88 Withers Street (Element 88)

The building occupies a 125-by-100-foot corner lot and rises eight floors over a cellar. Apartments occupy the upper floors, with four penthouses at the top. The first floor holds the residential lobby and the gym, and the two commercial units have their own street entrances. Per listing records, the apartments have high ceilings, oversized windows and zoned ducted heating and cooling. Some residences have open terraces as limited common elements (outdoor space owned by the condominium but reserved for one unit). The plan notes that these terraces cannot legally be used as bedrooms or living rooms.

The largest shared amenity is outdoor: a 5,507-square-foot common recreation area on the second-floor setback, available to every owner. It is a large outdoor space for a 33-unit building and is the amenity that most sets Element 88 apart from its immediate competition. The gym, bike room, dog wash and car-charging station make up the rest of the program.

Parking and storage are sold separately from the apartments. There are 25 parking units (one, PS16, designated accessible under the plan) and 33 storage units, each with its own tax lot and deed. Many apartment buyers bought a space or a storage unit at the initial sale, but not all did. A holding entity took several parking and storage lots from the sponsor in 2020 and has been reselling them since. Whether a given apartment comes with parking or storage is a deed question, not a floor-plan question.

The first-year budget in the plan (June 2019 to May 2020) was modest and carried a small labor line, consistent with a building run by a superintendent and a virtual-doorman system rather than a staffed desk. Buyers who expect a full-service building should confirm current staffing.

Two structural points affect the common-charge line:

• The commercial units carry 7.90% of common interest, and the plan allocates the costs of residential-only services entirely to the residential, parking and storage units. The plan's permitted commercial uses include medical and health facilities, clubs and restaurants. Ask what currently occupies the retail space and what is permitted there. The commercial lots have changed hands since the sponsor sale, and a restaurant or medical tenant affects the building differently.
• Water is on a single common meter and billed to the condominium. Gas is not separately charged to the residences. Electricity is metered by unit.

The plan capped sponsor voting control at three years after the first closing, and the sponsor has since sold out. The building now has a final certificate of occupancy, which removes a common financing obstacle for resale buyers. As in any building of this age, ask for the current budget, the reserve balance, any assessment history, and any open warranty or construction-defect items left over from the sponsor period.

Ownership form: Condominium. There is no board interview. Confirm how the right of first refusal is waived under the by-laws.

Pets: No pet restrictions per the offering plan. Confirm the current house rules.

Leasing, pied-à-terre, LLC and trust ownership: Pied-à-terre permitted; leasing, LLC and trust ownership not documented — confirm in the declaration, bylaws and house rules, along with any requirement that the owner be current on common charges. Several apartments are held by single-purpose LLCs per ACRIS.

Washer/dryer: Permitted in every residence. Hookups are provided; the owner supplies the machines.

Parking and storage: Separately deeded units. Confirm what conveys.

Real estate taxes: The assessment roll shows no exemption; underwrite the current bill for the specific lot.

Recent sales

Recent closings 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 (2025) cleared a median $1,610/sf (floor-adjusted) across 2 sales. 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 1.4% 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 3-02742-7502; each condominium apartment is its own tax lot). 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 from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.

Check the tax bill. The assessment roll shows no exemption; confirm on the apartment's tax bill. Compare buildings on True Monthly Carrying Cost, not on price per foot.

Confirm parking and storage by deed. Both are separate tax lots. Not every apartment was sold with them.

Ask about the commercial units. Their use and their share of common charges affect the building. Find out what is there now and what the plan permits.

Check the terrace rules. Open terraces are limited common elements that cannot be enclosed or used as living space under the plan.

Present the tax position plainly. No abatement is on record to expire, but future bills still change with assessments and rates. Put the current bill and a carrying-cost comparison in the listing package.

Lead with the design and the deck. Describe the façade and common outdoor space accurately and compare them with specific alternatives. Photograph both.

Package the parking and storage clearly. If a space or storage unit conveys, list it as its own value line with its own lot number.

If you're considering Element 88, also evaluate:

• 415 Leonard Street: 2008 condominium a few blocks north on Leonard Street; an older building whose 421-a has now expired
• 147 Hope Street: 38-residence Williamsburg condominium with underground parking and no tax abatement; the closest like-for-like
• 215 North 10th Street (NX): 31-unit Williamsburg condominium with no abatement and a design-led architect
• 110 North 1st Street: 38-residence Northside condominium with separately deeded parking and storage lots
• 171 Calyer Street: 21-unit Greenpoint condominium with no abatement and separately deeded parking, storage and retail
• 65 Eckford Street: 22-apartment condominium near McCarren Park, carrying full taxes
• 28 Herbert Street: 16-residence Passive House condominium on the Greenpoint–Williamsburg border; the boutique new-build alternative
• 20 Bayard Street (The Bayard Views): the park-facing tower a few blocks north; the older, full-service comparison