155 Hicks Street

155 Hicks reads from the street as what it is — a low-scaled Federal-period brick house on a block face otherwise dominated by the Mansion House's 1930s Colonial Revival bulk to the north. Its value is in the block, the light, and the interior volumes rather than in ornament; the LPC's designation of the district in 1965 froze the exterior, and window, door, and façade work runs through the Commission.

The plan's share schedule is the clearest available guide to the apartment mix. At 155, the ten apartments are paired A and B on each level, numbered 1 through 5 — consistent with four stories over a garden floor, though the specific level nomenclature should be checked against the current certificate of occupancy. Share allocations run from 32 shares on the smallest unit to 72 shares on the larger line, a roughly two-to-one spread that maps to studio-and-one-bedroom through two-bedroom scale. At 157, the four apartments are materially larger: three at 95 shares each and the six-room duplex at 125 shares, the single largest block in the corporation. That duplex is the building's headline apartment and will always price on a different curve from the 155 side.

Because shares were allocated in 1982 on "number of rooms, square footage, cubic content, locational factors and additional amenities," and because four decades of alteration have followed, line-to-line comparison inside the building is weaker guidance than it would be in a purpose-built elevator co-op. Inspect the specific apartment.

155-157 Hicks Street Housing Corporation has operated the property since the 1984 closing. The conversion-era model was deliberately lean: self-management, a visiting superintendent, no service contracts, oil heat, and a working capital fund of $2,000 against a first-year budget of roughly $67,000. Commercial income came from the six parking spaces; everything else came from maintenance at $64 per share per year.

Buyers should understand what that structure means in practice today. A small, self-managed corporation has no managing agent absorbing capital planning, insurance renewals, or Local Law 11 façade cycles — those land on a volunteer board. The upside is a low expense base and no agent fee; the exposure is that capital events arrive as assessments rather than as line items smoothed across a large reserve. The plan's own special-risk disclosures made that arithmetic explicit at conversion, quantifying four purchase-money mortgage balloons in per-share assessment terms. Those mortgages are long since resolved, but the mechanism is the one that still governs a 14-unit building: capital cost divided by 1,000 shares.

The Roebling Research Library holds the building's offering plan, both early amendments, the proprietary lease and house rules, the bylaws, and audited financial statements running from the late 1990s through 2011 — enough history to trend maintenance growth and capital practice before you sign a contract. For an 1830 masonry structure inside a historic district, façade cycles, roof, and any water-infiltration history are the diligence items that matter most.

Subletting: Under the proprietary lease as filed, a sublet requires the consent of the board or, if the board refuses, of tenant-shareholders holding at least 75 percent of the outstanding shares. That is a higher override threshold than the 65 percent common in neighboring Heights conversions, and in a 1,000-share corporation it is a demanding standard. Confirm the board's current written policy and any term limits.

Pets: The house rules as filed require the corporation's express written permission for any animal, revocable at any time, with dogs carried or leashed in public areas. The plan carved out an exception allowing the sponsor to grant original purchasers non-revocable consent — a conversion-era artifact. Ask for the board's current pet policy in writing.

Transfer fee: The corporate documents permit the board to impose a transfer fee capped at $500 on approval of a sale or lease. Whether it is charged today, and whether the board has since adopted a percentage-based flip tax, should be confirmed at offer stage.

Parking: Six indoor spaces are leased to residents under the plan structure, with rents escalating alongside maintenance increases. Availability, current rent, and whether a space transfers with a unit are all deal-relevant questions.

Financing, pied-à-terre, washer/dryer: Not documented in the materials reviewed. Confirm against the current house rules and purchase application.

Recent sales

Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. 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. Median listing discount 0.0% from the last ask.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-00236-0087) 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.

Diligence the self-management model first. A 14-apartment corporation without a managing agent is only as strong as its board's record. Ask for the last several years of financial statements, the assessment history, the insurance placement, and the current Local Law 11 status before you go to contract.

Confirm which building your apartment is in. The plan's narrative and its Schedule A disagree about which address holds ten units and which holds four. Schedule A and city records point the same way; your attorney should verify the specific unit, its share count, and its building against the current ledger.

Ask about the parking. Six indoor spaces in the Heights are a real asset. Find out whether one is available, what it costs, and how transfers are handled.

The sublet standard is strict. Board approval, or a 75 percent shareholder override, is a genuine constraint. Buy this building as a primary residence, not as a flexible asset.

Price the capital exposure per share. In a 1,000-share corporation, a roof or façade campaign is felt immediately. Model it into your carrying cost rather than assuming a reserve will absorb it.

Lead with the 1830 date and the district. Most Heights listings at this scale are undated and unattributed. A Federal-period house credited to a named builder in the LPC's own district records is a differentiator competitors cannot manufacture.

Position against small co-ops, not elevator buildings. The right comparable set is the district's shareholder-run houses and small conversions. Pricing against Montague-corridor full-service inventory invites the wrong objection.

Turn the low overhead into a number. A light maintenance charge is one of the building's strongest arguments. Present the full monthly carry — maintenance plus taxes plus utilities — rather than letting buyers assume a self-managed building is a liability.

Document the alteration file. In a landmarked house, clean Landmarks and Buildings Department paperwork on any renovation is a price-maker and a closing accelerator.

Market the parking space if one conveys. It is the rarest thing the building owns.

If you're considering 155 Hicks Street, also evaluate:

• The Mansion House (145 Hicks Street) — the 1935 Colonial Revival co-op occupying the block front immediately north; the full-service alternative on the same sidewalk
• 142 Hicks Street — small prewar elevator co-op directly across the street; the closest operating comparable
• 130 Hicks Street — moderate-scale Hicks Street co-op two blocks north
• 187 Hicks Street — Hicks Street co-op at the Pierrepont end of the same block
• 87 Hicks Street — small north-Heights co-op with a comparable shareholder-run profile
• 277 Hicks Street — small south-Heights co-op peer
• 8 Old Fulton Street (Brooklyn City Railroad Company Building) — eleven-unit landmark co-op; the boutique-scale alternative at the foot of the Heights
• 135 Willow Street — Willow Street co-op in the district's quietest quarter
• 15 Clark Street — prewar co-op two blocks north on the Clark Street corridor