510 East 86th Street

510 East 86th Street is a representative post-war elevator building: a clean brick tower built for efficient layouts and light. Rising 21 stories, it holds 94 apartments across a mix that runs from studios and one-bedrooms to larger family layouts, with the upper floors capturing open city and East River exposures that are the building's most prized feature. The post-war vintage means lower ceilings than the pre-war stock but more rational, light-filled floor plans — and a number of homes carry private terraces.

The amenity set is the dependable post-war package: central laundry, a bicycle room, and private resident storage, all run by a live-in superintendent and an around-the-clock door staff.

The building is a full-service cooperative staffed by a 24-hour doorman and a live-in superintendent. Financing is permitted up to 75% of the purchase price, and a 2% flip tax, paid by the seller, is due at closing. The building is pet-friendly. Co-purchasing is not permitted, so the board expects the purchaser to qualify on their own; pied-à-terre use is permitted. As with most co-ops, purchases clear through a full board application and interview.

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. Most recent trades (2026 to date) cleared a median $760/sf (floor-adjusted) across 1 sale. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 2.8% 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 1-01582-0046). 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 financing is the headline term. Up to 75% financing is permitted. The 2% flip tax is paid by the seller. The building is pet-friendly. Note that co-purchasing is not permitted — a parent cannot co-sign on title, so the buyer must qualify independently. Expect a full board package and interview. The value proposition is location and service: a full-time doorman co-op a block from Carl Schurz Park and the river, with pricing to compare against dated, matched sales on the avenues to the west.

Lead with location and the river. Proximity to Carl Schurz Park, the East River esplanade, and the calm of the East End blocks is the building's strongest marketing asset — and higher-floor homes with open or river exposures should be foregrounded. The 75% financing ceiling widens your buyer pool, a real selling advantage over more restrictive co-ops; surface it early. Price to the Yorkville post-war comparison set — the relevant benchmarks are the full-service post-war co-ops near East End Avenue, not pre-war product to the west. Prepare buyers for the board, including the no-co-purchasing rule, so a deal doesn't stall; we vet buyers for board-readiness before an accepted offer.

If you're considering 510 East 86th Street, also evaluate nearby Yorkville and East End cooperatives:

• 525 East 86th Street — full-service co-op steps away
• 535 East 86th Street — post-war co-op on the same block
• 425 East 86th Street — Yorkville cooperative to the west
• 345 East 86th Street — full-service East 86th Street co-op
• 446 East 86th Street — cooperative near East End Avenue