Co-ops

March 10, 2016

Conservative Queen Ann Coulter Buys $577K Upper East Side Co-op

Most residents of the Upper East Side are Hillary supporters, but that didn't stop outspoken conservative political commentator Ann Coulter from buying a co-op in the 'hood. According to city records released today, she bought the two-bedroom home at 12 East 87th Street for $577,000. Interestingly, the sale is significantly under its $1.8 million market value, but it does have a tenant in place who's paying $1,600 a month, and the cash-only listing states that it's for "investors only."
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March 9, 2016

From the ‘Seinfeld Law’ to Doggie Interviews, The Craziest Co-Op Board Stories Around

If you think you’re in like Flynn because you’ve got the dough, you’re still far from done if you’re buying a co-op. Since co-ops account for some 75 percent of New York’s housing stock when it comes to buying, you’d better hold onto your hat. That’s because you still haven’t sat in the personal interview-hot seat with the building’s gatekeepers to not just assess your finances, but to evaluate your worth as an individual. Whether you're a billionaire, a celebrity, of just a regular Jane with designs on one of these spaces, just keep in mind that there are a set of commandments that are never to be broken. Because when they are, there will be hell to pay. We've gathered up some of the best co-op board horror stories around, with anecdotes that involve everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Steven Spielberg to a feisty little dachshund caught up in a bait-and-switch.
some unbelievable co-op board stories here
March 8, 2016

$1.8M Flatiron-Shaped Prospect Heights Co-op Gets the Modern Loft Treatment

This interestingly shaped Prospect Heights co-op at 296 Sterling Place came on the market back in January for $1.8 million. It's now been re-listed, and though the price hasn't changed, it's gotten quite the interior overhaul, going from kitschy country to elegantly modern. Thanks to its location in a Flatiron-shaped building, the pre-war loft has open views on all three sides through eight picture windows, as well as 13-foot beamed ceilings, original hardwood floors, and exposed brick.
Take a look around
March 4, 2016

Pre-War Apartment in One of Jackson Heights’ Prominent Courtyard Co-ops Asks $1.1M

Jackson Heights used to be one of the few New York neighborhoods left to buy a great co-op apartment for a good deal. The prewar cooperatives there are known for their private, interior courtyards, and this building -- The Towers, at 33-27 80th Street -- has one of the best, spanning almost an entire city block. But it looks like this neighborhood is a bargain no longer. A for sale by owner listing has hit the market for a seven-bedroom, four-bedroom apartment at The Towers asking $1.1 million. (It last sold in 2011 for $675,000.) It's a huge apartment, with 1,500 square feet, and loads of beautiful prewar details. And windows from the bedrooms and kitchen offer a view down to the courtyard below.
Take the tour
March 3, 2016

Inviting One Bedroom Hits the Market for $625K at Popular Park Slope Co-op

Man, there's been a lot of action recently at the Park Slope co-op building 404 3rd Street. Last summer, a Parisian-looking one bedroom went on the market for $575,000, selling in December for $660,000, nearly 15 percent above ask. Then in February, an architect listed the two-bedroom apartment she designed herself for $800,000. (It's still on the market for slightly less, $799,000.) This one bedroom is asking $625,000, which will be a potentially nice profit for the owner, who bought it only two years ago for $515,000. It's got some lovely details like moldings, inlaid floors, a painted brick wall, and a retro kitchen with open shelving and a funky built-in table attached to a mirrored column.
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February 29, 2016

$2M Greenwich Village Co-op Comes With Eclectic Surprises and Garden Views

The Greenwich Village cooperative 39 East 10th Street was designed in 1870 by James Renwick, the architect also responsible for nearby Grace Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral. The five-story brick building only has 10 units, and this three-bedroom asking $1.995 million is one of them. Inside, a narrow floorplan connects 1,600 square foot of space. There are three bedrooms, a living room, an eat-in kitchen, and office space with some fun surprises thrown in: working wood-burning fireplaces, Art Deco lighting, tons of well-designed shelving and views out onto the building's quaint common garden.
Check out the floorplan
February 26, 2016

