The Post. They often write about mistakes they find in the paper of record (The NY Times) and the other NY tabloid The Daily News.
Since I am a Manhattan real estate broker I certainly know how to count rooms in an apartment. Now that I have a blog I can write about mistakes in the media too.
Jane Reilly Mount wrote in the NY Post's real estate section that a "classic six" apartment only has five rooms and reported that only the "classics" count the kitchen in the total count of rooms and other apartments do not.
Kitchens are always included in apartment room count except for a Pullman kitchen which is not a room. The number of baths are counted separate."Why is a "classic six" called that when it’s only five rooms? Shouldn’t it be a
"classic five?" Oh clever mathematician ... right you are. "Classic six" is
a term defining the type of layout often found in prewar buildings of the
fancier sort common on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. To qualify for
the moniker, the apartment must include two full-size bedrooms, a living room, a
formal dining room and a maid’s room. Which makes five rooms! Oddly enough, only the "classics" count the kitchen in the total count of rooms, unlike all other
apartments, which brings it to six." Jane Reilly Mount The New York Post
For the record there is a "classic five" (two bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen) There is also a "classic seven" (three bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, maids room)
My favorite is the "Edwardian five." (one bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, maids room) New Yorkers lived quite grand during the Edwardian era (circa 1900-1920) The Edwardian five was a great apartment for entertaining.
Today families reconfigure the dining room and maids room into a second and small third bedroom. The small maids bath can be used as a laundry room or powder room.
As a service to my readers, NY Post readers and Manhattan apartment buyers below is the recommended method of residential room count found in the Residential Guide devised by REBNY's Residential Brokerage Division. (Real Estate Board of New York)
Apartment Room Count:
| 1 | room | Studio with pullman kitchen |
| 1½ | rooms | Studio with pullman kitchen and alcove or dining area |
| 2 | rooms | Studio with separate kitchen |
| 2½ | rooms | Studio with separate kitchen and sleeping alcove |
| 2½ | rooms | 1 bedroom with Pullman kitchen and living room |
| 3 | rooms | 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen |
| 3½ | rooms | 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining area |
| 4 | rooms | 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining room - or -2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen |
| 4½ | rooms | 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining area |
| 5 | rooms | 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room |
| 5½ | rooms | 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining area |
| 6 | rooms | 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, maid's room |
| 7 | rooms | 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, maid's room - or -2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, 2 maid's rooms |
| 8 | rooms | 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, 2 maid's rooms |
| 9 | rooms | Typically 3 bedrooms, library, living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 maid's rooms |
| 10 | rooms | Typically 3 bedrooms, library, living room, dining room, kitchen, 3 maid's rooms |
| 11 | rooms | Typically 4 bedrooms, library, living room, dining room, kitchen, 3 maid's rooms |
| 12 | rooms | Typically 4 bedrooms, library, living room, dining room, kitchen, either 4 maid's rooms or servant hall and 3 maid's rooms |
| 13 | rooms | 4 bedrooms, library, living room, dining room, kitchen, 4 maid's rooms and servant's hall |
| 14 | rooms | 5 bedrooms, library, living room, dining room, kitchen, 4 maid's rooms and servant's hall |
For more information about Manhattan, NYC apartment and building terminology click below:
New York City Apartment Terminology A to Z
New York City Building Terminology
Search here for Manhattan Apartments or here to receive listings by email.
Sep 8, 2007
Manhattan Coop Financing Allowed
In Today's NY Post an article titled The 25 Percent Solution By Jane Reilly Mount reports about a coop in the meat packing district. The author is a shareholder, the board raised the required down payment from 15% to 25%.
The author reports that real estate agents living in the building are opposed to the 25% and would prefer 20%. The pros and cons discussed were:
- Pro: higher-percent down payment from new buyers protects current residents now and in the future.
- Con: hurts those residents looking to sell now by narrowing the pool of potential buyers.
