320 West 90th Street

LPC's 1989 survey describes a facade in two horizontal divisions. The first story is set off by recessed courses of dark brick, with patterned brickwork above its window lintels. The nine bays above are tied together vertically by brick spandrels and raised-brick window surrounds, with corner windows in the end bays that wrap onto the side elevations. The recessed entrance sits in a polished stone frame with angled reveals. At designation almost all of the original wood casement windows with transoms were still in place. LPC noted one aluminum replacement, air-conditioner cutouts in some casements, and replacement entrance doors and canopy.

The dumbbell plan, with light courts cut into the east and west sides, gives most apartments exposure on more than one side for a mid-block lot about 87 feet wide. The offering plan describes six apartments per floor on floors one through six, lines A through F, plus the superintendent's apartment at the rear of the cellar. The first certificate of occupancy, in December 1936, showed five apartments per floor; a second in February 1937 recorded six, and that is how the building stands today.

The holder's 2021 schedule gives a sense of the mix. It lists three-room apartments with one bath in the A and B lines, a four-room, two-bath apartment in the C line, and five-room, two-bath apartments in the E and F lines. Owners have combined units: ACRIS carries a combined 3D/3E and a combined 2C/2D, and DOB signed off on a separate two-apartment combination filed in 2007. Confirm the current apartment count with the managing agent.

This is a small, self-service cooperative: a live-in superintendent, an elevator, a cellar laundry (legalized and refloored under DOB filings in 2017–18), bicycle and storage rooms, and a shared garden patio. No doorman appears in the records reviewed.

Finances. The most recent audited statements on file cover 2019, which is old for underwriting purposes. That year the board levied an operating assessment on top of maintenance, as it had in 2018. A capital assessment approved in 2017 paid for sidewalk work, foundation waterproofing, laundry-room floor repairs, other cellar repairs and common-area updates. Reserves were about $283,000 at year-end 2019. Ask for the 2024 and 2025 statements and the current budget.

Underlying mortgage. The 2019 statements describe a 2013 loan of $1.67 million at 3.375 percent, due in 2028. ACRIS shows that loan satisfied and replaced in May 2022 with a new $2.0 million mortgage plus a second $300,000 instrument from the same lender. The rate, amortization and maturity of the 2022 financing, and whether the $300,000 is a credit line, have not been established from the records reviewed here; obtain the complete recorded instruments and current loan statement.

Façade. The building's Local Law 11 filings were classified Safe in Cycle 7 (2012) and Cycle 9 (November 2021), and Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program in Cycle 8 (2017). The Forty-Fifth Amendment reports a Local Law 11 restoration contracted in 2020 at about $275,000. No Cycle 10 report was in the public record at this writing. Because the building is landmarked, façade and window work also needs LPC approval.

J-51, start to finish. Department of Finance J-51 records show three benefits on this lot: a small one begun in 1973 that ran through the 1983 tax year, one begun in 1986 that ran through 1998, and one begun in 1991 whose abatement was used up in the 2002 tax year. Nothing is active. The current roll shows only individual shareholder exemptions and the standard co-op abatement, which passes through to eligible shareholders.

Flip tax: 2 percent of the gross sale price, paid by the seller, per the audited statements. Confirm the current rate with the managing agent.

Financing: Up to 75 percent, per listing records.

Pets, washer/dryers, pied-à-terre: Cats and dogs are permitted, washer/dryers are allowed, and pied-à-terre use is permitted, per listing records. All three should be confirmed against the house rules and the alteration agreement.

Subletting, guarantors, trusts and LLCs: Not documented in the records reviewed. Get these from the managing agent before relying on them.

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 (2022): a median $1,045/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 1.5% 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 1-01250-0110). 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.

Underwrite the holder. Ask the managing agent how many apartments the outside investor now holds, whether it is current on maintenance, and whether the lender limits financing because of it. In 2021 the rents on the holder's apartments ran well below the maintenance owed on them.

Get statements newer than 2019. The public and on-file picture shows operating assessments in 2018 and 2019, a 2017 capital assessment and a 2022 refinancing. What matters is the current budget, the terms of the 2022 mortgage and the reserve balance today.

Plan on 25 percent down and 2 percent out. Financing tops out at 75 percent per listing records, and the seller-paid flip tax is 2 percent.

Confirm the landmark permit route. Covered window and exterior alterations need LPC approval as well as board consent; staff approval may apply and ordinary maintenance may be exempt. Interior work requiring a DOB permit also needs LPC review.

Lead with the building itself. A 1936 Sylvan Bien Art Deco facade, a landmarked block and a short walk to Riverside Park are a clear story, and there is not much Art Deco on these side streets.

Price against the same line, not the building median. Recorded averages here are skewed by the investor block trade. Recent resident sales in the same line, adjusted for condition and floor, are the right comparison.

Bring the financials. A buyer's lender will ask about the holder's concentration. Having current statements and a managing-agent questionnaire ready removes the most likely delay.

If you're considering 320 West 90th Street, also evaluate:

• 320 West 89th Street — 1922 George F. Pelham cooperative directly behind on the same block; 36 apartments, a close match on scale
• 317 West 89th Street — prewar side-street cooperative one block south
• 345 West 88th Street — 1915 Rouse & Goldstone courtyard cooperative near Riverside
• 255 West 90th Street — 1909 Neville & Bagge cooperative on the same street east of West End; larger and full-service
• 173–175 Riverside Drive — the 1926 J.E.R. Carpenter blockfront on Riverside between 89th and 90th
• 160 Riverside Drive — 1922 Gaetan Ajello cooperative at West 88th Street
• 11 Riverside Drive (Schwab House) — Sylvan Bien's 1950 cooperative; the same architect at a far larger scale