444 East 87th Street

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.

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.

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 (2024): a median $1,134/sf (floor-adjusted) 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.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01566-0029). 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.

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. A video intercom does not establish lower total maintenance. Compare the actual charge, assessments, included utilities and staffing coverage with a specific doorman alternative.

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. Those destinations are practical location features, not evidence of future appreciation.

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.

Use dated pricing and marketing-time evidence. Compare studios of similar condition and size; no borough-wide price-elasticity ranking is established here. Evaluate same-building and same-block sales alongside other suitably matched transactions.

Compare renovation cost with matched sales. A renovation budget does not establish its resale return; account for scope, approvals, time and the condition of competing apartments. Run the Renovation Cost Calculator before deciding whether to sell as-is.

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