Manhattan Real Estate

Ah, New York City. There is good reason for its motto “The City that Never Sleeps”. Any day, any time, you can find something to do in NYC. One of the multitudes of amenities of Manhattan is its parks. There are 40 of them, spread out over Manhattan’s nearly 23 square miles, each with its own vibe and character.

When people hear New York City Parks, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the infamous Central Park. The reason is obvious – Central Park is indeed central to Manhattan and huge. Its 843 acres include woodlands, lawns, water, stages and extends for 6 miles. Since the 1960’s, it has been Manhattan’s hub for cultural and political activity and a venue for political rallies, festivals, and huge public concerts.

But alas, Central Park is just one of the many great parks in NYC. Take Washington Square Park, located in Greenwich Village and surrounding New York University’s campus. This park’s greatest architectural point is the Washington Arch, built in 1889 to honor our first president’s centennial anniversary. Once a meeting place for artists, writers and activists, it has settled into a more college-like atmosphere of nonconformity and rebellion.

If the political scene doesn’t appeal to you, no worries, there is Hudson River Park, located in midtown Manhattan and loaded with adventurous activities. This 550 acre hub has several restaurants, a boathouse and pier for canoeing, swimming, and, of all things, a trapeze school.

And that is just the beginning. Manhattan offers parks for readers, parks for skaters, nature lovers, and party goers. Yes, New York City, the city that never sleeps, truly does have a park for every person.

Friday July 18th
      Civic Community Day Fair
              (on Lafayette St. from Walker – Franklin Street)

Saturday July 19th
     East Side Summer Festival
              (on Lexington Avenue from 42nd – 57th Street)

Sunday July 20th
      NYC Unfolds Street Fair
              (on Broadway from Houston – Grand St.)

GREENPOINT ISN’T JUST THAT AREA NEXT TO WILLIAMSBURG ANYMORE

Of all the places around the city that the young, the professional and the hip have found to nest, the neighborhood that has proven most resistant to change might be Brooklyn’s Greenpoint.

Walking along Nassau Avenue you will see a restaurant called “Pyza” which does not serve pizza – it serves Polish food (far and away the dominant cuisine of the neighborhood.) If you turn a corner, there’s a flag-bedecked chapter of the American Legion. And the low-rise, vinyl-sided houses appear no different from how they looked 30 or 40 years ago.

“It’s got a very village feeling,” says Dewey Thompson, who has lived in Greenpoint for the past 12 years and is co-chair of the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning. “I don’t think anyone would have dreamed that people were going to sell luxury condos in [this] neighborhood.”

Well, the unthinkable has happened.

New condominiums along the Greenpoint side of McCarren Park are fetching prices that were once unheard of in the neighborhood. Take the Robert Scarano-designed Loftology at the intersection of Driggs and Manhattan avenues.

“Everything is super modern,” says David Maundrell, president of Aptsandlofts.com, of the condo.

And the prices are super modern, too. A 600-square-foot, one-bedroom is getting between $850 and $900 per square foot.

Or Manhattan Park, next door, where a few of the upper floors have seen units go for as much as $1,000 per square foot.

And this phenomenon is not limited to the area around McCarren Park. Last week, the Viridian, a 130-unit luxury building on Green Street near the waterfront, began sales. The six-story building (one of the developers is Magic Johnson) will feature all the luxury bells and whistles, including a pool, a gym, a courtyard with a skylight and even rooftop cabanas. Three-bedrooms at the Viridian are going for more than $800,000.

This is a huge jump for a neighborhood where you can still buy an entire house for less than $600,000, and where a one-bedroom can be rented for as little as $1,300.

Most of Greenpoint has remained largely unaffected by this new development. Rents have remained much lower than they have a few blocks south in Williamsburg. And the majority of condos that have popped up in the last few years have been six-to-eight-unit buildings with low price points.

“I actually think I like it better than Williamsburg,” says Laura Gensinger, who began looking there for an apartment to buy but decided instead on an 850-square-foot, one-bedroom duplex in one of the Belvedere boutique buildings that have been cropping up all over Greenpoint. Her condo was big enough to share with a roommate, and she paid less than $650 per square foot.

“One of the things I like is that there’s a better sense of family,” Gensiger says.

Mom and pop grocery stores, flower shops, pharmacies, butchers and bakeries can be found all over Greenpoint in abundance.

“It’s got the stuff Williamsburg doesn’t have,” says Bill Ross, director of development for Halstead Property. “Greenpoint always had infrastructure.”

By MAX GROSS (NYPost.com)