An increase in the amount required for a down payment does not bring any additional revenue to the coop. The down payment goes to the seller. The coop and shareholders benefit by having more qualified buyers that most likely can afford financial emergencies.
Every coop has different financial needs. Some coops would rather have a buyer with a large mortgage and liquid assets than an ALL CASH buyer that is using up all their assets to buy the apartment.
IMHO the financial requirements for purchasing in most Manhattan coops has insulated the Manhattan residential real estate market from the current mortgage/housing/foreclosure crisis taking place throughout the rest of the country.
In many parts of the country home ownership "The American Dream" has become an entitlement. Buyers didn't need to save for a downpayment with 100% financing and many didn't even need incomes to purchase with stated income loans.
75% of home ownership in Manhattan is in coops. Buyers looking for coops have to be financially responsible and extremly qualified. The required down payment automatically gives coop shareholders equity and an asset the day they close. Manhattan coop home owners have some "skin-in-the game."
A study conducted by Miller Samuel and NYU in 2003 studied the amenities and attributes including financial requirements of NYC apartments.
The study used the 60 to 79 percent financing-allowed category -- the most common -- as the reference point. The study concluded the higher the barriers the higher the coop sale price.
Co-ops that allow 80 to 99 percent financing had a 2.71 percent discount from the reference point. Co-ops allowing 40 to 59 percent financing saw a 14.55 percent premium. Those that allow 10 to 39 percent financing had a 22.19 percent premium. All-cash co-ops, those that don't allow any financing, had a 47.94 percent premium.
Aug 26, 2007
Columbia, NYU; Apartments - Real Estate Empires
Summer is almost over as evidenced today by the crowds of NYU students in Greenwich Village. With a little help from their parents they moved into dorms and apartments in Greenwich Village. Today is NYU "move-in-day."
A similar scenario takes place in Morningside Heights as Columbia University students begin moving in to their dorms and luxury apartments that Columbia owns.
Both NYU and Columbia have been building real estate empires in their respective Manhattan neighborhoods. Both private non profit institutions have real estate holdings worth more than half a billion dollars. Columbia ownes more than 7,000 apartments and it's real estate is worth approximately $635 million. This number excludes the value of wharehoused property it has not yet converted to educational use.
Columbia has ambitious plans to expand the campus from Morningside Heights to include 18 acres from 129th St. to 133rd Street in the Manhattanville section of West Harlem. The expansion plan will take 25 years with phase 1 to be completed by 2015.
While there has been growing community opposition both school's strategy is to build prestige by buying up real estate in an effort to recruit top faculty and students from around the world by offering apartment housing perks in Manhattan.
Many community leaders feel both these private non profit institutions are benefiting at tax payers expense by reducing the city tax revenue by taking so many buildings off the city's tax rolls.
There is no doubt that Columbia and NYU bring cultural, scientific and intellectual prestige to NYC. Many graduates will choose to live in NYC as their careers will be here. They will pay city and state income tax. They might even start whole new industries. They will buy real estate.
Manhattan attracts graduates from top schools from all over the country and abroad. More than 50% of Wharton Business School's class of 2007 have moved to Manhattan.
To all the new students entering NYU, Columbia and all the other fine undergraduate, graduate, law schools and med schools throughout NYC, I wish you all much success.
Parents from all over the country are investing in Manhattan real estate while their children are attending schools here. Many parents are buying condos for their adult children and for themselves and other family members.
For many it is a great investment. Children get housing while in school and starting their careers, the parents get a great asset and a pied-a-terre in Manhattan.
To search Manhattan MLS listings ~ To receive ALL Available Apartment listings emailed.
Jul 18, 2007
"Market Data" on Website
How many Manhattan condos were sold in the fourth quarter last year?
What is the percentage increase in average apartment price in the 10022 zip code over the past five years?
These questions can easily be answered on my CBHK website, which now boasts a "Market Data" button with extensive information about the Manhattan and New York City real estate markets.
