Tasteful Friends: Duplex penthouse at the Dakota

I don't recommend it.

I had a friend at school whose family had a basement apartment at the Dakota. I always thought that was so strange.

I'd add color to the walls to give them some flav-uh.

The neighbors chanting at night can get very eerie.

Do you like Yoko's singing?

Honestly? I wouldn't do anything. I think it's perfect.

But I'd probably not strike up conversations with random young women in the basement laundry. And I'd avoid any nosy, eccentric old neighbors.

[quote]The neighbors chanting at night can get very eerie.

That reminds me, I've got to go nail up that closet to the adjoining apartment.

Maybe Yoko can buy it?

Though, avoiding the chanting of eccentric old neighbors may be impossible given that Yoko Ono owns several units in the building.

This building looks so sinister that Rosemary's Baby doesn't sound so much like fiction once you look at it. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep in the Dakota.

I like it a lot, so bright and airy. A big contrast to the otherwise dreary Dakota

Better photos at link.

I grew up down the block. Those "penthouse" apartments were originally servant's quarters in the "attic" of the building when it was built 125+ years ago

It's a great apartment, though $7MM for what is essentially a one bedroom with great entertaining space is a lot.

The Dakota is dready and ominous, at least by appearance. I wouldn't buy that apartment. It feels like a make do crammed into available space.

Knew someone who lived there. There is no central air.

If you want an apartment of that style why in the world would you live in the Dakota? The building has a totally different interior aesthetic. This makes no sense to me.

I agree R15. I despise when someone buys a victorian and guts it to install a modern interior. They can call that a terrace,but it still looks like a roof !

For 1/7th of that, you can get a beautiful house in San Jose!

Hate it...they took all the good bones out of it

We already did this one.

^ We're still on the holiday rerun schedule

I'm mot a fan of most of it, but I fucking LOVE that second level den/library. I just wish it had a working fireplace. But $7 million? Not even for The Dakota.

Hire a voodoo priestess to come bless/exorcize whatever the fuck is oozing around that place.

Not sure how good the bones were in the servants quarters. A modern gloss may be an improvement. Need more pics. Kitchen and baths.

I’m surprised the co-op board approved replacing the roof with glass.

This is a joke, right?

Apologies - forgot to post link.

Seems like someone already bought it

I can’t look at that entrance and think of anything but John Lennon. What a downer every day.

I love it! So unlike most of the other units, and I like that it looks into the courtyard. Seems inexpensive for what it is too.

It smells like tanus root. Yuk! Pass....

"Do you like Yoko's singing?"

Oh, she's barking now.

Tannis root.

It would be a great apartment for a single person or couple with no kids, R27

R2 there are no apartments in the basement. Unless your friend's dad was the live in super...the basement is for storage, etc.

It's over-priced, even for this market. You're paying for the address only. The apartment was probably a gut of a 'storage unit' apartment, which a lot of the very wealthy have in these type of buildings (usually former maid's quarters).

I love the construction, but I would have to repaint the whole place to get rid of the vast majority of that white. Far too sterile.

I can confirm that those were indeed once servants quarters R52

The media room looks like a yurt.

I'd take Betty Bacall's old pad over this one.

Talk about needing an exorcism.

R17 Do you know the way?

This building is a co-op so you probably need Yoko’s permission to buy it. I think she’s majority owner there, so even if she’s not on the Board, I’m sure the other residents seek her approval.

I can't imagine have a white apartment in a building with lots of working fireplaces. especially on the top floor where all the fireplaces vent as in this place not to mention all the other working fireplaces in the neighborhood.

Avoid the Ten.

R4” good catch I bet it’s turned grey or yellow up close.

No washing machine? I'm not going down to that basement without Terry.

(seriously do these old luxury apartments have washer/dryers now? What do the people do if not? Laundry service? Maids go to laundromat?)

What's the cheapest price for a Dakota co-op?

[quote]Knew someone who lived there. There is no central air.

Fuck that! No way would I want to be several floors up in the summer with no central air! Window units just aren’t the same.

I’m surprised the co-op board allowed such a modern renovation that does not leave any of the original details.

Does Rex Reed still live there?

Co-op boards are a nightmare.

The building is a landmark but creepy.

The unit, as mentioned before, was servant quarters in the attic.

