122 Greenwich St., otherwise known as One Jackson Square, stands out from the other buildings on the block. In a neighborhood with brick high rises and squat mixed-use town houses, 122 has a winding façade and floor-to-ceiling windows, creating a striking appearance. And tucked into this stunning building is an expansive duplex for rent—at a reduced price, too, from $19,500 per month to $18,500.

Mitchell Cashwell, a senior associate salesperson with Citi Habitats, has been with the listing since he first sold Penthouse C to its current owners, who then placed it on the market for rent. This spacious abode boasts two bedrooms, two baths, three fireplaces and 20-foot ceilings, but its real draw is the southern view and adjoining terrace.

It is this unparalleled light-filled home and outdoor space that leads Cashwell to believe it is a one-of-a-kind listing. The apartment has already caught the attention of a few A-list celebrities and financiers, he admitted.

Aside from the enviable windows and size of the apartment, its location is also a selling point. Located in Greenwich Village within walking distance of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea, leasees will have the benefit of great shops, clubs and restaurants. The building also comes with some upscale amenities like 24-hour concierge, valet parking, a spa treatment center and a landscaped garden.

“People love the unit,” Cashwell said. “When they see it, they want to buy it. I have to tell them, it’s not for sale, it’s for rent. If you want to live here, you’ll have to rent it.”

The Running Company, 1059 3rd Ave. (at 63rd St.), www.therunningcompany.net, 212-223-8109.
Spring is on its way and that means it’s time to hit the jogging trails in Central Park. With special consultations and staff who take their time to find the exact running shoe for your size and fitness routine, The Running Company is offering 15 percent off all running equipment through the end of February.

Little Shop of Crafts, 431 E. 73rd St. (betw. York & 1st Aves.), www.littleshopny.com, 212-717-0361.
Let your inner craftaholic out this year. The Little Shop of Crafts offers complimentary wine every Wednesday-Friday, 6:30-10 p.m., for those who are ready to get crafty. Lessons in pottery, plastercraft, mosaics, wood crafts and more are offered here. Parties for special occasions are also welcome.

Earth Yoga, 328 E. 61st St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.), www.earthyoganyc.com, 212-486-4111.
Need a de-stressor? Earth Yoga provides classes in hot yoga for beginners and the advanced. They recently moved to a new location and are offering an unlimited seven-day package for only $30.

Gracie’s Wines, 1577 York Ave. (at 84th St.), gracieswines.com, 212-988-8288.
Valentine’s Day is every day with this discount at Gracie’s Wines. Get 15 percent off any case (12 bottles) of wine, champagne, sherry or port, You can even mix and match!

Bloomingdale’s, 59th Street and Third Avenue, www.bloomingdales.com, 212-705-2000.
Jo Malone afternoon tea: Every weekend during the month of February, join them for afternoon tea. Visit the Jo Malone counter for a complimentary fragrance consultation and a pampering hand and arm massage.

Given the predilection New Yorkers have for real estate, it should come as no surprise that a recent presentation by architects Anne Fairfax and Richard Sammons on how they restored the West 4th Street carriage house, where they live today, was standing room only.

Over a decade ago, in 2000, the couple was married and living in the roughly 300-square-foot second floor of a town house. One day, while Sammons was out of the country on business, a friend who worked in real estate convinced Fairfax to look at a home near Washington Street.

What Fairfax found was 183-5 West 4th St., a carriage house and adjacent studio in a terrible state of disrepair. When she arrived, Fairfax was sure the listing was a prank. But the estate of Armand Hammer, the American business tycoon, was eager to sell the property, as a deal had recently fallen through.

When Sammons returned home, the couple looked at the property together. The state in which Sammons and Fairfax found the house on their initial inspection reads like a 19th-century novel. The walls were riddled with holes, as if someone had been searching for hidden valuables. The home was laid out in an odd wedge shape, making a renovation tricky, and several personal belongings had been left behind.

