651 Vanderbilt Street (Park Vanderbilt)
651 Vanderbilt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11218
BBL 3052680033 · BIN 3122195
- Year built
- 1963
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 149
- Floors
- 6
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- One dog and two cats maximum; animals should not exceed 50 pounds, per the house rules on file
- Flip tax
- Seller-paid and tiered by when the shares were first acquired — 15 percent for shares purchased before 1 November 1982, 4 percent after — taken as a percentage of the sale price. The financials carry it as an "option waiver fee," and it is the sole funding source for the reserve
Every recorded sale at this building, 2004–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $680K
- Recent range
- $430K – $901K
- Listing discount
- 1.3%
- Recorded transfers
- 93
Park Vanderbilt is the largest cooperative in Windsor Terrace and one of three addresses carrying the neighborhood's cooperative sale record — 87 recorded sales, behind 140 East 2nd Street and 346 Coney Island Avenue. In a market of 916 addresses whose defining problem is that nothing comes up, a 149-apartment building that turns over predictably is a different proposition from the rest of it.
Its origin explains its shape. The audited financials record that in 1973 the corporation purchased the land and building from the Federal Housing Administration of HUD — not a 1980s sponsor conversion of the kind that produced most of brownstone Brooklyn's cooperative stock, but a federally held postwar rental sold into shareholder ownership a decade earlier, run by the corporation ever since. The two-tier transfer fee, 15 percent on shares acquired before 1 November 1982 and 4 percent after, is the fossil of that history, and it still decides what a long-tenured seller nets.
The building is a 1963 six-story brick apartment house on a 45,150-square-foot lot among turn-of-the-century row houses on lots a fraction the size. That contrast is the architectural argument: this is the one building on the block. It is also legally unrepeatable — R5B permits a floor area ratio of 1.50 and the building is built to 3.60, so the envelope cannot grow and nothing like it will be built beside it.
For buyers the consequence is scale: a corporation with a garage, laundry, bicycle room, storage and union staff runs on ancillary income the neighborhood's small buildings do not have. For sellers it inverts the usual Windsor Terrace pitch — the comparable set is your own building, refreshed several times a year, which makes pricing an evidentiary exercise rather than an argument from scarcity.
Architecture and unit composition
Six stories of red brick running 302.5 feet along Vanderbilt Street on a lot 150 feet deep, wrapped around a landscaped courtyard. Of roughly 162,400 square feet of building area about 132,100 is residential; the balance is the cellar, principally the garage, which is why the tax roll counts 155 units where 149 are apartments.
Across 148 shareholder apartments the residential area works out near 890 square feet apiece before corridors are netted out — postwar apartment-house scale, with full room counts, cross-ventilated lines and real closets, rather than the loft volumes or brownstone floor-throughs the borough's price-per-square-foot conversation assumes. Layouts run from studios to three-bedrooms, and line, floor and exposure drive the spread far more than any building-level average. One house rule shapes renovation plans: at least 80 percent of finished floor area outside kitchens, bathrooms, dining areas and closets must be carpeted or covered, with 90 days after closing to comply.
Building operations
The corporation is conservatively financed, which is the most useful thing on this page. The audited statements record a bank first mortgage originally written at $2,000,000, fixed at 6.97 percent, amortising at $13,266 a month, self-liquidating and maturing 1 December 2028, with a balance of $879,808 at the most recent year-end on file. Across 148 apartments that is a strikingly small underlying debt, and it retires on a fixed date rather than requiring a refinancing at whatever rates prevail then.
Reserves stood above $1.8 million at the same year-end. They are funded exclusively by transfer fees — the board established the account in 1998 and capitalises it from option waiver fees, which ran $274,170 and $338,950 in the two most recent years on file. That is a genuine strength and a genuine dependency: reserve accretion tracks turnover, so a slow sales year is a slow reserve year.
Two qualifications belong beside those numbers. The auditors note the corporation has not presented the required supplementary information on estimated future major repairs, and the financials state that no reserve study has been conducted and no funding plan developed. And the recent capital calendar is façade-led: building improvements in the most recent year on file totalled $251,146, of which $229,651 was façade restoration under a contract signed at $323,615 excluding engineering, alongside roof restoration and a security gate. A 1963 masonry building with 302 feet of frontage carries a standing Local Law 11 obligation, and that is the line to interrogate. Ancillary income from garage, laundry, bicycle and storage rentals runs near $80,000 a year and materially offsets maintenance; the J-51 exemption the corporation once held is exhausted.
