123 Pierrepont Street

Two five-story-and-basement Greek Revival brownstones with a combined 50-foot frontage on Pierrepont Street, on a lot running roughly 50 by 105 feet, joined into a single cooperative and a single building record. The conversion specifications describe restoration of the 1849–50 exterior fabric under LPC review and a 1979–81 interior rebuild. They do not establish that all systems remain from that work; reconcile subsequent alterations, replacements and current condition. Documented from the conversion specifications:

• New elevator and steel stairways; new trash chute and intercom; fireproof apartment doors
• All-new Class A apartments — new partitions, brass plumbing, wiring, kitchens and tile bathrooms
• Electric heat-pump heating and cooling thermostatted apartment by apartment; separate electric meter per apartment; gas supplied for cooking
• Washer-dryer connections in every apartment; no common laundry room
• First-floor apartments built as duplexes with large recreation rooms and access to the private rear gardens
• Second-, third- and fourth-floor apartments built equal in size; three duplexes with roof terraces on the fifth
• Sound insulation between apartments and insulation at exterior walls and roof, per the 1979 specifications

The unit count requires care. The plan offered fourteen apartments on a total of just 200 shares — an unusually coarse allocation that makes the per-share maintenance figure a large number, so compare carrying costs on each apartment's actual monthly maintenance and a consistent room count rather than on per-share rates. Department of Finance records now carry eleven units. Combinations over four decades are the likely explanation, and the share book, not the plan, controls.

Pierrepont Street Tenants Corp. has run the building since the 1981 closing. The operating model is the small-building model: a part-time superintendent hired by the corporation, board-level administration rather than a management firm, with no central boiler, doorman or common laundry room described. Compare actual maintenance, separately metered electricity, equipment costs and assessments with specific alternatives before ranking total carrying costs. Audited financial statements held in The Roebling Research Library run from 2000 forward, supporting genuine trend analysis of maintenance growth, reserves and capital practice. Use those statements alongside current financials, reserves and the capital plan; no comparative availability claim is established.

Board-adopted house rules add a few local requirements: every shareholder must keep at least one fire extinguisher in the apartment, and garbage must go to the basement containers in secured plastic bags, with a fine schedule attached. Shareholders are responsible for damage they or their guests cause in the common areas. For an 1849–50 masonry pair, capital diligence should cover the façade and parapets, rear walls and gardens, roof and terraces. FISP applies to buildings higher than six stories, so the described five-story height does not establish a filing obligation; confirm DOB’s classification and the LPC permits required for the particular work — and, because the mechanical plant is unitized, heat-pump replacement cycles that fall largely on individual shareholders rather than on the corporation.

Subletting: Under the proprietary lease as filed, a sublet requires a board resolution, the written consent of a majority of directors, or the written consent or vote of shareholders holding at least 66⅔ percent of outstanding shares. Confirm current policy and any term limits directly.

Resale: Board approval in the standard cooperative form.

Flip tax: 1.5 percent of sale price per the cooperative's own lender disclosure, tracing to a per-share transfer fee adopted by board amendment in November 1984. Confirm the current rate and which side pays.

Financing: The 25 percent minimum equity documented in the plan came from the 1980 first-mortgage commitment, not a permanent board rule. Ask the board for the current maximum-financing standard in writing.

Pets: The house rules as filed require the Lessor's express written permission, revocable at any time, with dogs carried or leashed in public areas. Confirm current practice before you contract.

Ground and lease term: The land is owned, not leased. The proprietary lease runs to December 31, 2078.

Recent sales

Recent transfers at this building, from The Roebling Research Library. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.

Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2013): a median $978/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2023. Median listing discount 0.0% from the last ask.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-00238-0006). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.

Distinguish the rebuild from current condition. The Greek Revival houses received a documented 1979–81 gut rebuild, including apartments, elevator, plumbing, wiring and mechanicals. Obtain subsequent alteration and replacement records before assigning the original rebuild date to equipment present today.

The heat pumps are yours. All-electric heating and cooling metered per apartment means your utility bill carries what a boiler building would put in maintenance. Compare on True Monthly Carrying Cost and ask about the age of the unit's equipment.

Reconcile the share book. Fourteen apartments in the plan, eleven units in city records, 200 total shares. Your attorney should verify the specific unit's share allocation and any combination approvals.

In-unit laundry is the differentiator. Confirm the connections in the specific apartment and whether machines are installed — it is the feature that separates the building from its comparable set.

Tell the rescue story. Two 1849 Greek Revival houses, vacant twenty-five years, condemned as unsafe in 1973, rebuilt behind restored Landmarks-approved masonry in 1980. That is a documented narrative most Heights listings cannot match.

Lead with laundry, outdoor space and the elevator. Three amenities the district's small prewar co-ops rarely carry together. State them in the first line.

Price against the converted row-house set. Start with the Heights’ boutique and brownstone-conversion co-ops, and compare actual maintenance, assessments, utilities and included services when considering staffed Montague Street alternatives.

Put the financial record to work. More than two decades of audited statements is an underwriting asset with both boards and lenders. Assemble them before you go to market.

If you're considering 123 Pierrepont Street, also evaluate:

• 138 Pierrepont Street (The Brooklyn Trust Company Building) — the York & Sawyer bank conversion down the street; the marquee address on the block
• 35 Pierrepont Street — Mortimer E. Freehof's 1929 cooperative; the prewar elevator alternative on the same street
• 108 Pierrepont Street — small cooperative on the same street
• 20 Pierrepont Street — interwar elevator cooperative, converted 1983
• 1 Pierrepont Street — Caughey & Evans prewar cooperative at the Columbia Heights end
• 22 Monroe Place — cooperative around the corner, by the Appellate Division courthouse
• 130 Clinton Street — Freehof's 1925–26 office-to-residential cooperative on Clinton Street
• Love Lane Mews (9 College Place) — boutique conversion condominium; the ownership-form alternative at similar scale
• 87 Hicks Street — small converted walk-up cooperative; a comparison for staffing, management and actual carrying costs