Best apartment houses/coops in NYC

No, the Dakota is prized by the hoi polloi who like pretty buildings, but I don't think it's especially treasured by the moneyed in crowd so much. Most of the original 11 room layouts have been chopped up, some not so cleverly, and the upper floors are a mess. The maintenance charges are astronomical, as there really aren't all that many units per floor. Plus, it's on the West Side. More prestigious is The River House on East 53rd and The East River. It's gloomy as hell with a green and black marble lobby, but the old Jews live for it. It used to be "exclusive", and according to some isn't the friendliest place for gays and blacks, but it's predominantly Jewish now, so they've relaxed that I guess.

What about 998 5th?

Waiting for the snobby ice queen who will inevitably insist that the most prestigious buildings in NY are completely invisible to such commoners as we are, no doubt through the invention of special light-bending force fields.

If it isn't covered in gold and dripping with chandeliers and doesn't have the name TRUMP emblazoned everywhere it isn't worth mentioning.

Wasn't Gloria Vanderbilt rejected from the River House years back?

Who lives in the River House?

One fifth Avenue.

R5, that was because there was a rumor out that she was going to marry gay singer Bobby Short.

1040 Fifth Avenue

What about 1600 Broadway? I've never been to NYC but I have friend of a friend of a friend etc who lives in that building. It looks beautiful.

The Apthorp. And don't you forget it bitches.

How are the San Remo, the Ansonia, and the Wyoming? I always hear such dismissive things about the Upper West Side from Datalongers but many of the movie and media stars live in those buildings, and they look so glorious from the outisde (well, not the Wyoming, but still).

Here is an apartment at 998 5th for $34 million bucks!

The Ansonia at one point was a complete wreck inside. Although it's great because the walls are thick. Many music teachers had studios there.%0D %0D For those of you who are into NYC history, the basement of the Ansonia was where the Continental baths were located, which later became Plato's Retreat. The space is now a parking lot, but you can still see some remains from the days of unbridled sex.

About the apartment for sale at 998 5th...%0D %0D [quote]The fifth-floor, five-bedroom apartment belongs to former Morgan Stanley vice chairman Bruce Fiedorek, who was reportedly showing the apartment several months ago with a $45 million asking price, though it was not publicly listed at the time. Visiting prospective buyers were asked to sign confidentiality agreements at the time.

You peasants...740 Park is THE only place one should live in New York. Mummy and I adore living there. It is "the world's richest apartment building" but then one could hardly expect your kind to know about it, could one?%0D %0D TTFN%0D

OP, I was going to suggest a hyphen in "coop" but remembering the NYC apartments I've been in, never mind.

All the best people shunned Fifth Avenue and took warehouses in Tribeca. We threw off the rich lifestyle in favor of cockroaches crawling across our kitchen floor and the stench of rotting garbage outside our window.

[quote]A friend of mine once snorted at the book 740 Park which purported to be the story of the most prestigious apartment building in NYC and said that there were many more prestigious addresses than that.

Depends on which circles we're talking about. 740 Park is disdained by a few because it's essentially a private club for the ultra-rich -- the board won't even consider you unless you have at least $100 million in *liquid* assets -- and has as of late been largely taken over by the "nouveaux" crowd (e.g. hedge fund guys).

R2 is correct about River House. On Fifth, I'd go with 960, 998 and, naturally, 1040.

[quote]How are the San Remo, the Ansonia, and the Wyoming? I always hear such dismissive things about the Upper West Side from Datalongers but many of the movie and media stars live in those buildings, and they look so glorious from the outisde (well, not the Wyoming, but still).

Um, I assume you mean Dakota, not Wyoming. :) The Ansonia wouldn't be on any New York snob's prestige list if only because it's condo and still have some rent-controlled tenants living there. It was also totally ruined by the developers who chopped up its once-grand spaces into small apartments. The San Remo and Beresford would be my votes for most prestigious UWS buildings, and btw the reason so many more celebrities live there is twofold: it's always been a traditionally liberal and artsy area, plus many UES co-ops would never allow someone as "vulgar" as a celebrity in, though obviously there are exceptions (she may have married a "vulgarian," but 1040 Fifth wasn't going to say no to Jackie O.!). Btw only the snootiest of UES WASPs wouldn't fucking kill to live someplace like the San Remo.

Doesn't the Majestic regularly win awards as "best co-op", which is different than most exclusive?

Did Stephen Sondheim grow up in the Majestic or the San Remo? I know he grew up in one of those great deco CPW buildings...

"The space is now a parking lot, but you can still see some remains from the days of unbridled sex."%0D %0D I presume you are speaking about the nacreous layer of permacum in Space #78?

15 CPW is nice if a tad nouveau...

834 Fifth Avenue is another of the top ones:

"834 Fifth Avenue has historically been home to a large number of founders and heirs of major American family fortunes. The fortunes include those associated with Standard Oil, Johnson & Johnson, Woolworth Stores, the Hearst Corporation, Ford Motor Co. and the Chase Manhattan Bank. The building has long been associated with the Rockefeller family and its various business and charitable interests.

In addition, 834 Fifth Avenue has welcomed a higher percentage of entrepreneurs and self-made businessmen than its peer buildings. Firms founded by tenants of 834 Fifth include Charles Schwab, TLC Beatrice, the Limited and Fox. This helped establish its reputation as a haven for the high-achieving elite within New York society.

Past and current residents include:

* Laurance Rockefeller (who owned the building before it became a cooperative, and resided in the penthouse triplex for nearly fifty years)

* Rupert Murdoch (founder of the Fox Network, BSkyB)

* Loida Nicolas-Lewis (business woman, philanthropist, widow of Reginald Lewis)

* Leslie Wexner (founder, The Limited)

* John Gutfreund (former chairman of Salomon Brothers) and wife Susan

* Damon Mezzacappa (financier, former vice chairman of Lazard Freres)

* Elizabeth Arden (founder of the eponymous cosmetics company)

* Harold Prince (the Broadway producer)

* Carroll Petrie (a philanthropist, widow of the founder of Petrie Stores)

* Alfred Taubman (shopping mall developer, former chairman of Sothebys)

* John DeLorean (former automotive magnate)

* Joan Whitney Payson (an heiress, and philanthropist)

* Robert (Woody) Johnson IV (one of the heirs of the Johnson & Johnson fortune, owner of the New York Jets)

* Simon Hodges (One of the heirs to Donald Bren's fortune and philanthropist)

* Charles R. Schwab (founder and CEO of the Charles Schwab Corporation)

* Frank Jay Gould"

The great 1920s luxury apartment buildings that were all turned co-op (834 Fifth, 1040 Fifth, 740 Park, were mostly designed by a man named Rosario Candela.

740 Park

820 Fifth

834 Fifth

950 Fifth

2 East 67th

4 E. 66th

40th Fifth (notorious for rejecting gays despite its location)

[quote]The space is now a parking lot, but you can still see some remains from the days of unbridled sex.

I thought they removed the congealed layer of permacum.

"I mean what do you got on the West Side? Sean and Madonna?"

Let's see how many times "permacum" can be used in response to R14's post. It just never gets old does it?

"Home of the exposed brick wall and the house plant?"

I'd prefer 1 or 2 Sutton Place.

Looks like the awful stories I heard were true! All of them witches!

Wow, r28: who pissed in your Ensure this morning?

more

I want to live in the townhouse on The Nanny.

I fantasized about living in "The Nanny" townhouse too.

