Julie Brannan – Page 11 – Julie Brannan, NYC residential real estate

A photo tour of a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

Published on January 5, 2015March 30, 2016 by juliebrannan6 Comments

Whether you are fortunate enough to live and work in New York City, as I do, or are an occasional visitor, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is a magical experience – and free as well as good exercise as added benefits! The following is a series of photographs I took on a clear morning in late December (temperature was 38 degrees F, not bad in the least if you dress correctly), walking from the Brooklyn side to Manhattan. First of all, unless you plan to walk across both ways (which is not a bad idea if you have the time), the walk toward Manhattan is the more dramatic one. I also recommend this direction for the morning or evening hours – in the morning, the light is behind you and highlights what you are photographing, and in the evening of course the city lights are at their best. If you walk this direction on a sunny afternoon, the sun will be in your eyes as well as backlighting the buildings, ruining your photos.

I will be showing how to get on the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian walkway from Dumbo – many suggest getting on it deeper into Brooklyn, but first of all, to be near the Brooklyn Bridge and not talk a walk around Dumbo is a tragic loss of opportunity (my next blog post is about my walk around this incredibly charming area), and secondly, all you get from the traditional route is a gradual incline up to the bridge with no significant views. You need to be good with stairs to take this route, however. After your walk around Dumbo, head away from the river on Washington Street, and soon signs will helpfully point out where you take a set of stairs up to meet the pedestrian lane.

It’s not a long walk, but allow plenty of time to stop and appreciate the views, and how they change as you walk over the East River. Keep looking to your left to catch views of the Statue of Liberty and later the downtown skyline featuring One World Trade, and to your right to see the Empire State Building and the rest of the midtown skyline (I particularly enjoyed seeing the Empire State, Chrysler, and 432 Park together, suggesting a skyline willing to encompass both the old and the new).

Beekman Place

Published on December 30, 2014March 30, 2016 by juliebrannanLeave a comment

Walking through midtown along First Avenue is a stereotypically hectic New York City experience, with multiple lanes of busy traffic, shops, and restaurants creating a noisy and bustling ambiance. Walk just a few steps east of First on 51^st Street, however, and it is as if the city has magically melted away. Welcome to Beekman Place, a quiet residential oasis just blocks from the heart of Midtown Manhattan.

Beekman Place itself is only two blocks long, from 49^th to 51^st Streets, running just a short block east of First Avenue. However, apartments in the streets immediately surrounding Beekman Place are often said to be in the eponymous neighborhood (itself a sub-division of the Turtle Bay area). Perched high above the east river, able to survey the FDR Drive but feeling removed from it, there are views of the iconic Pepsi Cola sign to the east, the Ed Koch Queensborough bridge to the north, and the United Nations to the south.

The area received its name due to the Beekman family mansion built there in 1760. During the Revolutionary War, the British headquartered in the mansion for a time. Nathan Hale (“I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country”) was tried as a spy in the mansion’s greenhouse, and was hanged in the orchard surrounding the home. Later, George Washington was a frequent visitor to Beekman mansion while president. The mansion was eventually torn down in 1874 after being abandoned in the 1850’s during a cholera epidemic. Eventually the area became a slum, only to have its fortunes turn with the building of One Beekman Place in 1929. The area became virtually a synonym for a certain type of privilege (Hubbell Gardiner in “The Way We Were” had grown up on Beekman – enough said), home to Rockefellers and foreign royalty.

Taking a dérive (an unplanned walk in an urban environment) in the area after previewing an apartment for sale for a customer, I found the area to be far from stuffy – charming and livable. East 51^st Street ends in a steep series of steps that lead to Peter Detmold Park. The dog run here is relatively famous among pet owners in the city, being very large and beautiful. A non profit group, PDP-ARF (Peter Detmold Park – Animals Run Free) maintains the dog run, and it is a center for neighborhood events. The Beekman neighborhood association was going to hold a caroling party on the December afternoon that I was there, an almost small-town touch to this quiet gem.

Looking up from the park toward the back of the homes on the south side of Beekman Place, I realized what spectacular views over the East River those apartments have – many with private terraces. Walking back up from the park and taking the very short stroll along the fronts of those homes on Beekman Place, the feeling is similar to the Gramercy area, but with virtually no traffic. There is only one way to drive in (E. 50^th) and two ways to drive out (E. 49^th and 51^st), but no reason to do so unless you live there. Walking back toward First Avenue on E. 49^th, I found myself on another of New York City’s quirky one-block streets, Mitchell Place.

