140 East 83rd Street

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.

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.

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. Most recent trades (2025) cleared a median $1,025/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 3.3% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01511-0053). 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.

Read the sublet policy as a feature. One year, a discretionary second, a hard stop at two — the policy favors owner occupancy. If you need rental flexibility, this is the wrong co-op; if you want limited subletting in the building, it fits.

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.

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.

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