Copyright New York Post
For more than two decades, filmmaker Neil Burger and architect Diana Kellogg have lived on one of New York City’s smallest — and most distinctive — streets. Staple Street, an unobtrusive brick passage tucked within Tribeca, is famous for its slender cast-iron skybridge and near-constant parade of photographers who capture it. Yet only a few neighbors call it home. Now, the couple is preparing to sell their two-building compound there for $30 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The offering — uncommon in its scope in a space-cramped city — includes their 19th-century brick townhouse as well as the studio and office they acquired across the alley, forming a residential-and-work enclave. Listing broker Jeremy Stein of Sotheby’s International Realty called it the type of property that defies standard comparison. The main house, built in the 1860s, spans roughly 4,100 square feet and retains its industrial bones: exposed brick, heavy timber beams and oversized windows that open directly toward the narrow street. A woodburning fireplace anchors the living level. Upstairs, the couple reconfigured the original layout to create a large primary suite overlooking the street’s famed skybridge. They had been living nearby prior to Sept. 11 and left the neighborhood temporarily afterward. Kellogg, who had first noticed the building years earlier while studying architecture at Columbia University, returned when the property surfaced for sale. The street then was largely dormant, with boarded storefronts and layers of graffiti, but the scale and proportions of the townhouse convinced them to take on the project. “It seemed like this little magical and kind of mysterious place,” Burger told the Journal. “It felt full of excitement and possibility.” Over the years, the couple made numerous alterations that reflect both their professions and family life. The house originally contained a freight elevator; Kellogg converted the shaft into a compact room for video calls. Metal rails from the old lift became part of a built-in bookcase. As their children grew, the lower level transitioned from an indoor play zone to a guest suite and den. Small storage vaults beneath the alley remain intact. “It’s just not cookie cutter,” Kellogg told the Journal, “so we were able to have a life here that was very special.” In 2008, the pair purchased the commercial unit directly across the street and adapted it into a workspace layered with film posters and architectural renderings. The two buildings sit only a few steps apart, joined visually by the feel of the secluded alleyway. The street itself has functioned almost like an extension of their home. Kellogg recalls a local juggler and his daughter practicing there, undisturbed by wind. An opera singer would stand in the alley to test the acoustics. On Halloween, the couple opened their windows and passed candy to streams of neighborhood children. At times, when traffic was minimal, they placed cones at each end of the block so their children could play informal hockey games. More recently, their work has increasingly taken them elsewhere. Burger spent part of last year in London, directing; Kellogg’s firm has completed projects around the world, including a school in India designed to endure desert heat. The couple also maintains a residence in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, and anticipates spending more time outside the city. Burger has also considered purchasing a boat to use as a floating residence on the Hudson River while in town, an idea he described as one of his “crazier ideas.” Stein acknowledged the pricing will require a buyer who responds as much to atmosphere as to attributes. “Pricing is both art and science. But it’s a lot more art on this one,” he told the outlet. “You try to think, ‘What are the other unicorns that have sold in New York and what have they sold for?’ Given that there’s nothing like it, what do you think someone might pay for it?” Even as they let go of Staple Street, Kellogg said they expect to keep some sort of foothold in Manhattan, though likely something smaller and simpler. But the years spent on the quiet alley will remain singular.