The Market Data on my website consists of an overview of the entire New York City market, including average sales prices from the past 5-10 years, median prices, prices per room and average prices per zip code.
In addition, prices for Manhattan co-ops, condos, lofts, townhouses and luxury real estate are broken down.
Jul 14, 2007
$225,000 Parking Spot: If you're lucky
In many markets throughout the country $225,000 gets you a three bedroom house with perhaps a nice back yard.
There have been many new developments in Manhattan the last several years. Many do not have garages which can be a deal breaker for many new condo buyers.
Many buildings that do have garages usually have an outside vendor running the garage and anyone can rent a spot if they are available. A parking spot can cost any where from $350 to $600/month or more depending on the location. Some coops own garages and the spaces are for residents only.
New York Towers where I currently have an exclusive listing charges $250/month for residents. 2 Fifth Avenue a prestigeous coop in Greenwich Village has parking spots available for shareholders at discount rates.
Some of the new developments such as The Onyx Chelsea, a new 52-unit condo at 28th Street and Eighth Avenue, is selling parking spots. The first two spots sold for $165,000, the third for $175,000 and the last two for $195,000. Each space will include about $50 in monthly maintenance costs. There are three buyers on a waiting list.
While the mayor is pushing for "congestion pricing" trying to impose an $8. per day charge for cars below 86th Street in Manhattan between 6 a.m.and 6 p.m - doesn't seem to be stopping anyone who wants a car in Manhattan that can afford it.
What's $8.00 a day when you can pay $225,000 plus $50/month maintenace to have a car. Since Manhattan has become very suburbanized and since so many of the new Manhattan buyers are from the suburbs, Why should they give up their cars? If they can afford a quarter of a million dollars to park it - they should be entitled to drive it.
According to The New York Times eight people are hoping for the chance to buy one of five private parking spaces for $225,000 in the basement of 246 West 17th Street, a 34-unit condo development scheduled for completion next January
Parking is at a premium in Manhattan. You get what you pay for and for many buyers $225,000 is a bargain.
Jul 7, 2007
Manhattan Market Still Rising: 2Q-07 Update
This week Manhattan brokers released their 2Q-07 market reports. While the numbers are always a little different from each report the consensus seems to be condo prices rose while coops prices declined slightly and overall apartment average prices are up and inventory is down.
According to a report by Miller Samuel, a leading appraisal company the average sales price of Manhattan condos and co-ops dropped from $1.39 million in second-quarter 2006 to $1.33 million in second-quarter 2007, and the median sales price rose from $880,000 in second-quarter 2006 to $895,000 in second-quarter 2007.
The average price per square foot was $1,139 in the second quarter, up 5 percent compared to second-quarter 2006, and the for-sale inventory declined 31.5 percent, to 5,237 units.
Price per square foot increased 10.7 percent among uptown for-sale units, to $630; 7.2 percent for downtown units, to $1,099; 4.3 percent for west side units, to $1,153; and declined 4 percent for east side units, to $1,134.
Condos and co-ops spent an average 117 days on market in the second quarter, down 18.6 percent compared with 144 days in second-quarter 2006.
While the median sales price of Manhattan condos climbed 5.1 percent and the average price rose 0.3 percent in the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year, the median sales price of co-ops dropped 3.7 percent and the average price dropped 11.2 percent.
Miller Samuel reported 1,595 co-op sales and 2,344 condo sales in the second quarter.
Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property, in their report by economist Gregory J. Heym, announced a 7 percent rise in the average price and an 11 percent rise in the median price of Manhattan co-ops and condos in the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year.
The average sale price, according to this report, rose across the board for every size co-op and condo in the second quarter compared to the prior year's quarter, and was up 18.3 percent for units with four or more bedrooms, 11.4 percent for studios, 10 percent for one-bedroom units, 5.1 percent for two-bedroom units and .06 percent for three-bedroom units.
The average price per square foot for Manhattan condos and co-ops increased from $999 in second-quarter 2006 to $1,122 in second-quarter 2007, a rise of 12.3 percent.
