Co-ops

This impossibly spacious three-bedroom duplex maisonette in a gracious Upper East Side pre-war co-op at 520 East 86th Street is really a "best of both worlds" situation. For the price of $4,755 million, you get the privacy and space of townhouse living on two floors, three bedrooms and your own private entrance with its own address. You also get the convenience of a full-time doorman and a chance to live in a covetable Manhattan co-op.
Tour this gorgeous vintage home

Distinctive Homes

September 26, 2017

For $875K, a boho-glam East Village co-op with its own roof deck

Scale to the top of the historic brick townhouse at 111 East 10th Street in the East Village and you'll find this charming one-bedroom co-op now on the market for $875,000. The walk-up may not be great, but there are lots of benefits of living on the top floor here. The ceiling has been heightened and expanded to include a row of skylights, and there's direct access to a private rooftop garden. The unit is part of a unique, coveted cooperative comprised of six 19th century townhouses that sit within the landmarked St. Mark's Historic District, holding 29 residences total.
Take a peek

Distinctive Homes

Judge throws out Madonna’s lawsuit against Upper West Side co-op

Harperley Hall, photo via CityRealty (l); Madonna, photo via Wikimedia Commons(r)

September 22, 2017

Judge throws out Madonna’s lawsuit against Upper West Side co-op

Madonna’s real estate saga may finally be coming to an end after a Manhattan judge on Thursday threw out the lawsuit the pop star filed against her Upper West Side apartment building, known as Harperley Hall. The “Vogue” singer sued the co-op board of her building at 1 West 64th Street in April of 2016 after they attempted to enforce a rule that prohibited members of her family or staff to be in the home without Madonna physically present (h/t Page Six). The judge dismissed the star’s suit because she filed two years after the co-op created the rule, in April of 2014, missing the deadline to proceed with legal action.
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Celebrities

September 22, 2017

Rare and historic Dumbo triplex once owned by artist Caro Heller hits the market for $2M

If you've visited Brooklyn Bridge Park then it's likely you've seen 8 Old Fulton Street, the historic brick cooperative--with the red door--directly facing the park. In the 1860s, this building was constructed for the Brooklyn City Railroad Company. Today the landmark holds just 10 co-ops, meaning it's rare to see apartments up for grabs. But this one-bedroom triplex has hit the market for $1.975 million, decked out with columns, exposed brick and twelve-foot ceilings. The previous owner was the artist Caro Heller, who passed away in 2014. According to public records, her children--an adventure writer and gallery owner--have listed the property for sale.
See the stunning interior

September 20, 2017

$1.55M garden duplex in Gramercy stands out with 1920s tin ceilings

Tin ceilings aren't uncommon in prewar New York apartments, but they're usually painted over white. This prewar garden duplex, at the Gramercy Park cooperative 224 East 18th Street, is featuring bold, silver ceilings on its main floor--an original design element of the 1920s townhouse. A more recent renovation transformed the apartment from a two bedroom into a one bedroom with a den/media room downstairs. There's also access to a private backyard garden. The ask comes in at $1.55 million.
Check out both floors

Distinctive Homes

September 18, 2017

Former NBA player and coach Phil Jackson lists historic Osborne co-op for $5M

Shortly after taking over as president of the Knicks in 2014, NBA legend Phil Jackson rewarded himself with a gorgeous, historic apartment at The Osborne. But now that he's left the team (he and the Knicks "mutually parted ways" in June after a disagreement over player Carmelo Anthony's status) and lost his $12 million/year contract, he's decided to also part ways with the Billionaires' Row residence. Curbed reports that Jackson listed the three-bedroom apartment for $4,950,000, barely above the $4,895,000 that he bought it for.
Take a look

September 14, 2017

Everything about this $495K Yorkville co-op is done just right–including the price

This adorable one-bedroom co-op at 326 East 73rd Street shows what designer talent can do for a small apartment. High ceilings, white oak floors, and a great Upper East Side location don't hurt matters much, while the stylish and well-appointed kitchen, elegant lighting, and reclaimed wood accents make this space seem like a find indeed. There are also quartz countertops, glass French doors, big closets, and plenty of sun to enjoy, and we're guessing a new owner will be doing just that, very soon.
More small-space style, this way

Distinctive Homes

September 13, 2017

This renovated Park Slope co-op, asking $995K, has its own Instagram account

If there was a contest for most popular apartments in New York City, this one would be in the running as the winner. Apartment #3L at the Park Slope co-op 749 Union Street has been profiled in Lonny and Architectural Digest. It has its own Instagram account. And it was designed by Dan Mazzarini, the former director of store design at Ralph Lauren who went on to open his own design firm, BHDM. Envisioned as a black-and-white bachelor pad with a sleek, modern kitchen, the apartment is now looking for its next owner at an ask of $995,000.
Read more about the reno

