444 East 87th Street
444 East 87th Street, New York, NY 10128
Yorkville, Upper East Side
BBL 1015660029 · BIN 1050555
- Year built
- 1905
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 42
- Floors
- 5
- Landmark
- No
- Amenities
- Central laundry, video security
- Pets
- Permitted per listing records
- Financing
- 80 percent maximum per listing records
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- Studio median
- $303K
- Recent range
- $282K – $512K
- Listing discount
- -2.6%
- Recorded transfers
- 69
444 East 87th Street is the kind of building that makes Yorkville the Upper East Side's entry market: a 1905 boutique co-op of 42 studios and one-bedrooms, one block from Carl Schurz Park, trading at price points that barely exist elsewhere in Manhattan's doorman-and-co-op belt. There is no doorman here, no amenity program, and no pretense — what the building offers instead is a policy stack unusually friendly for a co-op (sublets after one year, pieds-à-terre permitted, 80 percent financing per listing records) attached to one of the lowest entry tickets near the park.
The building's bones are older than most of its competition. Built in 1905, it predates Yorkville's post-war high-rise wave by half a century — a low-rise flats building from the neighborhood's German and Hungarian era, modernized in recorded alteration cycles (1962, 1985 per city records) and converted to cooperative ownership in 1985. The pre-war envelope shows in the gray-brick facade over a two-story white marble base and the step-down lobby; the apartments themselves are compact, efficient, and renovate well.
For diligence purposes, the building's paper trail runs deep in The Roebling Research Library: the offering plan and amendments are on file, including the twenty-fifth amendment from 2006 — which documents, among other things, six apartments then held as unsold shares by an investor entity, Starlight Realty Associates, LLC. A small co-op with a multi-decade unsold-shares history is not unusual in this tier, but the current ownership distribution and any remaining investor holdings are exactly the kind of thing a buyer's attorney should confirm at contract.
Architecture and unit composition
The building is a mid-block pre-war walk-up-scale apartment house with an elevator — five stories per city records, though some records describe six and sixth-floor apartment lines exist in the building's stock. The 42 apartments run roughly eight to a floor in studio and one-bedroom configurations per listing records: compact pre-war layouts with the solid masonry construction of the era, refreshed by the building's recent facade, hallway, and lobby renovations. This is a light-and-condition market — renovated lines with good exposures clear quickly at this price point, and original-condition units price to the renovation math.
Building operations
Self-service boutique mechanics: a live-in superintendent per listing records, video intercom and camera security in place of a doorman, central laundry on the ground floor, and a recently renovated elevator. Common-area investment has been visible and recent — facade, lobby, hallways, elevator — which is the operational record you want to see in a small co-op, where deferred maintenance lands hard on 42 shareholders. Recent listings have carried a modest monthly assessment per listing records; confirm the current assessment posture and reserve position against the financial statements during diligence.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $12,296/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $24
Management & transfer contacts
- Flip tax
- 1% of purchase price (paid by seller)
- Sublet policy
- Allowed; sublet fee $100 (non-refundable)
- Notable fees
- App processing $500; consumer report $100; package reproduction $195; transfer fee $650 ($1,150 estate); recognition agreement $350 if financing
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 19, 2024 | 4C | 1 BR · 1 BA · 448 sf | $508,000 | $1,134/sf | +2.6% |
| Sep 6, 2023 | 5B | 1 BR · 1 BA | $512,000 | +10.1% | |
| Jun 14, 2023 | 2C | 1 BA | $305,000 | +2.0% | |
| Jun 8, 2023 | 4G | 1 BA | $300,000 | +3.8% | |
| Mar 22, 2023 | 2B | 1 BA | $282,000 | +1.1% | |
| Oct 14, 2022 | 6E | 1 BA | $300,000 | +3.8% | |
| Sep 8, 2022 | 2H | 1 BA | $300,000 | -3.2% | |
| Jul 14, 2022 | 6G | $320,000 | -4.5% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2024): a median $1,134/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 3.2% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
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 1-01566-0029) 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; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
The policy stack is the product. Sublets after one year, pieds-à-terre permitted, pets welcome, 80 percent financing — per listing records, this is one of the more flexible boards in the neighborhood, and it materially widens what you can do with the apartment relative to typical co-op constraints. Verify each policy in writing with the managing agent before offering; listing copy is not a board resolution.
No doorman means underwriting the trade. Package logistics, guest access, and security run through a video intercom and a small staff. The maintenance savings are real; make sure the service model fits your life before trading away the doorman.
Investigate the unsold-shares picture. The 2006 amendment on file documents a six-unit investor holding at that date. Ask the managing agent for the current distribution of sponsor or investor-held units and any rent-regulated occupancies — it affects financing, building finances, and your exit.
Small co-op, concentrated stakes. With 42 units, every capital project is divided among few shareholders. The recent renovation record is encouraging; review the financials and reserve fund with your attorney to confirm the work was funded sustainably.
Buy the location math. One block to Carl Schurz Park, two to the Q at Second Avenue, near the 86th Street retail spine and the 90th Street ferry. At this entry price, the location is the appreciation thesis.
What to know if you’re selling
Market the flexibility, specifically. Name the policies in the listing — one-year sublet seasoning, pied-à-terre permission, 80 percent financing — because they are the building's competitive advantage over every stricter co-op at the same price point, and many buyers' agents will not know them.
Price to the entry-market clock. This tier is the most price-elastic in Manhattan: correctly priced studios move fast, overpriced ones sit visibly. Same-building and same-block comparables, not aspirational Yorkville averages, set the number.
Condition is the multiplier. At absolute prices this low, a modest renovation budget changes the sale price disproportionately. Run the Renovation Cost Calculator before deciding whether to sell as-is.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 444 East 87th Street, also evaluate:
- 446 East 86th Street — the post-war doorman co-op one block south; the full-service step-up
- 425 East 86th Street — larger post-war full-service co-op on the 86th Street spine
- 1628 Second Avenue — boutique Yorkville co-op peer near the Q
- 439 East 88th Street — low-rise Yorkville co-op alternative one block north
- 360 East 89th Street — Yorkville co-op alternative near the ferry
- 340 East 93rd Street — the northern Yorkville value alternative
- 200 East End Avenue — the park-facing full-service co-op step-up two blocks east
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
Considering a move at 444 East 87th Street?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
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A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 444 East 87th Street would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.