The good news was that the two buildings, the carriage house on the right and the studio on the left, were already linked, connected by a door and walkway.

The “carriage house,” which Fairfax theorizes may not have been a carriage house at all, since the front entrance has a set of stairs, and horses, as she noted, are not in the practice of walking up stairs to their stables, was a two-story building, while the studio was a single, one-story room. Both homes were equipped with kitchens, a fireplace and an outdoor area.

Whereas others might have run in the other direction, Fairfax and Sammons decided to tackle this architectural conundrum. In the studio, the pair kept the kitchen but added a bedroom.

For the carriage house, they brought in T&L Contractors, who worked on the space for a little over nine months, creating a new dining room, living room and second-floor guest suite.

After a slightly lengthy gestation period, the couple’s little piece of architectural heaven was complete, giving them a new perspective on the renovation process. Sammons remarked, “Now I knew how my clients have felt all this time.”

I live in a one-bedroom apartment at the rear of the first floor of a well-kept building in the Bronx, where I pay a decent enough rent that I don’t complain about my view of the alley that runs behind my building. My neighbors and I often use it to go to and from the laundry room in the basement. Garbage and recyclables are stored in the side alley, where every other day my super neatly bundles everything for the early-morning sanitation trucks. I’m not saying it’s the Garden of Eden back there, but he puts in a lot of effort to keep it clean.

However, the building directly behind mine has an alley as well, but its condition is a totally different story. Like a two-way road with lanes separated by a single yellow line, both alleys are separated by a tall chain-link fence. In the daytime there is very little activity in either, but at night the other alley offers a very different view from mine.

It was something I had never noticed until a houseguest pointed something out to me one New Year’s Eve. We had opened one of my windows to get a little air and were joking around when suddenly she said, “Look!” directing my view to the other building and its alley. “What?” I asked. Then I noticed that the ground appeared to be moving. I squinted a little, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness.

Turns out it wasn’t the ground that was moving; it was a group of rats. Rats running back and forth. Rats squeaking. Rats tumbling and climbing over one another. It was like they were having their own party back there. “Ughhh!” I exclaimed, disgusted by the display. “It’s like they’re having a goddamned union meeting over there!” As I closed the window, I was relieved that at least it was the other building’s alley that had the rat infestation, not mine. Not my problem, I thought.

That changed the following summer. I was walking home around 10 p.m., enjoying the beautiful evening when that same friend, who was staying with me again, passed me on her way out of the building. “I can’t stay here tonight,” she said, sounding tired. “What happened?” I asked. “The music is too much. I can’t sleep at all.” I shook my head because I knew I was in for a long night.

The summertime is always ripe for inconsiderate neighbors to insist on sharing their latest iPod playlists at 15,000 decibels till the early a.m. But what I found when I walked into my apartment that night startled even me, when I realized that my neighbors had decided that their rat-infested alleyway would be a great place to throw a barbecue, complete with tables and chairs and a real live DJ. The music was so loud it sounded like they were in my living room, even after I closed all of my windows—which is never a great idea in the summer.

Hoping the police would sympathize with my plight, since they are known for being so empathetic, I headed toward my neighborhood precinct to ask for help. Spotting a police car patrolling the neighborhood, I approached the officer in the driver seat. “Officer, I’m sure you can hear the music coming from that alley.” He nodded as I pointed out the location. “The noise is right against my window.  Would you mind asking them to turn it down? I would really appreciate it.”

I figured that since cops often lament feeling a lack of respect from the people they are sworn to protect, a polite approach might go a long way. The officer nodded again and told me he would see what he could do. A short time later the volume lowered considerably, bringing a sigh of relief. No more than 10 minutes later, however, the music increased to the ear-shattering level it had been at before.

