1) Our favorite window shopper goes looking at two very different water views in two very different parts of town. Our first stop is at the Riverhouse in Battery Park City, where 90% of the units have water views, and 100% of the units have interiors by David Rockwell. Suze loved the lobby's 600 gallon fish task, fitness center and fully stocked media center, and even enjoyed the unit's layouts, which for her is huge. She then headed uptown to check out 170 East End Avenue, the place that all kids want to live in. Despite less units having water views, our window shopper seemed to fall in love with the amenities here, especially the separate entrance for food deliveries that will keep the lobby clear. Unfortunately, the Slesin still can't put together the finances to buy, so the window shopper will soldier on. [Window Shopping/Suzanne Slesin]
2) Brian Schnelle and Meghan McGarry spent years living in Manhattan apartments that neither really loved. After they tied the knot, the couple that was too lazy to find a perfect rental ($2700 and no dishwasher) decided it was time to buy, desiring a 1 bedroom in the West 70's for no more than $750,000. After a few months of searching, they scooped up a large one bedroom with a walk-in closet on West 78th for their target price. Luckily for them, the place needed zero work. [Joyce Cohen/The Hunt]
3) The market for large Manhattan apartments is white hot, with average prices for 3 bedroom units increasing 18% and 4 bedrooms over 36% in the past year. The increased demand has come from families who are no longer leaving the city to raise their kiddies in the suburbs. But when demand dwarfs supply, developers smell an opportunity. That's why the World-Wide Group dedicated 70% of their new building at 255 East 74th Street to large apartments. Now at least 50 families won't have to leave the city to raise Johnny Jr., Jamie, and Justin. Success! [In Search of the Elusive 3-Bedroom/Vivian S. Toy]
4) Manhattanville residents and businesses are preparing for the inevitable Columbia expansion, but wonder what will happen to them after the plan forces them out of their neighborhood. Local business owner Nicholas Sprayregen sums it up, "Most of us are not against the university expanding; I welcome that, but they have this all-or-nothing attitude. They are like the dumb horse in Central Park with the blinders on, self-imposed blinders. They can't do anything but move forward like a battering ram." [Bracing for the Lion/Trymaine Lee]
5) CB 2 in the West Village has voted to eliminate 10 parking spaces across from the PATH station on Christopher Street, hoping that keeping the street clear of cars will deter the drug dealing and prostitution that the cars help hide. An owner of the nearby Spy Shop explains, "It's unfair that we can't have parking across the street for our customers, but I'm willing to pay the price to keep these kids off the street." [West Village Report/Gregory Beyer]