I know Broadway producers make a lot of money but isn't a palace like that a little steep in price for Maxwell Sheffield?

I'd think so, r35. I'd imagine that a place like that would run you well over 10 million these days.

Chickens live in coops, OP.

[quote]Chickens live in coops, OP.

The housing that most NYers can afford seems like coops to me.

"I presume you are speaking about the nacreous layer of permacum in Space #78?"

LOL, no. I meant there are still remnants of the decor.

Lord Evelyn and Lady Lynn DeRothschild live at The River House, as does "Chicago" producer Marty Richards, art dealer/director Arne Glimcher (penthouse), and I believe Walter Cronkite lived there too.

"The San Remo and Beresford"

Are those the two buildings which loom over Central Park, with the green roof areas? Or is that the El Dorado?

IIRC, Bono bought an apartment at the San Remo, Diane Keaton has lived there for over 20 years, Madonna was refused an apartment there, not a surprise.

The San Remo is the most glorious apartment building in the world, architecturally. It is so stunning.

This is pretty fabulous: a 1930s Sydney apartment building that was inspired by NY's Flatiron building!!! Apartment price: AU$2 million.

Perhaps not best in the sense of status as some on this thread see it, but my vote goes to the building at 2 Horatio Street, famous for service, location,architectural detail and elegance.

2 Horatio Street, aka le Palais du Fag du Madame Bravo, Andy Cohen.

I could never quite figure out the floorplan on the show The Nanny. Of course it was just a set and some parts maybe didn't make sense though. That always happens on TV shows.

bump

One Beekman Place is fantastic. Quiet, historic, East River views, easy to get out of town, great nabe for basics -- cheese, cleaners, flowers, butcher, fishmonger, easy to get taxis on the driver's day off, close to hospitals,etc. Completely under the radar.

15 Central Park West is the new kid on the block.

[quote]I want to live in the townhouse on The Nanny.

Yes, but you're stuck in a studio on The Bowery.

Parc Vendome and you get ghosts too!

What a stunning place.

The Ac unit above the Dakota entrance is hideous, though (picture 2).

[italic]An Apartment That Ticks All the Boxes By VIVIAN S. TOY

IT’S not every day that an apartment with two balconies, one terrace and 100 feet fronting on Central Park comes on the market. Nor do you often find one with a 70-foot long-gallery, 12-foot-high ceilings and seven working fireplaces. Rarer still is it to see one at the famed Dakota.

After all, if you lived in a place like that, why would you want to leave?

But the owner of just such an apartment has decided to put his home of 17 years on the market for $29.6 million, but only because he plans to move out of the city.

John Burger, a managing director at Brown Harris Stevens who represents the owner and who has sold many apartments at the Dakota, said the listing was unusual because “the apartment has been restored to its original grandeur and also fully renovated with modern amenities.”

The owner, who is an investor and who runs a private foundation, asked not to be identified because he is a very private person. He said he had looked at several apartments in the Dakota before buying this one in 1995, “I fell in love with this apartment because of the park views from almost every room and the unique terrace off the master bedroom,” he said.

The sixth-floor apartment is just above tree line. The terrace, which seems to hang right over Central Park West, offers an unparalleled view of the Thanksgiving Day parade. “You look up the street and the balloons are coming right at you,” he said. It’s not a bad perch for New Year’s Eve fireworks either, which are set off by the lake due east of the apartment.

Mr. Burger said the owner over the years has done a great deal of work to restore the apartment to its 1884 splendor.

The co-op board at the Dakota has an aesthetics committee that reviews and approves renovation plans and that tours each apartment before and after any work is done. It also forbids the disposal of any original doors or fireplace mantels and maintains a storage room filled with such items.

When the owner unsealed three fireplaces that had been covered up, he discovered several hidden treasures. Stuffed inside one flue was a copy of The New York Times from Dec. 31, 1912, and in another, he found an empty Fresca can, circa 1960s. “It was like opening a time capsule,” he said.

Towering mahogany doors throughout the space and intricately carved fireplaces have all been carefully restored, but the apartment also has central air-conditioning and a sprawling kitchen with two large islands and the latest in name-brand appliances.

The 5,100-square-foot apartment is currently laid out as a three-bedroom, with a 29-foot-wide living room, a library, a full dining room and a cozy family room off of the kitchen. The library alone is as big as many studio apartments and nearly swallows up a grand piano that is tucked in a corner. The space has eight windows that face Central Park, and the other windows look out on gabled roofs in the Dakota’s interior courtyard.

The building has long been home to luminaries, including Yoko Ono, Lauren Bacall, Roberta Flack and Connie Chung. But the owner said that the celebrities are just as easygoing and as accessible as everyone else who shares the address. They all gather in the courtyard for the annual fall pot-luck, where Ms. Ono traditionally brings a heaping platter of sushi.

“They’re your neighbors, so you say hello,” the owner said. “It’s really a very friendly and relaxed building.” [/italic]

What about my building, 555 Park?

What blows my mind is that Demi Moore has a triplex (!) at the San Remo, and awful 80s semi-famous singer Billy Squire (best known today for that awful video that killed whatever career he has) also lives there. I'm amazed that Moore has that much money for a triplex and Squire has enough money at all to live there.

My favorite three:

Park V The Pavilion The San Remo (had a relative in there)

R54,

Tony Randall and Mick Jagger used to live in the San Remo, as did a relative of mine.

The four-story townhouses on East End and 86th aren't bad though!

220 East 67th is one of my favorites as well.

R42,

The Odd Couple lived in the San Remo (Tony Randall's home!)

Klugman lived in 1049 Park Avenue!

R19,

I believe you can bypass the coop board if you buy an apartment from the original owner (i.e., the one who was there when it converted, the insider).

Madonna had a place at 70th and Fifth.

The UES generally doesn't want celebs, it is true. The UWS was lower status until at least the 1980s.

No r57, The Odd Couple lived on Madison Ave. It was on the awning of the building in the intro.

Madonna has lived at Harperley Hall on CPW and 64th since the late 80s. That mansion she bought on 3rd was an investment property - she's never lived there.

Not a New Yorker, but I've heard a place called DUMBO or something had an interesting neighborhood with nice views.

R59,

The Odd Couple gave their addresses out MANY times: it was 1049 Park Avenue and then 145 Central Park West (The San Remo)

R60,

In 1984, Madonna did move into the east-side property, but I don't think it was a mansion. It was an apartment near 70th and Fifth. 70th and THird was way too congested. I remember because she was getting rejecte dby coop boards all over the place.

This article is about the neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. For the 1941 animated film, see Dumbo.

Dumbo view with the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan in background Dumbo, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass,[1][2] is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another that continues east from the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 2. Contents  [hide]  1 History 1.1 Historic preservation 2 Points of interest 3 Transportation 4 In popular culture 5 Footnotes 6 External links [edit]History

Until the 1890s, the western portion of the neighborhood was known as Fulton Landing, after the ferry stop that connected it to Manhattan before the Brooklyn Bridge opened. Then, it was primarily a manufacturing district, housing warehouses and factories that made machinery, paper boxes and Brillo soap pads. With deindustrialization it began becoming primarily residential, when artists and other young homesteaders seeking relatively large and inexpensive loft apartment spaces for studios and homes began moving there in the late 1970s.[2] The acronym Dumbo arose in 1978, when new residents coined it in the belief such an unattractive name would help deter developers.[2] Near the end of the 20th century, as property became more and more expensive in Manhattan, Dumbo became increasingly gentrified. Joy Glidden is the Founding Director of the Dumbo arts center (DAC) and co-founder of the Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival in Brooklyn, where she served as the Executive Director from 1997-2006. Using art as a catalyst for change, Glidden’s efforts achieved successful development in Dumbo that is now a model for similar waterfront developments around the world.