OK, I reasoned to myself, they’ll probably stop around midnight. They did not. After numerous calls to 311, 911 and anyone else I could think of, I gave up the pretense that I’d ever sleep and trekked to my neighborhood precinct again at 2 a.m. With my face set in determination, I refused to accept any excuses as I entered the building. I stood stoically directly behind the waist-high gated barricade meant to protect them from us and practically begged the police to have mercy on me and everyone else who likes to sleep at night. I needed them to demand that those people who like to party with filthy rats pipe down! The looks they gave me were surprisingly compassionate, but still nothing was done.

It wasn’t until around five in the morning that the music finally stopped and the only sounds left were people cleaning up. As I finally fell into a deep slumber, I imagined the rats were grateful, too. They had a book club meeting in the morning.

Baruch College has a program in its Division of Continuing and Professional Studies (CAPS) for anyone looking to expand their skillset or fulfill a personal goal. Courses range from accounting to yoga, with many costing as little as $150. One of the largest CUNY colleges, Baruch is always evolving, determined to bring relevant education to meet ever-changing interests and career trends.

Ann Clarkson, assistant dean of CAPS, stressed Baruch’s effort to help individuals overcome a “skill gap,” nurturing what she calls “a belief in lifelong learning.” Lifelong learning is the idea that one never stops learning and that there is always room to grow. Clarkson said that there aren’t any specific subjects regularly pursued by those who register in CAPS programs, but that many of its students come from a business background.

Over 100 years old, Baruch’s goal is to provide graduate programs focusing on professional preparation that enable students to become innovators in their fields. Some of the continuing education courses they offer include project management, certificate programs and real estate licensing. Advisement staff are also on hand to help with students’ goals.
For more information and a list of programs, visit baruched.com.

By Vatisha Smith

In a wind-chilled outdoor press conference Tuesday, Jan. 17, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer spoke about his plan to block the sale of three city-owned buildings, a measure proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg last week.

Joined by several Lower Manhattan residents, Stringer discussed his plan to prevent the sale of 49-51 Chambers St., 22 Reade St. and 346 Broadway to developers. City agencies occupy all three buildings: The Chambers Street building houses offices of the Board of Corrections, Community Board 1, the Department of Education and the New York Police Department; the Broadway building is home to a Cultural Affairs office, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and the Mayor’s Office of Veteran’s Affairs; and 22 Reade St. is devoted to the City Planning Department.

The mayor cited poor occupancy rates and an effort to save taxpayer dollars as the motivation behind the plan.
Vehemently opposed to the sale, Stringer stressed the need for the community to have access to these spaces for the development of low-cost housing and badly needed new schools. “Smart government business means smart planning,” said Stringer.

Stringer pointed to a section of the New York City charter that says the mayor cannot dispose of property without the approval of the Borough Board, of which Stringer is chair. With that clause, the borough president is planning to block the sale until all necessary parties become part of the decision-making process.

“The mayor has made it obvious he does not see this as a collaborative effort,” he said.

Stringer stressed the need for the public to be aware of the sale. He said he understands the city’s need for a cash infusion but  concluded, “If [Bloomberg] can settle Kingsbridge, [he] can certainly settle this.”

He was referring to the Kingsbridge Armory, a five-acre building complex in the Kingsbridge area of the Bronx that has been vacant for over 15 years. During the mayor’s State of the City address in the Bronx last week, Bloomberg announced a cooperative effort with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. to commercially develop the collection of buildings.

Julie Menin, chair  of Community Board 1, who also attended the conference, spoke of the increase in new residents of Lower Manhattan by at least 30,000 in recent years, causing a severe need for more schools.

“I urge the city to assess the potential of 22 Reade St. for use as a public school to serve the west side of Lower Manhattan,” Council Member Margaret Chin said in a statement. “We are all aware of the severe overcrowding downtown and the need for more elementary seats in school district 2. All open space in Lower Manhattan must be automatically considered for use as a school because our need is so great.”

With a combined total of 696,000 square feet of space available, Stringer estimated the value of the buildings at a minimum of $100 million. “The last thing we need,” Stringer noted, “is another high-priced hotel.”