In the early 20th century, Finns in Sunset Park created NYC’s first not-for-profit co-op

Streetview of Sunset Park’s Alku Toinen, photo courtesy of Lynn Massimo via HDC

September 12, 2017

In the early 20th century, Finns in Sunset Park created NYC’s first not-for-profit co-op

By Devin Gannon

While the co-op movement officially began in Europe in the late 1800s, its legacy as the dominate housing choice in New York City continues today, all thanks to the large groups of Finnish immigrants that landed in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park during the first half of the 20th century. Instead of renting the typical tenement-style buildings of the time, a group of 16 Finnish families decided to combine their resources and set up a housing cooperative called the Finnish Home Building Association in the South Brooklyn neighborhood in 1916 (h/t WNYC). Just over 100 years later, the Finn’s idea of co-ops, which spread quickly throughout the five boroughs, remains prevalent in the city today.
More this way

History

Fort Greene brownstone co-op with a private roof deck is a deal at $949K

On a picture-perfect block in the heart of historic Fort Greene, this brownstone co-op is both lovely and livable–with two bedrooms and plenty of pre-war charm–for under $1 million. Located at 154 Lafayette Avenue and currently listed at $949,000, this quintessential Brooklyn home is only two flights up from the stoop and has the added bonus of a private rooftop deck.
Take a look around, then head up to the deck

Distinctive Homes

September 6, 2017

For $879K, a lovely loft in an East Village building designed by Central Park’s architect

By Dana Schulz

Sure this East Village pad is cute--what with its exposed brick walls, reclaimed wood accents, pressed tin ceilings, and boho-chic kitchen--but what really sets it apart is its location at 307 East 12th Street, a landmarked Victorian Gothic/Flemish Revival structure designed in 1892 by the firm of Calvert Vaux, who co-designed Central and Prospect Parks. Built for the Children's Aid Society as a home and job-training center for abused young women, it was converted to co-ops in 1983, and today its lofty apartments boast high ceilings, double-height historic windows, and plenty of pre-war charm. This one-bedroom unit underwent a gut renovation last year and is now asking $879,000.
See it all here

Distinctive Homes

August 31, 2017

$975K West Village walk-up with lots of built-ins is the perfect size for one

This charming, crisp, and bright top-floor flat has sweet pre-war details, rustic style done right, and renovation where it counts. The one-bedroom West Village co-op at 78 Charles Street is asking $975,000. The bad news: It's a top-floor walk-up. The good news: A lovely roof deck is just upstairs.
Have a look around

Distinctive Homes

August 16, 2017

Live at the legendary Osborne on Billionaires’ Row for just $399K

Share a gorgeous lobby with the rich and famous at the iconic Osborne at 205 West 57th Street. Yes, you’re seeing that right, the Billionaires’ Row address has a notable vacancy: This one-bedroom lobby-level co-op is asking just $399,000. That may sound more like a stingy holiday tip for residents of nearby trophy towers like One57, but it gets you a classic Midtown West address shared by celebrities current and past including Jessica Chastain, former Knicks president Phil Jackson, and Leonard Bernstein.
Find out more about this rare find

Distinctive Homes

August 15, 2017

Plan your future rooftop paradise atop Chelsea’s historic ‘Muffin House’ for $950K

We've already covered the fascinating fact that 337 West 20th Street isn't your average cooperative building: This Chelsea townhouse-turned-co-op was formerly the bakery of Samuel Bath Thomas, the Englishman who introduced New Yorkers to the English Muffin in the early 1900s, earning it the nickname Muffin House–and the original ovens, though no longer working, remain built into the basement. While all other traces of the old bakery are gone, this Chelsea aerie on the top floor of the 1850s townhouse has plenty of historic charm–and the one-bedroom apartment, asking $950,000, comes with private deeded roof rights.
Check it out

August 14, 2017

Look right into Stuyvesant Square Park through the huge windows at this $895K co-op

Tucked away on Rutherford Place, one of the prettiest streets in the neighborhood, this charming first-floor pre-war apartment sits along the eastern border of Gramercy and Union Square. Built in 1855 as a townhouse, the one-bedroom co-op at 224 East 17th Street has a large master bedroom and a small office space–and direct views of Stuyvesant Square Park.
See more of this pretty Gramercy pad

Distinctive Homes

There’s a rare Guastavino tiled ceiling hidden inside this $359K UWS studio

Image courtesy of Halstead

August 10, 2017

There’s a rare Guastavino tiled ceiling hidden inside this $359K UWS studio

A block of 78th Street on the Upper West Side, between the Museum of Natural History and Amsterdam Avenue, has more going for it than just colorful brownstones; it also has a colorful architectural secret. The block's display of Moorish brick and stone buildings shares a history with some of the city's notable public spaces. Known as "Guastavino Row," its decorative and altogether charming townhouses were designed by noted 19th-century architect Rafael Guastavino, famed for his beautiful and expertly engineered vaulted, tiled ceilings. Recently, a small but lovely first-floor studio at 120 West 78th street listed for $359,000, and it boasts a beautiful ceiling that, according to the listing, was one of Guastavino's iconic designs.
READ MORE

August 9, 2017

A top-floor Madison Avenue studio a block from the park for $460K? Yes, it’s true.

