Author: juliebrannan

A licensed Associate Real Estate Broker, Julie Brannan loves New York City, and enjoys helping clients navigate the complexities of its unique real estate environment. Julie enjoys travel, the New York theater scene, the arts, her three daughters and walking in Central Park.

In the Heights

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WashingtonHeights

This week’s dérive (an unplanned walk through an urban environment) takes place in a Manhattan neighborhood that holds Manhattan’s oldest surviving mansion, has a safer crime rate than Greenwich Village, is only 20 minutes from Times Square via express subway, and was the subject of a recent Tony Award winning musical – Washington Heights. Surprised? It’s time to take a closer look at this northern Manhattan neighborhood while there is still value to be had in this rapidly-evolving area.

Washington Heights lies just above Harlem, just below Inwood (the very top of Manhattan), and between the Hudson and Harlem Rivers. It is in named for Fort Washington, the highest spot in Manhattan and the site of a major battle with the British during the American Revolution (we lost that battle, but of course won the war). Currently the area has a large Dominican population (who descriptively call the neighborhood, “El Alto” for its hills and elevation), and the conflict between the existing residents and the process of gentrification was one of the themes of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award winning musical, “In the Heights.” New developments are beginning to be built in the area – I recently sold such an apartment to investors and will be renting it out for them. After taking photographs of the apartment, it was time to take an unplanned walk in the neighborhood and discover its personality.

Starting at W. 168th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, I will note that Washington Heights is actually easier to get to than some neighborhoods closer to midtown but without as many public transportation options. The A train (express) can get you to midtown in 20 minutes, and the C (local) and the 1 makes several stops along the Broadway line in the Heights. Dominating the area at the 168th Street stop is Columbia Medical Center. Surprisingly, the land it sits on was once the home of Hilltop Park, the home of the New York Highlanders baseball team from 1903-1912. They eventually moved their ballpark to the Bronx and changed their name – to the New York Yankees.

Walking east along W. 167 Street to Edgecombe Avenue, you dead end at a surprisingly pastoral park along a high bluff. Huge sections of the Manhattan schist left over from when the ice age receded form the edge, and tower to your left as you walk south along Edgecombe. At 162 Street, I was intrigued by a sign to the right for the Morris-Jumel Mansion, and walked along 162nd before turning onto Jumel Terrace to see a large white mansion with pillars. Built in 1765, it was used by George Washington for his headquarters for a few months in 1776, and at various times hosted guests as illustrious as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton. A National Historic Landmark since 1961, it is now a museum decorated entirely in the Georgian style, with a bed that supposedly belonged to Napoleon.

Continuing along W. 160th Street after turning from Jumel Terrace, there are beautiful rows of townhouses as well as a few large prewar apartment buildings. Turning south on Broadway, a bustling, but not overly crowded, thoroughfare awaits with plenty of shopping and restaurants. At W. 155th Street, the southern edge of Washington Heights, I was surprised to see a large (over two full blocks) cemetery, part of Trinity Church Wall Street but created in 1842 because they had run out of space in their downtown location. Still in use (recent additions were Mayor Ed Koch and Jerry Orbach), it has a large monument for John James Audubon, the famed naturalist best known for his detailed illustrations of birds. His name graces a nearby micro-neighborhood within Washington Heights – Audubon Terrace, a series of eight Beaux-Arts buildings in what was once his land. The nearby apartment buildings on Riverside where it makes a sharp eastward turn between 155th and 158th Streets represent a hidden gem within Manhattan real estate, a C train stop to get you to the rest of the city, but seemingly quiet and removed from it.

Taking the C back downtown, I reflect on the surprising variety of experiences available in this less-known (and perhaps misunderstood) area of Manhattan. Regardless of how long a person has been living in New York City, the richness and uniqueness of its many neighborhoods always allows for fresh discoveries – and in this case, the potential for great value in real estate.

Flatiron District

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Flatiron

Some neighborhoods in New York City are named after their geographic location (Upper East Side, for instance), others for historic reasons (Greenwich Village was once Groenwijck, or green district, in the time of New Amsterdam and was in fact a village), but today’s dérive (an unplanned walk through an urban environment) is in a district named instead for an iconic building – the Flatiron. Because of the diagonal swath that Broadway cuts across the grid system in Manhattan, occasionally interesting intersections occur. Times Square is the result of the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, and the iconic Flatiron Building occupies the triangle formed when Broadway and Fifth Avenues cross between 22nd and 23rd Streets.