Looking westward from Jay Street along Plymouth Street, through Dumbo, under the Manhattan Bridge, at a pier of the Brooklyn Bridge

Pearl Street pocket park in Dumbo.

Kortunefookie at Art Under The Bridge in Dumbo [edit]Historic preservation On December 18, 2007, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate the Dumbo section of Brooklyn as the city's 90th historic district. The Dumbo historic district consists of properties bound by John Street to the north, York Street to the south, Main Street to the west, and Bridge Street to the east.[3] [edit]Points of interest

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010) The area has emerged as one of New York City's premier arts districts, with a cluster of for-profit art galleries and such not-for-profit institutions as the St. Ann's Warehouse and the A.I.R. Gallery. Chef Jacques Torres opened a chocolate factory in Dumbo in December 2000.[4] Other culinary businesses in the area include Grimaldi's, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, the River Café, and, in the One Old Fulton Street building, Pete's Downtown Restaurant. All of these businesses cluster in Fulton Landing, which is also home to Bargemusic, a floating venue for classical music. The first public space in the neighborhood was Fulton Ferry, followed by Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park. Brooklyn Bridge Park, a joint state/city venture presently under development, was launched in 2006. [edit]Transportation

NY Waterway runs a water ferry from the Fulton Slip at Fulton Landing. New York City Subway stations are located at York Street (F train) on the IND Sixth Avenue Line, and High Street – Brooklyn Bridge (A C trains) on the IND Eighth Avenue Line. Bus service is provided by the B25, B67, and B69. A convenient staircase connects the Brooklyn Bridge walkway to Washington Street, one of Dumbo's main streets. The East River Ferry began operations in July 2011, connecting the wharf at Fulton Landing to stops in Governor's Island, Wall Street, Williamsburg, Greenpoint and midtown Manhattan at E. 34th Street. A free bus picks up passengers at E. 34th for more convenient locations in midtown. [edit]In popular culture

Jerry Seinfeld once referred to Dumbo on a late-night talk show appearance, joking that it stands for "Down Under Manhattan Bridge," but that New Yorkers arbitrarily added the "O" at the end because they did not want to have a neighborhood called "Dumb."[citation needed] Tracy Bonham wrote a song about her years in Dumbo on her CD Blink the Brightest, "Dumbo Sun". [edit]Footnotes

^ Dolkart, Andrew S. et. al. DUMBO Historic District Designation Report, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (December 18, 2007)

Madonna lives on 81 between Lex and Third.... INCREDIBLY boring neighborhood, but the bodegas sell cigarettes to Lourdes.

I grew up near where Madonna supposedly lives now. In my day, the bodegas sold a lot more than cigs!

15 CPW is now the most expensive/fabulous address. As for Madonna, she lived for many years on CPW and I think 64th? The Beresford , The San Remo and 101 CPW are also quite nice. I prefer the West side.

Gloria Vanderbilt was indeed rejected by River House. She claimed that it was because they feared the nature of her relationship with Bobby Short. But everyone knew that he was gay, and no one was worried about their marrying. Rather, she claimed that it was because they thought she'd marry a black person. The reality was that she didn't have all that much money at the time -- don't know her circumstances now. She didn't own the jeans, after all; she licensed her name, which wasn't worth that much.

Consider 810 and 820 Fifth Avenue. 810 was the building in which Nelson Rockefeller had a triplex, the living room of which was painted by Matisse. When he divorced his first wife, she kept the top floor, and he kept the bottom two, which he expanded into the next building. 820 is arguably the most selective building in the world, rarefied beyond belief.

15 CPW's success astonishes me. Typically one expects to know something about one's neighbors before deciding whether to move into (or let them move into) a building in that price range. And apparently one has to change all of the finishes in the apartments. Robert Stern's designs are so tired; can't compare to the true luxury buildings of the early 20th century. (The Dakota and its ilk are just too old.)

There IS a building called the Wyoming, incidentally. It's at 55th and 7th. And I think that there's another, about forty years old, at 70th and Broadway. Neither has anything to do with this thread.

Madonna previously lived at Harperly Hall, at 64th and CPW. She had five apartments, which is rather less impressive when one learns that some of them had previously been part of the same apartment, which was hacked up and then reconstituted.

R66, 15 CPW is indeed fabulous, in the eyes of those who worry about fabulousness and will never actually achieve it.

Can someone recommend the best way for an out of town medical student to find an apartment share in NYC? How do you find roommates or people who have apartments and look for roommates? What are the reliable websites?

The Ansonia on Broadway and 73/74 would be one of my favorites except it's falling apart. And who can forget Brigitte Fonda & JJL in "Single White Female"?

R67,

The Wyoming, if it's that beautiful red building near the SE corner of 55th and 7th, is gorgeous.

Where is the Beresford again? I remember the name but can't place it.

R67,

Nelson Rockefeller owned a townhouse at 11 West 54th that was next door to Rhodes Prep. He died of a heart attack supposedly while having sex one Saturday night. I know this becuase I attended Rhodes at the time, and after Rockefeller died, the building was sold, and Rhodes moved to a god-awful location on 83rd, between Amsterdam and Broadway.

R69,

In your shoes I might try the neighborhood publications like Our Town, look for sublets near NYU (especially this time of year), or even walk around checking for flyers in the area.

Sorry, folks, but nothing used to beat THE PAVILION!

500 East 77th

Takes up a whole city block Three wings (500, 510, 520), 19 floors east and west, 35 floors center Its own ZIP code (10162) THREE doorman on duty many days, to some overnights, one at all times Security in the back entrance Six entrances Its own indoor strip mall (beauty salon, grocery, used to have butcher and TV repair) Professional office complex Health club Its own phone system (PAX) back in 1962! RENT STABILIZED for many! NOT a co-op! (too profitable) Enclosed Driveway Rooftop Garden Next to John Jay Park and pool (public yes) Football-field sized lobby Socioeconomically diverse population (real people) Great public school (P.S. 158)

This is the building that built Glenwood, and paid for them to basically build the York Avenue Skyline.

If you've ever lived there, you'd never, NEVER want to even think of another building in the city. Even now it's amazing, but when it was built? It was the most incredible building ever to grace Manhattan.

Link to the Pavilion if I missed it:

Laugh all you want, but i've always liked Rupert Towers!

92nd and 2nd!

W&W for r43.

80 CPW

Thank you R73

R74 I've also always loved the Pavillion, and its' sister building the Imperial House on E. 69th bet. Lex and 3rd. The IH is where Liza Minnelli has lived since the 70s. Lucille Ball kept an apartment there for many years and Joan Crawford lived there as well. Crawford died in her bedroom in her apt. in the IH.

In New York there are as many ways to define "prestige" as there are varying albeit overlapping elite groups with different material demands.

Anything on Avenues C or D are primo. PRIMO!

The IH is not a "sister" building to the Pavilion. The Pavilion was built in 1962 by Glennwood, and it takes up a full city block. Not that the many other skyscrapers on the UES aren't nice, but I never saw one that compared to my little crib!

The Pavilion also offers a nice level of safety, since if you don't like what you see outside one entrance, you have several alternatives. As a kid, someone once tried to rob me in the lobby after following me into the building. The thug couldn't believe that there was always a doorman or guard within shouting distance, and got the shock of his life when collared.

