Upper West Side
In January 2009, I wrote "The Apthorp as Waterloo," a profile of the Upper West Side's iconic and very gorgeous 102-year-old limestone apartment house, which was then fighting a battle that included guns, rabbis, red ants, Jordache jeans, a diamond billionaire, and a very large group of upset New Yorkers. "Remember that show? Gilligan’s Island?” Jon Herbitter, the real estate executive who showed up to an Apthorp deposition date with a gun... READ MORE»
Actor Richard Kind, known for his roles on sitcoms such as Mad About You, Spin City and Curb Your Enthusiasm, has recently bought a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on the Upper West Side, at 250 West 82nd Street, for $2.5 million with his wife,... READ MORE»
In the world of New York Presbyterians, the decision last month by a city agency to designate an Upper West Side church a landmark landed with a thud. With the church facing a repair bill for its iconic red sandstone building at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, a bill far greater than any available funds, the action was viewed by the congregation of the West-Park Presbyterian Church as an affront to its autonomy and... READ MORE»
In 1985, at age 22, Garry Kasparov was the youngest world chess champion in history. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, Mr. Kasparov has retired from chess, taking up politics in its stead as a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin and a public enemy of the Kremlin.... READ MORE»
Back in April 2008, Abigail Disney, the mogul's grandniece, put her two 300 West End Avenue apartments on the market for a combined $13,445,000. It was an ambitious thing to do, considering that a year and a half earlier she'd paid the singer Harry Belafonte just $10.75 million for... READ MORE»
The Abraham Joshua Heschel School – a Jewish private school named for the late theological luminary (the same theologian after whom Missouri officials recently wanted to rename a highway as a slap in the face to the group of neo-Nazis who maintain it) – is building a more than 120,000-square-foot school on 61st Street and West End... READ MORE»
An unexpected alliance between a powerful developer and a neighborhood retirement home is causing an uproar in the Manhattan Valley section of the famously ornery Upper West Side. Enigmatic developer Joseph Chetrit and Jewish Home Lifecare, which has a campus at 120 West 106th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, have decided to swap... READ MORE»
The Apthorp, one of the Upper West Side’s most iconic and colossal buildings, is three weeks and six days from the biggest moment of its 103-year-old life. If 25 apartments haven’t been sold by Sept. 15, the building’s long, zigzagging, tortured condo conversion will have to end and start anew, according to state... READ MORE»
By Bonnie Kavoussi | June 23, 2009 | 3:41 pm
“Put me down in the category of optimistic on the economy,” Mayor Bloomberg said at a sumptuous breakfast at Isabella’s Tuesday morning celebrating the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID)’s 10th anniversary. “But I don’t think we’re going to see a spur. I think you’re just going to see slow growth—but I do think we’re over the... READ MORE»
Recently, both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have reported on The Help. Apparently on the Upper Sides of Manhattan, both West and East, nannies, dogwalkers, and housekeepers have been laid off to leave room in household budgets for things like Botox. Now, it seems that the maintenance staff at upscale doorman buildings is also suffering the consequences of the residents' preliminary economic fears for the new year. According to Page... READ MORE»
The dining room at Saigon Grill on University Place was slammed with noodle noshers on Friday afternoon as patrons by the bar watched ESPN's live coverage of former pro football star O.J. Simpson's sentencing for armed robbery and kidnapping. How apropos! On Wednesday, the restaurant's owners themselves were hauled away in handcuffs, charged with more than 400 offenses, including violating minimum-wage laws, demanding kickbacks from deliverymen, tampering with witnesses, and creating fraudulent records to... READ MORE»
"Your heart almost gets ripped out every time these things happen," said City Councilwoman Gale Brewer, calling just past deadline on Tuesday to comment on the hallowed P & G bar's looming departure from its longstanding location at the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 73rd Street. "Many patrons of P & G call me all the time," Ms. Brewer said. "Even though it's not leaving the neighborhood, I hate to have it move --... READ MORE»
The Manhattan zip code with the greatest number of home sales of at least $5 million this year has been 10023 on the Upper West Side. (Research site PropertyShark mined the data based on closed deals through Oct. 17.) No surprise, since the area includes 15 Central Park West and the Time Warner Center. But even without the $5 million-and-up transactions from these ultra-luxury condos – 102 this year! – there have... READ MORE»
Last week, we gave you (via PropertyShark's crackerjack research) the Manhattan zip codes with the most $5 million-and-up housing deals in 2008. That list, however, deliberately did not include The Plaza, 15 Central Park West and Time Warner Center. The above does, and there's a big difference between the two lists: Gone is the dominance of the Upper East Side. Upper East Side zips claimed four of the top five spots on last week's list.... READ MORE»
Redeemer Presbyterian Church has bought a building on West 83rd Street for $21.5 million, according to city records. The Church bought said building, at 150 West 83rd Street, from a man named Leonard Zigelbaum, who acquired the building in 1982. City records don't disclose how much he paid, but in 1993, he took out a $573,000 mortgage on the four-story property. The church plans to keep the ground-floor garage in place for the next several... READ MORE»