Surprisingly, the location of the Flatiron Building was an early sort of prototype for Times Square. The Cumberland, a seven-story apartment building on the site in the 19th Century, leased out the top four floors to advertisers, including the New York Times, who created a sign made up of electric lights. The owners of the lot eventually put up a canvas and projected an array of advertising photographs on the side of the building. In 1901, construction on a new skyscraper (22 stories!) was started, and the building was finished a year later. This part of Manhattan is in the section where the bedrock, or schist, is much deeper from the surface than in lower Manhattan or midtown, so when the Flatiron Building (technically named the Fuller Building, but the inevitable nickname stuck) was being built locals took bets on how far the debris would fall when the building collapsed. However, the steel skeleton used for the building, and the elegant Chicago-school Greek column construction, has ensured that it has sturdily anchored the area over well over a century.

So what is the Flatiron District? As a informal name to a neighborhood, there are no set boundaries, and in fact the term only gained popularity in the 1980’s. Originally an industrial area with an abundance of photography studios due to the low rents, and sometimes called the “Toy District” because of several toy manufacturers, the neighborhood has evolved into one of New York’s top residential areas downtown. As the area gentrified and became more residential, real estate agents needed a term to describe the neighborhood, roughly from 20th to 25th Street and from Sixth or Seventh Avenue to Lexington, and naming it after the landmarked Flatiron Building made the location clear.

Starting a walk through the neighborhood by standing in front of its namesake (where else?), it’s hard to decide which way to go, with Eataly (Mario Batali’s emporium to Italian food and drink, with various restaurants – or purchase products for home use) beckoning at Fifth and 23rd, and the original Shake Shack nestled in Madison Square Park at about Madison and 24th Street. Walking through the park, one is reminded that this is the source of the name for Madison Square Garden, originally just north of the park but now in its fourth location above Penn Station. The MetLife Tower at Madison and Fifth was once the tallest building in the world (700 feet tall) until being unseated by the Woolworth Building in 1913. The enormous clock on the top is visible from far away (I recently saw one of the new penthouses in the Puck Building in SoHo with a direct view of this clock from the bedroom) and a symbol of the neighborhood. Of course, many of the new apartments at One Madison would have a terrific view of the clock.

The Flatiron district combines residential use with shops, restaurants, and businesses. Many of the tech companies in the district and surrounding areas have led to a description of this as New York’s “Silicon Alley,” and there are also many advertising and financial firms in the area.

Williamsburg

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Williamsburg

My previous blog posts about taking a dérive (an unplanned walk through an urban environment) have all happened to be located in Manhattan. However, it’s time to get off the island and explore one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city. Bordered by Greenpoint, Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, and the East River, Williamsburg has rapidly evolved in the past decade, with the housing price increases to prove it.

The area of Williamsburgh (yes, there was once an extra h) was within the town of Bushwick during the days of New Amsterdam. It became the city of Williamsburg in 1852, and was annexed into Brooklyn just three years later. Cornelius Vanderbilt built a mansion in the area next to the river in the late 19th century, and the economy boomed with factories (in a perfect reflection of the area’s change, the old Domino’s Sugar Factory was recently the site of a large scale public art project by Kara Walker). The building of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903 led to swarms of immigrants from Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and Williamsburg became the most densely populated area of New York City (itself the most densely populated area in the United States). After World War II, the neighborhood became run down, and although many artists settled there, it took a major rezoning in 2005 to spur redevelopment of the abandoned warehouses into residential buildings.

The first subway stop in Brooklyn on the L Canarsie train is Bedford Avenue, and it’s a perfect place to start exploring this charming area. Walking north along Bedford, you immediately get the feeling of the neighborhood. Generally, low rise buildings and rows of townhouses predominate until you reach larger warehouses and new development high rises near the river. Shops tend to be unique rather than branches of mega-chains. Bedford eventually dead-ends at McCarren Park, which borders Williamsburg and Greenpoint and hosts the SummerScreen free movie festival (you are too late to see Zoolander this summer but Cry Baby, Heathers, and The Big Lebowski are still ahead).

