listings edit
By Nora DeLigter, a writer and filmmaker based in New York City
117 Tysen Street, Staten Island Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photo: Compass
This article first appeared in The Listings Edit newsletter, a weekly digest of the most worth-it apartments in New York City. Sign up to get it first.
Listen, it’s not as though getting an apartment in New York has ever been easy. But one could probably argue that it has never been harder than it is right now. The most god-awful studios are regularly renting for thousands and thousands of dollars with lines of interested tenants out the door. Here, we’ll find the actually worth-looking-ats, the actually worth-the-costs, and the surprisingly affordable-for-those-parquet-floors from all around the internet.
I went to new, topological heights this week — scoping out neighborhoods in New York with the highest elevation. In Staten Island, that meant Todt Hill, the highest natural point in all five boroughs, and a literal hill made from Serpentine rock. Nothing’s on offer in TH itself, but I saw a few multiple-bedroom houses in the surrounding area of Tompkinsville. Uptown, I scoped out some for-sale listings in Washington Heights — all under a million and all in prewar buildings. In Brooklyn, I wandered through Sunset Park (did you know the actual park reaches 164 feet high and was formed during the last glacial period?!) and found some solid, affordable one-bedrooms. And, of course, Bed-Stuy, because … well, just because.
Sunset Park Apartment Listings
$3,200, 4-bedroom: About a thousand (okay, five) windows that wrap around the living room, approximately a hundred bedrooms (okay, four), and great natural light. A little rough around the edges, with floors that don’t exactly look like hardwood, but I can look past this because of the price.
$2,100, 1-bedroom: These floors are definitely hardwood. Really nice layout here — feels spacious and adult, with laundry in the building. Great light and a second-floor walk-up so you can get your steps in.
Washington Heights Apartment Listings
$2,850, 1-bedroom: So refreshing to stay in the $2,000 realm for a one-bedroom. This one has some more modern updates, with a kitchen countertop that looks brand-spanking-new, and I’m not mad at the bathroom reno, either.
$2,250, 1-bedroom: Prewar apartment in great shape with some of the original details and moldings. The bedroom has a very verdant view, and you’re about two seconds from the river.
$2,275, 2-bedroom: A stunning prewar with even more charm and parquet floors, to boot. Nice tiling in the bathroom, and the price is right.
$649K, 1-bedroom: If you’re in the buying market, this one-bedroom is special — with bay windows that look out to panoramic views of the GWB, original herringbone floors, and did I mention the bay windows? I did, but they deserve a second mention. A private gym and doorman are also included. And lastly: seven acres of gardens with residents-only lawn space?
$450K, studio: Feels steep for a studio, but the floor plan and the images tell me it’s a one-bedroom … in either case, this one has a small and quiet elegance, with a windowed bathroom with Carrera and Kohler fittings and a deep soaking tub.
Bed-Stuy Apartment Listings
$2,975, 2-bedroom: A rather stunning, rather unusual lofty two-bedroom apartment at the tippity-top of a brownstone. Feels almost like a bright and cozy attic, with skylights aplenty, exposed wood beams in the bedroom, and a surprising amount of light and space.
$3,700, 1-bedroom: A bit overpriced for the square footage, but lovely nonetheless. With a square and fat living room, bay(ish) windows, parquet floors, and original details. Bathroom is nice and white and tiled, too.
116 Bainbridge Street Photo: Brown Harris Stevens
$1,995, studio: A not-so-standard studio apartment with lovely original details. See: the decorative fireplace, high ceilings, crown moldings. The bathroom is the highlight for me here — a pastiche of different-colored tiles and a vintage vanity wall mirror.
$9,250, 4-bedroom: Was feeling generous, might delete later. Obviously a higher price point, but behold! The stately elegance! Renovated but not overdone — the kitchen is immense, the staircase is a bit ornate for my taste, but I see what they were going for. There’s central air and a study … gosh, to have a study.
526 Hanco*ck Street Photo: Massada Home Sales
$6,350, 2-bedroom: A loft apartment in the Exchange building, an old telephone factory that’s been converted into luxury loft rentals. I think they did a nice job here with double-height ceilings, vinyl plank flooring, a green accent wall in the kitchen. Private gym and rooftop, too.
$3,250, 3-bedroom: Technically in Ocean Hill — but three bedrooms at this price ain’t bad for the location. The bedrooms are the highlights here, with lots of windows and ornate decorative fireplaces. The living room is a blank box that leaves me feeling uninspired, however …
$7,250, 4-bedroom: Luxury duplex on my favorite block in Brooklyn: Macdonough. Twenty feet wide and 50 feet deep, this is a big ol’ brownstone. Original mahogany details have been left in place, somewhat willy-nilly, but I appreciate the effort. The quarter-sawn white-oak flooring is very nice, and the kitchen is my favorite room here.
313 Macdonough Street
Staten Island Apartment Listings
$5,000, 3-bedroom: For the love of gilded glitz! Technically located in New Brighton and not Todt Hill, this three-bedroom Victorian house is a lot to behold. The Provençal windows that are nearly floor to ceiling are my favorite. Could leave the wallpaper, velvet, and green theme behind, though.
$1,650, 1-bedroom: Classic prewar one-bedroom on the North Shore of SI with all the prewar fixings. It’s definitely bringing me back to earth with its (slightly overvarnished) parquet floors, nice moldings, a kitchen that’s nothing to write home about …
$3,500, 3-bedroom: What it lacks in charm it makes up for in bedrooms. This is (almost) a whole house in Tompkinsville, which is a neighborhood with a mix of commercial and residential housing. With some nice features like a sunroom (I mean, you just don’t see that enough), which could also double as a bedroom; a sprawling backyard; and lots of natural light.
$3,400, 3-bedroom: Another edition of “lacking in windows but making up for that in space.” I like the attic-y bedroom here the most, and the kitchen door that leads out onto a terrace. I also just love the suburban feel of this Tompkinsville neighborhood — it’s not a home, it’s a house. Let’s get grilling.
More real estate stories
- A Clinton Hill One-Bedroom Plus Office for Under a Million
- An Upper West Side Studio That Can Pass for a One-Bedroom for $469,000
- A Real-Estate Heir’s Beekman Place Duplex
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