Walking away from Beekman Place, within just a few blocks I was in the heart of midtown, passing the Waldorf Astoria. I loved the contrast of this quiet sleepy yet residential area with the bustle of midtown so near. Prices in this neighborhood, while not low budget, are still less than similar apartments on Park or Fifth, in part because it is so far to the east of the 4-5-6 subway line. Elegant yet livable; remote yet close to the heart of the city; supremely pet friendly – Beekman Place won me over.

Dyker Heights holiday lights

Published on December 21, 2014March 30, 2016 by juliebrannan8 Comments

Between the east Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, and Gravesend Bay lies a neighborhood that to many would not look like what they imagine New York City living to be. In Dyker Heights, there are streets with large single family homes and spacious rowhouses, the kind of neighborhood where in the summer they throw block parties with barbeques and games. From Thanksgiving until the beginning of January, however, this sleepy residential enclave transforms into an unbelievable display of holiday excess. An area not well served by the subway, most people visit by car or book one of the bus tours that provide access to those wanting to see the lights. My recommendation for those driving into the neighborhood to see the lights is to park a few blocks away, and walk the most densely decorated area, roughly from 11^th to 13^th Avenues, and from 83^rd to 86^th Streets. Here is a sampling of what I saw when I visited Dyker Heights on a Saturday evening in December of 2014.

December in New York City

Published on December 9, 2014March 30, 2016 by juliebrannan3 Comments

Throughout history, as the days get shorter and the weather cooler in the Northern Hemisphere, people have steeled themselves against the coming winter by holding festivals of light. From the Pagan Yule celebration of the ancient Germanic people, to Saturnalia celebrated by the Romans, and continuing through today’s celebrations of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Diwali, we try to drive away the dark days ahead with revelry and light. I find that New York City is at its most magical during the month of December, and from the influx of tourists during the last two weeks of the month, many others do as well. For those of us who live in the city, the trick is to see the most popular tourist sites earlier in the month or on an off-day or –time, while appreciating the lights and decorations everywhere in the city, especially primarily residential areas seldom packed with visitors.

One attraction definitely in the category of those you want to try to see early in the season, and not on a weekend, is the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Lit this year on December 3^rd, and remaining lit until the 31^st, these dates bookend perhaps the worst times and places to be during this season, in my opinion – the lighting of the tree attracts tens of thousands of people to a small midtown area, snarling traffic for hours, and of course Times Square on New Year’s Eve is even worse. Seeing the magnificent tree and decorations at Rockefeller Center in the few weeks after the tree lighting is definitely worth it. The tree this year is an 85 foot Norway spruce from Pennsylvania, lit by 45,000 LED lights – the ultimate story of a small town resident hitting the big time in NYC. The presentation of the tree from Fifth Avenue is theatrical perfection; a series of trumpeters framing the tree over the picturesque skating rink and iconic statue of Prometheus.

Saks Fifth Avenue is across from the tree, and has a new “Enchanted Experience” light show this year, which requires 71,000 lights and six 3-D projectors. The show, synched with holiday music, plays several times per hour after dark. Their windows this year celebrate the Art Deco era when Saks was founded, and a display in the store features a tribute to the Rockettes, who can of course be seen in action nearby at Radio City Music Hall (a Deco masterpiece). Saks’ windows this year continue the Art Deco theme, with classic fairy tales told in that style.

A person could spend an entire day viewing all the holiday window displays at department stores around the city, but for the average New Yorker, they are seen in passing while getting from one area to another. Several are worth a stop, though – Barney’s has been “Baz Dazzled” by director Baz Luhrmann (and occasionally has live ice skating in the north window), Bergdorf Goodman has a “Holidays on Ice” theme, Bloomingdale’s shows its brown shopping bags in scenes around the world, and Henri Bendel uses Al Hirschfeld caricatures to create celebrity-focused windows. At Macy’s, after seeing the classic “Yes, Virginia” windows, you can check out the line for Santa Land to see if the wait is not too extreme. Macy’s of course is the setting for the ultimate ironic New York City real estate story, “Miracle on 34^th Street,” where a little girl can’t wait to give up her apartment on Central Park West (with a view of the Thanksgiving parade and Central Park) for a house in the suburbs!

