This weekend's Halloween festivities were organized by the Friends of Bleecker Playground, a wonderful group of parents and merchants that organize events for the kiddos all year round. Even if you don't have a chitlin, a donation really goes to a wonderful cause.
...and realized -- after 13 years in Manhattan -- why parents flock to the West Village in droves.
Because when you walk into the Bleecker Street playground on Family Day, surrounded by magicians and live music and pinwheels and rainbows, you think that sort of thing happens every day.
Free bird!
Your playground doesn't have a guitarist, who kind of look like Kathy Griffin? (In a good way!)
Then I started chatting with some of the other parents, who were so much nicer than anyone in Murray Hill. (I hate to say it, but I've dealt with some real turnips at St. Vartan's Park.) Andre's pre-school is on the West Side, and strolling up The Highline was inspiring as well as easy. (Also notable: you can purchase cocktails on The Highline. This is not to be overlooked.)
The West Village is a tight market as it is, but to find a SRO (Single Room Occupancy) is pretty rare. Yesterday afternoon, though, I stumbled up one. Even more rare is that this one is very well maintained. Perhaps its proximity to NYU explains the clean hallways and very clean common bathroom down the hall. I saw students coming in and out during the 20 minutes I was there.
If all one needs is a room with a view, then this fifth floor walk up is perfect. It's 12 feet by 6 feet and judging from the floors and the fact that the sink and counter were taken out, I'm guessing the last resident was here for a looooong time.
Landlord didn't have a price posted for this yet. What do you think it should go for? $1,000 a month?
Welcome home!
Just enough room for a bed and a desk.
The floors need to be redone.
Clean bathroom just down the hall. There are baths on every floor.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
It's almost the weekend, which means the apartment hunters will be out in full force.
My company has an exclusive on the place below. It's the full floor of a brownstone on 14th Street and Seventh Avenue. Three real bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a wet bar, a dining room and living room, plus a balcony. Sweeping cathedral ceilings, parlor level and bright.
For the past eight years it's been the ultimate bachelor pad for three guys in finance, until they recently realized they were in their mid 30s and probably should live on their own. Or at least get married.
Bad news for them, good news for someone looking for a very unique space that could entertain a lot of people. $9800.
Living and dining room
A different view
Kitchen
One huge bedroom. It's the size of most studio apartments. You could fit a bedroom and a living set in here.
Another bedroom, just as large
Same room, different angle. Great closets.
Little alcove area. Note wood floors and high ceilings
This apartment is awesome. Gut renovated, new kitchen with a dishwasher and stainless steel appliances. New marble bath. Large, sunny bedroom. West 11th Street and Greenwich Avenue. Full specs here. Slideshow below.
True story: Today, for the first time ever, a client stood me up. She never bothered to show up despite confirming an 11:00 a.m. appointment the night before. I was annoyed. No one puts La Pauline in a corner! Since I already had the keys and the apartments picked out, I went out anyway and took a look at West Village studios and one bedrooms under $2100. (Not everything with me a $5000 two bedroom.) Now I know about lots of nice ones. Lemons into lemonade, kids.
Mulberry and Grand -- $2100 This one bedroom isn't in the West Village, but it's a cool place, one flight up and totally renovated. I love the deco fireplace in the bedroom.
Thompson and Bleeker -- $1750 -- One Bedroom This is a neat apartment. Sure, it's a walk up with some funny linoleum floors, but it's bright, renovated and a true one bedroom with an eat-in kitchen and a bright living room. All the appliances are new. It's enough space for one person, and there are great closets.
MacDougal and Prince -- $1800 -- Large Studio This is a place with a seriously great location. It's listed as a one bedroom, but it's really a large studio with an eat-in kitchen. Everything's new: floors, appliances, etc. It's another great space for one person, like a student or a new hire.
Wednesday was a dreary day but I didn't want to be cooped up inside. La Madre came in from Connecticut and watched Andre while I went out and took a look at some new apartments. I've done so many $3000 one bedrooms over the past two months that I really needed to see something new, something that would amaze even me. (Don't get me wrong, I've still got plenty of studios and one bedrooms to go around.)
I put on my new red rain boots and started in the West Village and worked my way up to the Upper East Side. These are some truly obscene rentals and a far cry from some of the cookie cutter buildings out there. Which is no disrespect to the cookie cutter buildings of Manhattan. More often than not they pay my bills.
First off: my favorite: A four bedroom, four bath in a doorman building on 92nd and Park with an attended elevator. (How old school is that?) This is my favorite rental building in all of Manhattan, and this unit is a true home for whoever is lucky enough to get it. The eat-in kitchen with new appliances and miles of counter space has a breakfast bar and a washer dryer. There are so many rooms I actually got lost while taking photographs. The living room is huge and sunny and off of the master bedroom is a little den, perfect for an office or a little TV room. $11,250 a month.
In the same building, one flight up, is this two bedroom, two bath, penthouse unit with a giant, south-facing wrap-around terrace. The kitchen is windowed and sunny, and the living room has a working fireplace. Even on a cloudy day this was a very bright apartment. And views are ridiculous. $6700 a month.
Speaking of terraces, if downtown is more your speed, this 15th floor, two bedroom, two bath offers birds eye views that are so cool, even New Jersey looks good. It's gut renovated with a large, separate kitchen. Bedrooms are king sized and there are lots of closets. Doorman, elevator, laundry and literally smack in the middle of the village. $5900 a month.