Nice terrace, but the apartment isn't much. No laundry & no central air.

You could do much better.

I'm surprised they were allowed to build those skylights into the roof. Isn't the Dakota a landmarked building?

It would be okay, but it's in New York, so that's a huge minus.

There's only one bathroom on the upper floor. Should have 2 bathrooms. The John Lennon murder wouldn't bother me. There is something Rosemary's Baby about the building. It does seem like a fortress, once you're inside.

Here's the DL thread about Rex Reed's Dakota apartment.

“Penthouse” is the wrong word for the top floors of this building. They are the attic.

I don't know, every time I have dinner with a friend who lives there all the food has a chalky undertaste.

It’s perfect. I’d love to perch up there like an owl at the top of the Dakota. Lennon-wise, I’d think more about his time living there than his death there. That’s the last place he and Paul hung out together.

All of them witches.

This unit does have central air. It has its own roof unit and compressor (check listing).

The upper level “boasts” a cabin-like bedroom

Cabin-like?

Not impressed horrid views, lack of color and style.

[quote]Cabin-like?

You can't stand fully upright and you get to experience some wonderful claustrophobia.

I can hear the Trench sisters chewing -

The only thing I like is this small room, with the walls and ceiling paneled in original Dakota doors.

I just listened to a Dakota audiobook for the second time. The book was written before Lennon's death. At the time the book was written, Wilbur Ross was co-op board president.

The hallways smelled of poppers and pot. There were so many gays that residents jokingly bragged, "some of the most distinguished homosexuals live in the building."

And there was an ongoing battle over what could be done with the stash of old doors, mantels and moldings collected in the basement. The battle was over whether they should stay in the basement being "saved" or installed in apartments of residents who wanted them.

I wish I could afford it and move out of Yoko's broom closet...

A NYC building that old, no matter how rich its tenants, would be crawling with roaches, large and small, mice and probably rats, not to mention bedbugs. No amount of money will get rid of them completely. Added that is one creepy looking building from the outside. And all that money and only 2 beds and baths, only an idiot would take them up on that deal.

The creeps who modernized the interior should have just moved into some new piece of shit condo building instead of ruining the unit in this magnificent 137 year old building.

Where exactly do I park the Maybach?

@r54, "It’s perfect. I’d love to perch up there like an owl at the top of the Dakota"

I'm sure you'd look lovely up there...

Servant's quarters.

Looks like 40% hallways and staircases.

Here’s a nice place just down the street.

Refitted attic storage as living space. I can keep my old, boxed up issues of PREMIERE magazine there.

[quote] I can keep my old, boxed up issues of PREMIERE magazine there.

The Dakota is more geared towards After Dark readers.

@r69, I'd rather throw myself off the roof of the Dakota

If I lived in this apartment, I would pretend that I am living in La Boheme.

I would have an out clause that would kick in if Yoko’s screeching can be heard in the unit.

How many people live in this enormous complex? Looks like a thousand.

I don't hate it in and of itself, but it seems a shame to have sleek modern interiors in the Dakota. At minimum, I'd put hardwood floors in the upstairs and a fair amount of furniture with bold-colored upholstery to counteract those expanses of white.

[quote]And there was an ongoing battle over what could be done with the stash of old doors, mantels and moldings collected in the basement. The battle was over whether they should stay in the basement being "saved" or installed in apartments of residents who wanted them.

Similar drama has been known to happen at this building, the Villa Riviera, which I once heard called "the Dakota of the west". There is an architectural salvage room in the basement with dozens and dozens of old doors, pieces of molding, and various other artifacts. If you're in the good graces of the Board and/or property manager, you can get in and rummage around to find things to use in your unit.

It has a similar cool yet creepy vibe in many ways. Over the decades, lots of adjacent units were combined and sometimes divided back up. Also the top floor which now people refer to as the "penthouse" (which has 2 units) was originally more like attic space connected to units on the 15th floor. They were all duplex units, but at some point the staircases all got sealed off and the space on the 16th floor combined to make 2 units and the units on the 15th floor just retained the space on that floor. When people on the 15th floor renovate, sometimes they stumble across the old staircases up to the 16th floor. There is one remaining unit with space on both the 15th and 16th floor, a 929 square foot unit with living space on 15 and the bedroom and 2nd bathroom on 16. There's a door in the bedroom that goes out into a secret passageway in the attic area and eventually emerges out into the hallway. There used to be tons of old treasures stashed in that passageway and nobody was sure who any of it belonged to.