Turning west toward the river on 11th Street, within a few blocks you can smell the hops at Brooklyn Brewery before you see it. Their small batch tour (Monday-Thursday at 5) is highly recommended, but you have to reserve online a month in advance or will likely not get in (each tour is limited to 30 people). Your $10 admission pays for a guided tour of the working brewery and curated tastings of four of their beers. On Fridays there are no tours but people line up to purchase tokens ($5 each) and taste very fresh cask beer. Saturdays and Sundays there are free tours, and beer available for purchase ($5 per token). The hieroglyphs on the side of the brewery say, “Beer has dispelled the illness which was in me,” so a stop at Brooklyn Brewery could perhaps be seen as a necessity for your health (that’s my story, anyway).

Turning south on Kent Avenue, you can see the Manhattan skyline just over the East River. The most spectacular view of Manhattan I have ever seen was from the rooftop garden of an apartment building on Berry Street in Williamsburg, but I don’t personally believe that a view of Manhattan is what Williamsburg is about. Passing the Music Hall of Williamsburg on 6th Street when heading back to the subway, I remember fantastic concerts I have attended and notice five or six places I would like to return to and stop for food or drinks. Williamsburg is easy to get to from Manhattan, and vice versa, but it doesn’t need Manhattan to charm a visitor, or perhaps to turn a visitor into a resident.

New York City real estate for the foreign purchaser

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Just last week, I was fortunate enough to be in London, a city I truly love and have been able to get to know over numerous visits. As an agent in New York City, I wanted to meet with the team at W.A. Ellis and learn about the similarities and differences between our markets. In the process of our conversation, Lucy Morton, Senior Partner at W. A. Ellis, invited me to write a guest article about the process of structuring a real estate transaction for foreign purchasers in New York City. I am happy to do so, and also pleased to note that the United States taxation and capital gains laws are quite favorable for foreign purchasers. The New York City real estate market is unique, however, and a little knowledge in advance of beginning the process of purchasing can be very helpful.

The rules for taxation and capital gains are the same for foreign nationals as they are for citizens or resident aliens. If a property produces rental income, foreign nationals are only required to file and pay income taxes on U.S. source income. Foreign nationals are similarly subject to estate taxes and gift taxes only on their U.S. assets. When selling a U.S. property, foreign nationals are held to the same capital gains taxation as citizens or resident aliens. The only difference is that foreign nationals selling their property are subject to FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Estate Act), in which the purchaser withholds 10% of the gross sales price and either sends it to the IRS places it in an attorney’s escrow account until the capital gains tax has been paid, at which point the seller receives a refund of the remaining funds minus the capital gains tax.

So what to do if you have decided to take the plunge and purchase a home in New York City, whether to live in, use as a pied-a-terre, or as an investment? The first step I would recommend is to assemble a team of professionals to help you in the process. A real estate agent is the logical first member of the team, and can also help you assemble the other key members – a real estate attorney (required to deal with a contract, and useful if you want to consider buying as a limited liability corporation, or LLC), an accountant to help with matters of taxation and estate planning, and perhaps a bank loan officer (although, for reasons discussed later, most transactions with foreign nationals are all-cash). A good real estate agent will be able to provide the names of recommended professionals who are familiar with the nuances of a transaction with a foreign purchaser. Let me also note that I am a real estate agent, not an attorney or an accountant, so all legal or accounting information in this article is subject to review by those more qualified members of your team.

The next step would be in deciding whether you are looking for a townhouse, condominium, or a cooperative apartment. A townhouse is real property, solely owned by one entity (either an individual or an LLC), and you are personally responsible for the payment of all maintenance, utilities, real estate taxes, and insurance for the home. Although townhouses are relatively rare in New York City, they can be an excellent choice for foreign nationals since there is no application package, and no limits on renting out the property for income.

