59 West 71st Street
59 West 71st Street, New York, NY 10023
Lincoln Square, Upper West Side
BBL 1011240005 · BIN 1028605
- Year built
- 1924
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- No
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 2BR median
- $1.8M
- Recent range
- $1.6M – $2.8M
- Listing discount
- 3.5%
- Recorded transfers
- 42
59 West 71st Street is a pre-war cooperative on a prime Lincoln Square block — a quiet, tree-lined stretch between Central Park West and Columbus, a half-block from Central Park itself. Built in 1924, it is a nine-story, 40-unit co-op of efficient, well-laid-out apartments, and it occupies an important niche on the Upper West Side: the well-run, pet-friendly pre-war building where studios and one-bedrooms make genuine pre-war character attainable at an entry price point, in one of the most coveted locations in the neighborhood.
The address does a lot of the work. From the front door, Central Park is steps away, Lincoln Center is a few minutes south, and the dining and shopping of Columbus Avenue and Broadway are immediately at hand, with the B/C trains at 72nd Street and Central Park West around the corner. For first-time co-op buyers, pied-à-terre seekers, and anyone who values location and pre-war bones over square footage, 59 West 71st is a building that consistently earns its keep.
Architecture and unit composition
The building is a 1924 nine-story pre-war masonry apartment house, scaled to its low-rise residential block and detailed in the solid, unfussy manner of mid-1920s West Side construction. Its position a half-block off Central Park West gives it the calm of a side street with the convenience of a major avenue around the corner.
The 40 residences skew toward studios and one-bedrooms — smart, well-proportioned pre-war layouts with the ceiling heights, light, and defined spaces that distinguish these homes from newer micro-units. The composition makes the building an efficient entry into pre-war ownership on a marquee block, with floor plans that reward thoughtful renovation.
Building operations
59 West 71st runs as a streamlined, well-kept pre-war co-op: an elevator, a central laundry room, a bike room, and private storage, overseen by a live-in superintendent. There is no doorman — consistent with a 40-unit building of this era — and the leaner staffing keeps maintenance moderate, an important consideration for buyers at the entry end of the market. The cooperative is pet-friendly, a meaningful advantage for the studio-and-one-bedroom buyer pool this building attracts.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair before the next inspection cycle. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.
See the full facade history →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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2025 | 4A | 2 BR · 2.5 BA | $2,100,000 | -6.7% | |
| Jun 25, 2025 | 9C | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,595,000 | +0.0% | |
| Apr 1, 2024 | 8B | 3 BR · 2 BA · 1,600 sf | $2,750,000 | $1,719/sf | -3.5% |
| Jul 6, 2022 | 9A | 3 BR · 3 BA · 1,600 sf | $2,725,000 | $1,703/sf | -0.9% |
| Jan 26, 2022 | 7C | 2 BR · 1.5 BA | $1,615,000 | +8.0% | |
| Jan 4, 2022 | 1C | 2 BR · 1 BA · 1,030 sf | $1,375,000 | $1,335/sf | -1.8% |
| Jun 22, 2021 | 5B | 3 BR · 2 BA | $2,814,000 | +8.4% | |
| Mar 12, 2021 | 2D | 2 BR · 1.5 BA | $1,330,000 | -16.6% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2024): a median $1,592/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2025. Median listing discount 0.9% 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 1-01124-0005) 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
This is an accessible pre-war co-op purchase, but still a co-op: expect a board package and interview. The building's appeal is the rare pairing of a top-tier location — a half-block from Central Park — with the comparatively attainable pricing of studios and one-bedrooms, and a pet-friendly policy that widens the buyer pool. Underwrite the apartment on light, floor, layout, and renovation scope, and weigh the location as a durable asset: blocks this close to the park rarely lose their appeal. Moderate maintenance keeps total carrying costs sensible for entry-point buyers.
What to know if you’re selling
Location leads here. A pre-war co-op a half-block from Central Park, on a quiet Lincoln Square block, with a pet-friendly board, reaches a broad and active buyer pool — first-timers, downsizers, and pied-à-terre seekers alike. Stage to the apartment's pre-war character and light, and benchmark against other smaller-unit pre-war co-ops near Central Park West rather than against larger-layout buildings. Well-priced, well-presented studios and one-bedrooms on a block like this tend to trade quickly.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 59 West 71st Street, these nearby Lincoln Square and West 70s pre-war cooperatives form a useful comparison set:
- 17 West 71st Street — pre-war co-op on the same block toward Central Park West
- 119 West 71st Street — amenitized pre-war co-op nearby
- 105 West 70th Street — pre-war cooperative a block south
- 120 West 70th Street — Lincoln Square pre-war co-op
- 201 West 72nd Street — pre-war co-op on the 72nd Street corridor
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper West Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper West 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 59 West 71st Street?
Request a private building brief with the relevant comparable sales, current and off-market availability, and an apartment-specific view of value.
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 59 West 71st 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.