During our obsessive hunting for appealing listings in Chelsea (what, searching for apartments in Chelsea doesn't consume your life, too?), we noticed that this weekend happened to have a bunch of open houses pretty darn close to one another. They are all between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, leading us to believe that life in the lofts between those two blocks must be some sort of hellish nightmare. Or maybe it's just so awesome that the sellers can't take it anymore. Either way, here are a crop of biggish apartments (all 2+ bedrooms) that can all be considered neighbors, and all are showing their stuff this weekend. Don't forget to pop into City Bakery for one of those melted chocolate chip cookies. Good lord those things are good. Yes, that was a cheap attempt at trying to get City Bakery to send us a free box of cookies.

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

1) Red Hook: Our early tip that Real World Brooklyn is going to be situated in one of the old warehouse pier buildings was looking pretty good by week's end.

2) Underground: It is a very big tunnel and it is 19 stories deep and the entire project won't be done until 2015, but the big photo gallery is pretty cool.

3) LIC: The next building that will go up in Queens West, East Coast 4, has been revealed.

4) WTC: Freedom's Friend lost Merrill Lynch, which didn't come as a total shock given it financial losses. Is Tower 3 screwed?

5) East Village: The anti-gentrification, anti-yuppie, anti-wine-bar, anti-single-family-mansion Die Yuppie Scum thing in the East Village/LES is still going on.

6) Union Square: The saga of the busted escalators continues as they're now sealed off.

WEST VILLAGE—Well, it turns out that a potential big box store space in a building at Seventh Avenue South and Clarkson Street will be something else entirely. It will be the future home of The Jerome L. Greene Performance Center. [CurbedWire Inbox]

MIDTOWN—A tipster passes on a email seeking to clarify the "sale" of the Chrysler Building from Cooper Union's George Campbell Jr. re "The Recent Chrysler Building Transaction." It says, "We have received numerous inquiries from alumni and friends recently about the various news media reports of the "purchase" of the Chrysler Building from Tishman Speyer by an Abu Dhabi investment group. Many of the press reports have been misleading at best and, in some cases incorrect. I'd like to clarify for you what the actual facts are regarding the transaction. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art owns both the Chrysler Building and the land on which it was built. Cooper Union has leased the building to a consortium of investors, led by Tishman Speyer, one of New York's premiere real estate firms, which, under the terms of our lease, manages the building. The various investors in the lease can buy and sell their interests in the lease at any time. Such transactions have no effect on The Cooper Union's ownership of the property or on the rents payable to Cooper Union, which were established in the most recent lease agreement, signed in 2006." But, wait, the "rent" is actually taxes collected by the city of about $9 million a year and paid to the city? That clears things up. [CurbedWire Inbox]

First, Karl Fischer Row scored the Top Chef contestants, even though it turns out that it was snubbed in favor of Downtown Brooklyn, then Carroll Gardens and (now) Red Hook for Real World Brooklyn. Yes, Dumbo's got I Hate Valentine's Day (along with every other neighborhood around), but Our Karl has Lipstick Jungle. Brooke Shields & Hot Karl, who'd have thunk it? Action.
· Top Chef Contestants Going to 20 Bayard? [Curbed]

The William Gottleib Management Company, founded by notorious West Village property hoarder Bill Gottleib, will put 79 Horatio Street up for public auction next month. The parcel—a 5 story, 6,370 sq. ft. brick landmark district townhouse, mostly vacant save for a couple of rent controlled tenants—is jointly owned by the Gottleibs and Vicky Gabay, who is forcing the auction after a lengthly legal battle to, borderline literally, pry the property out of Bill Gottleib's cold, dead hands. [Inter-family ugliness ensues here.] Anyway, in preparation for auction, an auction book has been prepared. Bidding is expected to start around $5 million for the Highline-adjacent views and the opportunity to repossess a couple of $200/month apartments.
· 79 Horatio Street [79horatiostreet.com]
· Building's Auction Ends Feud [Curbed]

It's hard to know what to make of all this, except that it appears that a real estate agent took issue with the always low-key approach of Bushwick blogger Bushwick BK and wrote, in all caps as can be seen in the posted screen cap of the email above, that it has led to a "HEP OF POOP." As 1,000 degree Friday afternoon summer bizarreness goes, this weird tale, which we sense is not over just yet, gets extra points. It contains alleged threats of an "ugly investigation" and reports to the Realtors Board for unauthorized advertising of a Bushwick condo called (seriously) Lumbini Garden. There is much detail and background color to all of this, spelled out in great detail. The picture is really in the "HEP OF POOP" email like that?
· Janet Corona Doesn't Need Your Money [Buwshwick BK]

