Conveniently located near Hunter’s Point and Court Square, this duplex penthouse at QNS44 has been handcrafted to impress.
A new home can be like a blank canvas, a slate of infinite possibilities waiting for your hand to realize them. That’s precisely how Andrea Segatto approached her Long Island City condo when she moved in four years ago, collaging living spaces as she would the various shades and palettes in one of her works.
“I designed the home to be like a white page, putting the colors of my work directly onto the walls, using natural materials like wood and ceramics to mix and match,” explains Segatto, a mixed media artist whose cross-medium work has been exhibited across New York City.
Now, this duplex penthouse honed with precision awaits a brand new vision: it’s listed for sale with Corcoran agent (and longtime LIC resident) Patrick Smith.
Spanning floors seven and eight atop the QNS44 building, the condo dazzlingly captures a central component of Long Island City’s appeal — Manhattan vistas impossible to see from Manhattan itself. Between landmarks along the Midtown East skyline and the Queensboro Bridge alone, you get quite a sampling of NYC’s glory. Floor-to-ceiling windows lead the charge on this front, which helps when the ceilings rise as much as 18 feet over the herringbone oak floors. This generous gap allows natural light to flow in and grace every corner of the interior.
The duplex boasts three bedrooms, two full baths — each sporting glazed porcelain and marble tile flooring and heated floors — and an exceptional square footage across two levels. “I’m going to really start gushing about the home,” adds Smith. “Most three-bedroom you find in this neighborhood are as small as 1,300 square feet. This is a rare penthouse with 1,936 interior square feet, private entrances on both levels, and double height living room ceilings.”
Segatto has taken full advantage of a floorplan fully moldable to personal needs. This flexibility really manifests on the upper floor, a sprawling area that’s been used primarily as a painting and sculpting studio but, interchangeably, as an exhibition gallery and guest suite.
Downstairs, Segatto’s artistic ingenuity transformed the smallest of the bedroom trio into a windowed dressing room — it could just as easily return to its original purpose or serve as an office or home library. She also added the living room’s fireplace, which subtly blends in as part of a built-in entertainment center. Even the Calacatta quartz-topped kitchen island adds surprise functional dimensions as its living room-facing side is outfitted with backlit built-in shelves for books and artwork — or maybe cookware, though it’s unlikely you’ll run out of space among the copious custom cabinetry.
Perhaps paramount above all other features are three setback terraces. Ranking them is inconceivable; each offers something different. One sits off the living room, adding blissful indoor-outdoor flow to the residence while allowing you to wind down with the setting sun. Another is attached to the primary bedroom, turning that retreat into a suite to start the day alongside the sun’s rise. The third, an upper deck above the eighth floor, delights with elevated cityscapes. Their uses, however, are hardly set in stone. “I was planning to put in a jacuzzi,” Segatto recounts of some unrealized outdoor plans. “These balconies can be used for so many different purposes, and each has plenty of space.”
Befitting the stylish grace this home affords, QNS44 flaunts one of New York’s rarest amenities: a heated rooftop pool. “It’s very special,” says Smith, elaborating that the feature is rare even among the area’s countless modern buildings. Indeed, who among us could resist floating along in ideal temperature water, staring off toward famed big city lights? Also enticing, in a more utilitarian way, is the building’s on-site garage, where a deeded parking space is for sale along with the penthouse. Other resident amenities include a part-time attended lobby, bicycle storage, a media and social room, and a dedicated pet spa that takes “pet-friendly building” one step further.
QNS44 sits on the street grid at the convergence of two sub-neighborhoods within Long Island City: Hunter’s Point and Court Square. Hunter’s Point includes the scenic waterfront Gantry Plaza State Park, home to 12 acres of riverside serenity, the historic Pepsi-Cola sign, a ferry stop, and (naturally) even more sweeping Manhattan scenery. Court Square is a mixed-use district, hosting a dynamic collection of eateries, shops, cultural touchpoints like MoMA PS1, and a transit hub. Those close-up views of Manhattan aren’t just for show; Manhattan is truly that close via ferry or subway service on the 7, E, and M trains. And let’s not forget quick G train rides to Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and more of Brooklyn, plus neighboring Astoria and Sunnyside, Queens, by subway or bike. If you really need to get away, LaGuardia Airport is just a few bridge and tunnel-free miles away.
While proximity to other neighborhoods and boroughs is an undeniable draw, Long Island City’s greatest asset is itself. “People are impressed by and attracted to the sense of community that exists in Long Island City,” avows Smith of a togetherness fostered partly by waterfront parks, locally owned businesses, and welcoming art studios. Among Segatto’s adored local spots, she counts Anable Basin for non-living room terrace sunsets, Jora and Casa Enrique for their respective delectable Peruvian and Mexican cuisines, and BrickHouse, one of NYC’s great pottery studios right across 11th Street. “I was in love with Long Island City at first because it’s so close to Manhattan,” she recalls. “But, after moving, I discovered I don’t need to leave the neighborhood because I already have everything right here.”