The 4th report: sea and be seen
The 4th report: sea and be seen
Fini Amagansett, Hamptons surf & turf, 50 West 66th, fireworks tix, more
REAL ESTATE • FOUND Development
A chiseled midsection on the Upper West Side
Currently rising between Lincoln Center and Central Park, Extell’s 50 West 66th Street will be the tallest building on the Upper West Side when it’s completed sometime in 2024 or 2025 — and not without controversy. Back in the go-go pre-pandemic days, the building’s construction got hung up when the city attempted to stop developers from building taller, by inserting huge mechanical floors (which don’t count against zoning rules). In the end, Extell won, and 50 West 66th will rise 69 stories and contain 127 condo units when completed.
The design is by starchitecture firm Snøhetta, with inspiration from the “chiseled stone of Manhattan’s geologic legacy.” In practice, the building splits as it rises, allowing for a gorgeous shared terrace on the 16th floor (above). Other amenities include an outdoor salt water pool and tennis/pickleball courts.
Extell has opted to market the development quietly via floorplans, with no flashy website. Deals are getting done: in March, #3D, a 5BR/5.5BA apartment with an 880 SF terrace, asking $12.025M; in January, #48S, a 4BR with Central Park views asking $22.75M; and, back in December 2022, combined units #47S-#47N for the total price of $45.5M, to name three contracts reported by Olshan. Rock on.
→ 50 West 66th Street (Upper West Side), Developer: Extell.
NYC REAL ESTATE LINKS: Larry Silverstein shows his cards on Hell’s Kitchen casino project, The Avenir • Construction complete at 66-story 130 William Street in Fidi • Stone facade takes shape at The Elisa on West 14th St. • I live in a five-floor NYC townhouse with an elevator, AMA • Manhattan’s longest-for-sale townhouse enters year 15 • Inside an unapologetically pink Manhattan loft.
GETAWAYS • Friday Routine
Slinging pies in Amagansett
SEAN FEENEY, co-founder, Grove House (Lilia, Misi), Fini Pizza
Neighborhood you live in: Williamsburg
It’s Friday afternoon, how are you rolling into the weekend?
I’m thankful that I can’t tell the difference between any day of the week anymore, and that Sunday scaries are no longer a thing. On Friday night, I’ll be serving pizza, Caesar salad, and Italian ice all night at the brand new Fini Amagansett. It’s the second pizzeria Fini, following our debut in Williamsburg last year.
My hope is that Fini Amagansett can create great memories for families in the Hamptons the way summers on the Jersey Shore did for my family when I was growing up.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I’m craving pork rib carnitas from Coche Comedor in Amagansett. Also in Amagansett, The Roundtree is a pretty special 15-room boutique property. We also look forward to great live music at the legendary Stephen Talkhouse right down the street from Fini.
Any weekend getaways?
I’ll never be able to abandon my Jersey roots — my wife Maria and I were raised on the Jersey Shore — and if I was there right now, I’d be planning on waking up nice and early Saturday morning, picking up a few pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwiches for breakfast and some subs for lunch from Mike’s Deli on Rt. 34 (Manasquan), and taking them right to Spring Lake beach with my family.
Mid-afternoon we’d roll into the Parker House (Sea Girt) for a cocktail and three Shirley Temples for our kids. For dinner, we’d grab a pizza at Squan Tavern (Manasquan), dessert at Hoffman’s Ice Cream (Spring Lake) and after the kids are sleeping, enjoy a nightcap (most likely a Painkiller) at Feeney’s Patio Bar, “A Sunny Place for Shady People,” with my dad.
What was your last great vacation?
To celebrate my sister Erin’s 40th birthday we went to Rome to watch Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at Circus Maximus. Our most memorable dining experience was at Santo Palato.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
Restaurants, Hamptons
Tutto Il Giorno (Southampton/Sag/EH), useful additions to each town
The Beacon (Sag Harbor, above), hard-to-beat waterfront in Sag
Pierre’s (Bridgehampton), longtime French option on Main Street
Armin & Judy (Bridgehampton), Mediterranean vibes
The Palm (East Hampton), classic sea and be seen scene
Nick and Toni’s (East Hampton), now and forever (if a little less than it used to)
Doubles (Amagansett), Caribbean-infused from NYC’s Mimi/Babs team
Il Buco Al Mare (Amagansett), another from NYC has become a locals spot
Crow’s Nest (Montauk), still the best summer vibe of all
See also Summer weekend, Hamptons. Additions or subtractions? Reply to this email or to found@foundny.com.
