CITY LIVING with The Stein Team, August 2016

CITY LIVING with the Stein Team

It's August 1st with only one month left of summer! We hope all of you are enjoying some time off from work and escaping the heat of the City. As we approach the end of summer, we get closer to one of NYC's real estate "high seasons," September - December, when many sellers put their homes on the market for sale. Additionally, buyers return from summer vacations, invigorated and ready to re-engage in the buying process. So we expect the Fall to be busy, especially with interest rates maintaining historical lows.

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Neighborhood Spotlight

Rendering of 212 Fifth Avenue's palatial residences.

Check-in at the Ace Hotel

The Billiards Room at The Clocktower

NoMad Madness

For years, buyers seeking chic Downtown digs in TriBeCa & SoHo would often circumvent the longtime "office" district, once called Tin Pan Alley. Now commanding upwards of $3,000/square foot for new condos, the area called NoMad has shed its former reputation and attained a "cool" factor, as buyers enjoy its central location, near to Madison Square Park, mass transit, and the many new hot spots that call NoMad home.

Of the area's new condo developments, the crown jewel is certainly 212 Fifth Avenue. Set on the northwestern corner of 26th and Fifth, the former office building will be converted into 48 palatial residences featuring jaw-dropping park views!

If you're just looking to spend the night in NoMad, the Ace Hotel New York, whose opening in 2009 is credited with helping to spark the area’s revival, is a perfect choice - offering a mix of shops and restaurants in a hip atmosphere.

And if you only have time for dinner (or a drink!), the MetLife Tower overlooking Madison Square Park, which once commanded the title of world's tallest building back in 1909, is now home to The Clocktower, an upscale British tavern by mega-restaurateur Stephen Starr that features a vibrant bar scene - purple billiard table included.

Stein Team Favorites

Pool House Perfection

With many New Yorkers travelling to Long Island, Nantucket, and other country settings to escape the brutal summer heat, we thought we’d invite our readers to enjoy our curated collection of amazing Pool Houses – we promise you wont want to leave!

Architectural Masters

The intricate pediment at 775 Park Avenue, one of Rosario's Candela's most famous works.

A spiral staircase, an iconic trope of Candela's floor plans.

Spotlight on Rosario Candela

Rosario Candela (1890-1953) was a Sicilian American architect who achieved renown through his apartment building designs in New York City, primarily during the boom years of the 1920s. Candela's greatest work would occur during the latter half of the 1920s, when he designed numerous apartment buildings on the Upper East Side, primarily on Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue.

The exteriors of his buildings tended to be understated, however, he was considered a master of design when it came to the interiors. Many apartments were constructed as duplex residences with grand entry foyers, curved, free-standing stairways, and dramatic public rooms.

He was known for thickening his building's exterior walls to enclose mechanicals and plumbing risers, enlarging the windows in comparison to the norm of the time to allow more light, raising the ceilings to new heights, and deepening window reveals to allow radiators to be hidden for the very first time.

Over time, Candela's buildings have become some of New York's most coveted addresses. Here are some of his most famous works.

CITY LIVING Solutions

Bring Down the Noise!

New York City apartment dwellers often cite noise as the biggest "quality of life" complaint. Whether it’s barking dogs, rambunctious children, techno music, noisy neighbors, construction, honking horns or garbage trucks, the noises of New York City can sometimes be unbearable. Here are some tips for blocking out all of that city noise:

WINDOW COVERINGS: Heavy-duty drapes is the easiest and least expensive option to reduce outdoor noise. Floor-to-ceiling layered curtains composed of a heavy fabric on each side with a felt interlining will do the trick.

WINDOW SOUNDPROOFING: Soundproofing your windows can be more expensive, but is also more effective. CitiQuiet is a high-quality soundproofing company. CitiQuiet installs interior windows that cover existing windows. This creates a buffer zone of airspace that blocks up to 95 percent of city noise.

FLOOR COVERINGS: In some buildings, its mandatory for tenants to cover a certain percentage of their floors with carpeting. Cut-pile carpets rather than loop pile are better choices for sound absorption, and a foam-backed carpeting can also be more effective.

FLOOR SOUNDPROOFING: If carpeting won’t do the trick, the best remedy may be soundproofing the floors. Quiet Zone Soundproofing sits beneath the existing flooring and adds sound control “underlayment” that is made from rubber. In addition, walls and ceilings can also be soundproofed via insulation.

In the Press

Robin and Jeremy featured on the cover of the this month's Mann Report Residential.

Featured on the cover of this month's Mann Report Residential, Robin and Jeremy share how they came to be both partners in business and partners in life. Get to know the Steins much better in the recent cover story.

The World of Sotheby's

Thimble Islands, Offered at $78,000,000

Off the Beaten Track

This month, we invite you to explore the Thimble Islands. Set within a tranquil stretch of Connecticut coastline, the Thimble Islands Portfolio is the rarest and most remarkable assemblage of private islands available for purchase on the Eastern Seaboard.

With Sotheby's extensive international network of brokers and properties, we can help you find your dream home or vacation property in 63 countries. We have a strong network of colleagues and would love to connect you to an experienced broker.

THE STEIN TEAM | #1 Sales Team 2015

Jeremy and Robin Stein,

Senior Global Real Estate Advisors

917.854.4411 | jeremy.stein@sothebyshomes.com
917.570.8386 | robin.stein@sothebyshomes.com