140 East 83rd Street
140 East 83rd Street, New York, NY 10028
- Year built
- 1961
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 64
- Floors
- 16
- Amenities
- Renovated lobby and elevators, large basement laundry, bike room, rentable storage per brokerage records; the 1970 plan documents the basement's original program — laundry, bicycle and carriage room, workshop, and supply rooms
- Pets
- Permitted per brokerage records
- Financing
- 75 percent maximum per brokerage records
140 East 83rd Street is the kind of building that quietly outperforms its profile: a 1961 corner co-op at Lexington and 83rd whose economics, policies, and location all point the same direction — toward owner-occupants. The corporation owns its own Lexington Avenue retail and collects the rent, a structural cushion to maintenance that most residential-only peers lack. The sublet policy is among the strictest on the corridor — one year, a possible second, never more — which keeps the shareholder base resident and the hallways stable. And the 2 percent seller-paid flip tax recycles transaction activity into the building's coffers. None of this is glamorous; all of it is the policy framework of a conservatively run house.
The pedigree is better than the white-brick era's reputation. Management-sourced records attribute the design to Horace Ginsbern, whose firm's mid-century luxury work includes 750 Park Avenue, and the building's plans bear that out at every scale: brokerage records consistently note that every line — studios included — carries unusually good proportions, closet space, and large windows. The 1970 plan of cooperative organization (on file in The Roebling Research Library) documents a building built with separate passenger and service elevators, a lobby-floor superintendent's apartment, and a full basement service program — post-war construction done properly.
The conversion history is itself a credential. The building went co-op around September 1970 — among the earlier conversions of the cycle, sponsored by Bims Associates and A. F. & G. Realty Corp. at a total cash offering of $2,417,200 — which means this corporation has more than five decades of operating history, a record few post-war co-ops on the corridor can match. Buyers' attorneys get a long paper trail; buyers get a building that has already made, and survived, every era's mistakes.
Architecture and unit composition
The building rises 16 floors in post-war brick on a corner plot, with the massing oriented to put light into both the 83rd Street and Lexington Avenue exposures and a setback line that opens views uptown on higher floors. The roughly 64 apartments run from studios through one- and two-bedroom lines to combination units of three and four bedrooms — recorded combinations have produced homes well over 2,000 square feet. The corner C and A lines carry the premium light; east-facing units trade avenue energy for quiet. As with most Ginsbern-era buildings, the plans renovate gratefully: defined foyers, separated kitchens, and window placement that supports open-plan conversions.
Building operations
Full-service at the essentials: full-time doorman, live-in superintendent, renovated lobby and elevators, large laundry, bike room, and rentable storage. The retail income from the corporation-owned Lexington stores supplements maintenance — your attorney should review how that income flows through the most recent financial statements. Alteration filings in 1988 and 2014 per city records mark the building's major capital cycles; request the current capital plan and assessment history during diligence. The managing agent administers a fully documented fee and application stack, which we keep current in The Roebling Research Library alongside the 1970 offering plan.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $14,382/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $19
Recent sales
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Recent transfers at this building, sourced from NYC Department of Finance records. Apartment-level detail (line, condition, asking-price context) verified upon consultation request.
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 21, 2025 | 6A | $1,500,000 |
| Sep 18, 2025 | 2C | $1,495,000 |
| Oct 15, 2024 | 8D | $610,000 |
| Oct 31, 2023 | 3A | $1,850,000 |
| Apr 20, 2023 | 4D | $600,000 |
| Nov 30, 2022 | 1B | $3,700,000 |
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01511-0053) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price.
What to know if you’re buying
Read the sublet policy as a feature. One year, a discretionary second, a hard stop at two — this is a board engineering an owner-occupied building. If you need rental flexibility, this is the wrong co-op; if you want stable neighbors and a protective board, it's exactly the right one.
The retail income matters — quantify it. The corporation has owned its Lexington Avenue stores since conversion. Have your attorney trace the commercial income and lease terms through the financials; it is a real offset to maintenance and a real variable if a storefront sits vacant.
Budget the full fee stack. The application, credit-check, recognition-agreement, and closing fees are documented and modest, but the 2 percent seller flip tax shapes negotiation on both sides. Run the Co-op Board Qualification Calculator before offering — 75 percent financing is permitted per brokerage records, generous for the corridor.
The location is a transit nexus, not just an address. The 4/5/6 at 86th and Lexington is three blocks; the Q at 86th and Second is four; the 86th and 79th Street crosstowns bracket the building. Few price-equivalent buildings on the Upper East Side match that connectivity.
Underwrite condition honestly. The building's sale record shows renovated and estate units clearing at very different numbers. Price the renovation into your offer — run the Renovation Cost Calculator — and confirm current alteration rules and fees before contract.
What to know if you’re selling
Market the building's discipline. Five decades of co-op operating history, corporation-owned retail income, strict sublets, and a documented fee framework — this is the operational story diligence-minded buyers and their attorneys want to hear, and it survives scrutiny.
Lead with proportions and light. The Ginsbern-era plans — real foyers, big windows, deep closets even in studios — are the product differentiator against generic post-war stock. Corner lines should be marketed on light explicitly.
Price to the two-tier reality. Renovated corner two-bedrooms and estate-condition units are different markets inside one building. Anchor to same-line, same-condition history — we maintain it — and net out the 2 percent flip tax in your proceeds math with the Seller Closing Cost Calculator.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 140 East 83rd Street, also evaluate:
- 180 East 79th Street — Schwartz & Gross pre-war co-op on the corridor; the pre-war step-up
- 170 East 78th Street — pre-war co-op alternative five blocks south
- 50 East 89th Street (Park Regis) — Emery Roth & Sons post-war full-service co-op; the closest like-for-like post-war peer in scale and service
- 160 East 65th Street (The Phoenix) — post-war full-service tower further down the corridor
- 200 East 83rd Street — Robert A.M. Stern condominium one avenue east; the new-construction alternative at a multiple of the price
- 180 East 88th Street — boutique new-development condo north; the design-forward alternative
- The Lexington and Third Avenue post-war co-op stock of the high 70s and 80s — the building's direct value-tier peer set, which we comp line-by-line for clients
The Roebling Team at 140 East 83rd Street
The Roebling Team at Compass works the Upper East Side and its Lexington-corridor co-op stock as a core practice area. We publish this building profile because 140 East 83rd Street buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — conversion documentation, the policy and fee framework, and post-war comparables — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 140 East 83rd Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.