HAMPTONS DINING REPORT:
→ AMAGANSETT: Beginning July 6, chef Hiroki Odo of the eponymous kaiseki haunt in Flatiron is in residence at Rosie’s. The two-week visit is part of Rosie’s season-long pop-up series, which will also feature chefs from Wayan, Charlie Bird, Leland Eating & Drinking House, and Little Owl later this summer. Dinner only, Thursday through Sunday nights.
→ SOUTHAMPTON: The Sushi by Boū chainlet is embedded for the summer at the cocktail bar within Blue Mar. Just like in the city, meals span either 30 minutes for 12 courses ($60) or 60 minutes 17 courses ($100).
→ SAG HARBOR: The opening delays at Melissa O’Donnell’s new Sag Harbor Kitchen (in the old Dockside space) are over.
GETAWAYS • Transportation Report
Hamptons by air and sea
Late June may be upon us, but it’s never too late to check in on the season’s innovations in air and sea travel pricing.
BLADES: Blade's new $37,500 "180" pass confers booking rights to an eight-seat Sikorsky S-76C+ (or better) from Midtown to East Hampton at an additional $4,750 per trip (i.e., $593.75 per seat), with only 20 minutes notice. Single-seats on Blade otherwise run $1,025 per, so the deal pencils out if you're filling about 75% of an entire season’s worth of chopper seats. Moving on, Blade's commuter pass, at $3,750, offers individuals one unlimited single-seat booking at 2021 prices: $795 per. This becomes a proper deal around 17 trips.
WINGS: The far better (and hilarious) pricing scheme debuts this season with the swashbuckling Tailwind Air, newly offering its Fast Lane Club Pass ($4,495 per), allowing users access to $695 tickets from Midtown to East Hampton (sans pass: $1,095 per). This one gets good around 13 trips. And yet, a fun wrinkle: The pass also allows you access to unsold inventory 24 to 36 hours before a flight for a single dollar seat (plus a $5 tax). Swing it five times, you're even, six, it's paying for itself, ten, you're a legend.
SAILS: High-seas Hamptons routes remain a distressed, lonely market (RIP Sea Jitney). All that's truly left by water is the wildly impractical, relatively dignified, and profoundly romantic chartering of private vessels, like those on offer from Royal Yacht Charter: One way, six people, 4.5 hours, Sag Harbor dropoff, $3,850/$651 per (without fees). –Foster Kamer
GETAWAYS LINKS: The Plaza and Four Seasons hotels plan post-pandemic comebacks • First look inside EWR’s new United Club at Terminal A • Rental vacancies soar on Cape Cod • Harry’s Bar and Restaurant opens in West Palm Beach • Where to eat outside in Paris • The timeless appeal of drinking in train station bars.
CULTURE & LEISURE • 4th of July Tickets
Baby, you're a firework
Edge at Hudson Yards, sky deck at 1100 feet (above), one glass of champagne, one “barbecue food item,” music by Spencer Ludwig, 7-8p entry, $250 per
Empire State Building, 86th floor open air deck, two-hour open bar, light bites, 7:30-9:45p, DJs, $525 per.
One World Observatory, 101st-floor ONE Dine, two drinks, light bites, $275 per
CULTURE LINKS: Liam Lee celebrates fantastical forms in first New York solo exhibition at Patrick Parrish • ‘Flowers of Hypnosis’ among new art installations at Brooklyn Botanic Garden • Capturing Harlem’s sound through visual art at Uptown Triennial 2023 • New startup is bringing the Y Combinator model to the art world • Student who ate Cattelan’s $120k banana speaks.
LOST & FOUND • Behind the Paywall
Dispatches from the frontline, from FOUND subscribers for FOUND subscribers:
Additions to Tuesday’s Nines, Summer associate lunches, above 23rd: Monkey Bar (54th/Madison, above), Monterey (50th/Park), Kurumazushi (47th/5th), Dons Bogam (32nd/Madison), Empellón (Madison/53rd).
A handful of favorite restaurants from this week’s new subscribers: Roman’s (Fort Greene) • C as in Charlie (Noho) • Casa Carmen (Tribeca, Flatiron) • Scarr’s Pizza (Lower East Side) • Bonnie’s (Williamsburg).