120 Fourth Avenue (77 East 12th Street)
120 Fourth Avenue, New York, NY 10003
- Year built
- 1963
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 175
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Cats and dogs permitted (board approval applies)
- Subletting
- Permitted under board rules
120 Fourth Avenue — known to most buyers by its alternate address, 77 East 12th Street — is a substantial, well-run postwar cooperative two blocks from Union Square, at the meeting point of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and the Union Square/NoHo corridor. It is the kind of building that anchors a downtown buyer's search: full-service (24-hour doorman, full staff), market-rate, liberal on the policies co-op buyers care about, and priced sensibly for the value delivered.
The single most useful fact about this building is that it carries two addresses for the same structure. The co-op corporation is 77 E 12th Owners Inc., and most listings index under 77 East 12th Street, which is why a search for "120 Fourth Avenue" alone can come up thin. Buyers and sellers should run both addresses. And to be clear on category: despite its early-1960s vintage — which often signals a Mitchell-Lama or income-restricted building — this is a conventional, market-rate cooperative with an open resale market.
Architecture and unit composition
Built in 1963, 120 Fourth Avenue is a 20-story postwar elevator cooperative with 175 residential apartments above ground-floor commercial space. The building converted to cooperative ownership in 1985. Layouts run the postwar range from studios and one-bedrooms to two-bedroom/two-bath apartments, with the efficient, square room proportions and good light typical of the era's better Union Square-area buildings. The crowning amenity is a planted roof deck with open, near-360-degree views across downtown.
The building is run with a full complement of staff — a live-in superintendent supported by a handyman and porters — and offers a central laundry room (in-unit washer/dryers are permitted), a bike room, and storage. There is no gym, garage, or in-unit balcony stock.
Building operations
120 Fourth Avenue operates as a staffed, market-rate cooperative with a 24-hour doorman. As a co-op, monthly maintenance covers building operations, staff, and the underlying mortgage and real-estate taxes; the building's policies are liberal by co-op standards, with cats and dogs permitted (subject to board approval), subletting allowed under board rules, and pied-à-terre purchases considered.
As with any cooperative purchase, the board conducts a financial and personal review and an in-person interview, and approval is required. Specific board financial requirements — minimum down payment, post-closing liquidity, debt-to-income limits, any flip tax, and the exact terms of the sublet policy — are board-set and can change; confirm the current requirements at offer stage. The minimum down payment has been reported at 20%.
What to know if you’re buying
Search both addresses. This is 120 Fourth Avenue and 77 East 12th Street — the same building. Make sure your search captures both.
It's market-rate, not income-restricted. The 1963 vintage can read as Mitchell-Lama at a glance; this is a conventional cooperative with an open resale market and liberal policies.
Full service at a sensible price. A 24-hour doorman and full staff two blocks from Union Square, priced below many smaller boutique buildings on a per-room basis.
Confirm board financials at offer stage. Down-payment minimum, liquidity, any flip tax, and sublet terms are board-set; verify the current requirements before you commit.
Pets and subletting are accommodated. Cats and dogs are permitted with board approval, and subletting is allowed under board rules — unusually flexible for a co-op of this size.
What to know if you’re selling
Market under both addresses. List and syndicate under 77 East 12th Street as well as 120 Fourth Avenue so the apartment surfaces in every relevant search.
Lead with full service and the roof deck. The doorman, full staff, and planted roof deck with open views are the building's strongest selling points against unstaffed Village co-ops.
Prepare the buyer for the board. A clean, well-documented board package and a financially qualified buyer are the heart of a successful co-op sale. We manage the package and the board timeline.
Price to room-by-room comps. With 175 apartments, the building generates real comparable data; we price to the building's own recent trades adjusted for room count, floor, and condition.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 120 Fourth Avenue, also evaluate:
- 111 Fourth Avenue and 113 Fourth Avenue — Fourth Avenue co-ops a block south
- 15 Union Square West — landmark Union Square condominium for a tenure and price contrast
- 40 University Place — Village co-op a block west
- 2 Fifth Avenue and 30 Fifth Avenue — larger full-service Fifth Avenue co-ops nearby
The Roebling Team at Often marketed as 77 East 12th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Greenwich Village and the full-service cooperative market. We publish this profile because co-op buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — the dual-address reality, the market-rate status, the board's actual policies, and room-level pricing — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 120 Fourth Avenue, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point. We'll bring the full context this page provides plus the transactional specifics your situation requires — including board-package strategy and the pacing that fits your timeline.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Greenwich Village — read The Roebling Team Guide to Greenwich Village.
Get the full picture on this building.
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