A condominium is also real property, and the purchaser owns the interior space of the apartment as well as a share of the building’s common areas. Real estate taxes are paid directly based on the assessed value of the apartment, and in addition, there are monthly common charges that pay for the upkeep of the common areas. There is an application process, but rejection is generally limited to the board’s right of first refusal. Condominiums traditionally have been less restrictive regarding the application process and rules regarding renting out the apartment, but today some condominiums can have an extensive board package and stringent rules. A good real estate agent can let you know in advance how difficult a particular condominium building can be, particularly important if you plan to rent out the apartment for income. A sponsor apartment in a new development can be particularly attractive to foreign investors, since there is no board package required in this situation. Closing costs can be higher in sponsor apartments, however, since transfer taxes are generally paid by the seller but are paid by the purchaser in a sponsor apartment.

Cooperative apartments are very common in New York City, but rare elsewhere. In a coop, the entire building is owned by a corporation, and purchasers receive shares of stock equal to the value of their apartment. In addition, the buyer receives a proprietary lease that allows residency in the apartment. Real estate taxes are paid by the corporation, and the shareholder pays a monthly maintenance that includes their share of real estate taxes, interest on any underlying mortgages on the building, and the cost of running the building (a percentage of this is tax deductible). Coops are run by an elected board from within the pool of shareholders, and most have lengthy board applications and require an interview. A potential buyer can be turned down by a coop board without being given a reason, and many coops (but not all) are less likely to approve a foreign purchaser because of the difficulty in verifying income and assets. Coops generally do not allow subleasing for rental income, or have restrictions on doing so.

Is it difficult for foreign purchasers to move money into the United States? Generally not – many experienced attorneys have escrow accounts and allow the buyers to wire the deposit, purchase price, and closing costs to this account and write the checks for the buyer. Getting a mortgage as a foreign purchaser can be less easy – often there is a maximum loan amount of $1.5 million, a requirement of a 12-24 month cash reserve and large deposit held at the bank, and it can be difficult to verify employment and assets. For these reasons, most foreign purchases of real estate are all-cash.

The intellectual reasons for owning property in New York City as a foreign national are real: favorable tax treatment, and a historically strong appreciation of value. However, as a resident of New York City, I would like to add that there are a multitude of intangible reasons to own a part of this vibrant city as well. If you are interested in finding out more about purchasing real estate in New York City, feel free to contact me.

Alphabet City

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AlphabetCity

In a recent blog post about taking a dérive (an unplanned walk through an urban environment) on Sutton Place, I mentioned that, because of the geography of Manhattan, there are occasionally Avenues east of First. I was recently in one of these areas; a subdivision of the East Village informally called “Alphabet City.” Avenues A, B, C, and D stretch between Houston Street to the south and 14th Street to the north, between First Avenue and the East River. Avenue A later reemerges as Beekman Place, Sutton Place, York Avenue, and Pleasant Avenue at various points to the north, while Avenue B reappears briefly as East End Avenue between 79th Street and 92nd Street – Avenues C and D are the easternmost parts of the island of Manhattan and only exist in Alphabet City.

Interestingly enough, the area was originally a saltwater marsh, but was drained and developed in the early 1800’s. In the mid-19th century, it became a hub for German immigrants, but after they decamped for Yorkville in the 1880’s, the neighborhood grew into one of the most densely populated areas of Manhattan. By the 1980’s Alphabet City was home to many struggling artists (immortalized in Jonathan Larson’s Rent), but since then, has been increasingly gentrified (with the increased housing prices to prove it).

For this dérive, I began by walking from Second Avenue and 3rd Street in the East Village, until hitting Avenue A. Just on the east side of Avenue A is the entrance to Upright Citizen’s Brigade East. One of three theaters run by UCB (the other two are in Chelsea and in Los Angeles); UCBEast showcases improv and sketch comedy seven days a week – at very affordable prices. The streets in Alphabet City are surprisingly quiet and tree-lined, although many garage doors and brick walls have become the canvas for expressionistic and colorful murals. This street art is such a part of the character of this neighborhood that there is even a children’s book called Alphabet City –Out on the Streets (by Michael de Feo) that illustrates the alphabet with the backdrop of street scenes in the neighborhood.