Wood Detailing Galore, and an Outdoor Bathtub, at This Prewar Penthouse in Greenwich Village

This prewar duplex penthouse comes from the Greenwich Village co-op at 49 West 9th Street, quite a beautiful brick and limestone building equidistance from Washington Square Park and Union Square. The $2.75 million apartment is around 1,000 square feet over two floors, with one bedroom and two bathrooms. It's also brimming with wood detailing and decked out with lots of private outdoor space -- home to both an outdoor shower and yes, a bathtub. If you're a fan of elegant, classic New York co-ops (that happen not to be in the Upper West or Upper East Sides) this one will make your day.
See more interior details
February 26, 2016

This $18M Prewar Co-op Is the Kind of Apartment That Invented Central Park Views

In addition to celebrity residents like Robert DeNiro, Paul Simon and, more recently, Annie Liebovitz, the 1928 co-op building at 88 Central Park West has bragging rights to the kind of views that were being enjoyed by the fortunate before trophy towers like 432 Park Avenue were even a glimmer in any developer’s eye. The classic Central Park West residence known as the Brentmore has only 12 floors, but it possesses a Gilded-Age cachet that’s lost very little of its appeal even in the 21st century. Residents add upper-floors and next-doors rather than move, and floor plans are generous and always include foyers and maids’ rooms (almost all units were built with seven rooms). And the location, of course, needs no introduction.
See more of this gracious West Side home
February 25, 2016

Cottage-Like Duplex is up for Sale at the Muffin House in Chelsea

337 West 20th Street is not your average cooperative -- this Chelsea building was formerly the bakery of Samuel Bath Thomas, the Englishman who introduced New Yorkers to the English Muffin in the early 1900s. Today it's nicknamed the Muffin House and still has ovens (no longer working) built into the basement. You can now live in a cute little duplex at the co-op, which went residential sometime in the 1950s, for $875,000. While there's nothing inside the apartment to suggest this was a former muffin factory, there are still some old details intact.
Take a look
February 24, 2016

For $5.5M, Combine Two Top-Floor Apartments Into One Soho Mega Loft

Here's a proposal only for true loft lovers: two fifth-floor apartments are on the market at 81 Grand Street, a former warehouse in Soho, and they come in a package in which you can combine them for a massive, single loft. If combined, it'll leave you with 45 feet of frontage facing Grand Street, a total of 14 windows and four skylights, 3,300 interior square feet and 600 exterior square feet. And you'd be working with great bones; while most downtown lofts have some cool historic details left from when the building was a warehouse, this one boasts detailed brickwork, as well as remnants of the building's old wheels and shoots system, typically used for transporting things. We're jealous of the architect who will get the job of creating a full-floor penthouse here.
Check out both spaces
February 23, 2016

Architect/Owner of This $800K Park Slope Co-op Gut Renovated it Herself

It's hard to go wrong with an apartment that's been carefully renovated by its owner, who also happens to be an architect. That's the case at 404 3rd Street, where a two-bedroom Park Slope co-op has just hit the market for $799,000. The owner, Joana Pacheco, is not only an architect but the founder of Paperhouse, an open source architecture platform. She gut renovated the interior, opening up and brightening the space. She had good bones to work with, as the apartment retains big bay windows and its historic moldings, as well as a good location, just a few blocks from Prospect Park.
See more of her renovation
February 11, 2016

$685K Chelsea Micro Apartment Was Renovated to Maximize Space and Design

If you're going to live in a really small apartment, you may as well get it custom designed to maximize as much space as possible. Such is the case with this very cozy one bedroom at 221 West 21st Street, a nondescript five-story co-op building in Chelsea. This unit has been gutted, renovated and redesigned by MySuites & Co., a boutique real estate and design firm based in Soho, and furniture and textile designer Nightwood New York. The result–the Chelseagold. MySuites says it feels more like a 700-square-foot apartment than a 500-square-foot pad, and we think the charming interior design almost makes up for the lack of space.
See the rest of the micro apartment
February 10, 2016