R71, the Wyoming is neither red nor gorgeous.

R72, Nelson Rockefeller might have owned all sorts of townhouses, but he died in the apartment of one Megan Marshak, apparently in her bed. She lived in an apartment house which was one of two known as The Rockefeller Apartments. Nelson built them in 1936, on land previously occupied by his family's houses.

There is a reason that you attended the Rhodes School.

Good old 3 Beekman Place

Beekman Place, R85? Pretty enough, but Nelson Rockefeller explained his decision to live at 810 Fifth by pointing out that in those days there were only a few buildings in which people of his class (a word that I don't think that he used) could live. His alternative was River House, and his explanation would also apply to Beekman Place: "Who wants to commute?"

R82,

Yeah same reason DeNiro did. Probably alsothe same reason I attended an Ivy later on.

You were kind enough to correct my trivia mistake. Correcting what's wrong with you would definitely appear to require a great deal more than a prep school eudcation, that's for sure.

R84,

Didn't say I was sure that building was the Wyoming. Just remember a nice building near 55th and 7th and thought that might be it.

I never liked the UWS buildings, thought CPS and Park V and 15 CPW were too much for bluebloods, and preferred the UES. To each their own, of course.

R87, the secretarial school from which you graduated after attending what you call "an Ivy" should have included a course in proof reading.

And are you suggesting that DeNiro (a very fine actor, if that's the DeNiro you mean) is intellectually accomplished? Or that he serves as some sort of proof that his fellow alumni are?

R89,

We all can't be perfect like you. Unless secretarial schools can fix eyesight, I'd be out of luck. I've been told that with my level of vision I actually make very few typos. Perhaps people like me should be banned from posting in order to improve your DL experience.

I think DeNiro is way more evolved intellectually than many of the snobs here. It takes a lot of brains to act. Not everyone has such a narrow, self-serving concept of intelligence.

I can only imagine the horrific level of inner turmoil that would drive someone to believe they have a right to attack others over such triviality. Maybe they're HIV+ and bitter or something. Who knows. People can be whatever they want to be online.

Looking at the link at R75, I don't get the love for The Pavilion. Guess you had to live there.

The lobby and facade are garish, and the apartments epitomize all the bad aspects of mid-century design: cold, characterless, dull.

Glad to hear it's safe, though, and the hairdresser is nearby. My grandma would adore it.

Harperley Hall in NYC looks like some chav council house in London, yet it costs several million to live there.

R91,

The hairdresser (and grocery store etc.) are all INSIDE the building. It also had its own phone system back in the 1970s, which was unheard of. I visited friends who lived in all kinds of upscale buildings, and none ever compared, not even the ones on Park, though if you're just counting decor, no it's not as big of a standout.

The exterior is very nice, however, and for the era in which it was built, it was a marvel. The lobby is luxurious compared to those of the other buildings I visited, with a nice mix of elegance and humanity (most other buildings had one or the other).

Rodney Dangerfield lived there long before he made it big. So did Bishop Sheen.

R91,

There's a beautiful exterior shot of the Pavilion out there somewhere.

It was on a site criticizing a preacher for living there (too much $ people said).

The most prestigious apartment buildings in New York are:

820 Fifth Avenue 834 Fifth Avenue 960 Fifth Avenue 720 Park Avenue 740 Park Avenue

This is according to a New York Times article from Nov. 23, 1997. You can find it by typing "820 834 960" into Google search.

Carroll Petrie's apartment in 834 Fifth is shown in the BBC documentary "Secret World of Haute Couture" which is available on YouTube. They show it about halfway through the film.

[all posts by childish idiot removed]

R25 pointed most of the, out, but I would also add:

765/775 Park 760 Park (Rejected Nixon, so he bought a TH instead) 888 Park (Caroline Kennedy) 580 Park 625 Park (the Kopelmans) 812 Park 720/730/770 Park 1088 Park 1185 Park 800 Park 830 Park 1021 Park - almost all duplexes and some triplexes 895 Park (Eastmans) 417 Park (all cash, Marty Bregman) 655 Park 640 Park (this should actually be above some of the ones already mentioned - massive massive apts avg sell price 20-25 mil) 660 Park ditto - and home to Aerin Lauder

While most celebs used to live on the West Side and now more so downtown or Gramercy, Fifth has historically been more celebrity (and Jewish) friendly then park.

927 Fifth (MTM, Paula Zahn, Robert Belfer) 1040 already mentioned - pretty sure Candace Bergen and Marshall Rose live there There's one building there (998 maybe?) with a private dining room 969 Fifth? Pretty sure that's a top one too.

Other notable east side addresses not yet mentioned:

4 East 72 19 East 72 (Boardmans grew up there) 117 East 72 (massive apts, all cash building) 21 East 79 (Tom Wolfe) 79 East 79 136 East 79 17 East 89 160 East 72 320 East 72 120 East End 149 East 73 (Sigourney Weaver) 133 East 80

1 Sutton Place South

And some of the top of the line new condos (ESP the prewar ones) have to be factored in here, ie The Carlton house, 135 East 79, etc. And of course if you can afford to live in The Mark, the Pierre, or The Carlyle. And at this point certain Tribeca/Chelsea/w Vill and more can't be discounted either. 1Lexington is one of the best on Gramercy - Uma Thurman has an apt there.

About the West Side - the architecture of their top buildings beats most of theircEast side counterparts, but I just still don't care for the area.

The Dakota is still the best. I haven't seen every apt there to be sure, but I've been in two, and what you have to remember is that the rooms are so massive that a "classic 6" in the Dakota is equivalent to about a 10 room apartment on Park. And at least the two apartments I've been in have WBFs in the master bedroom. Ridiculously high ceilings, wood paneling, just so incredibly gorgeous beyond belief. There's really nothing like it.

I'm pretty sure Tony Randall lived in the Beresford. Almost positive.

Diane Keaton (who also got turned down from The River House, though I'm surprised she would have wanted to live there), left the San Remo for LA back in the early 90s. But yes she did try to get Madonna in. The Ronson family used to live in the San Remo in an absolutely gorgeous apt - not in the towers but still fabulous.

The Prasada and the Kenilworth also great. Majestic has always been considered top bit I've never cared for it. Too art deco for my taste.

The Langham is the formerly rent controlled place Mia F and Carly Simon used to live. Now those same apts rent for about 40k/month.

Des Aritiste Building is another one of my favorites, as is that whole 67th street block between CPW and Columbus - one of the best blocks in the city if you ask me and all of those buildings have amazing, gothic architecture.

And then of course some top buildings on the museum blocks too: 15 W 81st 44 W 77th

Eldorado considered top too with high celebrity quotient (Babs) but...for the West Side it's kind of high up for my taste. East Side (West of Lex anyway) 92/93rd is a very different story.

And then of course you have that East 79th Street walkup complex Faye Dunaway lived in before she was kicked out...so we mustn't forget about that. (even if she had the worst money managers in the world, I still dont get how she ended up in a place like that).

I'd kill to live in the San Remo.

I predict Demi Moore will OD there eventually. She owns one of the triplex turreted penthouses, and Bono owns the other. Surely she can hardly afford it anymore.

the Ding-Dong Lodge

R97, fairly recently I sold an apartment that I owned at 417 Park. I can assure you that it is not an all cash building. And Marty Bregman's presence does nothing to improve the place. His wife, incidentally, had a penchant for terrorizing the staff.

