New York Habitat Blog

New York In Song
“Uptown – The New Harlem” 

…He comes up town every evening to my tenement
Uptown where folks don’t have to pay much rent

This is an excerpt from the song “Uptown”, which was a hit for The Crystals in the 1960’s and for Bette Midler in the 1970’s.  Of course, a lot has changed since then. 

Since the 1990’s, Uptown Manhattan has been in the midst of a revival which has been called the new Harlem Renaissance.  The original Harlem Renaissance was a period of artistic triumph and creative vision during the 1920’s and early 1930’s.  This was a time when poets like Langston Hughes, novelists like Zora Neale Hurston and musicians like Duke Ellington helped shape the spirit of Harlem and, in the process, contributed to the culture of the U.S. and ultimately the world. 

But following a lack of investment in local businesses and residential housing, several communities in the area fell into a cycle of poverty and housing values suffered until the 1990’s.  By that time, the City government had assumed ownership of many abandoned lots and dilapidated buildings, and began luring investors to build new housing and substantially rehabilitate existing structures. 

New luxury rentals, condominiums and cooperatives have sprouted up in several areas in East, West and Central Harlem.  The architecture of old brownstones, townhouses and several truly beautiful churches have also been preserved and repaired.  This mix of the classic and modern styles creates a truly unique landscape.  Celebrities have even gotten into the act.  Magic Johnson invested in and opened a movie theater complex on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, and former President Bill Clinton has leased office space on West 125th Street for his private industry consulting firm since 2001. 

With all the activity, you certainly can no longer say that uptown “folks don’t have to pay much rent”.  Housing prices have continued to grow to reflect the enhanced values.  But there are still deals to be found.  To check out some of our apartment rentals in Harlem and uptown Manhattan, click here.  To view vacation rentals or bed and breakfasts in these areas, click here, and here for roommate share apartments. 

Here are some apartments:

• Nice studio (Ref #12309) on a block of renovated brownstones perfect for someone going to columbia and near to Central Park and the subway.
• Townhouse with 3 bedrooms and 3 floors (Ref #11557) close to Riverside Park, Broadway and convientient access to the subway.
• 4 Bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse (Ref #11038) perfect for a family, near to 125th Street and Lenox Avenues, offers a central location.

Frequently, we receive feedback asking for detailed maps of apartment locations. Well there is indeed a link on each apartment page description in two places.

One is labeled “detailed street map” at the top right of the apartment page (in the location section).
Another is “map this apartment” at the bottom of the page with a blue icon: “MAP”

These take you to a separate page with a complete map of the area and a blue circle in the general area where the property is located.

This feature is especially helpful for Greenwich Village apartments in New York, as the streets often run diagonally.

Hope this information will help you.

We still remember the time when we were taking pictures with film, then scanning them, and finally archiving them manually. We won’t mention that we delivered these photographs to potential customers by mail… yes, snail mail!

Since then the digital age has helped us with accelerated cataloguing. On a daily basis we sometimes handle the creation of 10 new apartments which leads to some 200 to 500 pictures (some villas in the South of France have the most number of pictures). Editing, selecting and sorting this volume of information completes the process.

So here we are! More than 60 gigabytes of photographic data built over the years from simple studios in New York and Paris to beautiful grandiose Mas in Provence or in the French Riviera.

Interior designers, who are frequent returning visitors to our website, find inspiration as they discover the different styles of New York, Paris, London and the South of France.
Our photos of rental properties often assist them in their research and planning.

Thank you to all our owners who have helped us assembling our rental property database!

Since May, 2001, New York Habitat has donated “computer time” to a collaborative grid computer cancer research project involving Oxford University, The National Foundation for Cancer Research, and United Devices.

Our specialty in renting apartments online requires a lot of computers and servers. As we grew and expended our activities to France (Paris and the South of France), then to London, we realized that all these computers and notebooks would be a great asset for this worthy philanthropic project.

Initially, our company contributed cpu time of two office computers.  We now share use of all our office computers and generate more than 283 processor-hours per day. Our contribution places us in 180th position among 1.3 million members in this project.

In just 5 years, 534,500 hours of total cpu (processor) time has been donated to cancer research–equivalent to 1 computer running 24/7 for over 61years!

An automated investigative process called “LigandFit” examines the binding characteristics of ligands to protein molecules. ( a ligand is a small molecule that binds to a particular larger molecule. ) This is useful to identify potential cancer drug therapies.

In the next couple of months, as soon as new computers becomes available, we will also contribute to a new project for research against AIDS.

If you would like to participate in this project using your computer at home or at work, we invite you to join New York Habitat’s Team.

You can obtain more information and download the software to join cancer research here http://www.grid.org/download and then ask to join our team (New York Habitat).

Or you can directly join our team here http://www.grid.org/services/teams/team.htm?id=50A4AE79-EFB6-41DC-B70F-996E04FC7C58)

cancer research

You asked for apartment floor plans—Et Voilá! 

Not good at puzzles? Sometimes, putting apartment pictures together in your “mind’s eye” is not easy. (Neuroscientists tell us that not everyone is “wired” the same for spatial orientation!).

Many of our rental accommodation descriptions will now include a simplified version of the floorplan. We hope to present a better overview of room size, location, and orientation of our rental apartments. This is particularly useful on duplex and large apartments (see a 4 Bedroom Triplex in Paris).

Hope you enjoy it.

Vacation Rental accommodation in Paris Auteuil - Tour Eiffel: 4 Bedrooms - Duplex

P.S. Due to the labor required to draw these layouts, not all of the apartment descriptions have them yet, but we are working hard to provide as many as possible.