Policy framework
Purchaser review: Full board approval, with a personal interview at the board's discretion. The package requires a documented statement of financial condition, a background report through a consumer reporting agency, and signed acknowledgements of the transfer fee and pet policy.
Financing: Maximum 80 percent, with three original recognition agreements and the commitment letter required before processing. The 30 percent housing-ratio ceiling is a hard screen that eliminates otherwise qualified buyers — run it before an offer, not after.
Transfer fee: Seller-paid by bank check to the corporation; 15 percent for shares acquired before 1 November 1982, 4 percent thereafter.
Garage and bicycle storage: Allocated to shareholders in good standing by waiting list, with vehicle registration and insurance on file; maximum two bicycle spaces per apartment.
Subletting: Board application and consent required; term limits, renewal policy and fees not documented. Confirm with the managing agent before underwriting a rental case.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $40,715/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $23
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
How to read this, and where it comes from
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. 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.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 24, 2026 | 7K | 2 BR · 1 BA | $825,000 | -2.8% | |
| Dec 4, 2025 | 6W | 2 BR · 1 BA | $885,000 | +1.1% | |
| Jul 14, 2025 | 3J | 1 BR · 1 BA | $615,000 | -2.2% | |
| Mar 25, 2025 | 3G | 1 BR · 1 BA · 920 sf | $735,000 | $799/sf | -5.2% |
| Jan 16, 2025 | 3K | 1 BR · 1 BA | $675,000 | -3.4% | |
| Oct 7, 2024 | 5Z | 1 BR · 1 BA | $815,000 | +2.0% | |
| Jan 16, 2024 | 1D | 2 BR · 1 BA · 850 sf | $790,000 | $929/sf | -1.1% |
| Jan 9, 2024 | 4N | 1 BR · 1 BA | $595,000 | +13.3% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2025): a median $794/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 1.3% 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 3-05268-0033) 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
Run the income test before you run the numbers. Twenty percent down is the easy half; the 30 percent ceiling on maintenance plus debt service is the half that fails deals.
Read the reserve note, not just the reserve balance. More than $1.8 million against 148 apartments is strong; the absence of a reserve study, disclosed in the auditors' own report, is the qualification.
Ask what remains on the façade contract. Get the engineer's report, the FISP filing status and confirmation that the work closed out.
Treat the 2028 maturity as a feature. The underlying loan is small, fixed and self-liquidating. Confirm the current balance and the board's intention at maturity.
What to know if you’re selling
Model the transfer fee first. If your shares predate 1 November 1982 the fee is 15 percent and it is yours to pay. That should shape your reserve price, not surprise you at closing.
Use your own building as the comparable set. Eighty-seven recorded sales supply better evidence than the neighborhood does; anchor to matched sales on your line and floor band from 2025 forward.
Lead with what the block does not have. Elevator, garage, bicycle room, laundry, live-in superintendent and a courtyard, on a street of two-family houses.
Brief the buyer's broker on the board's terms early. The financing ceiling and income ratio are findable later and expensive to find late.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 651 Vanderbilt Street, also evaluate:
- 140 East 2nd Street — the neighborhood's most-traded address and its only larger prewar cooperative
- 346 Coney Island Avenue — the second most-traded Windsor Terrace cooperative
- 81 Ocean Parkway and 30 Ocean Parkway — the Ocean Parkway cooperative cohort
- 135 Prospect Park Southwest — park-facing elevator cooperative; the premium end of the tier
- 166 Seeley Street and 202 Seeley Street — the two prewar elevator cooperatives on this block, at 55 and 42 apartments
- 221 McDonald Avenue — a 160-unit 1953 elevator cooperative; the closest peer by scale
- 300 Eighth Avenue — accessible prewar Park Slope cooperative; the ceiling comparison
- 140 Eighth Avenue — interwar courtyard cooperative; similar operating profile, higher price
- 420 12th Street — South Slope loft cooperative; volume instead of room count
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.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent.
Considering a move at Park Vanderbilt?
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A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at Park Vanderbilt 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.