222 East 71st Street

The building sits on a 60-by-100-foot lot on a tree-lined side street, with an elevator serving six residential floors. The apartment lettering runs A through D, and the share record shows how owners have reshaped the plan over time: duplex combinations spanning the third and fourth floors on the A and B lines, and a combined C/D apartment on the third floor. The combined apartments are the building's largest and trade at its top. The single apartments on the lower floors are its entry point.

Listing records describe wood-burning fireplaces in nearly every apartment, high ceilings, hardwood floors, mouldings and built-in bookshelves. These are prewar rooms of real proportion at modest scale. Confirm the fireplaces are operable and permitted for use in the specific apartment. A 2005 DOB filing removed a dumbwaiter shaft at the fifth floor, and a steady run of apartment renovations appears in the job record.

The building runs with a live-in superintendent, per listing records. It carries a small union payroll. The house rules require rugs or carpeting over 80 percent of each apartment's floor area. Moves are allowed only on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., with a refundable deposit.

Finances, per audited statements on file (year ending December 31, 2021). Real estate taxes were about half of operating expenses, net of shareholder abatements the corporation passes through. Shareholders paid an operating assessment on top of maintenance, and in 2021 the corporation levied a capital assessment to fund façade rehabilitation under a contract of about $370,000 signed in June 2021. The 2 percent flip tax is dedicated to capital work. Cash was a little over $300,000 at year-end. The board has not commissioned a reserve study, and the governing documents do not require a reserve fund. Ask for the most recent statements, the current assessments and whether the façade project closed on budget.

Underlying mortgage — the date to know. The corporation owes $1.4 million to its bank on an interest-only mortgage at a fixed 3.33 percent, maturing October 1, 2028, with a $500,000 unsecured line of credit maturing the same day and undrawn at the 2021 year-end. ACRIS records the 2018 consolidation. The debt is modest, about $67,000 an apartment. But the rate is low and the maturity is two years out. At 6 percent, interest on the same balance would run roughly $84,000 a year against about $47,000 in 2021. That increase is equal to about 5 or 6 percent of 2021 maintenance. This estimate assumes the balance stays the same and is refinanced at 6 percent. Ask the board what its refinancing plan is.

Façade. DOB's façade-inspection record shows safe filings for Cycle 9 in May 2022 and Cycle 10 in June 2026, following the 2021 rehabilitation.

Flip tax. 2 percent of gross sale price, seller-paid, per the 2012 shareholder notice and the audited statements.

Financing. Maximum 65 percent, per the resale application. A lender commitment letter and recognition agreements are part of the board package.

Board process. A full purchase application reviewed by the board and an admissions committee, followed by an interview. The managing agent schedules interviews around the board's calendar, so leave time before setting a closing date.

Subletting. A sublet application exists, so subletting is contemplated. The terms are not stated in our file. Obtain them from the managing agent.

Pets. Allowed, subject to removal if a pet disturbs other residents.

Not documented: post-closing liquidity, pied-à-terre practice beyond listing records, and treatment of trusts and LLCs. Confirm in writing.

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. Most recent trades (2026 to date) cleared a median $1,390/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. Median listing discount 1.9% 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 1-01425-0035). 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.

Plan for 35 percent down. The ceiling is 65 percent financing, which is lower than at many neighbors.

Ask about the 2028 refinancing. The mortgage and credit line both mature on October 1, 2028. Ask the board how it plans to refinance and how it expects that to affect maintenance.

Confirm the assessments. Both an operating assessment and a capital assessment have been in place recently. Get the current figures and end dates in writing.

Check the fireplace. If the fireplace is part of why you want the apartment, confirm it works and is approved for use.

Budget the 2 percent. It is seller-paid on the gross price.

Leave room for the calendar. Board interviews run on the board's schedule, so build that into the contract timeline.

Market the fireplace and the scale. Twenty-one apartments and working fireplaces are uncommon at this price in Lenox Hill.

If you're considering 222 East 71st Street, also evaluate:

• 233 East 70th Street — condop on the same block, a postwar alternative
• 179 East 70th Street — another Lenox Hill building built as a cooperative, postwar
• 129 East 69th Street — small 1916 Lenox Hill co-op of similar scale
• 170 East 79th Street — 1927 co-op of about the same size
• 205 East 69th Street — 1929 prewar co-op, larger
• 315 East 68th Street — 1931 prewar co-op further east
• 212 East 70th Street — small prewar building nearby, condominium tenure