176 West 87th Street

The building presents as a consistent, dignified prewar mass: a beige-brick field over a masonry base, regular window rhythm on both street frontages, and a canopied entrance with globe lanterns — the standard Schwartz & Gross vocabulary for a middle-market apartment house of the mid-1910s, executed without the ornamental ambition the firm reserved for its Central Park West commissions. There is no setback drama and no crown. The virtue is in the plan.

Interiors run to prewar layouts with defined room separation, and the larger lines carry the entry gallery and formal-room sequence characteristic of the era. Because the building has absorbed four decades of individual renovation and a number of combinations, condition varies widely across the inventory — some apartments retain original detail with dated systems, others have been taken to the studs with open kitchens and current appliance packages. Room counts and share allocations should be checked apartment by apartment rather than assumed from the line.

A structural note on light and view: the building carries lot-line windows on its southern elevation, and a landmarked church property at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue has been the subject of a hardship application before the Landmarks Preservation Commission seeking permission to demolish and replace it with a residential building of roughly 210 feet. Reporting on the application has specifically noted that the proposed building would close lot-line windows at 176 West 87th Street. As of August 2026 the application remains live and commissioners have publicly indicated that the hardship criteria are likely met. Any apartment relying on south-facing lot-line light should be underwritten with that in mind.

The corporation runs a union-staffed building with a resident superintendent and a full-time doorman, on an operating budget in the low-to-mid $3 million range. Real estate taxes are the dominant line at roughly 40 percent of expense; payroll runs near 30 percent. Roughly $300,000 a year of commercial income from the Amsterdam Avenue retail frontage offsets shareholder maintenance — close to a tenth of total revenue, and a real subsidy, but also a line item that is exposed to retail vacancy and should be checked against the current rent roll.

Capital posture is the most important thing a buyer can understand here. The building completed a heavy capital cycle in 2019–2021: Local Law 11 façade work of roughly $1.14 million across two years, a natural gas riser replacement of roughly $400,000, an electric meter and service upgrade of roughly $265,000, plus a fitness room upgrade, a security system, storage build-out and roof furniture. That program was funded by the July 2019 refinancing, a capital assessment equal to one month of maintenance levied in 2020, and operating cash. A separate ongoing assessment of roughly $232,000–$240,000 a year appears in the accounts as the real estate tax abatement assessment — the standard co-op mechanism for recapturing the shareholder tax abatement benefit — and should not be confused with a capital assessment.

The corporation does not maintain a funded replacement reserve. The governing documents do not require one, no reserve study has been performed, and the auditors have noted the omission of required supplementary information about future major repairs and replacements. Future capital work will therefore be funded by maintenance increases, assessments, or borrowing on the credit line. That is not unusual for a building of this vintage and size, but it is a fact a buyer should price rather than discover.

The underlying mortgage matures in June 2029. The $8,000,000 note placed in July 2019 is interest-only at 3.50 percent — an exceptional rate by 2026 standards — and carries roughly $280,000 of annual debt service. When it matures, the corporation will refinance into a materially higher coupon on an amortizing basis, or it will need to reduce principal. On the current balance, the annual debt-service step-up is the single most predictable pressure on maintenance in the second half of this decade, and it should be modeled explicitly in any purchase analysis. Ask the managing agent for the board's current refinancing plan and the most recent audited statements.

Maximum financing: 80 percent of purchase price; 20 percent minimum down payment. A recognition agreement is required. Flip tax: 3 percent of the contract sales price, payable by the seller at closing. Subletting: Permitted for one year plus a one-year renewal at board discretion, maximum two years, with a sublet fee equal to 25 percent of projected monthly maintenance for each year of the sublease, billed monthly. A lender consent is required where the shares are pledged. Board approval: Full purchase application with tax returns, verified financial statement, employer and bank letters, two business and three personal references, credit authorization, and a board interview. Move-in / move-out: $500 refundable deposits from each of purchaser and seller. Pets: Permitted with the corporation's written consent under the house rules; dogs leashed in public areas. Smoking: Prohibited building-wide since June 18, 2018, including within apartments to the extent smoke migrates to common areas or other apartments. Floor covering: At least 80 percent of the floor area of each room, excluding kitchens, pantries, baths, closets and foyer, must be carpeted or otherwise sound-attenuated. Alterations: Governed by an alteration agreement on file; washer/dryer installations require architect sign-off and DOB filing.

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. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2022): a median $1,299/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 1.2% 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 1-01217-0064). 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.

Model the 2029 mortgage maturity. An $8 million interest-only note at 3.50 percent refinancing into a 2029 market will raise debt service materially. Ask for the board's plan, and stress-test your monthly on a higher maintenance line.

Understand there is no funded reserve. The building funds capital work through assessments, increases and the credit line. Review the last three years of audited statements and the current budget, and ask what is queued behind the completed façade and riser work.

Check the lot-line window exposure. The landmarked church site at 86th and Amsterdam is the subject of a live demolition-hardship application. If the apartment depends on south-facing lot-line windows, price that risk.

Budget the 3 percent flip tax into your eventual exit, not just your entry. It is the largest single friction cost in a resale here.

Confirm the washer/dryer status. If the apartment does not already have one, the installation standard is strict — wet-over-wet only, ventless dryer, architect approval, DOB filing. Confirm feasibility before you underwrite it as an upgrade.

Verify the commercial rent roll. Retail income covers close to a tenth of the building's revenue. A vacancy on Amsterdam Avenue lands on shareholders.

Put the flip tax in the net-sheet on day one. Three percent of the contract price is a large number and sellers routinely underestimate it.

Lead with the policy stack. Eighty percent financing, permitted subletting, permitted pets, permitted pied-à-terre and permitted in-unit laundry make this a more flexible building than most of its prewar peers. That is a marketing asset.

Have the diligence package ready. Buyers' attorneys will ask about the 2029 maturity, the tax abatement assessment, and the absence of a reserve. Getting current financials and a clear explanation in front of them early prevents a mid-contract renegotiation.

Prepare the board package properly. This is a full-documentation co-op with an interview. Weak packages stall.

If you're considering 176 West 87th Street, also evaluate:

• 160 West 87th Street — 1914 prewar co-op converted in 1975; roof deck, gym and playroom; the closest peer on the same street
• 150 West 87th Street — 1914 prewar cooperative with a doorman-attended lobby and a roof deck with Central Park views
• 151 West 86th Street — 1913 Rouse & Goldstone cooperative with a planted roof garden; a more restrictive 65 percent financing ceiling
• 161 West 86th Street — the 1914 Rouse & Goldstone building joined to 151; grand prewar layouts and a 15 percent flip tax
• 145 West 86th Street — Emery Roth's 1925 Italian-Renaissance cooperative; four homes per floor and a Central Park roof deck
• 130 West 86th Street — 1926 Italian Renaissance co-op between Amsterdam and Columbus; 75 percent financing, pet-friendly, pied-à-terres allowed
• 101 West 87th Street (Park Columbus) — 2013 condominium conversion on the same street; the condominium-flexibility alternative
• 160 West 86th Street (Westbury House) — 1998 full-service condominium with large family layouts
• 200 West 88th Street — Robert A.M. Stern's limestone condominium; 36 family-scaled residences with parking
• 175 West 93rd Street (The Westwind) — 175-unit prewar co-op a few blocks north; the larger-building, lower-price-tier comparison