76 Remsen Street

Slee & Bryson's Heights apartment houses trade in proportion and masonry rather than ornament, and 76 Remsen sits squarely in that manner: six stories of quietly detailed brick in a block of row houses. The 1963 plan's construction description is more informative than any elevation — brick throughout the exterior walls; brick and steel through the two fire-tower stairwells serving every public hall; public halls of concrete, brick and steel; the remainder built and finished in non-fireproof materials. A self-service Gurney elevator was already in place when the Ostes bought the building in 1956, and modernization was on the sponsors' recommended list by 1963.

At conversion the building held 26 apartments including the superintendent's, totalling 116 rooms — an average a shade under four and a half rooms each, which describes the stock accurately: one- and two-bedroom prewar layouts with real rooms and real halls. One alteration in the sponsors' own tenure shows how the building has changed: in 1957 the original six-room apartment 1D was legally remodelled into two apartments of two and three rooms. Combinations are the likely reason for the drop from the plan's 26 to today's 23 (the 1957 split ran the other way), though the records reviewed do not reconcile it; that history makes line-to-line comparison less useful here than the specific apartment's floor, exposure, room count and share allocation.

The through-block lot is the building's best physical asset. The rear courtyard and garden — locked gate onto Grace Court Alley, shared barbecue, a reservation system run through the mail room — is a genuine outdoor amenity in a neighborhood where most six-story co-ops have none. Exterior and window alterations generally require LPC approval under the district designation; some maintenance is exempt and qualifying work can receive staff approval.

76 Remsen Street, Inc. has run the building since the 1963 closings, with Cornerstone Management Systems named as managing agent in the July 1, 2020 house rules; confirm current management. The operating model is the district standard at this scale: resident superintendent, elevator, basement laundry, storage, and a board that does its own rule-writing. The front door is double-locked from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., the basement back door and alley gate stay locked, the roof is off limits and alarmed, renovation requires written board approval and insured contractors, and materials and moves come in through the alley rather than the front lobby.

The Roebling Research Library holds the 1963 plan, the proprietary lease, the bylaws, the alteration agreement, the current house rules and Dog Policy, the purchase application, and audited financial statements from 1999–2000 through 2014–15. Current financials, the budget, the reserve position and any open assessment are reviewed with clients during diligence. For a 1922 masonry building, FISP/LL11 façade cycles, elevator modernization, roof and boiler life are the recurring capital items; the rear yard and alley elevation are worth asking about specifically, since they carry the service entrance.

Subletting: The July 1, 2020 house rules state that subletting is not permitted, while the 1963 proprietary lease allowed it with board consent or consent of holders of two-thirds of the shares. Have counsel reconcile the operative lease, bylaws, amendments and house rules and confirm the authority for any change before relying on either provision.

Resale: Board approval, with an interview of all adults who will occupy the apartment, scheduled after the purchaser has a loan commitment and a complete application. A bank recognition agreement is required for any financed purchase. The corporation charges a $500 non-refundable processing fee and takes an $800 refundable move-in/move-out deposit; managing-agent fees are additional.

Pets: Common household pets are permitted as corporation policy. Dogs require board approval under the written Dog Policy: registration form, health records and an indemnification agreement; one dog per unit; roughly 18 inches maximum height at full growth; excluded breeds, full or mixed, including Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Chow Chow, Pit Bull and Rottweiler; annual licensing and vaccination updates on file. Persistent barking draws a warning, then $50, then $100, then board discretion. The house rules state a service-animal exception. Both service and emotional-support animal requests require individualized reasonable-accommodation review under housing law; pet-size, breed, number and approval conditions cannot automatically be applied to those requests.

Washer/dryer, insurance and storage: In-unit washers and dryers are barred except where previously installed. Cooperative-form homeowner's insurance with at least $500,000 liability is mandatory, with a certificate filed each December and a $50 monthly fine for lapse. Each apartment is allotted one basement storage unit at the shareholder's risk, and each occupant may keep one bicycle in the designated room.

Flip tax, financing minimums, pied-à-terre: Not documented in the papers on file; confirm against the current house rules and purchase application 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. Most recent trades (2026 to date) cleared a median $1,809/sf (recorded) across 1 sale. Median listing discount 0.0% from the last ask.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-00253-0061). 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.

Resolve the subletting provisions. The 2020 house-rule prohibition and the original lease's consent route need review against valid amendments; obtain counsel's interpretation and current written management instructions.

Read the Dog Policy before you fall in love with the apartment. One dog per unit, roughly 18 inches at full growth, specific breed exclusions, board approval and an annual paperwork requirement — subject to individualized housing-law accommodation review for service and emotional-support animals.

Confirm the unit and share ledger. Twenty-six apartments at conversion, twenty-three today. Your attorney should verify the apartment's shares, room count and any combination approvals against the stock ledger.

Budget for a small building's capital events. Twenty-three apartments carry a 1922 masonry envelope, one passenger elevator and a through-block lot with two frontages. Ask for the assessment history and the reserve balance, and confirm in writing whether the apartment carries a grandfathered washer-dryer, since new installations are barred.

Lead with 1963. Very few Brooklyn Heights buildings can say they have been a cooperative for more than sixty years. A long, unbroken corporate history is an underwriting asset with lenders and a credibility asset with buyers.

Name the architects. Slee & Bryson defined Colonial Revival Brooklyn — Albemarle-Kenmore Terraces, the Appellate Division courthouse, 15 Clark Street, 8 Remsen Street. Most six-story Remsen Street prewars go unattributed in marketing; this one does not have to.

Market to owner-occupants, and sell the whole package. After the sublet provisions are reconciled, market to buyers whose intended use is permitted; a private storage unit, a bike space and a through-block garden with a barbecue are concrete monthly-life advantages over the district's walk-up and small-elevator stock.

Price against the district's mid-size prewar set. The right comps are Remsen, Grace Court and Hicks Street co-ops of similar scale — not the Montague corridor's larger, more heavily staffed buildings.

If you're considering 76 Remsen Street, also evaluate:

• 60 Remsen Street — the block's larger elevator building; assess its unit plans and tenure before selecting comparables
• 68 Remsen Street — mid-size prewar co-op nearby to the west
• 100 Remsen Street — Remsen Street co-op peer closer to Clinton
• 15 Clark Street — Slee & Bryson's own Heights apartment house; the direct pedigree comparable
• 59 Pineapple Street — Slee & Bryson's 1926 Fruit Streets co-op; the same firm in the same register
• 1 Grace Court — boutique co-op on the cul-de-sac behind the block
• 19 Grace Court — small prewar co-op peer off Hicks Street
• 130 Hicks Street — boutique building two blocks north
• 20 Pierrepont Street — interwar elevator co-op at the Promenade end; the entry-tier alternative