New York Magazine
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After having three kids and co-founding the epicurean game-changer FreshDirect.com, Jason Ackerman and his wife, Elyssa, decided to renovate their 4,000-square-foot loft in Soho. The couple enlisted architect West Chin to conceive the new open-plan layout, which would be anchored by a spare and sparkling kitchen. Next, they collaborated with designers Edward Yedid and Thomas Hickey of Grade Architecture and Interior Design to handle the furnishings. Here, Chin’s design of the entry offers a view into the newly open kitchen and the partitioned-off TV and family room. Inground floor lights accent the screen.
Photo: Michael Weber
“For us, it’s all about the kitchen,” says Elyssa. “We are not gourmet cooks, but we are very conscientious about fresh ingredients and healthy cooking, and we want our kids to be aware of that.” The kitchen is positioned between the airy living room and cozy built-in dining niche.
Photo: Michael Weber
“We used custom-stained oak paneling and custom-cerused oak floors,” says Yedid of the loft’s millwork. Grade finished the original columns in Venetian plaster and custom designed the bench unit running the length of the windows. The decorative lighting in the dining room and entry is by Niche Modern, and the screen on the back wall of the living room is homasote board wrapped in fabric—added specifically so that the Ackermans’ kids can pin up their artwork. It also doubles as sound insulation when the family jams together. “I am the singer,” says Elyssa. ‘My daughter is the drummer, our son plays bass, my husband is on guitar, and our youngest hasn’t decided on an instrument yet.”
Photo: Michael Weber
“The screen is made of rift-cut oak, stained dark walnut and mitered to allow a voyeur to have a glimpse of the loft while also providing privacy,” explains Chin. The sofa is another Grade design; the white pony-hair slipper chair is from B&B Italia.
Photo: Michael Weber
Elyssa first encountered Grade’s work on a playdate and described it as “easy and luxurious,” a vibe captured perfectly by the graphic black-and-white walls, skateboard art, and Ikea rug in their son’s room.
Photo: Michael Weber
“[The Ackermans] wanted a spalike feel in their master suite,” says Yedid, who answered the call with quartzite stone and wood panels, a lacquered desk and shelves, and other Grade-designed custom furniture.
Photo: Michael Weber
Double showerheads by Dornbracht in the master bath add to the suite's minimalist spa vibe; the room also showcases the same stonework featured throughout the loft.
Photo: Michael Weber
Carl Henry Nacht (left) West Side Highway and 38th Street. After dinner on June 22, 2006, Nacht, a doctor who often cycled to make house calls to his elderly patients, was hit by an NYPD tow truck crossing the Hudson River Park bikeway.
Shamar Porter Linden Boulevard near Williams Avenue, East New York. On August 5, 2006, Porter’s Little League team won its playoff game. He was struck by a minivan after leaving the field.
Reginald Chan (left) Third Avenue and 17th Street. On September 15, 2006, Chan was hit by a flatbed tow truck while making a delivery of Chinese food.
Brandie Bailey Houston and Essex Streets. On May 8, 2005, Bailey was struck by a private sanitation truck while on her way home to Williamsburg after waitressing at the West Village restaurant Red Bamboo. Bailey was a regular at CBGB, where a memorial was held in her honor.
Craig Murphey (left) Ten Eyck Street and Union Avenue, Williamsburg. Early in the morning of October 18, 2007, Murphey was biking home from escorting his date to her South Williamsburg apartment. According to police reports, Murphey attempted to outrun a gas truck turning left on Ten Eyck Street. His pelvis shattered on impact, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. In his honor, over 40 friends have since received tattoos that read BE BETTER.
Frank C. Simpson Linden Boulevard near 175th Street, St. Albans. Simpson, a janitor returning from the evening shift at a Con Edison facility, was hit by a Dodge Stratus on November 9, 2006.
Jose Mora (left) North Conduit and McKinley Avenues, Cypress Hills. On September 4, 2006, 11-year-old Mora was on his way to the barber for a back-to-school haircut; that week, he was to start the sixth grade at nearby Junior High School 302. He was struck by a Honda while walking his bike across an intersection.
