From the March issue: After steamrolling across the city, the condo boom headed to Harlem, promising high-end buildings in a neighborhood more known for historic brownstones. Many of those condos are now hitting the market during the bust, and developers are doing more than just dropping prices. They are looking for ways to trim costs, scale back amenities or squeeze margins. The list of Harlem projects that have either just come on the market or are getting ready to launch is long. In December, the 11-unit Sedona at 346 East 119th Street had a soft market launch, as did the 13-story Metropolis, which has 13 units, at 51 East 128th Street. The Douglass, at 2110 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, added 38 units to the market. At 2131 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, LivMor’s 73 condos were listed in January. The Madera, at 18 West 129th Street, has 12 units on the way. The Embelesar, at 152 East 118th Street, has 14. And the list goes on. [more]
"Downtown Brooklyn? Are you kidding me?? Have any of you guys actually BEEN there at night? It's probably the most depressing places in the city. It feels like Hartford, CT on the weekend. Yes, Brownstone Brooklyn proper is much nicer than Williamsburg for a bunch of reasons - but trying to say Downtown Brooklyn is better than Williamsburg - sorry, not buying it."—anon [What $2.4 Million Buys in Williamsburg Nowadays]
1. Lack of credit stymies Milford Plaza renovation effort [Crain’s] 2. Bronx girl imperiled by collapsed roof, other hazardous conditions in city-run apartment [NYDN] 3. Revisiting 104-106 Bowery six years later [NYT] 4. Crane removal begins at Beekman Tower construction site [LMCCC] 5. Seacaucus police officer charged in alleged $530K mortgage fraud scheme[Mortgage Fraud Blog] 6. Carnegie Hall's elderly artists [DNAInfo] 7. School denied Gowanus relocation request [Post] 8. In midst of Aqueduct chaos, Hard Rock reiterates interest [WSJ] 9. Zell, Roth and Mack weigh in on REIT questions[A Student of the Real Estate Game] 10.Census fails to recognize Astoria [Why Leave Astoria?!] 11. WTC workers to get special hearing [Post] 12. With Web site launch, Eventi Hotel races to possible May 14 opening date [Hotel Chatter] 13.J. Crew plans 15 new store locations this year [GlobeSt] 14. Report claims Fuld "negligent" in Lehman collapse [Bloomberg] 15. Identifying a "serial renovator"[Manhattan Loft Guy]
The Brooklyn Bridge Park, now under construction with a planned playground, is fueling interest in the nearby One Brooklyn Bridge Park condo.Are the outlines of an ambitious swing-set-and-slide area lifting sales at One Brooklyn Bridge Park?
A young resident of Old Hill, poised for the catch at Nash's Pond, one of the many small bodies of water that define the area's character.Preservation fights can be notably fierce in Old Hill, Conn., a town know for it’s ponds.
"Fraud is an ever present risk," said attorney and certified fraud examiner Kenneth Citarella in this Habitat Magazine video. He and accountant Mindy Eisenberg Stark, also a certified fraud examiner, outlined ways that co-op and condominium boards can become victims of fraud and some measures they can take to protect themselves. There is vendor fraud, where workers are fictitious, Stark
said, or bona fide workers may overstate expenses and submit vouchers
for work they did not do, Citarella noted. There is also bidding fraud
as well as accounting fraud. One thing a building should do to use a checks and balances system is have separate accountants for the management company and the board. Boards need to keep in mind that an audit is meant "to state whether financial documents are fairly stated," Stark said, not find fraud, although an audit is done "with an eye toward whether fraud could exist in the environment." When faced with signs of fraud, Citarella said, the board should consult the homeowners about whether to proceed. "It's their money," after all, he added.
Dr. Stephen Krieger and Dr. Nada Gligorov prevailed over a lender who didn’t like the size of their prospective building’s reserve fund.It doesn’t take much to trip up these days and the problem may be a more demanding Fannie May.
Aside from the promise of a few fishes down below and some legal eagles up top, pinning down prospective tenants at the new 11 Times Square office tower has proven to be problematic. But additional names were recently affixed to this 35-story skyscraper from SJP Properties. Just outside the entry doors at Eighth Avenue and 41st Street new signs have gone up for the Laerdna Corp. and Elland Lauge Associates LLC. They sound important! But our searching revealed nary a match, so either these two companies are very clandestine or the design crew from FXFowle is simply setting up some sample signage to see how it looks. And then, while sifting through the 11 Times Square website, something shiny snagged our attention. We were hooked!
Hanging up high in the tower's lobby will be a kinetic sculpture by artist Tim Prentice, who creates mobile pieces in the tradition of Alexander Calder. The sculpture at 11 Times Square, a suspended set of thin metal panels shown in a render of the lobby, will undulate over the entryway, like a school of fishies floating in the air. Following those simulated critters takes us full circle, right back to where we started and wondering about the tenants to come.
