An ode to ‘Only in New York’

Only in New York, kids. That was the slightly hokey catchphrase of former New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams in chronicling the city’s social scene. But it definitely applies to real estate here — as you’ll see in this month’s issue.

The sheer lack of available real estate in New York City and its dramatic cost is no secret. But it’s remarkable how the lack of space in New York is a catalyst for unique “Only in New York” innovation.

Where else would someone come up with the idea to take a derelict elevated railway line and convert it into a 1.5-mile-long park hovering above the city? Of course, I’m referring to the High Line, which is finishing up its third and final section next year.

The project — which has prompted the development of 29 new nearby buildings and $2 billion in private investment — is spawning more than a dozen copycats around the world, from Germany to Jerusalem, Mexico City to Singapore (not to mention closer to home in Jersey City, the Lower East Side and Queens). We examine the burgeoning ranks of imitators in “High Line copycats.”

It also makes sense that the densest city in the country is becoming a leader in the micro-apartment craze. Those affordable shoebox-size dwellings will allow more people (particularly young people) to live in the city if they’re willing to sacrifice space for location. The trend got a big boost recently when Mayor Bloomberg announced the winner of a design competition. The winning team will erect a building on East 27th Street to house units ranging from 250 to 370 square feet.

Private developers entered the contest in record numbers. That might not be surprising, considering these buildings could net higher per-square-foot returns than traditional apartments, as we examine in “Macro economics meet micro apartments.”

(Still, my ultimate real estate fantasy is the opposite of the micro-unit. It was spurred by a story we did on the homes of tech moguls a few months ago and features a young idealistic tech entrepreneur, worth a few billion dollars, buying the entire floor of a massive industrial building in Chelsea. The space would be entirely open, except for a few structural columns, and would be furnished with only a bed and standing lamp, with piles of books spread out on the floor to complete the scene.)

Another “Only in New York” situation is unfolding around the Gowanus Canal, where the land abutting a Superfund site is being gobbled up by investors, a massive new development is being planned and townhouse prices are surpassing $1 million amid a hipster retail transformation. In most areas of the country, a padlocked gate would have been placed around the putrid canal (which is also susceptible to flooding, as Hurricane Sandy showed). Check out “Gowanus gets ready.”

Meanwhile, in our lead cover story, we surveyed all the major residential projects in the works in Brooklyn — in Gowanus and beyond. While there was a lull during the recession, building is coming back strong, with more megaprojects and capital heading to the borough than before. Check out “Brooklyn’s building bonanza.”

Rounding out the issue, we also look at the biggest pending rule changes for real estate advertising in nearly two decades (“An ad overhaul”); survey the dire state of the appraisal industry by looking at the fall of one of the city’s largest appraisal firms, Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson (“Can Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson survive?”); and do a first-ever survey of commercial brokerages and total commissions earned by each firm (“Stacking up sales brokers”).

Finally, I’m proud to announce that The Real Deal won an award for general excellence for a print magazine from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers last month. The category covers print magazines of any size, so we had some pretty stiff competition.

I’d also like to congratulate Leigh Kamping-Carder, who was promoted from deputy web editor to web editor this past month, and welcome Melanie Gray, who recently came on board as our editorial development director from the Daily. She will spearhead the magazine’s South Florida coverage and our newest publication, Luxury Listings, as well as help work on the New York issue and website as we aim to bring you the most compelling real estate stories each month.

Enjoy the issue.