One doesn’t have to do all their holiday shopping in these huge department stores, however, since holiday shopping markets pop up all over the city during the month of December. From “Sell by the L” in Bushwick and Artist and Fleas in Williamsburg, to the market in the Bohemian Beer Hall in Astoria and Flea and Food in Long Island City, all boroughs are represented in these unique experiences, featuring locally made and unique products. Some of the best known holiday markets in Manhattan are those in Grand Central Station, Union Square, Columbus Circle, Chelsea Market, and Bryant Park.

If in Bryant Park at night, you have a terrific view of the Empire State Building. I can’t find any information on whether they will do it again this year, but last year leading up to Christmas they had a holiday light show synchronized to music on a local radio station. The skating rink at Bryant Park is my favorite one to actually skate on in the city – in part because it is free (although skate rental is $15) but also because it is generally less crowded than the Rockefeller Center or Central Park rinks.

There are so many opportunities to see something special in December – from the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx to seeing the Neapolitan crèche in the Metropolitan Museum, from the Time Warner Center light and music show (Holidays under the Stars) to the lighting of the world’s largest menorah at Grand Army Plaza at Fifth Avenue and 59^th Street (while perhaps not the largest, Prospect Park in Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza also has quite a large menorah). One of the most elegantly impressive signs of the season is along Park Avenue from 54^th to 97^th Streets, where 104 fir trees covered in white lights line the malls running through the middle of the avenue. Originally started after World War II to commemorate those who lost their lives in the conflict, they now serve as a symbol for peace, and fit in well with the beautiful quiet residential areas north of 72^nd Street.

For all the special things to see, however, my favorite part of this season is experiencing the unexpected decorations near where I live, or in a random neighborhood I am walking through. Walking down East End Avenue on a late night alone and coming across the solitary tree lit in Carl Schurtz Park, or seeing the glowing menorah in someone’s window – those are the moments that remind me what a gift it is to live in this city, which shines so brightly in December that it allows me to shore up my own inner light to defend against the dark and cold winter months.

Central Park in Autumn

Published on November 18, 2014March 30, 2016 by juliebrannan1 Comment

It’s no secret to anyone who has read my blog posts that I adore Central Park. New York City’s jewel, it occupies a surprisingly large rectangle in the center of Manhattan. Its geometric edges belie the diverse topography within the park itself – pick a different entrance and a different segment of the park each time you enter and you might think you were in an entirely new place. Not only does the park change within its sections, it changes dramatically with each season, and depending on the weather, even within each season. For this dérive (an unplanned walk within an urban environment), I entered the park at its southwest corner on a cool late-Autumn day.

This corner of Central Park is surrounded by the hectic confusion of Columbus Circle, with the budding skyscrapers of Billionaire’s Row along the south end, and Time Warner Center and 15 Central Park South along the west. Walking into the park here (once you have passed the horde of bicycle rental peddlers) is an immediate escape from the traffic and crowds. It takes longer for the trees to change to their autumn colors in the city compared to areas right outside – or even those farther south – because of the “heat island” effect of all the concrete. Once the trees in Central Park begin to turn, however, they really show off. The experience was walking through the park this time of the year is uniquely engaging. The crunching of leaves beneath your feet is an auditory reminder of the season (as long as you take off your ear buds). The burst of yellow, orange, and red leaves in the foreground is a visual treat, highlighted by the stately apartment buildings in the background.

Wandering through the lower end of the park, I heard the Central Park Carousel before I saw it. There has been a carousel in this spot in the park since 1871, this fourth one having been there since 1951. It was built in 1908, and lived in Coney Island before being moved to Central Park. It has 57 hand-carved horses and two chariots. The Carousel is open every day of the year, weather permitting. The Carousel has to be ridden to be experienced – like the rest of New York City, it is fast!

Just east of the Carousel is the Central Park Dairy, a fanciful building that looks like it was taken from a fairy tale, once a source of fresh milk for city kids. Now it’s one of five information centers and gift shops in the park. Just past the Dairy, still heading east, is one of my favorite statues in the park – Balto the husky. Balto led a pack of sled dogs to carry diphtheria medication 1000 miles between Nome and Anchorage when a serious epidemic broke out among children in Alaska. The heroic dogs became famous, and this statue was installed only 10 months after the event. Appropriately, the patina on this inviting bronze statue is worn from legions of children sitting on his back.

