FOUND: iconic living
FOUND: iconic living
Flatiron Building, Thanksgiving reservations, Gage & Tollner, Bucks County, Paris boutiques, Halloween tickets, MORE
REAL ESTATE • In Contract
Going residential in Flatiron
Last spring’s chaotic auction of the Flatiron Building — sold not once but twice after the first winning bidder failed to come up with the deposit — was hard to watch. Aging icons deserve better.
Now comes The Brodsky Organization, a developer with deep NYC roots, to help the new owners convert the iconic building to residential. Given the classic office building’s retrograde interior, it will take some doing (roughly three years to create approximately 40 new units, Brodsky says). But buying a floor-through condo in the Flatiron Building sounds like an innately appealing idea, so we’ll hope for the best.
In the meantime, for a feel for what’s recently traded in the neighborhood, here are four properties currently in contract in the $3.5-$5.5M range.
→ 5 E. 16th St., Unit 7 (Flatiron) • 3BR/2.5BA, 4100 SF condo • Closing ask: $5.25M • Days on market: 177 • Common charges: $2192; taxes: $3060 • Broker: Linette Simeno, Compass.
→ 6 W. 20th St., 5th Fl. (Flatiron, above) • 5BR/2BA, 4100 SF co-op • Closing ask: $5.495M • Days on market: 166 • Maintenance: $6500 • Broker: Mark Thomas Amadei, Sotheby’s.
→ 142 Fifth Ave., 9A (Flatiron) • 5BR/3.5BA, 2700 SF co-op • Closing ask: $3.5M • Days on market: 106 • Maintenance: $6479 • Broker: Gino Filippone, Corcoran.
→ 36 E. 22nd St., 4A (Flatiron) • 3BR/3BA, 2168 SF condo • Closing ask: $3.495M • Days on market: 146 • Common charges: $2204; taxes: $2570 • Broker: Maggie Marshall, Elliman.
NYC REAL ESTATE LINKS: Starchitect Bjarke Ingels’ semi-trippy skyscraper The Spiral opens in Hudson Yards, NYC’s most expensive neighborhood for real estate • Closings begin at Claremont Hall in Morningside Heights • There’s never been a worse time to buy instead of rent.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Thanksgiving, ticketed
Nougatine (Upper West Side), 3 courses in parade-land, $188 per (child $88), reserve
Daniel (Upper East Side), 3 courses of ‘elevated interpretations,’ $295 per (child $125), reserve
Eleven Madison Park (Flatiron), special vegetarian holiday menu, $335 per, reserve
Barbuto (West Village), Thanksgiving & Waxman classics, $150 per, reserve
Estela (Soho), family-style Thanksgiving feast, $165 per, reserve
Peasant (Nolita), 4 wood-fired courses, $135 per (child $60), reserve
Le Crocodile (Williamsburg, above), traditional Thanksgiving feast, $155 per (child $55), reserve
Olmsted (Prospect Heights), multi-course with house favorites, $145 per (child $45), reserve
Peaches Prime (Fort Greene), 3 courses at neighborhood favorite, $65 per (child $35), reserve
See also FOUND subscriber Thanksgiving recommendations, in Lost & Found, below. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundny.com.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Friday Routine
A pastry chef bucks the trends
CAROLINE SCHIFF, executive pastry chef, Gage & Tollner
Neighborhood you live in: Fort Greene
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I’m a hypersocial person, so I generally make plans with friends to kick off my weekend (which starts on Saturday evening, since I work a chef’s schedule). My favorite place to meet people for a drink and snack is Bad Luck Bar in Bed-Stuy. It's the perfect little neighborhood horseshoe bar, and they make this awesome Sicilian-style pizza with crispy edges. My go-to order is pizza and a glass of red wine, and you can get out the door with a very reasonable tab. The bartenders are very friendly and always up for a chat.
Where are you dining this weekend?
Rolo’s in Ridgewood for dinner (do not miss the war-style potatoes and the Calabrian chili bread), or Bonnie’s in Williamsburg (for fuyu cacio e pepe mein). Superiority Burger for a TFT (tofu fried tofu) and Gertrude’s (where everything comes with latkes) are also favorites!
How about a little leisure or culture?
I’m a member at BAM, so I’m always seeing what’s happening there. I love their movies and dance performances. I also usually try to fit in a hot yoga class at Tangerine Yoga or go for a run in the neighborhood.
Any weekend getaways?
If I can get to the family cabin in Bucks County (PA), that’s my favorite. It's about two hours from the city, but a world away. I keep my little Gozney pizza oven out there, and I never miss an opportunity to sling pies for my family with my sourdough dough. In the summer, I forage for wine berries and make jam; they're abundant all over the property and the season is quick, so you gotta get out there and grab them.
