233 East 17th Street

Five floors of red brick and stone in the Victorian Gothic manner, across 74 feet of East 17th Street frontage on an irregular lot. Roughly 26,700 square feet of built area, all residential — there is no commercial component in the condominium. The 1877 and 1883 sections read as one property from the street and are recorded as one tax lot.

Thirteen residences: lines 1 through 10 on the lower levels and three penthouses above. The distribution of outdoor space is unusual for a converted institutional building — private gardens and terraces attached to eight residences, roof terraces on all three penthouses. DOB records a roof deck modification in 2008 and a roof pergola in 2009, both filed by the condominium. Listing records for the building describe wood-burning fireplaces and in-unit washer-dryers in the residences; both should be confirmed line by line rather than assumed across the building, because the conversion worked with existing masonry and flues and the results are unlikely to be uniform.

Ceiling height is the building's defining feature and it varies by residence. Anyone underwriting a purchase here should be looking at the specific plan and section for that unit, not at a building average.

Staffing is not documented in the materials reviewed; thirteen residences alone do not establish whether doorman service is provided or affordable. What the record documents is the maintenance of a landmarked nineteenth-century masonry envelope. DOB filings show a sidewalk shed and pipe scaffold in August 2012, exterior renovations including masonry restoration and flashing installation in 2013, repairs to the exterior entry stair and the interior lobby floor in 2014, and a temporary construction fence in 2015 — repair filings that do not establish a mandatory FISP cycle for this reported five-story building. FISP applies to buildings higher than six stories; LPC and DOB requirements depend on the scope of each project.

That is the honest operating picture for a buyer: a small condominium, a protected 1870s and 1880s façade, and a capital program that arrives in cycles rather than continuously. Neither an offering plan nor audited financial statements for this building are in our library, so this page makes no claim about reserves, assessments, common charges or the current capital plan. Those documents exist and the managing agent has them; obtain them.

We hold no offering plan, by-laws or house rules for this condominium, and this section states only what the record supports.

The roll shows no exemption. The assessment roll shows no J-51 and no exemption on the condominium's tax lot or on any of its thirteen unit lots; abatements apply at the bill level, so check the specific apartment's tax bill. Run the comparison against Gramercy conversions that still hold an abatement rather than assume parity.

Establish landmark and building-permit requirements. Alterations to windows, ironwork, entry stairs, roof structures, terrace railings and façades may require LPC review, subject to ordinary-maintenance exceptions; DOB requirements must be assessed separately. That governs both the building's capital work and any alteration an owner contemplates on a terrace or at a window line.

Subletting, pets, pied-à-terre use and entity ownership are set by the by-laws and house rules. Condominium regimes of this vintage and size are generally permissive, but "generally" is not a policy — confirm each term with the managing agent before you offer.

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 (2024) cleared a median $1,685/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. 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 1-00898-7502; 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.

Read the section, not the summary. The single most valuable diligence document for this building is the architectural plan and section for the specific residence. Ceiling heights, mezzanine and double-height conditions, fireplace flues and the geometry of private outdoor space are all unit-specific consequences of a nineteenth-century institutional shell.

Check the tax bill, not just the roll. The assessment roll shows no J-51 or other exemption; confirm on the specific apartment's bill that no abatement applies. Model the real number with the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator.

Get the financials and the capital plan. We do not hold them. In a thirteen-unit condominium with a landmarked masonry envelope, the reserve position and current façade condition are material questions. Ask specifically what has been done since the 2013–2015 exterior program and what is next.

Price the LPC process into any renovation. DOB requirements can apply to both interior and exterior work. LPC review may also be required for windows, terraces, roof structures and other alterations, with ordinary-maintenance exceptions and permit type depending on scope; establish both agencies’ requirements before planning the work.

Confirm the fireplaces. Working wood-burning fireplaces appear in listing records for the building. In a converted institutional structure, that is a flue-by-flue question, and it should be answered in writing.

Lead with the documented history. This is an 1877 Littell building with an 1883 Charles Coolidge Haight addition in the Stuyvesant Square Historic District, built as a sisterhood house. That is verifiable from LPC's own records, and it is a far stronger story than the "1948" that a buyer's cursory property search will return. Correct it early.

Sell the volume. Ceiling heights, the double-height chapel condition, and the private outdoor space are what separate this building from the corridor's converted apartment houses. Photograph and describe them precisely.

Assemble the building file before the first showing. Offering plan, current financials, current budget, capital history and LPC permit history for any work done to the residence. Buyers in a landmarked district ask about approvals, and an unprepared answer costs time and price.

If you're considering 233 East 17th Street, also evaluate:

• 203 East 16th Street — condominium converted from a historic parish house on Stuyvesant Square; the closest analogue in origin, scale and district
• 117 East 18th Street — boutique Gramercy condominium one block north
• 211 East 18th Street — cooperative on the adjacent block; the co-op alternative in the same few streets
• 130 East 18th Street — cooperative converted in 1984; a longer-established building in the corridor
• 157 East 18th Street — cooperative converted in 1991, at similar neighborhood positioning
• 200 East 16th Street — cooperative directly on the Stuyvesant Square blocks
• 49 East 21st Street — prewar loft conversion condominium; the same conversion logic applied to different fabric
• 121 East 22nd Street — newer Gramercy condominium; the full-amenity contrast at a higher carry
• 105 East 19th Street — cooperative near Gramercy Park; a different ownership structure nearby
• 350 East 18th Street — ground-up condominium on a separate block to the east; the new-construction alternative