[R97] How does UN Plaza rate? (original 1966 buildings- 867-870)

The UN Plaza is practically in Queens. Some nice features, superb views (which one does get in Queens -- or even Fort Lee), but the HVAC system is housed in what winds up being three foot deep windowsills, about eighteen inches high, running the entire width of the outside walls.

Early tenants like the Johnny Carsons and Truman Capotes hardly bespeak a truly top notch building.

r45 Sally Field also lives at 2 Horatio. It's rumored Kate Smith had the penthouse, though anyone in the building who'd remember has died.

Kate Smith may or may not have had the penthouse on Horatio, but that is not where she lived. She lived atop that weird hotel all the way West on 42nd -- so far West that I no longer remember whether it's still owned by the Chinese government as a mission to the UN. She explained that she enjoyed watching the ships travelling between NYC and Europe. She, however, had no interest in making the journey herself.

Lucky thing for the other passengers, I suppose.

Buy a house for fucks sake.

I lived in the Dakota once for a short time. A friend of mine owns two units, one that is basically an alcove studio which was a servants room up on the 9th floor. He occupies a 2bedroom/2 bath on the 6th floor. The Dakota is great in that its very private. The apartments are laid out in quadrants, with an elevator in each corner and the apartments branching off from a small shared foyer. Most of the apartments have private foyers also, where the doors are set off and sometimes have a double door entry with solid wood doors to the hall and glass doors to the entry to the apartments.

His apartment is oddly laid out. With the kitchen being far from the main rooms. It also doesn't have quite the level of ornamentation that some of the Dakota apartments. I think these were the "cheaper" units when the Dakota was built. I learned quite a bit about the history when I was there. The lower units were considered better, as elevators were an unproven technology then. On the 5th floor (I think), is an apartment that was built for the owner. It has something like a 60' x 40' living room. He wanted to popularize higher floor living but died before the building was completed. His 14 year old nephew inherited it but never occupied the apartment.

My friend has lived there since it was a rental and he said that back then it was a much friendlier building. He told me they used to have a yearly potluck where all the residents would bring dishes. He was there the night John Lennon was assassinated and heard the shots. He told me that basically the Lennon's ended up there because they went down Central Park West and the Dakota was the first building that had a vacancy with an apartment of the size they were seeking.

Now, its a very quiet, secretive place. There are many non-residents who maintain apartments there. The maintenance fees are ungodly expensive and the co-op imposes a ton of regulations. Units that face the back (which was originally a garden and croquet courts) now look onto the side of the Mayfair Tower. They have NO view whatsoever. Also basically none of the units have any sort of outdoor space. No terraces or balconies. Park view apartments rarely come to market. You're basically buying the name and some nice woodwork.

Personally, I'd prefer River House or the Ansonia, although I like the UWS more for accessibility. Dakota definitely is a conversation spurrer (I remember someone asking me if they had fireplaces in the kitchen and bathrooms). 740 Park Avenue has cache but is sort of plain. The Apthorp has some lovely units and has recently gone Condo. The Ansonia has beautiful details, such as round dining rooms or entryways and has gorgeous wide halls. Its suffered some rough patches along the way but for bang for your buck, provides Dakota details at a better price.

The Cherry Netherlands

740's ornamentation is plain, R107, but the apartments tend to be incredibly spacious, and include amenities that are lacking in the pre-Spanish-American-War apartments like the Dakota (or the Osborne or the Dorilton or the Ansonia), such as ample closet space.

Kate Smith lived at the Sheraton Motor Inn at 42nd Street on the Hudson.

You forgot about me, r103!

R108, what are the Cherry Netherlands? Virgin forests in Holland?

R109 yeah each room is literally the size of a banquet hall. And they all have those massive, dramatic circular staircases. I would hardly call it plain - compared to what.

The only thing I can say is that, the couple of apartments I have been in, I have never cared for the owner's decor. Too much marble for my taste.

Regarding the Dakota, it's true, I have been to apartments only on low floors. The not so classic 6, for example, was on the second floor.

Its the Sherry-Netherland, a block away from the Pierre on 5th Avenue.

Its an apartment/hotel.

The second floor the Dakota was primarily full-service "hotel" rooms available to the residents when they were built for guests to reside in. I think it was possibly 8 units in the 4 corners with larger apartments in the middle.

R114 Ali MacGraw used to live there.

[R107] here. There was an apartment on the ground floor on the CPW/72nd street corner that stretched from the entry on 72nd to was occupied for almost 100 years by the same woman. She passed away sometime in the late 1960's. The apartment had never been renovated until then and consisted of 17 (main) rooms. I believe that apartment was split up into 3 units when the building went co-op.

As far as the AC unit. I think thats one of Yoko's studios. Lots of Dakota apartments don't have central AC. There's no possible way to add it to the lower units. The walls there are solid and thick, they tend to remain fairly cool in the summer.

Sherry Nehterland is posh to the maxz

But what it is not is cherry.

Nothing particularly special about the San Remo. Wonder why you'd kill to live there?

The San Remo has nice, albeit bourgeois, apartments, very large, gracious, good views (to the east, some are nice and open to the west). Bit north -- the winters can be brutal above Columbus Circle.

What could "bourgeois" possibly mean in that context, r21? The San Remo apartments are far, far, far financially beyond the reach of the bourgeois.

Sorry--meant "the bourgeoisie," not "the bourgeois"

Brooke Astor lived in a duplex on the 15th and 16th floors of 778 Park Avenue. Vera Wang also lived in this building before moving to 740 Park Ave.

Marella Agnelli was one of Truman Capote's high society friends. She and her late husband lived for decades in a duplex on the 17th and 18th floors of 770 Park Avenue. The apartment had 15 rooms and two terraces and sold for $25 million in 2003. The building was designed by Rosario Candela and completed in 1930.

1040 Fifth Avenue, of course.

Joan Fontaine had an apartment in 160 e 72 for years.

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One of the Koch brothers was the first owner after Jackie O.

Ugh, R128. He probably took a wicked shit in each room, then sold it.

Chuck Shumer took money from Koch. They showed chucks thank you letter on he news.

What about good 'ol East 68th St? It was good enough for me and Ricky.

R122, the prices are high today, but the aesthetic and social aspirations of the initial tenants were strictly middle class.

R126 Jamie Niven lived there too.

Oddly enough, I think Whoopi Goldberg lives in one of the top prewar UES co-ops. I think it may be 141 East 72nd.

33 East 70th is another top one.

I honestly don't get why 2 Horatio is so desirable. Sally Field's apartment is nice enough, but there are a lot of apartments in the building - a lot of small ones - and many aren't renovated. Considering their prices and that for downtown it is a pretty strict co-op board, I would think my money best spent elsewhere (if I had it). Many buildings in the village, not to mention TriBeCa /Chelsea/Meatpaking/Gramercy, that I prefer for comparable prices.

770 Park Ave. and 778 Park Ave. don't look too bad but if you look at the neighbouring buildings on Google street view, this whole stretch of Park Avenue is very ugly - big, hulking, graceless buildings of dark brick. The apartment buildings are so incredibly plain, no ornamentation. I'm not saying they should be gaudy like a Vegas casino, but the architects went too far to the opposite extreme. They look like high rise factories or warehouses. This is definitive proof of the horrible taste of New York old money WASPs. The upscale neighbourhoods of London and Paris are way more attractive. At least the apartment buildings on Fifth Avenue are often built of light coloured limestone, so they look a bit more attractive.