Continuing past Avenue B, turn north on Avenue C to experience the most bustling ambiance of the avenues in Alphabet City, every block showcasing trendy boutiques, restaurants, or bars. At Avenue C and 10th Street, stop inside the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) for a reminder of the community activism that has long been a part of this neighborhood’s character. MoRUS also holds exhibitions relating to the historical implications of housing cycles within different urban neighborhoods. Closed Monday and Wednesday, but open other days from 11-7, there is a $5 suggested donation for admission, well worth it to support a volunteer organization that promotes ecologically-sound urban environments. MoRUS also supports the network of community gardens that flourish throughout the Lower East Side. These community gardens sum up the feeling of Alphabet City today – a community with an abundance of opportunities for entertainment but also with pockets of quiet. Street art, nightlife, and gardens – all part of the complicated mix that makes Alphabet City another unique place to live in New York City. Viva la vie bohème!

Washington Square Park

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Washington Square Park>
On a beautiful early summer weekend afternoon, I decided to take a dérive (an unplanned walk through an urban environment) in Greenwich Village. Getting off the 4 at Union Square meant being immediately immersed in a hub of activity – on this day, an extensive pet adoption event, but on other days, Greenmarkets, or a rally for political or social justice causes. Passing by the usual assortment of street performers (of note on this day was a group of older men performing 1950’s doo wop songs), I headed down University Place. Originally part of Wooster Street, this short stretch (from Washington Square to 14th Street) was renamed University Place a year after New York University was founded in 1838. Although the street is packed with places to eat and drink, I found myself magnetically drawn to Washington Square Park, beckoning to me a few blocks to the south.

Although all the surrounding blocks are named after the Square itself (Washington Square North, South, East and West), it is more helpful to think of the park as being bordered by Waverly Place and 4th Street to the north and south, and University Place and MacDougal Street to the east and west. Once a cemetery, and in fact the place that yellow fever victims were buried in the early 1800’s to contain the spread of the disease, in 1826 the square was leveled and turned into a militia parade ground. By the 1830’s, the city’s populace had begun to expand from the southernmost tip of Manhattan, and the Georgian revival homes along Washington Square North date from these times.

In 1889, a temporary arch was constructed in the park to commemorate the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration, followed in 1892 by the permanent Stanford White-designed arch that dominates the north end of the park today. Clearly inspired by the Arc d’Triomphe in Paris, it stands 77 feet tall. The two statues of George Washington visible on the north side were added later, in 1918. On the day I was there, a man played a grand piano (in hopes of tips, of course) just under the arch – I wish now I had asked him how he gets the piano to that spot and away again (and are the tips sufficient to be worth it?).

Washington Square Park is not truly a park that glorifies nature (most of it is paved over), but is more an urban park that encourages people to gather. On most days, but particularly on weekend days in warmer months, it is impossible to be in the park without experiencing several street performers. On this day, a woman was creating enormous bubble displays to the delight of several children, and in the drained fountain in the center of the park, a group of acrobats performed an elaborate show along with crowd participation. It is certainly possible to relax here and imagine Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson discussing the joys of fame (as they did, according to Twain), but I find that Washington Square Park is more energizing that relaxing. Greenwich Village deserves several different dérives, since it varies dramatically from the surreal small town quiet of Washington Mews just one block north of the square, to bustling Bleecker Street, and runs the gamut between. Washington Square Park is certainly Greenwich Village’s hub, however, and always an entertaining way for residents and visitors alike to spend time and feel a part of this vibrant neighborhood.

A peek at the Puck Penthouses

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A few days ago, I was fortunate enough to be part of a group of agents who were given a tour of the extraordinary new Puck building penthouses. The Puck building, built beginning in 1885 by Albert Wagner in the Nolita/Soho neighborhood of lower Manhattan, is adorned by two statues of Shakespeare’s character Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and was once the home of Puck magazine. The penthouses (there are only six) have their own entrance, 295 Lafayette Street. When waiting for the elevator, a charming stained-glass portrait of Puck sets the tone for these penthouses – a blend of old-world, artisanal, and modern.

