The Duplex Condos, 215 East 81st Street

The façade uses two tones of stucco and windows arranged around the changes in interior level. The irregular rhythm is tied to the apartment sections. Balconies, small projecting outdoor areas and larger terraces distinguish individual positions in the building.

Many of the recorded apartments fall in roughly the 550- to 750-square-foot range. Within that area, a duplex can divide the living room from an elevated bedroom or sleeping zone. Some plans include an alcove and a bath-and-a-half arrangement. The location of the stair, the amount of landing space and the openness between levels affect how much furniture each room can accommodate.

A second level does not necessarily mean a full second floor covering the apartment's entire footprint. Some homes place an upper sleeping area above only part of the living space. Others have more defined separation. Ceiling height should therefore be considered at each occupied level, particularly where an upper area is used as a bedroom or office.

Outdoor space also varies by type. A Juliet balcony is an opening at the façade; a projecting balcony or terrace has usable exterior floor area. Larger private terraces occur in selected plans, while many apartments rely on the common courtyard. The particular outdoor area needs to be read together with its access from the living or sleeping level.

Renovated homes include open kitchens, individual heating and cooling equipment and double-pane windows. Changes made after the conversion mean cabinetry and fixtures are not uniform throughout the building. Internal stair positions and the original split-level structure can be harder to change than finishes.

The condominium has an elevator, part-time door coverage and a resident superintendent. The landscaped courtyard and laundry facilities are shared. The service package concentrates on entry, on-site assistance and a small set of common spaces within a 40-residence building.

Individual heating and cooling equipment places temperature control in the apartment. Equipment location matters in these compact plans, especially where an upper sleeping area and a lower living room have different air circulation. Replacement access should be considered alongside the machine's location and any enclosure installed during renovation.

The building's 40 residential tax lots are in Class 2, with no assessment-growth cap and no identified abatement. Built FAR exceeds the current R8B residential allowance. The established interior volume is central to the property; existing open space within an apartment should not be treated as permission to add another enclosed level.

DOF ownership records show the largest owner holding six of the 40 residences. That is a minority interest. The property has an established history of individual ownership and resales following its conversion.

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 (2025) cleared a median $1,145/sf (floor-adjusted) across 3 sales. 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 2.0% 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 1-01527-7502; 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.

The route through the apartment is part of its usable size. Measure the internal stair, landings and the upper sleeping area's clearances before treating a duplex as equivalent to a single-level apartment of the same stated area. A bed, desk or sofa that fits a room may still have a difficult delivery route through the stair opening. The building elevator does not eliminate the stairs inside the home.

• 215 East 80th Street: A larger postwar condominium near the same Third Avenue services.
• 175–177 East 77th Street: A condominium of reasonably similar ownership scale farther south in the neighborhood.
• Diamond House: A converted condominium alternative with a similarly limited apartment inventory.
• Le Trianon: A taller condominium at Third Avenue for comparing compact homes and upper-floor outlooks.
• The New Yorker: A small-inventory condominium in a tower configuration, offering a different relationship between floor and exposure.