The New Yorker: The Death and Life of One of NYC's Earliest Condominiums
June 14, 2012 — Thirty-one years ago, they expected it to sell out quickly. And why not? The 33 units for sale at the newly constructed 1474 Third Avenue, between 83rd and 84th Streets, didn't face the sort of restrictions co-ops impose. And in 1981, cooperatives dominated and condominiums were a New York City rarity.
The 17-story property, which replaced a one-story movie theater, was marketed as something special. Each floor housed only two apartments; amenities included hardwood parquet floors, bathrooms with marble tiling, acoustically sprayed ceilings and video intercoms. The building itself offered some degree of privacy from hustle and bustle: In an architectural style of the time, it was situated not on the street but inside a plaza. The common charges were low and units were listed at the outset at $259,000 to $484,000.
Then, nothing.
"The year 1981 was the bottom of the Reagan recession," says David Goldstick, a real estate attorney who converted a great number of rentals to co-ops during that period. "Co-ops did sell in the better locations that year but very slowly."
And so it became that condo that wasn't. According to Pamela D'Arc, executive vice president at Stribling & Associates, who did its marketing in later years, "It is my understanding that market conditions dictated that it be turned into a rental."
The building then gained unwanted notoriety in 2001, when Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced criminal charges against resident Arianna Uzo Egwu, who operated a high-priced call-girl business, Glamour Roses, operating out of her apartment.
Condo? Can do!
Just six years after this, however, the property, now called The New Yorker, converted back into a condominium, and sold out. In 2007, RAL Companies bought the building from Pan Am Equities and refurbished all units and common areas with luxurious, high-end finishes and upscale amenities. Countertops were made from black granite and refrigerators were from Jenn-Air. The designers also installed Bosch dishwashers, stoves and ovens, as well as and Asko washers and dryers inside each apartment. Other changes included new boilers, the addition of a natural gas system, and an upgrade of the central air conditioning for the hallways and the lobby.
The façade had also been leaking and was repaired. And as of 2012, the elevators are being modernized and the lobby is slated to be refurbished. Water meters were installed. And according to Alex Kalajian, chief operating officer of Solstice Residential Group, which manages the property, the common charges were reduced in 2011 and 2012.
Thirty-one years after the property made its first appearance, The New Yorker is a success, with apartments listing for as high as $4.135 million. As Kalajian, the manager, succinctly puts it: "The building is clean and watertight, the apartments are completely renovated, and the boilers are running efficiently. Hopefully, everyone lives happily ever after."
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