Of the six penthouses, we were originally told we would see three of them, including one fully staged, but during the tour we saw the duplex roof penthouse, with enormous terrace space (including a hot tub outdoors with a view downtown of One World Trade and the Woolworth Building). Although they are still putting the finishing touches on this one, it is simply spectacular (and could be yours for less than $60 million; contact me if you are interested). All of the penthouses have delightful architectural details (such as brick barrel-vault ceilings and fluted iron columns) that respect the historic nature of the building, juxtaposed with the most modern amenities possible. I was impressed with the level of care and detail that had clearly been a constant in the development of these homes.

I snapped some photos while on the tour, and while they are not of the quality that the marketing materials for these penthouses have, they will give you an idea of the feel of these stunning residences.

DISCLAIMER: I do not represent the seller of these properties, and all views expressed are my personal opinion.

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Early morning in Central Park – from the Metropolitan museum to the Shakespeare Garden

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Shakespeare garden

On the first day that New York City felt like spring, I was compelled to take a dérive (an unplanned walk through an urban environment) through Central Park and I wrote about it earlier this year. Yesterday, on the first morning that it truly felt like summer, I was drawn to the park yet again, this time beginning on Fifth and 84th Street, entering the park to the north of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. On this very warm morning, it was hard to imagine the winter days I have been sledding on the sloping grounds next to the museum! Looking through the glassed in enclosure to the Temple of Dendur within the museum is most impressive at night, when there is no glare to prevent the surprising view of a temple built to Isis (and others) around 15 BC, framed by views of grand apartment buildings to the east and skyscrapers off to the south.

Dogs are allowed off leash in Central Park before 9 AM, and if you visit the park during the early morning hours, you are likely to encounter many in the Arthur Ross Pinetum, mid-park between 84th and 86th Streets. Although pine trees were an original part of Olmstead and Vaux’s plan for Central Park, they were eventually replaced by deciduous trees before being reintroduced into the park in the 1970’s. There are 17 different species of trees in the Pinetum, including some from Japan, Macedonia, and the Himalayas.

Continuing west, it is impossible to miss the Great Lawn, a 55-acre green expanse almost exactly in the geographic center of the park. Originally the site of a reservoir, it was filled in using the ground excavated from the construction of Rockefeller Center and opened in 1937 in its present form. Although there are some baseball diamonds around the edge, and a few concerts are still held on the Lawn, it is primarily an open space to relax and enjoy the park during the warmer months.

Heading south around the Great Lawn, to the east is something even older than the Temple of Dendur – Cleopatra’s Needle. An Egyptian obelisk from 1450 BC, it is one of three obelisks (the others are in London and Paris) all similarly named, and all with dubious links to Cleopatra. Our Cleopatra’s Needle is currently covered in scaffolding and is being cleaned of the grime that has accumulated since 1881 from its location in New York City’s open air.

Continuing around the Great Lawn, Turtle Pond appears on your left. A small remnant of the reservoir that once covered the Great Lawn, it does in fact house turtles, believed to be descendants of house pets that outgrew their city accommodations and were sent to the Park to live. Belvedere Castle is visible behind Turtle Pond, and is one of the original buildings created in the park by Calvert Vaux. Its name translates as “beautiful view” and a visit to the castle will in fact reward you with wonderful vistas in all four directions. The National Weather Service official temperature and rainfall amounts for New York City are measured from equipment in and around the castle.

Next to Turtle Pond, on the southwest edge of the Great Lawn, sits the Delacorte Theater, home to Shakespeare in the Park. The Public Theater has been putting on free performances of Shakespeare for over 60 years, and is known for its innovation and stellar casting. I can say personally that the summer nights I have spent in this theater seeing excellent performances as varied as “Hair” and “The Merchant of Venice” have made me feel truly immersed in this wonderful city and its unparalleled artistic offerings. This summer, “Much Ado About Nothing” will run from June 3- July 6, and “King Lear” from July 22- August 17. To get free tickets, line up in the park early or try the virtual lottery on the Public’s website. Financial supporters are given tickets without having to wait, but the Public actually limits the number of supporter tickets available to ensure that free Shakespeare in the Park is available to as many as possible.

Just north of the Delacorte are large outcroppings of Manhattan schist, the bedrock formed during the ice age and the foundation for many of our skyscrapers.  Behind the Delacorte is the Shakespeare Garden, a four-acre beautiful tranquil space with lovely plantings featuring plants and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare’s works, interspersed with small bronze plaques with quotations from Shakespeare. It’s a rare spot in New York City that allows one to connect with nature and feed your intellect simultaneously, making this one of my favorite hidden spots within the park.