Floor-Through Noho Loft With Four Exposures Hits the Market for $3.25 Million

At 55 Great Jones Street, a historic 1910 building in Noho, each of the seven stories has been converted into lofty co-op apartments. This one occupies the entire fifth floor for a total of 2,200 square feet. And because the building is surrounded by two squat, single-story structures, the unit comes with a rare four exposures. Never a bad thing to complement an apartment that's lofty to begin with.
Take an interior tour
February 9, 2016

Actress and Comedian Ellie Kemper Buys $2.8M Classic Upper West Side Co-op

In her critically acclaimed Netflix show "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," her character, a former abductee who ends up in NYC, lives in an eclectic Brooklyn apartment. In real life, actress and comedian Ellie Kemper goes for a more traditional look, as is evidenced by her recent purchase -- a classic six co-op at 325 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side. According to city records released today, Kemper and her husband Michael Koman, a writer and producer, paid $2.8 million for the three-bedroom spread.
See the whole apartment
February 9, 2016

For $1.2M This Cobble Hill Garden Co-op Is a Perfect Place to Curl Up for a Nap

In the charming neighborhood of Cobble Hill near the border of equally charming Brooklyn Heights, on a tree-lined picture-postcard street, this sweet, old-fashioned (yet updated) garden apartment appears as cozy as they come. The 1,100-square-foot two-bedroom co-op at 119 Pacific Street, asking $1.195 million, looks–except for the price (which isn't even that bad)–almost the way apartments in this part of south Brooklyn used to look, from its wood-burning fireplace to its enchanting backyard.
Take a look
February 3, 2016

Duplex in Historic Brooklyn Heights Co-op, Built for Manhattan Views, Asks $2.25M

2 Grace Court is one of the few cooperatives in Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood mostly filled with townhouses. Built in 1922-23 by the architect Mortimer Freehof, it was specifically constructed on an elevated site near the waterfront so the building would get commanding views of the New York Harbor and Manhattan skyline. And this is the best kind of apartment you could find in such a building: The three-bedroom corner duplex has 12 large windows, southern and western exposures, and views of the East River, Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan from every room.
See more of the interior
February 2, 2016

Lofty Park Slope Co-op Boasts Double-Height Ceilings and a Spiral Staircase

Forget the brownstones with historic detailing that dominate Park Slope. This apartment, located at the co-op building 302 5th Avenue, is modernly renovated and downright lofty, with double-height ceilings and a raised space above the kitchen. The sleek spiral staircase also adds a contemporary touch. And with two bedrooms, 1,700 square feet over three floors, and a garden, there is plenty of room to spread out. The triplex has just hit the market for $1.5 million.
Take a tour
February 2, 2016

$985K Renovated UWS Co-op Checks a Lot of Boxes; Just Hope You Don’t Have to Carry Them

When you’ve got a recently- and well-renovated three-bedroom co-op on the Upper West Side, a block from Central Park with low monthly fees, and it’s under $1 million, it’s pretty safe to say "this won’t last!" This fresh-faced, turn-key, pre-war home at 113 West 96th Street was just listed at $985,000, and while there are pros and cons, it looks like a super-comfortable place to live in a classic Manhattan neighborhood that gets an A-plus for convenience.
Take a look around
January 29, 2016

This Classic Co-op Next to Carl Schurz Park Asks $2.795 Million

This stretch of East 86th Street, in the Yorkville area of the Upper East Side, is an attractive, quiet block that ends at Carl Schurz Park—home to Gracie Mansion and Mayor de Blasio. Along the way is this six-story, red brick co-op building with an elegant entrance at 519 East 86th Street. And the four-bedroom unit currently for sale there, asking $2.795 million, is just as lovely as the block outside. It's a classic prewar co-op with one of those drool-worthy, complex floor plans: a large foyer, four bedrooms, dedicated living and dining rooms, a mud room, an office, the works.
See it for yourself
January 28, 2016

