185 York Street

Six stories on an R6A lot, with a cellar and basement below and no landmark jurisdiction over the exterior. The plan's Schedule A describes a straightforward stacking: three apartments per floor on floors one through four in an A/B/C pattern — two one-bedrooms of roughly 630 to 660 square feet and a two-bedroom of roughly 946 to 949 square feet — with the fifth floor carrying four units including the building's two largest, at approximately 1,193 and 1,206 square feet. Unit M1, at roughly 1,008 square feet, is the community facility unit and carries a parking space as a limited common element.

The consistent architectural feature across the residential inventory is private outdoor space: the plan allocates a terrace or balcony, and in some cases more than one, to every residential unit as a limited common element. Confirm the area, access and maintenance obligations for the outdoor space attached to the specific apartment. Parking is the second: seven separately deeded parking units, five in the rear yard and two enclosed on the basement floor, with availability and inclusion in a sale to confirm separately.

The City View Condominium operates as a small self-standing condominium with a professional managing agent engaged under the management agreement described in the plan, at a monthly fee of $480 as budgeted for the first year of operation. No current agent was identified in the materials reviewed, and current management should be confirmed during diligence; The Roebling Team remains the contact of record for transaction questions.

Projected first-year common charges under the revised Schedule A ran from roughly $249 a month for the smaller one-bedrooms to roughly $561 for the largest fifth-floor unit — figures consistent with a building that carries no staff, no common laundry, and no amenity program. Buyers should confirm the current common-charge schedule, the reserve position, and any assessment history, and should note that the plan reserved the sponsor's right to reallocate portions of common space to individual units as limited common elements or under license.

Purchaser approval: None. The plan states that "the condominium Board does not have the right to approve or disapprove Purchasers," and that there is accordingly no limit on the number of owners who may purchase for investment rather than occupancy.

Right of first refusal: None. The plan states twice that the board of managers holds no right of first refusal with regard to the sale or lease of a unit.

Subletting: Permitted. Unit owners have an unrestricted right to lease, sell, or mortgage their units; use is limited to residential use plus appurtenant home-office use.

Washer/dryer: Installed in every apartment under the plan; there is no common laundry room.

Private outdoor space: Every residential unit carries a terrace or balcony as a limited common element.

Pets, transfer fees, financing minimums: Not documented in the materials reviewed; confirm current house rules and any board-adopted procedures with management.

Recent sales

Recent closings 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. Most recent trades (2020) cleared a median $1,111/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount -1.5% over ask.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-00055-7504; each condominium apartment is its own tax lot). 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 from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.

Pull the tax bill before you write an offer. The 421-a benefit was worth an order of magnitude on this building's projected taxes. Where the specific unit stands on the exemption schedule is the difference between a low carrying cost and an ordinary one, and it should be confirmed against the current bill rather than the listing.

The governance is unusually open. No board approval of purchasers, no right of first refusal on sales or leases, and an unrestricted right to lease. That is an advantage for investor, pied-à-terre, and foreign buyers, and a consideration for owner-occupants who prefer a screened resident body.

Outdoor space and parking are the building's assets. Every apartment has a terrace or balcony, and seven parking units are separately deeded. Establish which limited common elements attach to the specific apartment, and whether a parking unit is available or included.

No common laundry, by design. The plan specifies an in-unit washer/dryer in every apartment instead of a laundry room. Confirm the machine's age and condition; the plan describes the original equipment, not what is in the apartment today.

Underwrite like a sixteen-unit building. Allocate capital costs under the declaration, including the community-facility and parking interests and any limited-common-element responsibility; sixteen residences do not imply equal shares. Review the reserve, the assessment history, and the condition of the roof, façade, and the rear-yard and basement parking areas.

Lead with the terrace. Show the terrace or balcony allocated to the apartment, state its verified area and access rights, and compare those features with specific loft alternatives.

Be direct about the tax picture. Sophisticated buyers will model 421-a phase-out themselves. A transparent presentation of the current bill and the exemption status produces better outcomes than a listing that quotes a historical number.

Market the transaction mechanics. No board approval, no right of first refusal, and a permissive leasing framework mean a wider buyer pool than most Brooklyn inventory can offer. Say so.

Price against post-2005 ground-up condominiums. Start with newer small and mid-size buildings on the Bridge, Gold and Front Street blocks; include relevant converted lofts with adjustments for age, layout, condition, services and outdoor space.

If you're considering 185 York Street, also evaluate:

• 206 Front Street — 31-unit 2006–07 ground-up condominium on the same block band between Bridge and Gold; the closest direct comparison
• 102 Gold Street (Ironwood) — boutique Vinegar Hill condominium a block east
• 100 Gold Street — small Vinegar Hill condominium on the same corridor
• 79 Bridge Street (The Bridges) — 37-unit condominium one block west
• 37 Bridge Street (Kirkman Lofts) — the nearby loft-conversion alternative on Bridge Street
• 85 Adams Street (The Beacon Tower) — 2004–06 ground-up condominium tower at the bridge approach
• 98 Front Street — full-amenity 2019–21 new construction; the newer, larger, higher-service alternative
• 133 Water Street — 52-unit 2006–07 new construction inside the DUMBO Historic District, with deeded parking