R77, comparing the Dakota (love it or hate it) to a building in Long Beach, CA is horrific.

Hugely meh.

It's not just an ordinary building R78....it is a designated historic landmark and has a distinguished history. Long Beach, back in the 1920's-1930's, was a playground to the wealthy of LA. The building was briefly owned by Norma Talmadge of silent screen fame. It was the home to the first Miss Universe pageant.

Not everyone thinks something is special or better just because it's in New York. Stop trolling. That attitude is what's horrific.

R78, you've been told. Meow!

Friend of a friend who lived cross courtyard from Miss Bacall said she could be a mite bossy with the help. Her bellowing traveled apparently.

Long Beach? Can you imagine?

I agree with some posters that it’s so sterile looking. It has a modern art museum vibe— or an Apple store lounge area. So ridiculous in a Victorian era building complete with fucking gargoyles.

The building overall does have a creepy offbeat look to it— like the Munsters’ house.

R52 is correct. Penthouse is the wrong word. Must of these upper units become interesting by incorporating what was originally the servants quarters. The best example of this was Ward Bennett’s apartment.

And no you don’t have to listen to Yoko singing, she’s down on the 2nd floor.

R69 that's a nicer place inside, definitely better alue

The place OP posted - I love the building, hate the interior. I agree with R15/ R16, that interior just looks wrong in this building. I'd gut it and start again or at least make major alterations

Add me to the list of people who thinks that modern shit looks hideous in an old style building. There’s a difference between updating and making it look completely out of place.

Most importantly, does it have an open concept floor plan? We like to entertain, you know, and I like to be able to see the guests when I'm cooking and the children playing when the guests are not here. Stainless steel appliances? Double vanities? What kind of backsplash? Granite countertops?

Can’t handle the slanting walls.. the price seems nuts.

I liked Mrs. Gardenia's apt. before the remodel.

Someone or something with too much money will buy it sight unseen thanks to BEATLEMANIA

$7 million, $17 million, $70 million-- it's only money but BEATLEMANIA is eternal and priceless.

Lauren Bacall lost her first battle for central air. The second time around she ditched her khaki slacks and wore a red carpet gown to the landmark's preservation hearing. She won.

Being able to hop into a cab and say “Take me to The Dakota” is priceless.

The 1800s pics looks like it was in South Dakota- all that bare land.

No central air, no washer and dryer in the apartment, no fitness center. Fuck that shit. I'll get a condo downtown.

Does anyone know who the "contemporary painter" owner of this apartment is?

I love modern interiors, and I love mixing modern and old elements, but that apartment is too modern, even for me. If you're renting or buying in a historical building, I want to see the original floors, molding, fireplace, door handles, etc., combined with modern furniture.

This isn't 1960. I'm sure most NY cab drivers have no idea of the names of famous apartment buildings. They would need an actual address, not just "Take me to the Dakota."

@r93, good article...

"The building’s name, unsubstantiated lore has it, comes from the fact that the building was so far away from the city’s bustling downtown it might as well have been out West in the Dakotas."

Some years back I knew a guy who lived in a set of former servants' rooms at the top of the Dakota. The rooms were small and minimally renovated, and the only view of the park was from one tiny window. The water pressure was so bad that he had to install a pump and tank in order to have a functioning kitchen and bath. Still, it was the Dakota, and I am sure it is worth a fortune today

[quote]This isn't 1960. I'm sure most NY cab drivers have no idea of the names of famous apartment buildings. They would need an actual address, not just "Take me to the Dakota."

Don't fuck with the eldergays and their fantasies of mid-century Manhattan! It's still like that in 2022 and they'll cut a bitch who says otherwise!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame had a better living space.

"Where exactly do I park the Maybach? "

On the street between the Rolls and the Lambo

The old money residents had one complaint with the Lennons. They wore jeans in their limousines. Limousines and jeans were acceptable, but not at the same time.

The apartments don’t even have washers and dryers?? That’s ridiculous! I don’t give a damn how famous the building is. I am not paying millions to live in a place where I have to use a laundry room.