If you don't mind walking up a few flights of stairs, over in Chelsea on 17th Street and Eighth Avenue is sprawling three bedroom that would be a great share for a couple of young people. The modern, pass-thru kitchen leads to an over sized living room that could host many memorable parties. There are lots of windows and cool city views. Some of the bedrooms have exposed brick, and there are two bathrooms, so no waiting in line in the morning. $4300 a month.
East Village, Avenue B and Houston Street This sprawling corner home faces south and east with unobstructed city views. The chef's kitchen with Viking appliances opens to an L-shaped living room large enough for a long dining table or an office area. Five inch plank, hardwood chestnut flooring throughout. The bedroom is king sized with a balcony and a walk-in closet. The windowed bathroom includes a deep soaking tub, Cinza slate flooring and Thassos marble wall in bath. The washer/dryer in the apartment. This pristine condo rental comes with a furnished sundeck with Wifi, bicycle storage, cardio room, and a driveway for pickup and drop off. $3495 a month. It's practically free.
That's all I have for now. I'll be in a commercial real estate seminar all day on Friday, so amuse yourselves with these until I get back. Any questions, you know how to find me.
Yesterday after picking up some keys to show a place to some clients, I walked by a pet shop on Christopher Street and noticed this guy through the window. He's a orangey/buff Persian, like other cats I have had, and he was just relaxing on the front counter.
The shop owner told me that his name was Romeo and that he was 20 years old. He lived in the shop, has lots of gourmet food to choose from and likes it when customers stop in to give him a scritch. Don't be fooled, under all the gorgeous fur is not a lot of actual cat. He is literally just fur and bones.
Like any happy cat, Romeo has a friend who lives with him in the store. Zonked out on a shelf was a huge tabby, who when stretched out looked about two feet long, and could have been mistaken for a doorstop. The tabby's name was...Valentino.
An orange Persian and a domestic short hair who live together in harmony? I know that combination well.
Last night I was walking in the West Village, en route to The Chuckle Hut at Paris Commune. Out of left field an older guy came up to me and told me he needed a huge favor. He started talking frenetically about how he was some sort of costume designer on Broadway and had just locked himself out of his apartment, complete with his wallet. He talked and talked and told me that he didn't need me to watch his apartment or anything, he just needed $20 cash for cab fare so he could get to the theater and get his spare set of keys.
He seemed like a nice enough guy, albeit a little tweaked out, but I didn't have any cash on me, so I couldn't help him out. He turned and left in a huff.
Here's what I don't get. If he had to get to the theater, any taxi would have taken him there and back to his place if he just explained the situation. Why did he need my $20 to get to Times Square, which wouldn't have been enough anyway?
I'm beginning the think he was just some crazy guy, especially since I googled the name he gave me and he certainly is not the costume designer for the show he said he was. But what if he was legit? Was I being a typically cold New Yorker for not helping him out?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
OK, so I took today off. No showings, no paperwork no nothing, although I stopped in the office briefly to charge my iPhone after running a few errands.
First, brunch at Jane on Houston Street with a friend from Connecticut. Jane could be the ultimate brunch spot, if only they would offer bottomless cocktails the way Nero's in the Meatpacking district does.
After brunch I headed back to Bethune Street, where the girls and I did laundry. Laundromats in New York City are an interesting breed. Growing up in Norwalk, we went to the laundromat all the time, and it was usually a good hour or so of quiet reading. In New York, it's a fast, noisy place akin to a pizza place during lunch hour. So much for catching up on my reading.
The laundromat on West 12th Street has a bulletin board covered in lost socks, so if you're missing one it might be a good place to look.
While waiting for the dryer, I got the best pedicure ever over on Hudson Street. Sometimes I feel like the nail ladies are laughing at my feet. Am I being paranoid?
Finally, in my never ending fascination with bodgea cats, I found this one in Park Slope last week. She looks almost just like Valentino.
Last night after handing off keys to my most favorite client ever, (Sniff, sniff. Party's over.) I was itchy for exercise and I headed out for a run despite the persistent drizzle. Little did I know that the rain would turn into a downpour, and that I would be dodging lightening as I ran. In the end, though, it was still a good time.
There's something very 8 Mile about this shot.
Traffic in the rain.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
This was my view as I went for a run at 6:45 a.m. along the Hudson River. It's only a few feet from Bethune Street, and I was starting to feel doughy after a few days without exercise.
More surprising than my ability to get up and run at dawn, is how many other people were out and about. Sure, there were the hard core runners, but there were also just regular folks, out enjoying the sun before going to work. What really amazed me were the people who were playing tennis, andothose waiting to play tennis.
I won't be out on Wednesday, but I will be on Thursday. Do it up.
Here's an amazing find in the heart of the West Village: Three floors of an 1840s towhouse, plus a separate studio apartment, that is available for $15,000 a month. It's gut renovated with a huge livig area, new kitchen, marble baths and an elevator. Three large bedrooms. There is also a backyard. The basement is refurbished as well with a sauna for two as well as a washer dryer.
Contact me if you would like to schedule a viewing.
Large living area
Wood burning fireplace
Master Bedroom
One of two marble baths
New kitchen with granite counters, lots of storage
