- Year built
- 1922
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 70
- Landmark
- Designated
160 Riverside Drive is a Neo-Renaissance apartment house on the northeast corner of West 88th Street, designed by Gaetano Ajello for the Paterno & Son Contracting Company — one of the building dynasties that shaped the Riverside and West End prewar landscape. The fifteen-story building is among the taller and more commanding prewar structures on this stretch of the drive, and it sits directly across from Riverside Park and the iconic Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.
The building's defining architectural gesture is its response to the geography. The Riverside Drive facade is detailed with arched windows running along the seventh and top floors and an unusual angled southwestern corner that gives each floor a distinctive river-facing window — the kind of site-responsive design that gives Riverside Drive its river-facing rhythm. Above the base, the elegant tan-brick midsection rises to a richly articulated top with decorative balconies and terra-cotta enframements.
Set within the protected Riverside–West End Historic District and looking out across Riverside Park to the Hudson, 160 Riverside Drive offers buyers what the drive uniquely provides: permanent river-and-park views from the west-facing lines, authentic 1920s architecture, and a full-service, pet-friendly prewar lifestyle a step from the park.
Architecture and unit composition
The Riverside facade reads in a base, midsection, and top, with arched window heads gathered at the seventh and uppermost floors and decorative balconies tying the composition together. The angled corner produces a single southwestern-facing window on each floor — a coveted exposure for light and river outlook.
The roughly 70 apartments range from gracious one-bedrooms to grand eight-room homes with three bedrooms and three baths totaling around 2,200 square feet. They are arranged in the prewar manner, with high ceilings, arched doorways, hardwood floors, and baseboard, crown, and picture-frame moldings. West-facing apartments capture direct park and river views; corner and upper-floor lines command the building's strongest outlooks. Finish and configuration vary apartment to apartment after a century of ownership and renovation.
Building operations
160 Riverside Drive operates as a full-service, pet-friendly pre-war cooperative with a 24-hour doorman and a live-in superintendent. The amenity roster includes a central laundry room, a bike room, and private storage bins, and washer/dryers are permitted within apartments — a meaningful convenience in a prewar building of this era.
The building's policies are well defined. A 2% flip tax on the sale price is paid by the seller. Financing is capped at 60% of the purchase price — a more conservative posture than many co-ops. Pets are welcome, and pied-à-terre ownership is permitted. Gifting is not allowed, and the building does not permit parents to purchase for a child. As a building within a designated historic district, exterior alterations are subject to landmark review, and the board reviews interior renovation scope with attention to the building's prewar character.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $32,509/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $39
Facade safety — Local Law 11
Safe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into for you.
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
Sales context at 160 Riverside Drive:
- Turnover is moderate for a building of roughly 70 units — typically a handful of closings per year.
- Pricing spans a range tied to apartment size, floor, exposure, and renovation: river-facing and upper-floor lines carry meaningful view premiums, while interior and lower lines occupy the more accessible end of the Riverside prewar market.
- Specific historical trades should be reviewed at the apartment level; this page does not assert individual sale prices.
What to know if you’re buying
River-and-park views are the headline — and they're permanent. Riverside Park protects the western outlook. West-facing and upper-floor lines, plus the angled-corner windows, carry the strongest views and command the clearest premiums.
Washer/dryers are allowed. A genuine differentiator versus many prewar peers that still prohibit in-unit laundry.
Plan for the 60% financing cap. Buyers need at least 40% down — a key budgeting input for this building.
It is pet-friendly and pied-à-terre-friendly. A flexible profile for a prewar Riverside co-op; note that gifting and parent-purchase structures are not permitted.
What to know if you’re selling
The river views and 1920s architecture are the marketing core. Listing copy should foreground the permanent park-and-Hudson outlook, the Neo-Renaissance facade, the angled-corner light, and the in-unit-laundry allowance.
Budget the 2% flip tax. It is paid by the seller on the sale price and should factor into net-proceeds conversations.
Pricing requires apartment-level comparable analysis. With roughly 70 units in mixed configurations, view, floor, exposure, and renovation history drive value more than building averages.
Closing timelines are co-op standard. Plan for roughly 6–10 weeks from contract signing to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 160 Riverside Drive, also evaluate:
- 173 Riverside Drive — nearby Riverside Drive prewar co-op
- 180 Riverside Drive — nearby Riverside Drive prewar peer
- 186 Riverside Drive — nearby Riverside Drive building
- 194 Riverside Drive — nearby Riverside Drive prewar co-op
- 140 Riverside Drive — Riverside Drive prewar peer to the south
The Roebling Team at None in common use
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in Central Park West, the Upper West Side, and the broader Park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this building profile because Riverside Drive buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — architecture, board culture, transactional mechanics, and pricing at the apartment level — not generic market commentary.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 160 Riverside Drive, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
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