· 11 Times Square [Official Site]
· Swim With the Times Square Fishes [Curbed]
· 11 Times Square coverage [Curbed]
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This on-the-market 1BR, 1BA at Dumbo's 100 Jay Street (ask: $679,000) has the most detailed for sale by owner website we've ever seen, but that's not what makes it deserving of Funky Friday status. It's also the only apartment we've seen with customization for cats. It's worth a look at the video walk-through, but here's a preview: wall-mounted shelves create a staircase to a carpeted "catwalk" near the ceiling, which clawed creatures can also reach via a built-in scratching post/climbing pole. Come to think of it, we're surprised these weren't more common boom-time amenities.
· New to Market: 100 Jay Street #6E [DumboNYC.com]
· Listing: 100 Jay Street #6E [dumbodesignerdwelling.com]
With apartments starting on the 6th floor, residents will enjoy a variety of unbelievable western vistas including spectacular sunsets over the city skyline. The Sky House also offers the comfort and convenience of a 24-hour lobby attendant, family room, concierge service and fitness room.
The kitchens are equipped with rich cherry cabinetry, sleek granite countertops, luminous glass tile backslashes and a full suite of Kitchen Aid appliances. Additional fine features include hardwood flooring in open kitchens, porcelain tile in select kitchens and an under-mounted stainless steel sink with a garbage disposal and hot water dispenser.
The bathrooms are sophisticated, with the master baths clad in cool black or warm beige marble and black countertops featured in all master baths. Rich cherry wood vanities and refined polished chrome fittings by Grohe finish off each space with contemporary flair.
While the residential market has been sagging in and around the greater New York City, there are six Long Island neighborhoods where home prices have stayed rock solid through the financial downturn, according the Newsday. The North Shore’s Port Jefferson, Holbrook in central Suffolk County, East Islip in the southern shore of Suffolk County and New Hyde Park, Great Neck and East Rockaway in Nassau County, all rank as neighborhoods where home prices have remained strong, according to local real estate experts. While some of the neighborhoods on the list, like Port Jefferson, stayed hot because of amenities like a nearby country club, experts say that communities like New Hyde Park are often able to stay afloat because of their sheer proximity to New York City.
Mr. Katz is the chief executive and principal owner of Sherwood Equities Inc., which has developed and manages more than $3 billion in commercial real estate.
A judge has backed a plan for factory-built houses on the above land in Oxford.The Town of Oxford has declared an 11-month moratorium on applications for affordable-housing developments.
Shelby Wood says her one-bedroom rental apartment at 50 Columbus in Jersey City is nicer than her old place in Chelsea, because it has more windows and amenities. She was also able to negotiate two months' free rent on a 14-month lease.There were big flurries of rental activity at several of New Jersey’s more luxurious apartment buildings.
This apartment offers a luxurious response to the prime location. In perfect mint condition, your new home features a Sub-Zero and Bosch stainless steal kitchen with built in dishwasher, Bosch washer and dryer. With a spa like bathroom finished with Bianco Verde marble and top of the line finishes.
Amenities include 16,000 SF of space featuring an Olympic sized pool, social sauna, gym, kids playroom, treatment room for massage and facials, and manicure~pedicure salon. This is a rental building? Then there's the 8th floor outdoor space with Cabanas and lounge chairs and misting showers to cool you off in those hot summer days under the sun. You will be sold before you even step into the model
Please call Lakwan today, I will happily take you to your future home!
Full service white glove building with 16,000sf of amenity space including, health club, parking, screening room, nail salon, valet, Concierge Service provided by Prestige, wifi lounge, yoga room, 75 foot indoor pool, sundeck, outdoor entertaining terrace and 1/4 acre landscaped park.
* Doorman
* Concierge
* Health Club
* Pool
* Roof deck
* Elevator
* Garage
Units have private terraces & balconies, washer/dryers, master bathrooms with steam showers, radiant headed floors, Kohler fixtures, vanities and tubs, kitchens with quartz kitchen countertops, backsplashes and top of the line kitchen appliances, plus high ceilings. The building has a 24 hour lobby attendant in addition to video intercom security, two elevators and a common rooftop.
Northport's mayor, George J. Doll Jr., in front of his Victorian, pushed for a historic-review law that would safeguard the architectural integrity of older homes. New legislation in Northport requires that plans to demolish or renovate houses a century or more in age be vetted by an architectural review board.
Investment banking group Moelis & Company is set to become a financial advisor to the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association, according to Crain’s, throughout the complex’s coming restructuring plan. The move is being made in an effort to ensure than the tenants’ needs are being weighed with the same consideration as creditors’ and potential investors’, according to Al Doyle, president of the association. Doyle said he’s “confident that Moelis & Company can help protect tenants’ interests,” so they will “come out on top of this complex restructuring.”