In case you missed the celebration yesterday, Bastille Day on Manhattan’s East 60th Street was a superb success!  New York Habitat was a leading sponsor of the event this year, which is organized by the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF).

Francophiles interested in travel to Paris and the South of France found complimentary luggage tags, T-shirts, and pens upon visiting our booth, located directly across the street from FIAF. We were delighted to see many of our apartment owners, who stopped by to visit in front of our colorful “fields of lavender banner.” Thanks for saying hello!

Between bites of crêpe and crème brulée, more than 15,000 visitors (according to the FIAF) strolled in the extraordinary sunny weather. Many young ladies were captivated with Pascalito, who sang two sets of French and Brazilian songs, colored by capoeira moves from his native Brazil. An annual favorite are three French Can Can dancers who drew cheers from the crowd with their energetic performance.

There was even a pétanque game going on in a sandy enclosure between Park and Lexington Avenues!  Millions of French people play this casual game, particularly on vacation. [Pétanque, played with metal balls, is thought to have originated around 1900 in La Ciotat, a town near Marseille.]

New York Habitat is delighted to present
Mr. Abraham Muslin (ticket #2955)
a free week in one of our Paris apartments!

Mr. Muslin was announced as the winner of the daylong raffle and will enjoy a free one- week stay in one of our Paris apartments.  We were thrilled to partner with American Airlines to fulfill this travel fantasy.

Our indefatigable team answered a lot of questions about short term apartment accommodations in Paris. Villas in the South of France seemed to be of particular interest to many folks who came by to chat. We’re already looking forward to next year’s Bastille Day!

New York In Song
“Brooklyn Bridge – Living In Brooklyn”

What a lovely view
Heaven looks at you…from the Brooklyn Bridge

This is an excerpt from the song “Brooklyn Bridge”, performed by Frank Sinatra in the 1947 film “It Happened in Brooklyn”.

Today, nearly 60 years later, it’s still happening in Brooklyn. Although out of the Manhattan spotlight, it is nevertheless home to some of New York’s most prestigious attractions. These include The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Botanical Gardens at Prospect Park, and the world-famous Coney Island Amusement Park and Boardwalk.

While Brooklyn boasts some of the hottest real estate areas in New York, another advantage is that it is still usually possible to get more space for less money than in comparable Manhattan apartments. And transportation to and from Manhattan’s hotspots is fast and convenient. You can check out our current listings of apartments, vacation rentals and roommate shares in Brooklyn.

Whether you’re concerned about your budget, or just looking to experience a different part of New York City, consider trying the view from the Brooklyn Bridge!

Lower Manhattan Brooklyn Bridge Black and White (Francois Roux copyright)

Photograph provided by francois-roux-photography.com

Apartment search - New features

Many of you have asked about pets, Internet connection, parking and smoking when searching for apartments. New York Habitat has now included these search criteria for online New York, Paris, London and South of France searches. (see search page for New York vacation rental)

You can now use the following additional search criteria:

• Pets allowed
• Smoking permitted
• Internet connection
• Parking space

If one of the above items does not appear in an apartment listing, don’t hesitate to ask our agents to make an inquiry to the owner (as conditions do change).

Gap, in the South East of France, is on the stage route and elected as a “ville étape” to allow for a rest day. The huge demand for accommodation in the South of France for the 3 days (July 16, 17 and 18) means the area’s rentals and hotels are fully booked!

• July 16 - Montélimar - Gap (stage 14)
• July 17 - Rest day in Gap
• July 18 - Gap - l’Alpe d’Huez (stage 15) : After a rest day in Gap, the 2006 Tour de France enters the Alps for real, and the ski station summit of L’Alpe d’Huez is back on the menu. July 18 is the first of 3 Alpine mountain stages, 187km from Gap to the ski resort of L’Alpe d’Huez via the Col d’Izoard (2,360mt) and the Col du Lauteret (2,058mt). Briançon, highest town in Europe, will be on the route.

New York Habitat has only two remaining apartment rentals available, one in Gap and one in Briançon (PR-10).

Tour de France 2006

Got the post-holiday blues? Was your 4th of July a disappointment? Well, fear not because you’ve got another chance to celebrate in the streets, party to some great music and enjoy some terrific food. And if you’re thinking you couldn’t possibly look at another hot dog after that 4th of July barbecue, you won’t have to. How about some delicious crepes, a toasty baguette, or some yummy freedom fries instead? Well, maybe not the freedom fries.

This celebration is about all things French. Bastille Day is the French national holiday commemorating the 1790 Fete de la Federation, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille in 1789. Every year, New York Habitat sponsors the French Institute’s Bastille Day Celebration. This year’s celebration will be on July 16 from noon to 6:00 p.m at East 60th Street from Fifth to Lexington Avenues on the Upper East Side. We hope you’ll join the fun, and especially hope you’ll stop by our sponsorship booth, which will be located on 60th between Madison and Park.

This year, New York Habitat will be playing an even bigger part in the festivities, having partnered with American Airlines to sponsor this year’s grand raffle prize.

The grand winner will receive roundtrip airfare for two to Paris, with a one week stay in one of New York Habitat’s fabulous, fully furnished Paris apartments.

There will be lots of other great giveaways at the celebration, along with the great food and shopping courtesy of the finest French-themed restaurants and businesses in the City.

So take a chance on that trip to Paris. And you might feel like you’ve won just by showing up. Because on Sunday July 16th, a few blocks of Midtown East New York City will be magically transformed into the streets of Paris. No plane ticket or passport required.