I love the place, and if I had millions to spend, I'd buy it in a second. I'd drop the modern, all white look and, bring it back to something more suitable for the building (like that room paneled with repurposed doors) and be very happy there. I like the angled ceilings and the odd little bits of leftover space used as rooms.

And R77, love the Villa Riviera as well. When my lottery ticket wins, the penthouse shall be my winter pied-à-terre!

Not for that listing price.

If you want to return it to its original look leave a bunch of boxed stacked up, unused broken furniture, a dress dummy, a bicycle with a missing wheel, drop cloth covered portraits of your great grandparents, a floor lamp with a damaged shade, and some mice and roaches.

I had an affair with a Vassar boy, yes boy, who lived in converted servants quarters on the roof of a grand 5th Avenue building. It was all very bohemian glamorous. Quite suitable for a handsome, riche bobo like him. A space the grandmother hardly thought about at all. It had that greenhouse artist studio garret feel. It was fabulous. And cost nothing.

This is SHITTY because it costs 7 million.

Who needs laundry when it was an honor to wash my unmentionables in the kitchen sink while enjoying a rich cup of coffee. It's decaffeinated so I can enjoy my sixth cup as much as my fist one. And the flava!

The maids handle the laundry, and they enjoy the opportunity to socialize in the basement.

Can you imagine having to undergo a co-op board interview presided over by Yoko Ono?

Yeah, I would just say that I don't believe Yoko broke up the Beatles and I'm in

I think it would take more than that. Like being able to hum all of Approximately Infinite Universe.

Is the laundry room like the creepy one we saw Rosemary's Baby? '

You do realize that people who would be buying apartments in the Dakota would mostly be in their 30s/40s, many of them from other countries, and have pretty much only a vague idea of who Yoko Ono is?

In that case, they are in for one hell of a surprise.

^ Maybe we could appoint you to tell them

Hi kids. Meet your new neighbor!

^ That's our Yoko, keeping the Dakota classy

When Mark David Chapman was asked why he shot John Lennon he said, "I didn't shoot John Lennon, I missed Yoko"

"As of late 2021, Ono is 88-years-old and still living in the same apartment building, The Dakota, where John was assassinated outside. The artist/musician has become extremely reclusive and hasn’t been seen in the public eye for some time, except for the very rare occasion when she leaves her New York home in her wheelchair.

According to the NY Post, Ono had approximately $700 million in assets in 2020, however, she’s been shedding them since 2017, selling multiple properties that she owned for decades. “Although Ono still owns more than 600 acres near the town of Franklin, NY, locals say it’s been ages since they saw her in the area where she used to vacation with Sean and groups of friends,” they reported."

People who are now 50 years old are too young to have experienced the Beatles and all the drama with Yoko Ono.

R43, it says right in the floor plans there is a washer/dryer area. And R14, in the floor plans there is a large section marked A/C, so clearly it's equipped for central air or some kind of A/C.

The architecture of the interior in this apartment was done by the owner many, many decades ago. Also, the apartment that was converted from being a central dining room when the building first opened, and is positioned directly above the entrance, is also very modern and loft-like, and has been since the 1960s.

I think it's a pretty fantastic place, and of course, it's presence within the Dakota is fantastic, and being the only one (or maybe one of two) with a large part of the roof as a private oasis adds to the overall space. Love it.

"A NYC building that old, no matter how rich its tenants, would be crawling with roaches, large and small, mice and probably rats, not to mention bedbugs."

Oh, my sides, R63!!! You think the age of a building brings bedbugs? Hunty, people bring all those things you mention, and they sure aren't in the Dakota.

For all those who claim this was once servants' quarters: no, it wasn't. The maids' room were on the 9th floor, which had been a long series of halls and small rooms. The 9th floor has the lowest ceilings in the building. This roof apartment was never maids' quarters.

"And no you don’t have to listen to Yoko singing, she’s down on the 2nd floor."

No, R84, she isn't. She has two apartments on the 7th floor--units 71 and 72. And all kidding aside, no one can hear anyone, as the walls in every apartment in the building had sand added into them when the building was built, which makes every unit soundproof.

R91, I read that she was advised to invite over and chat up, movie-star-glamour style, someone on the board--maybe the very top board member. She got the AC approval that way. I don't recall reading she was turned down a first time, but maybe.