Yesterday, the MTA showed off the massive tunnel being dug 19 stories under Manhattan. The tunnel is part of a big dig to connect the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Station. A 200-ton tunnel boring machine recently finished carving a mile-long tunnel through good old Manhattan bedrock and an adjacent tunnel is expected to be finished by the end of summer. Eight tunnels will eventually feed into a new station under Grand Central there will ultimately be eight tunnel sections feeding into an immense new station below Grand Central. The entire project, which is supposed to be finished around 2015. In the meantime, Curbed photog about town Will Femia went 19 stories down for the tour and came back with a lot of photos of this bizarre underworld.
· 19 Stories Below Manhattan, a 640-Ton Machine Drills a New Train Tunnel [NYT]

Here's a look at the Giglio Feast activities in Williamsburg last night when they did the "Night Dance of the Giglio." For the unacquainted, the Giglio is a five-story tall, three-ton statue with a full band that is carried up and down Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg by 100 people who look vaguely uncomfortable and thousands of people in the street being pushed back so as not to be crushed.
· The Giglio Night Lift [Vimeo]
· The Night Dance of the Giglio [Gowanus Lounge]

The Real World Red Hook thing that we first reported earlier this week via a tipster may be (sort of) confirmed. Unofficially. There are reports of work going on at the Pier 41 building, which houses Steve's Key Lime Pies, among other businesses, and of people being unable to talk about things because they've signed papers. Metro says that "workers at Pier 41, a commercial building on Van Dyke Street, confirmed that MTV will house the next season of the show (and the next seven participants) there," proving the adage that it's always best to go straight to the source. Most telling, though, is that Greg O’Connell, who owns Pier 41, "said he signed a waiver of confidentiality and declined to speak." The Brooklyn Paper adds that Mr. O'Connell says he's "signed some papers." Which is pretty much all the confirmation one needs that it's looking very much like Real World Red Hook.
· Red Hook is set to get 'Real' it seems [Metro]
· MTV hangs up on Downtown [Brooklyn Paper]
· Real World Brooklyn Going to Carroll Gardens Red Hook! [Curbed]

It's been nearly a month since the city and Olafur Eliasson unveiled The New York City Waterfalls, Eliasson's four-part experiment with scaffolding and tiny droplets of East River water. 1,000-plus votes later, our poll posing the key question of whether the installation is breathtaking or menacing has the Curbed populous firmly of the mind that, yessirindeed, we're looking at 'a bunch of glorified fountains'. But, then, we're looking from angles like these. What happens when you set The Falls to classical music? Change anything? Rocketboom does the very thing today and ponders, "Is this art, or is this just scaffolding with water pouring off the top?" Have a look, see if you can't finally get it with the help of few violas and host Joanne Colan stumbling around the Water Taxi.
· NYC Waterfalls [Rocketboom]

So, it turns out that the "innovative" in Innovative Apts., a screengrab of whose still online website is above, was about the methodology of the (obligatory modifier: alleged) scam that was being run. The partners did very well, apparently, taking about 4,000 apartment seekers for $1 million through what officials described as "a bogus No Fee Apartments scam." Renters came via Craigslist ads and sites that promised "Exclusive Listings!" from "New York City's #1 No Broker Fee Apartments" company. Customers paid $200 and got, well, not much. Per today's Post: "The only 'exclusive, no fee' apartments it offered through its database either didn't exist or weren't exclusive and no-fee at all, having been recycled from other Craigslist advertisements." The website's still up, for now, so do poke around and have a look at was available.
· Apt. Scam a Tangled Web [NYP]
· 4 Charged in $900,000 Apartment Scam [Sun]
· Innovative Apts. [inapts.com]

Location: 219 Washington Avenue
Asking: $2,495,000

We didn't realize that this very townhouse was just featured by Brownstoner as a House of the Day. Sorry for the boo boo! Some didn't feel like hunting for the price, however, and lobbed some guesses anyway. The first few were way high, this being Clinton Hill and all. Said one commenter of this four-floor charmer: "It would be $4M in PRIME Park Slope, $3.5 in PRIME Fort Greene." What's PRIME Fort Greene? Face-down in a chocolate cheesecake at Junior's?
· Listing: Clinton Hill Classic [BHS]
· Curbed PriceSpotter: Clinton Hill Townie [Curbed]

Then: $2,400,000
Now: $1,589,000
You Save!: $811,000!

