- Year built
- 1915
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 32
- Floors
- 5
- Landmark
- No
- Amenities
- Private gated garden/courtyard, central laundry, bike room, and private storage that transfers with the sale per listing records
- Pets
- Pet-friendly per brokerage records
- Financing
- 75 percent maximum per listing records
Yorkville's housing stock divides into towers and tenements, and 439 East 88th Street sits in the narrow band between them: a 32-unit, five-story 1915 elevator co-op on a quiet tree-lined block two blocks from Carl Schurz Park. The scale is the product. With roughly 30 shareholders, a single keyed elevator, a live-in superintendent, and no doorman payroll, the building runs lean — brokerage records have repeatedly described its maintenance as among the lowest on the Upper East Side — and that carrying-cost discipline is structural, not cyclical.
The ownership history is unusually well documented for a building this size. The conversion plan — dated November 17, 1980, sponsored by Ruth T. Weinstock, who had also been the building's managing agent — is on file in The Roebling Research Library along with its full run of twenty amendments, a period piece of the early-1980s conversion wave: tenant-discount repricing, a negotiated eviction moratorium, sponsor-arranged financing through the Dime Savings Bank. Few boutique Yorkville co-ops can produce their founding documents this completely, and for a buyer's attorney that paper trail shortens diligence.
The location argument is the same one that powers the East End Avenue corridor a block east, at a fraction of the price: Carl Schurz Park and the river esplanade as the neighborhood front yard, Asphalt Green and the East 90th Street ferry landing nearby, the Q at Second Avenue–86th and 96th Streets, and the 4/5/6 and crosstown M86 at 86th Street. The block itself, between First and York, is low-rise and residential — the quiet is real.
Architecture and unit composition
The building rises five stories in brown brick on a 70-by-100-foot lot, with the footprint leaving room for the gated garden court that listing records consistently flag as the building's signature shared space. The entrance sequence — two steps up under a canopy, wall lanterns, a red-marble surround — gives the house more presence than its tenement-era neighbors. Inside, the 32 apartments run compact: predominantly one-bedrooms with a band of two-bedrooms and combination units (the building averages under 700 square feet per apartment on city-recorded floor area), with pre-war proportions, and renovation quality varying line to line. Fifth-floor units market themselves as penthouse-tier for light. There is no roof deck; the garden is the outdoor amenity.
Building operations
This is a self-service boutique cooperative: keyed elevator, live-in superintendent, no doorman, central laundry, bike room, and storage that transfers with the sale per listing records. The economics follow the staffing model — low maintenance against package logistics handled by the super and a board of neighbors. The cooperative refinanced its underlying mortgage in 2018, building the reserve fund to roughly $365,000 at year-end 2018 per the audited financial statements on file, with flip-tax receipts feeding reserves on each transfer. The offering plan, amendments, and financial statements are on file in The Roebling Research Library and available to clients during diligence.
Local Law 97
This building is below the 25,000 sq ft threshold at which LL97 emissions caps apply. No regulatory capital pressure from this law specifically, current or 2030.
See full Local Law 97 analysis →Recent sales
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Recent transfers at this building, sourced from NYC Department of Finance records. Apartment-level detail (line, condition, asking-price context) verified upon consultation request.
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2025 | 1E | $535,000 |
| Mar 28, 2025 | 2F | $650,000 |
| Aug 30, 2022 | 5C | $680,000 |
| Aug 9, 2021 | 3B | $587,500 |
| Apr 5, 2021 | AA | $558,000 |
| Aug 20, 2020 | 2B | $680,000 |
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01568-0015) 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.
What to know if you’re buying
The carrying cost is the headline. Run the monthly math against any full-service alternative at the same price — the maintenance gap compounds. Use the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator on the specific unit before you weigh amenities.
Small co-op mechanics cut both ways. A roughly 30-shareholder corporation means decisions move quickly and reserves are sized to a small base; a single assessment is felt by everyone. Your attorney should read the financials on file with us — the 2018 refinance and reserve build are a sound recent record, but underwrite the building, not just the apartment.
The policy stack needs case-specific verification. Listing records conflict on pied-à-terre (some say board-approved, one says not permitted), and sublet terms are thinly documented. We verify current policy directly with the managing agent before any offer. Financing runs to 75 percent; prepare the package with the Co-op Board Qualification Calculator.
No doorman means no doorman. Packages, deliveries, and renovations run through the super and the board. Buyers trading down from staffed buildings should price the service trade honestly.
The block is the amenity. Walk First-to-York on 88th at night, then walk to the park. Carl Schurz, the esplanade, Asphalt Green, the 90th Street ferry, the Q at 86th — the corridor amenities are public and two blocks away.
What to know if you’re selling
Sell the monthly number. Buyers comparing listings rarely normalize for maintenance; do it for them in the marketing. The building's low-carry profile is its sharpest edge against the doorman stock at the same prices.
Document the building's record. The offering plan, amendment history, refinance, and reserve growth are on file with us and survive attorney review. A boutique co-op that can produce its paper trail closes faster.
Price to condition within the line. The spread between renovated and estate-condition units in buildings this size is wide and visible. Run the Renovation Cost Calculator against your asking strategy rather than anchoring to the building's last trade.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 439 East 88th Street, also evaluate:
- 200 East End Avenue — the post-war full-service anchor opposite Carl Schurz Park; the step-up in service and price
- 400 East 85th Street — post-war Yorkville co-op; the full-service alternative at moderate pricing
- 425 East 86th Street — 1929 pre-war co-op at larger scale
- 320 East 86th Street — 1925 condop; the flexible-ownership pre-war alternative
- Gracie Gardens (520–530 East 86th Street) — the corridor's pre-war garden-complex co-op
- 120 East End Avenue — the prestige pre-war tier on the park, for calibration upward
- 180 East 88th Street — new-development condo tower; the new-construction alternative
- 360 East 89th Street (Citizen360) — boutique new condo one block north
The Roebling Team at 439 East 88th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass works Yorkville, the East End Avenue corridor, and the broader Upper East Side as a core practice area, and we have transacted at 439 East 88th Street — board-package and deal materials from our representation there are part of our building file. We publish this profile because boutique-co-op buyers and sellers deserve building-specific intelligence — founding documents, financial posture, and policy verification — not generic neighborhood commentary.
If you're considering a transaction at 439 East 88th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.