The market is strong in Manhattan I see it everyday. However these numbers should always be taken with a grain of salt. No body lives in an average or median apartment. There are always variables and not every apartment goes up or down in sync.
Many people want to live in Manhattan. From all demographics and all over the world. For many buyers condos have always been worth more simply because they are easy to buy and many buyers might not be eligible for a coop and there are less condos than coops in Manhattan.
Coops are still a fact of life for most Manhattanites but the "exclusivity", "character and charm" along with difficult boards are becoming less desirable as opposed to new luxury condos with many amenities and flexibility for the new breed of buyers in Manhattan.
For more information: Miller Samuel, New York Times
Jun 29, 2007
New Manhattan Avenue Historic District
The Landmarks Preservation Commission recently created a new historic district in Morningside Heights on the Upper West Side.
The newly created historic district is comprised of 40 buildings on Manhattan Avenue between 104th and 106th Streets. Unlike many of Manhattan's earlier row houses, which were primarily built with brownstone facades in the classical style, the structures in the new Manhattan Avenue district combine Gothic, Queen Anne and Romanesque features.
Originally called "New" Avenue when it was created in 1868, Manhattan Avenue starts at 100th Street and continues to 125th street where it merges with St. Nicholas Avenue.
Manhattan Avenue irregularly divides Morningside Heights and West Harlem. Morningside is West of Manhattan Ave including Columbia University, Saint John the Divine and Morningside Park. To the East of Manhattan Ave but west of Frederick Douglas Boulevard (AKA Central Park West below 110th Street.) is considered West Harlem.
New York City now has 87 historic districts. The new designation means property owners need to get the Landmarks Commission approval for changes to building exteriors.
For more information about Morningside Heights click here.
To search MLS IDX listings in Morningside Heights and West Harlem click here.
To receive Morningside Heights, West Harlem or any other Manhattan listings by email click here.
Jun 26, 2007
In the ZONE: "congestion pricing"
I just saw a piece on Fox 5 with Arnold Diaz uncovering a parking scam on the Upper West Side at The Landmark Beacon Theatre on Broadway. My office is on Columbus Avenue between 75th and 76th Street two blocks away.
There was a Stealy Dan concert a couple of weeks ago. Parking is tight so employees of the Avis rent a car at the corner were selling parking spaces in the street for $25. The reporter went undercover and caught them on tape moving the Avis cars from the spots on the street and charging concert goers for the spots.
It is illegal to sell street parking, scalping tickets at concerts is illegal too. I'm not condoning it but the concert goers didn't seem to be complaining about the Valet Parking.
Traffic and parking in Manhattan is a major issue. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has a plan to charge motorists to drive below 86th Street in Manhattan.
If approved, many real estate brokers are already saying it may do more than simply reduce traffic, noise and pollution in the Manhattan business districts. They are saying that it could add an extra sense of exclusivity to what is already some of the most expensive residential real estate in the country.
Mayor Bloomberg’s plan for what he calls “congestion pricing” would impose fees of up to $8 a day for cars and $21 a day for trucks driving below 86th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays
Lucky for me I live between 86th and 87th St. right on The Golden Line. According to the NY Times "Crossing the Gold Line" By JOSH BARBANEL who called it the golden boundaries that
lassoed in hundreds of residential buildings where some of the most affluent New Yorkers live, including Mr. Bloomberg on East 79th Street.
There is a similar plan in London. I'm not sure what affect charging a toll will have but the right zip codes and phone prefixes have become status symbols so I suppose the golden traffic zone might become one too. It is also possible that the neighborhoods north of 86th will be in demand for people who want to keep cars without paying "congestion pricing".
Jun 20, 2007
Hot Town, Summer in the City: Residential Market Report
Summer is here and the Manhattan Residential market has not cooled down. Sales activity remains strong, especially among the priciest properties reports The Real Deal.