Rows of Bookshelves Under 11-Foot Ceilings Line This $2M Nomad Loft

There's no better apartment for a book lover than a loft. The open space and high ceilings are the perfect setting for rows of bookshelves, which also can serve as impromptu dividers throughout an apartment that lacks lots of walls. This lofty three bedroom at 50 West 29th Street in Nomad has a massive, open living and dining room that the owners are using almost like a library. There are tons of bookshelves under the 10-foot-9-inch ceilings, as well as a few used to break up the living and the dining areas.
Check out the rest of the space
January 25, 2016

Chelsea Loft Designed by Award-Winning SYSTEMarchitects Wants $2M

This two-bedroom live/work loft comes from 249 West 29th Street, a prewar Chelsea co-op built in 1929. The building may be older, but this particular loft, now on the market for $2.15 million, is quite modern. It was designed by SYSTEMarchitects, a prominent firm that's won awards everywhere from the American Institute of Architects to the Museum of Modern Art. They also designed this other Chelsea loft, distinguished by a wood boat hull that was built out in the mezzanine. There's nothing quite as striking in this loft, although it does have a very interesting design element in the master bedroom.
See what it is
January 22, 2016

Watch the Seasons Change in Three Directions From This Unusual Prospect Heights Co-op

When we're looking for a new home we're often hoping for something different and, well, special, especially after seeing space after generic space. This Prospect Heights pad at 296 Sterling Place is definitely unique. It's spacious at 1,400 square feet, with 13-foot beamed ceilings and windows everywhere with open views on all three sides–because the building has three sides. You get the elegant original details of a classic pre-war co-op (original parquet wood floors, for example), plus the exposed brick and beams you'd love in a loft. And with two bedrooms plus an office/third bedroom, there's room for everyone. Overall, charming modern updates and the above cool-old-building-of-the-day infrastructure–plus the fact that the perfect Prospect Heights location tops pretty much everyone's list–are the stuff bidding wars are made of. The ask–$1.799 million–could get you an entire townhouse worth of quirky charm a few years back, but not in Brooklyn of 2016.
Take a look around this unique space
January 20, 2016

The Best Address for Less: Live in the Dakota for $1.85M

While it’s not exactly what we’d call affordable housing, you don’t have to be as rich as Yoko Ono or as famous as Lauren Bacall (whose apartment recently sold for $21 million) to live in the iconic Dakota overlooking Central Park. This pint-sized top-floor aerie on the Upper West Side offers a seriously rare chance to rub elbows with venerable co-op’s celebrity residents–and the memories of notable residents past–for a relatively earthbound $1.85 million. Though there’s still the nearly $3,000 monthly co-op fee to contend with, it’s not often that a space here that isn’t a storage unit finds its way to the market for less than four or five million at the very least; there are currently three eight-figure units listed, including Roberta Flack's pad and Judy Garland's former home. And the one-bedroom apartment itself is just the bright and elegant pre-war gem you’d imagine it to be.
Have a look around this rare little gem
January 19, 2016

Live/Work Loft Serviced by the Original Freight Elevator Asks $1.575 Million in Clinton Hill

We'll just come out and say it: this Clinton Hill loft is really cool. The 2,074-square-foot space, lined with big windows that face both north and south, takes up the entire third floor of the live-work cooperative at 93 Lexington Avenue. You'll still find the original industrial details of the former warehouse building throughout the apartment, including an incredible copper-doored elevator. Another freight elevator, also an original detail of the building, opens directly into the apartment. It last sold in 2012 for $880,000 (slightly over the ask of $855,000) and now it's on the market for much more, $1.575 million.
Tour the space