1) This week's hunt couple, Greg and Veronica, are looking for a city pied-a-terre. Or, rather, Greg is. Veronica is basically the absolute minimum amount interested, which is to say, she isn't against the idea of getting another place in theory, but in reality she wants no part of it. That's okay, though, because Greg is willing to do all the legwork. More than willing, actually. What begins as a hobby becomes something of an obsession—he makes frequent trips from their home in Connecticut to attend open houses and at one point walks down, and ranks, every block in his desired area. After ruling out some places and getting talked out of others by his wife, Greg manages to persist to the point where everyone seems to basically just give up, and he is allowed to put in a bid on a postwar studio in the East 80s. It needs a lot of work. Even his realtor seems a little confused by his intense desire to renovate a studio apartment in New York City, but, in the end, it's hard not to feel a little excited for the guy. [The Hunt/'A City Place for Country Doctors']
2) Gramercy Park is in all likelihood Manhattan's most exclusive outdoor area, and the holders of the keys to the park—there are 383 of them currently in circulation—are almost absurdly committed to keeping it that way. A key, available only to the select few who live in buildings bordering the park (or a member of one of four exclusive clubs), costs $350 per year, and, although the key is almost impossible to duplicate, the locks are changed yearly. Lose the key, and the replacement cost is $1,000. Lose it again, and the next one costs $2,000. Lose it for a third time and you're chained to the gates while the Zeckendorfs peck out your eyes (unconfirmed.) The park's list of prohibited activities was recently updated to: No dogs, no alcohol, no smoking, no bicycling, no hardball, no lawn furniture, no Frisbees, and no feeding the wildlife. While the Gramercy Park Hotel once sold park access as its signature feature, that "loophole has been closed" according to the president of the Gramercy Park Block Association. Hotel guests are now not allowed into park unless accompanied by hotel staff. ['That's Some Key']
3) Based solely on the posters that seem to be slowly coating the inside of every subway station in the city, the new TV show 666 Park seems to be about two well-dressed people who spend a lot of time in a dimly lit staircase. The real 666 Park Avenue, however, is a subnumbering of 660 Park Avenue and is home to a 27-room maisonette, built in 1926 by Virginia Vanderbilt, who never actually lived there, divorcing her husband, William, in 1927. The residence has changed hands a number of times since then. ['The Real 666 Park Avenue']
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