Tucked behind the Shakespeare Garden is the park’s Marionette Theater, a delightfully old-fashioned place to take children during the warmer months. Walking out of Central Park to the west, you find yourself on Central Park West and 81st Street, facing the Beresford apartment building and the Rose Center of the American Museum of Natural History. This dérive ends here, less than a mile from where it began, and illustrates once again the rich variety of experiences packed within the relatively small island of Manhattan.

West 57th Street

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So much of New York real estate press these days is about the flurry of enormous new development skyscrapers along 57th Street. Although some of the press is about how these buildings will change the skyline of Manhattan, particular from the viewpoint of Central Park, most is about the stratospheric prices many of the apartments in these buildings command. This has lead to this neighborhood being called “Billionaire’s Row”  – and with the average price of these new condo apartments approaching $20 million and the two apartments in One 57 selling for over $90 million each, being a billionaire couldn’t hurt. The term “Billionaire’s Row” is a throwback to the term “Millionaire’s Row” given to Fifth Avenue north of 50th Street, particularly those buildings along Central Park, in the late 19th and early 20th Century. Families like the Astors, Vanderbilts, Fricks, and Whitneys all jockeyed to built the most impressive homes along this stretch, and of course Andrew Carnegie’s mansion at 90th Street (written about in my previous blog post about Carnegie Hill) was perhaps the zenith of this activity.

I have written about the enjoyment of taking an unplanned walk through an urban environment (a dérive), and decided to walk around this part of town while imagining what it would be like to live there (as opposed to rushing through on the way to a Broadway show). Starting at Fifth and 57th Street, a powerhouse of a corner with Bergdorf’s, Tiffany’s, and Louis Vuitton trying to out-dazzle each other, I walked west and almost immediately noticed 9 West 57th Street – impossible to miss because of the enormous red sculpted “9” in front. Standing in front of this building and looking directly up, the curving slope of its façade is almost dizzying. In addition, its mirrored surface reflected, on the day I was there, the sky dotted with puffy clouds. Looking across the street at this point, I was surprised to see something I had never noticed when not  imagining I lived here: a supermarket (Morton Williams) on the south side of the street midway between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It’s nice to know that the billionaires have this available (although one imagines most of them are eating out or catering).

Crossing Sixth and continuing west, I look south and realize that Le Parker-Meridien New York being in the neighborhood might make it easier to get to the Burger Joint at an odd time and avoid the huge line (and desperate search for a table). At this point, I also realized how close I was to one my favorite places to eat in the city, Todd English’s Food Hall in the Plaza (59th between Fifth and Sixth). On the north side of this block is elegant Steinway Hall, now closing as a showroom for fine concert pianos but soon to be part of a new skyscraper built primarily on the lot next to the hall, but with air rights over the Steinway building. The star of the block currently, of course, is One 57, at 157 W 57th Street. Nearing completion, and yet already close to sold out, currently it dominates the area, but with the other “tower power” buildings planned, it will eventually be simply a part of the reimagined Manhattan skyline. It will briefly be the city’s tallest residential building, at over 1000 feet, but will soon be overtaken by 432 Park (with a height of almost 1400 feet, when it is finished it will be the highest residential building in the Western hemisphere).

The southeast corner of Seventh and 57th Street is home to Carnegie Hall, reason enough to consider living here! On the north side of the block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, you can glimpse trees in Central Park – for now – through the empty space soon to be another duo of tall residential buildings. It’s easy to forget how close you are to Central Park while walking along 57th Street, although the view of the Park that north-facing apartments in One 57 above 225 feet or so has certainly contributed to their value.

Crossing Eighth Avenue, look north to see Columbus Circle, the ending location of one of my recent blog posts. The look of the apartment buildings changes as you continue west. In the same period of time that Fifth was turning into “Millionaire’s Row,” 57th Street became the home of several large apartment buildings (like the Parc Vendome and Alwyn Court) designed to lure wealthier (if not quite in the league of those on Millionaire’s Row) New Yorkers away from their townhouses and into full service buildings with doormen and spacious apartment layouts. Looking at the Parc Vendome, one of four massive imposing apartment buildings on 57th near Ninth Avenue, I noticed the different feel these buildings have compared to the slender tall towers sprouting up along the street.