Continuing east but curving a bit south again, I was once again charmed by the sound of a park icon before seeing it – the Delacorte Clock near the Central Park Zoo. Given to the Park by George Delacorte (who also donated the Alice in Wonderland statue and the incomparable Delacorte Theater, home of Shakespeare in the Park) in 1965, this clock with a moveable animal sculpture carousel can be experienced every day on the hour and half hour from 8 AM to 6 PM. It plays nursery tunes most of the year, while a penguin, hippo, elephant, kangaroo, bear, and goat dance around with musical instruments and two monkeys strike the bell. During the end of the year, the music switches over to holiday tunes.

In my opinion, a person could spend several lifetimes in New York City, and never grow tired of Central Park. Always changing, it provides a way to stay in touch with our animal nature while surrounded by the buildings and endless activities that humans have created – allowing those of us who live in New York City to be stimulated or calmed, depending on what we need at any particular moment.

Gramercy Park

Published on November 11, 2014March 30, 2016 by juliebrannanLeave a comment

Most neighborhoods in New York City have a story to tell – generally, it is a cyclical one, perhaps from farmland to residential, to tenements, and back to gentrification. There are however a few areas of New York City that have remained remarkably stable. One of these is the Gramercy Park neighborhood, which was created to be a fashionable residential location and has remained fashionable to the present. The neighborhood is roughly between Third and Park Avenue South, and between 18th and 22nd Streets. The Historic District encompasses some of this area, and nowadays the greater area might be considered to go all the way from 23rd to 14th Street, still between Third Avenue and Park Avenue South.

My favorite way to experience a neighborhood is to walk through it without a pre-planned route (a dérive). Emerging from the subway on Park Avenue South and 23rd Street, I immediately noticed that there are generally low lying buildings here. The Manhattan schist, or bedrock, is deeper in this part of the island, so generally there is nothing over 20 stories in height. Venturing farther from the subway stop, the quiet nature of this neighborhood becomes clear. Originally the area was swampy, but in 1831 the land was bought, and a plan for the area designed by, Samuel Ruggles. The most significant part of his plan included a private park, like the private garden squares popular then, and still found today, in London.

As you walk toward Gramercy Park, the tall and heavy fences with locked gates cannot be ignored. Gramercy Park is the only private park in Manhattan. It lies between 20th and 21st Streets (Gramercy Park South and North), and midblock streets called Gramercy Park East and West. As Lexington Avenue heads south, it hits a dead end at the park, and reemerges on its south side as Irving Place. Only the residents of the buildings facing the park have keyed access to the park and the value of an apartment that includes the right to a key is significantly increased compared to one close by but without access. Keys can be also checked out by members of the Player’s Club, and guests of the Gramercy Hotel can be escorted to the park by a hotel employee and let in, then picked up when they are ready to leave. The keys to these locks cannot be copied, the locks are changed every year, and hefty lost key fees insure that the park remains private. The keys are even individually numbered and coded.

The statue in the middle of the park is of Edwin Booth as Hamlet, one of the best Shakespearean actors of the 19th century (namesake of the Booth theatre – and brother to John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln). He lived at 16 Gramercy South and eventually gave the building for the formation of the Player’s Club. Every Christmas eve the park is opened to the public for caroling, so if you’re dying to be inside those locked gates, this is your one opportunity (or, you could buy a place with a key).

Walking around the perimeter of the park (outside the gates, of course!) the Gramercy Park Hotel, built in 1925, dominates the northern edge, while the western edge features a line of immaculate townhouses. E.B. White’s Stuart Little takes place on Gramercy Park, presumably in one of these homes. Most of New York City has some kind of interesting history waiting to be uncovered, but Gramercy Park seems to have more than most neighborhoods; for instance, Thomas Alva Edison and John Steinbeck once lived on the park. Nearby, Teddy Roosevelt’s birthplace on E 20th Street is a National Historic Site.

While the idea of a gated private park in New York City does seem to go against our democratic ideals, it has certainly preserved the value of the residences facing Gramercy Park and stabilized the neighborhood. Of course, Central Park is open to all, and proximity to it can also significantly increase a home’s value. Gramercy is a quiet, pleasant neighborhood – on the cusp between midtown and downtown, but with some of the understated characteristics of streets in Carnegie Hill uptown.

