The Simone, 35 McDonald Avenue

The building rises five stories on a 27,695-square-foot lot, with about 41,700 square feet of floor area per PLUTO, and sits over a cellar garage. The declaration's Schedule B sets out every unit. The first floor holds eight apartments of about 630 to 1,070 square feet. All of them except 1A have private yard areas, ranging from about 40 to more than 1,270 square feet. The second and third floors each repeat a nine-line plan (A through I) of about 575 to 1,630 square feet; every line except the E-line studios has a small balcony. The fourth and fifth floors step back. The fourth has six apartments of about 825 to 1,520 square feet, four with terraces of about 380 to 920 square feet. The fifth has three apartments of about 1,130 to 1,800 square feet, with terraces of about 410 to 1,350 square feet.

The mix runs from studios (1A, 2E and 3E) to three-bedrooms (2I, 3I and 5C). Square footages are the sponsor's plan figures; measure before relying on them.

The 1,012-square-foot first-floor community facility unit is a non-residential unit of the kind zoning allows for uses such as medical or professional offices. The garage has 25 deeded spaces of 153 square feet each.

The 421-a schedule, worked out from the Department of Finance record. The exemption is a 25-year, no-cap 421-a benefit, first effective in the 2008/09 tax year. On the 2026/27 roll, each unit's exempt value equals its full assessed value less a fixed pre-construction base, which means the benefit is still at 100 percent. The statute's 25-year schedule holds the benefit at 100 percent for 21 years and then reduces it 20 points a year for four years. Applied here, full exemption runs through 2028/29, the phase-out runs 2029/30 to 2032/33 (80, 60, 40 and 20 percent), and full taxes begin in the 2033/34 tax year, starting July 1, 2033. That is our reading of the statute against the DOF record, not a DOF-published schedule. Have the buyer's attorney check it against the unit's exemption detail.

No regulatory agreement found. ACRIS shows no regulatory agreement or declaration of restrictions against the building's lots, and the apartments were sold to unrelated buyers. Ask the managing agent or condominium counsel what eligibility the 25-year term rests on and whether any obligation continues.

Finances and capital. The audited statements for 2022 and 2023 are on file. The condominium took a $750,000 bank loan in 2020 to fund the litigation and repairs, and repaid it in full in May 2022. A special assessment that had run since November 2015 ended in June 2022. The 2023 roof, façade, defect and mechanical work drew the reserve fund down to about $153,000 at year-end, from about $638,000 a year earlier. The 2024 budget set building-wide common charges at about $235,000 a year, including a $22,000 reserve contribution. The auditors note that the condominium has not commissioned a study of future major repairs. Ask for the 2024 and 2025 statements, the current reserve balance, and whether any assessment is planned to rebuild it.

Sponsor position. The sponsor still owns apartments 2A, 2F and 3B, the community facility unit, and parking spaces P14, P19 and P22. None of these has been conveyed to an unrelated buyer since the 2007 closings. Three of 35 apartments is a minority position, but lenders' condominium questionnaires ask about it. Ask whether the sponsor units are leased.

Scale. At five stories the building is below the six-story threshold of the city's façade-inspection program (Local Law 11).

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-00895-7502) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price.

Model the tax step-up year by year. The benefit is at 100 percent through 2028/29. The phase-out starts in 2029/30, and full taxes arrive in 2033/34. Run carrying costs across your expected hold.

Read the last three years of financials. The defect case is settled and the sponsor paid in full. The 2023 repairs, though, left a small reserve. Ask what the 2024 and 2025 statements show and whether an assessment is coming.

Expect lender questions about the sponsor units. Three apartments and the community facility unit remain with the sponsor.

Confirm the outdoor space in the declaration. Yard and terrace areas run from a few dozen square feet to more than 1,300.

Put the tax schedule in writing. A buyer's attorney will find the phase-out. A True Monthly Carrying Cost projection across 2029/30 to 2033/34 is stronger than letting it surface in diligence.

Get ahead of the litigation question. Have the 2023 statements and the settlement note ready. The repairs are done, and that is a selling point when you can document it.

Sell parking deliberately. Spaces are separately deeded units. Decide early whether to convey yours with the apartment or price it separately.

If you're considering The Simone, also evaluate:

• 155 Terrace Place — the 55-unit Windsor Terrace condominium at Prospect Avenue; older, with no abatement on the current roll
• 1638 Eighth Avenue — a 2010–11 condominium with parking at the Windsor Terrace line, with a later-starting 25-year 421-a
• 162 16th Street (The Vue) — a South Slope condominium with deeded parking and the same 2008/09 start on a 25-year 421-a
• 675 Sackett Street — a 25-year 421-a building already in its phase-out; what the next stage looks like
• 343 Fourth Avenue — a 2006 condominium with a garage and a 25-year 421-a of the same generation
• 155 15th Street (Harbor Hill) — a South Slope condominium with a garage whose 15-year 421-a ends in 2027
• 185 Prospect Park Southwest — the park-facing Windsor Terrace cooperative alternative
• 140 East 2nd Street — a prewar Windsor Terrace elevator cooperative; the neighborhood's deepest co-op sale record