My gosh, a nearly one-third overall price drop? Luckily for those with weak stomachs, the seller has been kind enough to break the choppage up into bite-size, easily-digestible chunks. This 3BR, 2.5BA Upper West Side co-op has undergone seven price cuts in the nine months it's been on the market, per StreetEasy. Writes the eagle-eyed Curbed tipster who spotted it: "Either the market is crashing, or some agents are crazy. Once a month since January, the agent has decided, 'It's that time of the month again boys...let's bump her down. Pretty crazy, this market really isn't as perfect as lots of people say it is." Dem's fightin' words, but let's look beyond the macro market predictions based on one co-op apartment and focus on...this one co-op apartment. What gives? Pricey maintenance? Jerkish board?
· Listing: 215 West 91st Street [Elliman]

1) Multiple Locations: The lines are still very long and things are still in stock. Or not (especially the black 16 gig). Depending.

2) Chelsea: To find out the dates of the biannual mega-shitshow called the Barneys Warehouse Sale, brace and click here.

3) Soho: The bright blue plywood has finally gone up at Spring St. & Wooster and it can only mean that work has finally started on the Crocs store.

4) Multiple Locations: There are place you should avoid if you have a bogus Starbucks free iced coffee card and places where it will probably get you the caffeinated beverage you wish to illicitly obtain.

So, here is East Coast 4, the next Rockrose building that will rise on the Queens West site in Long Island City, slated to open in 2010. This building will be at the northernmost edge of the site, fronting on the East River and along the Anabel Basin. It will have another big parking structure in front of it on the inland side. The images come courtesy of broker/blogger A. Fine, who also posted a vid of the new model of the 750-unit rental building. He writes:

Rockrose seems to be making an incredible effort to one-up it's already over the top amenities package at East Coast 2. EC4 will have a rooftop pool, sloping grass amphitheatre, tennis courts, cabanas, and best of all, it's own beach! So long as you join the "East Coast Club" residents of all 4 buildings will be able to enjoy the amenities. With the 20,000 sf gourmet supermarket and Duane Reade opening in the next month or so, there will be very little reason to leave the complex.

The Lincoln Center's Harmony Atrium, a enclosed public pass-through between Broadway and Columbus Avenue, used to be known for two things: homeless peopple and a climbing wall. Now, more than two years after a Harmony redo was first hinted at (the atrium is now closed), the plans for the renovation have been revealed. The Times has the scoop, and the new renderings above are the work of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. The new Harmony Atrium, between West 62nd and 63rd Streets, will feature 20-foot-high walls of plants and rods of falling water. The ceiling will have 16 intersecting occuli that will allow natural light to flow in. Inside, there will be food, a stage and Lincoln Center's version of a TKTS booth. There will also be plenty of benches for homeless people—er, theater enthusiasts—to rest on. The $22 million project may be complete by the fall of 2009, in time for the atrium's 50th anniversary.
· Vibrant Gateway Planned for Lincoln Center Campus [NYT]
· Lincoln Center to Recompose Harmony Atrium [Curbed]

Our clients, the developers of the site, are near the completion of a real estate transaction to sell the property. At the request of our clients and the expected future owners, we are requesting that the hearing be postponed one week, to July 29, at which time we anticipate the property will have been transferred.

The rumored is now reality. The broken escalators on 14th Street that lead down to the sprawling Union Square subway station have been partially encased in sheetrock, which means that this micro-pocket of Manhattan—with its armies of homeless people, aggressive newspaper vendors and oppressive subway heat mixed with the scent of Food Emporium deli meats—has become even more joyful for commuters. Yay! After all, we wouldn't want to trip and fall on the busted escalators and cause an insurance problem for the Zeckendorfs, so we'll be happy to squeeze onto the narrow staircase that is now being used by oodles of people headed in both directions. And thanks so much for including the caution sign! Those of us who can't afford to live in 15 Central Park West are obviously mentally deficient Neanderthals who would probably just climb right over the barricades and attempt to scale the escalators, despite the metal bars. Thanks for saving us from looking stupid!