Midtown East Rezoning
The Department of City Planning has made public the new plan to rezone Midtown East. The proposal allows for office buildings of over 900 feet in height to be built in the vicinity of Grand Central Station; outside of this core area the limit will be 700 feet.
The 20 year plan, that has to be approved by the City Council, aims at adding a few state-of-the-art office towers in order for Midtown East to maintain its position of excellence amongst the premiere business addresses in the world.

$100 million
Here we go. Yet again, the latest New York City real estate extravaganza appeared.
Broker Raphael De Niro, the son of actor Robert De Niro, has recently listed a $100 million dollar triplex penthouse (floors 73rd through 75th) at a not-so-luxurious midtown building.
We are talking about a condominium named CitySpire (150 West 56th Street). Don’t get me wrong, the building is of decent quality but the valuation of the apartment is out of whack. This opinion of mine is shared by many other brokers who have been dealing at CitySpire way more than me. On The Real Deal Frank Ragusa estimates that a $50 million dollar mark would be more appropriate but I still have a hard time accepting even this figure.
The other nearby mega condo One57 is generating a lot of buzz and attracting billionaire investors; several huge sales have been reported and brokers in neighboring buildings, including CitySpire, are trying to ride the tide and grab some of that attention.
CitySpire, however, does not have the pedigree to compete with the best buildings in NYC, namely 15 Central Park West (CPW) and The Plaza.
15 CPW was built about five years ago and instantly became the number one luxury address in the City. The bold decision by the developers to use expensive materials like limestone and recruit a renowned architect like Robert A.M. Stern paid off.
The Plaza needs no introduction. Its history and beautiful design make it an obvious choice for luxury buyers.
CitySpire is just a very big building, constructed with concrete and glass, which was appealing in the 80s when it was built, but since then it just faded towards average territory.
The apartment in question, the $100 million mega listing, does not even have high ceilings. It’s like walking in a zeppelin’s body; you can stare down to the helicopters below you, but you have to pay attention not to bang your head on the ceiling.
Jokes aside, I believe that with this listing price, the owner, a Long Island based developer, and the broker were seeking some extra publicity; which with no delay came from various news outlets in the last couple of weeks. They should be careful though when trying to become celebrities for the wrong reasons. As any PR professional would tell you, not all PR is good PR.

NYU expansion
A lot of “villagers”, including actor Matthew Broderick who was openly campaigning against it, are pissed off but the New York University expansion plan received final approval by the City Council.
The plan comprises four large buildings to be built on a parcel of land south of Washington Square Park over the next 20 (?) years.
The Greenwich Village inherits its charm from lovely pre war buildings that are generally no more than six stories high. Adding behemoth constructions to the landscape will definitely change the vibe of that specific segment of neighborhood. NYU needs to grow, but I wonder whether they can just build a skyscraper in Midtown or Financial District. At the end of the day, everybody commutes in NYC and if students and professors need to get on a subway for 15 minutes between one class and the other I believe it is not the end of the world. NYU is an institution that has outgrown its footprints. If Columbia University moved its location not once but twice over the course of history, from the Wall Street area when it was still named King’s College to 49th St and Madison Avenue in 1857 and later in 1896 to the current location in Morningside Heights, so can NYU. It seems like somebody is in denial here. There is no room in the Village…people!

This is it for today, my dear friends.
I am always available to answer your questions and provide you with more information on New York City real estate.

Warmest Regards,
Riccardo Ravasini