Owner of Carrie Bradshaw’s NYC apartment takes drastic measures to keep fans away from iconic steps
The owner of the West Village apartment used as the exterior for Carrie Bradshaw’s fictional NYC apartment on Sex and the City is taking a stand against the show’s fans.
According to Gothamist, the owner is asking New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for permission to install a steel and cast iron gate at the bottom of the brownstone’s steps to keep away pesky tourists.
Any changes to the building must be approved by local government due to its location in the Greenwich Village Historic District.
‘My home is now a global tourist destination,’ the owner wrote in the application.
‘They climb over the chain, pose, dance or lie down on the steps, climb to the top to stare in the parlor windows, try to open the main entrance door, or, when drunk late at night, ring the doorbells,’ the statement continued.
‘We’ve also had graffiti painted on the steps and initials carved into the main door frame.’
After ’20 years of hoping the fascination with my stoop would die away and fans would find a new object for their devotion’, the owner insisted that now was time for a more sturdy barrier.
She already has a no trespassing sign on the property, but it hasn’t been enough to deter fans of the HBO series.
The owner of the West Village apartment used as the exterior for Carrie Bradshaw’s fictional NYC apartment on Sex and the City is taking a stand against the show’s fans
The owner is asking New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for permission to install a steel and cast iron gate at the bottom of the brownstone’s steps to keep away pesky tourists
One frustrated neighbour previously told The Mail on Sunday that at least 50 people an hour descend on the steps in the winter – a figure that quadruples during holidays and the summer.
The home was bought in 1996, two years before the first Sex And The City episode aired.
In 2020, the three-storey townhouse was estimated to be worth over $9 million.
Sarah Jessica Parker, who portrayed Bradshaw on the show, enraged the owners in 2014 when she used the steps for a photoshoot to promote her Nordstrom shoe line.
‘The owners are up in arms as they deal with relentless tourists, and SJP has ignored their requests for an explanation on how she could endorse the shoot, even though “no trespassing” signs are posted,’ a source told the New York Post at the time.
Since hitting screens in 1998, the show ran for 94 episodes across six seasons up until 2004.
It then returned for two movies in 2008 and 2010, and made a comeback with the reboot series, And Just Like That… in 2021.
