The Shinnecock, 939 Union Street

The building fills a 50-by-90-foot lot on Union Street and rises about 145 feet. The height came partly from air rights. The offering plan describes a contiguous parcel to the north, 40 feet on Berkeley Place and 100 feet deep, whose development rights the sponsor secured under an air rights agreement. On today's tax map the only Berkeley Place lot on the block with those dimensions is 274–276 Berkeley Place, an 1890–91 house inside the historic district. The link between that lot and the rights, and between those rights and the LPC dispute, is our reading of the plan and the map; the plan pages on file do not name the lot.

The unit plan changes with height. Two townhouse units sit at the base. The third through ninth floors carry two apartments each. Above the ninth floor the plan shifts to one apartment per floor, designated 10, 11, 12 and 14, and then to two penthouses. Terraces, roof decks and patios are limited common elements assigned to specific apartments.

Heating and cooling run through packaged terminal units with hydronic coils in each apartment, fed from central plant; domestic hot water comes from a central gas-fired heater, per the plan.

Taxes. Under the statute's 15-year schedule, the benefit ran at the full rate for 11 years, through 2015/16, then stepped down 20 points a year and ended after 2019/20. The Department of Finance record matches: the exemption is present through 2019/20 and zero from 2020/21. From 2020/21 the roll shows no exemption; check the specific apartment's tax bill for any other abatement.

Finances. The audited statements for 2022 on file show common-charge revenue of about $452,000 against expenses of about $514,000, an operating shortfall of about $45,000. Cash at year-end was about $186,000, and the statements report no dedicated replacement reserve. Payroll, payroll taxes and employee benefits totaled about $257,000. The supplemental schedule shows boiler repairs of about $43,000. Ask for the 2023 through 2025 statements, the current budget, and whether common charges have been raised or an assessment levied since 2022.

Sponsor position. The sponsor sold the apartments in 2004 and 2005 and holds nothing on the current roll. The declaration was amended in 2018; ask what changed.

Capital and compliance. At 16 stories and about 22 years old, the building is on the city's five-year Local Law 11 façade cycle. Boilers, elevators, roofing and the in-unit terminal units are the systems to ask about. With no replacement reserve at the end of 2022, any major project is likely to be funded by an assessment or a common-charge increase.

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 (2024) cleared a median $1,427/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 0.0% from the last ask.

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-01064-7501; 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.

Read the finances first. A 2022 operating shortfall and no dedicated reserve are the facts to test. Ask for the current budget and recent statements before you price.

Confirm the landmark status yourself. The lot is not designated. That means no LPC review of exterior changes here, and no protection for the building's own façade or setting.

Check the pet rule against your plans. Pets need board consent, and tenants may not have them at all. That limits the rental market for an investor.

Expect a right of first refusal. The board can match an accepted offer. In practice, condominium boards rarely exercise it, but the waiver step belongs in the closing timeline.

Lead with the condominium structure. In a co-op-dominated submarket, condominium ownership is the differentiator.

Have the financials ready. Buyers' attorneys will ask about the reserve. A current budget and a clear answer on any assessment shorten diligence.

Correct the landmark claim. Do not market the building as inside the historic district. The LPC's record says otherwise, and buyers' counsel will check.

If you're considering The Shinnecock, also evaluate:

• 1 Prospect Park West — the 2019 condominium conversion of a 1920s clubhouse at Grand Army Plaza; the closest condominium alternative
• 39 Plaza Street West — the 1926 Rosario Candela co-op on the same block, in Extension II
• 1 Plaza Street West — the 1927 co-op tower on the plaza
• 9 Prospect Park West — a 1928–29 co-op facing the park
• 35 Prospect Park West — a 1929 co-op built as a cooperative
• 40 Prospect Park West — an early-1940s co-op on the park
• 50 Plaza Street East — a 1925 co-op across the plaza
• 140 Eighth Avenue — an interwar courtyard co-op a few blocks south