170 West 81st Street
170 West 81st Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, Manhattan · Upper West Side
BBL 1012110056 · BIN 1031996
- Year built
- 1926
- Amenities
- Elevator, resident superintendent, porter, common laundry, bicycle storage, storage and roof terrace
- Landmark status
- Not an individual landmark; in the Upper West Side / Central Park West Historic District
- NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission records, updated February 2026
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median, 2023–2026
- $815K
- 5 qualifying sales
- Recent range
- $626K – $1.4M
- Listing discount
- 0.0%
- Recorded transfers
- 45
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 170 West 81st Street 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.
170 West 81st Street is a nine-story apartment house designed by George F. Pelham for Martros Building Corporation in 1926–1927. Its brick-and-terra-cotta exterior combines Neo-Renaissance composition with Romanesque details. The building replaced three rowhouses during the Upper West Side's transition toward larger elevator apartment houses.
The cooperative contains 45 homes, with one- and two-bedroom layouts making up much of its resale inventory. The building converted to cooperative ownership in 1986. Its relatively small apartment count sits within a substantial steel-framed prewar structure.
A landscaped common roof terrace adds outdoor space above the side street. Inside, the entrance lobby has a coffered ceiling, and the residential corridors are broad. Elevator service and on-site staff support the building's shared facilities.
Architecture and unit composition
LPC identifies the original construction as a steel-framed apartment building with brick and terra-cotta façades. The original window design used six-over-six double-hung wood sash. The nine-story street wall replaced the lower rowhouse frontage.
The resale inventory includes one-bedroom apartments around 750 square feet and larger two-bedroom homes. Renovations have changed kitchens and interior finishes across successive ownership periods. The two-bedroom plans occupy a higher total-price tier within the building.
Homes vary in exposure. Upper-floor apartments can have open city outlooks, while other windows face the street or interior block. Renovated apartments include in-unit washers and dryers, although installation remains subject to the cooperative's requirements.
The common roof terrace has planted areas and outdoor seating. Its elevation supplies a different outlook from the apartments below, making it a shared amenity even for homes with more enclosed views. Roof rights attached to a particular home, where present, are separate from access to the communal terrace.
Building operations
A resident superintendent and porter support daily maintenance. Shared laundry, bicycle storage and other storage facilities are available within the building. The entry system uses an intercom, with elevator service to the residential floors.
The historic-district designation protects the exterior. The original brickwork, terra cotta and window composition belong to that architectural framework, so façade and window work must account for the district's requirements.
The cooperative's tax parcel is Class 2, with no assessment-growth cap and no building-wide abatement identified. Its recorded floor-area ratio is well above the present R8B residential allowance; that simple comparison does not establish the building's legal zoning floor area or what future work is permitted.
Policy framework
Financing: Up to 80%, requiring at least 20% down — confirm with the managing agent.
Pets: Permitted subject to approval and size/number restrictions — confirm with the managing agent.
In-unit washer/dryer: Permitted subject to the cooperative's installation approval — confirm with the managing agent.
Monthly carrying charges in recent sales
- Maintenance, per room
- $524 per room a monthMedian of 4 recorded sales since October 2023Source: recorded sales, refreshed October 2026
Maintenance as recorded with each sale. A co-op's maintenance already covers the building's real estate taxes and the building's own mortgage, if it has one; add your own loan payment for the monthly outlay. A summary of recorded sales, not a current bill; charges change.
Building staffing and amenities
- Live-in superintendent
- YesSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
- Elevator
- YesSource: NYC Department of City Planning records (PLUTO)
- Amenities noted
- Roof deck, bike storage, laundry roomSource: The Roebling Team's building profile
Staffing and amenities as our building profile and recent listing records describe them. A feature not listed is not confirmed absent. Outdoor space, parking and some facilities can belong to particular apartments or to a separate owner; confirm access for the specific apartment.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $10,416/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $19
- Modeled exposure split equally across 45 units (the residential count on the city's lot record). Not an assessed amount; how a building allocates a shared cost depends on its governing documents.
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the inspector (QEWI) identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair, with repairs due by the deadline stated in the filing. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — a licensed professional engineer or registered architect who meets DOB’s FISP qualifications and signs the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City data last refreshed October 2026.
Photographs of 170 West 81st Street
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.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2026 | 4D | 1 BR · 1 BA | $795,000 | +0.0% | |
| Jul 1, 2026 | 5A | 2 BR · 1 BA | $1,425,000 | +2.2% | |
| Mar 24, 2026 | 1D | 1 BR · 1 BA | $815,000 | -5.1% | |
| Aug 26, 2025 | 9D | 1 BR · 1 BA | $930,000 | -4.6% | |
| Nov 9, 2023 | 5B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 750 sf | $825,000 | $1,100/sf | +10.0% |
| Mar 23, 2023 | 5A | 2 BR · 1 BA | $1,230,000 | -5.3% | |
| Feb 1, 2023 | 9E | 1 BR · 1 BA | $625,500 | +13.7% | |
| Jul 11, 2022 | 5B | 1 BR · 1 BA · 750 sf | $760,000 | $1,013/sf | +2.0% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2023): a median $1,134/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 3.4% 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 1-01211-0056). 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.
What would your apartment rent for?
Enter your apartment and I'll send you what it would rent for, from comparable closed leases at 170 West 81st Street and nearby.
Comparable buildings
- 171 West 79th Street: A nearby prewar cooperative with a larger inventory in a taller building.
- The Lyons: A similarly sized prewar cooperative for comparing traditional room plans.
- 164 West 79th Street: Another prewar cooperative with a larger vertical scale and related apartment-house architecture.
- 139 West 82nd Street: A nearby cooperative of similar height with more residences.
- 160 West 77th Street: A prewar cooperative with closely comparable apartment count and building height.
More Upper West Side buildings
- 165 West 91st Street — 1926 condominium
- 169 West 95th Street (175W95) — 1971 condominium
- 170 West 76th Street — 1925 co-op
- 170 West 89th Street — 1910 co-op
- 171 West 79th Street, Upper West Side — 1923 co-op
- The Dorilton, 171 West 71st Street — 1900 co-op by Janes & Leo
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, transit, and pricing across Upper West Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper West Side.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
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646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com