184 Columbia Heights

Six stories of masonry on the Columbia Heights row, sharing the block with the district's Art Moderne outlier at 160 Columbia Heights to the north and the Pierrepont Place mansion group at the block's southern end. The LPC's district records leave both the architect and the style fields undetermined for this address, so the honest description is what the building is: a restrained brick apartment house of the Heights' early-twentieth-century apartment generation, contributing to the district rather than commanding it.

Apartment configuration follows the bylaws' fixed share allotment: each apartment carries an unchangeable block of shares, tied to its designation, and one line has already been combined across two floors. No offering-plan area schedule was located in the reviewed materials. Obtain the bylaws' share allotment and current stock ledger, and verify apartment plans and measured areas separately; shares do not establish room count or interior area. What varies most in a house of this size is the rear exposure: apartments on the western elevation look across the Promenade and the harbor, and the outlook should be checked from the apartment; historic-district status is not a permanent view guarantee. Confirm LPC requirements for proposed exterior work, including window changes, with ordinary-maintenance exceptions considered.

184 Columbia Heights, Incorporated is governed by a five-member board, at least three of whom must live in the building — a resident-majority requirement written into the bylaws rather than adopted by custom. The board appoints a Manager with authority over day-to-day operation, hiring recommendations, and ordinary contracts, and retains a certified public accountant to audit the treasurer's accounts and prepare the annual statement delivered to shareholders ten days before the annual meeting. Books and the stock and transfer ledger are open to shareholder inspection during business hours. The corporation's fiscal year ends September 30.

On the financial side, the building has historically operated with modest reserves and a real underlying mortgage: a National Consumer Cooperative Bank first mortgage of $800,000 taken in May 2001 at 7.27 percent on a sixty-year amortization with a ten-year term, alongside a $100,000 line of credit. Those instruments are two decades old; their age does not establish whether they were refinanced, extended or repaid, and the current underlying debt, its rate, its maturity, and any line-of-credit drawdown are all live diligence items. So is the reserve position. The corporation's statements have disclosed that no study of remaining useful lives or replacement costs of the common property has been performed — buyers should review façade maintenance, roof, elevator and boiler plans. The profile lists six stories; verify DOB’s applicable height and FISP status rather than inferring Local Law 11 coverage from age.

Resale: Written application, financial statement, three references including a banking reference, and a personal interview, followed by board approval that "shall not unreasonably be withheld." After approval, the shares must be offered to the corporation and then to each shareholder of record at the same price and terms, with acceptances taken in the order received inside a ten-day window.

Transfer fee: 1 percent of the purchase price, paid by the seller by certified check, applied to capital.

Financing: Maximum pledge of 75 percent of appraised fair market value, or less at the board's discretion; board-approved institutional lenders only; recognition agreement required; no single lender above 25 percent of outstanding shares.

Subletting: Board approval, registered sublease, and a surcharge of 10 percent of the sublet spread in years one and two, 50 percent in years three and four, and 100 percent in year five and beyond. A continuous sublet period is broken only by a full year of the shareholder's own residence.

Pets: Written, revocable permission required; leashed in the elevator and public halls.

Washer/dryer: Prohibited in apartments. Basement laundry only, on the schedule set by the superintendent or manager.

Other house rules: No obstruction of halls, stairs, entrance, vestibule, or basement passages; nothing shaken or thrown from windows; no exterior signage or projections without written permission; no radio or television aerials on the walls or roof without written permission; baby carriages and similar wheeled vehicles must fit through the single elevator door; the corporation retains a passkey and no additional locks may be installed without providing a key.

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 (2025): a median $1,595/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 4.0% 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 3-00208-0319). 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.

Read the bylaws before the offering. The right of first refusal, the 1 percent transfer fee, the 75 percent financing ceiling, and the sublet surcharge are all in the governing document, and each one changes how you structure a deal.

Confirm your lender qualifies. The board must approve the institution, a recognition agreement is required, and the 25 percent single-lender concentration cap can, in a small corporation, close a door that would be open elsewhere.

Plan for basement laundry. In-unit washer-dryers are barred by house rule; ask whether the rule reflects plumbing or venting limits before planning any exception.

Ask about the underlying mortgage and the reserve. The documented NCB financing is two decades old and the reviewed historical statements reported no reserve study; ask whether one has since been completed. Current debt terms, current reserves, and the capital plan are the three numbers that matter.

Verify the unit and share count. City records show nineteen units against seventeen shareholder units in the corporation's statements; at least one combination (2B/3B) accounts for part of the difference, and your attorney should confirm the specific apartment's allotment.

Lead with the block, then the corporation. Promenade frontage is the headline; describe the cooperative's 1921 incorporation and original ownership structure using the governing records.

Prepare the buyer for the right of first refusal. The bylaws provide a ten-day acceptance window. Have counsel confirm the notice, sequence and response requirements early; timing and exercise can affect the transaction even when anticipated.

Disclose the sublet surcharge. Explain the escalating charges and approval terms so purchasers can assess their intended use under the governing documents.

Document the exposure. Whether the apartment holds a western outlook over the Promenade and the harbor is the single largest driver of value inside the building; photograph and describe it precisely.

If you're considering 184 Columbia Heights, also evaluate:

• 160 Columbia Heights — the Art Moderne co-op at Clark Street on the same block; balconies and setback terraces on the harbor elevation
• 129 Columbia Heights — Frank L. Lowe's 1907 Beaux-Arts co-op at Clark Street; the street's first apartment-house generation
• 177 Columbia Heights — the east-side Columbia Heights co-op peer, at similar scale
• 135 Willow Street — the postwar co-op one street east; a very different service and cost profile
• 115 Willow Street — Slee & Bryson's 1926 Gothic co-op, converted by its own tenants
• 128 Willow Street — Slee & Bryson's 1925 co-op on the same corridor
• 35 Pierrepont Street — Freehof's 1929 nine-story co-op at the block's southern cross street
• 142 Hicks Street — comparable unit count in the North Heights, at a substantially lower cost basis
• 35 Clark Street — George F. Pelham's 1922 co-op one block north