This pre-war studio might not be huge (in fact it's only 550 square feet), but it has plenty of charm and even more location going for it. Tucked into the top floor of an elevator building at 1361 Madison Avenue, the diminutive co-op is asking $460,000 and not a penny more. Central Park is a block away, and the Upper East Side location is in the heart of the neighborhood.
Check it out

Distinctive Homes

August 7, 2017

Elegant brownstone co-op in Park Slope asks $1.4M

This 1,100-square-foot co-op apartment within a completely charming historic Park Slope brownstone at 357 6th Avenue has two bedrooms and an office, plenty of light, and a laundry room to keep things sparkling. It's a three-flight ascent, but once you're inside you won't find too much to complain about. It's asking $1.395 million.
Take a room by room tour

Distinctive Homes

August 1, 2017

Clive Davis chops the price of his ritzy Midtown duplex to $6.996M

Back in 2015, five-time Grammy Award-winning producer and Sony Music Entertainment's chief creative officer Clive Davis bought two units at 465 Park Avenue for $3.4 million, combining them to create a contemporary, art-filled duplex for an unknown family member. However, just a year later, "things changed" for this relative, and he listed the pad for $7.8 million. Despite the super-swanky design and ritzy decor, he's had a hard time unloading the home, and Mansion Global now reports that he's chopped the price by 10 percent to $6,995,000.
Take the tour

July 31, 2017

Mr. Big (a.k.a. actor Chris Noth) snags little Upper East Side co-op for $1.8M

While he is known for playing hot shot New Yorker Mr. Big on "Sex and the City," actor Chris Noth has called New York City his home in real life since the 1970s. And since 1994, Noth has owned his apartment at 45 East 9th Street, the same building where Candace Bushnell lived, the writer behind the newspaper column and book that inspired the popular TV show. Recently, "The Good Wife" actor purchased a co-op at 139 East 66th Street on the Upper East Side for $1.85 million, reported LL NYC. The pre-war pad boasts just two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a bit on the small side for Mr. Big.
See inside

July 25, 2017

$350K UES studio designed in the ’80s by Adam Tihany resembles a luxury train car

A quirky studio designed by the interior designer Adam Tihany, praised as one of the greatest American interior architects by the New York Times, has hit the market for $350,000. The design has essentially remained unchanged since the apartment was featured in an early 1980s issue of Metropolitan Home, which compared the design to that of a luxury train car. According to the listing, this modest interior, packed with inventive storage, is an early example of Tihany's world renowned hotel work (some of his commissions include the Mandarin Oriental in Vegas, the Beverly Hills Hotel, and two Four Seasons in Dubai). It's located in the 16-unit Upper East Side co-op 223 East 78th Street, which has one more studio for sale asking $315,000.
Check it all out

Distinctive Homes

July 13, 2017

Sunny co-op with lots of exposed brick asks $510K in Prospect Heights

This bright Brooklyn co-op is worth the two floor walkup. The unit comes from the prewar, 16-unit cooperative 786 Washington Avenue, on the border of Prospect Heights. The price has gone up significantly over the years--in 2004 the apartment sold for $164,800, in 2014 it sold for $320,000 and now it's listed for $510,000. Over the years the one bedroom has gotten updates, like mosaic tile flooring in the bathroom. But it still retains wonderful historic details that includes tons of exposed brick.
Right this way for more photos

Distinctive Homes

July 11, 2017

Hip loft with vaulted ceilings and a private roof deck asks $485K in Bay Ridge

The neighborhood of Bay Ridge, in southern Brooklyn, isn't exactly known for cool loft spaces. But this 850-square-foot, two-bedroom pad, at the cooperative 307 72nd Street, might be mistaken for being in Williamsburg. It has high vaulted ceilings with skylights, multiple exposures, exposed brick, and a lofted home office. A large private roof deck is the icing on the cake. And it's definitely cheaper than any two-bedroom in Williamsburg: while the apartment was last listed for $359,000 in 2012, it is now asking $485,000.
Go take a look

Distinctive Homes

July 11, 2017

Sit by a crackling fire in this old-fashioned Greenwich Village co-op, asking $1.4M