While new condos hit the market, co-ops are in short supply. Listing inventory is up, but less than last year and the upper end of the market is thriving.
On May 15th I posted the REBNY Residential city wide sales report that reported a 23% increase in apartment sale prices in NYC for the 1st quarter of 07 compared to 06. According to the REBNY report the average first quarter sale price rose to $1,107,000.
Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel appraisal firm says prices rose 5.4% to $1,290,000. There is high level activity across the market and upper-end pricey properties areharder to find.
I've been very busy the last several months. Actually it's been really busy since Thanksgiving. The market has been busy there are bidding wars. Some apartments in bidding wars are selling for 20% above ask.
I really thought after Memorial Day it would be slow and I could get to the beach this summer. I thought wrong. I guess there is always 4th of July.
Jun 18, 2007
Manhattan Landmark: Grand Central Terminal
Originally "Grand Central Depot" Reborn "Grand Central Station" Re built "Grand Central Terminal"
In 1913 Grand Central Terminal opened and became an anchor for the real estate development in the midtown Manhattan neighborhood.
Today Grand Central is completely restored back to it's 1913 splendor, Grand Central has become a Manhattan destination for it's 5 star restaurants including the Oyster Bar & Restaurant the Landmark seafood restaurant on the lower level.
The Campbell Apartment has been fully restored to its original splendor -- and reborn as a chic cocktail lounge, formerly the private office and salon of 1920's tycoon, John W. Campbell.
Cipriani Dolci, Charlie Palmer's Métrazur, and Michael Jordan's The Steak House N.Y.C. are among the restaurants, cocktail lounges and shops. Casual Dining international eateries are in the lower level Dining Concourse.
Gourmet foods from the Food Halls of Grand Central Market include Zaro's Bread Basket, Wild Edibles, Pescatore Seafood Company, Penzeys Spices, Oren's Daily Roast, Murray's Cheese, Li-Lac Chocolates, Koglin German Hams, Greenwich Produce, Dishes at Home, Corrado Bread & Pastry, Ceriello Fine Foods and Bella Cucina. There are also 50 unique specialty Shops throughout the concourses, all in addition to train transportation.
Vanderbilt Hall, the Terminal's 12,000 square foot former Main Waiting Room, is the site for ongoing free promotions and entertainment events. New York Transit Museum Gallery & Store is located in the shuttle passway.
Commuters and travelers running to catch a train or subway - no matter how late they are pause to take in the magnificent man-made-wonder of Grand Central Terminal.
Architecural Features:
- Triumphal arches flanked by Corinthian columns at entranceway
- World-renowned, 50-foot-high sculpture by Jules- Alexis Coutan of Mercury, Minerva and Hercules
- New York icon timepieces: 13-foot, century-old Tiffany clock above entrance; famous four-faced gold clock on top of information booth inside
- Double staircase in Botticino marble modeled after the Paris Opera House
- 470-foot-long Main Concourse, longer than the nave of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
- Vaulted Sky Ceiling of zodiac constellations painted by French artist Paul Helleu
One of the reasons so many New Yorkers fought to save Grand Central from the wrecking ball is because Pennsylvania Station, Manhattan's other station on the west side of Manhattan originally the monumental 1910 Beaux-Arts masterpiece of architects McKim, Mead and White, was leveled, and replaced with the fourth Madison Square Garden.
15 years ago a determined Senator Moynihan said it's time to rebuild Penn Station. The Farley post office is being transformed into the new Penn Station (The Moynihan Station) The plans look more spectacular even than Grand Central.
For more information including the complete history of the advent of the railroad in NYC, the history of Grand Central Terminal and information on it's shops, food, restaurant menus, tours and events visit the Grand Central website
Jun 1, 2007
Manhattan Neighborhood: Harlem
Harlem was established in 1658 by the Dutch and named Nieuw Harlem after the Dutch city of Harlem. This large section of Manhattan real estate has a deep spirit, culture and history.