What was your last great vacation?
I recently was a tastemaker on a trip to Morocco with Modern Adventure Travel. It was absolutely incredible going from Marrakech to the Atlas Mountains and finally Fez. I also went back to Scotland last year for a highland hiking adventure. I went to university there and it was so nostalgic being back, and absolutely stunning. We went from Edinburgh to the Highlands, the Isle of Skye, the Isle of Raasay (both in the Hebrides), and then down to St. Andrews.
GETAWAYS • Paris
Shopping for a good vintage
Paris has always been a retail paradise; most recently, it’s seen the reinvigoration of both Le Bon Marche and Samaritaine. For one-of-a-kind women’s fashion finds, however, a trip to Paris is not complete without a visit to some of the best vintage and archive boutiques in the world.
Stuck stateside? Some will ship — or just browse for the endorphins.
Thanx God I’m a V.I.P. (12 Rue de Lancry, 10e, above). Any store organized by color understands personal style — as well as how people with true personal style organize themselves. Brands carried are a mix of designer and out-of-print.
Every piece on offer is the perfect amount of cool, so it’s easy to spend an hour looking at each find.
LOUISE Paris (10 Rue de Lancry, 10e). Almost next door to Thanx God, LOUISE offers a beautifully curated selection of vintage and newish resale, all in impeccable condition. Styles here trend towards the feminine sophisticated and sunny, featuring most major luxury brands. There’s also a large selection of unique shoes in the window.
This is a true small business: the owner is often at the register labeling new items that come in. (One of the things to love about Paris is that it feels like NYC 15 years ago when there were so many independent boutiques.)
Le depot vente de Monica (7B Rue Clauzel, 9e). Less store, more closet, albeit the closet of a great, globetrotting friend who’s buying one interesting thing at each stop. Visitors end up standing in one spot, scanning from ceiling to floor, rotating two degrees, and repeating. Stock is a mix of vintage and resale.
There will be too much to take in, but you can do it.
Debardeuse vintage shop (16 Rue la Bruyère, 9e). This small but mighty collection of ‘50s-’90s vintage is filled with pieces that could mix easily into a work wardrobe. Statement jewelry, blouses with just the right amount of embroidery detail — you get it.
It’s down the rue from Soho House. Go after lunch to add a brooch or three to your collection.
Les Merveilles de Babellou (Marché Paul Bert Allée 1 stand 12, 18 Rue Paul Bert, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine). Make a sojourn north just beyond the périphérique to St. Ouen, or risk not having your trip count in many a Parisienne’s book. When you do, this store’s your first stop. It caters to collectors, museum curators, and the aspiring of either among us. Plenty of Chanel, Hermes pieces you’ve never seen before in person but are instantly recognizable (even for the uninitiated).
This store is full of conversation starters one could take home and frame as art. Also, it’s one of the few places to see/touch/buy vintage iconic Paco Rabanne pieces.
Chez Sarah (18 Rue Jules Vallès, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine). A newer discovery, also in St. Ouen. Showstoppers only! With a collection of certifiably historical pieces (regularly pulled for films), every important designer of the last century is represented. In addition: small collections of ‘60s chenille robes from St. Tropez and vintage nightgowns in perfect condition.
A living museum — you’re not allowed in without donning a pair of white gloves. –Ashley Granata
GETAWAYS LINKS: Dockers restaurant in East Quogue sold to developers • Peter Luger Las Vegas opens at Caesars • Zero Bond opening at Wynn Las Vegas in 2025 • Legendary Tropicana Las Vegas will be torn down to make way for baseball park, probably • Billionaires drive up avg. Palm Beach home price to $14M.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Halloween & Surrounds
Cecchi's 70's Burlesque Halloween Party, Cecchi’s (Greenwich Village), Tues dinner, entertainment 7-10:30p, full menu
We Belong Here: Halloween NYC at The Bowery Saving, Capitale (Chinatown), Fri @ 10p, platinum admission, $312 per
MONSTER: A Halloween Party, The McKittrick Hotel (Chelsea), Fri @ 915p, Ultimate monster party all-access pass, $1090 per (or $222 for standard entry at 11:45p)
CULTURE LINKS: Restoration of Richard Haas trompe l’oeil mural begins in Soho • ‘Tommy,’ The Who’s rock opera, will return to Broadway • Long-unseen Basquiat self-portrait could reach $60M at Sotheby’s New York • Sondheim’s final musical opens at The Shed • Beatriz Cortez’s steel volcano sets sail from Storm King tonight.
LOST & FOUND • Behind the Paywall
Dispatches from the frontline, from FOUND subscribers for FOUND subscribers: