L-R: CORE's Natalie Rakowski, author Jennifer Gilbert and DivaMoms founder Lyss Stern

Last night, in collaboration with the DivaMoms Book Club, One Museum Mile hosted “I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag” – an event celebrating the exciting new memoir penned by socialite and acclaimed event planner, Jennifer Gilbert.

Founder of the award-winning event management company Save the Date, Jennifer Gilbert is a well-known entrepreneur and true survivor. During the private event, Jennifer read selections from her new book, “I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag: A Memoir of a Life Through Events — The Ones You Plan and the Ones You Don’t,” sharing her extraordinary life story with an intimate group of guests on the rooftop of One Museum Mile. After listening to selections from her inspiring memoir, Jennifer encouraged guests to ask questions, both personal and professional. Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception and expansive views over Central Park from the rooftop of One Museum Mile.

For more information on One Museum Mile, please contact the sales office at (212) 996-1280 or visit the website at onemuseummile.com.

Where: 257 Berry Street
Size: 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms
Asking: $3,790,000
Listed by: Doug Bowen and Vickey Barron

Williamsburg is now firmly entrenched as Brooklyn’s own version of Soho, with converted warehouse buildings, a dense population of artists, and places to see and be seen. Large townhouses in this area are not widely available, and this one — which is new construction, measures 5,000 square feet and includes a gallery space — is a blend of house living with a loft aesthetic. Located right off Bedford Avenue, it’s near everything Williamsburg has to offer while still being situation on a peaceful and calm block.

Where: 189 Bridge Street, PH17/18
Size: 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
Asking: $5,500,000
Listed by: Michael Graves

There’s really no property like this one in any borough, and we’re constantly amazed by the views and exposures that this epic penthouse on the DUMBO/Downtown Brooklyn border offers. Just on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan, this 5,100-square-foot mansion in the sky is truly one of a kind, and includes 360-degree views of nearly every landmark.

Where: 100 Jay Street, 18H
Size: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
Asking: $1,395,000
Listed by: Brendan DeSimone

DUMBO is known for its outstanding views of the Manhattan Bridge and lower Manhattan (hence its Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass name), but also for being one of the more exclusive parts of Brooklyn. This unit, in a new full-service luxury condominium tower, made our list since it provides tons of space and great views for a price that could considered a downright bargain in this neighborhood. For a foray into Brooklyn, it’s a great fit.

This week Curbed published a fantastic map of New York City’s secret gardens, lush green spaces that the average person doesn’t even know are out there to be enjoyed by all. One such place is the Central Park Conservatory Garden, just off East 105th Street in the quiet northeast corner of Central Park. It’s a beautiful spot we’ve become much more familiar with ever since the launch of One Museum Mile, which is located just a few steps away.

The Conservatory Garden, the Central Park website explains, “is divided into three smaller gardens, each with a distinct style: Italian, French and English. The Garden’s main entrance is through the Vanderbilt Gate, on Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th Streets. This magnificent iron gate, made in Paris in 1894, originally stood before the Vanderbilt mansion at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street.” This photo was taken last month, with the cherry blossoms in full bloom. Not a bad place to call home, right?

Photo via Flickr/jmvazquezjr

I’ve been living in the neighborhood since: 1986

The best thing to happen to the neighborhood in that time: The High Line! And Chelsea Market.

And the worst: The closing of 18th and 8th, Big Cup, and Bright Food Shop (to be replaced by Qdoba!) were 8th Avenue tragedies — tragedies!

Where I go for my morning coffee: I grind beans (Vienna Roast) from Manhattan Fruit Exchange at Chelsea Market and brew my own.

Favorite restaurant: I can’t pick one. Colicchio & Sons, Cookshop, Omai, La Promenade des Anglais, Del Posto, Trestle on Tenth, Co., and Chelsea Square diner, among others.

Best brunch: I love Cookshop for brunch.

Favorite bar: There’s no place better for a shady rendezvous than the dark haunt of a bar at El Quixote in the Chelsea Hotel.

Favorite store: Parke & Ronen, where cute customers pack themselves into tight bathing suits and fish for compliments from the staff.

Where I go for some culture: There’s great art everywhere — in the galleries, like Paula Cooper, Matthew Marks, and David Zwirner, and on the High Line, where we have new commissions, performances, and screenings all the time. Check it out.

Where I go to clear my head: Spin class, 7:00 AM Mon – Wed – Fri, at David Barton Gym.

The best Chinese take-out in the neighborhood: Grand Sichuan, 9th Ave and 24th Street

My favorite hidden gem in the neighborhood: Hector’s, the 1940s diner under the High Line, at Little West 12th Street.

Must-do for a visiting out-of-towner: Again — the High Line. And put them on a bike for a ride on the terrific bike lanes on Eighth and Ninth Avenues (the first of their kind in NYC). There’s no better way to see Chelsea, and all of NYC, than on a bike.

Neighborhood Insider is the CORE Blog’s new interview series with prominent New York City personalities about the neighborhoods they live and work in.

When reviewing famed Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi’s new Lower East Side condominium tower in 2007, former New York Times architecture Nicolai Ouroussoff wrote, “I can’t get the Blue Building out of my mind.” It was a thought shared by many architecture watchers in the city, and not much has changed since. Tschumi’s 17-story Blue, covered in a hypnotic array of blue glass panels, remains one of the most architecturally adventurous buildings built in downtown Manhattan in recent memory. Rising over old tenement buildings and the steel of the nearby Williamsburg Bridge — two signatures of the history-rich Lower East Side — Blue takes on a crystalline form, creating some very unique shapes in its residential layouts. Penthouse opportunities in such significant buildings are rare, but now the building’s the 2,500-square-foot penthouse duplex, which Ouroussoff singled out in his rave review thanks to its spacious private terrace, is available for rent through CORE’s Elizabeth Kee for $14,000 per month.

Here are some of the details from Kee’s listing: “A key locked elevator opens onto this private duplex loft with cantilevered glass walls, comprised of pixilated blue glass windows, giving you the feeling of floating in the sky. This 2,500-square foot 2-bedroom, 3-bathroom residence has a double corner living and dining room with breathtaking views that include three East River Bridges and the Empire State Building.” Check out that listing for more details on the apartment’s finishes and amenities, as well as a gallery of photos (some are seen below). If television is more your thing, the apartment will be featured on an upcoming episode of HGTV’s “Selling New York,” so stay tuned.

This week we’re sharing some prescient words from Ralph Walker, the late influential architect who is the subject of Ralph Walker: Architect of the Century, the new exhibit on display within 212 West 18th Street, which has been renamed Walker Tower in his honor. This sign hangs in what will soon be Walker Tower’s residential lobby, and was created by Let There Be Neon, the legendary TriBeCa signage shop. See it before the exhibit closes on May 1!

Where: 310 East 46th Street, 14-R
Size: 1 bedroom, 2 bathrooms
Asking: $999,000
Listed by: Ryan Fitzpatrick

We love a home that has the power to surprise, and this loft defies expectations in both location and style. Situated in the quiet enclave of Turtle Bay in Midtown East, where the list of neighbors includes the United Nations, this condop apartment feels like something you’d find in TriBeCa or SoHo, the traditional loft neighborhoods. Soaring 12-foot ceilings give the space great proportions, and in addition to the master bedroom, there’s a private sleeping loft reached by a custom-designed, cantilevered steel staircase. Downtown style, but in a location with East River and Chrysler Building views from the windows and private terrace? And for under $1 million? That’s where the TriBeCa and SoHo similarities end.

“House of the Day”
Wall Street Journal
Step inside the sumptuously decorated pre-war Upper West Side co-op of bridal designer and self-described “glamour puss” Kenneth Pool. The apartment, at 55 West 95th Street (above), is listed by CORE’s Tom Postilio and Mickey Conlon.

“Ask a broker”
New York Daily News
CORE Senior Vice President Doug Bowen was on the Daily News’s hot seat last week. Read his Q&A to find out his tip for New York’s next hottest neighborhood, and why he calls himself a “Walloon.”

“Climate change: With warm weather brokers report an early spring activity bump”
The Real Deal
Does warm winter weather lead to a hot real estate season? The Real Deal investigates in its March issue, and CORE Managing Director Tom Postilio takes the temperature of the market.

“Reality bites: A history of reality TV and real estate”
The Real Deal
Also in the March issue of TRD is this entertaining history of New York City real estate converging with reality television, including CORE’s continued co-starring role on HGTV’s hit show, “Selling New York.”