Excuse me…I am 35 and well aware of Yoko Ono! Maybe Gen Z is different, but the Beatles haven’t faded that much, especially considering those of us 30-50 had parents who were young in the Beatle years.

Wonder if Sean will keep the apartments once Ono kicks.

Must not be very large- 7 million is not a lot for the Dakota.

The only thing stopping guests from tunneling over the side of the roof are those dainty railings? Seems extremely dangerous.

It's a hobbit burrow under the roof.

Carly Simon was too vain to pass the co-op board though I doubt her financials were strong enough to get in.

I could imagine chimney sweeps doing dance routines on that roof.

[quote] The apartments don’t even have washers and dryers?? That’s ridiculous!

It's not like any of the owners are schlepping down to the laundry room (if the building even has one) to wash their dirty drawers. Either their servants are doing that or all their laundry is picked up and returned by Jefferson's Cleaners.

Jefferson's Cleaners is on the East Side.

Yet again: there is a washer-dryer unit AND a central A/C unit in this apartment. If people looked at the floor plans, they would see that.

When Yoko is in the throes of dying no one will call 911 because they'll think it's performance art.

LOL @r139

Yoko and other fabulously wealthy people really drop millions on Dakota apartments, only to have window units? I simply cannot fathom how they can justify spending so much to live like that. Even Buckingham Palace, which is much older, has AC. The WH has AC. The Dakota has too much wealthy to be saddled with window units.

The old buildings are not what they used to be. People want new construction with all the modern amenities these days. There have been many articles on this.

No, R141, they don't have window units. Some do, but many of these enormous apartments have central A/C. As has been said.

r143, Ops photo showed tons of window units. Check it out. Why would only some of the apartments have AC and not others?

[quote] Why would only some of the apartments have AC and not others?

Because different people own them.

And, R144, because, as has been mentioned, some owners have installed central AC in their cavernous apartments. AND there's a fucking enormous A/C unit seen on the floor plans for this place, if one bothers to look.

Oh calm down bitch (r146). We still see AC units hanging out of windows as if this is some shitty building in the Bronx.

But from r145, shouldn't the co-op board have just done one major update to give everyone AC,, tear up walls, rather than a unit by unit, setup they appear to have in this building?

R147, you dense cunt, I said some still have window units. The entire building can't be equipped for central A/C. A lot of the apartments have been chopped up and some are even studios. The Dakota board isn't going to be tearing down walls in every unit. JFC.

This aren't rental units. Owners buy the apartments and any changes made are on them, and have to be approved by the board. The board doesn't make changes unilaterally, they only sign off on them.

Only on DL could a simple thread about an apartment listing turn into a histrionic flame war about air conditioning units.

Carry on, harpies. This round is to the DEATH!

Nobody is being HISTRIONIC. Stop EXAGGERATING.

WINDOW UNITS WINDOW UNITS WINDOW UNITS

Window units doesn't mean there is not central AC. The central AC may not be cooling those rooms with large ceilings, so the tenant puts in a window unit to amp up the cooling power.

[quote]The old buildings are not what they used to be.

The old buildings never were. Before the 1980s, the Dakota was just a place where a few famous people lived. It wasn't anything really special. The Ansonia was more interesting for having had a gay sex club in the basement. And the neighborhood really wasn't that desirable. (Shelley Winters even comments about it in one of her autobiographies).

The detail in the building wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The same craftsmanship can be found in many brownstones in the city. I have a friend who rents a room in an UWS brownstone. The staircase in the building is amazing because it has some beautiful carvings (a fruit motif) and there's a bronze cherub on the banister at the foot of the stairs.

[quote]The staircase in the building is amazing because it has some beautiful carvings (a fruit motif) and there's a bronze cherub on the banister at the foot of the stairs.

This is SUCH a fucking "things only Dlers care about" I can't stand it!

How do they clean all those windows?

And also can’t a burglar just push in the air conditioner units and get in the window?

That is my biggest objecting to window units, which can often be perfectly fine and cool a large area, but it’s the security issue that gets me.

The place looks like a stinky dump to me but I don’t have 7 million dollars so it’s kind of moot.

[quote]Nobody is being HISTRIONIC. Stop EXAGGERATING.

Well, I think you're UNDERREACTING!