Murray Hill

Published on November 4, 2014March 30, 2016 by juliebrannanLeave a comment

Have you ever watched an old movie or television program and heard someone’s phone number expressed as “Murray Hill” followed by five numbers (for instance, the Ricardos in I Love Lucy were at MH5-9975)? That telephone exchange once covered all of the east side of Manhattan, with an East 37th Street building serving as the hub. The Murray Hill neighborhood itself covers roughly the area between E. 34th and E. 40th Streets, between Madison and Third Avenues. After showing a customer a potential home recently, I took an unplanned walk (a dérive) to experience what it would be like to live or work in Murray Hill.

However, my first questions were: who was Murray and was there truly a hill (because I was unable to detect a significant one while walking the area)? In fact, Robert Murray was a Quaker, an Irish immigrant around the time of the American Revolution who became a successful shipping merchant and built a house on what would now be Park Avenue and 36th Street. The area would have been the limits of uptown Manhattan at that point, with farmland continuing north. At that point there was a hill (since leveled) and a reservoir existed where Bryant Park and the New York Public Library now sit. For a time in the 19th Century, Murray Hill was the destination for many of the industrial age’s titans to build their mansions and townhouses, before the birth of Millionaire’s Row further uptown on Fifth Avenue with views of the newly created Central Park.

Starting on Park Avenue and 40th Street, magnificent Grand Central Station looms just a few blocks north, the Chrysler Building emerging behind it and to the side – looking like a cross between a skyscraper and an Art Deco fairytale castle. One of the things I appreciated immediately was that the many shorter buildings in the area create multiple opportunities for iconic views of the Chrysler Building to the north and east, and the Empire State Building to the south and west. The high rise buildings, like the one I was showing to a customer, often have several apartments with perfectly framed views of these buildings. In fact, these views are made more spectacular by close proximity. Wandering the streets in no particular order, the sudden unexpected views of these iconic skyscrapers was a real delight.

While the avenues in this neighborhood are bustling and full of restaurants, bars, and shops, the streets tend to be surprisingly quiet. Many of the street blocks contain rows of townhouses or mid-rise buildings, with the high rise buildings tending to be on the Avenues. Eventually I came across the Morgan Library and Museum on Madison at 36th Street. I happened upon it from the side, on 36th Street, and first noticed the sculpted lionesses guarding this side entrance. I was not surprised to discover later that they were by the same artist who created the better-known lions at the front of the New York Public Library a few blocks away. The magnificent main building was created to house the manuscript collection of Pierpont Morgan, a prominent financier in the beginning of the 20th century. His son later gave his father’s collection and the building for the creation of the Morgan Library and Museum. Although best known for its illuminated manuscripts and sketches, it also houses original handwritten musical scores and lyrics, from Mozart to Bob Dylan (his first draft of “Blowin’ in the wind,” written on a scrap of paper).

Heading out of the neighborhood into Kips Bay to the east, I realized that the proximity to the Queens Midtown Tunnel could make this a very convenient neighborhood for those who regularly head to Long Island. With Grand Central Terminal only a few blocks away, it is also well situated for people who use Metro North to go to upstate or to Connecticut. Murray Hill struck me as an interesting midtown neighborhood, with options for high rise living with killer skyscraper views as well as peaceful townhouse living with a view of leafy trees.

Manhattan Valley

Published on October 28, 2014March 30, 2016 by juliebrannanLeave a comment

Recently I was looking for a townhouse for a customer, and came across one on Manhattan Avenue and 105th Street. While I suppose I would have thought of this address as being either “Upper-Upper West Side” or “Lower Morningside Heights” before spending some time there, I have since learned that the area bounded by 110th Street and 96th Street to the north and south, and Central Park West and Broadway to the east and west is actually called Manhattan Valley. This part of town was known as the Bloomindale District in the past, for a Bloomingdale Street previously in the area (long since gone). There is a natural valley here, caused by what was once the path of a small stream leading from the Harlem Meer to the Hudson River. Between the price for the townhouse I was viewing in the area, and the price of a 2 bedroom co-op recently listed by a colleague on West 100th just off Central Park West, I quickly realized that this area, while very close to the Upper West Side in both location and atmosphere, offers opportunities for excellent value in real estate.

As I have written before, I find that the best way to get the feeling of what it would be like to live in an area is to take a dérive (an unplanned walk in an urban setting). For this one, I started at Broadway and 96th Street. 96th Street, like 86th on the east side, is a busy major two-way thoroughfare, often packed with cars on their way to the Henry Hudson and on to the George Washington Bridge. I walked east to Columbus, and headed north. The Columbus Square mega-residential development between Columbus and Amsterdam and between 97th and 100th Streets, has brought in a series of high-end shopping destinations along this stretch of Columbus. In addition to the Whole Foods, Sephora, Petco, and Starbucks already there, Crumbs cupcakes will be reopening here within a month.