Can someone explain the difference between a condo and a co-op ?

Why is one better than the other ?

Does anyone know what apartment building Barbara Walters lives in ?

It's been mention many many times on The View as being a really great place. The other hosts always speak about it with great envy.

I think that in New York, co-ops are more prestigious than condos. I believe anyone can buy a condo as long as they have the money. Many of New York's prestige buildings are co-ops, ie. the present residents get to vote if they will let you buy an apartment in their building. They often don't want famous actors or musicians because they don't want the paparazzi camped out in front of the building. They don't want businessmen with questionable ethics, and so on.

R137, you're partially right. In a coop, the admissions process is generally left to a committee, usually a subcommittee of the board. The other shareholders do not vote directly. Some of the more pretentious condos today have similar screening procedures.

The other major difference, of course, is that in a coop one owns shares of the corporation that owns the apartment, which the shareholder then rents from the corporation of which he owns a piece. This gives the building more control over what is done to the individual units, since the corporation still owns all of them. In a condo, one owns the actual space, and all the parts of the building within it. The condo organization might still have restrictions about what can be done to the walls, but it does not own them.

I agree r134, Park Ave. is quite unattractive. Fifth or CPW is much more beautiful, but will always be stuck with the label of arriviste.

Clearly here are very few New Yorkers posting on this board. the San Remo is beautiful and the apartments are brilliantly laid out, even the smaller units. The guy who bought Jackie O's apartment from David Koch is a very philanthropic and gay friendly billionaire with superb taste named Glenn Dubin. Barbara Walters lived at 944 Fifth. 2 Horatio is a nothing Bing and Bing conversion in a cool location. i don't think you realize how hard it is to get into a good building in New York. I know someone with at least one hundred million dollars, liquid with a nice if not spectacular family tree. He tried to buy an apartment at 740 Park for around twenty million. He was told don't even bother. A quarter of a billion, or 10 times the purchase price is the minimum number there.

"the winters can be brutal above Columbus Circle" Huh? I have lived in NYC all my life (60 years) and no such thing has ever occurred to me. I live above Columbus Circle as well, on the West Side. Have several friends in he San Remo as well. This thread has some interesting and accurate information and as always a bunch of horseshit like the quote above.

R140

I am dumbstruck that someone with $100 million liquid could not be allowed to buy an apartment.

Fuck!

If I had the money I'd rather buy my own brownstone then live in a building, however exclusive, and deal with other people every day (in the hallways and elevators).

R143 but then you're also responsible for your own packages, shoveling, plumbing, and everything else that goes wrong in a house. As a native New Yorker, I don't realize How dependent I am on all those things until I go somewhere else.

R141, even at 60, you are too young for senility, so the only explanation is stupidity. The Columbus Circle line is obviously a joke. NYers might be snobs about neighborhoods, but no one actually thinks that the temperate zone ends at Central Park South.

The View showed parts of Bab's place a few years ago. I do remember the foyer, with a huge staircase on the right side, and a larger than life painting of Babs on the wall by the drawing room. She used to brag that all she had to do was walk across Central Park to get to the studio.

Annie Leibovitz buys in Brentmore for $11.25M, even though she's still broke.

R147 it's a nice life when THAT is considered downsizing. REAL downsizing is going from the El Dorado to those tenements on East 79th and then being evicted from there (Faye Dunaway.)

Growing up, nearly all celebrities lived on the UWS. I was trying to think the other day of when the mass celeb migration downtown (and Gramercy and Chelsea) began. I guess late 90s?

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This is a bit off topic but if you look at Google street view, East 63rd Street between Fifth Ave. and Madison Ave. has some attractive historic townhouses, especially the north side of the street (eg. No. 5, No. 7). Another attractive block is East 70th Street between Park and Lexington.

Architecturaly speaking, them most beautiful block in New for is east 91st St. from fifth Ave to Madison. the NYT just did a story. It contains the most spectacular mansions ever built in New York. the Carnegie, Kahn, Burden Houses are spectacular.

r151, my mom had an apartment at 26 e 91st which she kept even after she was married. We used to shuttle b/t Boston and NYC most weeks (I was in grade school). I would play in the backyard of what is now the Cooper Hewitt (and was then the Columbia school of social work)while she took classes. All of the business owners along Madison knew the kids in the neighborhood and looked after us during the day. It was a great neighborhood.

I went back to the building in the late '70s to visit my mom's friend and Alec Baldwin answered the door. He was subletting a room there.

Edie Sedgwick, one of Andy Warhol's friends, moved into her grandmother's fourteen room apartment at 740 Park Avenue on her 21st birthday.

Supposedly, Barbra Streisand, Barbara Walters and Joan Crawford were turned down by the co-op board at 740 Park Avenue because of their celebrity.

18 Gramercy Park South

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Tom Wolfe wrote an article on this topic in Esquire magazine in 1985. In his opinion, there were only 42 Good Buildings in New York, ie. prestigious cooperative apartment houses. I think all the buildings on his list were built before the 1940's. They probably are all located either on a very wide street, or face a park or the East River. He leaves out the buildings on Central Park West, including the Dakota. He also leaves out 40 Fifth Avenue. His list is also included in Stephen Gaines book "The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan". I don't know if all these buildings are as prestigious now as they were thirty years ago. Many of them have already been mentioned. Here's the list:

1 Beekman Place - John D. Rockefeller III and A & P heir Huntington Hartford lived here; also Prince Aly Khan, who was married to Rita Hayworth

10 Gracie Square - Gloria Vanderbilt lived here

1 East End Avenue

120 East End Avenue

550 Park Avenue

555 Park

635 Park

640 Park

720 Park

730 Park

740 Park

765-75 Park

770 Park - Marella Agnelli lived here, who was married to the president of Fiat

778 Park - Brooke Astor lived here

812 Park

810 Fifth Avenue

820 Fifth

825 Fifth

834 Fifth

953 Fifth

960 Fifth

998 Fifth

1020 Fifth

1030 Fifth

1040 Fifth

River House - 435 East 52nd Street

4 East 66th Street

131-5 East 66th Street

2 East 70th Street

4 East 72nd Street

19 East 72nd Street

36 East 72nd Street

117 East 72nd Street

160 East 72nd Street

50 East 77th Street

21 East 79th Street

39 East 79th Street

66 East 79th Street

79 East 79th Street

25 Sutton Place North

One Sutton Place South - socialite C.Z. Guest used to live in the penthouse; designer Bill Blass and actress Sigourney Weaver also lived here

I am blown away by this thread because the building my ex-husband's parents love in is on nearly everyone's list! I know very little about Manhattan other than what the typical visitor sees over 50 years and perhaps 12 visits. I had no idea their place was considered so posh. Perhaps I should have stuck with him after all, but then again I was non too welcome into the family. I will always be remembered as that southern shiksa who nearly ruined their little Stuey's life.

Very true, r14. My voice teacher (who died of AIDS) lived in The Ansonia.

Even though it wasn't all renovated then, the architecture and the details and the high ceilings still made it beautiful. Every room was very grand.

After my lesson my mom would usually take me to The Natural Source for this new thing called Frozen Yogurt.

R157 of course Wolfe includes his own building in there, but of course.

Social climbing dandy that he is,

What about us, what are we, chopped liver? One Beekman Place

We love chopped liver! The Majestic, the San Remo, The Beresford, The Eldorado, 15 West 81st St., The Normandy, and The Dakota

We call it pate. 895 Park Avenue

[quote] I had no idea their place was considered so posh. by: 1040 Fifth Ave. in law in 1984-88

R158 had no idea that a building on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park and counting Jackie Onassis as one of the residents was "so posh?"