Jonathan Neese South 4th Street and Roebling Street, Williamsburg. On August 12, 2006, Neese, a bike messenger known as “Bronx Jon,” was struck by a livery cab while cycling from Brooklyn to Manhattan.
Sam Khaled Hindy (left) Base of the Manhattan Bridge. On November 16, 2007, Hindy was run over after mistakenly entering a Manhattan Bridge lane reserved for cars.
Habian Rodriguez Main Street and Horace Harding Expressway, Flushing. On September 1, 2007, Rodriguez collided with a city bus and died 30 minutes later.
Elizabeth Padilla (left) Fifth Avenue and Prospect Place, Park Slope. Commuting to the Brooklyn Bar Association on June 9, 2005, Padilla swerved to avoid the open door of a parked P.C. Richard’s truck. She lost control of her bike and fell underneath the wheels of an ice-cream delivery truck.
Juan Luis Solis East Gun Hill Road and Bouck Avenue, the Bronx. Attempting to pass a double-parked car on June 22, 2007, Solis was struck by a box truck and died of severe head trauma. The truck did not stop.
Jeffrey Moore (left) Chauncey Street and Rockaway Avenue, Bed-Stuy. According to witnesses, on May 29, 2007, Moore was run over (twice) by his girlfriend Jeanine Harrington. She was indicted on charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon (her Nissan Pathfinder).
Derek Lake Houston Street and La Guardia Place. On June 26, 2006, Lake reportedly skidded on a steel construction plate and was crushed underneath the wheels of a passing truck.
Elijah Armand Wrancher (left) Springfield Boulevard and 130th Avenue, Springfield Gardens. On August 28, 2007, 12-year-old Wrancher attempted to ride his bicycle while holding onto a moving truck. He lost his grip and fell under the truck’s rear wheel.
David Smith Sixth Avenue and 36th Street. On December 5, 2007, Smith was biking up Sixth Avenue when the passenger-side door of a parked pickup truck opened unexpectedly. He was knocked into the path of an oncoming truck.
Anthony Delgado (left) Palmetto Street and Central Avenue, Bushwick. Shortly after midnight on April 29, 2007, 13-year-old Delgado borrowed a bike to head home from his friend’s baptism party. As he crossed the intersection, he was struck by an SUV.
Carolina Hernandez 57th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, Elmhurst. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez was riding to a mall when she was struck and killed by a Chevy truck. The driver pled guilty to driving with a suspended license.
Anthony Delgado (left) Palmetto Street and Central Avenue, Bushwick. Shortly after midnight on April 29, 2007, 13-year-old Delgado borrowed a bike to head home from his friend’s baptism party. As he crossed the intersection, he was struck by an SUV.
Carolina Hernandez 57th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, Elmhurst. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez was riding to a mall when she was struck and killed by a Chevy truck. The driver pled guilty to driving with a suspended license.
Anthony Delgado (left) Palmetto Street and Central Avenue, Bushwick. Shortly after midnight on April 29, 2007, 13-year-old Delgado borrowed a bike to head home from his friend’s baptism party. As he crossed the intersection, he was struck by an SUV.
Carolina Hernandez 57th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, Elmhurst. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez was riding to a mall when she was struck and killed by a Chevy truck. The driver pled guilty to driving with a suspended license.
Anthony Delgado (left) Palmetto Street and Central Avenue, Bushwick. Shortly after midnight on April 29, 2007, 13-year-old Delgado borrowed a bike to head home from his friend’s baptism party. As he crossed the intersection, he was struck by an SUV.
Carolina Hernandez 57th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, Elmhurst. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez was riding to a mall when she was struck and killed by a Chevy truck. The driver pled guilty to driving with a suspended license.
The Beefcake in the Backcourt- Big, fake, and fully able to outshine its surroundings.Big, fake, and fully able to outshine its surroundings.
Fall Fashion Features
- The Beefcake in the Backcourt
- Big, fake, and fully able to outshine its surroundings.Big, fake, and fully able to outshine its surroundings.