New York City Luxury Rental Blog Archives for September 2010

We're Number Six! We're Number Six! (Or, Rents on Manhattan Apartments Aren't As High As You'd Think)

Trends come and trends go, as regular readers of the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog -- or anyone who lives in New York City -- knows. But while the ebbs and flows in the market for Manhattan rental apartments is our subject here at the LRM blog, one constant remains unspoken and, for the most part, unchallenged. And that is that living in New York City is cruelly, implausibly expensive by just about any standard. Yes, groceries cost more in Hawaii and gasoline costs more in Connecticut, but most NYC dwellers will be quick to tell you that everything costs more here in Manhattan. In the next breath, you'll hear that the reason for this is that everything is better in Manhattan, but the (presumed) fact is what it is. So it's safe to say that a recent finding by the U.S. Census is something of a mind-blower. Per the 2010 Census, New York City is not the first, second, or third-most expensive place to rent in the United States. Neither is it fourth or fifth. No, New York City is actually just the sixth-most expensive place to rent an apartment in the United States. We're number six, everyone! Pop champagne! Or... actually hold off on the champagne. Can this possibly be true?

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Power Struggle Files: New York Times Claims Balance Of Power In Manhattan Rental Market Tipping Towards Landlords

Time flies when you're writing about real estate. It seems like only a few months ago that we had a post at the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog entitled "Sad Landlords, Happy Renters." And that's because, as it turns out, it was only a few months ago -- it was only April that the renter's market for Manhattan rental listings was that robust. Since then, though, things have changed -- as the Manhattan real estate market has returned to health, the concessions, incentives and price breaks that defined the renter's market in Manhattan real estate have largely fallen by the wayside. This was already starting to happen back in May, and by late August we were writing mournful posts with titles like "Vacancies Down, Rents Up On NYC Apartments." The lessons of all this? For one, we obviously like that particular style of headline construction. But for another, despite the fact that there are still no-fee apartment listings and good deals on Manhattan rental apartments to be found out there, things have been trending in landlords' direction for some time. That doesn't make it any more exciting to read the New York Times' recent rundown of that situation, but it does at least make things less surprising. Good news, bad news, after the jump.

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Insert Bleak "Fare" Pun Here: Second Avenue Subway Far Behind Schedule, Far Over Budget, Sadly Far Off

Looks nice, doesn't it? A clean, modern subway station, a train pulling up right on time. Eventually, at some point in human history, something somewhat like the little image you see with this post will undoubtedly occur somewhere under Second Avenue on Manhattan's Upper East Side. For all the things to recommend about Upper East Side apartment listings -- and there are plenty, starting with their relative affordability in comparison to other Manhattan rental apartments -- subway access isn't currently one of them. Sure, the 4/5/6 trains on Lexington Avenue run pretty well, but they're the only trains on the Upper East Side, and can get excruciatingly crowded (and sluggish) come rush hour. News that the long-rumored, longer-awaited Second Avenue Subway was really happening was the cause of much rejoicing both among Upper East Side renters and UES landlords, whose apartments seemed poised to become that much more appealing. Today brought the sad and sadly unsurprising news, though, that the Second Avenue Subway is both behind schedule and over-cost -- and not likely to arrive in time for its original 2016 launch.

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Fresher, More Direct: Green Rentals In Battery Park Bring Farm-Fresh Produce To Lower Manhattan

solaire battery park city green condo csa

As we've written before, and proved time and again, the Luxury Rentals Manhattan blog is secretly about food. Yes, we write about Manhattan rental apartments most of the time, but from the neighborhood-enhancing aspects of Shake Shack to the farmers markets of the Financial District, we will definitely write something about food when the time's right (or when there's nothing else to write about). Today, thankfully, our two usual topics -- food and Manhattan luxury rentals -- have come together in a bit of good news involving the green rental listings of Battery Park City. As Manhattan real estate heads know, many Battery Park City rental listings are green rentals, but the ones developed by Manhattan green rental superstars The Albanese Organization have taken green building a step further -- by actually providing access to fresh greens (and tomatoes, and beans, and corn, and potatoes) to residents of Battery Park green rental stars The Solaire and The Verdesian. The pioneering CSA-delivery program set up by The Albanese Organization is another reason why they're officially LRM heroes, and more proof that Battery Park City is one of the greenest and most appealing places to live in Manhattan.

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Luxury Rentals Manhattan Service Corner: Which Manhattan Neighborhoods Give You The Most When It Comes To Starbucks And/Or Peking Duck?

You can generally tell how well and how recently your LRM bloggers have been fed by our posts. If we've eaten a healthy lunch at a reasonable hour, you'll read about trends in the Manhattan real estate market. If we're peckish, or otherwise craving something unhealthy and preferably crispy, you just might read about how much good a new Shake Shack outpost can do for a given Manhattan neighborhood and the rental listings therein. Consider today the exception that proves the rule -- we're well-fed and properly caffeinated, but we're also rolling our chair over to the Luxury Rentals Manhattan service corner to link to a food- and drink-related blog post because... well, because we think it's kind of neat. And also because, if you're looking for a rental apartment in Manhattan, you might as well know if you're going to have an easy time ordering out for Chinese food or picking up a pumpkin spice latte. Which is to say, finally, that we have some answers on which NYC neighborhoods are the most rich in Chinese food, Starbucks, and other facts of New York City life. Those very important answers, after the jump.

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Location, Location, Location (Of The Subway): How Much Will Subway Service Changes Change NYC Real Estate?

NYC dwellers have a dysfunctional relationship with the subway. We love it, of course -- even with fare hikes (and there are reportedly more on the way), it gets us where we need to go for a couple dollars, and keeps cars off the streets. And yet, it's hard not to hate it, sometimes (did we mention those upcoming fare hikes?) But the simple fact is that Manhattan real estate needs the subway. That's why we cheered the expansion of the 7 train into Clinton and West Chelsea, and why we're anxiously awaiting the opening of the Second Avenue subway. But with service cuts already in effect in the outer boroughs and many bus lines either reduced to banker's hours or disappeared entirely, New Yorkers are feeling more conflicted about the subway than ever. The Wall Street Journal, in a subscription-only article, recently charged subway service changes with depressing home sales in various neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn. Now, neither Queens nor Brooklyn nor apartment sales are our thing (although we do the NYC apartment sales thing, too), but the question still holds for people searching for rental apartments in Manhattan. The question being, how are subway changes changing the way we look for rental apartments in NYC?

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Main Street, Out Of Exile: Roosevelt Island, Home To New York City's Dullest Retail Strip, Heading For Long-Awaited Makeover

Roosevelt Island Main Street Apartments

There's a scene in the otherwise not-so-good horror flick Dark Water that packs a solid laugh for New York City real estate watchers. Well, several scenes if you're the sort who finds the idea of haunted bathtubs amusing, but the one we're thinking of is when John C. Reilly's real estate agent proudly describes a Roosevelt Island apartment building (spoiler alert: it's haunted) to Jennifer Connelly as featuring "brutalist school" design. Which, as much as we love newer Roosevelt Island rental developments like Manhattan Park, is certainly a fair enough way to describe the East Berlin-style retail strip (above) that runs down the center of Roosevelt Island. While the community's quiet, city-within-a-city vibe is a big part of what makes Roosevelt Island apartments appealing, no one will mourn the passing of those identical, charmless facades. The good news, of course, is that those facades are indeed on their way out -- Roosevelt Island Operating Company is soliciting bids for a company to give that drab main street a long-overdue makeover that could make this loveliest of non-Manhattan Manhattan neighborhoods that much more appealing.

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