Turning east on 100th, I walked to the beginning of Manhattan Avenue. The topography of the island of Manhattan is not a perfect rectangle, although we have imposed a grid of streets on most of it. This disparity occasionally leads to extra streets in some areas, and Manhattan Avenue appears between Central Park West and Columbus beginning at W. 100th Street, and continuing well into Harlem. The super block developments created by Park West Village and the Frederick Douglass Houses prevent cars from using this area as a way to cut crosstown, making it noticeably quiet. The blocks between 104th and 106th are simply gorgeous rows of townhouses, reminding me strongly of the beautiful peaceful townhouse blocks near Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

Turning east again on 106th, I walked to Central Park West, appreciating the view of 455 Central Park West. Formerly the New York Cancer Hospital, this property has quite an interesting history. This was the first cancer treatment facility in the country, created with money raised by John Jacob Astor and others after former president Ulysses S. Grant discovered he had throat cancer. They built a beautiful chateau, which looked more like a museum of art than a hospital (the rounded towers were created as a state-of-the-art medical feature to prevent germs building up in sharp corners), and it continued on this site until the mid-20th Century. The developers of this property restored the chateau into condominium apartments, and added a modern tower behind it with unimpeded Central Park views. Walking north on Central Park West to 110th, and turning west, I was now on Cathedral Parkway and had to finish this derive with a nod to our spectacular Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which I will discuss in more depth in a future derive in Morningside Heights.

I loved spending time in this neighborhood. For someone looking for a home with the feel of the Upper West Side or near New York’s jewel, Central Park, this area offers significant value.

Some perspective on New York City’s evolving skyline

Published on October 21, 2014August 22, 2019 by juliebrannan2 Comments

It seemed that 432 Park Avenue would keep going up forever – whenever we would become accustomed to the height of this impossible-to-miss new addition to the New York City skyline, it would add another few floors. However, it has finally topped off; it is the tallest residential building in the Western hemisphere, taller even than the Empire State Building. 432 Park, although officially not as tall as One World Trade because of the height added by its spire, will actually have occupied floors higher than One World Trade. Amazingly it will not hold the title of tallest for long, as even taller buildings are already in the works. All this new development is controversial – as a general rule, change is often difficult, and when the degree of emotional attachment to something is higher, so is the potential reaction. There is no question that Manhattan’s skyline is being changed. However, it’s important to keep in mind that New York City historically has continued in a state of transition rather than a steady state, and this has contributed significantly to its very nature as a city.

Many gorgeous old buildings were demolished in New York before the passing of the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act (an early site preserved was that of Carnegie Hall in 1967, thank goodness). For example, the Hippodrome was a theater with a seating capacity of 5200 on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th, its history only marked today by the name of the enormous parking garage on the same site. The original Metropolitan Opera House and the original Madison Square Garden were lovely buildings, long since destroyed. The Vanderbilt Residence at 57th and Fifth, the largest private residence ever built in Manhattan, was once where Bergdorf Goodman now sits. A particularly egregious example is the original Penn station, which was graceful and airy. Outrage over its demolition in 1962 to make room for a larger (completely soulless) station and the current Madison Square Garden led to the founding of the New York Landmark Preservation Commission. The Commission’s first hearing was about the fate of the Astor Library – which was preserved and now beautifully houses the Public Theater. The 11 commission members include at least three architects, one historian, one city planner or landscape architect, one real estate agent and one resident of each of the five boroughs, who discuss possible landmarks brought up by the Commissioner, and hold public hearings on Tuesday mornings. This process is not infallible, of course – owners who learn that their building might be considered for historic preservation sometimes destroy either the building or its significant architectural details. It’s also easy to understand the point of view of the owners who might fear that the future value of their property could be affected.

I had an interesting conversation about this issue recently with a friend who is who is getting his Master’s degree in Historic Preservation at Columbia. In an early class, the students were assigned a building to assess and make a presentation in class regarding whether it should be preserved. He was the only one in class to argue that the building he had been assigned could be demolished, that within the area there were better examples of this style of architecture with stronger esthetic and cultural value. His professor told the entire class that this was the point of the exercise – that the goal of historic preservation is not to save everything, but to balance the need of the city for growth with its desire to preserve the best examples of its past. New York City is and should remain a place where a variety of housing can be found; from old brownstones to postwar white brick buildings, from prewar coops to new developments.