Turning north, I was struck with how quickly the tone of the neighborhood changes – within a few blocks, the midtown feeling is gone and you are clearly on the Upper West Side, and steps from Central Park as well as Lincoln Center. Thinking about it, this is the genius of 57th Street as a place for residential buildings, straddling Central Park and Upper West Side (or East, in the case of 432 Park) on one side and busy, bustling midtown on the other. London has a “Billionaire’s Row” as well, but it’s a series of mansions in a quiet part of North London (Bishop’s Row). This central location for New York’s strip of “power towers” is an advantage for anyone looking to live in the middle of the island. These new tower developments have been controversial, but so many architectural developments that were initially hated (The Eiffel Tower and original World Trade Center, for instance) became icons over time. Perhaps one day the new developments changing the skyline of Manhattan along 57th Street will become accepted and integrated into the look of New York City, a place that is always changing, and therefore, never boring.

Tribeca

Published on by juliebrannan1 Comment

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Today’s dérive (an unplanned walk in an urban environment) is in the neighborhood of Manhattan that is both the wealthiest and has the lowest crime rate – Tribeca. The first part of the city to expand beyond the colonial boundaries, it was an industrial center for the city in the mid-19th Century, but lost many of those businesses and slowly fell into disrepair by the 1960’s. Artists were attracted to the large empty commercial spaces, eventually leading to the area’s transformation into the upscale residential enclave it is today.

Although the acronym stands for “TRIangle BElow CAnal” it is not shaped like a triangle, and in fact its eastern and southern boundaries are not clear-cut. The northern edge is Canal Street, and the western edge the Hudson River, but the east boundary bleeds into Chinatown, with some maps showing Broadway and others showing Centre Street as the edge. To the south, it is even more confusing, with the boundary between the Financial District and Tribeca being shown as Vesey Street, Chambers Street, or Duane or Reade Streets (yes, the first Duane Reade drugstore was here). From my recent walk, I can say that making the area smaller (Broadway to the east and Duane Street to the south) results in the area seeming more cohesive. In particular, the area to the south of Reade Street begins to seem much more like the financial district or Battery Park City to me.

Wandering from the Canal Street 6 subway station and heading west, turning south on Sixth Avenue (AKA Avenue of the Americas), the character of the neighborhood becomes immediately apparent. Many of the buildings are former industrial buildings that have been converted into lofts and apartments, with some corporate use (32 Avenue of the Americas, a gorgeous Art Deco skyscraper, once held AT&T and now houses a variety of financial and technical companies). On many of the side streets, you can see the original cobblestone construction, and now that Tribeca is a historic district, as these streets need resurfacing, they will have to undergo cobblestone repair rather than being paved with asphalt. Although beautiful, cobblestone streets are a good way to twist your ankle if not careful, or break off the heel of your new Christian Louboutins!

North Moore Street is an excellent example of a quiet Tribeca Street, home of expensive condos and a few small boutiques. It’s also the home (14 N. Moore) to Hook and Ladder No. 8, the firehouse used to film “Ghostbusters.” As you walk around Tribeca, views of One World Trade Center come in and out of view, much as the original World Trade Center towers did before 9/11/01. It’s not a surprise, then that the firefighters at No. 8 were some of the first responders on that day.. Out of the ashes of this terrible loss was created the Tribeca Film Festival, envisioned as a way to rebuild the neighborhood and now part of its spectacular success. Generally held in April, the Film Festival now attracts up to 3 million people and brings in approximately $600 million to the city.

While on this walk, I heard one tourist say to another, “This looks so much like New York!” Despite the humor inherent in that remark, I do know what they mean – there is a characteristic look in Tribeca that is quintessentially Manhattan. However, the fantastic thing about this city is that I could name a multitude of other neighborhoods that also look “so New York” and all are different. This is what makes living in New York, or walking around it, so rewarding – such rich variety within a relatively small space.