Harlem passed through several historic periods - as a high-society area of New York for wealthy upper class and middle class white residents...as a fashionable district for blacks during a period known as the "Harlem Renaissance"...as one of the hottest night club playgrounds for audiences who came uptown to see the all black revues to gangsters and entertainers in grand style at the famous night spots.
Beginning in the 1870s Harlem was the site of a massive wave of development which resulted in the construction of numerous new single-family row-houses, tenements, and luxury apartment houses, New York's black middle class began moving to Harlem.
During the "Harlem Renaissance" of the 1920s, Harlem became the urban cultural center of black America, with its center around 135th Street between Lenox and Seventh Avenues.
Affluent African-Americans began moving to "Sugar Hill" in the late 1920s. "Sweet and Expensive," signifying that one had arrived, economically and socially Sugar Hill was celebrated for its exclusivity and status. The Hill attracted those with talent, money, education, and social prominence.
- East Harlem/El Barrio (Spanish Harlem) community stretches from First Avenue to Fifth Avenue and from East 96th Street to East 125th Street.
- Central Harlem stretches from Central Park North to the Harlem River and from Fifth Avenue to St. Nicholas Avenue.
- West Harlem, including Hamilton Heights and Sugar Hill, stretches from 123rd to 155th Streets and from St. Nicholas Avenue to the Hudson River
For the last few years there has been another wave of development and construction in Harlem. New condo development has surged in Harlem like the rest of Manhattan and there appears to be enough demand by buyers to meet supply.
A new luxury glass condo at 111 Central Park North has 2 and 3 bedroom apartments with breathtaking Park Views starting at $1.5 million, $1300 per-square-foot. It appears Central Park North is getting numbers equivalent to prices on Central Park West and Upper 5th Avenue. Harlem condos typically sell for $550 to $800 per-square-foot. Townhouses run $350 to $500 a square foot if it requires no renovation. If it's a shell, it's about $250 to $300 a square foot.
A diversified mix of New Buyers think Harlem is an exciting place to live because it is still on the island and they are priced out of downtown. They are coming to Harlem for the neighborhood's history and the immaculate houses on Strivers Row and new condos all over Harlem. The fixer-upper brownstones that were a steal have been gone for a couple of years now. Most Townhouse owners have cashed out already. Many have been renovated and many sellers have priced them too high.
Developers have converted brownstone, shells of buildings and narrow vacant lots into condominium apartments. For Manhattan home buyers, this new wave of condo conversion in Harlem provides an opportunity to live in a neighborhood with small-scale buildings. Harlem zoning does not allow for very large buildings. These apartments, typically floor-throughs and duplexes come with town house amenities, like terraces, gardens, fireplaces, and uncommonly good light for Manhattan. There are new condo townhouses from Morningside to Mount Morris Park, Sugar Hill and Strivers Row.
New larger buildings with doormen and other amenities have gone up on Harlem's Avenues.
The Lenox is on Lenox Avenue at 129th Street.
The Dwyer Condos - Warehouse Lofts at 123rd Street
The Dwyer condos at 123rd and St. Nicholas are more like downtown loft buildings.
Harlem is a location with history, spirit, culture and affordability. Harlem may be the neighborhood you are looking for. It's becoming a popular location for all types of people. Bill Clinton has moved in! All the new construction in Harlem it hasn't lost its old historic flavor. There are still many prewar buildings and beautiful 19th century townhouses featuring fireplaces and molding and lovely backyards.
Harlem is home to Columbia University and the world renowned Apollo Theater where such greats as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Aretha Franklin performed. One of the area's most notable attractions is the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. This awesome Episcopal cathedral, on 112th Street near Columbia University, is exceptional in its melding of Gothic, Byzantine and Romanesque architecture. More and more businesses are flocking in to meet the needs of this resurrected neighborhood.
So take the A train up to Harlem and enjoy the pulsating beat and affordable housing!
To search Harlem property listings click here. To receive hot new lisings by email click here .