Yes, it can be hard to adapt to a new skyline. The Eiffel Tower in Paris was almost universally hated by the French when first erected. Our own original World Trade Center, which radically changed our skyline in the 1970’s, was initially criticized, then accepted, and finally missed. The first Waldorf Astoria hotel was a spectacular building, the largest hotel of its time, and where the inquiry on the sinking of the Titanic was held. It was demolished in 1929, however, to make way for an icon of the NYC skyline that is universally beloved – the Empire State Building. This city has always changed and must continue to do so to retain its fundamental character, like the English language which in its constant borrowing and creating of new words has led to a strong and evocative language. With proper controls in place to ensure that the best examples of our past architecture remain, New York City can continue to evolve and embrace the future, while respecting its past.

Central Park North

Published on October 14, 2014March 30, 2016 by juliebrannanLeave a comment

I have written previously about the value of a view of nature – how our animal selves need to connect to plants or animals even within New York City’s urban jungle. While not NYC’s largest park (that would be Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx), Central Park is an amazingly large green space within the relatively small island of Manhattan. The increase in value a view of Central Park, or even proximity to it without a view, delivers to an apartment in New York City is well established. Most tourists only see, or even think about, the south end of the park, closest to Midtown, However, the northern third of the park is equally beautiful, and the price of an apartment on Central Park North (110^th Street) is a fraction of that on Central Park South (59^th Street). I enjoy taking unplanned walks around the city (dérives) and decided to walk along the edge of Central Park, starting on Central Park West and 86^th Street, crossing the top of the park at Central Park North, and then heading south along Fifth Avenue, stopping at 86^th Street.

At the corner of Central Park West and 86^th Street, you stand flanked by Central Park to the east, facing a row of Central Park West’s grand prewar apartment buildings to the west. Many of the east-facing apartments in these buildings in the upper 80’s/low 90’s have wonderful views of the Jacqueline Onassis reservoir (living on Fifth Avenue, she was well known for using the jogging path around the reservoir). Continuing north, large outcroppings of ice age Manhattan schist can be seen, forming a natural cliff at the edge of the park. I was struck along this section by the Eldorado, the most northern of the several “twin towered” buildings along CPW (the San Remo, the Majestic, and the Century being farther south).

When you walk to the Northwest corner of CPW and 110^th Street (which is called Central Park North for obvious reasons between Central Park West and Fifth Avenue), a statue of Frederick Douglass can be seen, gazing up the Avenue bearing his name. His is a fairly new statue, only being revealed in 2010. Turning east on Central Park North, it is clear that this section of park-facing apartments is a mixture of older tenement-styled buildings, and a few spectacular new development properties. It seem that this is only the beginning of the development of this stretch of real estate, with the potential for views south encompassing the entire length of Central Park as well as the Manhattan skyline. I have seen the spectacular view that apartments facing north on Central Park South have, but so far can only imagine how amazing those same views are from the north with the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and new icons like One57 and 432 Park rising up behind the park.

Within the north section of Central Park, beautiful and serene Harlem Meer (“meer” is simply a “lake” in Dutch, New York City’s first language) anchors the recreational possibilities for this area. Catch-and-release fishing are available (yes, people can actually fish in Central Park), and Lasker Rink provides ice skating in the winter but is transformed into a swimming pool in the summer. There is a Harlem Meer performance festival every summer, well worth visiting regardless of where you live in the city.

At the Northeast corner of Central Park North and Fifth Avenue, a statue of Duke Ellington (complete with piano) honors his importance in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s. A committee led by cabaret singer Bobby Short raised the money for this statue in the 1980’s. Turning onto Fifth and heading south, One Museum Mile, a new residential development designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects signals the change to what some call “Upper Carnegie Hill.” Passing the lush and elegant Conservancy Gardens, the Carnegie Mansion (home to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum), and the Guggenheim, Fifth Avenue slowly evolves into the street we imagine, stately apartment buildings side-by-side facing the park.

What I have learned from exploring Central Park and the streets facing it is that the Park is truly a kind of miracle – such an oasis of multi-layered nature surrounded by our great city. Living in close proximity to the park is a gift, and one with a price. However, the price is lessened on the north section of the park, and offers great value for those looking to live near this green jewel within the island of Manhattan.

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