What the fuck does she consider "posh?"

I agree 164. Little Stuey is better off well rid of her! Indeed, bien sur!

People who say "posh" usually aren't.

R161, 1 Beekman Place is the first building I mention.

Here's an apartment at the San Remo

Co-ops were intended to keep out Jews, that's why they were started. Far from wanting to keep out businessmen with questionable ethics, there is not one which would turn down a mafioso, unless of course he were Jewish.

San Remo looks like it was built by Stalin.

Huntington Hartford, the A & P heir from One Beekman Place - what a pretentious name. Naming your kid " Apple" seems almost reasonable in comparison.

Yes, R160, I noticed Tom Wolfe included his own building, 21 East 79th Street, in the list, although I didn't know where he lived until I read R97 in this thread. Making these kind of lists is always arbitrary. I'm sure everyone agrees on the very top buildings but he could easily have included 50 buildings instead of 42. I like the exterior of 820 Fifth Avenue more than Wolfe's building.

R172 Emilia Saint Amand lives at 820, which her gay son will remind to every chance he gets - if not in person, then on his FB posts. But yes, the apartments are massive and grand and pretty unreal even to this jaded New Yorker's eyes.

66 Rast 79th is also a curious choice. I mean, it's perfectly nice, but most of the apartments aren't even more then 6/7 rooms, and the financing isn't that strict either. That's where Tinsley and Topper Mortimer lived before their divorce (after years of living in a Glenwood rental in the 30s).

Back to someone who mentioned the Pavillion - obviously, it doesn't belong in this discussion, but let me tell you, considering what rents are now, I've seen apartments for so much more, in worse areas, not nearly as big or nice (Pavillion apts are all renovated now), some not even full service, that if I were moving right now I would snatch one of those up - its a veritable bargain. Plus no fee! But they go very quickly.

Glenwood (probably because they are so cheap for NYC) are huge sticklers for credit though so your credit has to be totally flawless to get in. Unless you havea guarantor (with even better credit) or pay the whole year up front.

My father (who always lived in condos or coops) would have killed to get into one of those buildings (The Stratford especially) because he could have saved so much money. But we always had a ton of expenses so our credit was never great.

That San Remo apt is hideous. I like modern liner rooms and furnishing. Also don't all older buildings, no matter how expensive have an insect/rodent problem?

Dear 169. I hope for the sake of your loved ones you are not as stupid and bigoted as you sound. Nearly all of the buildings of the 42 listed have significant Jewish populations. Most coops are rental building that converted to coop ownership as a way for the owner to escape the rent control laws which caused many of the greatest buildings to fall into disrepair. I remember hearing that the Beresford, The San Remo and 15 West 81st were sold for almost nothing above the mortgages because the rent control regulations caused the owners of those buildings to lose a ton of money each year. The only way to make any money was to convert them.

R170, the tiered Beaux-Arts style of skyscraper, like the San Remo, first started in America and was adopted by the Soviets. Stalin admired buildings like the Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street in New York and wanted to build skyscrapers in the same style in Moscow.

I wouldn't mind living in the former Berwind mansion, 828 Fifth Avenue at 64th Street.

I enjoy looking at old photographs of William A. Clark's gaudy, ornate mansion at 952 Fifth Avenue at 77th Street. It was demolished in 1925.

987 Fifth Avenue.

I like the version of Great Expectations with Anne Bancroft, Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow. I'd love to know which building was used for the interior of Bancroft's New York mansion.

For a building far East 320 East 72nd has always been a top building. 340 is up there, too. 325 is also a good building with cool windows, and there are also two really nice condos on that block.

Actually East 72nd is pretty much good all the way. As I'm sure many of you know, the further up you go, the closer to the park you have to go to stay nice. So, say 96th and above, it's 5th and that's it,

R175, I think you missed the point R169 was making. He wasn't commenting on why they were converting from rentals, it's the fact they chose to be coops (which can restrict buyers), rather than condos (which can't).

No 181, he was being an anti semitic douchebag. And he probably lives in a shitty little apartment that needs a paint job and has books stacked all over the floor in an attempt to be chic but is more likely because he is a hoarder. Condo's didn't really become common in New York until the 70's.The first condo building of any prestige was The Olympic Tower built by Aristotle Onassis which enabled his euro friends to buy anonymously.

R182 also worth noting that a good number of co-ops that are considered prestigious today even if not quite first rung, were converted in the 80s (usually early 80s). 1045 Park is one.

I remember bits and pieces of Michael Gross's book, especially this little nugget: that 740 duplexes were selling for 200/250k in '79. My father - ever the wise investor - bought a house in the burbs in '78 for 400K. An obscene price back then.We moved back to NY four years later, and while the value of our house didn't increase (plus we hada big mortgage, with double digit interest rates then), those same apartments had shot up to between one and two million. Ugh - if only had not bought that house...which even now isn't worth more then about 2.5 mil. maybe we wouldn't have gotten into 740, but we easily could have gotten like a nine room in a building level just below that - or better yet a townhouse. Ah, woulda, coulda shoulda.

I'll also never understand what makes certain white brick co-ops - like the Imperial House - so much more exclusive then ...well, your generic white brick co-op. I mean, if you have the impeccable financials to pass a rigorous board, why would you choose The Imperial House and not just go to a prewar (or, going, the other way, a brand new, top shelf condo)?

Financials are just a part of being approved into any NYC co-op building. When it comes to the "White Glove" buildings of the Upper East and West Sides, Sutton Place and a few other areas of Manhattan you can have more money than God and still be rejected.

More to the point a co-op board can take however long it wishes to make that decision and is not required legally to give any reason for declining. While various federal and NYS/NYC anti-discrimination laws do apply to co-ops good luck trying to win a lawsuit on that basis. Bringing a case in court is one thing, proving it is another.

Condominium buildings were not possible legally in NYS until 1964 when laws were changed/enacted to allow such form of ownership. When you consider co-op buildings began in the 1920's or by some accounts late 1800's that gives them a huge lead over condos and explains why until recently the former is more common than the latter.

In any event many are tiring of the intrusive board approval process for co-op buildings and even condos for that matter and purchasing townhouses/mansions for use as private residences.

From the Lower East and West Sides up to and through Harlem in Manhattan along with a good part of Brooklyn townhouses are in *hot* demand and commanding record prices. Even in such no man's lands such as Yorkville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill and so forth brownstones are going for dear money.

People want privacy and the ability to do in or what they want with property without having to worry about what "the board" has to say. Former mayor Bloomberg lived in a townhouse and is currently renovating another huge French Chateau style mansion. NPH moved his family from a condo downtown to a brownstone in Harlem and so it goes.

R184 it's gotten a lot more money based in the last two decades. Actually, the financials have gotten stricter and the prices have skyrocketed. So typically, the only people who meet these increasingly insane requirements are...the kind of people co-ops have historically not wanted. But for the most part they have relented.

When they don't, you have places like the River House, who keep dropping the prices on their big sales because the types of people "they want" haven't met the requirements. Very soon they are going to make a decision of which is more important to them - the financials or upholding their "social" preferences. Like with most buildings - yes even the whitest glove of co-ops, I'm sure money will eventually win out. It always does.

Look who is moving on up to the East Side!

Obviously one co-op board has no problems with actresses living in their building.

