The Gotham (1538 Third Avenue)
1538 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10028
Carnegie Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1015157503 · BIN 1047961
- Year built
- 1991
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 239
- Floors
- 27
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted under condominium rules
- Financing
- Up to 90 percent (10 percent minimum down payment)
- Flip tax
- Confirm any current transfer fee at offer stage
Every recorded sale at this building, 2000–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,630
- Listing discount
- 2.8%
- Recorded sales
- 258
- On record
- 2000–2026
The Gotham is the amenity-rich Carnegie Hill condominium that sits atop a movie theater — a roughly 27-story Frank Williams-designed tower built in 1991 by William Zeckendorf Jr., with a residential address at 170 East 87th Street and a Third Avenue base occupied by the AMC Orpheum 7. Its combination of an 82-foot indoor pool, a full below-grade health club, and low-down-payment financing makes it one of the more accessible full-amenity condominiums in the neighborhood, and one with an unusually deep facilities program for its era.
The building's appeal is the amenity plant paired with condominium flexibility at a relatively attainable entry. The 82-foot indoor pool is among the longest in a residential building in the area; the health club, the residents' lounge with a grand piano and catering kitchen, the landscaped third-floor terrace with a playground, and 43 storage units give the building a full-service, family-friendly profile. As a condominium permitting up to 90 percent financing — a 10 percent down payment — it opens to a materially wider buyer pool than the co-ops nearby, which typically require 20 to 30 percent down and impose board thresholds.
The AMC theater at the base is the building's distinguishing quirk and the explanation for the cinema entity that shows as the commercial-lot owner of record. The multiplex opened in 1991 on the site of the demolished 1914 Loew's Orpheum, and the residential condominium sits above it with its own entrance and services — the theater and the homes operate independently.
Architecture and unit composition
Frank Williams's design is a post-modern masonry tower organized into two residential wings, which gives the plan a range of exposures and creates the corner and setback lines that carry the building's terraces. Select units include wood-burning fireplaces and private outdoor space — features that trade at a premium. The base is the AMC Orpheum multiplex, also designed by Williams, which grounds the tower on the Third Avenue retail spine.
The roughly 239 residences run from one-bedrooms through two- and three-bedroom homes, including duplexes, with the fireplace and terrace lines and the higher floors commanding the strongest premiums. Interiors carry central air conditioning and the early-1990s luxury-condominium finish standard, with many units renovated by owners. Because the two-wing plan and the mix of simplexes and duplexes create distinct comparable sets, same-line, same-configuration comparables are the correct pricing basis.
Building operations
The Gotham operates as a full-service condominium with an unusually deep amenity plant: a 24-hour doorman and concierge, the below-grade health club, the 82-foot indoor pool with sauna and lockers, the residents' lounge with grand piano and catering kitchen, a children's playroom, the landscaped third-floor terrace with playground, 43 storage units, cold storage, an on-site garage, central air conditioning, and a live-in superintendent. Common charges reflect the staffing and the pool-and-club maintenance a program this large requires. Buyers should confirm the specific unit's carry, review the reserve position and any assessment during diligence, and understand the commercial-lease relationship with the AMC base as part of the building's economics.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.
See the full facade history →Recent sales
The Gotham trades as an accessible, amenity-deep Carnegie Hill condominium where the pool, the health club, and the 90-percent-financing flexibility drive absorption. Pricing runs unit-by-unit: the fireplace and terrace lines, the duplexes, and the higher floors carry premiums, and the building's liquid market reflects its wide buyer pool. Recorded sales auto-populate from public records; unit-level history and current same-line comparables are maintained in The Roebling Research Library and shared with clients during diligence. Same-line, same-configuration comparables — not blended per-foot averages across simplexes and duplexes — are the correct analytical unit.
Recent closings at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 2026 | E17C | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,457 sf | $2,375,000 | $1,630/sf | -4.8% |
| Mar 24, 2026 | W7C | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,706 sf | $2,910,000 | $1,706/sf | -9.1% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | E9GH | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,634 sf | $1,595,000 | $976/sf | -2.4% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | E9H | 1 BR · 645 sf | $1,595,000 | $2,473/sf | off-mkt |
| Jan 26, 2026 | W7H | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,046 sf | $1,399,000 | $1,337/sf | +0.0% |
| Dec 23, 2025 | E8D | 1 BR · 1.5 BA · 875 sf | $975,000 | $1,114/sf | -2.0% |
| Dec 5, 2025 | W3B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 680 sf | $842,000 | $1,238/sf | +2.1% |
| Nov 4, 2025 | E9F | 1 BA · 682 sf | $680,000 | $997/sf | off-mkt |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,630/sf across 5 sales. Median listing discount 2.8% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
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 1-01515-7503) 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; square footage from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
What to know if you’re buying
The financing flexibility is a real advantage. Up to 90 percent financing — a 10 percent down payment — opens the building to buyers the co-ops nearby exclude. Confirm the current maximum in writing.
Buy the amenity plant deliberately. The 82-foot pool, the health club, and the residents' lounge are the reason to be here, and they carry cost. Confirm the current common charge, the reserve position, and any assessment on the specific unit. Run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator.
Fireplaces and terraces trade at a premium. The wood-burning-fireplace and terrace lines are the building's most distinctive. Use same-line comparables.
Understand the AMC base. The theater and the residences operate independently; the cinema entity on the commercial lot is the retail owner, not the residential sponsor. Review the commercial-lease posture as part of diligence.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the pool and the financing. The 82-foot indoor pool and the 90-percent-financing flexibility are the marketing headlines that reach the widest buyer pool. Use them.
Price the fireplace and terrace lines on their own set. The duplexes and outdoor-space units trade on a distinct comparable universe. Don't blend them into the building average.
Position the location and the amenity depth. Carnegie Hill / Yorkville at Third and 87th, with an amenity plant deeper than most peers — a combination worth stating plainly.
Closing timelines are condo-fast. 30–45 days from contract to closing; foreign and investor buyers are welcome under the declaration.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering The Gotham, also evaluate:
- The Lucida (151 East 85th) — full-service Carnegie Hill condominium nearby; comparable amenity depth
- Astor Terrace (245 East 93rd) — SOM-designed condominium with a private park; the northern peer
- Carnegie Park (200 East 94th) — Related condominium with a private park and pool; the amenity-condominium alternative
- 180 East 88th Street — the slim new-development condominium tower nearby; the new-construction alternative
- Carnegie Tower (115 East 87th) — full-service co-op one block over; the ownership-structure alternative
- 1250 Third Avenue — full-service Third Avenue condominium; the corridor peer
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
Considering a move at The Gotham?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at The Gotham would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.