The Dorilton is beautiful on the outside, but on the inside the apartments don't look like anything special.

This is way off topic but I didn't want to start a separate thread. I just read about Hélène Pastor in "Vanity Fair". She was the richest woman in Monaco. Her family made billions from real estate. She lived in the Trocadero apartment building in Monte Carlo. Her daughter lived in the penthouse of the Schuylkill building. You can google images of these two buildings.

I find it a bit too busy on the outside r187

.

502 Park Avenue - the home (or former home) of Tammy Cruise.

Oops. Just figured out 502 Park Avenue is a Trump property. That makes it vulgar nouveau riche.

I would think the apartments at the Sherry Netherland are prestigious.

1 Beekman Place 10 Gracie Square 1 East End Avenue 120 East End Avenue 550 Park Avenue 555 Park 635 Park 640 Park 720 Park 730 Park 740 Park 765-75 Park 770 Park 778 Park 812 Park 810 Fifth Avenue 820 Fifth 825 Fifth 834 Fifth 953 Fifth 960 Fifth 998 Fifth 1020 Fifth 1030 Fifth 1040 Fifth River House — 435 East 52nd Street 4 East 66th Street 131-5 East 66th 2 East 70th Street 4 East 72nd Street 19 East 72nd 36 East 72nd 117 East 72nd 160 East 72nd 50 East 77th Street 21 East 79th Street 39 East 79th 66 East 79th 79 East 79th 25 Sutton Place North One Sutton Place South

1 Beekman Place

10 Gracie Square

1 East End Avenue

120 East End Avenue

550 Park Avenue

555 Park

635 Park

640 Park

720 Park

730 Park

740 Park

765-75 Park

770 Park

778 Park

812 Park

810 Fifth Avenue

820 Fifth

825 Fifth

834 Fifth

953 Fifth

960 Fifth

998 Fifth

1020 Fifth

1030 Fifth

1040 Fifth

River House — 435 East 52nd Street

4 East 66th Street

131-5 East 66th

2 East 70th Street

4 East 72nd Street

19 East 72nd

36 East 72nd

117 East 72nd

160 East 72nd

50 East 77th Street

21 East 79th Street

39 East 79th

66 East 79th

79 East 79th

25 Sutton Place North

One Sutton Place South

Thanks for repeating R157.

It's all a trade-off.

On Park, the apartments are enormous though it's a wide-but-noisy street with no views

Fifth has views, but tourists jam the sidewalks and there are no stores nearby (sometimes you just want to run out yourself and not bother the maid.)

CPW also has views and big apartments, but if you're in finance and part of a certain circle, you won't know anyone who lives there.

DLers, who are obsessed with the wealthy often forget that most rich people want nothing to do with that world, even if they work in finance and went to all the right schools. They'll buy townhouses or on the West Side or downtown or even Brooklyn or the suburbs, because going to the Met Gala is up there with removing their fingernails with a butter knife on the list of things they'd want to do.

Thanks for the interesting comments, R196.

The board that approved Debra Messing at R186 is in a building that is architecturally notable, but socially negligible.. There is only a doorman on duty part of the day and he doesn't even wear a uniform, gloves, or a hat. There is a superintendent, but no porters or cleaners on staff.

The Campanile, 450 East 52bd Street, where Greta Garbo had an apartment for 40 years.

That would be "450 East 52nd Street"

The whole idea of the “right” coop seems to be fading away as with the importance of old money and the Social Register. It’s not the 1980s anymore. New money like tech, Bloomberg, etc aren’t as enchanted by being “accepted”. An architecturally sophisticated building in the High Line, West Village TriBeCa area is where people want to be - or at least is equally attractive. Fifth and Park will always be prestigious and valuable - but they are no longer a must-have for the rich. Not sure what type of person still seeks out the “right” coop - but in general I think it’s a dated concept.

R157, You left off 2 East 67th, one of the best. Leonard Lauder, The Safras, Tisches, Arthur Carter, Ton of billionaires live there. R136. Barbara Walters lives on the 6th floor of 944 Fifth. It is a full floor apartment but does not have a staircase. Probably at least a $40,000,000 apartment today.

If they let Rupert Murdoch into 834 Fifth Avenue, R201, that means they're not at all particular, just as long as you're really rich.

907 Fifth Avenue - reclusive heiress Huguette Clark owned apartments on the 8th and 12th floor but she didn't live there for decades. She preferred to live at Doctors Hospital and Beth Israel Medical Center, even though she also had houses in Santa Barbara and New Canaan CT.

Huguette Clark's childhood home, a gaudy mansion at 962 Fifth Avenue and 77th Street, which was demolished in 1927.

Nothing - no buildings at all - on the West Side: sadly, what seems to make a building good or bad has a lot to do with the religion/heritage of its inhabitants and never mind that if it is a good building, it was more than likely designed by Rosario Candela (Italian immigrant) or Emory Roth (Hungarian Jew) or developed by a Catholic (James Lee, Jackie Kennedy's gradfather) or worse, an Italian Catolic (Paterno Brothers, the contractors.)

CPW, despite the beauty and style of some of its buildings (the Beresford, San Remo, Eldorado, Century, etc.) was long considered declasse and or verbotten because the buildings (most built and opened at the start of the Great Depression) were first rentals in buildings that rented to (gasp!) Jews, actors, and (pearl clutch!!) ethnic minorities. Central Park South was both home to hotels (Hampshire House, Essex House, Plaza, St. Moritz (now the Ritz Carlton) and buildings with much smaller (thus less desirable) units, many of which were home to the mistresses of men who lived elsewhere.

Others have listed a number of good buildings, but to my mind, 1040 Fifth and 740 Park are certainly among the top two old-line buildings in NYC. The River House is not what it once was and more and more new buildings are being built or operated as condominiums - too many NYC apartments go to foreign buyers who do not wish, let alone desire, to make their financials available to a co-op board's members.

The West Side was ignored because the people who considered themselves members of high society were bankers and industrialists living on the Upper East Side. They didn't consider artists, musicians, actors, etc. their equals, no matter how rich they were.

I think the best place to live in New York now is 220 Central Park South. The new billionaires don’t give a shit about TW’s good buildings; after all, why would you want to live where you’re not welcomed ?

What about 15 Central Park West, R208?

I wouldn't mind living at One Sutton Place, though I don't like the taste of the previous owner.

R209. 220 CPS is the new 15 CPW. Same architect but bigger with better views. I’d take 220 CPS over 740 Park for the views alone.

[quote]Barbara Walters lives on the 6th floor of 944 Fifth.

If you call that living.

[quote]I think the best place to live in New York now is 220 Central Park South. The new billionaires don’t give a shit about TW’s good buildings; after all, why would you want to live where you’re not welcomed ?

I read about some rich guy who really wanted to try to get into one of the prestigious older buildings like 834 Fifth Avenue or 740 Park Avenue and then he found out he was perfectly happy living in a condo in the Time Warner Center.

Just my opinion, but the gem of NYC addresses is the Gainsborough Studios on CPS. It's really not comfortable living for more than 1 person, but what a great spot. I tend to think of it as NYC's answer to Albany in London.

I'd worked for the person who'd owned the penthouse at 200 West 86th Street, all of it.

R214. The Gainsborough is stunning. Nothing like a double height living room overlooking Central Park! Grand but manageable.

OP, your friend is a clueless fat dumb ho.

If you have to ask...

Google is your friend.

I think Gloria Vanderbilt was living at 30 Beekman Place. Does that make it prestigious or was she relatively poor?